Chapter 1

I woke up to the smell of fresh pancakes.

On any normal day the delicious scent of my mother's cooking would have me leaping out of bed, today is not one of those normal days. As I heard my mothers humming coming closer to my room I rolled back over and pretended to be asleep. 

"Laila, honey. It's time to get up! I brought you pancakes to eat in bed but since you're still asleep I think I'll eat them myself".

I groaned as I turned to look at my sweet mothers beaming face, her honey coloured hair was brushed back into a perfect bun and she had a smear of flour accross her pink cheek. As I raised an eyebrow at her, she gave me no time to respond before she pulled me from the bed and marched me towards the kitchen.

"What happened to breakfast in bed?" I whined as she continued to march me down the stairs.

"That was just a ploy to get you up, now hurry up and eat your breakfast. Your Father and brothers have already left for training". 

As I walked into the kitchen the smell of fresh baking overwhelmed my senses. There were atleast two dozen red velvet cupcakes, iced with creamy lemon sugar icing. Pastries and goodies of all kinds covered our kitchen benches and as I opened the fridge to grab some water, I was nearly bowled over by the meats that came toppling out. 

"Um, mum? Mind telling me what's going on here?" I asked as my mother shot me an exasperated look.

"Well, since you were so stubbourn and refused to have a party, I decided to throw you a BBQ here at the pack house instead". 

"Mum, I really appreciate it and you know I could never say no to red velvet cupcakes, but you are really making a bigger deal out of this day than you need to". 

Today is my eighteenth birthday, a day which I have been both excited yet anxious to greet. As soon as a wolf turns eighteen, he or she is of age to find their mate. While we don't get to choose our mates, Goddess pairs us to the other half of our soul. Someone who was made specifically for you and you alone. While this used to excite me as a young girl, I had been dreading this day for the past two years. As soon as I had turned sixteen my body had matured from a frumpy tomboy to a curvy young woman. I had always been one of the boys, but that suddenly changed. The boys my age now found me attractive, my black hair had grown over the years and now stopped just above my round bottom, my full breasts caught their gaze, aswell as my full pouty lips and bright Caramel eyes. I was seen as a prize and nothing more. As the daughter of the Alpha to the Crescent pack, the second largest pack in the world, I was desired for my status, my looks are just a bonus as far as the wolfs in our town are concerned. 

"Oh stop being such a party pooper! Now hurry up and get out of here so I can start on the next batch of food". And with that I was quickly ushered over to the one free space on our kitchen table before my mother instructed me to vacate the premises. 

All I wanted to do today was sit down with a bucket of KFC and binge Netflix, instead I will be subjected to an afternoon of wolves sniffing around me, desperately seeking out my scent in the hopes that we are mates. The one silver lining was that my best friend Marnie had promised me to a night out dancing, she had also promised that she would pick a club far away from our town and out of the way of said desperate wolves. 

"And perhaps we could pick up some KFC on our way home from the clubs?", Amara chirped hopefully. 

"You really do understand me, don't you?", I giggled to my Wolf. 

I quickly dressed into a pair of black leggings and a sports bra, I hastily tied my hair back into a messy braid and made my way over to the training grounds. 

My mother, Evelyn, encouraged me to be my own strength from a young age. While most young girls in our town are taught to be an obedient and submissive mate, my mother insisted I train alongside my father and brothers and learn to fight my own battles. While many of the women in our pack didn't agree with this, none dared to question it as they respected their Luna. 

My father, Aplha Derek and my two older brothers Blake and Karter had already begun their training when I arrived at the recreational centre. While Blake was of age to become Alpha and take over the reigns, our Father wanted to ensure he was well prepared and ready to take on such a huge responsibility. As I walked over to where they were grouped the three large bodies turned around. My father, tall and athletically built hugged me first, his blue eyes beaming with pride as he congratulated me on my coming of age. Blake was next, he was practically our fathers twin with his matching black hair and blue eyes, he pulled me into a tight bear hug before I was lifted away by Karter, who shared their blue eyes but our mothers honey coloured hair. I looked like a doll in comparison to them, as my 5 ft 2 height was shadowed by their enormous figures. 

"So, where's this mate of yours, little one?", Karter said with a smirk. Karter had already found his mate, Jayne. 

"I'll find mine as soon as Blake finds his", I replied, glancing towards my oldest brother.

"Hey, Goddess is on my side and letting me live out my bachelor days before I get tied down". Blake shot me a quick wink before we began our training.

Growing up with two older brothers had always given me the advantage when it came to defending myself. I was quick on my feet and agile when it came to avoiding punches aimed my way. My father focused on helping me build my strength, he too believes I should be able to defend myself, especially during times like these when our packs feud with the Dark Moon pack was growing more heated by the day. 

The Dark Moon pack was the largest and most feared in the world, rivaled only by my own. The origin of this feud began way back when our people were first becoming established. Two mighty warriors proclaimed themselves as Alpha, they challenged one another but found they were equal in combat.

