I wake up to the sound of my room's door being banged loudly by my mother. She is upset that I went to the Luna with our personal family dispute but then she was the one who was just adamant about me and Aztec not being mates and leaving me with no other option than to seek the Luna's advice.
"Wake up Sierra. The Alpha has called a pack meeting at 6 am before all the young wolves leave for the Neutral territory. You need to be present for it." Says my mother before leaving.
frown thinking about this pack meeting. What would be the reason for such an emergency meeting? I did not know that there were other wolves joining me for the training. Great! Now I will have to deal with the other pack wolves whom I do not like. Being my classmates or rather my old friends who stopped talking to me because I am dating the Alpha's son, they never fail to pass snide remarks about me.
"Sierra, I thought you were awake. Get out of your bed and freshen up for your journey," my mom calls from the kitchen. I can hear her clearly due to my enhanced hearing.
"Yes mom. I am almost ready," I shout back and get out of my bed forgetting about those rude people.
I shower and wear my clothes which is one of Aztec's sweatshirts and a pair of faded blue jeans. I Feel a little better that I have his scent on me so I can face all those people and their snarky comments.
I head downstairs towards the kitchen and all of sudden realise that I will not return back to this place tonight but after a year that too for a short vacation if I'm really Aztec's mate. I see my mom placing the plates on the table and I rush to give her a hug.
"I am sorry mom. I shouldn't have been such a brat regarding the mate issue. It is just that all this negativity is making me very defensive about Aztec and my relationship," I cry as I finish my sentence realising that no one thinks that I am Aztec's mate.
"We would be the happiest parents in the world to see you be mates with Aztec as he is the one you love, my darling. We just want you to be happy and not adamant about things which are yet only a possibility. Time will tell whether you are mates or not. Till then concentrate on your training and make friends from other packs. It helps strengthen pack ties and as a Beta's daughter it is your duty and honour, right?" asks my mother all the while caressing my face and cuddling me.
"Yes mom, I will be a sensible beta daughter." I sniffle still in my mom's arms not wanting to let her go.
"Come on now, let's finish our breakfast otherwise we will be late for the pack meeting." Mom ushers me towards the table and I sit taking in the big breakfast in front of me. My mother has prepared all the favourite breakfast dishes for me. This makes me cry more but I somehow control my emotions and start eating.
In the meeting hall of our pack, we are all standing facing towards the Alpha and the Luna to begin with the meeting.
"Good morning everyone. Thank you for arriving on time for this sudden meeting. Today, 5 of our last young wolves will be leaving for their training program to the neutral territory. We have gathered here today to wish them good luck and give our blessings so that they may find their mates and complete their training successfully," begins the Alpha.
"We all know that because of the excessive human population, we werewolves have a very small amount of land territory available for our packs to grow and also to maintain the secrecy of our existence. Along with this, the war amongst the royal family members caused a heavy decline in the werewolf population as all the packs were involved in that war. This war happened two decades ago and we have observed that no wolf has been able to breed in these two decades. The amount of mating ceremonies has also reduced to just 1 to 2 matings per year in the entire wolf community. Our numbers are decreasing due to lack of breeding and increasing rogue attacks every year. The purpose of your training is for you to know other pack wolves as well as to be a warrior in cases of a rogue attack or ......, "
The Alpha pauses before finishing his sentence and looks at the Luna. It is clear that they are having a telepathic conversation and definitely hiding something from us young wolves. All other adults of the pack seem to know what the Alpha was talking about as they are all restless around us.
I am standing between my parents directly besides the Alphas as we are the beta family. I see that my parents are also anxious all of a sudden after hearing the Alphas announcement.
"Okay, please pay attention. The five young wolves Sierra, Alexandria, Joshua, Caleb and Kaden, please come forward," says the Alpha changing the topic.
I Leave my parents' side and go ahead to stand in front of the Alpha couple. Alexandria comes to stand beside me on my left and I look at her just in time to see her scowl at me. I ignore her and pay attention to the Alpha.
"From now on you will be trainee wolves and not just a Samara pack wolf. Keeping that in mind I expect you all to behave appropriately and not bring any harm to the pack's name in the werewolf world. I want assurance that you will treat other pack members with the same camaraderie and respect as you will with your own packmate," says the Alpha.
