Blood and Silver: First Bite

Hostess Cupid

Everyone was happily chatting away, and the tension and fear that had previously filled the space was replaced with excitement and new friendships forming.

The girl who had initially approached Abigail, walked up to her and thanked her, wrapping Abigail in a hug.

‘Thank you, I have never felt so beautiful!’ She said.

Abigail admired her beauty. She had long, thick blonde hair which fell in waves down her back, the top half of which was braided to reveal her beautiful face. Abigail had applied a light foundation and blush tk her cheeks, and a lick of mascara to her naturally long eyelashes, which just helped to enhance her giant, emerald eyes. She also had on a lip gloss, enhancing her pink, pouty lips. She had a hollowness to her face, and her sharp collarbones and jutting hip bones showed how thin she was, but even so, she was still very beautiful, and Abigail felt very drawn to her with a need to protect her.

‘I’m Imogen, by the way.’ She said softly to Abigail.

‘It’s lovely to meet you Imogen!’ Replied Abigail. ‘Are you ready to go downstairs and meet the rest of of the pack?’ She asked.

Imogen nodded, and the rest of the ladies also buzzed with excitement. The men from the pack had already made their way downstairs and were exploring the grounds and enjoying the free beer, and new people to talk to. Their wives and daughters made up the majority of the pack, and there was a heavy feeling of anticipation in the air, especially from the soldiers who had never met she wolves of their own ages before.

The soldiers stood in formation, ready to meet the members of the Blood Crescent pack, and excited after seeing two sets of mates discovered in the space of 24 hours.

The she wolves made their way downstairs and started filtering into the garden, searching around for what they hoped they would see. At once, eyes locked from across the garden and what happened next was a beautiful shock to everyone present.

Several of the soldiers broke formation and started to sprint towards the women. Jackson lunged forward, but Abigail, who had made her way beside him, put her hand on his arm to stop him.

‘Just wait.’ She said. He was anticipating bloodshed, but Abigail felt something different in the air.

Several of the women also raced forward, and it soon became obvious what was happening. Cries of the word ‘mate’ echoed throughout the grounds.

In an instant, at least 30 couples had found their mates. The she wolves, having lived feral for most of their lives, had no decorum and eagerly pressed their lips to their mates’, not waiting to find out their names or get to know them. The soldiers, in return, pulled them into passionate kisses and held onto them for dear life.

Abigail squealed with delight, and Jackson grinned in his approval. Caleb approached them, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

‘I didn’t expect this, I thought maybe one or two but not this many’ he said warmly. ‘I guess your pack is gaining a few new members.’ He referred to the fact that she wolves joined their mate’s pack if they accepted their mate.

Jackson stepped back, immediately apologising.

‘No, no! Please don’t take it as a complaint! This is a joyous moment!’ Caleb explained. ‘I have been arching my pack’s demise for many years and had been fighting to come to terms that we would not survive for much longer. Seeing them happy and well is all that matters to me. I don’t need a big, powerful pack. I just need to know that the people I care for are safe and looked after, and this is what you have given me.’ He said.

‘My father caused all of this trouble, and for that I am truly sorry, and grateful that you have welcomed us with open arms despite everything.’

‘What happened?’ Asked Abigail. She had heard the Silvermoon Pack’s side of the story, but everyone was taking for granted that Blood Crescent’s story would be the same.

‘My father was a greedy, power hungry man. He wanted to increase the pack size so that we could take over your territories. He had asked Smirnova to create a spell that would increase the number of she wolves born to our pack, so that he could build the size of the pack with dozens of pregnancies happening concurrently. She refused, saying that it would upset the natural balance, and he beat her for her disobedience. The next morning she was gone, and he used it as a catalyst to start a war with Silvermoon.

He found another witch to perform the spell, but clearly there were some repercussions which affected your pack too. He didn’t even get to see the damage he caused, the i***t drank himself to death a few years later.’ He recalled.

This was new information, but nothing too far away from hat they already knew. Abigail left her father and Jackson to speak, and she went around the crowd, mingling and meeting the new couples. Jackson glanced at her as he spoke with Caleb, his heart swelling with pride at what an amazing Luna she was working out to be.

It wasn’t long before Abigail found Imogen, sitting along and trying to hide her tears.

‘What’s wrong, Imogen?’ She asked, putting her hand on Imogen’s shoulder and sitting beside her.

‘It’s nothing… it’s stupid.’ Replied Imogen, holding back her sobs.

‘Hey, if it’s made you cry, it’s not stupid to me!’ Said Abigail soothingly.

‘It’s… it’s my birthday today. My 18th. And after seeing so many from my pack find their mates, I hoped that I would find mine too. And I know, many wolves wait years to find their mates, it I just had this feeling in my heart that with my Birthday happening today, it would be my special day.’

‘Oh Imogen!’ Said Abigail, putting her arm around Imogen’s shoulders. ‘This isn’t everyone from the pack, move are still to arrive! Come on,’ she said, pulling Imogen by the hand. ‘let’s go and get you freshened up and we will meet some more members of the pack. It’s till early, maybe you will get your birthday wish after all!’

The two girls went upstairs, where Imogen washed her face and Abigail reapplied her makeup. They linked arms and made their way back downstairs, where Abigail took her on her rounds around the grounds to meet everyone. It soon seemed like they had been to every group on the grounds, and Imogen was losing help.

‘It’s okay, I’m sure I’ll meet him one day. I don’t want to think about it anymore, let’s just enjoy the party.’ Imogen finally said, resolving to put on a brave face.

What was meant to be a dinner had become something of a party. There was music playing, and the children were chasing each other around the grounds and grabbing at snacks from the table at every opportunity. The new couples sat together, getting to know each other, and the older members of the packs were drinking together and telling jokes.

A car pulled up, and Imogen’s attention was immediately fixed on it. The most beautiful man she had ever seen stepped out of the driver’s seat, followed by two other young men who shared a family resemblance to him. His scruffy look felt familiar to her, and his compact, muscular body made gave her butterflies in her stomach that she had never felt before.

‘Who… who is that?’ She asked Abigail, motioning towards him.

Abigail smiled. ‘That’s Perry, Jackson’s warrior Beta. Would you like to meet him?’ She asked, doing her best to hide her suspicions.

‘Yes! Uh, I mean yeah sure I’ll meet him.’ Imogen said awkwardly.

Abigail grabbed her hand and they walked towards Perry, who was getting something out of the back of the car.

‘Perry!’ Exclaimed Abigail, and he turned around, holding an extra case of beer in his strong arms. He caught sight of Imogen and instantly dropped the case, several beer bottles splitting open and beer spraying all over. He didn’t care, and neither did Imogen.

In a shower of beer, the two of them locked eyes and rushed to each other, holding their palms out and interlocking their fingers.

‘Mate!’ They both said, as their beer drenched hair stuck to their heads and Imogen’s mascara ran down her face.