The Once Rejected Luna

A wet, damp ground sat under my feet as I took off running. I could feel the cold, sharp needles of the rain piercing my skin as I picked up speed. My adrenaline was fueling my energy. The fear of being caught and ripped apart by the jaws of a predator kept me moving. I knew if I stopped now I would be done for. Trees surrounded me, and the forest only seemed to get thicker and thicker the more I ran. Finding myself jumping over fallen branches and logs, as if by some horrible luck, I was caught by a large tree root, hitting the ground hard. I quickly tried to scramble myself to look at the predator. Pressing my back up against the tree that brought me to my demise, a low, but menacing growl seemed to come from the shadows of the forest. My heart felt lodged in my throat as I stared at the piercing eyes that looked at me from the same shadows. A large black wolf slowly emerged. I knew he could smell the fear rolling off of me. I reeked of it. Needing to scare him off or at least distract him long enough for myself to escape, I attempted to scream, but as if it was impossible. My body froze when the wolf snapped his large jaws. The next thing I knew, before my brain and body could register, the large wolf lunged at me in an instant. Complete darkness consumed me in a matter of seconds. Waking up in a cold sweat, I sat up looking around in fear. My heart beating loud in my chest. I groaned when I realized it was a nightmare, looking at my alarm clock, seeing it was only midnight. I fell back in defeat, I looked up at my ceiling in confusion. "That... That was definitely interesting..." I covered my eyes in frustration trying to figure out what the moon goddess had in store for me. Groaning as I rolled over, I looked out my window being blessed with the beautiful full moon shining through. Letting myself once again be consumed by the beauty of sleep, I stretched out. This time I was blessed with a peaceful sleep and dream. I hope my birthday will be just as peaceful. Morning. The sunlight shined softly through my window as I rubbed my eyes sitting up. The nightmare from the night before still fresh in my mind. Before I could relive that nightmare in my head, my parents busted into my room with the wonderful loud screams of "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JADE!!" I fell off my bed looking at my parents in bewilderment. Rubbing the back of my head, I laughed softly, "thanks, mom and pop, I enjoyed the heart attack." My parents just smiled at me as if it was something I should be used to. In all honesty I should, they do this every year, but when you first wake up, it will always get you every time. My dad smiled more, "you don't plan to do training today do you Jade?" I looked at him as if it was a strange question to ask, laughing softly, "of course, I do pops. If I don't I will feel out of place." I pointed out, "it is my birthday, plus it's just my normal practice I put myself through. Nothing to strenuous." He shook his head laughing as my mother chimed in, "you are just like your father, I swear you look like me but you are definitely his kid. So stubborn." she laughed walking back down the hall, my father in tow as he protested that he isn't stubborn even though we all knew he most definitely was, leaving me to get ready for my day ahead. With a backpack full of training gear and a few school supplies thrown in, I headed to school and prepared myself for what the moon goddess had in store for me. My high school wasn't like normal schools. It was strictly for werewolves of the Blue Mist Pack. I didn't have to hide who I was, so it left me open to my curiosity. I was curious to find out if I'd find my mate or not. Most she-wolves found their mate on their 18th birthday, and mates are a sacred thing for werewolves. We only get one mate, on rare chances we got a second chance mate, but that didn't happen very often. I've heard of it happening maybe once or twice, but nothing that was very often. Losing a mate is like losing a part of you, it supposes to be more painful then any wound a warrior could get. Mates are a great weakness especially for alpha males. An alpha werewolf could go insane and lose their wolf or, worse themselves. Losing myself in my thoughts about mates, I left myself open for a surprise attack as I felt someone jump on me in a quick motion. Losing my balance I would almost fell over if it wasn't for a pair of strong arms to stop me from falling as I heard the giggling of none other then my best friend, Luna. I smiled when I heard her voice and looked up to see none other then her mate Cai who caught me. He groaned as he set us both up right "Luna, it's her birthday. We can take her out for lunch not take her out permanently" she smiled at him still holding onto me. She was slightly shorter then I was but had more curves to her body. She was blessed with beautiful long blonde hair and a pair of blue eyes. With her very bubbly personality, being the complete opposite of Cai's it was very entertaining to watch them interact. Cai was taller then both of us and built, he had dark brown hair and a pair of hazel eyes. I'm excited that they found each other, the moon goddess couldn't be more correct in their pairing and it makes me look more forward to meeting who the goddess blessed me with. Luna had moved to his side and they were slightly bickering playfully between each other. I lost myself in thought thinking about what my mate might look like when a hand waved in front of my face. I snapped out of it and looked at my friend as her voice finally reached my ears. "Earth to Jade? Are you still with us or have you finally left the planet?" Laughing softly at her words, I spoke up, "Sorry Luna, I was just lost in thought about a few things is all." She smiled more knowing exactly what I was thinking about. "Well, I was seeing what you are doing tonight, I know it's tradition for the Blackwood wolves to shift on their own but you don't have to." Smiling at her, I shook my head softly, "I have to do this. It's special to me." Luna understood that and understood how much it meant to me to follow the tradition my family put in place all those years ago. Making our way to class Luna stopped and looked at me "you're also training today, aren't you?!" Busted. I held my hands up sheepishly, "y...yeaaa." Just like my mother, she told me I took my soon to be captain of the guards too seriously especially on my birthday. She nagged at me and would of continued if it wasn't for me being saved by the bell. I heard her yell after me as I escaped to my first class. The school day went by smoothly, but I was happy to see the end of it. After saying goodbye to Luna and Cai I made my way to my family's training ground to get some training in before I go before the moon goddess tonight for my first shift. I was excited but also slightly over whelmed. It was a big deal. I had to be ready for this moment no matter how big it is. Getting into my training gear I walked to my family's training field. I stood there smiling as I looked at the dummy who had been replaced many times before, you lose count after 50 times, I let lose a few quick jabs to the rips and lower abdomen. Being swift on my feet was something I picked up young, my father, being the now and soon to be former captain put my brother and me through rigorous training. We both had a deep role to play in this pack, my brother becoming beta when the new alpha takes his status as alpha and I myself becoming captain of the alpha's guard. The Blackwoods pride themselves, it is in our history that we came from the first few alphas, but somewhere down the line a relative didn't want the status and traded it all for his mate, because of that the moon goddess has always blessed us and we bless her by allowing our first shift to only to be seen by her and no one else. As I continue landing punch after punch feeling the muscles in my arms tighten. Night fall slowly crept up on me and I knew it was getting closer to the time of shift. I needed to get ready to meet my wolf in the eyes of the goddess herself. I made my way back to my family home packing away my gear and slipped on my hiking boots to make the hike to the clearing my parents have claimed for their children and grandchildren for as long as we lived here. It was definitely going to be an interesting experience.