- Tuesday, June 3rd, 5:33 pm -
- Xanthippe's pov -
I jogged along with my older sister and younger brother, keeping in perfect pace with them as we made our way through the woods. Usually I would have been in the in the back, disregarding all exercise, but today the Alpha and Luna, our parents, were watching us.
Xena, my 20 year old sister, stood strong and proud, much to my annoyance. It wasn't a secret that she was incredibly beautiful with long blonde hair and blue eyes that matched our fathers. She was also very smart, bossy, and stuck up. It was hard to believe that we were siblings sometimes.
Xac, our 16 year old brother, was anything but the little angel our parents thought him to be. Of course, when they were looking he'd do nothing to displease them. But the second they turned around all hell broke loose. I blamed it on his ginger hair and piles of freckles, which he had gotten from our mom.
I, on the other hand, was a free spirit. I didn't have to be the perfect Luna-to-be like Xena, or as bratty as Xac. I was free, which was something that my parents didn't want their children to be.
Lost in thought, I hadn't noticed that I had begun to slow down, luckily Xena grabbed my arm and yanked me forward again. "Move it, Xanthippe," she growled at me, which was something my wolf and I didn't like.
I growled right on back at her, yanking my arm from her grasp. "It's just Xan," I told her and we came to a stop in front of our parents. The rest of the teens and kids in our pack were right behind us.
"Good job, teen pack members," our mother said, a smile on her face as she looked over to us. "As you all know, the Running is Friday night and I expect most, if not all, of you to find your mates." She looked up to our dad, who was staring down at her lovingly.
I rolled my eyes and looked away towards the pack house. I could smell the delicious food already and I just wanted them to stop talking so we could go eat.
The Running was held every year at the Head Council as a mating ceremony. It was like a 'fun game' where the she-wolves would run into the forest and the males-wolves would run in after them and find their mates. It was like a competition to see which male could catch his mate first.
I was still looking over at the pack house when I heard my father say my name. "Xanthippe," I flinched as well as everyone else at his harsh voice. "Come over here, the Luna and I need to have a talk with you."
I stopped my eyeroll as he presented him and my mother as the Alphas instead of my parents. I walked over to them, my eyes staring jealousy at the people who were making their way towards the pack house before I turned to look into my father's stormy eyes.'What did I do this time?" I sarcastically asked my wolf. "Hey, mom, dead," I told them, bowing my head.
"You look glowing after that run, dear, " my mother commented and I had to stop my flinch as she placed her hand on my face. "Your father and I, we are worried about you. We know tomorrow will be your first time leaving for the Running, and we just want to make sure you know that it is never guaranteed that you will find your mate-"
"Mom, are you suggesting that I won't have a mate?" I couldn't help but let out the words in a growl. Everyone was always guaranteed a mate, no matter their role in the pack.
"No, not at all," she shook her head quickly, "we just don't want you to get your hopes up if he isn't here this year. Xena hasn't even found her mate yet. "She said the words in a sympathetic tone, but I still wasn't happy.
Of course they thought since my all powerful sister didn't find her mate yet I wouldn't either. Even thought I knew this was how they thought, it still made me angry. Mom had always treated me like an object; like I would break any moment. She raised me not to be a strong Luna like Xena but instead taught me to be the perfect mate. My father only saw me as the mistake child because I'm always disobeying rules and being carefree.
"Yeah, it's fine," I sigh out, pulling my face out of her hands. I just let go of my anger because there was no point in being angry at them. It wouldn't change anything.
"You are dismissed," my father said, his voice gravelly. I didn't like that he spoke to me as if I were just another pack member rather than his daughter. But, then again, him and I had never gotten along.
I turned around and made my way to the pack house, pushing the thoughts of the Running away and pulling food straight into my mind.
