Embracing My Wolf

Chapter 4

Shay's POV

After showing me around the school, my mom said she had to leave for the day but she would see me tomorrow morning. She gave me her cell number and said that I could text her. I missed first period but I was on time for second period, which was math. I was the first one there, so I walked to the back of the class and took a seat. I didn't want to draw too much attention to myself on the first day and I wanted to observe. Students started piling into the classroom and, to my disgust, Ivy also walked in with three other girls flanking her.

"Looks like someone has already made an enemy out of The Queen B.itch." The girl beside me said and smirked. I guess she heard me sucking my teeth when Ivy walked in.

"Hi, I'm Melissa," she said while holding her hand out. "Don't worry, I'm not friends with her. I can't stand her and she happens to be my brother's ex-girlfriend."

"I'm Shay. Nice to meet you. And yeah, we had a little run in twice this morning. What's her deal?"

"She thinks she's important because she used to my brother. She's convinced she's going to be his mate. I really hope she isn't. I couldn't deal with her as our next Luna. What pack are you from?"

I looked at her hesitantly before answering.

"It's ok. I'm not human," she giggled. "I could see the wheels turning and you're trying to figure out how to respond to me. I'm a wolf too," she whispered.

Relieved, I took a breath. "Yeah, I was stuck for a minute. But it's nice to meet another wolf. I'm not from any pack. I just moved here with my aunt. I'm still trying to figure all of this out." I didn't know whether I should tell her who my mother was, so I kept that to myself.

"You're part human. I can smell it on you." I sniffed myself. "You don't smell bad," she laughed. "It's just we're able to tell different species by smell. And your eyes, they look just like my Alpha's. Maybe you're related."

Before I could respond, the teacher walked in and class began. Classes went by quickly and before I knew it, it was lunch time. Me and Melissa had most of our classes together, so we ended up going to lunch together where she introduced me to her friends.

First there was Sarah. She had long dark brown hair with eyes to match. She had a friendly smile and a bubbly personality. She was Mr. Jenson's niece. Then there was Kaylee. Her parents were Gammas. She had a head full of red curls with the prettiest green eyes and freckles on her cheeks. She was really a romantic. All she could talk about was finding her mate on her birthday this weekend. And last was Alyssa. She was Melissa's twin sister. They looked just alike but you can tell they had different personalities. While they both had long dark hair and pretty light blue eyes, Melissa wore her hair in a high ponytail while Alyssa wore hers pin straight down to her butt. Alyssa was calm and quiet while Melissa was a spitfire. She seemed to be the type to speak before thinking. They were all from my father's pack, which I learned was The Silver Stone Pack. Melissa and Alyssa's father was the Beta. They had an older brother that was the future beta... or future alpha now I guess.

Sarah turned 18 last month and hadn't found her mate yet. Kaylee would be turning 18 on Friday and the twins would be turning 18 on Saturday. It turns out all of their moms were best friends and happened to get pregnant around the same time. They grew up together since before they were born. They were all excited about some party that their pack would be having this weekend. They said the chances of them finding their mates would be higher because other packs would be coming too, which meant more possibilities. They told me I should come too and get to know some people, but I wasn't so sure.

"When do you turn 18, Shay?" Sarah asked, still excited. "Are you excited about finding your mate?"

"Honestly, this is all still new to be. I still don't know much about being a werewolf, much less about mates. Is it like a boyfriend-girlfriend thing?"

"Why don't you come with us today?" Kaylee interjected. "We're going dress shopping afterschool and then we're going to hang out at the packhouse. We can tell you about werewolves and mates."

I thought about it for a minute. "Yeah, I'd like that. I need to learn as much as I can before my birthday. I'll just need to let my aunt know where I'll be."

***************

Ivy's POV

I watched the new girl walk into the cafeteria with Melissa. I didn't know her, but I didn't like her. She just got here and had already made friends with the children of the ranked members. There was something about her eyes. Only one family had those eyes, the Alpha's family. But we all knew that the Alpha had no children and who in their right mind would sleep with his crazy brother. She was related to them in some way and I had to figure out how. She needed to go away. If she was their family, then she would become Alpha instead of Isaiah and then I could kiss my Luna title goodbye.

