The beggining
I sat there staring at the beautiful sunset. Somehow it felt different than every other time, I have sat here in the banks of this river, deep in the forest, this very same spot. I have watched hundreds of sunsets here.
This was my place, I came here, when I needed to think, when i needed space from everything, before I made any important decision, I just came here. This was my place, my safe haven, here I was just me.
Me, my thoughts and my dear wolf, Sia. Here I am not the daughter of the Alpha Moon River pack, not the baby sister of the future Alpha, not the warrior in training, just Saskia. I love all those titles, I love all those parts. but sometimes it really gets overwhelming and I just needed a break.
Mostly I come here alone, but I have shared this space, with my brother, Arrow and of course, my dear friend Cathy, I don't know what I would without them, they are my support system, they mean everything to me.
I just sit staring as the water glistens, if I am honest with myself I feel a little anxious, I turn 21 tomorrow, in our world that is a very important benchmark. We age very differently than humans do, we are born when our moms are 4 months pregnant, we get to talk with our wolves as we enter our teens, it differs from wolf to wolf, I heard Sia when I turned 12 and that was the best birthday present. Though we are born with our wolves we can only shift on the full moon after we turn 18.
18 is a big milestone and a celebration, every full moon, it is someone's first shift. We, as a pack are a community, we always have each others back, we celebrate as one. So each full moon calls for a pack night, mostly a huge amount of food and light drinks. All those of us that shift run together. These are the moments that we wolves cherish, being free in the woods with all our dear ones.
Hitting 21 is different, that is when you can meet your soul mate, the one true fated mate that the moon goddess herself chose. Its the most sacred bond. But not all of us meet our mates on our birthdays, it only happens for a few lucky ones that have their mate in the same pack. Or if they are the Alpha heir, A ball of sorts is hosted for wolves over 21 on the day the future Alpha turns 21, so as to increase the chance of the future Alpha finding the future Luna.
That is how my brother met his mate, Linda Lupin, the daughter of Beta of Blood moon pack, our neighbor and ally. It was everything a wolf dreams of, they found each other that night and have been inseparable. Linda is a really sweet women and will make a great Luna one day.
I have always looked forward for the day I would finally meet my mate. Having heard so many stories about how the mate bond completes a person, and watching so many people so in love with their one, I really want to meet my fated mate.
Though it has become a common practice for wolves to take chosen mates, I really want to experience the mate bond. The sparks, the perfect scent of comfort, the warmth, the perfect match.
But today, I feel anxious, what if I find him in another pack? how can I leave behind my family, my friends? what if I don’t meet him? What if he has already taken a chosen mate? what if he didn't believe in fated mate?
"Don't worry Saskia, we will find him tomorrow"
"We don't know that Sia. There is a very huge chance that we don't meet him tomorrow, we might never meet him"
"We will, just trust me!"
So now I have to wait and see. But somehow I think, after tomorrow, nothing will ever be the Same.
