  I snapped my eyes open, having no doubt that my eyes were pitch black since my wolf had already taken over. I turned my head south and was not surprised to see that my parents and Ethan had stepped back to give me enough space for when I shifted.

  

      Without a second thought, I launched myself in the air as I shifted into my wolf. The only sound that was heard was the tearing of my clothing as I shifted. I didn't bother to look back to see the shreds, I instead allowed my wolf to take over as his paws collided with the Earth below, barely making a sound.

  

      As the distance between the pack house and I increased, I could hear the faint groans of females as they realized that neither of them would be the next Luna. My wolf snickered at the thought, immediately telling me that he never thought of them as worthy enough to be our mate. Especially not Claudia. I couldn't have 

  I paced back and forth in the middle of the trees as the sky was illuminated with the sun's morning rays. It was a beautiful sight to see, but I paid it no mind. My mind was completely somewhere else; and it was all because of that human inside of that house!

  

      'Don't talk about her that way! She's our mate!'

  

      I stopped pacing and rolled my eyes. I was still in my wolf form and my wolf was really starting to aggravate me. He had not stopped whimpering all night and crying out to his mate. Every little thing I would say about her would ultimately make him snap at me. The only thing he was forgetting was that she was my mate too.

  

      I let out a low growl in frustration as I laid down on the now damp ground that was filled with mildew. I had no idea what I was going to do and I couldn't ignore the constant nagging in the back of my mind that began ever since thi

  Marcus's POV

  

      Pacing back and forth in my room, my mind going a 100 miles an hour, and I couldn't shake the nervousness out of my system. I rubbed my now clammy hands on my jeans as I listened to the sounds that came from downstairs. The constant chatter of my pack got me on edge. Their eager voices reached my sensitive ears and it was not helping my situation whatsoever.

  

      I have been waiting for this night my entire life, and now it has finally arrived. My eighteenth birthday. Anyone would think that the only reason why it is so special is because it symbolizes one's growth into adulthood; and they are not wrong. But for us werewolves, it is quite different, especially if you are a descendant of one of the most powerful Alphas in the entire country.

  

      My pack is the Black Forest Pack, hence the reason why we live in Black Forest, Colorado. We are the largest pack in the United States as well as the most powerful one. We have over 400 pack members and the number increases with every year after a couple mates and bears a child. It is quite extraordinary being raised in a pack as large as mine, but it has its faults as well. It's difficult to keep track of everything and I am amazed that my father handles it so well. He is currently the Alpha of my pack and in three years he will be handing the title to me; and just the mere thought makes me anxious again. Great.

  

      Tonight was the night where I will finally meet my mate. I know what you are all thinking, shouldn't I have found her the second I laid eyes on her? Well, that is the case for ordinary werewolves. When they meet their mates, the sparks fly instantly and they immediately recognize each other; but I'm different. Being of the Alpha bloodline forces me to wait until I am 18 in order to find my mate. My father actually told me that before we come of age and where our true Alpha powers ignite within us, making us the most powerful wolf in the pack, we can actually sense our mate. Not to the extent where we automatically know they were created to be ours, but we just have that small feeling. He once told me at a very young age that when he set eyes on my mother for the first time, he had felt something. It wasn't the immediate sparks everyone talks about, but it was still something. On the night where he turned eighteen, he immediately caught her scent in the crowd and the rest is pretty much history.

  

      It's really annoying if you ask me, having to wait until that age just to find the person I am destined to spend the rest of my life with. But I know it will be worth it. I couldn't help but wonder how my mate will be like. Will she be a part of this pack or will I have to travel to another just to find her? What if she was a rogue? I couldn't help but shiver at the thought. Rogues were soulless and having a rogue as a mate will be quite....difficult. I know I wouldn't give up on her, but it might arise some questions as to how great of a leader I will be; but I didn't care. Whomever was destined to be my mate will be the person I will give my entire love to. At that thought, a face appeared in my mind.

  

      Ever since I had laid eyes on her, her face had never once left my mind. She even appeared in several of my dreams this week! My dad had mentioned about a pair of humans moving into our territory and I was sent out to keep a watchful eye on them. When I once spotted them, I knew instantly that they will not be a threat to our pack. I was about to head back to the pack house until I spotted her. Her face made me stop dead on my tracks and I couldn't help but emerge from the trees as she looked out the window. She spotted me instantly and I knew she wasn't believing what she was seeing. Of course she wouldn't. Anybody who ever saw us in the woods by accident would think we were mutated wolves or something. We are quite large in size, especially me because of my bloodline.

