Becoming the Alpha

Chapter 1- Heat Heat. That was my first thought as I slowly began to open my eyes. The cool breeze from May no longer lingered and left behind the gross, sticky heat that radiated all over my body. My tan skin was soaked from sweat. I needed shower… and badly. I rolled over in my bed to see a matted mess of strawberry blonde hair belonging to my best friend, Leah. I had always been jealous of her hair. The way her red curls complimented her pale skin and bright green eyes perfectly. She was tall and thin while I was petite and curvy.  She was always the one attracting the attention from the boys but brushed them off with cool disregard. She wasn’t focused on finding a mate or concerned with settling down with anyone. Having turned 18 a month ago, her wolf had awakened but still, no one had caught her eye.  Once a werewolf turns 18, they usually find their mate and are marked for life. Leah had different plans. I tried to follow her example in not being concerned with boys... however; there were quite a few handsome ones in our pack and I couldn’t help but have a wandering eye. Suddenly, I caught the scent of my favorite cookies and crème pancakes coming from the kitchen downstairs. I hopped up, pulled my long black hair into a messy bun and preceded down the stairs to find my favorite Omega, Mrs. Beasley, preparing a feast fit for a king. Technically, since my father was the Alpha of the pack, he was king in a sense, so I suppose it fit. I breathed in deeply…mmmmmm… the smell filled my nose and sent waves of euphoria all over me. Mrs. Beasley looked kindly over to me. “Good morning, Ms. Elina. I hope you slept well.” she stated with a tender, maternal tone. I had already grabbed a pastry and began to devour it. I looked shyly back at her. “I did, thank you.”,  I stated through a mouth full of food. “Elina!” I heard the sharp tone of my mother and snapped my head around to see her standing the doorway in her fierce Luna stance. “Tomorrow is your 18th birthday. How do you expect to find a mate when you are scavenging for food like a stray pup? Close your mouth when you chew! The moon goddess has her work cut out matching you, my girl!” My face turned a bright red from my scolding and I softly apologized. My mother was a small, but formidable opponent. Being the Luna of the pack meant she was just as much in control as my father… sometimes more so. She was a fierce fighter but also believed she should be both strong and femine at the same time. She brought me up in this manner as well. I was to train with the pack and expected to exceed them. I did, after all have alpha blood in my veins which made me considerably stronger than most. However, I must maintain all the standards of a “young lady” so that when the time came, I would be prepared to become a good mate to someone. I was expected to mate with someone who could increase the standing of our pack. It wasn’t an arranged marriage but the understanding of high expectations were definitely there. “Mom, give her a break. At least she will smell like pancakes when she meets her mate. Maybe he will find that attractive.” I glanced over to see my twin brother Alex standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a smirk on his face. I was half aggravated and half encouraged. Maybe there was someone out there for me. Alex and I had always been close, as twins, we were always by each other’s sides. He was my best friend as well as twin. We had a bond that no one could rival. He could feel my emotions and I his. We have been able to use telepathy since I can remember. Most do not develop this skill until their wolf is fully awake. I always thought we were special in that way. It was like we had our own unique language. As future alpha, Alex was the perfect example of a Greek warrior. He was very tall, handsome and looked a lot like my father with fair skin, sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes. I favored my mother with jet black hair and a caramel colored eye with olive skin. If you didn’t know us, you wouldn’t know we were related at all besides our noses. We both had the same small button nose. All the girls at school would fall all over Alex. Part of me believed it was because several members of our pack went to the same school and they knew he would become their leader. A little ass kissing from everyone we knew was pretty common. We weren’t allowed to date anyone who was not a werewolf or in other more specific terms, a human. We were taught from a very early age that we must maintain our bloodline and preserve the pack. This has been law for as long as I can remember. In a normal case, a werewolf could potentially mate with a human. However, we belonged to an Alpha family, this was not the case. Any mixing of blood could make other wolves challenge our Alpha status. I could potentially threaten our rule and that is something that my family simply could not allow.  