Chapter 1

Tate

“Today is a special occasion! Today my son joins the ranks of young men who will participate in the mate hunt. When our young males go into the world in search of a mate. This tradition started when our ancestors realized changed females were stronger, faster and more fertile. However, it has been over a hundred years since an Omega has been found. A creature that will bring strength and fertility back to our pack. Now we send our sons out into the world in search of such a woman. May the moon goddess be with you all.”

The pack cheers after my father’s speech but I don’t bother. It’s the same speech he gives every year, and it has yet to produce any results. All of our changed females have become betas after being bitten, same with all the other packs too. I’m convinced there are no Omegas left, and it will lead to our kind dying out for good. Maybe that isn’t such a bad thing.

“Look at Keith and his crew acting like pups in heat.” Ash says with a dark chuckle.

I look over at the pack hot head and see him bouncing on his feet like he’s about to spar. He’s all muscle and not much else which is why he was not considered as my future enforcer despite my father’s hopes. No Han had the position since we met. There is no one I trust more with the protection of the pack than him. Ash is no slouch either but he’s wicked smart which makes him perfect as my second in command.

“Son.” I turn at the sound of my father’s voice and see him walking over with my mother.

He drops his hands on my shoulder and I have to fight back the urge to shrug them off. We can’t let the pack see us at odds, so I have to act like the perfect son at all times.

“I’m counting on you to bring in our Omega. Don’t settle for anything less, understand?” He says in a low harsh tone.

“Yes sir.”

“Good boy.” He drops his hands and my mother moves forward.

She wraps her arms around me the best she can and I hug her back. “Be careful sweet boy.” She whispers.

My mother is a saint and way too good for my father, but she came with him here and provided him with two children. He got his heir and a princess. A princess that was sold to another pack two years ago. Females born in the packs don’t often remain in their original packs. Just like the hunt there is an event where all the females are paraded around and chosen by the packs for the traits they can bring.

“I’ll call you.” I tell my mom when she finally lets me go.

She nods and I see her eyes filling with tears. She has already said goodbye to one of her children and now I’m leaving too. I hope for her sake that I find a mate as kind as her.

“Ready guys?” I ask my friends.

“Hell yeah!” Ash says excitedly.

I smile and lead them to my truck. “Just try not to scare off our mate. We’re used to your crazy, but it takes time to get used to, so tone it down will ya!”

He scoffs. “If our mate can’t handle me then maybe she isn’t the right one. I’m not going to pretend to make anyone happy.”

Yep you heard right. We are looking for a mate to share between us. Betas are only able to reproduce once every ten years if they’re lucky. Which is another reason the packs are desperate for Omegas. An Omega in the pack brings the ability for our females to have more pups. The goddess blessed them with a high fertility gene, so when they take part in the pack ritual…which involves them, like all pack members, to add their blood to an elixir that bonds all pack members together. Every pack member drinks the blood spiked elixir and gains the benefits of the new member.

So by the pack consuming an Omega’s blood they will be blessed with the ability to have more children. In my father’s eyes that means becoming the strongest pack in the country, but no Omega has been found. He thinks that because I will be the next Alpha, I have the ability to distinguish a female who will become an Omega when bitten better than anyone else. He’s delusional but as I said, I don’t argue. There’s no point trying to reason with a man who lives in denial thinking the goddess herself has blessed us above all other packs. I think that if an Omega has not been found then Lycans are bound for extinction and there is nothing that can be done about it.

“Come on man, this is our time. Get excited!”

“You seem to have gotten over a certain Beta female quick.” Han points out.

Ash has had a thing for one of our female betas since we were kids but I didn’t feel a pull to her. He didn’t either but she was pretty and sweet to him which was enough for him to want her. When Han came I think he hoped another member feeling the same as him for the girl would convince me to change my mind. I didn’t. The girl is nice and would be a perfect fit for any group but just not ours.

Ash shrugs at Han’s words. “We stick together, and you guys didn’t want her so neither do i.”

“That’s easy to say man, but it might not be easy to let her go. You’ve been wanting her for a long time.” I point out.

“I think she’s been courting a guy from one of the mountain packs anyway.”

“Oh man, sorry bro.” Han says.

He’s riding shot gun next to me so that Ash has plenty of room to get his excited energy out. I would tell him to run it off but we’re crossing into human territory so it would be too dangerous. The humans around here are hunters, so we try to stay on pack lands when in our wolf form.

A loud honk catches my attention just as Keith and his crew blow past us in his ridiculous red convertible. His parents work in the human world and make good money. Keith is an only child, and they spoil him with whatever he wants which only adds to his delusion that he’s goddess’s gift to Lycan kind. The fact that this is his third year doing the hunt proves that idea wrong, and something tells me he won’t be lucky this year either.

Ash flips them off as they go but they don’t notice.

“So, where to?” Han asks.

“Well, those idiots will probably stay close by so it might be better for us to put a good amount of distance between us and the pack lands.” I suggest.

“Are we talking out of the city or out of the state?” He asks.

“I’m thinking the next state over. What do you say boys? Want to have a road trip?” I ask the guys.

“Yeah!” They call out together.

“Good. It’s late now, but I think we can drive through the night. We can take turns driving until we get over the state line.”

They make sounds of agreement and it’s decided.

“Let’s just hope we don’t run into another pack while we hunt. I’m in no mood to be fighting over females. I hoped to enjoy this trip before we’re forced into pack service for good.” Ash grumbles.

“The hunt isn’t meant to be a vacation Ash. It’s an assignment.” I remind him, but he just scoffs. “I’m sure there will be plenty of time for recreational things, but that doesn’t mean we can slack off. We only have two weeks to find a mate.”

“Yeah yeah. I’m just saying if I’m going to be tied down for life, I want to enjoy my last moments of freedom. Come on, are you seriously telling me you’re ready to get tied down already? We just turned twenty-one!”

He isn’t wrong, but this is tradition and as much as I dislike my father I know how important this is to the pack. When I become Alpha, I might do away with this tradition but for now our pack has hope and I can’t let them down without trying.

“I think I’ll get some sleep. I was up early doing patrol.” Han says, leaning his chair back and getting comfortable.

“Yeah, go ahead, I’m good to drive for now.”

He nods and closes his eyes. Ash decides to pull out his phone for a while but soon he’s snoring in the back. I let my mind wander as I drive and end up trying to imagine the sort of woman I hope to find to be our mate.