Fate Decides

Chapter Four

I make my way to the courtyard, where the pack meeting before the mating ceremony will take place. Everyone from my class is here, most of them unhappy about being required to participate in the ceremony. Usually, we start going to the ceremony six months after our seventeenth birthday, but nobody likes being told what to do.

I have just found a place to stand when the Alpha walks onto the porch of the pack house. The raised patio gives him an easier view of all of us, which I do not think is necessarily a good thing, seeing as almost all of my classmates are glaring at him.

"Welcome, everyone! Tonight is the night when all of you will find your mate, but this ceremony is a lot riskier than any one before it. You are all to remain inside pack lands. The fences are almost finished, but there are still some sections that have not been completed. Because of this, everyone here is to remain on guard. You all know the rules of the ceremony. Omegas and Betas will all start their heat at midnight, this is when the ceremony will begin. Alphas will be able to smell their mate as soon as midnight rolls around, which is when the moon will hit its highest peak. When an Alpha smells their mate, it will send them into their rut. This will last the whole night, so everyone, please make sure to stay safe, and watch out for any potential threats."

The Alpha looks at his watch and then to the small crowd gathered before him. "Omegas and Betas, it is time for you to start the ceremony," he says with a smile.

It must be eleven, the time at which we are sent out. Omegas and Betas are supposed to be released before the Alphas for many reasons. One, it allows Omegas to find a safe place to mate and sleep throughout their heat. Second, an alpha's wolf spirit grows stronger having to search for their mate, rather than just being paired up with them. That is why we have this ceremony in the first place; it makes all of our wolf spirits stronger to participate in it.

Looking around, I notice Luna standing on the porch next to the Alpha, holding my sisters in her arms. I give her a small wave before making my way into the forest. Walking over logs and underneath low hanging tree branches, I find the perfect spot to spend the night. It is a small meadow that is concealed by trees on three sides, and a small pond on the other. It has taken me about a half an hour to find this place. Now all I have to do is wait another half an hour for my mate to start their search.

Making myself comfortable, I lay back in the soft grasses and manage to fall into a light sleep. Dreams of my mother are tormenting me when a crack of a branch wakes me up. Thinking it is my mate, I sit up and look around. My eyes catch on something stumbling towards me. Only when it is about fifteen feet away do I realize it is an infected.

Running as silently as I can, I make my way over to a tall tree with low hanging branches. I am just climbing up into the tree when I feel something grab my leg. Looking down, I see eyes dripping blood, and a cracked and peeling hand holding onto me. Startled, I fall out of the tree and start yelling as loud as I can, hoping for someone to find me before it is too late.

*****

I am standing in the courtyard when the most delicious scent hits my nose. Looking at my brother, I notice his eyes are closed. He must smell it, too. We always knew we would have the same mate, but we have never wanted to find them before now. Quickly, we make our way into the forest, following the scent through the dense undergrowth. Erik and I have been walking for about twenty minutes when we hear yelling.

"Help! Help! Somebody help me!" Erik looks over at me, and we both take off towards the voice. The dense underbrush in the forest makes it difficult to run towards the person in need, but we somehow manage to make it to the frantic voice.

We stumble into a meadow surrounded by trees when we see an infected hovering over someone who is trying to fend it off with a tree branch. The person is lying on the ground, the branch they are holding is half embedded in the chest of the infected, but its arms are still reaching at the trembling figure.