THE AWAKENING OF THE CHOSEN

Concerns about the first shift

Why are you sending me away? Did I do something wrong?" Zion's confusion was written all over his face.

"No son, of course not. Your Uncle Omar invited you there. He was one of the best warriors that our pack has ever seen. He was even used by the council to train the weaker packs. Very well respected, but you know this. He has long retired, but he offered to train you. It's an honor son, and the area is very secluded, so you will have all the privacy needed." Alpha Lucus explained.

"But I will miss my first pack run, father! Can't I go after my first shift?" He pleaded. It made no sense to him. He was the next Alpha in line. In order to earn the respect of his pack, the first run was crucial. He was to hunt on that run and to bring food in for the night celebration. He would be honored and accepted as the next Alpha in line. It was not the official Alpha ceremony, but still, it was very important. Even more importantly, often that night or soon after, they meet their mate. Someone the moon Goddess had selected just for them, perfect in every way. He had waited for the perfect girl, just like his father had waited for his mother. So many of the younger wolves took pleasure in the unmated She-Wolves but he never bothered with dating. He wanted her to know how important she was to him when they met.

"I won't do it! I won't go!" Zion slammed his fist against the antique oak desktop.

Rochelle saw her husband's chest swell and she knew he was about to go into full-blown Alpha mode. She put her hand on his chest to calm him.

"Lucas, he doesn't need an Alpha now; he needs a father." Her voice and touch always settled him. The power of a Luna. He nodded understanding as she walked over to a chair and pulled it up to her son.

"Zion, we are not trying to punish you, love. We are trying to protect you." Rochelle said as she cupped his face with her hands.

"Show him Rochelle," Lucas said in a defeated tone. Zion was confused as he looked into his mother's eyes. He could see her anguish, her pain. Tears rolled down her cheeks.

"Mom, what is it?" Zion asked.

"Let me show you love." She placed her forehead against Zion's, and he was swept away…..

The switch

20 years prior

Wolf pups were not subjected to the same ailments as humans. Things that would normally kill a human child, a wolf pup could endure with no problem and a Lycan pup. They grew faster, stronger, and were more intelligent than the average wolf.

Rochelle had been calling out to the Moon Goddess all day and into the night. Her grief was heart-wrenching as she held her lifeless pup. "Honey, it's time to let him go." Lucas, her mate, had pleaded. Riga Mortis had settled in, but she still refused to let the pup go. They had only left him alone through the night, but that morning he was gone. A toy lodged in his throat. The baby was 4 months, nearly five. Saving him from the decree the Gods had made. He was born in November of the previous year. Still, he was gone. Finally, Rochelle had nodded, she was ready to hand the pup over.

It was then that the fog appeared: "Selene! Goddess!" She opened her cloak and there he was in her arms.

"He is of Lycan descent, and he needs protection. Your pup has perished, but I am giving you a second chance at motherhood. You must keep him hidden for the first months so that he can catch up with the size and weight of the pup you have lost, before introducing him to the pack again."

"How can we hide him from the pack? They are so excited and-"

"Lucas!" His wife snapped "our boy is gone. I'm sure the Goddess could have made other arrangements, but she is giving the pup to us." She was already reaching for the child and sat with her arms outreached. The Goddess held the child close to her bosom, still.

"This child is the last of its kind. Do you understand what that means?" Selene looked from one to the other. Lucas walked closer, struggling to pull his eyes away from the Goddess. She was absolutely beautiful. He looked at the child. He was sucking on his fingers, adorable Lucas thought, as he took the initiative to boldly take the child. He looked at him.

"He is already huge! Look at those feet and hands!" He sat next to his wife, and she looked longingly at the child in his arms.

"Darling, are you ready now?"

"Yes." She cried, placing one last kiss on her babe's forehead, she straightened his clothing.

"Rest in peace, my love, you will always be with me." She said before she passed him to the Goddess.

"He will have a respectful place to rest." Selene said "I will be watching over you. Protect him with your life." She was gone as quickly as she appeared.

Zion looked at his mother and she dropped her head into his lap and cried. His mother's gift was amazing. He had so many questions as tears fell from his eyes. Still, his concern was for her. Her grief was raw, reliving that moment had bought all of the emotions back from that night. He pulled her hair back from her face. "Mom, it's okay now. You have me." He whispered in an attempt to console her. His mother nodded her head vigorously as his father placed his hand on his mate's shoulder. Rochelle tried to smother her cries as she lifted her face to look at him.

"And I can't lose you, Zion, I just can't." She mumbled. He understood a little now why she was so protective and overbearing. This explains a lot.

"But who am I? Where did I come from?" Zion asked them.

"We know as much as you do, son." Lucas chimed in.

"You were born for greatness, Zion," Rochelle said in a shaky voice.

"But the moment you shift there will be a target on your back. You will be larger in size, quicker, faster than any wolf!" Rochelle grabbed both of his hands.

