By The Law Of The Moon

18nth Birthday

My name is Samantha Leon, I’m the daughter of the Alpha and the Luna of the Crimson Crescent wolf pack. The story you’re about to read about my life will most likely shock every one of you to your core.

This isn’t the way I had pictured my life. This isn’t the happy story I had anticipated. Although I’m happy now and everything worked out alright, it took forever to get to the point of contentment.

In order to be happy, in order to experience rainbows- I suppose there had to be rain first. All the road bumps and heartaches were worth it. They made me stronger and I wouldn’t take back a single second.

>>>>>>>>.<<<<<<<

It was the early morning hours of my 18nth birthday and I had just woken up. It was already almost 100 degrees here in California. We were in the dead middle of summer and I had left both windows in my room wide open and I was covered in sweat. There was a puddle of it under my body and as soon as I stood up and got out of bed, my sheets tried to come with me.

“Ugh.” I swatted at them, huffing as they fell to the floor.

Of course I could sleep better with my windows open instead of just enjoying our central air.

Being a werewolf didn’t help either, it meant I sweat even more while I slept. Our body temperature was normally higher than any other creature.

I striped on the way to my bathroom and quickly turned on the shower once inside. I turned the water to almost freezing and stepped in wincing.

After a few moments my body got used to it and I started to lather my skin with my favorite lavender scented body wash.

It wasn’t long before my thoughts were straying to the huge gathering my father and mother had planned for my birthday. Don’t get me wrong, I wanted to find my mate but I was terrified. Everything was going to change. If my mate was from a different pack I would be expected to leave with him. I would barely see my family anymore. I would be expected to start one of my own; bare my mates pups.

It wasn’t uncommon in werewolf culture to have pups as soon as you found your mate, at such a young age. I wasn’t sure that I was ready to just yet, I felt like I was way too young…. I was still a kid myself.

Yes I was going to be legal but I still had so much to learn and experience. What if my mate couldn’t accept that and demanded me to bare his children immediately.

That also was common in our werewolf community. The male making most of the choices and having the ultimate say in everything in a relationship.

I sighed, starting to lather my hair now.

“Sammy?” My father's voice flooded the room and I smiled.

“In the shower daddy!”

“Ok baby girl, I’m headed down to make breakfast. Lucas is helping your mom and I. Come down when you are done.”

I was guessing that they would have a birthday surprise for me. I smiled to myself thinking about it. My family was so close knit. I have no idea what I’d do without them. I’d be so freaking lost.

My mind wandered back to the thoughts of finding my mate after thinking about my family.

I wouldn’t handle being separated from them very well.

I had until 10 o clock sharp. Almost a whole day left of complete freedom. I turned 18 at exactly 10 o’clock. It wasn’t until I was ‘officially’ 18 that I could be found by my mate. The party started at 7 and ended sometime passed midnight.

The thought of hiding for most of it had crossed my mind but there was no way my mother would allow me to get away with that. And my father was always my mothers back up, he would make sure that I listened.

There was no escaping my mate if he would be at the party tonight, no matter what. That was that.

I finished up in the bathroom and got dressed in a soft white sundress with yellow sunflowers. The light color of the fabric complimented my honeyed skin well. The contrast was almost blinding.

I left my light brown wavy hair down around my shoulders. My cheeks had a natural pinkish color to them so it looked like I was always wearing blush. My eyelashes were long and I never needed to wear mascara, not that I’d ever even want to. Makeup annoyed me. It made my face feel suffocated.

My plump lips were a dark shade of pink, also looking like I wore some type of tint on them. I was genetically blessed to be honest and I didn’t take it for granted. I never flaunted my looks. I had clear, smooth, soft skin. In the eyes of most other people, perfect curves; the perfect shape.

Honestly, sometimes it was a curse. Boys and girls flirted with me constantly. I was lucky to have my older brother Lucas who kept most of them away. He had threatened every member of our pack that had tried to get too close to me. He made me feel safe.

Tonight would be hard for Lucas as well. He would have to accept my mate just as I had to. He couldn’t freak out this time. Maybe he would find his mate as well, there would be females from other packs joining the gathering as well.

He wasn’t ready to find his mate either. When he turned 18 he fled from our territory and stayed with some relatives in Oregon for almost a year.

Lucky Lucas….

As soon as I made my way into the kitchen, my dad, mom and brother were shouting ‘Happy Birthday!’ I jumped and my dad pulled me into his arms, kissing my forehead.

“Sorry baby girl. How are you feeling about finally turning 18?” Their eyes lingered on me, waiting for my answer.

