Dear Sweetheart

Lila POV ''Happy 18th Birthday,Lila!'' My older brother, Kael, yelled as he jumped up and down on my bed. I swear,even though he is 20,he still acts like a 5-year-old kid. I groaned and rolled over,pulling my pillow over my head and mumbled a sleepy, ''Go away!'' ''Oh come on, Lila! Just get up because today is where you are going to find your mate" he yelled, and dragged me out of my bed. I rolled my eyes but let him pull me along anyway. I have to admit, I am somewhat excited. Finding your mate is one of the best feelings in the world. If you are confused,let me explain- me,my family apart from my mother-, and most of the town are werewolves. No, we are not big,hairy half-men, half-wolves that stand on two legs. We are just normal people who happen to turn into giant,full-grown wolves; and as wolves,we have mates. Mates, I guess it would be the equivalent of a soulmate to a human. They're the ones you are destined to be with. In most packs,this means a Moonlight Ritual. A girl's Moonlight Ritual is something like a coming-of-age party. It celebrated her turning 18 and that she is now old enough in Werewolf Society to bear pups or should I say babies. The ritual happens in 3 steps. The first one is the actual celebration of the girl's birthday. The second one, just before midnight,the she-wolf coming of age, the Alpha and any unmated males in the pack gather in the predetermined area-in this case,the training grounds- to see if any of the males are destined to be with the newly eighteen-year old she-wolf. The last one is the actual mating and marking. To humans, the mark just looks like a tattoo,but for a wolf, it mixes the scents of the mated pate and marks them off limits. ''Fine, I'm up!'' I yelled back at him and got off of the floor where he dragged me. He laughed and left me to get ready for school. I pulled on a pair of black jeans, a white tank top, a black blazer and matched it with a pair of black combat boots. I rolled the sleeves of the blazer up and ran my fingers through my hair, giving it a bit more volume- as if I really needed it. I put on a little mascara and lip gloss, then looked at myself in the mirror. I guess, I'm what you call 'normal looking'. I stood at about 5'7 and my dark brown hair fell to my waist and sofa waves. My ink-blue eyes stood out against my slightly tanned skin, and with thick-rimmed,dark eyelashes. I was not anorexic, but I wasn't that either. I was right in the middle with a fairly curvy shape. In all, I would say I love my body very much. I grabbed my bag and walked down the stairs into the kitchen where my mother,father and Kael sat at the table, eating breakfast. ''Good morning,Dear'',my father said while walking over me. He gave me a hug and kissed my temple, ''Happy Birthday''. I smiled at my father and hugged him back, ''Thank you,father,'' I said and sat down in between him and Kael. ''Mother,'' I grunted and nodded my head towards her direction. She turned and looked at me, but then she turned back around and continued to wash the dishes. Mother and I don't have the best relationship. Since she wasn't a werewolf,she had hoped that the gene had passed over me. She doesn't want me to be like my father and Kael. Unfortunately, things aren't the way she hoped for. When I shifted for the first time,she looked at me with disgust and left me while her one and only daughter was writhing on the floor in pain. Ever since that day, I have hated her. I finished my breakfast and picked up my bag from where it was and went to the garage. I hopped onto my Yamaha YZF R1 1000 bike and sped out of the driveway to my school, Guildford High School. I pulled into the lot and parked at my regular spot. I turned off my bike and put my keys in my pocket. I fixed my hair and started walking to the front door of the school. As I was about to open the door, Stellan stepped-in front of me and smirked. Stellan Reed was the Alpha's son and next in line to be Alpha. Naturally, he was the most popular guy in the entire school. I am not gonna lie, Stellan was hot. I mean, if you stare at him for too long,you are most likely to get a third degree burn. He is tall, over six feet, with natural tan and well defined muscles. He has dirty blond hair and deep green eyes. But, none of it even mattered to me because his attitude didn't match. He is a first class A-1 asshole with an ego the size of a truck. I never liked him,not even as kids. Even though my father was a Beta, I was expected to get along well with Stellan and be the peppy cheerleader in the popular group, I wasn't. I am usually alone, other than my best friends- Yla and Austin. I did not waste my time looking up at him, I just closed my eyes and gritted my teeth. ''What do you want,Stellan?" I said and opened my eyes to glare at him. His smirk grew, ''I just love pissing you off,'' he said. His friends started laughing and I narrowed my eyes at him. "Back off" I growled and shoved passed him. I was still fuming when I