- Wednesday, June 4th, 3:00 am -
The next morning Xenaz woke me up early to leave for the Head Council. That was where we would be preparing for the Running. I opened my eyes groggily as she pulled my blanket off of me and I saw her bright smile. She was always excited on going to the Running because she was hoping to meet her mate. I wasn't as keen on finding my mate because I liked how my life was. My parents were focused on getting Xena ready to take over the pack, so I could do anything I wanted. Having a mate meant less freedom for me.
"Come on, Xan, we need to get you ready," she told me excitedly, helping to pull me out of bed. I wanted to curse at her, but decided against it because she had used my preferred name and seemed over the moon about the Running. I almost felt bad that she hadn't found her mate, although she always seemed happy to attend. "This is gonna be your first year? How are you not thrilled?" She breathed out.
I looked up to her oddly, wiping my tired eyes. I had never seen Xena like this, she usually was professional with everything. I think I liked her better this way. "I like not waking up at 3 in the morning," I grumbled before I rolled out of my bed and stretched. I refrained from telling her I didn't wish to attend the Running because I knew that would make her upset.
"Well, get used to it, sister," she let out a genuine laugh and I smiled up at her. She was dressed in one of her perfectly tailored dresses, but there was a spark of adventure in her eyes. I really enjoyed my sister like this. She grabbed my hand and pulled me to my closet. "I've already packed your suitcase - you're welcome - and put it on the bus. All we need to do is to get you into something comfortable."
I half expected her to allow me to keep on my pajamas, but my sister wasn't that nice at the moment. Instead, she chose a dress that matched her light blue one except mine was shorter. Blue was the color of the Alpha. Each rank had a color to wear. But it wasn't mandatory. In fact that was a reason I was a fan favourite among the lower ranks in our pack because I wore whatever color I wanted.
I compromised with Xena in letting her do my makeup while I did my hair. She was a master at both, but I knew she pulled roughly when it came to hair/ Either way, I was looking amazing by 4 and the bus was now waiting for only us.
Xena walked in front of me as we made our way to the bus. We stopped by our parents, who were standing outside of the bus. Mom pressed a kiss into both of our heads while dad hugged only Xena. "You both look gorgeous and I know that yours mates will be happy to run after you. "Mom said to us, tears filling up her eyes.
Xena's hand dropped down and grabbed mine, squeezing roughly as she sent smiles to both of out parents. "We love you both and want you to know we wouldn't be the women we are today without you both." She said to them before pulling me up the bus with her. We found a seat at the front and shred it, ignoring the rowdy talk from the other teens.
- Wednesday, June 4th, 11:11 am -
Before the Running, everyone stayed in one of the castle's on the Royal's land for a few days. The rooms were odd, each containing 16 beds, 4 bathrooms, and it's own kitchen. They gave us a briefing, saying there would be 2 of each rank in every room in both genders. I was expecting a party to be taken place when I opened the door to where I would be staying in. It was about deathly silent, aside from the A.C. blowing into the room.
"Luna," everyone murmured as I entered with my bagsd. Instantly. The Omega's were by my side, reaching for my bags. "Alpha's shouldn't have to carry their own bags-"
"I'm not a Luna and stop bowing, for Goddess' sake," I huff out, hating being called what people called my mother. As I let the words leave my mouth, the Omega's before me winced away from me. I furrowed my eyebrows at that. "What's wrong? I didn't mean to be rude or anything."
After a moment, someone spoke up from the back of the room. "You weren't being rude, we are just on edge for the Alpha male that was assigned to us," the light voice explained, a whimper in her voice. "We were given Aiden Carlson. The Prince Aiden Carlson."
I froze in my spot, my eyes flicking to the girl that said that. After no one said anything against her words, I growled out. "Damnit, I thought that the Royals only came on the Running day."
"He requested to be joining a group since it was his first time in the Running," a heavy voice said in the crowd, sounding like the person had been crying. "We've all heard rumors about the King, Prince Aiden's brother, and we don't want to die. We were just preparing to obey the Alpha blood's assigned to us."