  

      The very next day, her first day at school, I had immediately caught her scent and verified that she was indeed a human. As my best friends, Ethan and Alex, walked beside me, caught up on whatever conversation they were talking about, I couldn't take my eyes off her. My wolf kept on pushing me towards her but he never dared to tell me why.

  

      She was heading my way and I took this very chance to just be close to her. She had been walking on my right side so I moved in front of her path. She probably thought it was a mere accident, but it wasn't on my part. I didn't know what made me do it, but I felt at peace once I held her in my arms. It was quite amusing to see her blush at my touch and I couldn't help but smile at the gesture.

  

      Ethan and Alex had asked me after our little encounter what was going on, but I just insisted that my dad told me to keep an eye on her since she was new to the territory. Ethan knew something was up but didn't dare question it. Alex, as always, just went with it and began talking about another subject.

  

      Once I had reached homeroom, ignoring the constant chatter of my pack mates around me, I instantly smelled her scent approaching us. I couldn't be more happier when I saw that she had the same homeroom as I did. I was rather disappointed that that was the only class we had in common, but at least it was better than nothing. I did plan on getting to know her better.

  

      When the professor had walked in, he had done the usual greeting to everyone and the usual respectful one to me. Unfortunately for me, she instantly noticed and I dared not look in her direction. I had instantly scowled at the professor, but forgave him easily seeing as he had forgotten about the new human student. He won't be making that mistake again.

  

      She actually isn't the only human being in our pack. There are two other human families living here and they both know our secret. We had trusted them enough to tell them and they vowed to my father that they shall never speak a word about us. They still have kept their word to this day. In our school, there are three humans, excluding the new one who has captured my interest since the very beginning. One of them is graduating this year with me while the other two are sophomores.

  

      Anyway, all this week I had been observing her, and there really isn't much to say about her. She is quite the puzzle and my wolf keeps urging for us to get to know her better; but he knows I can't. It will ruin my reputation. I know it sounds cruel for me to say but if I were to get acquainted with her, I would never hear the end of it from the rest of the pack members.

  

      Suddenly, I heard the sound of footsteps coming up the staircase and towards my room. The footsteps stopped before the door and a knock was heard. I could easily smell the scent of Ethan and I approached the door with a nervous hand.

  

      As I opened it, I was greeted by a smiling Ethan. I didn't bother to smile in return, I had other things on my mind. Especially her.

  

      "You ready for this dude?" he asked cheerfully.

  

      I frowned at his mood. If only he knew how stressful this event was for me. I didn't answer and simply shrugged, looking past him.

  

      He immediately understood and nodded. That's the good thing about Ethan. He knows exactly what's wrong with someone and will try the best he can to help. There's no point in lying to him because he would immediately catch it, unlike his annoying sister of his. I still wonder if she was dropped in the head when she was a baby because she was definitely a handful. The only reason why you'll know that they are related is by their appearance. They both have the same dark hair and light brown eyes. The only difference is that Ethan is someone I can actually cope with.

  

      He reached out and patted my shoulder, his way of comforting someone. "Don't worry, man. Tonight's your night. You just let it flow and everything will fall into place."

  

      I rolled my eyes. "Easy for you to say. You're not going to be forced to find your mate by your wolf and you will not be taking a high position in the next few years."

  

      He chuckled at my childish behavior. "Aren't you forgetting that I'm being announced Beta when you become Alpha?"

  

      I had to admit, he had a point. Lucky for him, Ethan had already found his mate within the pack when he had turned 16. He didn't know of the pressures of waiting to find your mate, especially when you were a person like me. But like he just said, he is going to be my Beta once I take the Alpha position. It was really hard to choose which person will become the second most powerful wolf in the pack, seeing as I have two best friends. But Alex was quick to step back and hand the position over to Ethan. He was a very intelligent guy, but he never took anything seriously. Once, we were playing out in the woods in our wolf forms for the first time, and he had accidentally fallen over a steep hill and cut his hind leg wide open. The bone could be seen and everything. Instead of crying out in pain, he simply just laughed. I swear he had problems, but you couldn't help but love the guy.

  

      "Let's go, your mom would make a scene if you don't get downstairs this instant. And besides, it's almost time."

  

      He had a point. My mother was one of those people who went insane if you never got to a place on time; and I didn't want to be standing in the middle of the crowd with her screaming at me. I had no doubt in my mind that even though I came downstairs right now, she would scold about my appearance. I had settled for a light gray t-shirt, dark jeans and converse. I was going to be shifting anyway so what was the point in dressing up?