“Anxious. I don’t really think I’m ready for this… I don’t want to leave you guys. I don’t want to leave you, daddy…” I had always been a daddy’s girl. Leaving him would be the hardest. Aside from Lucas, he had always been my fierce protector. I had learned the most from him. He taught me how to be the descent, modest person that I am today.

“I know sweetheart. But it will all work out how it’s supposed to, I promise you that. And even if you leave this pack. Your mother, brother and I will make sure we visit you as much as possible. But let’s pray your mate is from our pack. I have been begging the moon goddess every night.”

My father's revelations made my lower lip tremble and I had to really fight back the tears that wanted to come. He didn’t want me to go just as badly. I had to reassure him that I believed what he was saying, if he was worried- I’d become even more stressed out.

“You’re right daddy. It’ll be okay.”

My family had made me pancakes with rainbow sprinkles and whipped cream. We all sat around the table reminiscing and laughing about funny moments that had happened during my childhood. It was easy to tell that everyone had been dreading this day. We all wanted to hold onto each other for as long as possible.

After breakfast, we all shed our skin and went for a run. It was hard to tell how much time had passed before we finally ended up back at our house. I needed another shower and this time I took my sweet time. I still had to pick my outfit out for the party. Usually girls would have picked it out months in advance but since I was dreading it, I kept putting it off.

Since white complimented my skin tone really nicely, I chose an all white lace and silk knee length dress. The entire top part was lace with spaghetti straps and the silk was on the bottom. If it wasn’t see through I could have gotten away with not wearing a bra but unfortunately that wasn’t the case so I opted for a skin colored push up bra.

I stuck to no makeup per usual and wore a pair of gold flats to match my jewelry. I always wore a thin gold chain with a rose pendant around my neck. It was given to me by my nana before she passed away a few years ago. Since my middle name is Rose she would call me her ‘beautiful rose.’

The day had passed in a blur it seemed and I was already ready for my birthday gathering. Also known as the gathering where I’d hopefully meet my mate.

Since I was the guest of honor I wasn’t allowed to show up late like I usually did to parties. It was easier to blend in when you snuck in from a side entrance and mixed into the crowd.

I had to walk down to the lake where a gigantic tent had been set up with buffet tables and what not. It was beautiful to be honest. All the lanterns and candles, flowers and decorations that lined the golden canvas reflected off of its surface in the dancing light.

The pack had really gone all out setting this up, my father and mother had made sure of it. The wolves saw me as their princess and I was well liked here. Another reason it would be hard for me to leave.

This would always be home to me.

I never wanted to leave, ever.

Just maybe it would be possible. Possible for me to stay forever.

‘Relax, little one. I told you it’s going to be perfectly fine. I want you to have fun tonight. No more worrying. Do it for daddy?’ My father spoke to me through our mind link. I looked over at him as we approached the tent and he was smiling sweetly. He always could calm me down.

‘Ok. I promise I’ll try. I am starving and I can smell all the delicious foods!’

He chuckled making my mother and brother look back and forth between the two of us.

“She told me how good the food smells.” He explained to them, chuckling.

“Hell Yeah!” Lucas agreed and my mom was nodding with a grin.

At that moment my stomach grumbled and we all chuckled together as we entered the tent. Immediately applause broke out and all eyes were on me. I swallowed hard, feeling my heart begin to beat faster.

Although I was comfortable within my pack, I still got nervous when I was the center of attention. My parents had explained to me multiple times how I would have to get used to it because I would most likely be a Luna someday. ‘It was in my blood.’ My father had said.

But that was only a half truth. My mother’s true mate had been a warrior and had died in battle before she met my father. She was never born to actually rule over anyone else. Maybe I would be bound to a fate like her own. I honestly didn’t mind.

And yet I still wondered about my father's true mate. He had never found her. He had drawn the conclusion that she had either passed away or had given up her search for him as well and settled down with a chosen mate too.

I knew that my mother worried about the possibility of them crossing paths one day still. It wasn’t impossible. Although I was truly grateful that my mother and father had met and had my brother and I, I too worried like my mother.

If they finally found each other by some miracle, would our family be ripped apart? Could my father really reject his goddess given other half? Why hadn’t they ever met? It was a hard concept for me to accept; never finding your true soulmate. But it was more common than not in our day and age.

I knew that my parents worried for me and my brother. They never wanted us to suffer never finding our true mates. I knew they would do everything in their power to help us find them.

“Sweet, sweet Sammy, happy birthday my dear child.” One of my favorite elders Clara greeted me with a warm hug. I hummed in content, breathing in here lovely rose smell.

“Thank you Clara.”

As soon as she let me go and we were standing face to face her brows furrowed for a slight moment before she looked over to my father who was conversing with another pack member and then back at me.

