Mateless: The lost series

A mating circle is a gathering of young werewolves looking for their significant other. Around the age of eighteen werewolves gather in search for their soulmate. For werewolves your mate gives meaning to your life. After years of looking I’ve grown tired of the numerous gatherings. Five years ago the alphas of the blue moon pack or my adoptive mother and father, found me. My earliest memory is of that day. I awoke cold and afraid. They immediately took me in, raised and loved me like their own. But Regardless of the years I’ve spent and the love I have for my adoptive parents, Ive always felt like an outcast, like I don't belong. I Know when I eventually find my mate things will change. Please let me find my mate tonight. A knock on the door has me drawing my attention from the stare down with my reflection. I untangle the brush from my sandy blonde hair, having aggressively brushed it into a static mess. Sighing heavily I place my brush in front of the vanity and yell out just one minute. Standing, I check my reflection one last time, tighten the rope to my robe. As i turn my blue-green eyes reflect in the mirror. Walking towards my bedroom door I give a sniff before I open the door wide with a flourish as I face my brother, who leans nonchalantly against the door frame. "What do you want." I say curtly. He grins and shakes his head. “The gathering has started." I glance at the clock by my bed and it is indeed past the hour. I turn back and stare at him as he stares down at me with his arms crossed, an unreadable expression on his face. Why does he have to be so damn tall… "What's wrong? Are you mad?" i say quietly. He looks me in the eye and says something I never imagined him saying "I really hope you find your mate tonight Meadow '' he said sombrely. We always teased and playfully bickered together. We never really talked outside of that so for him to wish me well in a way was awkward and discerning. Pushing myself doubt and feeling of not belonging I make a snarky remark instead. "I get it you can't handle my awesomeness, afraid you might lose that alpha title to your charity case little adoptive sis" I say sticking my tongue out while sauntering out the door brushing his arm with my nails as I pass. Glancing back I smirk smugly at the shocked expression on his face before sauntering away victoriously. "Now if you excuse me i've got a mate to find." i say as i descend the stairs earning a deep growl from a still frozen bro standing at my door. Leaving the last step I turn to my left towards the kitchen to the side of the large sit-in kitchen area. Is a boot room used mainly for shifting and changing in and out of attire before entering or leaving it looked more like a giant closet various garbs hung from hangers and chests filled with other various attire. Closing the door I slip the robe off and toss it to the corner on a bench and shift. into my White wolf. Shaking out my fur I trot up to the door that leads to a large porch with pillars that leads down to the large expanse of grass encircling the house and beyond that a large undisturbed forest filled only with creatures, hectare after hectare free from man. It was in this very forest far to the north that I was found. Shifted, scared, confused, and naked. Pushing the handle with my nose the door swings open and I dash across the porch onto the lawn around to the side of the house a gathering of people stand and chat, relatives, friends and families conversing while those of age gather in there wolf form we will run, hunt and fight. This is how we learn about our potential mates, instinctively we will feel the potential bond throughout the evening of playing the bond will grow stronger until a point where it becomes undeniable. Then a courting begins and a male will show his interest by rubbing their head and nose against yours. A Lot of the time it is like a dance where a pair will walk side by side, brushing and snuggling with one another in a series of spins and turns until it is acknowledged by the pack or those gathered. After a year I'm the only one not to have found her mate. As I approach the others nearby the tree line a couple of hundred feet from those chatting among themselves a group of twenty wolves have gathered, some already gravitating to their pair. I Approach the group and sit on my haunches and look down in despair. i'm happy for those who have found others. one thing I have learned is that as a werewolf your purpose is centred around their mates very rarely is there a single wolf. Why couldn't I find mine? A sudden shiver has my hackles raising and I look up and scan the group a dark grey wolf slightly hidden lays just inside the tree line. Bright blue eyes look at me with interest. Just then a large black wolf enters the group coming to stand beside me and the feeling quickly fades. My Brother often