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The day has finally arrived! To gain some respect like every adult usually does and a little bit of freedom to boot. The authority to venture outside of pack lands, just my friends and I. It’s not that I don’t love spending time with my twin brother and parents, it’s just I am never alone. I mean at all. Someone is always with me whether it’s to town or just a few miles away to my friends. I constantly have a shadow. I know my family loves me and all but really? I’m an eighteen-year-old female that needs a little privacy at times, even if it’s just ten or fifteen minutes a day.
My closest friends and I are going on a week-ish long road trip to check out some sights, unchaperoned. Anywhere that is far away from the Black Hills and constant shadows is fine by me but I would love to check out Florida and the east coast! The girls are too stoked to even care we’re just gonna drive until we find someplace that looks cool and interesting.
My name is Tasha Youngblood and my two best friends are Kiree and Cinnamon (Cinn for short). We have known each other since my family moved into the Black Hills when I was five. We clicked and since then have become inseparable.
My mother’s dad and brother got hurt in an attack on the pack and we had to move here to help care for them. A few days after being here my uncle passed away from fatal silver poisoning. We were all in shock and the older wolves wanted revenge, but my mother calmed everyone down and diffused the situation. Now that my uncle was dead with no mate or heirs and grandpa was still immobile, my mom was named alpha of Black Mountain Pack- the first ever female alpha in any pack I might add!
For the most part everyone accepted her title with enthusiasm and respect but there are always those chauvinistic assholes that think women are beneath them and are only made for taking care of the needs of their mates and of course breeding. Alpha Sherry sure has changed the ways those imbeciles think now!
Oh, by the way my mom’s pack, our pack, is the strongest out of all the 8 packs in the United States. My mom left her pack when she met her mate (my dad, Simon) and went to live with my dad’s pack the Pacific Coast pack. That was about 19 years ago but when they moved back to the Black Mountain Pack my mother made our pack the BIGGEST and strongest pack in the US!
Alpha Sherry is known for not taking shit from anyone, including rogues who if ever are seen in our territory with no good reason are killed instantly (a rogue attack is what killed her brother and disfigured her dad). Don’t get me wrong, she lets them answer a few questions first but if they are lying or seem up to something they die. I know it seems callous but it’s our way of survival.
My brother and I have a very strict schedule we must stick to. Before school we sit down with mom and go over pack business and any news then after school, we always have a few hours of vigorous training then we wind down with some more schooling, this time about pack history and any alliances we might have.
We also have to learn about each of the eight alphas and their families plus about their packs. I have so much pack knowledge in my head I can’t seem to think about normal things, girl things like what to wear or how my hair looks. I read and listen to music in my spare time (the fifteen minutes I get nightly that I sneak when I am supposed to be sleeping).
There are always other teens at the house joking and kidding around but I never get that luxury, I get to study and train, then repeat.
After finally shifting for the first time, I thought things would change, maybe my parents would lighten up some. Boy was I wrong, it got worse. If that’s even possible. The studies doubled, and my training now includes fighting skills that not even our most advanced warriors have. It seems my brother has more free time while I have less. Although we are twins, mom said we will share the title unless one of us backs down. I would gladly back down for my brother to become alpha, but he seems distracted lately and flees to town as much as he can, which must be nice. I am not allowed that luxury, ever. I guess it’s up to me to uphold the family name and become a great alpha. Ugh… why can’t my brother get his act together. I want my freedom too.
With this trip and time away from my parents, training, and lessons I plan to forget all about packs, alphas and studying and think about sun, water and being lazy.
