Trevor and I used to be friends. Our parents used to tease us about being mates when we grew up. We used to laugh about it, but all of that changed last year during sparring practice. I have beaten almost everyone that I sparred with, except the alpha and my parents and sometimes the beta. Trevor challenged me once last year since he was an alpha wolf. Trevor thought since I was a gamma wolf and female, he could take me down easily. He prides himself on being the strongest wolf. Initially, I was going to let him win. My mother had told me a while ago about the fragile egos of the males in our pack. Secretly, my mother is stronger than my dad and probably the alpha, but she always gives them a narrow win to keep the peace and balance in the pack. I was going to do the same, I swear I was. I was also going to take this opportunity to help him improve some of his fighting skills. Trevor has a tell when he is fighting. He tends to lead off with his left leg every time he is going to get a power punch with his right hand. He favors his right side as his power side. To be a well-rounded warrior, you have to be powerful on both sides. If the one side is weaker, then you work on strengthening it. I had a training plan in mind for Trevor that would have made his moves unpredictable and made him almost unbeatable. You know what they say about the best-laid plans? Trevor never gave me the chance to go over the fight and point out areas he could work on.
As we began to spar, Trevor started attacking right away. I can tell he was trying to overpower me. One of the first lessons Beta Vereen taught us was to watch your opponent and find an opening to hit them where they are weakest. I noticed Trevor kept shifting to the left before he tried to kick me in my midsection. I kept sidestepping him. I can tell he was getting a little frustrated when he could not get a hit on me. So I waited for his left shift, then I moved, but not enough to completely avoid the kick. His food made contact with my right thigh. Yes, I took an indirect hit and let Trevor get me down. I tried to make it look real like I’ve seen my mom do when she spars with my dad. Trevor then tried to pin me and put me in a submissive hold. I would have submitted, but as we were on the ground, he whispered he knew that I let him hit me and wanted a fair win, so I got back up and fought a little harder, but still was not using full strength and let him get a few good hits in, but I fought hard. I was able to beat Trevor with ease, but I am a natural-born warrior, after all. At first, he seemed ok. Then, all of a sudden, he got pissed about losing to me. I don’t understand why. I mean, almost everyone loses to me, so I don’t see a problem. Most of the pack members measure their success and progress on how long they can stand against me before I take them down, not on winning or losing. You see, most warriors understand that I have an advantage when it comes to fighting. I have been training since I was a pup. Most wolves don’t train until they shift at 12 or 13, but my parents started training me when I was five. That’s a tradition in our family. I have been receiving specialized training since age twelve and have been learning from other packs and species for the past three years. Everyone in the pack knows this and appreciates the insight I can give them. I mean “Hello,” that is my job as Gamma and trainer.
After the match, I went to help Trevor up and he pushed my hand away from him. I was so surprised, all I could do was stand there. Trevor told me I was playing with him and trying to make him look bad. He accused me of not being a genuine friend to him. He said that I treated him like I thought he was weak and couldn’t handle me in a fight. I mean, obviously, he can’t. I wasn’t even trying to win. But that is not the point. I did not do anything to him and I fought him hard. It is almost like he is mad that I didn’t fight him like he is an enemy. I mean, why would I go overboard; this was a sparring match. I honestly don’t know what his issue is. It was a good fight. He started out overconfident and relied on strength alone. He did not focus on technique. I was planning to tell him how to improve the next time. That’s what I usually do with the Elite 12 when we spar. That is how we get better. Trevor just stormed away, telling me to stay away from him and that I was no longer his friend.
Trevor has been mad at me since that day. We stopped hanging out together. Even when the Circle of 10 gets together, it ends up being a Circle of 9. Trevor will not take part in the activity if he knows I’m going to be there and if we are both there at the same time; he ignores me and acts like I’m invisible. That was very painful in the beginning. I mean, we once were best friends. We told each other everything. I knew all his hopes and dreams and he knew mine. I knew how much keeping the pack strong means to him. He told me about how he wants to prove to his father that he will be a powerful alpha and lead by example. I thought we wanted the same thing for the pack. He wanted to be the strongest alpha, and I wanted to be the strongest Gamma. Together, we would make our pack unbeatable. I don’t understand how one incident could change that. We were friends for life. I thought our friend bond was unbreakable, but I guess not if he can turn against me over something so small and petty.
I thought he would get over it in time. That I would let him calm down and then we would talk it over, but when I tried to talk to him a couple of weeks after “the incident,” that didn’t go so well. I saw Trevor leaving the training ground alone and tried to approach him to work things out. Our conversation went a little like this.
“Hi Trev, you have a second,” I asked, walking up to him.
He cringed and looked at me clearly, getting angry for some unknown reason.
“First, my name is Trevor. You don’t have permission to call me Trev.”
To say that the venom in his voice shocked me was an understatement.
