5 years old… “Forty-eight…Forty-nine…Fifty. Ready or not, here I come!” I call out to my friends, Devin, Zak, and Brandon. We’re in the woods behind the packhouse, a place that we go all the time to play, especially when our mommies are having their weekly picnic lunch at the edge of the forest. Mommy, and Luna Clara, and Auntie Lauren, and Auntie Christine get together every Tuesday at lunch to discuss pack business. They are important she-wolves in our pack because they are mated to our daddies, who are in charge of the pack. I think that it’s really cool that the she-wolves have important things to do, too. But, I don’t really want my mommy’s job. She works with the younger wolves, the ones that are getting ready to turn or have just gotten their wolves. I want to be like Daddy. He’s a warrior, the best one in our pack. Nobody can beat Daddy, not even Alpha Jared. That’s what I want to do when I grow up. That’s why I’m glad that Alpha Jared said that I would take Dad

Age 13… “Dude, did you hear that fart that Rosetti let out when he went to the board? I thought that he was gonna float off of the floor?” I say, laughing my ass off as Brandon and I walk through the woods, headed towards our favorite spot, the waterfall. We’re going to meet Dev and Charlie after Dev finishes up with his group for a project and Charlie finishes with cheerleading. “I know, right?! And he just acted like it didn’t happen. Like he wasn’t in a room of teenage werewolves that would have heard it. I almost pissed myself trying not to laugh!” Brandon guffaws, having to stop and lean against a tree as he tries to catch his breath. “I think that Dev did!” That just sends Brandon into another bout of laughter which takes several minutes for him to get himself together long enough for us to keep walking. We finally get walking again, talking about random shit: the math test we had on Monday, our group project that he and I were paired for and had already finished, and

Age 16… Gus takes a wild swing at me, but I block it and push him away from me. “Stop playing with him, Charlie! Knock him the fuck out. I wanna get to the dining hall before all of Maisie’s hummingbird cake is gone!” Brandon screams at me. I smile, though it’s more of a baring of teeth at my opponent. I know that I can take Gus easily, but I have a rule that I go by. I don’t start the beat down until they land a legitimate blow. Once that’s landed, all bets are off. “Get him to actually land a punch and then I’ll get you to Maisie’s cake in record time, Brandon!” “Bitch!” Gus growls out at me. There’s a low growl from the sidelines and we both look at Zak as his wolf flickers in his eyes. I got this, I mindlink to him. All three of my best friends and I have gotten our wolves within the last six months and they sometimes show up with very little provocation. Though, it has never taken much for Zak to come to my aid if someone says even the slightest negative thing about

17 years old… Zak! It’s a wailing through the mindlink that wakes me out of a dead sleep. Normally, mindlinks are cut for us when sleeping unless there is an urgency to it, like an attack or a summons from the alpha. But the level in this wail is so painfilled, so desperate, that it breaks through. It takes me a second to realize what woke me, but by then, I’ve already gotten another link. Zak! I need you! It’s Brandon. He’s panicking, sounds like he’s crying. Brandon? Where are you? Are you ok? What’s going on? Questions are popping out a mile a minute, but I’m already jumping out of bed and pulling shorts on. I’m at the waterfall. They’re dead, Zak! Mom and Candy. They’re dead! I fly down the packhouse stairs and run outside. The second I feel the fresh air, I shift. Fuck the shorts. Honestly, fuck everything that isn’t Brandon. I need to get to him as fast as I possibly can. I tear through the forest, making the 20 minute hike in less than 10. I fe

Age 20… “Are you sure this is something that you want to do, Charlie?” Adam asks me. He keeps trying to talk me out of it. Says that it’s really hard for those that truly love to be dominated to become a switch and become the dominant. But something within me is telling me that I need to do it. That my matebond will require it. “I’ve told you, Adam. I think that the Goddess is telling me that my mate and I will need for me to be a switch. Him as well.” I look up at him, fluttering my eyelashes as I rest my head on his chest. “And I’ve only got a year until I can find my mate, my sweet dom. I need to learn as much as I can before that.” He chuckles down at me, placing an affectionate kiss on my forehead. “Well, I guess that takes me out of the running for being your mate, pet. I will be the only dominant in my bedroom” His hand runs up my bare side, moving to the see-through lace of my bra. He takes my nipple between his fingers, twisting and pulling it until I moan.