— Flashback—
“All of our intel shows they’re gathering traction with the propaganda they are feeding the locals in Eastern European villages. Larger packs are being influenced as well. We have to act now or war is imminent.” Daddy walks back and forth. He sounds angry.
“Mama, why’s Daddy mad?” I pull on her shirt, but she doesn’t look at me.
“Mike, you sent for the kids?” Mama interrupts him.
He stops talking and gives Mama lovey dovey eyes. That’s what my big brother calls it. I bet if those old men weren’t here, Daddy would give Mama a big kiss. Then Bronx and I would say EEEWWWW! Then Daddy’s wolf would chase us away.
“Gentlemen, you all know my Luna Regent, Sandy. Most of you have met my son Bronx, but only a few have met my daughter Lenora.” Daddy picks me up and kisses my cheek. I try to show him the picture I drawed of me and Mace, but he doesn’t look. “Say hello to the Elder Council, my sweet girl.”
“Daddy! Loooook!” I hold my picture up higher. I don’t want to say hello to anybody. “Look at my picture!”
“Leni, honey, we can show Daddy after dinner.” Mama whispers in my ear and takes my picture away. Now I don’t have anything to make Daddy smile.
I look at the strangers. They have scary smiles. One man smells like stinky cheese. Another one smells like the fishies floating on top of the water in the river. I don’t like it. I make a wolf face to scare them, but they laugh and make baby sounds at me. I’m not a baby. I’m a big girl. Mama said so.
“It’s an honor to meet you, Bronx.” A man who talks funny shakes my brother’s hand. “I’m sure your father must be proud.”
“Thank you, Sir.” Bronx bows like an actor does after a play.
Oh! I saw a play at the big theater in town. It was about a duck and a horse. My teacher taked my whole class. I got to be at the front of the line to get on the bus!
“Miss Lenora, such a cute little pup!” An old man pats the top of my head. I don’t want him to touch me. He didn’t ask first.
“NO!” I smack his hand and hide in Daddy’s shirt.
“Leni, be respectful.” Daddy whispers.
“Hey! Don’t pet my sister!” Bronx growls and stomps his foot. “She’s a werewolf, not a dog!”
“Alpha Regent, are you going to allow this behavior?!” A different man snarls. He looks like a ghost.
“Elder Randall, in our pack, we teach our children consent.” Daddy says to the ghost man. “She didn’t mean any disrespect. Bronx, please apologize.”
“No. He can’t do that to Leni! She’s my sister!”
“I’ll take them upstairs, Mike. Maybe when she’s older.” Mama pulls me out of Daddy’s arms. She dropped my drawing! It’s on the floor.
“NO! I want my Daddy!” I cry and kick my legs, but Mama takes me away. I howl and point to the floor where my drawing is “No, Mama! Daddy needs my picture!”
“Leni, now’s not the time for tears, honey. Now’s the time for strength.” Mama hugs me tight and carries me up the stairs. “One day, those nasty old worthless assholes are going to see how strong you are and they’re going to regret treating you that way. I promise.”
I stop kicking. Mama said a grown up word. That means she’s mad like Daddy. She takes me to my room. I don’t wanna sleep. I wanna see Daddy. He has to see my picture, but it’s on the floor. Mama sings the sleepy time song and I have a dream about being a grownup. I hope it comes true, cause then I’ll get to meet a real life dragon.
“Leni, Mace and I saw your picture. Mace has never looked so handsome. We love it almost as much as we love you.” Daddy whispers in my ear and kisses my cheek. I’m too sleepy to open my eyes. “I’m proud of you, my feisty girl. Never let the Elder Council intimidate you. They’re going to try for your entire life. Always be brave, Leni. Always stand your ground.”
“Leni, I love you too.” Bronx says. “I won’t let those jerkfaces pet you on the head again.”
—Current Day—
I try to push the car door open when we get to the meadow, but Bronx hits the lock.
“Let me out, dickhead. Your job’s done.” I snarl.
“After you find your mate, get your wolf’s photo taken. Dad has to explain… the situation. If he accepts you, Saint will chaperone for an hour then take your wolf home. If you don’t have a mate, photograph, shift back, then we go home.” His tone is dry and bored. “Reggie is escorting Sanchez, so don’t even think about trying to talk to him unless you two are fated mates. Even then, you get one hour… not that you need it, then it’s time to go home.”
“Fine.” I swallow down the anger and wave to my friends who are yelling for me to join them in the meadow.
“If I find my mate, I still have to take you home first before we can spend time together. Not that you give a shit, but Milo is missing out tonight. He has to get sleep before he takes the overnight shift guarding our apartment to make sure you don't try to leave.” He drums his fingers on the steering wheel impatiently. “He’s trained as a tracker, so, you know… don’t do anything stupid.”
“You’re right. I don’t give a shit about Milo.” I fold my arms over myself. “You’re making this sound like one of your stupid military assignments.”
