Ground Base
Here we go...
Minty....Short for Minthania Frostland of the WindStrum pack. I am a beta's daughter and a good one at that. Beta Thorn Frostland is my father and he is second-in-command to Alpha Wel Blackshear. They run the WindStrum pack on a tight ship but it is rewarding. The rest of the world has gone to shit. No like actually. In the last 25 years or so, female wolves have been dying in childbirth like no other. Our healers and shamans have said it is because of the utter disregard to the mate bond that male wolves have shown lately and I agree. In other packs, the male wolves have stopped waiting for their mates and started stealing any she-wolf pleasant to the eye to bear their offspring. They force mate bonds on these female wolves and still cheat on their "stolen prizes" with other she-wolves. The unwillingly pregnant female wolves cannot survive the stress of the forced bond being torn with their infidelity and most of the fresh pups born die within the year...following their mothers to the Moon.
It became common for males to take on multiple female mates and that is when it really became a death sentence to be born in this world as a female.
22 years ago when I was born, My father and the Alpha tightened the reins on the WindStrum pack and threw out all ideologies that did not follow the traditional way of things. Wolves that wanted to embrace the new style of life were free to break from the pack but never return. They were not rogue but instead, Alpha Wel made preparations for them to join an allying pack that did adopt the new cultures.
If it were up to me those shitbags would be declared rogue and tossed out without a second thought. But Alpha Wel believed that providing a safe method of escape for those that wished to join that life meant he would truly be rid of all of those disgusting wolves and no one would hide in his pack afraid to be outed.
We lost about 17 male wolves in our pack that day and I have yet to hear anyone miss their presence. You see...22 years ago...my mother was lost to childbirth. Not because of my father, but because she had a rare condition that ate away at her bones. It only showed once she became pregnant with me and knowing her fate she continued with her pregnancy...with me. She left me tons of videos and letters. Journals that she wrote for me to remember her by and lots of love that was shown by my father.
When my mother died, some of those male wolves speculated it was because my father adopted the new ways and once those rumors started to spread is when Alpha Wel announced the new policies to protect the old ways.
The WindStrum pack was not the only ones to keep to traditional mate bonds. A handful of other packs lining the South also did the same. The Black Rose pack that lines our border to the East, controlled by a very kind Alpha Benn and Luna Delthura, was one of the packs that also enforced the old ways. Our alliance with Black Rose has always been strong as Alpha Wel and Alpha Benn grew up together. After the world shifted to a male dominant society, the alliance grew even stronger and is damn near impenetrable. 5 years ago, All the Alphas that agreed to protect their packs from this horrid new lifestyle met in secret and formed an alliance with the Alpha King in hopes of keeping the society peaceful. However all peace comes at a cost. The Alpha King granted protection only to packs who agreed to offer up a female sacrifice to the Upper Realms...
I never paid much attention in school unless it involved food but from what I remember, the Upper Realms consist of the Wither Realm and the Santheum Realm. If I were to try and explain it to a human, it's like heaven and hell. The Wither Realm belonged to the demons and they were all gross and nasty in the textbooks. Apparently, those in the Wither realm only show emotion through anger and lust so just imagine nasty looking tentacle demons fucking because somebody skipped the line in the grocery store...At least that's what I do.
Now the Santheum realm was always pictured to be the most beautiful place to ever exist. Babies floating on clouds and Greek Gods and Goddesses walking around in all of their beautiful glory.
Listen I don't know jack shit about the Upper Realms really but this is how I picture it and since I'm working all the damn time. I don't have much time to change my perspective.
ANYWAYS The female sacrifices were supposed to be split between the two realms and I have no clue how that works and I don't want to know. 14 packs were included in the alliance and only 8 of the packs had brought forth a sacrifice. No one knows what happened to those women. They left in a dress that represented their packs and never returned. Alpha Wel has yet to choose a female while I am scared for the future, I do not believe I have anything to worry about. My father raised me as a son to protect me from all incoming threats. I keep my natural hair very short in a pixie cut afro and I wear a binder daily to hide my assets.I dress very masculine daily and I have never worn a dress nor anything deemed "feminine". Everyone in the pack knows I am female but when we have visitors they address me as the Beta's son and no one takes a second glance to prove them wrong. I also bury myself in my work inside and outside of the pack to keep the days going by.
My job now is mainly border patrol for the pack. I manage the border patrol guards schedules and these wolves sure can be lazy when the Alpha is not around. I also take care of the reports on the border as well. It's not fun in the slightest but I know it's being done properly and no one sets foot on these pack lands without my knowledge...no one.
