My Future Luna

4| The birthday girl

| Victoria |

~The night of the 15th~

At around 10pm I started to feel antsy. I went to the kitchen, my automatic response. Maureen would be down there at this time, and I could get something yummy and sweet to eat and some sage advice.

Maureen was more like a mum than my own. She always had time for me, even with running the packhouse kitchen and the mammoth work that was. Mine was too busy, though she'd been getting me across more Luna duties this last year, so I had started to spend more time with her.

I sighed when I was on my way. Preston would bake me sweet treats when we were younger, just like his mum- and if I was being honest, even better.

I never spoke about him with Maureen. I wasn't sure how she felt about her son and me not being friends anymore. She never brought it up and neither did I.

I’d spent the last year and a half trying not to think about him while always looking and listening out for any bit of information. When I stopped hanging out with him, I saw how quickly other girls started to flock to him- without me there, obviously deterring them. They thought they could try to go out with him. My jealousy reared up like never before. I couldn't let any of the girls get close to him- so I made sure they wouldn't be interested.

The best I could do was distance myself from him and make sure every other girl did did too. He was waiting for his mate anyway. I was helping him. Yeah.

By this time tomorrow, I could have found my mate. I didn’t let any of my stupid daydreams push forward- the primary one against all odds, where Preston was my mate.

So dumb, I chastised myself.

The kitchen was empty. Strange.

I wandered around until I bumped into my mum. “What are you doing here, Victoria? It's almost 11:30. Your shift could start any minute.”

“I was looking for Maureen, she’s usually in the kitchen…”

Luna Justine shook her head. “She needed personal time tonight- but don't worry, she has all your favourite desserts for your party.”

I returned my mother's smile though that hadn't been why I was looking for Maureen. I was nervous about my first shift and finding my mate. I talked a big game, but I was scared my wolf wouldn't be what I had built up in my head- or my mate for that matter.

Saying goodnight, I made my way out to the woods. I had picked my spot years ago- actually Preston and I had, and promised we'd come with each other and would use the same spot- we were such dumb kids back then.

I entered the little clearing and took my clothing off. I had about five minutes until midnight. I sat on my discarded clothes, not worried about being naked in the woods.

I looked around, the night peaceful with a soundtrack of crickets. I'd meet my wolf, and then I'd meet my mate.

My party was going to be epic. We had every eligible alpha wolf from almost the whole world coming- and in the unlikely event my mate isn't an alpha wolf, every unmated wolf from my pack, and the two closest to us, were coming. If nothing else, it was an opportunity for all the girls in this pack- someone visiting could be their mate.

I hoped my mate was nice. I'd met more alphas as I got older and some of them were horrible. And my original assessment of them all being d***s with a brain was reaffirmed.

They did have their uses though, I thought with a smirk.

Sex was fun, but I had relationship goals with my parents in mind. My dad, a born alpha like my mum, would carry my mum to bed when she was tired, and I still caught them kissing and giggling together like newly-mates. He treated her like a queen. I knew he could be tough when he needed to be, but he gave my mother as much leeway as she wanted. He was originally from another pack. It was a bit of a family tradition, the Luna being the one born here and her mate from outside.

My thoughts of my possible mate were ripped from my mind as my body thrashed out without my control. I tensed as the pain sliced into me, my neck tendons tightening

“That's it…” a voice in my head pushed through, “relax, my sweet girl.”

I trembled with effort but listened to the voice. I screamed as a searing sensation rippled under my skin. Almost as quickly as it started it was over. Almost. The memory of the pain etched into my brain- they said it was never that painful again and I really hoped that was true.

I raised myself up on unsteady paws, getting familiarised with the feeling of being on four legs. Feeling steady, I stood triumphantly, tall and proud.

“That's it,” my wolf cooed, chuckling as I tensed and flexed my muscular form.

I felt huge. Like massive. I strutted around a bit until my vanity took over and I trotted over to the creek.

My wolf was still chuckling in my head. “You're a vain one, aren't you?”

I huffed, “It's perfectly natural to want to see what your wolf looks like.”

