Talia and I stood near the buffet table, admiring the festivities. Everything was decorated beautifully. Tables were set up buffet style and covered with a wide variety of cuisine. Evening was fast approaching, and paper lanterns hung everywhere, giving the area a festive yet romantic glow. Music flowed from speakers surrounding a large dance floor, and a giant bouncy house had been full of pups for hours. The pups showed few signs of tiredness, aside from a couple of little ones who had fallen asleep at the foot of the slide. My birthday, so far, was going quite well. I tried to shake the nervousness I felt about my first shift, but it clung to me like a mass of cockleburrs.
King Maddoc had yet to make an appearance, but was expected to arrive soon. I was wearing a teal colored dress that flowed down, reaching just above my ankles. The skirt flared out when I spun around, and I was presently doing just that. I enjoyed the sensation of spinning. It was one of my favorite things to do when I was a pup. I would spin until I fell over.
About a dozen werewolves had found their mates so far and I was genuinely happy for them. I was still hopeful. I would not be able to scent my mate until after I shifted.
Our Alpha, Jack, was going to give a speech but the impending arrival of King Maddoc interrupted his plans. He and Luna Diane had to greet the King when he arrived at the Pack House.
Diane was the pack healer, known for her kindness and loved by the whole pack. She was a close family friend and a truly beautiful person in all possible ways.
She had been there for Talia when she first learned about her magical gifts, and they had a very close relationship. She suspected Talia might one day have the power to heal as well, in addition to telekinesis.
The Alpha and Luna waved to everyone from the stage, briefly explaining that they had a duty to welcome The Lycan King personally. They looked so happy, so vibrant. Diane had long, chestnut colored hair that was pulled into an updo, and her natural beauty made her appear much younger than her true age of 54. Jack always looked like a bad boy biker gang leader, and true to his image he indeed drove around on a Harley when the weather permitted. The bike was a hit with the pups, who would line up and wait for a ride around the block on the back behind the Alpha.
Jack looked a bit stiff this evening in his black suit and crisp white shirt, but he still wore his signature smile, genuine as ever. The Alpha and Luna of our pack were the best of the best, truly good hearted, they cared about all of us and made sure all pack members felt like family. Our pack was not large, about 200 adults and 75 pups, pretty average for a pack of werewolves.
Sadly, Alpha and Luna were never able to conceive a pup, something that might have weakened a pack whose members were not so fiercely loyal and bonded to one another. Nobody really knew why they never produced an heir to the Alpha title, and nobody asked. Nobody from Blue Moon, anyway.
When Talia's magic showed up along with her wolf, she began training to take over as Alpha when the time came. She trained in the way that other packs would train an Alpha-son. In the world of werewolves, this was very unusual and more than a few were strongly against it. Alphas were traditionally men, and they passed the title down to their sons, not their daughters. There were exceptions, but they were rare, and a pack with a female Alpha was seen by some as illegitimate. I thought it was just plain silly, all the fuss about titles seemed pretentious and based on outdated ideas.
Everyone knew that when the time came, there would be those who would speak, perhaps even fight, against my sister's claim to the title. Many thought she wolves lacked the power to lead a pack, but no one in our pack doubted her one bit. She would have no problem defending us against any threat. Anyone who dared to challenge her would leave knowing, in no uncertain terms, that she was just as strong as any male Alpha who ever lived. My sister was something of a legend in the werewolf world.
I had been training to be Talia's Beta for six years. Very few knew of this part of the plan, although many had seen me in action. They thought I was training to be a warrior. Those who had seen me training knew I could kick ass. No one I had trained with had ever been able to defeat me, male or female. I didn't brag about it, keeping it on the down low provided me the element of surprise.
After Jack and Diane left to meet with King Maddoc, my dad, Beta William, took the stage and informed the crowd that he would announce the King's arrival shortly.
My mother, Natasha, joined him on the stage, and when her eyes fell on Talia and me she stood there beaming with pride. My mother was so beautiful, with her white blonde hair that she passed on to her daughters. Like Talia, she had a magical gift, one that helped her run her business. She could see the faint "strings of fate" connecting mates together, long before they met each other.
