Chapter 1
“Sonja, hurry up. You don’t want to be late.” I heard my mom calling up the stairs. I put on my black sports bra and black training shorts. I tied my long chocolate brown hair into a high pony tail and rushed downstairs.
My mom had a plate of eggs, bacon and toast sitting at the table for me. I sat down as she poured me a cup of coffee and a glass of orange juice before sitting down across from me. You would never have guessed that my mom was my mom unless you were a werewolf like us. We aged much slower, The average werewolf lived to around 150, but some had been know to live over 200. My mom was the ripe age of 65, but looked half of that. We shared the same hair but I got my eyes from my dad.
“How are you feeling? Do you feel prepared?” She asked.
“I’m feeling good, maybe a little nervous. I want this so bad.”
“You have this. There is no way they can miss what an amazing warrior you are.”
Today was the day that our pack was testing their warrior candidates in a tournament to go to the prestigious warrior training with the Eclipse Pack. It was considered an elite program that trained the best warriors. They ran a year long program that allowed only three warriors from each pack to attend each session. Now that I was finally 21, I was eligible to try out.
There were not many female warriors in our pack, or any pack for that matter. But I had been training with my father since I could walk. My father is the Beta of the Rising Moon pack. The Beta is like second in charge, right after the Alpha. He helps train all of our warriors and since my older brother, Karl, has been preparing to take over for him since he was a little boy, I followed them around, joining every chance I got.
I grew up watching the warriors train and envied their skills. I knew early on that I wanted to be one of them, and I wanted to be the best. When my dad saw my drive he started training me along side my brother, until I could be accepted as a warrior of our pack at 18. Now it was my job and my life. I spent every moment honing my skills and pushing myself to be better.
My mom watched me as I finished up my breakfast and cleared my plate, washed my dish and put it in the dishwasher. I grabbed my black and pink Adidas tennis shoes and laced them up. She walked over and engulfed me in a tight hug, kissing my forehead before sending me on my way out the door. She yelled one last wish of good luck as I took off.
I ran down the back trail from our house that cuts through the forest. Our pack was in North Eastern Washington, close to both the Idaho and Canadian border. It was late spring and the last of the snow was finally melting giving way to spring flowers.
My best friend Alexandria met me along the way. Her dad was a fellow warrior. We had met as small pups on the sidelines of the training field watching our dads train. We instantly became best friends.
“Hey, girl!” She shouted as she jumped out at me. She grabbed hold of my shoulders with her 5’6” frame. She has long, wavy blonde hair and sky blue eyes.
“Yikes, what are trying to do, give me a heart attack before I compete?”
“Just keeping you on your toes” she laughed.
We continued on our way to the pack training field, catching up along the way.
“Did you hear that the Beta from the Eclipse Pack will be there today?” she asked.
“Yeah, my Dad told me last night. Talk about adding to the pressure.”
“Hey,” she grabbed my hand and pulled me to a stop to look at me. “You got this. If there was ever a she-wolf who deserved to be in their training program, its you! I have never seen a more dedicated, hard working, ass-kicking, she-bitch.”
She pulled me in as we hugged and laughed. “Thanks, I’m feeling pretty good. I just hope I don’t mess anything up.”
We approached the crowded training field. My dad was in the center of the chaos directing people around. Since I was competing this year, he had stepped down from directing the tournament and instead the pack’s Gamma, Aleksei, had taken charge. My dad was there to help set up and support them.
Alexandria gave me a quick hug before she darted off to the side of the field to watch with the rest of the pack as I made my way over to the the warrior area and began stretching. I was sitting on the ground stretching out my legs when Dominik came up behind me.
“You don’t actually think that they would let a girl into the Warrior program, do you?” Dominik was always such a pain. He could never accept that a girl like myself could kick his ass and decided to be a real dick to me as his way of dealing with his feelings of inadequacy.
I glared up at him, “Why don’t you go bother someone else, Domi-dick” His eyes quickly darkened as his wolf came forward at the insult and he let out a growl. He took a step towards me, but was stopped with a large arm crossing the front of him.
“Is there a problem here?”
“No Beta Sasha” Dominik said as he stared daggers at me.
“I didn’t think so. I think it’s best that you start warming up, don’t you Dominik?”
“Yes, Beta” He said before he turned and wandered off. His anger rolled off of him as he kicked at a stick on the ground. He made his way to the opposite side of our warm up area and glared menacingly at me as he began stretching.
“Maybe not the best time to be causing mischief, is it Sonja?” My dad asked me with a raised eyebrow.
“Just putting a dog in his place.” I said with a smirk across my face.
Dad took a deep breath and shook his head with a little laugh before he reached out to help me up.
They announced for all competing warriors to come to the middle of the field to begin. Dad gave me a tight squeeze and told me good luck before giving me a little push towards the field.
