Chapter 2: Chapter 2
"Since all our birthdays have been celebrated at Ethan's place, my father wanted to sponsor this special one. His little girl meeting her life partner is his dream," I parroted my mother's rehearsed lines. Ethan remained quiet beside me until I elbowed him, and he reluctantly nodded in agreement.
Ah, parents. Making their kids lie to their friends.
The next day, I would officially turn 16 at 5 in the evening. The boys were told they would see us directly at the party and said their goodbyes. Daisy and Aylin were to stay at my place for the night, as we had an early spa appointment. Yes, I had my own dreams of 'love at first sight'.
Chances were high that I would find my mate before Ethan, based on the common trend of female werewolves being a year or two younger than their mates. However, this wasn't a rule set in stone, as evidenced by Alpha Blake being younger than Luna Alexandra. This was likely why Dennis had been so disappointed on his 16th birthday.
Speaking of Dennis, he possessed a formidable resolve (and I don't mean this in any crude way; I've never seen him 'ahem' bare, we've never trained or shifted together). As expected, Dennis got into medical school last summer, although he did return a couple of times to continue his alpha training.
Three weeks ago, Ethan and I, just finishing our morning training with the pack, headed to his house for breakfast. We had a routine of rotating meals at each other's houses. Our playful roughhousing distracted us from noticing the tense atmosphere we were about to walk into at the grand entrance of Ethan's home.
Suddenly, we were met with two furious glares. We had unwittingly walked into a combat zone.
Dennis and Alpha Blake stood confronting each other, their wolves almost seizing control. Luna Alexandra was desperately trying to pacify Alpha Blake. Reacting instinctively, I moved towards Ethan, who held my hand in reassurance.
Dennis's persistent growling unnerved us. Something was off with him. He definitely needed a cold splash of reality. Despite my brave wolf, it was still nerve-wracking to witness two alphas at each other's throats.
We held our ground until Dennis managed to regain his composure. He then questioned his father, indicating our interlinked hands, "What will you do when these two don't end up as mates?"
Taken aback, we recoiled. He thought we were a couple?
Regaining our bearings, we fled in opposite directions. I attempted to protest, but Ethan interjected, "We're not a couple, bro." I quickly concurred with a nod.
Alpha Blake relaxed, although Dennis didn't appear convinced. Infuriatingly, he had dragged us into his own dispute.
"Enough!" Alpha Blake bellowed, "you two, go have breakfast at Mrs. Taylor's." Dennis surprisingly maintained eye contact with his father.
Pulling a reluctant Ethan, I led him to my house. Despite his curiosity about the unfolding drama, I valued my life more than any juicy gossip. But I had faith Ethan would learn the truth soon enough, and I'd coax it out of him.
Dennis departed for school that evening, his belongings in tow, while Ethan pursued him. The fight clearly hadn't ended well.
Throughout the day, my wolf whimpered. I guess she didn't cope well with 'alpha confrontations'. To soothe her, I indulged her with a long two-hour run.
At the end of my run, an irate Ethan joined me, an uncommon sight as he was typically relaxed. We spent the night by the lake, gazing at the comforting moon. Our wolves revered the moon, akin to a child finding solace in their mother's arms.
Ethan sighed, "He's letting go."
"Of his mate?" I gasped.
I understood his implications, but it was hard to accept.
"Why?" I whispered, not expecting an answer.
A werewolf forsaking their mate was rare; an alpha doing so was almost unheard of. Alpha wolves often sought their mates across oceans, and the mates were almost always werewolves.
Dennis's mate hadn't shown up for almost five years. It was a grave matter that affected the future of our pack. He had been retreating from public view, earning pitying glances from the pack members.
"But he can't give up. Uncle Brain found his mate when he was 40, and she was a human with two kids," I argued.
"Perhaps Dennis's mate is also a human."
"But why would he do this?" I asked.
"He's fallen in love," Ethan replied with a hollow laugh.
Had Dennis truly fallen in love? Under different circumstances, the idea would have been laughable.
"Doesn't matter when he meets his mate," I remarked, disbelief tinging my words.
"He believes he's not just a wolf. Half of him is human, and he's chosen a woman who, he says, is his human half's mate," Ethan explained. "And he's also considering the possibility that his mate may never show up. He's tried to avoid her for a year, but failed. So, he's willing to take the risk."
The next day, Luna Alexandra arrived; Alpha Blake was teetering on the brink of violence. Therefore, we decided to host our birthday party at my house.
As I lay on the threshold of my 16th year, Dennis's predicament occupied my thoughts.
What if I met the same fate as Dennis? What if I didn't find my mate? What if I fell for someone who wasn't my mate?
We humans had always submitted to our wolves' instincts. We loved who they loved, and protected who they deemed important.
Do we desire something different from our wolves? Aren't we essentially one being?
6 years later:
Ah! Home sweet home!
I closed my eyes; spread my arms; took a deep breath, inhaling all the sweetness that I could. I missed home.
"And the drama queen returns" I hear a voice behind me
I grinned.
And I missed my best friend. I turn around and jump at the person looking at me with a huge grin on his face
"I missed you" he said
"Sure you did" I punch him in his ribs "Do you even have the time to look away from Daisy and do what normal people do?"
He grinned and shook his head "Nope"
"So where is she?"
"Come to the lake after you are done with your teary family reunion"
"Oh..... ok" I guess they were all gathered there.
*****
Ethan was right about the teary part of the family reunion.
My mother wouldn't stop feeding me, like she saved up all the food she was supposed to feed me for the past four years.
And my father, yes, my father, couldn't stop weeping. He would weep when I talked, when I laughed, even when I ate. He must have thought that the cruel world starved his daughter to death
I had to threaten him "I'm going to click a picture of you crying, and send it to the alpha, dad"
That stopped him. We couldn't stop laughing as he glared at us through his tears.
*****
I was on my way to the lake to meet my friends.
As I walk through the jungle, I couldn't help but think how much our lives have changed.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone