Thirty- seven

"Emily wasn't always like that, was she?" Samantha asked.

"No, she wasn't." I sighed. 

The three of us were having a sleepover at my house. It was only the day before yesterday that I had gone through that awful dinner and I doubt there would come a time when I won't find it cringe-worthy.

My friends were curious to know everything that had happened during the dinner. I wanted to tell them everything face to face but didn't find the time in school, so it was unanimously decided that we would have a sleepover at my house, where we would talk about all the drama that had been going on in my life. 

I had my doubts though. I didn't think a few sleepover nights would help me cover up all the drama with them and with the way things were going, it was only going to pile up.

Since the dinner, I haven't talked to Emily and I honestly don't want to. We ignored each other when we passed each other in the hallways. Mom told me she decided to cut her trip short and was going to return to her college in two days. Well, good for both of us.

Natalie shook her head. "Maybe it's because of her mark."

"What do you mean?"

"When wolves mark their mates or anyone for that matter, a sort of connection develops between them. This connection helps the two mates to share some of the powers or characteristics of our kind." Natalie explained while folding her legs and sitting Indian style.

I frowned. "So, you're saying if Harper marks me, I will be able to have some of his alpha power?"

"When and not if," Samantha said sternly.

"Well, when an alpha marks his mate, he somehow transfers his dominance to his mate, which makes all the other wolves in the pack submit to the Luna, regardless of her previous rank and position in the pack," Natalie explained.

I nodded to show them I understood. It was all very interesting, considering I was going to be a Luna in the future. Hopefully. 

"But Harper is a white alpha, so we don't know what other kind of powers he will transfer to you. But one thing is for sure, after you two mate, all the pack members will recognize you as their leader and submit to you." Samantha said.

The last sentence made me somewhat uneasy. I didn't want anyone to submit to me!

"What do you mean 'submit to me'?" I squeaked nervously.

Sam chuckled and Nat laughed. 

"Don't worry. We won't grovel in front of you or anything." Nat teased and I squirmed uncomfortably.

"We will just accept you as our superior as we do with Harper and Aiden," Sam added while opening a bag of chips and munching on it. That girl and her food!

"Yeah, life will go on as usual for you." Nat teased me.

"How do wolves submit to alphas or any other high-ranked wolves anyway?" I asked my friends, suddenly interested in the topic.

"There are different ways but it all depends on the way the high-rank wolf shows superiority and the conditions," Nat explained while Sam nodded her head.

"We have inborn reflexes to show submission. We do it differently in our wolf and human forms. Some of these reflexes pass on to our human mates after we mark them." Nat continued.

Sam nodded. "When we are in our wolf forms, we roll over on our back, baring our stomachs to our superiors. It gave an easy access to attack all the vital organs in our body and kill us. Sometimes, we tilt our heads and bare our necks, to give easy access to our superiors to sink in their teeth, rupture the arteries, and kill us." I gaped at Sam who had just everything in a careless tone.

"We do that in human form too, bare our necks, I mean. When the person who is trying to make us submit is a gamma or a Delta or an alpha from another pack, that is a person with less authority over our wolves, we just bow our heads." Nat explained and snatched the packet of chips from Sam's hand who whined. "Our human mates subconsciously bare their necks or bow down their heads, whenever they come face to face with someone who is demanding submission or simply displaying power."

I took in their words and pondered on them. Immediately, the scene from last night's dinner table flashed through my mind. When Harper's voice boomed in the room, everyone had subconsciously submitted to him. Everyone, but me. Emily had bared her neck and was whimpering. My parents and Cory had bowed down their heads and all of them were sitting rigidly on their seats, waiting for the waves of dominance emanating from Harper to end.

"Can mates fight against submission?" I asked them, already knowing the answer.

Sam smiled at me and Nat nodded her hand while running a hand through her hair. "Yes, they can."

"Mates have different ways of submitting to each other, both in wolf and human form."

"Like what?" I asked them and opened another packet of chips.

"Humans usually bow down to their mates in an argument. When we want to show our submission and acceptance of our mates in our wolf form, we let our mates ride us."

"Seriously?" I asked.

They both nodded while snatching the packet of chips from my hands.

"Harper let me ride his wolf." My voice came out as a whisper. 

Vivid images flashed through my mind. His white wolf was beyond beautiful. His white fur had gleamed in the moonlight, making him look ethereal and otherworldly. His black eyes, which I had become accustomed to associate with his wolf resembled two black beads that seemed to look into my soul, leaving me bare. 

Harper had, without a sound, crouched low and I knew it was a sign for me to climb into his back. There was no way I would have been able to climb his 6-foot wolf otherwise. I grabbed onto his neck and pulled myself over him.

My fingers had sunk into his soft fur and he had purred when I had pet him. I could feel his muscled body when he stood up, powerful muscles that moved underneath me and sent a pleasurable tingle down my spine every time.

Every stride he had taken screamed power and I was awed by his dominance. There was no other emotion or word to describe it. 

I could feel every muscle move under my hands and thighs as he had gained speed, from a gentle trot to thunderous running.

The wind had whipped through my hair and I felt elated at the reality of what I was doing. I felt free and I understood why he had wanted to go out for a run. It was one of the best feelings I had ever experienced.

When his speed had become too much for me to handle, I leaned forward and buried my face in his neck. I didn't know what I had expected but I wasn't surprised to know that he had smelt amazing too.

I couldn't help myself then, and I placed a soft kiss on his neck and bunched his fur in my hand to keep my grip on him. I had felt a shiver go down his entire body and I couldn't help but smile against his skin.

He had growled, requesting me to stop because I knew if I didn't stop my ministrations, he would go out of control and I wouldn't even stop him.

I had buried my face in his neck again and he had continued to run for hours until he was exhausted and my legs pained from sitting on him for so long.

"He let you ride his wolf?" Natalie gaped at me.

"Um, yeah," I said unsure. I didn't know it was a big deal but the way Natalie said it, it must have been.

"Wow, he must have a hard time controlling himself."

"What do you mean?"

"It means both Harper's wolf and his human side have accepted you as their mate. He will Mark you soon enough." Nat smirked at me and I blushed at the mischievous wink she sent me.

"He must be desperately waiting for her birthday." Sam laughed. "Only when he finally accepts her, will he be able to mark her."

I blushed again at the thought of Harper marking me.

"Speaking of your birthday, what are you going to wear?" Nat piped up.

"What do you mean?" 

"Well, considering your birthday is in three days, what do you plan to wear?"

"Why would I plan what to wear?" I asked them.

Nat rolled her eyes while Sam shook her head.

"Harper would plan something and you need to look good," Nat explained.

"You know what that means?!" Sam wiggled her eyebrows.

Oh god, no!

"Shopping." Sam squealed while Nat started choking on her chips.

God save me!