I had tried to put the idea of my and Alex’s birthday in the back of my mind. I was excited at the prospect of meeting my wolf but recoiled at the idea of putting so much pressure on finding a mate. Part of me worried I may not find one. I worried I would not be wanted. The other part worried what if I did find one? Just as I began to emerge from my thoughts, it occurred to me that Leah was still upstairs asleep. I linked with Alex and suggested we wake her up. He grinned back at me with the mischievous, perfect grin that the entire she-wolf and mortal girl species fawned over him. We burst into my room as if we were going to war, water guns blazing. Leah jumped up with a high pitch screech in her best warrior stance. It was hard to even begin to take her seriously with her sleepy eyes and her hair sticking straight up in places. She then pounced on Alex, stealing his gun and began to spray us both. My stomach ached from laughter as we played innocently in my room. These were the moments; these were the moments I was scared to lose. What if I turned and found a mate immediately? It happened to a lot of wolves, in fact, it was more common than not. Would I immediately be forced to leave my childhood behind and become someone’s mate? Someone’s partner for life? The thought was too much to handle. I just wanted to enjoy this day, my last day before everything could potentially change with my two favorite people. “Good morning, Ms. Elina. I hope you slept well.” she stated with a tender, maternal tone. I had already grabbed a pastry and began to devour it. I looked shyly back at her. “I did, thank you.”  I stated through a mouth full of food. “Elina!” I heard the sharp tone of my mother and snapped my head around to see her standing the doorway in her fierce Luna stance. “Tomorrow is your 18th birthday. How do you expect to find a mate when you are scavenging for food like a stray pup? Close your mouth when you chew! The moon goddess has her work cut out matching you, my girl!” My face turned a bright red from my scolding and I softly apologized. My mother was a small, but formidable opponent. Being the Luna of the pack meant she was just as much in control as my father… sometimes more so. She was a fierce fighter but also believed she should be both strong and feminine at the same time. She brought me up in this manner as well. I was to train with the pack and expected to exceed them. I did, after all have alpha blood in my veins which made me considerably stronger than most. However, I must maintain all the standards of a “young lady” so that when the time came, I would be prepared to become a good mate to someone. I was expected to mate with someone who could increase the standing of our pack. It wasn’t an arranged marriage but the understanding of high expectations were definitely there. “Mom, give her a break. At least she will smell like pancakes when she meets her mate. Maybe he will find that attractive.” I glanced over to see my twin brother Alex standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a smirk on his face. I was half aggravated and half encouraged. Maybe there was someone out there for me. Alex and I had always been close, as twins, we were always by each other’s sides. He was my best friend as well as twin. We had a bond that no one could come close to. He could feel my emotions and I his. We have been able to use telepathy since I can remember. Most do not develop this skill until their wolf is fully awake. I always thought we were special in that way. It was like we had our own unique language. As future alpha, Alex was the perfect example of a Greek warrior. He was very tall, handsome and looked a lot like my father with fair skin, sandy blond hair and bright blue eyes. I favored my mother with jet black hair and a caramel colored eye with olive skin. If you didn’t know us, you wouldn’t know we were related at all besides our noses. We both had the same small button nose. All the girls at school would fall all over Alex. Part of me believed it was because several members of our pack went to the same school and they knew he would become their leader. A little ass kissing from everyone we knew was pretty common. We weren’t allowed to date anyone who was not a werewolf or human. We were taught from very early on that we must maintain our bloodline and preserve the pack. This has been law for as long as I can remember. Normally, a werewolf could potentially mate with a human but since we belonged to an Alpha family, this was not the case. Any mixing of blood could make other wolves challenge our Alpha status. I had tried to put the idea of my and Alex’s birthday in the back of my mind. I was excited at the prospect of meeting my wolf but recoiled at the idea of putting so much pressure on finding a mate. Part of me worried I may not find one. I worried I would not be wanted. The other part worried what if I did find one? Just as I began to emerge from my thoughts, it occurred to me that Leah was still upstairs asleep. I linked with Alex and suggested we wake her up. He grinned back at me with the mischievous, perfect grin that the entire she-wolf and mortal girl species fawned over him. We burst into my room as if we were going to war, water guns blazing. Leah jumped up with a high pitch screech in her best warrior stance. She then pounced on Alex, stealing his gun and began to spray us both. My stomach ached from laughter as we played innocently in my room. These were the moments; these were the moments I was scared to lose. What if I turned and found a mate immediately? It happened to a lot of wolves, more common than not. Would I immediately be forced to leave my childhood behind and become someone’s mate? Someone’s partner for life? The thought was too much to handle. I just wanted to enjoy this day, my last day before everything changed with my two favorite people.