"Yes Alpha," we all reply in unison.
"May the goddess bless you all. You all can leave now. Delta Alex will accompany you all till the gates of the training territory as you do not know the way there. I hope nobody causes a problem on the way." The Alpha is sternly looking at me and Alexandria. Everyone knows about our brawls and verbal abuse.
"Yes Alpha," we say once again and move towards the east border of our pack territory. The neutral territory is said to be in the exact centre of all the packs in Recrania.
We all say our goodbyes to our parents, I hug my father remembering our fun memories. My father hugs me and kisses my forehead whispering a "We will miss you, princess" and I control my tears and rush out of his arms before I start crying again to stand behind the delta who will lead us to the neutral territory.
I fold my clothes neatly and pack them in my small bag, the one which I put around my neck.
One by one we shift in our wolf form. The shifting requires hardly a minute. The faster you shift, the better warrior you will become. The training to shift fast is given by the Alpha and Beta themselves to ensure that every pack wolf gets trained appropriately. The further training will be given by the elders.
Most of our pack wolves have grey or blond shades of coat. I have a light grey coat whereas Alexandria has a light blond (yellowish) shaded coat. Joshua, Caleb and Kaden have different shades of grey in their coats. Delta Alex has a light blond coat like Alexandria as they are relatives.
"Follow me closely pups as we will be in the neutral territory where we might come across some rogues. Be alert to your surroundings. Girls behind me and the boys behind the girls. This will be the arrangement during the entire journey. Is that clear?" asks the Delta.
"Yes sir," we reply and he takes off at a moderate speed to help us get used to the speed. We do have vehicles for transportation but our Alpha insists that we learn to travel in our wolf forms. It's sad but I am not complaining as bad as Alexandria is.
The way to the neutral territory is clear with a few human settlements but we will skirt past them. If we continue at a faster speed throughout our journey with small breaks, we will reach within two days tops.
I want to be done with this journey so I can get rid of Alexandria's constant scowling and snarling. Also, I have greater chances of meeting Aztec if we reach sooner at the training grounds. With this thought in mind, I rush behind the Delta who is almost a mile ahead of us.
It is Sunday evening and we have reached the gates of the training territory. It is right in the middle of nowhere. There is a huge forest behind this training school and beyond this forest there seems to be endless mountain ranges. We are literally at the entrance, that is, we cannot see inside the training school. I wonder what happens in this training school. Do they brainwash us against the human societies? I chuckle at my own joke but hide it with a cough when Alexandria glares at me.We arrived here an hour ago but the guards kept us waiting saying that we would be granted permission only when someone comes to receive us from inside the training school. Sounds weird and creepy."Why are we told to wait here, uncle? Can't we wait inside where it would be a lot more comfortable rather than being observed like a bunch of guinea pigs by these guards?" whines Alexandria making me roll my eyes at her spoiled brat behaviour.'One of the elder's apprentice will come to receive you all
FENRIS"Good morning, warriors. I have called this meeting to inform you that we are receiving 6 new and probably the last generation of young wolves who will begin their warrior training from tomorrow. I expect you all to behave appropriately with these pups as they are new in this school and its rules, so no bullying around. Is that clear?" instructs Elder Aamruq to us apprentices."Yes Sir," we all reply together in a military-like tone."What do you think about these trainees?" asks my best friend Connor, sulking, and I know why he is asking about the trainees."You will know if you are going to find your mate, Lupe. According to what elder Raoul said our wolves recognise the presence of our mate before us. So, if your mate is one of these trainees, then your wolf must have definitely been anxious. Is it?" ask him."I don't know. My wolf is always sulking nowadays. Everybody here says that the number of mating has decreased due to lack of new births. I have started thinking that m
FENRISI stealthily enter the library avoiding any passer-by wolves to focus on the task at hand. The librarian is sitting at her usual desk filing in the regular entries and book deliveries. I greet her and go sit on my usual spot. Taking a random book, I try to look engrossed in it as much as my acting skills support me.There are 2 wolves, Lycidas and Caliana sitting in the far corner of the library, all cozy and cuddling. I quickly turn away from them to avoid interrupting their alone time as well as to stop yearning about being with my mate."Soon, Fenris, soon you will be with your mate!" I chastise myself. I should stop thinking about her for 2 minutes to finish this simple work at hand.I try to sense the emotions around myself. I have three people around me and every single one of them seems to be doing their own thing with no care about me.That's good. Very good. I can enter the Archive and get what I want and exit without being seen by anyone. I quickly move to one of the