“Wow,” I exclaimed.
“Second,” he continued, “I made it clear that I had nothing else to say to you. We are no longer friends. You stay out of my way and I will stay out of yours, ok?”
“But Trevor, we have been friends for over 16 years, why won’t you talk to me. Can’t we work this out and remain friends. I’m going to be your third in command. We will need to work together.”
“Look Seleste, you should have talked to me before you decided to fight me like a girl and make me look weak in front of all the warriors. Did you get a good laugh at me with them?” Trevor yelled in my face.
He really needed to take it down a notch.
“I never tried to make you look bad. What do you mean I fought you like a girl? Um, Trevor, I am a girl. So, I’m a little confused. I thought it was a good fight. If you had waited, I could have told you the areas you need to work on to do better the next time. I mean, that’s what I usually do with the other warriors. You have a couple of tells when you get ready to throw a punch that could make a difference in a fight.”
I started trying to explain the things I noticed, but I could tell that Trevor was getting madder. I honestly don’t know what I did wrong this time, but Trevor had smoke coming out of his ears. He was so mad. A vein was popping out on his forehead. Everything in me wanted to touch him right now. For some reason, it feels like our touching would calm him down, but there is no way I would get that close to him right now.
“Seleste, are you hearing yourself right now? You want to tell me, the future alpha, what I need to do to improve? Well, listen and listen well, I will only say this once. I don’t care what you do with other warriors. I am NOT THEM! I will be your alpha and you will respect me. I can’t believe you think you have the right to correct me! Like I said earlier, stay away from me and I will stay away from you. As for you being the future Gamma, we can work together without having to interact personally. You just do your job!” Trevor yelled and walked off in a huff.
I just stood there with my mouth hanging open. How could such an innocent conversation turn into something like that? I don’t know what to say to him. It seems like he is determined to be mad at me no matter what, so I will honor his request and stay away from him as much as possible.
I told my mom and the girls about the conversation I had with Trevor. They were just as confused as I was. Everyone agreed that I should stay away from him and just give him space. No one thought he would stay mad this long. This was not like him. I had never known Trevor to be so unreasonable. None of our friends can believe he is acting like this. He has always been one to put the pack first. That’s how we were all raised. The pack is more important than the individual. Collectively, we are stronger. What Trevor is doing is dividing the pack. It’s almost like he wants our friends to choose between him and me, but I refuse to put them in that position. I let them know I understand they will do things with Trevor, and I will stay away so that they can have a good time without the tension between the two of us messing up the fun. I respect his desire to not be around me. Honestly, with his attitude, I don’t want to be around him anymore, either.
Over time, I got used to not having him around and after a year, I barely missed his presence in my life. It’s sad that one event that was not that serious could ruin a 16-year friendship.
I am the future alpha of my pack and I can’t wait to take over from my father. I have been preparing for this my whole life. I had the dream of not only leading my pack by being the strongest wolf in the pack. The alpha is always the strongest wolf, like my father and his father before him. How can I lead if I am not the strongest? I am a pure alpha. Both of my parents have alpha blood. That makes me special. I train hard and have proven myself against most of the warriors in the pack. My father has drilled it in my head that to be alpha, you have to be the best. Our Pack is one of the largest packs in America. We are also high ranking amongst all the other packs. I want to lead our pact to the number one spot. In short, I want our pack to be the best, so I have to be the best. In my father’s words, “to lead the best, you have to be the best.’ For me, being the best means being the strongest. I am an enormous wolf, even for an alpha. I am well built; with 6.5 feet of solid muscle. I t
“Wow, Trevor, did you see how Seleste just took my dad down. She is getting more and more impressive by the day. She truly has earned her position as the head warrior and part of the Elite 12. Can you believe she is one of the youngest members of the Elite 12?” Ben just could not stop singing her praises. “What are you, Ben, president of her fan club now? Okay, so she can fight, big deal. Is she even a she-wolf? No female should be able to fight like that and take down a full-grown beta,” I hissed at Ben. “Hey man, what’s gotten into you? I thought you all used to be the best of friends?” Ben asked. “We were friends, but I don’t need friends like her.” “Dude, she is going to be your Gamma. What is so bad about her? I think she is awesome. She is smart, beautiful inside and out, and incredibly strong. I hope she ends up being my mate.” Ben adds. “You can have her, Ben. I don’t want a mate like that. I want a mate like my mom. Soft, loving, and kind. Not a warrior.” “Um Trevor, you