Years ago, she saw that the Alpha had strings of fate that flowed out of him to the northwest, so she arranged for a social gathering with several northwestern packs. She was able to see the string leading to the car that Diane had arrived in. She kept it all secret, only revealing what she had done after the Alpha and Luna found each other. My mother and the Luna were instant besties, which worked out quite well when Alpha Jack made my dad his Beta. There was so much love in Blue Moon.
Mom had started her business, quickly becoming a huge success and securing the financial future for our present family and likely future generations. She often found herself explaining to critics that she was not playing the role of the Moon Goddess. She simply helped those who asked find their destined path, usually in subtle, non invasive ways. Fate would always take care of it, mates would eventually find one another but some didn't like sitting in the waiting room, waiting for fate to call their number.
On stage, my dad was tasked with keeping the attention of the crowd as we waited for our guest of honor. So, of course, he decided to embarrass his youngest daughter. Holding the microphone and scanning the crowd, he stated "as many of you know, it is my daughter's birthday today and she will shift for the first time in just a few short hours and welcome her wolf. I would like you to join me in a toast to my beautiful daughter Tara!" He winked at me as I wished to suddenly manifest the gift of invisibility.
Everyone cheered, as a cake was wheeled in front of me on a stand. It had twenty-one candles aflame on the top layer. Tradition said that I should cut the cake, after making a wish and blowing the candles out. So I made a wish, blew out the candles, and to my surprise rather than going out they turned in to sparklers then shot into the darkening sky! I smiled despite the anxiety caused by the sudden attention. "Impressive, thank you!" I called out to my dad, and set to cutting the cake.
Talia helped me serve the guests nearby, while kitchen staff brought out cake after cake, working through the crowd so that everyone would get a piece. Finally, I got to taste my cake. It was delicious. Chocolatey, velvety and moist, with buttercream frosting and a strawberry glaze that was so delicious I moaned with delight.
I had just set down my plate when my dad announced the arrival of the King. Everyone knelt down and bowed as he made his way towards my dad and took the microphone. "At ease, wolves, it is my pleasure to be here this evening."
"He looks as delicious as your cake," Trinity said inside my head.
Startled, I fell forward as I was standing back up. My wolf was something else! There were a few chuckles, and I about died of embarrassment as the King looked right at me and smiled, asking "is our birthday girl a little tipsy?"
I'm sure my face was beet red as I stammered "No, while I was standing up my wolf decided to get chatty it startled me. I guess I'm not used to voices in my head yet." Everyone laughed, not at me but with me, no doubt remembering their own early days with their wolves. I started to laugh too, it really was hilarious. The King laughed along with everyone, although he looked at me as though he was confused and his beautiful eyes flashed silver, so fast I wasn't sure if I had imagined it. He cleared his throat, and the laughter died down. He spoke for a while about alliances among packs, then moved on to new concerns about rogues attacking werewolves.
Rogues were the werewolf equivalent to criminals who evaded capture, escaped from prison, or were banished from a pack, meaning they had done something pretty terrible. Being alone in the world with no pack slowly drove them crazy, they lost their ability to feel emotions and became aggressive, extremely violent.
I had encountered rogues, once. I shivered at the memory. I had been hanging out with Talia in the woods, and we had climbed in to the treehouse our dad built for us, pretending to be on border patrol duty. Talia, at that time, had actually qualified to go on border patrol, but I was only 12 and had no wolf so I had to rely on my imagination and picture myself as a fierce warrior defending our pack territory.
I had barely started training in combat, nothing that could have prepared me for what happened that day.
After an hour or so we had decided to head back when Talia caught a scent that made her wrinkle her face with disgust. It hit me a moment later. It smelled like rotting garbage laced with malice. "Tara, you stay right here and don't move." She'd cast a spell to mask my scent and climbed out of the treehouse, warning me not to make a peep. I remember being so scared I don't think I could have even if I had wanted to.
