In Sight

“Where is your head?” I heard my dad call from behind me as my mouth swelled with blood.

"WHERE IS YOUR HEAD!" He screamed again as he landed a blow right at the tip of my chin.

Snap out it I thought to myself as I saw my dad charging at me. I did a quick spin and drop kicked him finishing him off with two upper cuts, the last one knocking him down. He chuckled ashis eyes started to glow.

“Sunny, don't you dare”! My mom called from the deck issuing him a stern warning.

“Awe, babe! We're just getting warmed up” he replied right before charging at me.

We went sparing round for round for what felt like forever. It finally ended with my dad Choke slamming me and pinning me to the ground with his foot at my throat. He Glared at me with a smug smirk that I wanted to slap off of his face. I quickly twisted his foot, popped up and reached for his throat. Before I knew it, we were both standing face to face with our hands wrapped around each other's throats.

“Alright, that's enough you two! We have to get ready for Chasca’s ceremony”. My mom called. Her voice was dripping with annoyance. She hated when we fought, but most importantly she hated that I actually enjoyed it.

“Ok, honey” my dad responded before turning back to me. “You're shaping up to be quite the warrior, A’Keira, but you gotta keep your head in the game. Every mistake you make serves as an opportunity for your enemy” He looked at me with raised eyebrows making sure that I understood what he was saying.

“I got you dad.” I replied half heartedly.

“You want to talk about it?” He eyed me curiously.

“I don't know. I love training and fighting, but our pack is so traditional. Sometimes I wonder if it's even worth it. I spend all of my time here, everyone thinks I'm a freak, and mom is about a box of bandages away from losing her shit completely!” My dad chuckled.

“A’Keira, tradition is what binds our past, present, and future. I know we have many traditions, but we are progressing, be patient. He hugged me slightly. “As for the other worries, you're not a freak and your mother will be fine. He gave me a reassuring smile. “Now hold your head up! You're the daughter of the Great Beta, act like it”. He said as we reached the stairs.

I gave him a little nudge. “Yea, ok, Great Bêta” we laughed as we entered our ranch house.

As we entered the house my brother stood adjusting his tie. “How do I look?” He turned and asked. Shakur stood at 6 feet 5 inches tall. He had a smile that could light up any room. He kept his hair short and he just oozed confidence, but not cockiness. Everyone loved Shakur, he was great at everything and was soon to become the next beta of our pack. I checked my brother out as he turned from sides to side. His navy blue tuxedo was the perfect fit and it paired nicely with the white shirt and blush pink tie that my mom pick out for him.

“You look great, Sha!” My assessment caused him to beam with pride.

“A’ Keira” go take a shower, you're covered in blood! You'll find your outfit laid out on your bed.” My mom said adjusting her dress.

“Thanks mom, I said as I headed to the shower. I did not want to go to Chasca’s stupid ceremony primarily because I couldn't stand him. He was to be the next alpha of our pack and for a Young alpha, your 17th birthday is a special one because you find your mate. Everyone from the pack would be at the celebration and every girl from the pack would be there fawning over him hoping that they're his mate, and I wish I could skip it, but as the daughter of the Beta, it was against protocol for me to not be in attendance. The only good thing about it is that I would get to hang out with Bash and Lena. I finished my shower and headed back to my room. I put on the outfit my picked for me. It was a soft pink dress that clung to my curves and flared out at the bottom. The beautiful beaded embroidered belt and v neckline really made me look older than I was. I pulled my curly into a messy bun and finger coiled two loose strands of hair down the side of my face. I added my jewelry that was given to me by grandma and headed downstairs.

“Damn, Keira! You look better than me and that's hard to do.” Shakur said with a chuckle.

“Shut Up”! I retorted. I eyed my mom curiously as she let out a small sigh, almost a whimper. “Come on mom, please don't make a big deal about this” I pleaded.

“You look stunning! She smiled. “Sunny, grab the camera!” She called after my dad.

“That's what we have phones for honey, my dad said as he entered the room stopping in his tracks. “ Wow! You look great honey!”

“Thank you, papa” I said blushing.

“Alright, let's roll!” Shakur said clapping his hands. “My best friend is finding his mate tonight!”

I rolled my eyes. In our pack, it is customary for the alphas son to hold a celebration of his birth on his final night of 16. Every member of pack must be in attendance for the “sacred” ritual. At midnight when the the son of the alpha turns 17, he discovers his mate at the party. The thing about mating is that we find our mates naturally, we don't get to pick them. Most of us don't find our mates until we turn 18, but the alphas traditionally find their mates early, so that the next Luna of the pack can start training. The tradition is stupid. Why can't we pick who we want to mate with?

We pulled up to the pack house and it was already full with over dressed girls all fawning praying to be Chasca's mate. It annoyed me to no end that this much pomp and circumstance was for a stupid 16 year old boy.