The mating ritual

Laura's point of view:

The music was loud, and the familiar disgusting scent of sweaty humans mixed with alcohol made me feel sick.

I would normally mingle among these humans and dance until my body couldn't take it anymore.

The loud music hurt my human ears, and the drink in my hands seemed to do wonders, as it was the only way for me to forget how unfair life could be.

Indeed, I'm just a human. I've never shifted, nor do I believe I ever will.

My 18th birthday was an awful day, the worst in my entire life. As if it wasn't enough for me not to shift, I was also rejected.

I tried hard not to let the tear in my eye slide down my face. I don't show weakness, especially since I'm the only person left for my mother.

Yes, my mom and I live alone, we don't have anyone by our side. We used to have a father, but he's gone. He's been gone for so long that it doesn't hurt as much as it used to.

He was killed while protecting me from a rogue attack.

No matter how hard I try to explain it, you will never know how hard it is to witness the death of your loved ones.

As I've said, it was a long time ago, so it doesn't hurt as much. Years have passed, and life has taught me how to smile even through the pain.

I might be the offspring of an omega... I might not have a wolf. Still, I'm not a weak woman, and I will never be.

What annoys me isn't how sick my life is now, but how sick it will be starting from next week because of the run and the werewolves' mating ritual.

It's a ritual that occurs every five years in which all unmated werewolves who are over 18 have to take part. Rejected ones are not excluded.

The normal thing is that you meet your mate once you shift.

If it's not the day you shift, then it's a few months later. If not, it only means that you are mateless, which is rare to happen.

Worse, you'll be forced to take part in a brutal ritual in which you'll be forced to have a mate. Fun fact, it's held in our pack this year - The Blood Moon Pack.

Let me explain how sick this ritual can be… I mean, we she-wolves need to shift and run from one moon to another – twenty-four hours.

As for the males, all they need to do is catch us and force us into submission, which is not fair.

The entire ritual takes place when it's a red moon. Marking a female on such a night will create a mate bond that could be similar, if not stronger, than the original.

Why stronger?

Well, it's because rejection doesn’t work for this bond. Meaning, that whoever gets to bite you on the neck will be yours for an entire life.

Well, I'd rather die than find love that way.

I'm already heartbroken, and I don't deserve to end up in the hands of any horny male who thinks he could be superior to me just because of his gender.

Did I mention that I don't have a wolf yet?

Yet, as part of the pack, I'm forced into being part of such a ritual. Which, of course, makes me the easiest target for low-ranking wolves who cannot force strong females into submission.

Whenever I think about it, I get even angrier. The only thing that keeps me from ripping someone's head off is the cheap drink in my hands mixed with wolfsbane.

Not too much wolfsbane, of course. I never shift, but for some reason, I cannot stand silver or wolfsbane.

Not to mention that the human drink is far too weak to affect werewolves or make them drunk. Even for me - the 'not a werewolf', the human drinks don't seem to affect me unless I add a tiny amount of wolfsbane.

While lost in my misery, a strong aura hit my senses, causing me to shift my attention to a man who seemed to be in his twenties standing nearby.

He was gorgeous as hell; I admit it.

I mean, I used to think that Noah is the most handsome man who ever existed. Blame it on the mate bond, not me.

Yet, I don't believe Noah could hold a candle to that man.

In fact, I could sense that he was a powerful creature, not an ordinary one.

The type of creature I'd do my best to ignore, a werewolf.

Why?

Well, what would you expect from a girl who spent her last two years being bullied and teased by our future alpha and his female beta, only to turn out mated to the bully and rejected by him.

Same as our alpha, the man seemed to be an alpha, maybe?

I concluded that based on the much power radiating from him.

Well, in my situation, the rational thing to do is to ignore him, which I did, of course. Still, the strong aura kept getting stronger until I felt his presence near me.

I don't know if I had drunk too much, or if it was the ocean blue color in his eyes that stole my breath. Yet, before he said anything, I stood up from the stool I was sitting on, creating some distance between us.

Then, what I didn't expect happened. I stumbled, tripped, and was about to fall before his hands circled my waist, preventing my butt from kissing the floor.

"Watch it!" He spoke, not too loud, but I was able to catch his words even in the noisy environment.

"Get lost!" I spoke the same way he had spoken. My head was dizzy, so I wasn't intending to stay any longer in his arms.

"Is that your way to thank someone who just saved you..." I lost focus on the words bursting out of his mouth as his voice started creating a harmony that woke the sleeping butterflies inside my stomach.

Then, I focused on how handsome his face was.

Never in my life have I seen someone with such beauty.

Unlike Noah, his skin wasn't deeply tan, it was quite the opposite. Pale as snow yet incredibly matching his ocean blue eyes.

I've always thought that the brown chocolate hair color that Noah has couldn't be beaten by any other hair color. Well, not until I saw this stranger's raven black cool and stylish one-side-swept hair.

Even his bridged nose was perfect, linking his sharp eyes and delicious-looking lips.

I breathed in and out the moment my eyes spotted his delicious-looking lips. It was then that all sorts of rational sense I used to have disappeared.

I felt all my blood boiling under my burning lips as my breath hitched with every passing second.

I was in no control over my body, and my lips landed on his.

Yes, I kissed the stranger werewolf male in the middle of a bar.

What the hell is wrong with me?

I sort of expected that he would push me away and act as if I were trespassing his private space or even assaulting him.

I don't know what was happening to me...

Unexpectedly, he responded not only to my kiss, but he took control from me.

He seemed to be the type who liked to be in control, and I wasn't against giving him the control he demanded.

His tongue made its way into my mouth, pulling me into another reality where gravity was lost the moment he started kissing me.

His hands, which prevented me from falling a while ago, tightened and tensed around my waist, for which I was grateful.

I mean, my knees weakened, and I lost strength that I didn't doubt I would fall if he let go of me.

My hands, on another level, started roaming passionately around his silky dark hair, clutching him to me. His mouth seemed a perfect match for my mouth, more than I had pictured Noah ever would be.

The kiss didn't slow, yet it never lost its tenderness, which made me feel that something inside of me came alive. Like literally alive...

I heard a half growl mixed with a half moan, not coming from him, but from me.

A wolf's growl, right followed by another one coming from the stranger's wolf.

Frustration woke me up to what the drunk me was doing... No way did I just hear a wolf growl, I don't have a wolf.

I'm not even a half-shifter, just a damn human.

I gathered all sorts of rationalism I had left, then moved my hands from his silky head toward his powerful chest and pushed him away from me.

"Get off me, freak!"

A perplexed look was plastered on the handsome dude in front of my sight. I mean, he probably thinks that I'm an insane woman, which I wouldn't disagree with him about. The thing is, I don't care about what he thinks, or perhaps I do?

I don't know. I just want to leave.

"Do you have any idea who you're talking to?"

His voice brought me back to reality, and part of me wanted to snap at him the moment he spoke. The way he spoke reminded me of my rejected mate, which caused me to roll my eyes before I started.

"Another arrogant alpha who thinks he's better than everyone else just because he was born with a title. But I think not, and I don't care about who you are. All that matters is that I want you the hell out of my sight!"

A weird silence consumed both of us, and as I was about to leave, he spoke one last time.

In fact, what he said next made my heart tremble in fear, which wasn't a feeling I was used to.

"Guess visiting that tiny pack wasn't as bad as I thought. See you at the run, Wolfie..."