The Rogue Lycan's Mate

 I am running as if my life depends on it. So many trees, so many voices. A howling chasing me, coming to claim me as if it wants to devour me whole. My feet struck, I fell on the ground and I felt the cold mud on my face but... Something warm is dripping on my nape now, making me shiver under a excessively huge looming shadow. My ankles brusied as its touch and my vision darkened for I could see no more. I was being choked but why? Why is that monster looking at me with such resentment? Flinching I got out of my bed along with a low scream. Since I turned eighteen this year, I started to hear that horrifying howling inside my head and these nightmares became frequent. But I have to get it over with for today will be a start of an amusing trip with my lovely family. ********************** My family and I set out from Oregon to Idaho for the rites and celebrations of the young wolves making their first transformation. The first transformation rituals are very important to werewolves because all wolves remember that they are all part of the moon goddess and they are same. Statuses and territories lose their importance when this ritual starts to begin. Young wolves gain the support of other werewolves around them in this painful first transformation and become more tolerant of pain as they gain morale from their fellow beasts. We have another 5 hours to Idaho, but that's not a problem for me. Because I am in a fun journey with my siblings and my parents in a minivan as I said before. And I should say that it is impossible to get bored on this road, which is adorned with perfect forests and natural wonders. Even though it is a cloudy, rainy weather, I am filled with joy. "Mom! Jackson is biting Jeremy's ear again! Tell something to these idiots or I will start beating them!" Enit, our eldest sister said to mom with a loud and annoyed tone. And hell is she right. Two of my brothers are idiots but I love them. I love everyone of them as my own family.  I didn't know I was adopted until I was twelve. One day I heard it from one of my mother's friends talking with someone. My mother had never told me this herself. When I asked my mother about this after I learned it, she couldn't contain herself and went mad with anger. Of course then turned into her wolf form. And she started to fight with her friend. But after she explained to me and making me feel how she loved me with her considarate eyes, and the sincerity she gave me with her touch, I never thought of anything wrong. I knew she loved me and still. And I am still remembering what she said to me. "I gave a birth to you with my heart. This is why you are special for me but this is a secret between two of us." and she smiled then blinked that day. My mother is an angel. My brothers Jackson and Jeremy twins first transformed in the same spring 2 years ago, when they were both 14 years old. My sister Enit, on the other hand, first turned 12 years old, 14 years ago. The first transformation is very important for all wolves and they brag about it to each other over the years. We stopped at a small roadside restaurant for a snack. "It is a good timing for us to stop because I was about to take s**t on back seat." Jackson said. Mom is pissed off now I can tell it. "Language, Jackson. We are eating here." she said. We ate and chatted. Dad got up and stretched his legs, then clapped his hands. "Come on, get up, pups. We still have an hour to go." he said. Enit took money from my father and paid the bill and we started walking towards the car. At that moment, all my family members were suddenly stuck where they were. They're nervous, but I didn't understand why. Mom and Dad started sniffing the air, Jackson and Jeremy were whining in fear, and Enit was just as nervous as our parents. I don't understand what's going on because I'm not a werewolf like them. I don't have their senses. "Mother, what is that scent? What is this or who is this?" Enit asked. Mom is keeping her quite and dad frown. "Get in the car, all of you. This is nothing. It must be some other pack from Canada. Come on." mom said.  Enit looked dissatisfied and asked another question. "But mom, they are not smelling like us, werewolves. Are they lycans as you told us before?". Mom sighed loud. "They must be. But it is not our concern, right. They are not our enemies. We all gathering for the favor of the Moon Goddess." mom said but once more a quesstion poped up. This time from Jeremy."Will lycans, the king and queen be there too?" he asked. "Of course they will be there. So behave you two." mom said and we set out to Idaho again.  The celebrations had already begun when we arrived. We greeted werewolves we knew from other regions, and my parents left us with our peers to chat with their friends. "Will the exiled prince also come here?" one of Enit's friends asked. I couldn't stop wondering. I glanced at her with a curious expression. "The exiled prince?" I asked. "Yeah yeah. They said, that Lycan was the sole heir to the royal family, but was exiled for a crime he committed." she replied. They say the Lycans are a much stronger species than normal werewolves. I had seen a few at the celebrations before, but they all seemed normal to me as I did not quite understand who was what. Except, of course, that they arrogantly set themselves up at their tables set apart from the werewolves. Sacks of arrogance, as Enit puts it, who always see themselves on top. "What crime has he committed?" I asked again. Enit shook her head, then sighed. "Curiosity kills the cat, Muiri. Shall we not talk about these jerks anymore and join the celebrations?" she said. Lara, Zenit's best friend, applauded excitedly. "Let's transform and go for a run into the woods!" she said. Enit was excited at first, but then she turned to look at me. I know she would reject them so as not to leave me alone, but even if I'm not a werewolf, I know how important it is for them to communicate with their wolves and keep their bond strong. And the simplest and healthiest way to do this was to transform into wolf forms. This is what happens to me almost every year. They shift into their wolves. Enit waits by my side, so as not to leave me alone. But that was out of the question for me the moment I realized that it was hurting her. I gave Enit an angry, yet sarcastic look. "Rest assured, I won't get lost here. Or someone won't come and kill me. These are the plans that are not on my agenda for this day. Instead of that, I'm going to go to that awesome buffet stand over there and start to devour everything I see." I said with a giggle. Enit let out a chuckle too and then she went to woods with her friends. I went to the booth and started eating anything that looked good as I said. But the thing is everything looks so good to me. There is nothing to do. I'm a girl with a big appetite and I'm proud of it. As I continued to snack, I couldn't help but feel the eyes staring at me. Even though I'm not a werewolf, I still have my own human instincts, please. Without revealing too much, I looked around and tried to find the prying eyes staring at me. On the one hand, I was desperately eating something and I continued to look around. Then I saw that