"But the Gods!"

"If the Gods wanted you dead it would have happened by now. It is not them that we fear," Lucas explained.

"Then who? Why am I hiding?" Zion asked.

"The council will send someone for you for us because we did not obey the decree," Lucas said flatly. Zion's eyes grew huge.

"You and mom will be in danger!" Zion shook his head.

Now Lucas placed a hand on his shoulder, "Zion, you are the most important thing to us. Your mother and I knew the risk we were taking. We chose to do it anyway. The moment I held you I knew I would die for you." His father squeezed his shoulder and Zion dropped his head. He did not want him to see him as weak as tears flowed from his eyes. His father grabbed his chin. "I am proud of the man you have become, Zion. I could not have asked for more. You will be a great leader." Zion stood and hugged his father. Rochelle was proud of both, and she smiled with pleasure.

"I will go pack my things." Zion turned to go, but another thought crossed his mind. "Why did the Gods send such a decree down father?"

"Legacy son, it is written in the great scrolls that every 1000 years a child will be born of Lycan descent. Not just any child. The Chosen, a creation made by the Moon Goddess to bring balance, peace, and harmony between the different species. This child will have dominion over all creatures on earth, human and inhuman. He will come into his powers at age twenty and still, although he will be powerful, his full potential will only be released when he meets his mate." Zion looked at his parents in disbelief.

"You think I am the chosen one?" He was in total awe.

"Zion the Goddess gave you to us. We don't know what your true purpose is, but it makes sense," Rochelle said. Zion's legs suddenly felt weak. Could it be possible? Suddenly he felt the weight of the world on his shoulder.

The first shift

It was a bit unorthodox, but arrangements needed to be made. Zion was one of the most eligible future Alpha's and there were three Luna's of Lycan descent remaining. One of them was sure to be his mate. So, the plan was to set up an informal meeting so he could meet the young Luna's to see if any were a match. Of course, they would be under the impression that he was just a regular wolf to protect him and his family. He would tell his mate once they had connected what his identity was. Because of the decree, it was something he would have to wait to share everything with her. He first had to know the spirit of her heart.

The She-wolves that did have Lycan in their bloodline would mate with wolves and the bloodline would no longer be pure and, eventually, over time, the gene would be no stronger, dominant, meaning it would be no different from that of a regular wolf. This, unfortunately, was inevitable because there were no males remaining and a She wolf that did not have Lycan genes usually did not live through birth because the pups were so much larger in size.

It was rumored at one point experiments were being done on young female She-wolves by the council to try to preserve what was left of the Lycan race. Impregnating young She-wolves. They all died or if they lived, the child did not and the females were then barren.

Zion was eager to meet his mate. His other half, whom he had pictured quite often. He imagined she would be tall, maybe not as tall as him, because he was 6'3 His future beta, Kevin, was 6'1 and his only confidant. Still, he had not shared with him the news given to him by his parents. Kevin was pissed and confused. He didn't understand why he had to go right before his first shift. He knew something was up but he wasn't sure what. He had nagged him the entire time he was here so far.

"What does he have you doing? Any hot She-wolves? When are you coming home? I miss you, dude?"

"Bro, I will be back as soon as I can. My uncle needed me more than he let on." Zion responded through their telepathic connection. He wasn't lying either. Unfortunately, his uncle never found his mate. He had searched for her for centuries before giving up. Wolves have a very long lifespan. Most lived between three and six hundred years before dying of natural causes. However, their childbearing years were not much different than humans. There were rare wolves that lived even longer, like members of the council rumored to have been around when the last chosen walked the earth.

His Uncle never had children, which meant he did not have an heir. He had hoped that Rochelle would eventually have children again and, hopefully, a son that he could pass his pack down to. She did not, so he instead began allowing his pack members to join other packs. It was hard for an Alpha to watch his pack dwindle away, but he had no choice. He only had two families that stayed with him, and they were elders set in their ways. One couple was 200 years old, and the other was not much younger. They did a lot of work around the packhouse, but there was still a lot to be done.

"Uncle Omar, where are their children? Why do they not come to help with the upkeep of this place?" Zion asked.

"Well, Goober used to be a drunk and a mean one at that. I'm surprised Betty never left. The mate bond is a fierce one. Needless to say, when their boy left, he vowed never to return. Angry at his father for being who he was and angry at his mom for loving the bastard anyway. He left soon after his first shift. Came to me and said let me go Alpha or I will take my chances as a rogue. Good kid too, I sent him on his way with my blessings. Their daughter Melissa mated with a pack member from Alaska. Met at the annual ceremony for unmated wolves and well you know how that goes. Fred had all girls, three of them. They all married in different states. So, I guess the answer is none is really available." He chuckled.

"What about their mates?" Zion asked.

