The Smallest Mate

I stood pacing back and forth as the chaos around me unfolded. I had people on my left asking me what color napkins to get out, and people on my right asking about food. “Go ask the Luna”, I growled, shooing them away. Today was my 18th birthday and to shifters this was a big deal. This birthday I would receive my spirit animal companion. More importantly to everyone else, I would be able to find my mate. I was the only daughter of the Alpha and Luna of the Sun chaser pack. A group of shifters, the largest group in this half of the United States. Since I was a female, I was not allowed to take over for my parents. This task would fall to my mate when I found them. My mother was so eager for this to happen she had invited all of the leaders from packs on this side of the country to send their unmated high-ranking males. Soon the house would be filled with alpha,beta,delta members from all over. My stomach turned. I didn’t care about mating, I had hoped to put it off as long as I could. I was excited about tonight to see the animal I would be given by the moon spirits. As shifters, we could get any predatory animal. My pack was made up mostly of wolves, but there were some tigers and even a bear. My thoughts drifted off imaging the different animal I might be given. I always felt like a lioness would be a good fit. “Lyra!!” I was brought out of my daydream to see my mother's expectant face staring at me. I blinked at her. Knowing I had missed some sort of question or demand. “Go upstairs and get ready right now! Guests will be arriving any minute. I know you won’t be able to feel the mate bond until you are given your animal, but you should still make a good first impression.” I nodded to my mother before heading up the stairs. Omegas fluttered around me pulling out different clothing, one pulling my auburn hair up out of my face and twisting it into a pretty updo that showed off my delicate facial features. I absentmindedly pointed to a dress not bothering to look. “That one is fine” and omega brought it over to me. It was a pretty mermaid cut emerald green dress. Such a shame it would be torn to pieces as soon as I shifted. I slipped into it, nodding at my reflection. It really hugged my body in all the right ways. As I made my way down the stairs, I caught many of my pack members ogling me. Mostly male, but some females eyed me enviously too. I straightened my back and threw on a bright smile. My mother stood at the bottom of the stairs and smiled at me. “You look beautiful” she whispered, taking my hand. “Are you ready for this?” I nodded. I wanted so badly to receive my animal from the moon spirits. I had been dreaming about it for so long. My mother led me out of the packhouse and I was overwhelmed by the amount of faces staring back at me. I knew she was inviting a lot of people but this. I gulped if my mate wasn’t here he definitely didn’t reside in or near our pack lands. I walked up the stairs of the stage that had been set up. I would shift for the first time in front of everyone. Typically, new shifters would only shift in front of the higher ranking members of their pack and some family members. Since I was the Luna to be and my mother had made such a fuss, I would have my first shift in front of a large crowd. “Try not to be nervous” my mother squeezed my hand before leaving me in front of the large mirror set on the stage. It was there so that I could see my animal after I shifted. It was 7 feet by 6, large enough to see whatever animal I shifted into fully. My heart began to pound as my father turned to address the crowd. “Thank you for all coming on this glorious day, my daughter and future Luna of this pack will shift for her first time and receive her blessing from the moon spirits. The party is to follow out back. So if everyone could bow their heads and pray along with me we can get on our way”, with that a chorus of voices all chanted in unison. “Moon spirits hear our voices, bless this new shifter with her soul animal. May they be strong, wise, and agile. May they guide her through her life.” With that my father turned his head and nodded to me. I didn’t know what to expect or how to shift. I stood staring wide-eyed at the mirror when I felt it come on. A tingling in my toes, that radiates through my whole body. Then I heard the snap and let out a cry. I had heard the first shift was painful, but this was so intense. Every part of my body was on fire, snapping and breaking. I began to fold down on myself. Was I shrinking? When the pain subsided, I heard gasps and questioning noises from the crowd. I peeked open my eyes to see the little paws. I tried to flex my fingers to make claws come out but nothing happened. That was strange. I looked around me and noticed my dress hadn’t ripped and it lay on the ground around me. Confusion racked my brain as I darted my eyes to the mirror. “What the…” was all I could say before blackness overtook me and I fainted to the ground. When I awoke, I was lying on my bed, still naked with a blanket wrapped around me. Confusion clouded my mind. Was it all a bad dream? I could hear the party raging outside as if to confirm my nightmare. Suddenly, it all came flooding back to me. I had looked up in the mirror to see a pair of black eyes. My auburn hair now covered my body and my ears… they were long. I was face to face with a rabbit. My nose twitched and the rabbit's nose did as well. “Hello there”a soft voice cooed in my mind. This was too much that must have been when I passed out. A rabbit was absolutely unheard of. Sure they had some fluke predators like coyotes or foxes, but a prey??? How could this be? I was supposed to be strong. I had trained my whole life, my animal was supposed to compliment me. This had to be some cruel joke. I threw the pillow over my head and cried. “ Please don’t be sad”the voice from before called into my head. “ Shut up, go away!”I roared back, slamming my mental block up. What did that rabbit think? There had to be some mistake. I sat up after a while of sobbing and listened to the party outside. They had all seen what a weak and useless animal I was given. How could I ever show my face again? I wiped tears from my swollen face and made my way over to my window, wrapping myself in my blanket. The party was lively and there was a lot of laughing and drinking. From my window I could only make out people I knew very well. My mother and father were speaking to a giant of a man. My eyes studied him and I felt my animal stir. “ Oh no you don’t”,I pushed her further inside. How dare she try to rear her head when she was such a weak thing. I couldn’t take my eyes off of his face and that was when his scent hit me even through this window. He smelled of fresh laundry, the warm comforting scent of towels right out of the dryer. As soon as this registered with me, I saw his eyes scan the house before locking onto mine. Then he began to move.