I flinched at the mention of the Alpha King, Jaxson Carlson. He was 21, mateless, and claimed to have killed his own twin brother simply for the throne. If you were told to meet him in person, it almost always ended in bloodshed. No one wanted to meet him.
I turned my attention to the sniffling in the room and noticed a few people were crying in fear because they would have to be in the same room as the Prince. They were terrified to be here, which was supposed to be one of the happiest moments of their lives. I may not care much for the Running, but this would be one of the few times in my life I was free of my parents and didn't have a mate. This Prince was not going to ruin this for anyone. "Listen to me, everyone. I won't let Prince Aiden touch a single hair on your heads. Just because you are a lower rank will not give him the right to mess with any of you. This Running will be special for each of you and I will make sure he doesn't ruin it for anyone."
"I'm assuming you're talking about me?" Through my monologue, I hadn't heard the door open behind me. I slowly turned around, meeting the darkened gaze on none other than Prince Aiden himself. "What are you gonna do if I try to attack someone here? Fight me? You'd rather risk yourself against me than to have me hurt them?" He scoffed out, glaring at me.
I gulped quickly, inwardly cursing myself. 'I'm going to die,' I think to myself. 'Well, I don't want a mate anyways.' Instead of cowering down at his stare, I held myself high and stared right back at him. "Prince Aiden, in this room we represent a pack and in this representation, I am your equal. I will stand up for my pack people, I don't care if it's fake and I don't care if you're royalty. These people are terrified to meet you, when they should be excited and happy at the possibility of finding their other half. I understand if you're opposed to that, but you'll have to fight with me over that. And trust me when I say that I bite hard."
To my surprise, his glare let up and he gave me a smile, letting out a chuckle. "Well, I'll assure you, Little Luna, that I don't intend to hurt anyone here. I'm nothing like my older brother, I promise you all that." He looked to everyone, a sweet smile on his face. It looked like the smile fit well on his face. He held his bags to him and chuckled at everyone's shocked expressions. "Let's get this party started!" He hollered out and after a moment, a few of our pack began to talk to one another, the tense air quickly becoming more relaxed.
Together, Prince Aiden and I found our beds in the farthest corner of the room beside the Beta's. "So, what's a royal like you doing here? I mean, royal's don't have to show up until the day of the Running." I ask him as we both began unpacking.
"I wanna know what the whole experience is like. Besides, I enjoy meeting new people." He gave me a toothy grin before he hopped up on his bed. He looked over at me, a smirk going to his face. "You must really want to meet you mate if you're threatening me to act good."
I scoffed out and sat down on my bed after I finished stuffing my clothes into my drawer. "I'm hardly excited to meet my mate. Mates mean I'll lose the little freedom I have. I mean, I'm hoping I'm like my sister. She's 19 and hasn't found her mate yet. That sounds amazing."
He was quiet for a moment before he spoke, "I can't wait to find my mate. I want to have someone by my side to make my family less irritating. Although, at the moment my parents are stuck only worrying about Jaxson and hoping he finds hi mate. I'm thinking every year he comes back mateless makes him more ruthless. Soon he'll be a killing machine and I'm not sure if even finding his mate will help."
I sigh out, shaking my head about what he said about his brother. Goddess bless whatever poor soul got stuck with him. "My parents are the way with me. Xena, my older sister, is next in line for Alpha Female and my father thinks I'm just useless. Mom brought me up, teaching me how to be the perfect mate. Like, she thought the only way my mate would want me is because I can please him."
"My mom and dad practically ignored my my whole life. My grandmother was really the one to bring me up." He said before chuckling and turning to look at me. I copied his movements. " Guess we both got daddy issues, huh?"
"I laughed and nodded towards him. "You got that right, Princey. By the way, my name is Xan."
"Princey? Well, I guess I deserve that nickname... princess," he chuckled and I groaned out in an annoyed tone. "What? I think princess suits you well," he joked to me. I sighed out, now wishing I hadn't called him Princey. "Listen, princess, I think you and I will get along quite well."