Chapter 3
"You ready for tonight?" My sister Taelyn asked as she came into the kitchen in the packhouse.
"If by ready you mean anxiously dying on the inside then sure," I said as I placed some lettuce in my sandwich.
Taelyn's hand quickly shoot across the counter and grabbed my plate. "Thanks," she mumbled before taking a bite.
"Taelyn! You little brat that was my mine." I grumbled but just grabbed more bread to make another.
Despite stealing my food and being a fourteen-year-old teen, she actually wasn't that obnoxious. Unlike our thirteen-year-old brother Thor.
Well technically his first name is Inigo but my dad secretly set his middle name as Thor and it kinda just stuck. My mom was extremely pissed when she got his birth certificate.
Speaking of the little devil...
"Hey Ev, make me one of those will yah." He practically commanded me.
His alpha and older sister.
"Make it yourself Loki," I smirked when he shot me a glare.
"It's Thor." He grumbled.
"Are you sure about that? You're kind of a miserable little punk." I teased.
"Whatever Christmas Eve." He shot back as he walked up beside me to grab some bread.
I hit him upside the head, "It's Ev, not Eve."
"Ouch, the heck! I'm telling mom." He grinned.
"Telling mom what?" Our mom walked in unsuspectingly.
"Ev h-" Thor began but I wrapped my arm around his head and slapped my palm over his mouth.
"I was just wondering why my dear little brother here is so hungry." I smiled but it came out wary.
"They ate lunch like a half-hour ago." My mother said with a frown.
"She forgot to mention that she cooked and not dad." Taelyn looked like she was about to throw up.
"What was that Taelyn?" My mother asked.
But before Tae could answer, my little brother opened his mouth and licked my palm.
"Eww, you're such a dork." I scolded as I removed my hand from his mouth and ran my saliva covered palm on the side of his face.
He just shrugged and took my second sandwich before taking a seat beside Taelyn at the counter.
"She slapped me by the way," Thor said pointing in my direction before he took a bite of my sandwich.
"Everette!" My mom scolded.
"He's just exaggerating." I waved her off before going to the sink to thoroughly cleanse my palm free of Thor's spit induced germs.
"Mom I'm not! She really did slap me on the head." He whined.
"Maybe I should have kicked your a-"
"Everette!" My mother warned again.
I turned back around from the sink and headed straight for the door. "I'm done with these kids."
"Where are you going?" My mom asked as I exit the kitchen.
"To find some food, those two ate out my ham." I frowned.
"Okay but don't forget tonight's the Blood Moon and you need to leave by one is you want to find your mate." She said.
"What if I don't want to find him?" I grinned.
My mother looked taken aback but then an understanding smile graced her lips, "Is that what you want?"
"I don't know." I sighed. "I mean I want to find him. I want to know who he is and be with him, but I... I don't know."
"You're scared." She gave me a knowing look.
I instantly shook my head, "Me? Scared? Nope. Come on mom, I fight rogues on a daily. A mate is the last thing to scare me."
"You don't have to be strong all the time Everette. You're allowed to be s-," I gave her a glare before she could say 'scared', "apprehensive."
"What if he's scared of me?"
"Then show him who you are on the inside."
"What if he rejects me?"
"Then his loss." She shrugged.
"Mom!" I groaned because if he rejects me, the pain could become so unbearable that the pack could suffer.
"He's not going to reject you, sweetheart. He'll be an idiot to deny the connection."
"What if I become an inefficient Alpha because I have to babysit him?"
She honestly threw her head back and laughed at that one, "Sweetheart, that's impossible. I know you and no amount of male testosterone is going to make you lose focus on your pack. That's why you've been the best Alpha of the Blood Moon pack so far. Now come on and shake off those nerves, it's unlike you to be so unsure of yourself."
I nodded and took a deep breath. She was right.
I've never second-guessed anything in my life until today.
But I honestly don't know who's going to be in a worse position, me or the poor human who has to sit out in the cold forest tonight.
My mom pulled me into a hug and whispered, "Just remember that no matter what, you're Alpha now and you can make your own rules."
I pulled back and gave her a questioningly look, but she just shrugged and walked back into the kitchen.
Make my own rules...
I'm sure if there was a way to put a stop to this, someone would have ended it already.
Right?
I checked the clock on the wall and saw that it was twelve in the afternoon, meaning I had an hour before I had to leave since it usually took a twelve-hour wolf journey to reach the human town. Plus the blood moon was supposed to be at its peak at half one in the morning.
