Mates
Lucy
I was born and raised in a pack called Darklight. It is situated on the outskirts of North America, somewhere hidden from human society. It is a normal thing as werewolves never want their secret to be revealed and we are free to shift whenever we want.
I am a beta female, only because I am the firstborn in my family. I had to work and train hard every day. Those are the conditions I had to meet if I was to stay beta. In my pack, life is kind of hard. Ranks are not obtained by a matter of birth alone; one has to fight for their rank and make sure one can keep it. That's how things work around here. It is a constant struggle to keep the beta position, and I have been challenged by it every time. I am so proud of myself and my accomplishments.
Today happens to be one of those days where I get to relax at home. It is my day off. I am in the garden in the backyard of my house, planting some vegetables. There is nothing I enjoy more than gardening. It keeps me occupied most of the time. I am adding more soil to completely cover the plants. My main goal here is to remove weeds. I can't believe someone would mess with my garden this way, though I already have some guesses. It can only be Justin, my younger brother. I will give him the s***k of his life the day I catch him.
This is the most relaxing thing I can do before I get busy tomorrow.
Being beta has its pros and cons. The disadvantages are being overworked whenever a neighbouring pack came to visit, I had to be there to introduce them to the alpha and ensure everyone had a good time. As much as I enjoyed being a beta, I kind of disliked the idea of socializing.
The whole day is spent with dad in the garden. He helps remove the weeds and replace some dead plants with new ones. The garden looks as good as new. Some vegetables are harvested for dinner and when dinner reaches I dread every second of it.
“ Lucy, I hope tomorrow you get to meet your mate,” Mum gushes as she normally does. She is usually the bubbly one in the family.
“ I hope I don’t. I am not ready for a mate.” I reply.
“ You are 19 years Lucy. You were ready for a mate the time you passed 16 years,” Dad shoots and I can’t help but roll my eyes.
He is just being dramatic.
“ I still don’t want one, especially if he is an omega.” I scrunch my nose.
“ What is wrong with a Beta?” Jason my young brother asks.
“ Everything, I don’t want a weak mate. Everyone will tease me about it.”
“ The heck they will, Lucy, a mate is a mate regardless of their rank.” Dad answers, sounding upset.
“ But dad!” I complain.
“ Always remember Lucy that a mate is capable of making you stronger.”
I roll my eyes once more, as if an omega can make me stronger. But knowing my rank, I am sure I will get mated to someone of alpha rank. After all, I worked hard to get here. I put in all the effort to get here, I know the moon goddess wouldn’t betray me in such a way. She knows how much I despise Omegas.
The next day I got busy with putting everything in order the neighboring pack that will be visiting us. It’s the first time that we will be mingling with them and the whole time my biggest prayer is that I shouldn’t meet my mate.
"It was great working with you, Beta Lucy," Jane announces, one of the warriors from the pack, and the rest of the group agrees with her. I smile at everyone and say my goodbyes and wished them a great celebration ahead of them.
I walk in the direction of Stacy's house, my best friend. I am starving and her place is the only thing I can think of quickly. I need food before I pass out.
I gently knock on her door and she opens it quickly. I quirk my eyebrow at her and she shrugs her long straight waist-length black hair, bouncing on her shoulder at the action.
“What?" her sharp voice makes me wince slightly. I roll my eyes at her, then push her aside and I am inside the house. I head straight to her kitchen and open her fridge, scanning what fast food she has. Coming up with nothing, I moved the cupboards just as I was about to open them, I hear rattling and I turn sharply to look at her.
”Coco pops?” I asked her and she just shrugged again and continues to pour some for herself. Feeling defeated, I grab the box from her, grab a bowl and milk, and make some for myself.
”I didn't know you were that hungry. You would have told me early and I would have cooked some food for you." She says, in a way that feels like she's mocking me for my hunger. I glare at her and then continue to eat the cereal as if my life depended on it.
Her big blue doe eyes are solemnly focused on me. She watches me quietly as she eats. She is beautiful. There is no denying that. She has the perfect white skin too. I kind of envy her sometimes, not that I'm not pretty myself, but just that I can't compare to her. Not only that, her movements are graceful too. She is like this porcelain doll that is very delicate and, like me, she also hasn't found her mate. Stacy is more like the opposite of me. While I am rough around the edges and may not be the kindest, being beta taught me to be tough and also be a fighter. Well, as for her, she can barely fight, even in her wolf form, but her beauty is exceptional. Maybe that's why we got along so well. Opposites often attract each other.
“I was so hungry," I complain to Stacy as I completely eat everything, grabbing some more too.
"Teaches you something for skipping breakfast," she giggles gracefully. I frown at her, giving her a questioning look.“ Oh please, you are my best friend. I can tell when you miss breakfast. You are quite a hungry bear if you ask me.” She teases with a smirk plastered on her face.
”I ain't a hungry bear." I defend myself. This only earns me a laugh from her.
"I won't argue since that's what you tell yourself when going to sleep," she deadpans. Her comeback completely shut me up. Instead, I ignore it and continue to eat. It's funny how we are having cereal for lunch. I am not surprised though, Stacy is a lazy cook since she lives alone most of the time as her dad is rarely home.
“Please hurry up; we need to get ready. Blackmist will be coming soon. I am so excited. I have a feeling I will meet my mate today!" She squeals, jumping around like a young girl, her sharp voice making me wince once more.
Damn, this girl can scream.