The Secret Pack

The Winter Solstice

Today is the day. I have been training for this moment for 10 long years. On the night of the winter solstice, all pack members who have become of age will compete to gain their true wolf mark and choose our names. I cannot wait. Even though I am a princess by birth, this does not guarantee that I will one day be queen. The title of queen is a title that must be earned.

My mother, the queen, approaches the podium and the stadium falls silent. "Today is a momentous day in these young ladies’ lives. Tonight is the night that they will earn their right to be called members of the Moonflower Pack, and in turn they will earn the right to meet their wolf self. This night will not only test the strength of the individuals in front of you, but also the strength they will add to our pack and to our legacy. For centuries we have stayed hidden from the rest of the world. We have provided the balance between the human and supernatural world. We have kept the peace without detection and created calm within his world. Tonight's event not only determines these ladies' futures, but it will also determine the future of this pack. No one will be shown mercy or favouritism, no matter their birth rank." My mother locked eyes with me for that last part, oh how I wish I had been born as a regular ranking wolf's daughter.

I can do this, I say to myself, I have trained for 10 long years and I will not let my legacy down. The other she-wolves and I ready ourselves in our battle stance. We are ready and anxious to get started. We have much to prove to one another. 

Mother speaks to the crowd, and to the competitors, once again

"The rules for tonight are simple: 

1) No shifting - you are only allowed to meet your wolf counterpart after the match

2) No fatal wounds - we do not kill our own, unless it for the good of the pack

3) When you are knocked out you stay out - no sense in further injury"

The moon is almost at the highest point in the sky, on the longest night of the year. It is almost time, I think to myself, I cannot wait to meet my wolf self; to get my wolf mark; to choose my name; and to serve this pack as its leader.

 The trumpets sounds and the match has begun. I stand my ground and watch each opponent carefully, calculating their every move knowing that I will have the biggest target on my back. The first she-wolf lunges for me, it's a blur of fists and bubble-gum pink hair flying around me. I expertly dodge every punch and seize the opportunity to drop to one knee and deliver a knockout uppercut straight to her jaw. I hear the next one coming straight away and quickly sweep my free leg around and connect perfectly with her ankles, sending her flying into to the stadium wall. This is going better than I expected, I think with a smirk. I steal a quick glance at my mother to see if she approves of my progress. Her face is stoic and emotionless, but her eyes are glowing with pride. She obviously is not supposed to show favouritism, but I can see the approval in her eyes. That's all I ned to spur me on to greatness, if she believed in me then so did I.

I made quick work of the rest of my opponents and was happy with how honourably we had all fought. But as I stood there, watching my most recent opponent being carried off the field, I had the feeling that something was amiss. I slowly scanned my surroundings and there she was, the Gamma's daughter. She and I had never gotten along as she believed that she should have been born the princess. She didn't want it for the right reasons, she wanted the position for the power; the title; and to keep the pack in the dark ages. I wanted to the position to be a leader, to lead my pack into the future. We circled each other, waiting for the other to lose focus for even one second. I had a bad feeling about this and knew something was wrong, she took this slight lapse in concentration and went straight for a choke hold. She had me in a perfect hold, I must commend her on her technique, and I began to try to break the position. Something wasn't right, she was holding me firm but not trying to choke me out, what was she up to?

Suddenly I felt it, the awful sensation of wolfsbane coming closer to my skin. She wouldn't do that, would she? I thought she knows that if the wolfsbane enters my system before my wolf is revealed that she'll kill my wolf, right? My eyes widened... that was he plan! If she killed my wolf, then I cannot become queen! She and the Beta's daughter would then have to fight for the queen position, and the poor girl is 4 years younger than us. The Beta's daughter wouldn't stand a chance, I had to get out of her hold before she pierced my skin.

 I had to think fast and then I remembered how self-obsessed she was. "Wow, you're amazing! this is one the best choke holds I've ever experienced! No one could ever beat you with the power and superiority you are exhibiting right now." Her eyes blinked slowly at me, and a conceited smile crept across her lips "Why thank you, it's what you should expect from the best of the pack". Here as my chance, I quickly used her body weight against her and flung her down to the ground placing my knee on her upper back between her shoulder blades. "WOLFSBANE! SHE HAS WOLFSBANE!" I screamed; the crowd gasped loudly. My mother, the Beta and the Gamma all approached us and found a tiny needle hidden under her bracelet. They all looked at each other in shock and then back at her in disgust.

 The three leaders of the pack looked at her and then stated in unison "You are hereby banished from this pack and declared a rogue with no wolf for crimes, of the highest degree, against a fellow pack member." The crowd murmured; a banishment was considered the highest form of punishment in the pack. I couldn't bear the thought of a fellow pack member being cast out like this, "please, your graces, can we not reconsider? The punishment you have decided on is rather extreme." They all glared at me, and I knew what they were saying the rules are set and finite. She had to be banished, but I swore to myself that I would find her and rehabilitate her back into the pack once I was queen.

~1 hour later~

The rest of the initiates and I stood on a stage in the middle of the arena, the atmosphere was joyous yet sombre at the same time. No one liked the idea of losing a pack member to a banishment, but she broke one of our highest rules "we do not kill our own, unless it for the good of the pack"

Mother stood in front of us and faced the crowd "Now, for the moment we have all been waiting for. These young ladies will be given two gifts from our Moon Goddess and then they will bestow unto us one of their own. Our Mood Goddess will reveal these young ladies’ wolves and give them their wolf mark which will determine their destiny. After that, we will finally know their true names"

The moon was starting to glow brighter, little wisps of silver light were dancing down the moonbeams towards us.

Deep breath, here we go