The Lycan's Warrior Mate

My mother had a choice, love, or the sacred oath. She couldn’t have both. “Are you paying attention Aila?” Came the booming voice of Aldric, the head Warrior of the Silver Moon pack. An exceptional fighter, one I was glad to know and be trained by, he was my mentor. Brenna, my best friend, was next to me, grinning. “Sorry sir, I am sir.” I responded, my voice hoarse. Brenna snickered at me and rolled her eyes as we continued listening to Gamma Aldric. “As most of you know, the graduation ceremony will be taking place this Friday evening. That’s just two days away for those of you not paying enough attention!” Aldric spoke in my direction, a discerning look on his face. My face felt flushed as everyone began to look in my direction. Great, why can’t the earth swallow me whole, I thought to myself. I hated eyes on me, being the centre of attention was my worst nightmare. “I am pleased to say that all of you will be graduating. Congratulations. It is a formal event and the whole pack will be present, so dress accordingly please.” Gamma Aldric seemed pleased that we had all passed our final exams yesterday. I was a bit out of it today, weird dreams had been plaguing me for the last three nights and I felt like I hadn’t slept properly in months. Normally I would tell Brenna because I tell her everything, but not this time. I wasn’t sure why I was keeping this to myself. I had a gut feeling something bad was going to happen. Telling my best friend I was having night terrors that were leading to a bad gut feeling seemed silly to me. I wasn’t interested in giving these feelings any more energy than I already had. “What’s up with you today Aila? Is everything ok? Gamma Aldric has never had to call you out like that before, I almost couldn’t take him seriously.” Brenna seemed concerned but also slightly amused. “Yeah, tell me about it, I’ve never wanted to disappear so badly until that moment. You know how much I hate all eyes on me, but I’m fine. I just had a crappy sleep and woke up with a headache. Don’t worry about me, I’m good.” The last thing I wanted was my best friend worrying about me. “Ok, I’ll take your word for it. Want to hit the showers and get some breakfast? I am famished!” Brenna said enthusiastically. “Hell yeah, even better I’ll race you there, last one to hit the showers has to do breakfast clean up!” I teased her just as I started to run, Brenna hot on my heels. Brenna was the Alpha’s daughter. She was funny, kind and smart. She had jet black hair and green eyes. Her father, Alpha Casper, was fierce but kind and fair. Her older brother Kendrick was next in line to lead the pack once he had completed all his Alpha training. That’s when Alpha Casper would retire. Kendrick was three years older than Brenna and I, and he had three more years of training before he would be ready to take over as our leader. By then he would be twenty-four years old. “Oh, looks like you’re on clean up duty this morning, sorry for that.” I said sarcastically. “That is completely unfair Aila, you used your sexy long Lycan legs to get here faster and you had a head start.” Her voice sounding matter of fact. “Is that a sore loser I hear?” I teased back at her. “Fine, you win this time. But be warned, I will beat you tomorrow and then you’ll be the one on clean up duty!” Brenna was trying to sound threatening but we both knew she didn’t have it in her. We laughed together as we hit the showers. Not too long after, we headed to the dining hall inside the pack house, laughing and whispering together as we filled our plates with breakfast – bacon, eggs, sausages and hash browns. All the werewolves who were in Warrior training got up at the crack of dawn to train for two hours before hitting the showers and having breakfast. I wasn’t sure if I was ready for that routine to change after this week. I knew that I would still train daily, but as a qualified warrior trying to maintain skill and fitness rather than what I had been doing for the last four years. So much change had been happening these past couple of months, maybe that was why I kept having the same weird dream over and over? Brenna and I had graduated our final year of high school just four weeks ago. Now that training was also officially over as well, we were free to enjoy our summer. “I was thinking we could leave for the coast on Monday. Give us a couple of days after the Warrior ceremony to say our goodbyes and pack. What do you think?” Brenna asked me in excitement. Her smile was contagious, “I think Monday is perfect, we should get the car checked over once more before we leave also. Precious baby has never been on a road trip before.” I was looking forward to the adventure Brenna and I had been planning since we were ten years old. Silver Moon pack was in California, what others would call the Sequoia National Park. We dreamed of the coastline, to see what else the world had to offer. A girls road trip up the west coast, beach, boys and whatever adventure awaited us. We were planning on returning to Silver Moon pack in time for our Freshmen year at Silver Crest College. “Yes, that’s a great idea, just to be certain the car isn’t going to break down on us or anything.” Brenna agreed with a sparkle in her eye. “And I know you would rather avoid the whole Lycan Tour this year. It’s getting a bit old having to disguise your scent as a werewolf, it was much easier when you were younger and looked less like a Lycan.” Brenna added, concern in her eyes. “You know me so well Brenna. What would I do without you? Thank you for always having my back.” I said in appreciation. “You’re stuck with me now bestie.” Brenna teased back. “I’m pretty tired so I’m going to head home for a bit, I’ll catch up with you later?” I told Brenna as I began to walk towards home. “I’m meeting up with Simon later for a bit of you know what, so I’ll just see you tomorrow.” Her voice heavy with lust as she winked at me. I laughed at her response and waved goodbye. ~ It was Friday morning, the day of Warrior graduation, and I woke up with the worst migraine. My parents fussed over me at breakfast. My mother Irene made sure my dress was ready and reminded me to meet her at the Salon at 3pm. My father kept hugging me and telling me how proud of me he was. I felt like the day went by in a trance, my head was hurting and nothing I took helped. My dreams hadn’t stopped, and I was beginning to dread the night. The bad feeling I kept having was getting stronger the closer it got to graduation time. I had no idea what was happening to me at all. I was grateful to John and Irene; they weren’t my real parents, but they were all I knew. I was a Lycan raised by werewolves. I will forever be indebted to the Silver Moon pack. They saved me and gave me a home even though I wasn’t one of them. It was time to go so my parents and I headed over to the Alpha’s residence so that we could leave together. It wasn’t long before we arrived at the Ball room in a timely manner, taking our rightful places as the Alpha began the ceremony. “Thank you to everyone for being here tonight. We will once again witness the next generation of Warriors be inducted into our pack army. We are proud of every single one of you and thank you for your hard work and dedication. Beta Connor, Gamma Aldric and I will begin the ceremony and call out your names one by one.” Alpha Casper’s voice boomed across the hall. But before anyone’s names could be called out, a loud explosion erupted on stage. The hall was filled with smoke as the flames began to take over. Werewolves were screaming in fear as they headed for the exits. Others were staying back to try and help. I had been knocked over by the explosion, my ears ringing. The feeling of a terrible thing happening was stronger than ever, I look over and notice that Alpha Casper is dead.