Whilst I very much embrace a messy bun and oversized shirt, I still consider myself to be 'girly'; indulging in the fun of makeup and the femininity of a cute outfit. I'd put on a checkered wrap skirt and a simple shirt. Since it was a little on the chillier side I'd thrown on a cardigan too but other than that, I was ready to finally meet everyone at the bonfire which started forty-five minutes ago.
I made sure to lock the door to the house once I'd left and made my way to the bonfire clearing where the pack gathered once every six months.
The 'ceremony' was meant to honour the wolves that came before us and to ask the moon goddess to give safe passage to wolves that we loose.
I passed young pups that were huddled around a lit joint trying their best not to get caught; which is stupid because we all literally have supernatural senses that can smell it from miles away.
"Reyna, you're late. Owen was looking for you." Gabriel called as I ran up to him and pulling him in for a quick hug. I hadn't seen him for a week.
Ever since he found his mate they'd been hauled up at her house.
I think you can conclude what they'd been doing.
"I'm sorry, I was running." I ran my hands through my hair and gave him a stiff smile. "Have they done the blood offering?"
"Nope, you've got like twenty minutes. I'd go find Owen first though." He nodded before letting his eyes scan around the open space, clearly looking for his mate.
"You're obsessed with her, you know," I laughed, giving him a soft punch on the arm - though even if I'd hit him as hard as I could, I wouldn't have done much damage. He's built like a house.
"You'll understand when you meet your mate, little cousin."
I shook my head with a little smile and turned to start my search for the pompous asshole who calls himself chief warrior. In all honesty, he doesn't even deserve his title. He got it through nepotism. Given the opportunity, I could have him on his ass before he could blink. But of course, he'd never let that happen. Because he knows that there's no way he could win.
I used to train with my dad every day; morning runs, after school workouts and fight training on the weekends. I could best every single one of these self absorbed pups.
Well, excluding the alpha. He's twenty-nine and has been training since the day he could walk. I could probably take the beta, though.
I reached Owen's office in the training building in no time. He was stood by the window when I knocked on the door. He spun around quickly and his lips formed a smirk that made me want to vomit.
"Reyna, I'm glad you could stop by." He took a step away from the window and stuffed his hands in his pockets.
"It's not like a had much of choice." I scoffed with a roll of my eyes. "What can I help you with?" I put on a clearly sarcastic smile and crossed my arms.
"I wanted a chat. Things were very tense in training today." He took another step forward and I could have sworn he flexed his barely-there pec muscles.
"What do you expect?" I flicked my hair from my face and crossed my arms. My hip jutted out and gave him my notorious bitch face.
"It's been clear to me since Christmas that you've wanted nothing more than to choke on my pipe." Despite the obvious face of disgust, he continued to take steps forward until he stood right in front of me.
"You're disgusting, you inbred half-witted excuse of-"
"You know, you're so much more attractive when you're not running your mouth. Why don't you put those lips to good use, huh, princess?"
His hand had snaked around my body with the intention of getting a feel of my ass. I put a stop to it before he got anywhere near it, though.
In a matter of seconds, I had his hand bent at a really unnatural angle with his fingers turning purple from lack of blood flow. He began whimpering like a pup during their first shift, pleading me for mercy.
I pulled him closer and heard the satisfying pop that I'd been waiting for. "You ever touch me or speak to me like that again, I promise you, I'll rip your arm from your body and shove it so far up your ass that you choke on your own fucking fingernails. Got it?"
His nodded his head quickly and muttered over and over about his hand. For good measure, I twisted and pulled one more time to dislocate his shoulder. He let out a scream in pain before falling to the floor in a heap, his right arm cradling his left.
I turned on my heel and left the room without another word, only the thought of just how badly I wanted to break his ribs and watch as he chokes on his collapsed lung. I wanted to punch the smug out of him and watch the slow, painful demise that would befall him.
"Reyna! You almost missed it, Alpha Thomas would've been so mad!"
I had been so involved in my murderous thoughts that I hadn't even noticed how I'd walked back to the field where the pack gathered around the huge bonfire.
Trent walked up to me and grabbed my hand, turning it so my palm faced the sky. Trent put the blade of the knife in my hand and I clenched it into a fist. My cousin quickly pulled it and caught the fresh blood in my family's Ceremonial Sacrifice Bowl.
Every family in Moon Pride had one of these bowls that's used in the traditional blood sacrifice. They're sort of like what humans call a 'family crest'. Some are decorated in gold or silver, jewels or inscribed. The Michaels' one in particular is gold with scalloped edges with diamonds running along it.
As my blood dropped into mix of my family's offering, the alphas stood on the raised platform.
"Our dear Goddess. We gather as a pack, as a community and as a family to show our respect to she who gave our species breath. We show our respect by offer the blood that runs through our veins and sustains us. As leader of your creations-"
"Cass, I cant hold it." I whispered into my aunt's ear.
This ceremony keeps the bond between human and animal alive and at the end, we all shift and run together for a few hours.
But for some reason, the extra aggression I carry inside makes me want to shift early. It's only happened once where my bones snapped involuntarily and I shifted before the blood was poured into the fire. The pack believed I'd done it out of spite for the alpha or it was a cry for attention from a young orphan. Either way, I was given two weeks of extra pack duties like cleaning, cooking and grounds maintenance.
"Reyna just a few more minutes." She pleaded, taking my hand in hers and giving it a tight squeeze.
My muscles burned as they clenched and unclenched, begging to let me turn to my second form.
"Now let us give the fire fuel to burn to keep us going as the superior species we are."
The Luna was the first person to step forward and pour the alpha family's blood into the fire. The process went on and on as each family poured their blood into the fire, all the while my body burned like fire. I felt my kneecap break and suppressed the scream.
Despite the fact that I've shifted every singe day of my life since my 16th birthday, the slow shifts still make it feel like the first time all over again. When I shift without a second thought I don't feel the pain. But when it's one bone at a time, the pain makes you want to die.
Gabriel stepped forward and gave our sacrifice to the fire as my other knee suffered the same fate as the first. Trent and David swooped the my side to hold me up as the broken bones couldn't hold me any longer.
"Hang on, little cousin. Not long left."
"It hurts." I practically sobbed. Gabriel now stood behind me and stroked the top of my hair, whispering comforting words that seemed to hold my wolf at bay.
"We now turn to our fur as a sign of appreciation for the strength you bless us with."
The alphas shifted first and then the betas; but before the gamma family had a chance, I was already standing on my four paws with a coat of fur and pointed canine teeth.
I could feel the wolf eyes of my alpha glaring daggers at me as the rest of the pack waited their turn to shift. A whimper left my throat as I laid down and rested my head on my paws. Usually a wolf would submit at this point but my wolf just wouldn't let me, so she faked submission until everyone had shifted and began sprinting through the woods.
Why can't I just be a normal wolf and not disappoint my pack in every way?
Thanks for reading chapter 2! Still kinda short but the chapters will start getting longer!
We're one chapter closer to meeting her mate, wonder how that much will go?
Please share with any werewolf lovers you know, I can't wait to publish more of this story for you all! I'm going to post another chapter tomorrow, too!
Lots of love xx