“Sure- most would wait until we'd had our run together first. Or at least introduced ourselves.”

I paused for only a second. I needed to see.

I rushed us to the creek, and looked at my reflection.

“s**t,” I gasped mentally.

“s**t indeed,” my wolf laughed in my head.

We were huge and glorious. My wolf was the same soft gold as my hair and our blue eyes shined. I tilted my large wolf head. I looked like I could rival my dad in size.

I frowned internally. “Will we be bigger than our mate?”

She gave a mental shrug in return like she didn't give a s**t. Well I did. An alpha may not be happy with his Luna having the bigger wolf.

I contemplated this for a moment then shook myself.

“I'm Victoria- what's your name?” I asked my wolf. I felt exhilaration and strength course through me. I was maybe a bit fiercer than I had expected. My mum's wolf was dainty.

“Natalia,” she told me in a rumbling voice.

“Nice to meet you, Natalia. Let's go on that run.”

~*~

I was bouncing on my feet. I hadn't felt right all day like I had forgotten something.

Natalia had crashed out in my mind, once we returned shortly after dawn, saying she was exhausted after being woken and wanted to be well rested for our mate. That seemed to involve her sleeping in my subconscious into the early afternoon.

“Where mate?” She demanded the second she woke.

“Hopefully we'll meet him tonight,” I told her. She grumbled, her growl coming through me. I bit it down. Goddamn, I thought, she's strong.

“Damn straight, I'm strong. Need mate. Go find him,” she huffed at me.

“He's sure to be here later,” I promised.

Mercifully, the evening came quickly. I'd been snappy and especially horrible to everyone that tried to be nice to me. My need for my mate felt all consuming.

I tried to greet people nicely but with every person that arrived that wasn't my mate, me and my wolf's patience bent more and more. Our frustration was coming out as anger. I practically ran around the party all night, meeting every man there. There were a lot of disappointed faces, not least my own, as it became apparent he wasn't here. I hadn’t seen Preston yet, but Natalia was claiming my mate wasn’t even on packlands.

“Is this everyone we expected?” I asked my parents, with a panicked voice. We were off to the side with the Beta family, including Keith, and our friend Mitchell.

“Every unmated wolf you could think of,” my mum said, with a little worry in her voice she was trying to hide.

Keith snorted, “And that matters.”

We all resolutely ignored him.

All my past boyfriends were here, all the males of the pack that previously had dubbed me as unattainable were here- so many more that I didn't even know from outside our pack. Nothing.

“Stay calm Victoria,” my father, Alpha Lewis said soothingly, his Alpha aura pressing on me and taking only the very edge off.

Mitchell squeezed my hand, “Not everyone finds their fated the first day. Look at Keith here,” he tried to make light by throwing shade at our friend. “Two years and this loser is still unmated.”

Keith pushed Mitchell in response to what was a sore subject.

“Keith,” I hastily mindlinked Keith, marvelling at the sensation, “Did you see Preston here too?”

Keith kept his face impassive as he took a swig of his drink, “Yeah, saw that creep around here earlier.”

I didn’t have time to let that piece of information add to the disappointment I was already feeling- it had been a slim to none chance in any case that he was my mate.

“We're supposed to meet him the first day,” my wolf stated.

“How do you know that?”

She turned her nose up at my question. I think it's because she didn't know how. She just felt it. And because she felt it, I did too. Something must have gone wrong.

Feeling a further sense of deflation, I turned to my dad. “Dad…” I couldn’t kill the whine in my voice. “My wolf says he should be here…”

He pulled me to his side.

“Maybe you'll have to take a chosen,” Keith said, wholly unappreciated at this point. A growl from Natalia bubbled up my throat at him- I cut it off.

I had dayfreamed about one particular person I’d take as my chosen. Natalia bristled within me. “Must be fated mate.”

My dad and Keith's dad cast him a warning glance, my father quickly turning his attention back to me. “We'll go to every pack until we find him.”

My mum put her arm around me from the other side, both of their powerful auras doing their best to calm me and my wolf.

I closed my eyes tightly, my wolf howling in desperation.

~*~