A Bicker

It was winter and the evening air was chilly but only one person was in the woods by this time. Breeana was out for a run. Her heart was racing as her paws hit the ground in quick successions. Her dark fur shone in the moonlight as she pushed herself to go faster. 

There was one thing on her mind as she raced through the woods. She had to beat Madeleine Johnson at the next race between wolves from different packs and she refused to lose to her again. 

Breeana enjoyed competing in races but not as much as she loved winning. Her sister would have joined her in participating too, but she was too busy preparing herself to be the new Luna of Mountain Coast Pack.

Her sister, Ariana was the next Luna of the pack but it was a unique situation. Ariana wasn't the goddess-given mate of the future Alpha but they were so madly in love that it didn't matter. The pack had learned to accept it because Ariana had Beta blood, but the elders were still a bit resistant.

Bree really felt bad for Reece's mate, though. She wondered how terrible and complicated the situation would become when Reece finally found his mate.

Bree, get home now, her mom mind linked her.

I'm coming, mom, she replied.

She pushed herself to go faster as she made her way home. She shifted behind a tree, put on her black sweatpants and blue tank top before heading into her home.

The smell of her mother's cooking made its way to her nostrils as she closed the door behind her with a loud thud.

"Are you trying to break into the house?" her mother hollered from the kitchen.

"It was the wind, mom!" she replied.

"Go and have a shower. Your father is returning with the Alpha for dinner."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, you have to! And please wear a formal outfit for once."

"Fine, mom."

After a nice long shower, she changed her clothes, put on a nice top and slacks, which was going against her mother's instructions but she didn't care. She curled the ends of her hair before she headed downstairs for dinner.

"Dad!" she exclaimed as soon as she saw her father.

She ran to him and gave him a big hug. He had been away for pack business for nearly two weeks.

Turning to the Alpha, she bowed her head to show respect for him. "Alpha," she said.

"No need for that, Bree. We're all family here."

"Yeah, Anna, we're all family here," said the pompous jerk who was her soon to be brother-in-law.

Reece Gavin happened to be the love of her sister's life and her future Alpha. Bree had been dealing with him for as long as she could remember. He was her brother's best friend and her sister's boyfriend, but with her, it was a whole other story.

They never got along and it made no sense since he got along perfectly with the other Connor siblings. Personally, she didn't like him. To her, he was way too handsome and his ego was massive.  

Reece and Ariana always had this romance kindling in between them since they were little and Bree knew he wouldn't give up until he won over her sister. Bree was glad that she had someone like him looking out for her sister. The girl had endured enough pain to last a lifetime.

"Don't call me that, Reece," she said and  rolled her eyes. 

Perhaps it was disrespectful to roll your eyes at the future alpha but he was also her future brother-in-law so she just pushed that fact aside.

"What? Isn't Anna your name?"

"Ugh!"

She grabbed a pillow from the couch,  leaned over and chucked it straight at him. He smiled and she noticed how good looking he was. She was caught off-guard because she had been thinking about Reece's handsome face that she didn't even realize the pillow was being chucked at her.

"Ouch!" she exclaimed as the pillow hit her square in the face. "You're definitely not getting out of this, Reece." She stood up menacingly and headed over to his direction.

"Breeana and Reece, cut it out!" her mother yelled.

"She started it!"

"No, he did!"

"It's like they're still children," her father said.

"You'd think he would be more mature considering his alpha title is only two years away from now," Alpha Sean said.

"Screw this! I'm out!" Reece said, slamming the backyard door shut on his way out.

"I apologize for his behavior. It's just that after Elise's death he hasn't been himself," Alpha Sean said, apologizing for his son's behavior.

Luna Elise passed away three years ago. She was the light of the pack, and her luminous glow spread to every corner and their park thrived. Luna Elise was exactly what she needed to be: a Luna, a protector, a mother, a lover, and a giver. Her fierce nature made her such an enjoyable person and she was the person who kept the Alpha in check.

