Just Had To Be You

Avie

"Happy 18th Birthday, Avie!!!" My older brother, Isaac, yelled as he jumped up and down on my bed. I swear, even though he is nineteen, he acts like he is five years old! I groaned and rolled over, pulling my pillow over my head and mumbled a sleepy, "Go, away."

"Oh come on, Avie! Get up!!! You find your mate today!!" he yelled and proceeded to drag me out of my bed. I rolled my eyes, but let him pull me along anyway.

I have to admit, I was somewhat excited. Finding your mate is, supposedly, one of the best feelings in the world. If you are confused, let me explain... Me, my family -apart from my mother -, and most of the town, are werewolves. No, we are not big, hairy half-man-half-wolves that stand on two legs. No, we are just normal people, who happen to turn into giant, full grown, wolves; and as wolves, we have mates. Mates, I guess, would be the equivalent to a soulmate to human. They're the one you are destined to be with.

In most packs, this means a Moonlight Ritual. A girls moonlight ritual is something like a coming-of-age party. It celebrates her turning 18 and that she is now old enough in, werewolf society, to bear pups. The ritual takes happens in 3 steps; first is, of course, the actual celebration of the girls birthday, next, just before midnight, the she-wolf coming of age, the Alpha and any unmated males in the pack gather in a predetermined area - in this case, the training grounds - to see if any of the males are destined to be with the newly eighteen year old she-wolf. Finally, is the actual mating and marking. To humans, the mark just looks like a tattoo, but for a wolf, it mixes the scents of the mated pate and marks them off limits. Some complicated shit I know.

"Fine!!! I'm up! Damn it, Isaac!" I yelled at him and got up off of the floor where he had dropped me. He laughed and left me to get ready for school. I pulled on a pair of white jean shorts, a blue tank top, a black blazer and matched it with a pair of black combat boots. I rolled the sleeves to the blazer up and ran my fingers through my hair, giving it a bit more volume - not that if really needed it. I put on a little mascara and lip gloss then looked at myself in the mirror.

I guess, I'm what you would call 'normal looking'. I stood at about 5'8" and my dark brown hair failed to my waist and soft waves. My ink-blue eyes stood out against my slightly tanned skin, and were rimmed thick, dark lashes. I wasn't anorexic but I wasn't that either, I was right in the middle with a fairly curvy shape. In all, I would say I liked my body.

I grabbed my bag and walked down the stairs into the kitchen, where my mom, dad, and Isaac sat at the table, eating breakfast. "Morning, Honey," my dad said, walking over to me. He gave me a hug and kissed my temple, "Happy Birthday."

I smiled at my dad and hugged him back, "Thanks, dad," I said and sat down in between him and Isaac. "Mom," I grunted and nodded my head in her direction. She turned and looked at me, but then turned back around and continued to wash the dishes.

Me and my mom didn't exactly have the best relationship. Since she wasn't a werewolf, she had hoped that the gene had passed over me. But it didn't. When I shifted for the first time, she looked at me with disgust in her eyes and turned on me and walked away, while her only daughter was writhing on the floor in pain because of my first shift. I have hated her ever since.

I finished my breakfast and picked up my bag from where it was sitting on the floor and went out into the garage. I hopped onto my baby - my 2014 Yamaha YZF - R6 street bike - and sped out of the driveway and to my school, Mount. Wells High.