Ember blinked her eyes open.
The sky was still dark outside and even the moonlight wasn't passing through the gap between the thick pastel blue curtains painting the room black. Her vibrant blue eyes that shone in the darkness scanned the room slowly and settled on the white ceiling.
Ember does not like using night lamps and prefers complete darkness when sleeping which always made her feel like waking up to nothingness around her.
The comfy pillow and the soft bed she was lying on with the fluffy white blanket covering her was warm in the cold. But then the alarm started ringing.
Ember turned it off, her eyes glossing over the time noting four in the morning when the light flashed in the clock. She turned on the bedside lamp brightening the room and quickly got off and made the bed before making her way to the washroom to freshen up.
Ember changed out of her favourite light blue pyjamas to a dark grey jogger and a sleeveless black turtle neck. She took her Comb and detangled her waist-length straight silver hair.
She picked up a light grey hairband, which was the first one she could lay her hand on from her dressing table's front drawer and tied her hair up in a high ponytail. She then wore her black wristband and headed out of her room.
The alpha's house isn't exactly the largest in the pack but it's decorated simply with expensive ornamentation and includes high-security measures which cost a fortune.
Ember jogged down the stairs and saw her mother sleeping on her fluffy grey bed before the fireplace.
Seeing her open her golden eyes and peek at her after hearing her footsteps, Ember went to her mother and hugged her around her neck loving the feeling of her soft creamy white fur on her face.
"Good morning mom" she whispered for which her mother answered with a light lick over her chin.
Ember chuckled and patted her mother's head right over the tuft of light grey fur between her ears. "I'm gonna go train, see you in a bit mom" she smiled and got up before heading towards the door leaving her mother to enjoy the warmth from the fire.
Ember took out and wore her white shoes from the shoe rack before heading out. The sky was completely black and a few flakes of white which were dully clear in the darkness drifted down to the snow-white ground.
Ember had always been grateful for her wolf vision which her siblings had also been blessed with. She doesn't need to worry about tripping over random objects even in the darkest of nights like humans do.
After closing the door Ember skipped down the doorsteps and jogged towards the back gate. She grabbed hold of the metal gate and jumped over it swiftly, not minding the scanner which glowed blue over the lock where she touched it with her other hand. She then jogged towards the training grounds.
She passed by a few houses which were still mostly quiet and she could hear the faint breathing of the shifters from within and the rustling sounds of fleeing arctic hares.
The road had long been covered in snow which dipped a few inches with her every step and the cold wind blew over her cheeks which still retained her usual pale complexion with no tinge of red.
Ember crossed over the bridge connecting the two parts of snow-covered land separated by the icy frozen river. She gazed straight over the white ground sparsely covered with slumbering trees and thin shrubs with few motile life.
It might look desolate to any southerner but to Ember, this was her home.
The home she was born and raised in. The home she felt the most comfortable in and the home she loved.
And one of the main reasons for her to love this place is that it is the home of her beloved people.
A smile bloomed on Ember's face as she laid her eyes on the two large arctic wolves fighting on the training grounds. She quickly hid her expression and frowned.
"Elliot! Emmanuel!"
The two wolves immediately stopped fighting and looked over at the girl running towards them.
"You guys! Did you two just ditch me and come over yourselves?!" Ember fumed.
The two wolves looked at each other, before taking off in her direction. Ember was caught aback and before she could stop she was pounced on by two gigantic furballs each bigger than an average human.
Ember felt the familiar ache in her body as her bones began to break and realign with incredible speed and she immediately shifted into her snow-white wolf form and the three started a brawl, yipping, growling and scratching at each other.
After tiring themselves out, the two brothers and sister trio each lay on the ground leisurely catching their breath.
Ember's bright blue eyes looked over the horizon noting the brightening sky. She then looked at the two wolves lying down lazily on their sides, a few feet away from her and then at her torn bits of clothes before huffing out in resignation.
Ember is the eldest daughter of the Winters household. She had two twin older brothers Elliot and Emmanuel and five younger siblings, with her being the last triplet of the first litter.
The three after her were a triplet of two girls and a boy, Leah, Linda and Liam, with Liam being born in the middle and the last litter had two Boys, Oliver and Owen.
Her twin brothers and she were separated from her siblings from the second litter by five years and the last litter by eleven more years.
Ember chuckled remembering her dad's reaction when he found out the unexpected, a tad embarrassing but pleasant news when her mother was pregnant with Oliver and Owen. They weren't planned so they were quite a surprise.
Ember loved them like her own kids due to the age difference with her being a twenty-year-old and them being just four. And with her mother being a true wolf, the responsibility of caring for them in their human form fell onto her hands which she gladly accepted.
Ember's pack was located in the far North of Alaska. Her pack is small and closed off from other wolf packs, so her best friends were her twin brothers and for them, it was the other two of the triplets. To her, her pack and her family were everything.
"SISTER!"
Ember suddenly heard a yell before something heavy glomped onto her furry back. As if expecting it, Ember laid in the same posture ignoring the pouting teen hugging her tight around her neck.
'What is it, Liam?'
Ember asked stoically with telepathy as her ears turned.
Liam had been her little tail ever since he was born and he always had his lackeys who joined in being her second and third tail after him.
Just as she was thinking, two light grey wolf pups ran towards her while nipping at each other only to end up rolling towards her in the process.
'Oliver, Owen.'
Ember called out stalling the pups in the fight.
The two little balls of fur slowly turned to look up towards their sister.
Ember resisted the urge to give in to their sparkling eyes and their pitiful guilty expression before narrowing her eyes at them.
'It's too early for you two to be up. Liam, take them to bed.'
"But sister! I want to train with you!"
Ember shot Liam a look that said 'Are you doing it? Or do you want me to drag you by your collar?'
The downtrodden teen pouted before picking up the wolf pups who did not protest before heading back towards their home.
Ember watched them leave before standing up. She had long felt the presence of another wolf approaching her, who made Elliot and Emmanuel turn their heads in slight displeasure.
'Andrew' Ember nodded at the dark grey wolf.
'Hi Em, done with training?' A gentle tone with a deep voice resounded in her head.
'Yes, now I have to head to the kitchen to help, will meet you later in the noon.'
'Okay then, see you later' Andrew nodded back with a smile in his eyes.
Ember and her siblings have more wolf blood than other wolf shifters, so they've always been slightly averse to Andrew since their instincts are sharper.
Ember always wondered why her father chose him as her fiancé but then he was only half-wolf and not like them. Besides Andrew did have the potential to be her mate.
Ember's pack never mingled with other packs, they are secluded and mate with wolves in the same pack. It's been this way since old times. Her mother was the exception but then she is a pure wolf with no human blood.
Thinking about her pack's trust issues and the pull between two mates, it's not much surprising.
Seeing her parents, Ember did have a bit of longing for her mate but then she had always conformed to her father's wishes since she did not have any opinion otherwise.
To protect and to guard what's dear to her, she'd do anything and take any measures.
And if it needs bonding with her chosen mate...
Ember took a glance at the retreating grey wolf's back before trotting towards her home.
She requires a change of clothes or exactly - a new set of clothes before she went to help in the canteen.
.....