They truly were a match made in heaven. What Alpha Sean lacked, she had, and what she lacked he had. They were perfect and it was every wolf's dream to have a love life like that.

Then on one day, she died trying to protect the pack members during a particularly deadly war. Sadly, her passing left a void in the pack and though they had all moved on, a sadness still lingered. 

It was present in the Alpha's eyes as he went about his daily activities in the pack. It was present in Reece's eyes when he was reminded of what he lost. In fact, it was present in all of them.

"This is the problem I'm talking about, Arthur. He needs his mate," the Alpha remarked.

"What? Are you saying my daughter isn't good enough?" Arthur said, defending Ariana but he knew he too was not the biggest fan of the union either. 

He and his wife had always emphasized the importance of having true mates to all of their children.

"Of course not. Ariana will be a fabulous Luna, but he needs his mate. Someone to keep him in check to tame his wolf, and I don't know if you've noticed but Ariana isn't what he needs."

A growl erupted from her father's throat. Growling at the Alpha was not allowed and the Alpha called him to check.

"Arthur!"

Arthur Connor bowed his head, showing his submission. They might have been best friends but the only person equal to the Alpha was the Luna.

"So Breeana, how do you feel about turning eighteen soon?" Alpha Sean asked in an effort to change the topic of conversation.

Many people in the pack had asked this same question to Bree many times, so much that she was tired of hearing it. She didn't care that her mate would be able to sense her now that her true scent would be coming out after her eighteenth birthday.

Her life goals were simple. She wanted to go to school to be a doctor and open her own clinic near the pack so that she would be able to treat her pack members. To her, a mate would only complicate things and she didn't have time for that.

"I don't really feel anything, to be honest," she answered.

"You don't really feel anything? You could find your mate."

"I don't want a mate."

"But you're a female, Breeana, and you need a male to survive. Specifically your mate."

She almost growled at the Alpha but she was able to keep it in check at the last moment. In ranking, an Alpha wolf was higher than that of a Beta but her wolf didn't want to back down. Shar was a stubborn wolf as well as a strong one. 

"My daughter does not need a male to survive. She is perfectly capable on her own. After all, she is a Connor," her dad said, clenching the fork tightly in his hands.

"I didn't mean to offend you. It's just..."

"Let's end this conversation right here, Sean," Bree's dad said.

***

Breeana stood beside her window,  looking at the night sky as she imagined how her birthday party would go down. A big party was being thrown for her and Ariana. Technically, the big party was supposed to be for only Bree since she was the one turning eighteen but she and Ariana shared the same birthday date so they always had their birthdays together. Bree herself had shared Ariana's big party when her sister turned eighteen just the year before this one.

Their mother had always been one for grand things and had begun all the planning a month ago. She loved organizing big parties, expensive balls, luxury dinners, and they all went with lavish decors.

However, these materialistic values were not passed down to the youngest Connor. Breeana enjoyed dressing up and primping, but she didn't enjoy having all the attention on her.

She could already imagine the grueling task of having to fake smiles and talk about what a joy it was to turn eighteen on her birthday.

Though she wanted to focus on the idea of the party, questions started swirling in her mind, so much that she stopped to think.

Would she find her mate? What would happen to Reece and Ariana if Reece found his true mate?

Bree wasn't ready for a mate. Most males wanted a pup at the female's very first heat and Bree did not want a pup anytime soon. 

Then her Alpha's questions came to her mind. Could she survive without a mate? A female's heat could be deadly without the presence of her mate. She had even heard that sometimes wolves stopped interacting with their human forms if rejection occured.

Could she live without Shar? She couldn't bear the thought of that. Shar was her other half, the second part of her. A life without her would be like a life alone.

She didn't need all the complications that having a mate brought. She just wanted to enjoy her last month as a seventeen year- old. A girl with no worries and no problems at all. A girl with no mate. 

She just wanted to be Breeana Connor, the she wolf of Beta blood who could take down some of the toughest wolves in her pack.