Wolfs Cry {Watty Awards 2012}

Hey guys! Yes, the story is done, but I know there are probably a lot of grammar mistakes in here so I will be editing the chapters. Maybe add some more stuff with it, change a couple of things here in there. I don't know, just depends on how the editing process goes. I'll also be editing the ending to this.. I still haven't ended it right, and I know that. :P I just ended it so that I knew it was done by the deadline for the Watty Awards. :\

Anyways, hope you all enjoy! :)

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I could feel my heart beating; it was as if it was a game of Russian roulette, but without the loaded gun. I knew that no matter what I decided at this moment I would still be part of the pack till I decided otherwise. Being daughter of the Beta made things a little more complicated. My papa's words ran through my head, "Choosing a mate is like a game of Russian roulette; you play for keeps.”

Today was my day to pick four males to be my mate - to watch them rip each other apart for me. I always wondered if this day would really be worth all the pain and death it causes, but being part of our packs rituals I had no say in whether or not they did this. What happened to picking someone because you truly love the person? This was something I had always wondered since I was a small pup.

"So my young blossoming flower," Papa said, his voice raspy from all the smoking he as done in his life, "Have you picked any candidates for me to ruff up before they have to fight?" I could see the slight smirk coming to his strong face.

I laughed at this remark; it was so like papa to act like this. 'You play for keeps' continued to echo through my head, like the sound of a woman in heels walking on a wood floor.

"I was thinking maybe I could postpone this...I need more time to decided. I have spent so much time with the girls that I have hardly gotten to know the males of the pack."

"But there are so many males, how do you even find a female that you like being around?" he asked jokingly, knowing we coincided with two other packs in the area.

"Papa!"

"What?" he asked jokingly as he nuzzled my cheek while giving me a hug, "Am I not allowed to give my daughter grief on one of the most important days of her life?"

"Papa?"

"Yes my little pup?

"What is it like being the partner to someone you hardly know...?"

"Well at first it was weird. Your mother wasn't always as easy to get along with back then, as she was when she was alive. It took getting to know her. I did grow to love your mom, as you will grow to love your mate."

"Papa, I find all of this hard to believe."

"I know sweetheart- I knew you would, it's just the way things have to be. I can talk to Alpha Xiomar and see if you can have a couple more days, but that is all he will permit, if any more time at all."

"That would be great papa, thank you."

He smiled at me softly with his perfect white teeth that always clashed with his dirty blonde stubble, like all fathers do when they realize their little baby is growing up- his blue/gray eyes tearing up as he looked down at me. I never knew that my papa would get so chocked up over this moment, but I knew it was the biggest step in a pack members’ life- so I understood.

It seemed as if months had past since my date had been changed by the pack Alpha, for some reason I would never understand. As I promised when he gave me the extra time I spent more time with each boy my age in the pack. Most of the boys my age have died in 'accidents,' but everyone knew they weren't just accidents. Stabbings during lunch, shootouts on the streets, being hunted down, and bar fights. Males my age were dwindling to a select few, and even some of our strongest were dying. It was a disturbing thought, but it was something we had to face.

It all made the pressure on me to pick a mate and try to fix everything that was happening worse. This ‘job’ seemed more like a curse and more and more like papa's analogy every day. I felt as if I had a loaded pistol with one shot, and was dwindling down to the last chambers, with only a couple more shots to go.

"So have you decided on anyone yet?" papa asked hopeful as I walked into the house, dressed as I usually was after a late night; my long blonde hair pulled back in a messy bun, and my blue/gray eyes covered in make-up. It was about three in the morning; why was he waiting up for me? I wondered to myself as I put my purse on the table.