She had shifted in to her wolf and took a few cautious steps in the direction of the smell. Suddenly two nasty looking wolves with glowing red eyes had emerged from behind a nearby copse of trees. They looked scraggly and filthy. Adela had given a warning growl, but one of the wolves had advanced towards the treehouse.
I'd scrunched myself against the back wall, heard growling, roaring, yelps of pain. Then silence. Adela finally barked out an all clear, and I'd climbed down out of the treehouse and jumped on her back. She ran like the wind back to the Pack House. I don't remember much else about that day, other than Adela being bloodied enough that it took me the longest shower ever to feel clean again once we arrived at home. Those eyes, that smell- not something I ever wanted to experience again.
I was now trained well enough to handle almost any situation with rogues. They were usually weak and easy to kill, but it was not unheard of to find one with unusual strength.
I was trained well enough, or was I? As King Maddoc spoke, we all learned that there was a lot of evidence suggesting that the rogues were getting more organized, forming gangs and increasing their attacks on the packs that shunned them.
King Maddoc looked heartbroken as he described the aftermath of a raid on a small pack far north of ours near the Canadian border. The rogues savagely killed everyone and took over the pack land. They even slaughtered the pups. With tears in his eyes, he told the saddened crowd, "this happened in a very tiny pack, we didn't learn of it until months later. The rogues had moved on by the time we arrived, they burned everything to the ground before they left. We only learned of it because there was one survivor, a twelve year old pup, who managed to escape during the original attack." He closed his eyes for a moment, then continued, "the atrocities this poor pup had to witness are beyond our comprehension. Please heed this warning, and be vigilant. If the rogues are getting organized we could be facing the most significant threat we have ever known. Alphas from all packs will meet at a later date to discuss this further." He sighed, looking apologetic. "For now, though, let's try to put these thoughts out of our minds and enjoy this time we have to spend with one another. Eat, drink, and be merry," he managed a small smile at the end of his speech, drawing applause and cheers from the crowd. The music started playing again, and soon all sadness was abandoned to the spirit of living in the moment.
"I love you, Trinity," I told my wolf silently.
"I love you too, Tara Bear," she replied, using the nickname my dad used when I was a pup. I would always protest, how could I be a bear if I was going to be a wolf? I giggled with her at the memory.
"You would be Tara the werebear!" Trinity was rolling around laughing in my head.
"Stop, I really don't want to pee my pants! Oh wait, I am not wearing pants!" My sides hurt from laughing.
"Well I guess you can freely pee, dear." My wolf was amazing in so many ways, she was helping me deal with my anxiety and I had so much fun with her. She understood me, and I only hoped I could one day understand her like that.
I spent some time mingling with the crowd, all was well until I spotted a familiar face and rolled my eyes. It was Cindy, the Queen of all Bitches, from the Moon Shine Pack. She stood across the yard, in all her skanky glory, glaring at me along with several of her "followers."
Cindy was an up and coming model, an influencer with a huge social media following. She hated me. The feeling was mutual.
She bullied me relentlessly whenever our packs got together. She once pulled my pants down in front of a crowd when I scored the winning goal at the end of a highly competitive soccer match, pretending to trip and accidentally grab me to keep from falling. I was mortified, she ruined my post-win high and the memory of it that I would have cherished. I could not bring up that soccer match without reliving that awful moment.
She never missed a chance to torment me, verbally and even physically. She was jealous that the Alpha of the Moonshine Pack's jerk of a son, Jake, had some kind of weird obsession with me. It was so stupid. I had no interest in him. I tried to avoid him whenever our packs got together but his creepy ass always found me, and refused to leave me alone.
Cindy apparently had decided long ago that the Luna position was hers, along with the jackass who would take over as Pack Alpha when his father retired. When she found out said jackass was chasing after me, I became her target. And she just loved target practice, as all mean girl bullies do.
She even recruited some of her followers to start nasty rumors about me on social media, like the ones about how I had slept with every male in my pack and hers, and that the car my dad got me for my birthday was actually given to me in exchange for giving her brother Chad and his buddies blow jobs.