Deciding that ice cream sounds like a good lunch, I shifted and headed over to the mini shopping area where there was an ice cream shop. And there I spent the next hour gorging on some rocky road.
Until Charlotte mind linked me to meet her up in the clearing next to the packhouse. I frowned at my sixth scoop which I was halfway through.
My mate owed me an ice cream now.
I headed to the clearing and saw a group of fifteen wolves being strapped on with bulletproof vests since we had no idea what was waiting for us on the other side of the forest.
I walked over to Finn who was helping Samuel, Penelope's brother, with his vest.
"Haven't seen you around today," I said as he turned to me and Samuel bowed in respect before walking away towards his mate, Daisy, who was helping another wolf.
"Didn't think I was needed Alpha." He shrugged.
I rolled my eyes at him, "Don't alpha me. Did anything I said last night make it through your thick skull?"
He gave it a good thought before he finally sighed, "You're right. I shouldn't be angry at you because of this. I'm sorry."
I grinned at him and my body felt as if the weight of an imaginary force was lifted by his admission.
"Precisely... and it's not like we didn't know this was going to happen right."
It was true. We knew this day was going to happen. And yet we allowed our feelings to get tangled and have been casually dating since we were sixteen. Being best friends, we shared everything with each other and it just felt natural.
So we dated... or at least acted like a couple despite our parents' warning.
He was my first kiss and only kiss. But since I turned nineteen, we stopped since it wasn't fair to either of us to continue. Nor was it fair to the mates we haven't found yet.
It just didn't sit right to know our soulmates were out there while we were cuddling up. It was hard to let go of our emotions. So I'm just hoping that whatever happens tomorrow when I bring back my mate, that it doesn't cause a rift in our friendship.
Because he's still my best friend. I hoped.
"Right." He mumbled pulling me out of my reverie. "Just promise me one thing."
"What?" I asked warily.
The corner of his lips quirked up as amusement played in his eyes, "Promise you wouldn't kill your mate before you bring him back. I would actually like to meet this guy."
And just like that, Finn made the last of my worries momentarily disappear as I burst out laughing.
I playfully punched his shoulder, "Hey, I'm not that bad."
"That's a matter of opinion really." He teased.
I shook my head as my laughs died down, "See you later nerd."
Finn decided it would be best if he wasn't there when I met my mate, which was a good idea. So he wasn't joining the entourage.
As I walked past him towards the woods, he stopped me, "Hey Ev?"
I looked back at him, "Yeah?"
"Take care of yourself okay?" He said seriously.
"I'll try." I smiled before I trailed behind the trees and removed my clothes before shifting into my wolf.
I walked back out and spotted Penelope who was holding my bulletproof vest up for me. She wasn't going with us since she's the Beta and needed to be here in case anything happened while I was gone.
'If anything happens-'
'I'll handle it.' Pen mind linked me with an eye roll.
'I'm serious Pen.'
'I know you are and so am I. I'm your beta remember, I got this. Plus I have my mate to help.' She smiled as she finished buckling me up and tying a change of clothes to one of my wolf legs.
'Okay. But just remember that the north border patrol should be on high alert because of the silver berry and we need new guards placed in the east as well.' I listed off hastily.
'I got this chick, now go get your mate.' She laughed before walking away to her mate June.
What can I say? The pack was my baby.
After my mom gave my head a scratch and said to be careful, I raised my head and let out a howl to notify everyone that we were ready.
Everyone who was in the clearing seemed a bit on edge and for good reason.
After the hunters held a full out war against us twenty years ago... we didn't know what would meet us on the other side.
Jane, my great-grandaunt, informed us that there were only a few hunters in town whose memory was swiped after the pack won the war.
But the pack was still unsure if there was anyone that got away and knows what we are.
And most importantly, know that silver bullets will end us quicker than anything else.
'We'll be back in a day's time.' I communicated to everyone in the pack through our link.
'Alpha.' Came the synonymous response that echoed in my head. Everyone in the clearing bowed their heads respectfully and I turned away and sprinted off with fifteen wolves flanking my sides.
Those wolves being Charlotte, her mate Max, my dad Thane, Samuel, my uncle Thomas, Charlotte's dad Beau and the rest were some of our most powerful female and male warriors.