It’s finally the end of the day and I am so happy to be out of school. Talia, Rose, Mona and I are going to the mall to get outfits for the big pack birthday party. The party is this weekend. It falls on my birthday. I am so excited. We like any excuse to have a party. Eighteen years ago, our pack had a big baby boom. Ten of us were born days apart. Ben, the future beta, and I were born on the same day. The future alpha was born 2 days before us. His birthday is on Thursday. Nathan’s birthday is Friday. Ben, Rose, and my birthday are this Saturday. All the ranked wolves had babies close together. It must have been something in the water that year. The girls and I head to the mall to shop for our dresses for the big birthday party. Every year the party is a major fashion event. Everyone is dressed formally or semi-formally. It’s the one time of the year that the pack gets to see me all dolled up. “Rose, you should try this dress. This shade of blue looks good on you.” I say, holding t
This week is going by so fast. It’s Wednesday already. Tomorrow is my birthday. I’m both excited and terrified about finding my mate. I hope it is Shana, but honestly, I don’t feel a pull toward her. Convel has been fixated on Seleste. I must admit, I do feel a small connection to her. I just have to ignore it and stick to my plan. After Monday night at the diner, I asked Shana out on a date for the next night. I took her to a pleasant restaurant. My prospective mate deserves and expects the best. I hinted to her I may feel a slight pull toward her. We plan to hang out together tomorrow night just to see if she is my mate. I plan to ask her to be my chosen mate if the moon goddess doesn’t do right by me. “You better not,” Convel yells in my head. “I want my mate! No one else will do. If you even think about rejecting my mate for someone else, I will never speak to you again! Convel says. “I don’t care. I am doing what is best for our pack, no matter what. You can’t stop speaking to
Today was a rough day. I got slightly injured during training. I sparred with one of the Elite 12 today and although I won; he made his presence known. “Come on, Tim, is that all you got? Come at me again,” I yell. Tim runs at me again. I step aside, kick him in the stomach and punch him hard in the face. Tim goes down and out. Another win for me. My dad walks over and looks at me. He is the only one who noticed me flinching. “Let me see Sweet Pea,” my dad says. “Dad, don’t call me that in public. Come on, someone might hear you.” My dad laughs and looks at the bruise forming on my left side. “Well baby girl, Tim got you good. Looks like you have at least two broken ribs and maybe more.” Although I’ll heal quickly, my mom made me stay home today and maybe tomorrow to heal properly. I don’t mind. I’m enjoying the time to myself and Tamaska is being quiet today. Plus, I get to spend a little time with my mom. My mom brought me breakfast in bed. “Are you excited that you get to fin
Today is my birthday. I’ve been walking around the school hoping to smell that wonderful smell of my mate and, so far, nothing. I never even considered that my mate may not be from our pack. I think I have been in contact with almost every she-wolf under 25 in our pack. Shana ended up not being my fated mate After All, but we plan to still hang out tonight; especially since I have not found my fated mate amongst our pack. “I told you she was not our mate, but do you listen? No, you don’t. Instead of planning a date with a random she-wolf, you should look for our mate. Why did I get a human like you!” Convel says in a huff. “Look Convel, I know you want our mate. I want her too, but she may not be in our pack. We may not find her right away or she may not be the right one to be Luna, so I will keep dating Shana until I or she finds our mate.” I hope Convel will see things my way soon and stop fighting with me. Why can’t he understand that I just want to do what’s right for the pack?
After lunch, my day seems to slow down. Everyone is either asking about my mate or parading themselves in front of me to see if they were the lucky ones. I swear even a few males paraded themselves in front of me. Sorry boys, I don’t swing that way. I can wait for this day to be over so that I can go to the fireworks display my parents have planned for me tonight. Maybe my mate will be there. The fireworks started at sunset. The fireworks look amazing. It’s been a long time since my parents had fireworks. With us living deep in the forest, I guess that makes sense. I’m glad that they decided to do this for me. “Mom, dad, thank you so much. This has been a great birthday. You guys always make sure my day is special.” “That’s because you are special,” my mom says, hugging me. “So, do you have anything to tell your father and me? Do I have a new daughter yet?” “Not yet, mom. But Convel seems to think that we will see her soon. I’m not sure if she is a pack member. If she is, she wasn’
It’s still early, just 10:30 pm. I don’t feel like going to bed, so I take a walk. There is this beautiful clearing close to the packhouse. The moonlight is perfect there. It’s my favorite place to go and think. Maybe Convel and the guys are right about me deciding out of hurt pride. I just want to do the right thing for my pack. As an alpha, I have to consider the needs of my pack. I just don’t believe that a Luna that puts herself at risk during a battle is right for the pack. I have a lot to think about, so I walk and think. When I make it close to my spot, I smell the most amazing smell. It smells like strawberries and rainbows. I know rainbows don’t have a smell, but if they did, they would smell like this. Convel sits up and starts wagging his tail. He starts yelling “Mate, Mate, Mate! Hurry up and get to mate.” I start running. I’m excited to finally meet the one the moon goddess has made just for me. As I make it to my favorite spot, I see the last person I wanted to see. The