I didn't pay any attention to what my friends were talking about around me. I was too busy thinking of a way to get rid of little Miss Silver Eyes. What pack was she from? Maybe I knew someone there that could help. I got up and walked out of the cafeteria. School could wait until tomorrow. I need to find out as much as I can about this girl and get a plan together. My birthday is Saturday and it will finally be revealed that Isaiah and I are mates. I need to convince him to get the Alpha to give him the Alpha title sooner rather than later if this girl was related to our Alpha. This needed to happen before the Alpha and this girl crossed paths.

Shay's POV

After last period, I met up with the girls in front of the school. We decided that we would drop my car off at my house and I would ride with them, since they all rode to school together. They would give me a ride back home. Aunt Maria was just getting home, so I was able to introduce her to the girls and let her know where I would be.

Shopping with the girls was fun. I never really had friends to hang out with in New York. Most of the girls I knew were focused on boys, makeup, drinking and other things that I wasn't really interested in. I had one friend who betrayed me and pretty much kept to myself after that. After three stores, Melissa and I were the only ones that still hadn't found a dress. One hour and three stores later, Melissa found her dress but I still didn't find anything that called to me. I told them that I would just make my own dress. They were all surprised but said they couldn't wait to see what I make.

After shopping, we piled into the car and headed to Silver Stone Pack. I was nervous about being surrounded by wolves but the girls did a good job of relieving some of it. What would a werewolf pack look like? Do they all live in one big house? I had so many questions.

" OK, so I ordered some pizza. It should be there by the time we get to my house," Sarah said. "We can eat and talk and then we can show you around. If you want, I can show you my wolf."

"Oh yes, her wolf Lily is so pretty." Alyssa was excited. " I wonder what my wolf will look like." This was the most excitement I had seen from her. I think she was more excited about getting her wolf than finding her mate.

I looked out of the window as we drove and saw that we were surrounded by trees and lots of grassy areas. My heart started beating rapidly. I was a city girl and there weren't areas like this in New York City. I did not like this. I blame my nerves on the countless movies and TV shows that I watched where bodies were found in the woods. I calmed down little when we pulled up to a gate where three huge men were standing. I thought Mr. Jensen was big but those men were huge. I wonder if all werewolf guys are this big. I watched as the gate opened and we began to drive through. We drove a little further and I gasped. I only have one word for this pack...beautiful. It's like they had their own town hidden in the woods. I saw various one and two-story town houses as we drove. Each house was painted white with neatly trimmed grass in front of each. Driving further, my eyes became huge as we droved past a large 4 story blue house. "That's the pack house," Melissa told me as we drove by. We drove further and stopped in front of a two-story house. I got out of the car and followed them into Sarah's house and into the kitchen. We grabbed the pizza and some drinks and went up to her bedroom. Her bedroom was just as big as mine. We all grabbed a slice and Melissa began talking.

" OK, so let's begin werewolf 101," she giggled. I got comfortable and listened. "We are taught about being a werewolf at a young age. A lot of things we learn just because we're growing up in a pack. A lot of things are taught to us by our parents and even in school. Some parents bond with their pups in werewolf form as well as human form at a young age to make them a little more comfortable with seeing us in our wolf form."

"I'm sorry, pups as in puppies?" I interrupted. I was confused already.

"Haahaa no, not puppies. What humans call children or babies, we call pups."

" OK got it."

"At the age of 14, we're required to begin training even though we don't have our wolves yet. Not all packs are like this, but I love that we are able to train even before we get our wolves. Even if we aren't involved in the fight, if there is ever a battle, Alpha Chase still wants every wolf in the pack to know some sort of self-defense. No matter your rank, you have to train. Alpha Chase says a rank is just a rank and it shouldn't define your abilities. Everyone here is shown respect. Of course, you have to respect and obey your Alpha, but he treats all pack members with respect also. The Alpha and Luna are in charge of the pack. After them is the Beta, which is Melissa and Alyssa's parents, then the Gamma, which are Kaylee's parents. We also have warriors and omegas. The head warriors lead the training. The Omegas are the lowest rank. Most packs treat Omegas badly, but not here. My mom is a high level Omega. She's the head pack doctor. My dad is the head warrior." She stopped to take a bite of her pizza. "Are you getting everything so far?"

"Yeah, except how do you get your rank? Does the Alpha give it to you?"

"No," Melissa answered. "Ranks are passed through blood, but ranks can change. Say an omega is mated to a Beta; she is now a beta female and their children are betas. The female takes the rank of her mate, but that doesn't take away her family blood."