Uncle Thomas had a twin brother Teddy, but I haven't seen him ages. He used to be a really chill uncle that always cracked jokes and spoiled my siblings and I. But his mate died a few years back in a rogue attack. He couldn't cope with her death and left the pack.
Technically he was a rogue now, but he could join us back anytime he wanted. That was if he was still alive since it's been years and the forest is infested with rogues. Uncle Thomas took his absence the worst since he and uncle Teddy was close, but the entire family took it hard. My dad Thane still tries to search him with my grandfather Carson.
But I don't know if he'll ever return.
For the next twelve hours, the only sounds that could be heard were mindless chit chat of the group, the pounding of the ground beneath our feet, the crunching of leaves and branches and the quiet squeaks and whistles from the forest creatures. The sun slowly faded into pitch darkness as we made our way zooming past trees and looking out for rogues.
Surprisingly, we hadn't come across any.
And if it was one time I was grateful for the lack of a fight, it was now.
By the time we were near the part of the forest where the guys were supposed to be chained up, the sun has long faded over the horizon and we came to a stop a few miles away.
I looked up at the sky through the leaves that loomed over our heads and saw that only a sliver of the moon was visible as most of the earth's shadow had already blocked the sun's light that reflected off the moon.
It was almost time.
'Are you ready kid?' My father, Thane, asked.
I nodded my wolf head, 'Yeah, just a bit nervous.'
'It will be alright. Just focus on getting him out of there so that we could leave soon after.' He said.
'Okay.'
'Everette...' My dad said nervously.
'Yeah, dad?'
'Don't make the same mistake I did to wait and tell your mother. The faster you tell him, the better it will be for both of you.'
I sent him a grin, 'I don't know what made you wait dad, but I don't think that any Alpha ever thought that that was a good idea.'
'Hey, at least she didn't reject me right?' He laughed.
Right after he said that I felt something shift inside of me. Almost as if an invisible force touched my soul and was pulling me towards something like a magnet.
And as if someone had just sprayed the forest air with an intoxicating scent, I got a whiff of what I could only describe as fresh sage, juniper berries, and freshly cut wood. A very woodsy scent that overtook my senses and drove my wolf mad to find out its source.
I looked up at the moon and saw the black shadow slowly engulf the rest of the moon before it gently turned into a glowing reddish hue.
'It's time.' I announced to everyone with a low growl before I sprinted off and followed the scent of my mate.
I raced through the trees as the only thing that was in my mind was to find this human. It was like a craving that you had to quench.
Within seconds, we broke through a set of trees and came to an abrupt stop before a line of human boys who all looked liked they were about to poop their pants.
But I paid no attention to the sudden screams as my eyes focused on the human in front of me.
He had dark brown hair and green eyes. He was breathtaking.
I sniffed the air and sure enough, the addicting scent came from him.
His eyes held my own in a challenging stare and I saw him visibly gulp before he shifted his eyes down and away from me.
I released a growl at his reaction but knew that I had to set aside my emotions and get him out of here before any hunters or humans saw us.
But what the hell was I supposed to do?
No one told me how I was supposed to carry my still conscious mate away after I released him from his chains.
Wouldn't he run? Fight me?
I didn't know what I was supposed to do.
There wasn't really a guide to the ritual for dummies.
Already knowing that I probably psychologically scarred the dude, I went with my gut instinct.
I slowly walked up to him and he didn't dare look at me.
I used my paws to break the chains from around the tree but left it attached to his cuffs.
He didn't move. He didn't run. He didn't scream.
Hell if it wasn't for my wolf senses I would've thought he was dead.
I grabbed the two ends of the chain that was connected to his wrists and brought it in front of his body before picking it up between my teeth and gently tugging on it for him to get up.
The human slowly took my cue and got on his feet. I walked backward slowly and pulled the chain gently along as the human quietly walked forward without hesitating or fighting.
I was shook.
Had I known he was going to be so complacent, I would have never been so nervous to meet him.
Honestly, I felt kind of whole. Like I found a missing piece of me that I was trying to fill all this time.
Like I finally found the right size batteries and I could tick for the first time.
It was an odd sensation but as the human followed me into the words with his hands cuffed and his chain in my mouth, I knew that it was about to be a crazy journey in getting to know him.
My mate.
A/N
Chapter Update: Tomorrow!
Ohh! So Everette found her mate! What do you guys think he's going to be like?
Is he going to accept Ev? What if he rejects her? So many possibilities...
Song: Nathan Bell - Howling
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-Shania. 🐾