Chapter 1
“Wakey wakey eggs and bacy! Seriously Annie get your ass up! Mom says Luna training starts in 20 minutes and you better be on time today, she knows you were out all night with Alex, Anthony and Adam. Dad is making them run suicides to work off the hangovers. I’ve seen Alex puke twice.” Adrianna my sister tells me as she barges in my room. My brothers and I might have tied one too many on last night and that says a lot because as a werewolf we metabolize alcohol at a high rate, so it takes A LOT to get us drunk. We were celebrating my oldest brother Alex and his mate for expecting their first pup and future of the pack. I’m so excited to be an auntie. Adrianna rips the covers off of me and jumps on top of me. Ok ok I’m up. Let me get ready and I will meet you in mom’s office. I run to the en-suite and brush my teeth, hair and wash my face, dress quickly and head to mom’s office for today’s Luna training.
“You’re late.” Mom gives me a smirk as she only is half serious with her admonishment. “Two minutes mom… sorry I had to pee.” “Annie, you are my baby and I love you, but you smell like a distillery.” I blushed a little at that. Sorry momma.
Let me introduce myself. I’m Annie Lupone, youngest child of Alpha Jack and Luna Grace of the Rising Moon pack. I have 3 older brothers and an older sister. Alex is 27 and my oldest brother and next in line to be alpha. Then there is my brother Anthony, he is the future beta of the pack. He is also 27. Werewolf pregnancies are only 5 months and needless to say my parents weren’t messing around getting pregnant right away. My sister is next at 24. She is a fierce warrior and if I had to guess, whenever she meets her mate, it will for sure be an alpha or a beta. She never attends mate balls because usually she is running patrol to ensure the safety of the guests, so she hasn’t met her mate yet. She says she will attend when we all get to attend. My brother Adam is 22 and our head warrior. He has been our “wrecking ball”. By that I mean he is just a solid being of muscle. Standing at 6ft 7in he is very intimidating to the eye and just runs head first into any battle. He may be the wrecking ball, but on the inside he is a giant marshmallow. Also, he is my best friend. He was the first person I came out to as bisexual. I knew growing up that I always had crushes on both boys and girls. His exact words were, “do you honestly think none of us suspected anything? We all know and are waiting for you to feel comfortable enough to tell us. And guess what, we all still love you. Your happiness is all we want.” Mom and dad have been training all of us as warriors and our pack is one of the fiercest and most respected packs in the country. Mom also trains Adrianna and I to be lunas. We don’t know if either of us will be mates with an alpha or not but we are training to be mates of any ranked wolf, so we can be the most supportive of our mates. The boys even train with my mother while Adrianna and I train in the alpha position, so they can “understand and be supportive of their mates and be the best they can be for them.” Tomorrow is my 21st birthday and we are hosting a mating ball. We get our wolves at 18 but we are unable to find our mates until we are 21. So my parents decided throwing a mating ball would be the best way to celebrate ALL of their children being of age to find their goddess gifted mate. Alex and Anthony both have mates. Alex’s mate is my father’s beta’s daughter. They have been inseparable since Jessie was a baby. She is the same age as my sister. I’ve looked at her and her sister as my “other” sisters my whole life. She is one of the kindest, honest, people you would ever come across. The best way to described her is lovely. Lovely in appearance and in personality. She and Alex will make wonderful parents and Alpha and Luna of the pack. Anthony is mated to Claire. She is Jessie’s fraternal twin and a complete badass in her own right. Brutally honest and witty as hell. She is always there for some comic relief. My parents Alpha Jack and Luna Grace are the best parents any child could ask for. Kind, understanding, strong, loving, fair. They raised all of us with respect for each other and all those in the pack. Everyone in the pack was treated with respect, from the top being the alpha and Luna to the last of the omegas. Not all alphas treat their people in their packs with the respect they all deserve but we are not allied with them because everyone deserves respect in my father’s eyes no matter rank. Besides there are more omegas than ranked wolves and they are truly the heart of the pack.
“Annie, are you paying attention?” Adrianna pokes me in the ribs with her elbow. “Sorry momma, I was thinking about if I will find my mate tomorrow.” “Yes, honey, I know you are excited but we still have to finish the last minute details for tomorrow. The visiting packs will be here tomorrow and we need to make sure all of their rooms are in order at the hotel.” Blue Sky pack, Black Mountain pack, and Rainbow Cloud pack will all be arriving for the ball. “Momma, I just want what you and dad have. You have been together for 27 years and still look at each other like you just realized you were mates. You treat one another as equals and you love us with everything. Do you think I will find him or her?” “My money is on a her.” Adrianna snickers. “Well if it is we will lover Her as much as we love you guys. As long as they treat my baby like the Queen she is” “I bet your mate is the alpha of the Black Mountain pack Adrianna. He is so hot. So is his sister. I wouldn’t mind if you were mates with him and me with her. That way we can still be in the same pack.” “Does she like girls?” “No clue. It’s just an idea that popped in my head just now” “who do you think Adam will be mated to? I think it’s gonna be the gamma’s daughter of the Blue Sky pack. They have so much in common and flirt with each other non stop and she just turned 21 last week.” “Ok ladies, we’ve speculated and gossiped enough. There is work to be done and we still have to go shopping for our dresses tomorrow.”