I don't think anyone believed that, but I got tired of hearing "head for the car!" from anyone who heard the rumor. She had followers in Blue Moon, too. I loved my car, a black Dodge Challenger I got for being undefeated in warrior training. She somehow tainted everything I had with her jealousy.
Head for the car, I suppose it was sort of funny, now that I was a little older and less worried about being slut shamed since I was as far from a slut as one could get.
Mainly because I knew Cindy would hate it I went out with Jake on ONE date, a year or so ago, which was awkward and awful. He was his usual arrogant jerk of a self, treating the workers at the restaurant we went to like crap, making the waitress call him "Alpha son." It would have been funny if he hadn't been so serious about it.
After dinner he took me to see a horror movie about a poor human girl who was gang raped and tortured. She got revenge on her attackers in the most brutal ways imaginable, which might have been a redeeming quality, but it was all showed in such graphic detail that I actually closed my eyes for most of it and had nightmares for weeks afterward.
He was always bragging about his future as an Alpha, Goddess save the Moon Shine Pack. His certainty that I would be his fated mate and Luna was creepy.
I finally got so sick of his male chauvinism that I told him if he became Alpha I would challenge him for the title in a fight to the death. He laughed at me, looked at me like I was the crazy one, and went on a rant about how I could never be an Alpha because I was a girl.
"A female Alpha? That's unheard of. She wolves can't be Alphas, Tara." I remembered how hard it was to hold back from punching him in his chiseled arrogant face and showing him just how "Alpha" girls could be. Instead I just bolted in to the Pack House when he tried to kiss me. Yuck. I would rather have kissed a pig. A warthog, even. A wolverine, perhaps. Just a bit deadly but still under consideration for preferable.
After that, he kept pestering me, sending me text messages when I wouldn't answer his calls, even sending me a dick pic! I had blocked him after that.
"You should have told him you expected something a little more impressive from the son of an Alpha," Trinity told me now, and I laughed out loud, loud enough to draw Cindy's attention.
Perfect! I groaned inwardly. I looked around for a way to escape, not wanting to fight with her, more for her safety and well being than anything else.
She and her friends sauntered over, and I thought she looked like she belonged in a strip club, not a Pack event honoring the Lycan King.
Her tight black tube dress showcased a pair of flesh colored watermelons that seemed ready to burst out and splatter on the ground. I stifled a laugh, and prepared for the incoming bitch bomb, which I knew was coming even if the watermelons failed to launch.
She started circling me. "Well look what we have here," she smirked. "The birthday girl herself." I tried to walk away, but she and her friends surrounded me. I felt a tension in my body, like I was wound up tightly and ready to spring loose. This was not good.
"I don't have time for this, Cindy. I have to go change and get ready to shift." I was not in the mood to argue with her. When they refused to move a second time when I tried to get around them, I forced my way through, shoving her aside. This caused her fall on her ass, and wouldn't you know it, her boobs actually did pop out of the dress! Her friend tried to grab me but I easily got a hold of her and shoved her into the rest of Cindy's posse. They fell like dominoes.
Anyone would think they were being burned alive by the way they all screamed. A crowd began to gather as I walked away, and I heard her whining that I was a bully and had pushed them out of my way when they had only been trying to wish me a happy birthday.
I rolled my eyes, and just kept walking towards the Pack House. Trinity growled, and my skin felt tight and itchy. "Never mind them, Trinity. Cindy is a bitch, and she has made my life miserable in the past. But I will not let her ruin this night for me."
"That big boobed brainless bitchy bimbo," Trinity cracked me up again. She was so excited to shift. She had been waiting 21 years for this. She couldn't wait to get her paws on the ground and run. We didn't have to wait much longer.
I went upstairs to my room after arriving at the Pack House to get ready. "Would it screw up my shift if I smoked a little weed?" I asked Trinity. She assured me it would not, so I sat and enjoyed a joint on the balcony outside my room. The moon seemed to be smiling at me. 30 minutes to go.