  

      We made our way downstairs and I was instantly greeted by many welcoming smiles and respectful bows. I may not be the Alpha yet, but I was still next in line for the position. I looked around the crowd, trying hard to find if she had even made it to the party. My father had informed me that he had invited them since they were part of our territory now. It was really a disappointment to see that she was no where to be seen and I hadn't smelled her scent since the first guest arrived. In a way, I was happy she wasn't here. How do you think a human would react if they were to see me run to the woods at the stroke of midnight, and emerge as a big black wolf? Yeah, I don't think I'd be hearing from her or her father any time soon if they had decided to come tonight.

  

      As we crossed the large clock that my mother seemed to adore more than me, I noticed that I still had 15 minutes before midnight. We walked outside where the rest of the pack was and I was instantly bombarded with a thousand questions from the one person who was worrying about this night more than me. My one and only mother.

  

      "Where were you? The guests began to arrive almost an hour ago! It is not Alpha-like to arrive so late! Is that what you're wearing? Couldn't you have at least dressed up for this special night? How do you think your mate will react when she sees you in this attire?"

  

      I rolled my eyes at her. She really was quite a handful. My mother was literally a foot shorter than I was and I had to look down at her. She had light brown hair and hazel brown eyes that were now glaring up at me. I may tower over her easily, but she always made me feel like I was just a few inches tall whenever she looked at me like that.

  

      "Hello to you too, mother," I said sarcastically as I gave her a kiss on her delicate cheek.

  

      As I pulled away, a man that looked like the older version of myself appeared beside her. He wrapped an arm around her waist securely before planting a kiss on her head.

  

      "Relax, Lucia. You're making the boy more nervous than he already is." My father gave me an apologetic look but I simply shrugged. What else would I expect from her? "Are you ready?"

  

      I nodded and gave them the best smile I could fabricate. I didn't know if it was convincing, but I didn't want to seem like a coward in front of my pack. I was meant to lead them one day and showing any signs of weakness would be futile.

  

      With a nod of his head, he led my mother away who was still shooting daggers in my direction. Great, I will not hear the end of it once I made it back home later on tomorrow. Well, that's if my mate wasn't so far away.

  

      'She's not.'

  

      Oh, so now is when my wolf decides to come out of nowhere and respond. He had been quiet all week without uttering a single word to me. I could always feel his agitation as he awaited for this day to finally arrive, and now that it already has, he was more unsettling than ever.

  

      'Calm down, you're making me more nervous than I already am', I scolded at him.

  

      I could feel him smirk at me before he went back to his wordless self. Man, my wolf could be stubborn sometimes! With that, I felt him growl inside me and all I could do was smile. He really did act like a child when he wanted to.

  

      Snapping out of my thoughts, I felt two slender arms slither their way around my neck and I couldn't help but wince at the contact. Where the hell did she come from?

  

      Claudia, who was wearing a tight red dress that clung to her body and was nearly exposing her long legs a little too much for my liking, was now pressed against me and giving me a wet kiss on the cheek. I tried my best to not look disgusted at the gesture, but even Ethan could see how much I was struggling in her tight grasp. All he did was laugh silently beside me. What a friend he was.

  

      "Marcus! I have been looking all over for you!"

  

      I smiled weakly. Man her voice was annoying. How in the world did Ethan put up with her all these years? This girl had to be one of the most irritable females in the entire pack! I mean, I did have practically all the un-mated females drooling at my feet without even trying, but she was the most persistent one of them all. I had even heard from some of the few pack members that she had personally went up to every girl that would say hi to me and told them that I was hers. How in the world could I be hers if my wolf never even recognized her as a contender? And trust me, I have actually given her a chance and tried to see if I felt any connection with her, but it was simply hollow. The only thing I felt towards her at this moment was annoyance and irritation. Can't this girl ever give up?

  

      As if on cue, I felt her loosen her grasp around my neck and move away from me. But to my surprise, she wasn't moving away by choice, she was being forced to. As I turned to look at her, I noticed that Alex had appeared out of the blue and pulled her away from me. He now had her pressed against him and secured her by wrapping his arms around her waist. She struggled against his grasp with an irritable expression.

  

      "Alex! Let go of me!"

