Chapter 1
The sound of soft humming and Mid-afternoon sun peeked through the white see-through curtains of my bedroom to the right of my bed, where my cat Sasha basked in the sun rays with soft purrs, her tail flicking lightly. Mom stood behind the stool I sat on, lightly running the brush through the slightly curled locks with no hint of anxiety in her smile as she brushed my long blonde hair, setting down the brush to start the loose braid ending down my spine. She hummed softly in approval of her work, meeting my eyes now and then with a smile in the mirror.
With a kiss on the top of my head, she broke the silence. “I want you to know that whatever title the alpha gives you, we will always love you, and a title won’t change that.”
“Thank you, Mom” I tried to hide the anxiety in my voice as Red, my wolf, paced in my head anxiously. In the reflection, staring back at me was a young woman with lightly tanned skin and green eyes that I got from my Dad, dirty blonde hair that I got from my Mom, thankfully. The calm Mom tried to give me through our bond didn’t stop the shaking in the muscles of my legs as they bounced up and down against the fluffy carpet, the nerves in my body skyrocketing as time went by.
In, out, in, out, I tried to get air to my lungs. “It’s okay, honey” Mom soothed as she tucked my bangs out of my eyes. “I know, but we can’t help the feeling in our gut” I referred to myself and Red. Turning towards her as she backed up one step to let me stand from the bench that was pushed up in front of the full-size mirror to the left of my dresser, which was inherited from my late grandmother to my mother, to me.
Sitting on the edge of my bed, Mom looked up at me with nothing but love and encouragement. “Oh, love, it’s just your nerves, it’s completely normal to feel nervous about this... It will change your future.” Her hands rubbed circles on the top of my palms before standing to cross the room, where the dress hung from the top of the closet door.
Nodding in an attempt to shake off the nerves, Mom removed the dress from the hanger, handing it to me. “Now go change, hun, I’m going to go get dressed so when you are finished, meet us downstairs” with one last smile, she left my room, quietly shutting the door behind her. Sighing, I turn back to the dress which was a simple off white-ish, V-neck, elegant dress ending under the knees with crisscross see-through stitching four inches over the wrists. In silence, I peeled off the robe to slip on white panties and bra before moving to put on the dress, buttoning up the buttons to the V of the dress that ended an inch over the middle of the chest.
Staring at the fabric of the dress, my mind wandered to the fact that I came of age just a month ago, and today was the coming-of-age ceremony, where the newly aged males and females are told they’re official statuses amongst the pack. After the statuses are officially given, each female and male would join the hunt to celebrate their coming-of-age.
"Do you think we will find him?” Red chipped in my head suddenly with excitement scaring the crap out of me.
"Geez, Red, don’t scare me like that! Do you mean our mate?” I placed a hand on my chest like she wasn’t just jumping out at me, but in face in my head.
Attempting to calm my racing heart as I slipped on my sandals, ”Sorry, but yes, our mate." She chuckled with a wolfy grin, shaking my head at Red’s excitement because she had been waiting since our first shift, telling me about a hundred times since then. A part of me was also excited as well, dropping the rob on my bed before looking back at the mirror one last time, ”I hope so." I whispered down the mental bond while smoothing out the fabric around my legs, thinking about all the possible scenarios of ifs.
If we were to meet at the next full moon, when the alphas from other packs were to come for the annual meeting that took place once every four months, a shudder ran down my spine as my feet carried me out of the room with the light tapping of the sandals. With the door closed behind me, my older brother Alex ran down the hall to the stairs, nearly taking me down with him. “Alex! Can you slow down, please?” My voice fell silent as he yelled back a sorry over his shoulder.
Silently cursing him, I quickly walked down the stairs before something else could take me out again to where my parents were waiting for me.
Mom gasped with a smile on her face, “Oh, Lucy, you look absolutely beautiful.” Dad smiled as he took a few steps in my direction, extending his arms to hug me as I accepted his hug in his attempt not to ruin the hard work Mom did to get me ready. “Thank you, Dad” I grinned he knew all too well what would happen if he accidentally messed up Mom’s work “Your mate is gonna swoon over you, hun.” Her gentle words earned an overly protective Dad and Brother to growl, causing Mom to frown in their direction.
“As much as I want to stay here and enjoy this moment, we are gonna be late, so we must get a move on if we want to get there in time.” Mom grinned, looking at us in hopes that another pup wouldn’t sneak its way into the house again unattended. Yes, it happened before at Alex’s coming-of-age ceremony, and all hell broke loose when the pup’s Mom couldn’t find her pup. The walk to the pack house was lively as my mother scolded Alex for his behavior as a grown wolf; he could be a little overbearing at times when it came to his domain.
His wolf grows anxious to protect his den, even though Dad’s wolf would gladly remind him that the den we all lived in wasn’t his but Dad’s, a nice nudge to encourage him to extend his wings in hopes he would leave the den.
The pack house came into view, a four-story mansion, the first floor for the pack to cook, eat, and hang out together on one side of the mansion, while on the other half were meeting rooms, a gym, a movie room, library. The second story was for unmated pack members, then the third floor was for guests, leading to the fourth floor was the alpha, Luna’s and they’re pups’ floor.
