The day my life changed

Sunlight warmed my fur as I ran through an open field without a worry in the world. A mix of brown with white fur shot through the grass. My wolf Spirit was overjoyed to run in clear sight and take out all her energy. We usually had to be careful and stay in the shadows of the forest because we were not allowed to be close to the pack in wolf form.

But not today! Today we were free, thanks to the mating ceremony taking place this week. Every year all the wolves from age 18 and older came together with all the packs to find their mate. On the first day, the females get locked up and all give away a piece of their clothing. The males then all get to smell the clothing to see if their mate is present that year. The next day the chosen She-Wolves are set loose in the forest and an hour later the males get the chance to hunt and claim their mate. On the third day, there is a celebration where the She-Wolves can be marked if they accept their mate and then they leave their own pack to join their mate. This year my pack had the honor of arranging the mating ceremony. My pack is the Ricci wolf pack, a small Italian wolf pack in the USA.

I was actually 21 years old and should have had 3 mating ceremonies already. But the pack always thought it was best if I wouldn’t be involved. I was born with eyes as clear and light as the moon. They call it Moon-Souled eyes. Many years ago, a prophecy was spoken about Moon-Souled-eyed wolves that would bring doom upon the world. So, everyone in my pack believed me to be cursed or that it would be bad luck to be near me. When I was born my parents chose to keep me alive. Sometimes I wondered why because they do not hold any love for me. All I can see in their eyes is fear when they look at me. So, you would think that they would want me to compete in the mating ceremony so a mate could take me away, but they are too scared I will bring shame upon the pack.

At first, I was disappointed because I figured finding my mate would be my only way to find a better life. But I changed my opinion after I secretly watched the mate hunt. It is told that the females have a choice in accepting their mate but, that is not the case. I have seen many male wolves full of testosterone raping their mates immediately when they find them. The She-Wolf has no choice but to accept him because no one else will want her after that. The leaders of the pack all just pretend it doesn’t happen or they laugh it away under the excuse of young males being full of hormones. When the same She-Wolves come back the next year to watch the ceremony they have all changed into submissive wolves. All the fire and resistance that once made them special completely burned out.

I had no desire to be bullied into submission by some arrogant man. So, for once, I was happy with my light eyes that kept me protected from male superiority. I headed back to my house and changed into my human form. I was still curious which females in my pack would be picked so I decided to go look. Before I headed out, I took a quick look in the mirror to see if I was presentable and not full of dirt. A round face with pink cheeks, full rosy lips, long wavy brown hair, and big pale blue eyes looked back at me. I think I would be considered attractive if not everyone was scared of me. But like I said being a beautiful woman is not an advantage in a world like this, so I take comfort in that.

I headed out to the main building where the females would be locked by now. The clothing pieces would be presented in the big square in front of it. I walked there expecting to see all the males lined up until it is their turn to smell but sounds of chaos quickly reached my ears. I walked closer curiously and saw they were all listening to a big man talking. I recognized him as the Beta of the Romano pack. The Romano pack is the leading pack of all the Italian wolf packs in the USA. Alpha Don Lorenzo is feared by many for a good reason. He rules all the packs strictly but successfully. Recently his Luna died tragically when she fell off a cliff. At least that is what they said because rumor has it that he killed her himself because she was not giving him any pups. Being an outsider, I learned how to be in the background and pick up gossip and details others would not.

I walked to the front of the crowd so I could hear what the Beta of the Romano pack had to say. The Beta was insanely tall and muscular with dark skin. I also noticed a man standing next to him which I thought was the second Beta. He had a beautiful face and a long, lean body. You could see that he thought very highly of himself. Both males radiated with authority so the crowd was utterly quiet when they spoke, “WE BRING YOU NEWS OF YOUR BELOVED ALPHA. AFTER A PERIOD OF GRIEVING HIS LUNA, HE IS NOW READY TO PICK UP HIS LIFE AGAIN. WHICH MEANS HE HAS TO ENSURE THAT THE DYNASTY HE BUILDS WILL LIVE ON. IT IS OF THE MOST UTTER IMPORTANCE THAT HIS BLOODLINE CONTINUES FOR HIM BUT ALSO FOR ALL OF YOU. BECAUSE HE IS THE ONE THAT MAKES SURE YOU ALL HAVE A ROOF OVER YOUR HEAD AND FOOD IN YOUR BELLY. SO TODAY WE WILL PICK A GROUP OF SHE-WOLVES THAT WILL HAVE THE HONOUR OF BEARING DON LORENZO HIS PUPS. AFTER WE HAVE CHOSEN YOU ARE FREE TO CONTINUE THE MATING CEREMONY WITH THE REMAINING, SHE-WOLVES.”

My heart sank to my chest when I thought about the poor females that would be chosen. I knew the male wolves that were about to find their mate would also be furious, but no one would have the balls to speak up against our leading pack. So, they willingly opened the doors and let all the females outside. They commanded them to stand in a line so the Betas could inspect which She-Wolves they wanted to bring. I had just decided I wanted to leave when the second Beta’s eyes fell on me. His face immediately flushed red and angrily he shouted, “I SAID ALL SHE-WOLVES BETWEEN 18 AND 25. SO WHY ISNT SHE IN THE LINE?”

Fear fell over me and my wolf Spirit started to panic in my head saying, “Let’s run Vanessa. I can outrun them. I am sure.” I tried to remain calm and told her, “They will not pick me when they see my eyes don’t worry.”

People pushed me forward and I slowly walked to the end of the line. The alpha of my pack tried to talk to the Beta saying, “Trust me you don’t want her. She is cursed.”

The second Beta slapped him in the face and growled, “I don’t care for your pity excuses to keep the pretty ones to yourself. Get out of my face.”

The alpha walked backward with a face full of shame and anger. As an Alpha, he was used to being first in command but now with the leading pack here, his position meant nothing. The Betas started walking down the line and picked the She-Wolves they liked. I became uncomfortable when I noticed they only looked at the bodies of the females. I had been blessed with a curvy body in all the right places so if they just looked at my body and not my face I could be in trouble. The second Beta was now looking at the woman next to me. She had dark hair to her shoulders, a nice body, and cute freckles on her face. He scanned her and told his omegas to bring her. She started crying, “Please no, I don’t want to go.”

The Beta’s face immediately became dark and angry, and he slapped her in her face hard, “Quiet. You should be honored that you got chosen. Now stop your whining or I will cut out your tongue.”

Spirit immediately growled from anger when she noticed him slapping her. She was fighting me to take the lead, “Let’s rip him apart Vanessa.”

I had to use all my willpower to not let Spirit take over. I barely noticed the Beta's eyes going over my body approvingly. He then walked away, and I just wanted to sigh with relief when he turned around and pointed at me, “Also take the last one.”