  

      I couldn't help but chuckle at her protest. Like he was ever going to do as she asked. Alex was quite the womanizer and he always had his eyes set on Claudia. Why? I have no idea. I'm telling you, I have no idea what goes on in that boy's head. Anyway, ever since he noticed that Claudia was attracted to me our Junior year and I was clearly not interested, he always pulled her away at the perfect times. I owed this kid my life for saving it, who knows how many times, before because of this chick in front of me. Then again, Alex was the type that he would go for any girl in the pack. I wouldn't even be surprised if he had already slept with Claudia.

  

      As if hearing my thoughts, an evil smile played at his lips as he leaned his chin against her shoulder. She was still thrashing about but he didn't even seemed to notice. Ah, the perks of being a male wolf. But I wasn't surprised why many girls would play along with Alex's games, he was a handsome young man. He had light brown hair and blue eyes. His tan skin was fair and he tended to get all the girls he wanted. Even if they still wanted to be with me.

  

      "What's wrong sugar? I thought you wanted to be with me," he cooed against her ear. Her expression was priceless!

  

      "Ew! I don't want to be with you. Now let me go you pervert!"

  

      Suddenly, a loud piercing noise erupted from the microphone. The sound was a lot louder to our sensitive ears, but we all still looked towards the end of the backyard where my dad now stood on the small platform that some of the pack members had assembled earlier in the day. He gave us all an apologetic look before his eyes landed on me. With a swift movement of his hand, he motioned for me to come forward. It was now or never.

  

      'Now.'

  

      I couldn't decide who was more persistent: Claudia or my wolf who decided to be a jackass this past week when I needed him the most.

  

      The crowd parted, leaving a narrow path for me to take with Ethan right behind me. I stepped onto the platform and stood beside my father. My mother was on his other side who had a bright smile on her face. Man she's a moody woman.

  

      My father gave me a tight squeeze on my right shoulder before he turned to the crowd. "Welcome all. Tonight is the night where my son finally turns 18."

  

      With that, the crowd erupted into a mixture of applause and whistles as the pack gave me bright smiles. I tried to smile in return, but I'm pretty sure it looked forced if anyone were to be standing right in front of me. Beside me stood Ethan, who gave me a reassuring smile the second he sensed my nervousness. He knew me better than anyone which is why I had chosen him to be my Beta.

  

      He leaned forward and whispered above the screaming crowd, "Just relax man. Let your wolf take over when the time comes. He'll know what to do."

  

      'He's right you know.'

  

      I swear, my wolf had the most random moments to come forth and speak; but Ethan was right. For us Alphas, when it's already midnight, our wolves take over and follow the scent of our mate's no matter where they may be around the globe.

  

      As the crowd settled down, my father cleared his throat beside me. "There is only a few minutes left before midnight. May my son be safe on his travels as he brings us home our next Luna."

  

      The crowd erupted into another round of applause in front of me. I couldn't help but notice the eagerness in their eyes as my father said those words. They all knew that I would become Alpha one day, but they didn't know who would be their next Luna. Just like the Alpha, the Luna had to be a strong wolf who can look after her pack and attend to them if they ever needed her.

  

      'Our mate would do just that.'

  

      'How do you know? You haven't even met her yet.'

  

      'I may not have met her yet, but she must be our mate for some reason. Why would the goddess give us a weak mate if she couldn't attend a Luna's duties?'

  

      Hmm, he had a point there. The goddess did pair every wolf with a significant other that would make them a better wolf, inside and out. Being the Alpha's mate meant that you would be bestowed many duties and you have to be a strong wolf in order to fulfill that role.

  

      Suddenly, as if a mental clock in my head told me so, I slowly felt myself losing control of my human form and my wolf step forward. I closed my eyes, taking deep breaths as a strong scent filled my nose. It smelled of cinnamon and a hint of mint. It had to be the most mouthwatering scent I have ever smelled in my entire life.

I snapped my eyes open, having no doubt that my eyes were pitch black since my wolf had already taken over. I turned my head south and was not surprised to see that my parents and Ethan had stepped back to give me enough space for when I shifted.
  
      Without a second thought, I launched myself in the air as I shifted into my wolf. The only sound that was heard was the tearing of my clothing as I shifted. I didn't bother to look back to see the shreds, I instead allowed my wolf to take over as his paws collided with the Earth below, barely making a sound.
  
      As the distance between the pack house and I increased, I could hear the faint groans of females as they realized that neither of them would be the next Luna. My wolf snickered at the thought, immediately telling me that he never thought of them as worthy enough to be our mate. Especially not Claudia. I couldn't have agreed more. I do admit that they were all beautiful in their own way, but never had I ever envisi

Chapter 7