"So if my father has Alpha blood, even though he isn't the Alpha does that mean I am an Alpha female?"

"Yes, and let me just tell you, your aura screams Alpha. Maybe that's why Ivy was immediately threatened by you," Melissa answered. Everyone rolled their eyes. I guess nobody here likes Ivy.

"Ok. Now tell me about changing into a werewolf. Is it going to hurt?" I had a high pain tolerance but I felt like this was going to be a different type of pain.

"We're taught that the first shift hurts the most..." Alyssa began, but was interrupted by Sarah.

"That's what we're taught, but honestly, it takes time to get used to the pain of shifting. My first shift was a month ago, so it isn't painful anymore, but that first shift was excruciating. And so was the second and the third," she laughed. "But it's an experience like

no other. You become one with your wolf and you bond with her more when you are out running freely."

"Now mates," I raised an eyebrow. I needed to know about this and why everyone was so excited about finding one.

"My turn," Kaylee answered. I guess mates was her favorite topic. "A mate is the other half of your soul. Like a soul mate in human terms, but better. The moon goddess chooses a mate specifically for each of her children. Like your other half. Like you were born and part of your soul is somewhere else until you meet and then something clicks and your soul becomes one." She stopped for a moment and had a dreamy look in her eyes. I couldn't help but to laugh a little. The other girls shook their heads at her and smiled. They must be used to this from her.

"Some people believe that they were given the wrong mate and they reject the mate bond, but most people know that the mate bond is sacred and the most precious gift," she continued. "Some people go years before finding their mates because sometimes your mate isn't in the same pack as you. Some are lucky enough to find their mate early on. Your mate is literally made for you. After mating and marking, your bond becomes so much stronger. Your heartbeats are in sync, you can feel each other's emotions and so much more."

"Mating and Marking?"

Kaylee giggled and her cheeks turned a light shade of pink. "When mates meet each other, their instinct is to mate and mark each other. Mating as in s*x and when we mark each other, we use our canines to bite into a very sensitive area between our neck and shoulder, leaving a mate's mark. It lets other wolves know that you are mated and off limits. My mom says that marking usually happens during sex."

"So I have to get bitten?" I stood up. Biting is a little too kinky for me. I was still a virgin and this was too much to hear. I mean I messed around a little with both boys and girls, but I wasn't into all the extra kinky stuff.

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Sarah answered. "My mom says its pleasurable."

I looked at them like they were crazy. How in the hell could biting give anyone pleasure? But then again, you never know what people are into.

"How about we stop for now and go on a tour of the pack," Melissa suggested.

"Yeah." I was ready. I really wanted to see the pack house.

We walked around for a bit and talked as they showed me everything. They showed me the daycare for the youngest pups. They said there was both an elementary and middle school within the pack. They showed me the pack clinic and then we finally got to the pack house. The inside was amazing and we were only on the main floor. To the right was a huge living room. There was a huge flat screen TV hanging on the wall above a beautiful fireplace and three large sofas facing it. To the left there was a set of double doors. When Melissa opened them for me to see, there was a dining room with a long table that had to be able to seat at least 30 people. Further in was an amazing kitchen. There was a long island in the middle of the kitchen with various types of food sitting on it, kind of like a buffet. There were two large refrigerators on one side of the kitchen while the other side held two large stoves. Further into the kitchen was another dining table that looked like it could seat ten or more people. I opened a door that led to outside and there was a beautiful garden with all sorts of flowers and plants.

We walked out of the kitchen and walked further into the house. They had a large game room that had just about every game a kid could ever ask for. There was a gym and also a spa. There was also a room that we weren't allowed into which Melissa said was where the Alpha usually held important meetings. The backyard had the biggest pool I had ever seen. There was even an area sectioned off as a play area for little ones. Once we were done with the main floor, Melissa led us upstairs.

"Second floor is for the gamma family, third floor is for the beta family, fourth floor is for the alpha family. No one is allowed up here unless you're invited. The first floor is the common area and anyone in the pack is welcome to come in and use them."

We began walking to Melissa's room when all the girls stopped and bowed their heads. I looked up and I saw a man standing there. I couldn't help but to stare at his eyes. They were the exact same color as mine.

"You must be Shay," he smiled a big smile at me.