“Don’t let Lenora out of my sight. That’s the directive. I’m following orders. And don’t make Saint mad. He’s already shitty about having to be your fucking babysitter tonight.” He pauses before he continues. “I’m sorry about what happened last night. I didn’t know it was you until I got close enough to catch your scent.”
“Well, Mr. Goody-Two-Shoes, now I won’t get to say goodbye to my boyfriend. All because you were too worried about someone breaking a stupid rule instead of just minding your own damn business and moving along. I hope you’re happy.”
Bronx squeezes his eyes shut and mumbles under his breath. He gets out of the car, slams the door behind him, and leans against the hood. I watch him pull out a pack of cigarettes, light one up, and take a long drag while he waits for me to get out. When did he begin smoking? Gross.
A pang of guilt creeps into my chest. He looks tired. Not the type of tired where you can take nap and you feel better. It’s fatigue that goes down to your bones. There’s no quick fix for it.
As far as the pack goes, Bronx is still in Dad’s shadow, but all eyes are on him. He was his class valedictorian. All advanced classes, perfect attendance, volunteered as a tutor, captain of the debate team, and even helped the grounds crew when they were short staffed. He declined three full ride academic scholarships to human universities so he could focus on warrior training.
He’s almost four years older than me. I’m pretty sure he has always known what he wants out of life. Basically, anything Bronx puts his mind to, he accomplishes. Did I mention the highest ratings in all his warrior training?
I’m just Leni. People don’t expect shit from me. I stay in the background and keep a low profile.
When I was in pre-Kindergarten, the Elder Council came to our pack for a meeting. Dad had Mom bring us to meet them. They shook Bronx’s hand, but they patted me on the head. I didn’t like it. Dad tried to make excuses for me, but Bronx scolded them and defended me. What changed between us?
“LENI!” Ashley runs and throws herself at me, giving me a crushing hug. “Come on! I thought you changed your mind about coming.”
“No, I made it.” I let her lead me to the field.
I glance behind me and see Bronx. His eyes are pitch black, watching me intently. Saint is already on duty. Great.
At the far end of the field, I make eye contact with Marco. He gives me a sad smile, but quickly looks away when Reggie elbows him and whispers in his ear.
Dad stands on a large rock and gets everyone’s attention as it gets close to midnight. He instructs what to expect at midnight and where to stand if you do or don’t find your mate.
We look up as the full moon expands and becomes even larger. Silver liquid pours out and flows down to Earth, blanketing us with the Moon Goddess’s blessings.
“Hello, Lenora.” A warm, welcoming voice fills my head. “I’m Justice.”
“Justice? It’s so nice to meet you.” I close my eyes and smile. “You can call me Leni.”
“You’re an adult now, Lenora.” She corrects me. “The time for childhood nicknames is over.”
“Oh, um, alright.” I feel a sense of disappointment at her formal nature.
“No sense in waiting. Our mate isn’t here. We need to look for him.” She fusses at me.
I open my eyes and look around. People are hugging and kissing and giggling happily.
I look at Marco. When we make eye contact, I smile and my heart hits a hard beat, but the feeling quickly fades.
Marco’s not my mate. He looks down at his hands, still rooted to the spot. I want to go to him and give him a hug, but I’m not willing to risk the blood bath.
“Justice, h-how can this be right?” I feel so confused and upset. “Marco’s supposed to be my mate.”
“It would seem the Moon Goddess has a different fate for us, child.”
“But I only want Marco.” I force myself to look away from him. “I love him.”
“When we find our mate, those feelings will fade.”
As mates find each other and pair off, singles make their way to the area to the left of Dad. I see Ashley and Reggie Slater holding hands and giving each other sweet little kisses. Now, that’s a good pairing. Ashley will make a perfect Gamma, but what about me? Where’s my mate?
“The child of Perses!” Justice gasps when she sees Bronx. “The Saint is here? The Guardian of the Dark?”
“THE Saint? You mean Saint? He's my brother’s wolf.” He is standing alone, looking disappointed. “He’s not the guardian of… the dark… whatever that means… He’s a warrior of the Blood River pack. And I don’t know who Perses is, but Bronx’s parents are my parents. Mike and Sandy Mason.”
“Pshh. The Saint… a warrior for a pack?” Her emotion makes me want to spit on the ground to get Saint’s name out of my mouth. “And I’m a sheep.”
“Show some respect, Justice.” I keep looking around as I walk in case I missed my mate somewhere. “He’s our Alpha Regent Scion. From the look of it, this is his fourth unsuccessful Mating Gathering. He was already in a bad mood. Now he’s going to be extra cranky.”
“Alpha Regent?” Justice laughs. “You’re joking. The Saint? A monarch?”
“Why would I joke about that? Also, there hasn’t been a werewolf monarchy since the sixteenth century.”
I furrow my brow, but quickly change my expression to give my friend Carly Miller a hug when I get to the unmated wolf area. I turn away from her as my conversation with Justice settles in. “Hold up. You just woke up. How do you already know Saint?”
“Don’t question me,” Justice snarls defensively. “Just let me out to look for our mate.”
- Akhir Chapter -