SIERRAThe blaring alarm wakes me up from my sleep. I did not sleep well at all. The entire night I dreamt about a black wolf with dark blue eyes. The blue eyes felt very familiar but I am sure that I do not know who that black wolf was. That's the reason why I kept waking up in the middle of the night. If I come across this werewolf, I am surely going to have his head on a platter for destroying my beauty sleep. Because of him I am going to look so ugly on the first day of my training.I look around myself. I am on my bed in the room I now share with my roomie. She is not here meaning she must be in her training. She sure is weird. The entire time I was with Aztec last night, she and her brother were constantly poking in their heads to stop us from having some alone time. I desperately needed it. I will deal with her later. Right now, I need to focus on looking at least a little bit presentable for my first day of training.I take a quick shower and dress in the uniform given to each
SIERRA"That means, you recognise me. Right, my mate?", he asks and that question wakes me up from my daze."WHAT?""All these sparks we feel whenever we touch skin on skin is the first indication of us being mates. It's okay to be surprised," says Fenris twirling the stray strand of my hair, completely forgetting the fact that my expression screams shock and not surprise."No .. No .. Sir. You are mistaken. I am not your mate. I cannot be your mate. I do not feel the mate bond." I say getting angry at this person who is trying to take advantage of me. I quickly move out of his grasp.He doesn't say anything so I look up to see what's got his tongue tied when he realises that his attempt of fooling me is failing. He has a frown on his face and appears to be deep in thought.Out of nowhere I feel like I should do something to erase that look from his face. I unconsciously reach out to touch the frown line on his face but quickly snap out of my daze and take a step back away from him.
SIERRA"Hey, what do you want on your birthday?" I ask Aztec.We are sitting in the dining hall having dinner. So far, dinner is the only time where I enjoy being in this training school. I get to meet Aztec here and be away from the prying eyes of a particular apprentice."As long as I have the chances of meeting my mate on my birthday, I do not wish for any other gifts," he says having a dreamy look on his face.My heart swells with the love I have for him. He thinks so highly of his mate. He would be so delighted to find that we are true mates. I am not a seer but I have the gut feeling that something life changing is going to happen on his birthday. I can't wait to see his expression when he finds out.It has been a week since that freaky incident. Since then, Fenris has kept out of my business. I find him staring at me occasionally but apart from that, I haven't seen him much. It's a huge relief that I haven't seen him in the dining hall especially because I get to meet Aztec onl
SIERRA"Open the door Sierra. We have to get ready to go to Aztec's birthday party," yells Tatiana standing outside our room.It is now 5 pm in the evening which means that the party for Aztec's birthday will start in an hour. I still cannot believe the fact that Aztec is not my mate but I am not dumb to know that those two were not lying about their claim of being mates.I do not want to go to this party but it would be considered as an insult if I do not go to celebrate a fellow wolf's birthday that is also my pack's future alpha. His mate will also be there standing beside him, the proud mate. Thinking about it brings tears to my already swollen eyes. I try to control my tears but I fail and start to sob silently."Okay now I am tired of waiting outside the room and listening to you sob relentlessly. I can smell your tears from here babe. Let me in. I might be able to help you with whatever you are upset about," she says and I know that she won't stop until I tell her what has ma
FENRIS"Any other wolf who claims to have found their mate?" asks elder Raoul as he looks first at Sierra and then at me. That day I had tried to form a soundproof bubble around us but elder Raoul, being able to wield magic himself, must have heard bits and pieces of our conversation.I try to control my urge to shout out and claim my mate here in front of everyone but I control my wolf and my urges. I promised her time till her birthday which means I have to wait for almost a year.It becomes unbearable to hear the greetings and congratulations the new found mates receive. My animalistic urges are much harder because we had to wait for our mate for 3 years and now, she rejected us.I curl my hands into fists and grit my teeth with a force so as to push my wolf in the back of my mind but fail immediately when we feel her eyes on us. Fuck! I can't control myself. I might mark her here if she stares at us with that sad and broken aura around her.I quickly make my way out of the hall a