The pack split into two and borders were established among the two territories. Though they had agreed upon dividing the land, the two Alphas continued to sabotage one another, each hungry for more power.

Though they were enemies, two members from the packs were mated to one another. Their love was doomed from the start as the hatred between the packs was too fierce to be overcome. Their ill-fated affair came to a head during the last known battle, they tried to escape with one another but were caught by the Alphas gaurds. The wolf was struggling to defend himself when his mate stepped in to protect him, she was struck down and died before him. Mad with grief the wolf let the gaurds end his life too, for what was life without his mate? The two Aplhas agreed to cease fighting, though they would never call a truce between the two packs. 

To this day there is still animosity between the two packs. Alpha Grayson has recently taken over the Dark Moon pack from his late father. He is the most feared Alpha known to wolf, he is vicious and merciless towards his enemy.

As superstitious as this may sound, there has been a change in the wind. Something feels off, as if danger is knocking on our door and if we don't act fast our door will come crashing down. Aplha Graysons wolves have been edging closer to our territory over the past few weeks and scouting out the borders, this makes my father believe they are planning an attack for reasons unknown to him, making him train his pack even harder than ever. 

  We trained through to the late afternoon,  many of our packs warriors and men who were eager to learn joined in. Though combat training is essential for the warriors of our pack, my Father hasn't forced anyone or made it mandatory to participate as he believes it should be in a wolfs nature to want to serve and protect their pack, not something that is forced. While my father is a fierce and not to be messed with Alpha, he is also respected and well liked by our pack. The men voluntarily furthering their combat abilities makes him swell with pride as they are willing to lay down their lives to protect their pack. While the older generation of women still believe their place is behind their men, a few younger girls have started to train alongside me. I have no problem in teaching them everything I know, the love I have for my pack grows more each time I see all their faces eager to learn and protect our town. 

As training for the day was coming to an end, I noticed someone who had been absent skipping accross the room and over to our Beta, Luke. Marnie had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. We were only a few months apart in age but at times it felt as if she were the sister I never had. Her wavy, auburn hair was piled high ontop of her head in a messy bun and her ocean blue eyes were trained on Beta Luke. It was as if he was the only one in the room. I still remember the day they had discovered they were mates. Luke is Blakes best friend so he was always somewhere around the packhouse, even more so now he is Beta. One day as Marnie was walking through the door her nose shot up in the air, I had never seen such a look on her face. It was as if some other entity had taken over her as she claimed all she could smell was peppermint as she began her search for the source of this scent. Beta Luke then crashed through the living room and embraced her, it was truly a bewitching moment and I was happy for my friends. They made finding a mate look so beautiful and effortless. 

"If only you were as into the idea of finding our mate as you are of Marnie finding hers", Amara whimpered sadly in my mind. 

"I know I will have to find mine sooner or later, Amara. I'm just scared of the idea of being someone from this packs trophy". The thought of being showcased around our town made me cringe and a sour look formed on my face. I had been so deep in thought I hadn't even noticed when Marnie had appeared infront of me. 

"Hey sourpuss, you better wipe that look off of your face before I take you out tonight. We don't want to scare any cute boys away", Marnie winked with a twinkle in her deep blue eyes. 

I groaned at the thought of unwanted male attention, but a small part of me felt excited at the idea of having a night out and mingling with strangers, though I would never admit that to anyone... Not even Amara. 

"Whatever", I said with a huff. "Why weren't you at training today?". 

"Well if I told you then you would be pulling a worse face than you were just now, so you will just have to wait and see", Marnie said with a cheeky giggle. 

I assumed she had been involved in my Mothers birthday plans for me, but I brushed it off, desperate to change the subject. 

"Amara's desperate to stretch her legs, do you want to go for a quick run with me?"

"Oh that's a brilliant idea! That works out perfectly", Marnie said, a little too enthusiastically. 

Together we walked over to the forest edge and shifted to let our wolves take over as they lapped up the fresh air. Sometimes I couldn't believe how lucky I was to be able to live so close to nature. I wouldn't last more than a week living in some city apartment, and that's not only because of Amara. I have always found myself drawn to nature. There's something so refreshing and peaceful about being alone in the forest. As I got lost in my thoughts, safe in the knowledge that Amara had everything under control, Marnie popped into my head.

"I think its time to head back to mine", she said in a mind link. 

That's one of the many bitter sweet talents a wolf posesses, we can mindlink any wolf in our pack. Although it comes in handy while in wolf form, it also irks me that someone can rip me from my peaceful thoughts. The Alpha and Luna of a pack can mindlink multiple people at once, even the whole pack if the situation calls for it. 

"Why can't I go back to the pack house?", I asked.

"Because," Marnie said, a hint of exasperation in her tone, "You need to shower and be presentable and you can only do that at my place. So don't even try to argue against me on this one". And with that Marnies wolf turned on her heels and began to sprint back in the direction we came from.