Lights were strung on the trees and against the lining of the roofs, the sound of music and pack members made my wolf perk up with a slight wag of her tail. Pack members were scattered around the yard in groups, talking in different conversations or putting themselves in others’ conversations, which was gladly accepted.
Mom stopped me from walking to block my view of the pack house to get my attention. “I love you, Lucy. Remember what I said earlier,” she nodded with a smile, her eyes lit up with excitement, before letting go of my shoulders as Dad replaced her spot with a kiss on the crown of my head. “I love you as well, pup, give them hell.” A chuckle broke from his lips with a soft smile.
“I love you too, Mom, Dad... I’m not going anywhere, okay,” I say as we continue our walk to the pack house, where the alpha and Luna are climbing the stage, catching the attention of the pack.
With a smile, the alpha raised a hand. “Good afternoon, everybody. Today, we celebrate the coming-of-age of our newly turned adult wolves officially take their place to contribute to the pack and in the future hopefully grow in numbers... Now, may all the young males and females step forward to the front and get in two single-file lines by gender.” The alpha glanced over the pack before turning to the beta, who waited with two folders.
Dad gave my shoulder one last squeeze of encouragement before, with one last deep breath, I stepped away to the front through the crowd, where the females were getting in line across from the males. To my left was my friend Sarah, gripping the fabric of her dress. We exchanged words in the hope that we both get good statues before looking back to where the alpha stood. “Good,” the alpha clapped his hands, the folders tucked under his arm, before continuing, “now let us begin.. Alice, you are an omega.” he started with the first row as Sarah grabbed my hand, feeling as nervous as I was.
She had every right to be nervous, as did I, cause there was one thing that every female here hoped not to get, even prayed to the moon goddess not for; the lowest status of the pack, the breeder.
That status was something nobody here ever wanted; it wasn’t exactly a secret of what happened to the breeders, but the sad thing about it was that once you had been passed around by the unmated males of the pack and used as a birth machine. Forced into submission and always in the agonizing heat that tore through a female’s body like a raging fire, which would eventually kill you, is when you realize your fate has been changed for you, not by you.
Red nudged my mind, letting me know she was here for me as the alpha stopped in front of me with a smile like he knew something that I didn’t, as the females before me all sighed in relief once they were in the clear, causing the females after me to all hold their breaths. The males across from us were all watching before they heard their fates. Alpha Aden gave me one last look before flipping through the papers that held the results, names, and statuses of every coming-of-age person here, stopping at my name, “Lucy Glen, you are...” I watched his eyes read off the results, then slowly change from the warm gaze he would give me since I was a child. Slightly widen from their friendly gaze to something more sadistic, something that ran shivers down my spine as a grin formed on his face, it was then that I knew my fate, the ball in my stomach tightening.
“A breeder,” he finished the words I hoped to never hear.
My knees buckled, letting go of Sarah’s hand as I fell to the ground, tears forming in my eyes as gasps and whispers rose through the crowd around me, half of the pack giving me looks of pity as they already knew and accepted my fate that was actively pouring out of my hands like water, unable to hold it in or scoop it back up together as it spread, never to hold its original form. Some gave looks with fear, while others lust.
Tears rolled down my cheeks in desperation. “Alpha, that can’t be right! I-I can’t be a breeder” I pleaded with him to be wrong, hoping for him to be wrong as the sounds of cries reached my ears, where my Mom wailed as Dad held her in his arms. “I’m sorry, child, but the tests never lie...” with one look to the beta he nodded to him “take her to the breeder cabin” with that he turned away from me as a scream rose from my throat as my wolf howled in protest, heart broken that her pack was quick to give up on her.
The beta looked at a few pack warriors nodding in my direction, urging them to step forward to grab me off the ground making my Dad and brother jump forward with the urge to protect me. In the corner of my eye, I watched them get tackled to the ground by the pack and warriors in an attempt to keep them away from me. In his eyes carried betrayal, his wolf tried hard not to attack his own family, the pack. “Alpha, please! Not my baby!” Mom yelled after the alpha that walked away from us, from me. She pushed forward in an attempt to reach me as other females held her back, tears rolling down her red cheeks.
Alex was forced to the ground by the weight on his back, glaring at the alpha with so much hatred, then at his pack members who let this happen as his wolf pushed forward, growling.
Tears continued to roll down my face as I pulled and kicked against the warriors as they pulled me from the ground, my screams fell to deaf ears, while screaming in hopes they would let me go, and it would go back to how it was this morning. As they stepped closer to the open van, my Dad crawled forward despite the weight on his body, causing whispers to spread through the pack as the alpha watched the chaos and rage from my family. “Mom, Dad! Please no!” I begged the alpha, the warriors, and the pack, but all I got back from them was stares and silence from the pack that I once thought of as my family; the bond between me and them broke instantly as my wolf howled and scratched against my mind trying to get out, to protect us from what was about to be done to us.
My body was pulled through the crowd to the van that sat open and waiting parked by the pack house hidden by the bushes and trees, pushing my feet against the ground to close them made my shoes break by the force and fall off my feet causing the rocks and concrete to tear into the flesh of my feet leaving blood scraped against the ground. I was placed in the van, quickly turning my body to the door, one of the warriors made eye contact with me. “I’m sorry, Lucy” he said before the door closed. It was like my world slowed as I looked past them to my family, who cried and yelled, holding them down as their eyes never left me, and then the door closed.
