Lilly’s mate bond freak out.

Lilly

Waking up on your eighteenth birthday for any young werewolf is a mixture of nerves and anticipation. For Lilly, as she rolled over in her king-sized bed on that frosty December morning, she knew this was the day everything changed.

As the oldest child of Alpha Daisy, Lilly would be made Alpha today. The title is passed at sunset on her birthday. No pressure. Her mother had been the most exemplary Alpha of their pack, and she had hopes of following in her footsteps. She had big plans she had been planning for months that were going to become a new reality for this pack. Excitement bubbles in her belly as the sun shines upon her face, heating the chilled room along with her crisp flesh.

As a young werewolf, she was also very aware that she could find her mate today. The thought makes her jolt upright in the bed and sit back against the large oak headboard. The duvet spilling down to her thigh’s exposing her strapped vest pyjama top. Although the snow had been falling for weeks, shifters run warmer than humans, and she had never been able to sleep in anything other than small shorts and vest tops. She evens her breathing, past the rising anticipation of what having a mate could mean for her. Her father had happily accepted his place as Luna of his pack, and the outdated sociological ideals of gender roles had been eradicated generations ago. But would her mate accept a Luna title if they’re male?

She was acutely aware that she wasn’t completely straight, but then again, not many shifters are. Unlike humans, we reached a state of thinking whereby we allow ourselves to appreciate beauty in all of its forms. Once we shift at sixteen, we are exposed to the human form much more than humans due to our body returning completely naked once we surrender our wolf form. Most shifters, male and female, around the pack are known to admire those of both sexes. Beauty and attractiveness are not something no which can be defined by the shifter brain by gender. We like it that way.

Our pack has many mated bonds which are same-sex, and some which aren’t. But there is no love lost between us all. We are all children of the moon. It also is not uncommon for a mate bond to stretch beyond two people, and include three or four at times. The Moon Goddess blesses us with those who make us stronger, more centred… better versions of ourselves. Lilly just wished she knew in advance. She had studied to be an Alpha. She studied and prepared in high school. She finished in July and graduated with honours, as she loved to prepare. Was there no cheat sheet for mate bonds?

The more she thought about the prospect of her mate, the more she felt a rising panic. Her breathing laboured with her spiralling thoughts as if they were affecting the amount of oxygen available in her room. Maybe she could camp out in bed all day and avoid the mate bond?

‘You’re being a chicken again!’ Her wolf Willow taunts in her mind.

‘Do you ever give me a break Lo?’ Lilly crack’s back within her internal dialogue.

‘Never. What is there to do living inside your brain other than give you shit for being a wuss?’ Willow laughs back.

‘Damn wolf! You remember you're stuck with me. You’d be nothing without me so give me a second!’ Lilly snaps back. She’s never been harsh with Willow before, but she cannot understand her fear. Although appreciating the human and wolf form is encouraged within pack life, relationships and dating are strictly forbidden. Lilly has always appreciated this rule. She doesn’t want a relationship which could interfere with her mate bond. Friendships are inevitable, and desire is understood, but any physical relations are completely out of the question. So every person under eighteen or unmated are virgins… or banished.

It sounds strict… but Lilly has always understood. If she began sleeping with guys in high school and her mate was female… how would her mate feel? How would she feel living with the consequences of her actions?

She had been feeling a significant amount of desire and pull towards Leo, a warrior from the pack, over the last few weeks. His vivid blue eyes and his gruff ‘no-none-senses’ attitude really fire her engines. She had thought this could have been the start of her mate bond. Some of the oldies explained that sometimes the pull started a few weeks before your birthday. But you cannot surrender to it until you know definitively. If he is her mate, he’s away on pack business for another week, so she wouldn’t have to deal with any of this for a while anyway! There may be some hope she doesn’t have to claim her mate today.

Lilly heaves a sigh, filling the room with her frustration. She knows she has responsibilities. She has at least two meetings… though she cannot remember the specifics right now. Plus… she’s being made Alpha tonight. In front of the whole pack. So hiding is not an option.

‘Told you so… chicken’ willow giggles in her mind.