"Well, to be honest, Zion, if they offered, Fred probably shot them down. Too proud to ask for help." Zion mulled over his words. His uncle could have asked for help as well. Clearly, he was just as proud. So, Zion would not allow him to ask for help; he began working on any and everything that needed work. Starting with the leaky roof. It took about three days to do that. He then went to work on ceiling cracks around the windows. He repaired the shingles and gave the house a fresh coat of paint. He recemented the driveway as well as the sidewalk leading up to the house. He also replaced the fence surrounding the property. It didn't take long to get it all together, especially with his uncle's company. He was a talker, so Zion learned all about his father's childhood exploits leading up to meeting his mom. He also enjoyed hearing about the different relationships he had once he gave up on finding a mate.

"I even dated a human once," Omar confided, gaining a hearty laugh from Fred.

"Cut it out, Fred!" Omar yelled over his shoulder as he skinned and cleaned the fish he caught earlier from the lake.

"A human? What was that like?" Zion was eager to hear.

"Let Fred tell you," Omar said, cringing at the thought. Zion's eyebrows went up. Fred had a potty mouth and Zion could already imagine how this would go.

"He brought her in here and took her to his room and put the thing on her." He gave Zion a look that he knew meant he was referring to s*x "and I tell ya, Rita came in and said Fred should we do something I believe he is killing her." The men burst into laughter. Zion laughed more because they did. He didn't get it until his eyes fell on Rita. She smiled and said, "Wolves come equipped with a little more." Her face then turned red. Zion was embarrassed and totally grossed out.

"You boys are embarrassing the pup." Betty chastised them.

"I said what the hell do you want me to do?" Fred had a loud boisterous voice. It took up a lot of room in a conversation.

"She was talking big s**t before we got in there," Omar said in his defense.

"Just know she didn't come back for weeks and, even then, she was still walking funny." Betty shyly pointed out, finally concluding "I don't think humans should mate with other species."

Rita chimed in again, "They have been doing it since the beginning of time. I think the girl was just small and a bit of an exaggerator. Not to mention, I think Alpha had something to prove."

Zion mind linked to Kevin, 'Dude please save me from this conversation before I start having visuals!' he pleaded.

'What's up?'

'They are seriously talking about sex.'

'Dude, who did you piss off to deserve this form of punishment?'

'I don't know but I'm dying here! '

'Hang in there just three more days until you turn seventeen and then your training starts.'

Zion sighed, severing the link "I just remembered I forgot to clean my room." He used wolf speed to get away before anyone could say anything. He did not sign up for that.

The days went by fairly quickly. Soon enough, his birthday was here, and he was ecstatic.

As soon as he woke up, he heard a voice saying, 'Morning champ.'

His wolf he had his wolf! 'What's up?'

'Not much, I'm Czar and I don't know about you, but I could use a run.'

'Oh, okay, I thought it would be different.'

'Yeah, I know, but you're a Lycan. We have complete control even on our first shift. Going to need a little more room though.'

Zion grabbed some clothes as he yelled out the door, "Uncle Omar, I got my wolf getting ready to shift!"

"Kid, why are you putting clothes on for then?" He asked in a groggy voice.

Zion froze as he thought it over "good point."

He tossed his shirt back on the bed and stood awkwardly in his boxers staring at his uncle.

"Let's go then," Omar said, heading for the front door. Out in the front yard, Czar instructed him, ' Just relax your mind Champ, I got this.'

Zion watched as his uncle shifted in seconds. He closed his eyes as Czar said, 'brace yourself Champ, this is going to hurt like hell!'

Just then, his bones began to elongate, snap, and pop out of place. Zion wanted to be strong, but he couldn't help himself. The pain was like no other. 'Almost there kid.' Czar coaxed as his uncle stared at him.

"Holy f*****g s**t!" Fred said, dropping his coffee as he stepped outside. Czar and Spud, his uncle Omar's wolf, stared at him as he stumbled off the porch looking at Czar. "You are one massive son of a b***h!" He said in awe, circling Czar.

"You ain't even lying." His uncle circled him in his wolf form. His wolf did something that completely took Zion by surprise. He bowed down to Czar. 'Wow, did that just happen?' Zion asked.

'Stay humble, Champ, remember this moment.'

Fred shifted into his wolf too, and before long Rita, Betty and Goober joined them.

The first run was the most exciting thing in the world to Zion. Czar was everything his mother said he would be. Quicker, stronger, more agile than any wolf he had ever seen. They ran for hours. And when he did stop so the others could catch up and take a break, he spotted a buck. As soon as his uncle sat down to catch his breath, Czar took off. The deer didn't stand a chance. Czar came back dropping his kill in front of his uncle. He could see the pride in his uncle's eyes.

Later that day, Omar called his brother and bragged about how Zion had gone back out shortly after they got back and returned with another buck.

"Lucas the kid is enormous; we will start his training immediately tomorrow morning. You got yourself some kid here."