I couldn’t help but frown at the notion. Clara was a clairvoyant and I had this weird feeling that she had seen something.

“What did you see?” I kept my voice hushed as her eyes met mine again.

“It’s nothing dear girl, nothing to worry about….”

Her tone wasn’t convincing in the least and I wanted to probe her more but my mother interrupted.

“Good evening Clara, blessings. Thank you for coming.” Clara gave me one last smile before she turned her attention to my mom and they headed towards a buffet table.

“It’s ok sissy. You’re safe here. And I don’t give a rats ass if your soulmate is your soulmate, I will put him in his place, do you understand? I will always have your back.”

I grinned at him with a wink and wrapped my arm in his. “I know Lucas. I know you will always have my back. I’ll never be able to truly express how much it means to me.”

“Nonsense little one. I already know.”

It took only about another 15 minutes before people were really crowding inside the tent with us. All the different scents from the different pack members overwhelmed me. I had never been so close to so many different kinds of wolves at once.

I soon started to stuff my face with as much food as possible and when people started conversations with me I tried to keep them as short as I could, making excuses such as my mother was waiting for me to bring her something. When I could no longer stuff my face, I glued myself to Lucas’ side and began to follow him around.

Oddly enough, the hours were flying by. You would think that the minutes would be dragging by, but by some miracle I was now 30 minutes away from 10 o clock. Just as my eyes left my watch for the thousandth time and I looked back up into the crowd of people, I caught the elder Clara’s eyes and found that they were intently watching me. She still had a look of apprehension across her face. Had she been watching me this whole time? Why? I KNEW she had seen something when we greeted each other earlier. I wondered if it was my mate… but if it was, why did she seem worried about it? Was he a bad man?..…

It suddenly felt like I was claustrophobic and I was having trouble breathing. The beginning of a panic attack, from which I suffered often. This was the worst time for this to happen. The night of my 18nth birthday.

As I snuck away from the crowd, I found the dock on the lake and sat down and hung my head between my legs, practicing the calming breathing techniques that my father had taught me when I first started having attacks.

I thought I had made it out here alone unnoticed but of course I was wrong. I could never get anything passed my father, he noticed everything all of the time.

I sighed as his body enveloped mine. He pulled me back between his legs and put his arms around my legs. I lifted my head to lay it back on his shoulder. My father's scent instantly calmed me. It was fresh rain, the woods and fresh grass all mixed with a dash of warm cinnamon. I had never smelled it on anyone else before and tonight it seemed extra strong. I attributed that to my nerves and its ability to completely quiet them.

“What’s wrong my beautiful, little girl?” I smiled hearing him call me a ‘little girl.’ Although I was now ‘grown’ in the eyes of the world, I would always be his little girl.

“It’s the elder clara, daddy. Since greeting us earlier this evening she’s been giving me odd looks. Like she knows something, like she’s upset by something she saw...having to do with my mate and I. “

“I’m going to speak with her, no one upsets my baby girl. If she really did see something she needs to tell her Alpha immediately. You are my daughter and we both deserve to know.”

“No, no...n-no… I’m, I’m too nervous to know. I don’t want to know daddy. I just want to go back home with you, mom and Lucas. Can we please leave? I’m not ready for this. I don’t want some he-wolf staking claim over me and taking me away. I want to live my life on my own terms, daddy. Can’t you just declare it my choice? You’re my alpha and my father. Maybe… m-maybe I’d rather not be with my mate. It’s not worth what I could lose.”

He made a shushing noise into my ear and then kissed my cheek, pulling me against him more securely. “Trust me my sweet girl, you don’t want to lose your mate. I know the idea of one is scary but I have faith that he will treat you right, respect you and provide you a happy life. If he doesn’t and he hurts you, I will make him pay. I love your mother with my entire soul but I still wonder what it would have been like to meet my true mate. I never had the chance but I’ve heard wonderful things about what it feels like. Your mother told me about how it was with her true mate. I never got to have that experience and I never want you to lose it. As soon as you find him, or he finds you- never let him go. I believe in the goddess and her wisdom. Whoever she has chosen for you, he will treat you right. I feel it in my heart.”

I sighed, feeling completely content. As I reached my hand up to grab onto his arm, my eyes glanced at the time on my watch once again. My heart skipped a beat, at that exact moment my body was flooded with chills. Ten o clock on the dot and my body was shivering in pleasure. It came in waves, from the top of my head to the tips of my toes.

Unable to stop it, a moan tore from my lips. I had started to pant and a wetness was pooling between my legs.

What the hell was happening to me!?