queen they were talking about. So I guess she is. Because she sits in a separate section from the werewolves and the seat she sits in seems pretty comfortable. I don't have to be a werewolf to know that she is someone important. Her looks and arrogant manners were already evident. If that's how I feel as a human being, I wonder how werewolves can endure them, those lycans. I don't understand why she is looking at me weirdly, but I don't care. Probably because I'm a human. I've experienced situations like this before, but this is the first time I've felt spied on by a queen. I wanted to ignore it, but with each passing second, my self-confidence dropped more and I started to feel nervous. I didn't want to be alone anymore. I have to go to my mother. Whenever I feel insecure, I run to my mom and that's all I want to do right now. She must have sensed my insecurity, because an annoying frown and disgusted look appeared on the queen's face. Annoying. My eyes began to search for my mother. And when I saw her, I sprinted next to her without thinking. Just like a child, I grabbed my mother from behind and started hugging her tightly. As soon as I touched her, I was filled with confidence. Seeing my tense state, she gently caressed my face. "What is wrong my baby? Did something happen?" she asked worriedly and started to look around nervously. I shook my head and said I was fine, so as not to worry her even more. My father also gave me a heartwarming smile but for a reason I didn't know, he looked tensed too. Then he kissed my forehead and they continued talking to their friends. "Despite the shame on their foreheads, they still sit there arrogantly insulting us. " aunt Anette said one of my mother's friend. "Hush! Did you go crazy?! They're lycans and not just that for love of moon they're purebred ones. They don't have a single drop of human blood in their veins. If they hear us talking like that, this celebration will turn into a bloodbath." my mother said with an angry manner, whispering. "Shame? What shame?" I thought. But I didn't ask because I wasn't really interested in the answer.  Celebrations were almost over. Now we're just waiting for the full moon to shine down on these young wolves. I can see how nervous and scared they are. Of course, in the first transformation, it must not be a very funny or plesant thing to break all the bones one by one and set them back in place. I guess I'm lucky in that regard because it's not something I want to experience at all. On the other hand, the wolf blood and spirits in them instantly heal them. But still, it is scary. This first transformation thing was completely different for lycanthropes though. They can easily shift and revert their forms without any difficulties and even they can start to do that at the age of five. They are here for only the favor of Moon Goddess. The young wolves began to howl and growl in pain. As the moonlight fell on them, the hairs coming out of their arms and faces became more pronounced, and the sounds of broken bones became clearer. It was a bit brutal if you ask me. Since werewolves completely transform into a wolven aspect, it takes a little more time to transform than lycans. Lycans do not completely transform into wolf form, this is what I heard though. I remember what my mother told me earlier. Lycans stand on two legs, their bodies still retaining their human form, partly, although their face looks like a wolf. They were getting longer and their muscle mass were increasing. In fact, there were gigantic lycans that were twice tall compared to their human form, as my father once said. After the werewolves transform, the only thing they use for attack is their canines. But since lycans can stand on two legs, their huge claws and large, sharp cannies made them much more stronger and agile than a werewolf in a fight. Even an average lycan could single-handedly take down a big pack of wolves, my father told Jackson and Jeremy before. Especially pure blooded lycans are much stronger as he says. That's why werewolves don't mess with Lycans much. And lycans leave werewolves alone. I would say that these two species are in a peculiar relationship.  Another important issue for werewolves is mate bond. There are two types of mate bonds. One, bestowed by the moon and the other made by their own choices. It is very hard to deny the attraction and pull felt towards the mate given by the Moon. According to my mother, if you match the mate given by the moon, happiness will always be with you throughout your life no matter where you are. But werewolves who cannot find their mates given by the moon choose their own mate after a while, and this choice sometimes leads them to make some mistakes. Marking each other is very important among werewolves. Once they mark the mate given by the moon, it is irreversible. But it wasn't hard to break their bonds with their mate, whom they marked with their own choice.  For Lycans, the situation is a whole different story. It's very rare for a Lycan to find a moon-given mate, so, many of them mating as they choose one each other. Once they find their moon given one, they instantly mark each other and claim their mates immediately, they have no rights to refuse for they are not able to do so. But again, since this situation is very rare, they usually find their mate by their own choice like I said. Also, while a werewolf's mate given by the moon can be a human, lycans can mate only with lycans, that is, with their own kind only. This is because the lycans were specially created by the moon goddess. Werewolves, on the other hand, are the blood-sharing of their ancient ancestors, wolves. The original wolves. In other words, in ancient times, when people did not know how to hunt, wolves taught people how to hunt. But wolves endowed humans with the power of their own blood too, as human's limited bodies did not allow them to hunt like them. At least that's how it's known. That's why the lycans see werewolves as a second and inferior class, for they have created by Moon with their Beast Soul in. After the young wolves were completely transformed, their families and other werewolves, even the lycans, cheered and motivated them. The young wolves, now completely ready for their first hunt and their wolf-like run, they started running toward the forest without wasting any more time. I began to hear the murmurs of the people standing behind me as families watched their children's first transformations and running, in tears of pride and happiness. Then I saw that everyone was watching someone else, not their newly transformed children. At that moment, something caught my attention. The Lycan king started to slowly get up from his seat with a shocked expression on his face as he stared at where people were muttering. The Queen, on the other hand, was sitting on her seat, looking at the same place with eyes full of fear and anxiety, as if she was frozen on her seat. The other lycans standing next to them were motionless, petrified. The werewolves, on the other hand, were looking at the same place with the same expressions, no different from the lycans. The murmurs ceased and it was as if a dead silence has ended the celebrations.