Chapter One - Preparations

Natalie Grayson  

Everything was a blur for the past few days. Some of the highest ranking Alphas were coming to our pack for a wild celebration where the unmated may find their mates.   

It happened every year on the same day when the moon would be full and the goddess would bless many wolves with their mates and every year, I never found mine.   

Call me cruel, but I wouldn't have minded not having a mate. With all the 'mine' type of scenarios, I would rather not let my life turn into a cliche movie. I was perfectly fine with the life I lived.   

I had my mum, my dad, my siblings as well as a job at the library around the corner, so what more would I want?    So every year when the Alphas and the unmated come to our pack, the Red Moon Pack, I would go to the library and hide there until it was all over because one thing about me was that I didn't like big events.   

Honestly, being in a big crowd of hormonal people just kinda sucked, plus the smell of arousals which would fill the air was kind of disturbing.  

But, I did love reading about how people found their mates, especially when it came to romance human books. I also loved reading about how our kind came to be and how the Moon Goddess was ever so kind to give us mates.   

I loved how there was always another half for us to live with, but I just wanted to explore the world before finding my mate, who could turn out to be potentially be possessive and not let me go anywhere.  

That was what happened to my mum, after all. My dad wouldn't let her out of his sight before they mated and had me. So you could see where my opinion on having a mate stemmed from.   

In the current moment, the pack was frantically getting everything perfect. The big hall where we would be hosting the big ceremony or party was going to be filled with draperies and smooth white silk to represent the moon. Then there was going to be a big buffet and a lot of rooms for people who wanted to mate instantly.  

Furthermore, there were the tables for the Alphas and their Lunas as well as tables for everyone arriving. It was one huge event and it was one of the most exciting events for everyone, especially for my sister Alice, who just turned eighteen three weeks ago, whereas I was twenty two years of age.   

She was ecstatic about meeting her mate and embarrassingly told me she wouldn't mind mating on the spot. And as the elder sister I was, I smacked her on the head and told her that she was too young and she should wait until she was twenty. She had thrown me the bird before laughing along with me.   

My other sister Beth, who was eleven didn't give a  shit about mates and told me herself she would rather live alone than have someone constantly watching over her. I liked her spirit, even if she swore from time to time.    The second youngest was Dave, otherwise known as David and he was only eight. He had told me that he really didn't care until it happened   

The youngest out of all of us was little Matt who just turned five. He said he would love and cherish his mate whenever he found her.  So my whole family had their own opinions about mates, and my parents who were in their forties were hopefully going to stop having kids, because every time my mother was in her heat, my dad couldn't help but put a seed in it.  

Our heats came in irregular times but it was after you met your mate. You may never have your heat until some months later, or you could get it the moment you met your mate, hence why many people ‘got it on' when they first met each other at the ceremony.   

While everyone was getting ready, I walked to the library and sat in my usual spot. People rarely came into the library, and if they did, itbwas usually to randomly start making out in the aisles of books, and maybe begin to take each other's clothes off until I came in and started whacking them with the heaviest book I could find, which was the history of werewolves. Maybe it would knock some knowledge into them about doing it in the library.   

I grabbed a random book from the shelves, opened the pages as I inhaled the amazing scent of a book and enjoyed how it reeked of old age. It was honestly such a good smell.   

As time passed by, the smell of cooked meat and vegetables filled my nostrils as the time of the Alphas and the unmated arriving was soon upon us.   

After contemplating for some time about going outside, I dropped my book and rushed out of the doorway.   I walked towards the hall's kitchen, allowing the  scent of delicious cooked food to fill my nostrils as l took a peek at what was to be served tonight.   

Rows and rows of food were lined up, ranging from a whole load of meat to the desserts and fruits, as well as the champagne and drinks on one end of the bench.   

In an hour the Alphas would be here with their mateless members, and already everyone was strolling in with their fancy suits and dresses. Our pack was very rich and grew in numbers in a short time.   In fact, were also rated the fifth strongest pack in all of America due to the high-rank warriors and defensive line so naturally, our pack had the fanciest clothes and had a prosperous area.   

As they all started to file in, I rushed home, my feet picking up at werewolf speed as I made a dash. Once I reached the front door, I used my keys to open it and step inside. Already, my sisters were dressed up as well as my brothers.   

Everyone was always invited. Every pack member, even the omegas who worked in the kitchen. I wasn't yet dressed for the occasion, so I watched as everyone hurried to get ready. My mum put on her pearls, my dad fixed his tie and my sisters made sure their dresses were wrinkle-free, plus my brothers who were trying desperately to fix their ties.   

I rushed upstairs to my room quickly, determined to get dressed and do my makeup as fast as possible so that I would keep my family waiting.  As I went downstairs, their eyes landed on me. My mother's eyes welled up with tears as my dad gave a look of approval, my two brothers smiled at me, while my two sisters squealed in delight and rushed to hug me.   

"You look amazing!" they yelled and wrapped their dainty arms around my waist, squeezing the living life out of me.   

"Okay, okay, you can let go of me now!" I breathed, trying to pry their hands off of me, but being unlucky, they wrapped their arms once again.   

This is going to be a long night, I thought.