‘Lo please… just for today. Give me a break!’ Lilly snaps. She loves Willow. She’s half of who she is. But her constant ramblings often result in headaches. Lilly’s father suggested her cute nickname for Willow a few days after her sixteenth birthday. She was so incessant with her chatter that Lilly would often bark “Willow!” Aloud at the most inconvenient of times. Luna North, her father, had helpfully suggested that “Lo” is easier to cover with a growl during meetings. Suggesting this could be a way of playing off her struggle with her wolf as mere boredom or frustration.

Lilly decides it’s time. Big girl pants must be placed firmly on one's ass and she must get out of bed and shower. Meeting a mate whilst smell would not be the best way to make a first impression. She swings her long sun-kissed legs out of the bed and pads down her suit to the bathroom. As her hand hits the door handle, her suit door flies open unceremoniously, as Forest barges in. Her six-foot-five, muscle-bound brother strolls in like a predator. Striding over to her bedroom like a cat waiting to pounce. Stifling her laugh at his complete ignorance of her presence, she tucks her body back to the wall in an attempt to hide her frame. Although she isn’t considered ‘short’ at 5’7”, her brother towers over her.

Lilly can see his smile pulling at his cheeks as he holds her door handle. Probably attempting to hear her in bed and attempt to get the upper hand. He springs, the door banging open, as his large, broad frame crashes into her room with a loud “AHHHH” in an attempt to scare her. She pulls herself gracefully from the wall and scurries down the hallway as the sound of her mattress springs fills the room. Attempting not to laugh at his antics, she launches herself on his back, pulling his large arms behind his back easily due to his form being laid face down on her bed.

‘Will this bloody hooligan ever learn? He’s never gotten the jump on us and yet… here he is… wringing his ass around like a bloody fool!’ Willow laughs.

‘If he ever stopped, we would miss his daft attempts’ Lilly replies, knowing the clock may be ticking on him being able to launch into her bedroom unannounced. Her mate may not allow it. Hmm. She doesn’t like that idea at all.

‘Our mate wouldn’t. They would want us to be happy. This bafoon makes us happy. Try to be positive’ Willow says, exasperated with Lilly’s internal ramblings.

“Dear brother, will you ever learn?” Lilly laughs.

“I’ll get you one day! I’m only seven months younger and twice your size. Victory is inevitable” Forrest replied laughing. They both know it’s unlikely. Lilly had been trained as an Alpha. Her strategy and fighting skills were only surpassed by her mother.

“Whatever you need to tell yourself baby bother!” Lilly laughs. She knows seven months doesn’t make him her “baby” anything. But it is sure to rile him up. With werewolf pregnancy being only six months long, the alpha and Luna got busy quick. Gross to think about as her kid, but understandable with the strength of their bond. Sometimes Lilly felt like she could physically see it with how they are. They’re like magnets… being pulled together in perfect synchronicity. It’s beautiful… but gross at the same time. Like a dance only they understand.

“Get your fat ass off me twerp!” Forrest objects making Lilly’s tinkling laughter turn into full-on hysterics. She jumps up, and off the bed backwards, knowing he would attempt to topple her otherwise and saunters to her door.

“Is there a reason you came here? Or were you just looking to get your ass kicked again Forrest?” Lilly taunts.

“The ‘rents want you downstairs for “family breakfast”. I was sent as messenger” he replied sarcasm dripping from his air quotes. Lilly can’t remember the last time he called them “mother & father” or “parents”… he stopped once he got to high school. Maybe he thinks he’s just too cool for it now. Shrugging one slim shoulder up to her chin, Lilly replies:

“Gotta shower first. Be down in 20” and turns to leave.

“Oh! That’s what that smell is. You haven’t showered. Wondered why it stunk of wet dog in here!” Forrest shoots back.

“Our twerp!” Lilly calls over her shoulder, retracing her steps back to her bathroom giggling. Although her brother is a lot to handle, he brings so much laughter into her life. She knows he’s gotten himself in trouble… unusually due to his big mouth… because as the second child of an Alpha, you’re expected to act a certain way. He’s never been very good at it. But Lilly wouldn’t have him any other way.

Before turning on the shower, she hears the suit door close behind Forrest as he leaves. Under the pressurised spray of her shower, and following the banter with her brother, Lilly suddenly feels better. Relaxed. Calm.

Today. She’s 18. Today. She’s going to be an Alpha. Years of work and training accumulated to make today happen. She wasn’t going to waste it. She was going to be happy. It’s her destiny. And she was about to embrace it. One way or another.