Before I could get out another word, my dad groaned lowly against my ear. The husky sound caused another wave of chills to wash over my body.

“Oh s**t….” He ground out.

His scent was suddenly stronger than only moments before. It’s all I could smell and my eyes rolled into the back of my head as I inhaled it deeply into my lungs.

“F-f**k I can smell you….” His lips moved against my ear as he informed me. What did he mean he could smell me?

Before I could ask him what he meant, my body jerked hard when I felt… a hard bulge digging into my backside. I was innocent in many ways but I knew exactly what that was.

My father had a hard on. Why did he have a hard on suddenly?....HOLDING ME!?

“W-What do you mean you smell me, daddy? What’s h-happening?”

His grip tightened even more so and I whimpered. His voice turned lower, huskier… I had never heard it like this before in my entire life. He would never use a tone like this with me… it was usually reserved for...lovers.

“Your arousal sweetheart. I can smell how wet you are.”

At first the words didn’t register properly in my head. It was as if he was speaking another language. But when they did, my breathing grew extremely shallow.

My heart stopped for a long moment before it started again and it was a painful feeling. My anxiousness grew again but the chills of pleasure running through my body made it impossible for an attack to overcome me.

Sensing my anxiousness, my father nuzzled his nose into my neck and I let out a mewling noise. It felt so…..good. I had to struggle to pull air deeper into my lungs. These feelings were...overwhelming every single one of my senses.

“You smell so f*****g good, babygirl. s**t….” His lips came next leaving soft kisses up and down my neck.

“D-daddy?” I tried to get out more words but it was impossible. I felt high on the feeling of his touch. I was confused and scared but those feelings were outweighed by the pleasure. Nothing could stop me from feeling so good.

“Diego? Sam? What’s going on?” The sound of my mother's voice made my heart skip hard again. My father loosened his grip on me but he didn’t let go. He merely turned us both around on the dock to face her. I was so glad Lucas wasn’t with her, she was alone.

My mother’s face had a look of pure confusion plastered all over it. Her eyes were wide, her lips open. I suddenly felt like I had betrayed her for some reason. I felt the first few tears that fell onto my cheeks. I had never been this confused in my whole entire life.

My dad pulled my limp body up with him. We stood together, his arms still around me, my back against his chest. I turned my head and buried my face in his arm, unable to handle anything at the moment. I just wanted to go home and bury myself under the covers in my bed.

“She’s my true mate, Isa. She’s my mate.”

His words explained every single feeling that I had just had. My mother and I both gasped at the same time and my head jerked back around to meet her gaze. She looked stunned beyond belief. She stood perfectly still, her shocked expression remaining the same. No tears, no sadness, no anger…

“H-how?” My tiny voice squeaked out. Seriously, how!? I had never heard of such a thing ever.

“This isn’t the first time. A friend from my former pack was mated to her father.” My moms revelation and calm sounding response shook me.

I just couldn’t understand. My father was my true mate!

Of all people in the whole entire world, my father…

I felt like I should be sobbing but I couldn’t bring myself to do it. And although I had started to cry, I had immediately calmed when my father shushed me again. The affect he had on me… the mate bond, it was unreal.

“Baby girl, we need to go home. Your mother and I need to talk.”

I still couldn’t move, I was stunned, overwhelmed with all of these new emotions that I had never felt before.

THIS is what Clara foresaw. It had to be. She had seen this happening. I was suddenly completely okay with the fact that she hadn’t told me. I understood why she didn’t want to. I couldn’t even imagine how it made her feel, feeling how I did myself.

Lucas was suddenly coming towards us down the hill from the reception. It had me feeling even more panicky.

“I mind-linked him. I’m going to have him go back to the house with Samantha.”

I attempted to say anything at all but my brain couldn’t figure out how to get my mouth to move.

“It’s okay baby. Just go home with Lucas. Everything will be just fine.” My mother’s words surprised me. How was she so calm right now!?

“She’s right, baby girl. We will be right behind you two.” He leaned his head down, pressing a soft, gentle kiss to the side of my neck and then my cheek. Right in front of my mother. It took all the strength I possessed to hold a moan in. I watched my mother's face, it didn’t change. She showed no emotion towards his action.

“I love you so much. Wait for me in your room.” His lips tickled my ear as he whispered into it.

“Come on, Sammy.” My brother held his hand out to me and I reluctantly moved away from my father as he dropped his arms from around me. My wolf whimpered, she didn’t want to leave father’s side but I had to right now.

Every step that lead me away from him to Lucas was painful. When I finally reached my brother he grabbed my hand in his. As we turned away from our parents I faintly heard my father growl and my heart dropped into my stomach.

Was this really my life now?

XO