walked into the classroom. I threw my bag under my seat and put my airpods in, turning on Lilly Allen's f**k you- the beginning lines already bringing a slight smile to my face. After a few minutes, the bell rang for the first period and I grabbed my bag and started to head out to my locker. I shoved my stuff inside and grabbed my Math textbook. I walked into Mr. Barns' class and took my seat in between Yla and Austin. Yla and Austin are cousins. Both of them had already found their mates about four months ago and were happy with them. Yla and Austin's mates were twins, Milo and Misha. They are all perfect together that sometimes it creeps me out. ''Hey,Llia,how's it going?" Austin asked and put his arm on my shoulder. "Not fine,just another run-in with Stellan" I said. They both nodded with an ''oh''. They know what's going on between me and Stellan. A few minutes later, Mr. Barns walked in and started his class,"Okay class, please open your textbook to chapter 62, lesson 2 and do the activity. It is due at the end of our period. No talking and cheating. If I catch you, automatic detention." I rolled my eyes and opened the textbook and started the activity. Finally, after the longest hours ever, the bell rang and I turned my work in and walked out with Yla and Austin."That was the most boring class ever!" Yla groaned as she walked with me to my locker. When I got there, Milo and Misha were both standing there waiting for my friends. Yla and Austin smiled and walked towards them. I smiled,knowing that I would do that tonight. After their hugging moments, Misha turned to me and smiled, "So, are you excited about finding your mate tonight?" Misha asked as she cuddled more into Austin's side. "Yeah, I just hope that I get along with him". Knowing my luck, I might get stuck with some douche bag that only wants to hump like bunnies... which we aren't. "You will,your mate is your perfect match. You can't help but to love whoever it is". I shrugged as we walked into the classroom and sat down in our designated seats before our class started. I gazed out of the window beside my desk as Mrs. Holden started the lecture. My mind was thinking about what would happen tonight. The class passed faster than I expected it to be. The bell rang because it was lunch break. I walked out of the classroom with Yla,Austin,Milo and Misha. We bought lunch together and sat down at the lunch tables outside. The rest of the day passed in a blur. It was like a blink of an eye and I was being swept by Misha and Yla and dragged up the stairs to prepare me for my birthday party. "Dammit, hold still will you?!" Yla yelled at me while she tried to style my hair. She used a curling iron and hairspray. She would curl my hair and spray it with hairspray. She repeated this process over and over again until she was satisfied with her work,then she passed me to Misha to do my make-up. Thankfully, Misha went simple yet elegant and did a cat's eye look with black eyeliner and mascara. For the final touch, she put on lip gloss and allowed me to look at myself in the mirror. "WOW!" I said as I stared at myself in the mirror. I didn't know I could be this pretty. They gave me a bag and as I opened it, I gawked at the beautiful dress that was inside the bag. I pulled the dress out and wore it. I paired it with black-glitter sandal heels. I looked at myself in the mirror and was stunned at how beautiful I looked. The dress was spaghetti strapped V neck and covered with lace. It fits tightly to the mid thigh, where the lace continues on to the floor. I turned to Yla and Misha and gave me warm hugs."Thank you guys,this means a lot to me", I said, and they gave me a smile. We headed downstairs to the living room where the boys were waiting. When I walked into the living room, I gave them a spin and their mouths dropped open. "Whoa! is that you lila?" Austin asked and we just laughed. "Yup,so... how do I look?" I asked, mocking one of my favorite old shows....well,it was before they screwed up, but whatever off the subject. "Awesome", Milo said, and I smiled. We then went out to Austin's car and drove to Alpha's house. Austin parked the car and we got out and started to walk towards the front door. It was 8:30 pm and I could hear the music outside their house. Austine knocked on the door and I took a deep breath. When Alpha Reed( Stellan's father) opened the door and welcomed us,he smiled at us and told me and the girls to go upstairs until he calls for me to officially introduce me to the party. He led me and the girls upstairs and into the room where we would stay. He showed us how to use the speaker system on the wall and said that when he had to introduce me,he would call me. Yla and Misha had to leave the room and I was freaking out. "It's okay lila,we will be downstairs waiting for you." I nodded. A few minutes later, Alpha Reed's voice came through the speaker,telling me to go down the stairs. I took a deep breath and walked through the door. Here goes nothing.