led us on these runs, he himself had yet to find his mate at twenty one, an abnormality. With a howl we take off sprinting into the forest I scan for the grey wolf as we run wanting to see if what I felt was the real thing. I hang back letting the others rush ahead, some in Pairs others in small groups. The slight nudge to my shoulder has me stumbling gracelessly. Mr blue eyed wolf runs beside me, he takes a playful jump at me while running. I dodge and leap batting him with my paw on his snout playfully. This felt different, more promising, others had shown interest but no more than that. If one mate was older then they’d often feel the bond before there counter part and then a extended courting would occur until the other reached a of age and felt the bond. And the bond then was acknowledged among the pack. Never was a bond not acknowledged by the pack. The pack was a family and if one was to be denied there mate. It would break said family, And the pack would seize to function like the smooth oiled machine it was. Even though I didn’t feel more then curiosity and elation, I had felt something stronger back there. Was what I felt the bond? Only time would tell. We continued to chase and wrestle while running with the group. Oblivious to the others until my bro’s large back wolf starts nipping at the blue eyed wolfs haunch while shoving me with his shoulder. We sheepishly stop our play and peek at each other over my brothers back. Before making eye contact with him he snorts and drops his nose to the ground sniffing and pawing at a deer track. We were hunting and it was time for stealth else we’d scare the animals away. The group gathers around as we start tracking our prey, when we are a couple of kilometres off from a family of deer grazing in a meadow bro breaks us off into small groups to the left and right to circle around to ambush with simple gestures. Me and blue eyed wolf stay behind with bro as head the others would draw in and herd the animals in our direction. Bro will choose one and we will work as a team to bring it down. I wait in participation the sound of the deers snuffing has me tensing in preparation they’ve caught our scent and start running the sound howl and let us know the chase is on. The scared animals running right towards us bro scans the herd and picks an older buck with a limp. We break from the tree line at a mad dash. Bro running just ahead as i flank his right and blue eyes wolf behind me and slightly to the left of bro. Bro tags the old buck with his claws focusing on its weak leg while I snap at it’s opposite side to change direction the others loop around closing the buck seeing no way out it starts using it antlers charging and dashing at odd angles to find a gap to escape, it leaps over one of the young wolves and runs for the tree line, I sprint after the buck not wanting to lose my supper. I pass the others in a blur almost like they’re standing still. I gain on the animal it’s sole focus on living and escaping to live another day. Coming up to its side I jump on its back and bite down on its thick neck I rip my nails into his haunches, he buck wildly and swings his head. Its wild thrashing has me losing my grip on its large body with a swing of its head an antler catches me in the side and I fall to the ground hard skidding through the grass to land on my side I sit up slowly watching my dinner flee into the line escaping death. Into the tree line and escaping death. The sound of paws beating against the ground has me sitting up I probably looked like a mess, why was I such an animal. My white fur was covered in dirt and grass stains. A small patch of blood from where the stags antlers had caught me in the rib bleed, the wound was not deep or life threatening. I was more annoyed at the fact my dinner got away and embarrassed at my appearance I probably looked like a hot mess. A lick to my wound has me jumping at the intimate action. I turn my head to see bro looking at with a worried expression I draw my lip back and stand shaking my fur ignoring the throbbing in my side. Just then blue eyed wolf comes trotting up he steps between me and bro and bumping his head against mine. Blue-eyed wolf buts between us rubbing his noise to mine, a sign of affection commonly shared between mating. Bro growls, releasing a giant huff he looks me in the eye then glances at blurted wolf. Pulling his lip back in a warning before trotting off, blue-eyed wolf had disrespected my brother by cutting in front of him when he was Checking on me his pack member. Ignoring my brother’s growl of irritation I bump shoulders with blue-eyed wolf before following the pack and my bro. We follow behind as we trot leisurely through the woods some of the wolves play together wrestling much like we were. We walk side by side, fur brushing against each other as we watch the others. Dinner long forgotten.