Today we welcome the Alpha King onto our lands. I was told to anticipate his arrival around noon. He was coming as our pack was chosen for some "sacred binding of worlds"...honestly I have no fucking clue what my dad and Alpha were telling me when I was filled in on this. Once I knew this was not about the female sacrifice, I tuned out. It sounded like a lot of ancient mumbo jumbo and all I knew was I needed to get the old King on the lands and off the lands.
Minty...
That old geezer is such a pain in the ass and I have bad knees. Having to kneel every time gets to be a pain.
Minty...
Ugh I swear the next time he comes, I'm buying some memory foam knee pads for myse-
"EARTH TO MINTY!" A shout woke me out of my trance. I was standing in the Border Patrol office with a very sassy male wolf eyeing me down.
"You don't hear me talking to you?! I need today off! I have to be at the airport to pick up my girlfriend. Minty pleaseeeee" The wolf looks at me with beading eyes as he falls to the floor while clasping his hands together.
The lazy ass pleading wolf in front of me was about 5'8 and roughly almost 200 lbs of pure muscle. He has jet black hair that falls in front of his eyes with a wavy curl to it and wraps around his eyebrow piercing almost threatening to tangle into it. I know this wolf....this Blasian lazy ass wolf...damn him.
"Sigh...Justin. How many times will I tell you to request time off BEFORE the day comes that you need off. How am I supposed to cover your shift and welcome the Alpha King with my father?" I pinch the bridge of my nose with my fingers and I sigh again. This wolf is so stubborn on not requesting time off when he is supposed to. Justin is a good 18 year old kid but he is still just that. A kid. His parents let him run amok because he treats women well but still. I do not know what they feed the men around here because he is a beefy kid which is why I chose him to be a part of the Patrol guards but if this continues, I may have to let him find a new role.
"I am so sorry Minty. I am. I did not know that she would be coming until this morning or I would have let you know. Her plane lands at 1pm. I can work until then if that helps?" Justin asks with a gleam of hope in his eye.
Here is to a long ass fucking shift yet again. I know I wont have time to find anyone to cover this so its gonna be me.
"Justin. I want Baklava from the Russian Doll...2 slices freshly warm with a little bit of steam off of them still when they are in my hand. And if you do this to me again, you will find another job in this pack. Stay until the Alpha King is in the presence of Alpha Wel and I will take over your post from there..."I say slowly, making sure to enunciate every word for him to register in that fat meat brain of his.
A smile widens on his lips and he picks me up and swings me around to which I stiffen in response.
"You won't regret this! I promise. Thank you Minty!" Justin exclaims as he puts me down and plants a wet kiss on my forehead before running out the door.
I already regret it.
He did that shit on purpose. Another thing to note is I despise physical contact with any male except for my father. Alpha Wel is the only one who is allowed to hug me but even he doesn't do it often as he knows I am uncomfortable. I cannot explain why but it just happens. When I turned 18 and remained mateless, it got even worse. I cannot stand male touch and Justin knows that.
With frustration threatening to raise my blood pressure, I take a deep breath and look down at my watch. 10:15am.. Only a little bit until the Alpha King arrives. Okay time to get ready. I grab today's patrol schedule from my desk and clutch it to my chest as I jog out of the office and into a home behind the packhouse. Once I turned 18, my father asked Alpha Wel to move me out of the packhouse just in case my heat were to stir, but even that has yet to happen.
As I jog home, I mumble to myself my tasks of the day. As if I would forget them, I repeated it over and over. Today was one of those days were I knew I would have no rest. Unfortunately, I'm rarely wrong.
"Get dressed...red overcoat...warrior harness..run the borders till 10 at night...reports...I need to post the new schedule" I mutter to myself as I clutch the handle of the mahogany door in front of me.
Yawnnn Good morning my girly pop. Are we ready for action this morning? Fran. My wolf stretches in the back of my mind as she purrs herself awake.
Oh look who is an awakened sleepy pup, I'm about to get ready to greet the Alpha King so you can sleep some more until it's time to patrol the border.
I hear another yawn and Fran sprawls out.
Oh that old bag? Tuh I'm going back to sleep. Wake me up when our mate is here.
I roll my eyes in response and just as I open the door to my home. Fran is back asleep.
My wolf is strong and very much adaptable but she requires lots of sleep than I can afford to give so she slumbers in my mind unless it is an emergency.
I really hope today goes by quickly so I can slumber just like Fran.
