Raven

Raven ran through the woods as fast as her tired legs could carry her. She had been running since the sun began to set with no destination in mind. She was in deep s**t, having knocked the neighboring beta's only son unconscious when he made some forceful unwanted advances towards her. She could've just gone to her dad - he was an alpha afterall, but he would've been furious. The neighboring beta's son was who he had chosen to be her mate. Her older brother, Atticus was to become alpha with his real mate Lea. All the while Raven was to mate with Dylan to ensure a close alliance between the two packs which was now probably doomed because of her. Raven managed a small smile. She didn't care about her pack and they didn't care for her. She had few friend, many of which were warriors and her brother's closest friends who helped look out for her. Everything was always about Atticus, not that she minded. Her brother was her best friend and adored her. She knew he would make a great alpha though - he always stood up for her when he could. He was a great brother and a great person that everyone looked up to. She stopped running for a moment to take in her surroundings. Her various trainings and late night trips to the library left her very knowledgeable on pack affairs, fighting, and survival. She twirled her mother's necklace between her fingers - something she did when she was deep in thought. Aside from Atticus and his close friends, her mother was the only other person who stood up for her against her father. Raven was never her father's favorite, just a pawn to make the pack stronger through alliances. He only wanted a son, someone to pass the pack down to...what happened to her, he could care less. Raven shook her head, emptying the thoughts of her mother. She was killed 4 years ago, or so she was told although Raven still believed her to be alive. As alpha and luna of the pack they travelled quite frequently. The last time, only her father returned. They never found her body and her father disclosed little to no information on her death, so Raven had hope her mother was still out there somewhere. The necklace was all she had left. Her father got rid of everything else. She wasn't his true mate and perhaps that's why he pushed so hard for her to mate for the sake of their pack. Deep in thought, Raven didn't even realize a shadow appeared behind her until a hand covered her mouth. She was fast to react, elbowing her attacker in the stomach before taking his moment of weakness to flip him over her shoulders as she pinned him down onto the cold dirt beneath them. A grunt escaped him before Raven was forcefully shoved to the side. She rolled over quickly to try to get back up before she was pinned to a tree, a tall, muscular, shirtless, and pretty good looking guy snarling in her face. It was then she realized she was near a pack's territory. She had run for so long she didnt know where she was. Five guys surrounded her. She thought she was in deep s**t before, but she knew she couldn't out fight five guys twice her size. "Put her in the prisons for Alpha Jet to deal with later, newbie. f**k this up and he'll f**k you up," the guy pinning her to the tree grumbled before quickly tossing her into the arms of the guy she had elbowed and thrown to the ground. Raven smiled to herself. He was the weak link a "newbie", she had a chance of escaping. His grip around her wrists were painfully rough as he forced her forward toward their pack. The other guys turned back the other way presumably to continue their patrol. "You little b***h," he sneered, "you're gonna pay for making me look bad in front of our Beta," he whispered harshly. Raven rolled her eyes, "you don't need me to make you look bad. If you weren't such a weakling you wouldn't have lost to a girl." She couldnt help but smirk as the smile faded from his face and was replaced by a scowl. She took the moment, flicking her wrists downward to escape his grasp before swinging her arms back at him hitting him square in the temple. He groaned, retaliating a hit of his own that she was too dazed and tired to dodge. His fist hit her right on the cheek, slightly below her eye and she knew, from experience, that it would bruise. Raven cursed under her breath kicking his legs out beneath him before using that advantage to turn and run. She sprinted back the way she had come, unsure where the territory's boundary were. But just when she thought she was close she was once again tackled to the side, her head smashing into a tree. She looked up to see the newbie and who he had called the Beta standing beside him before she lost consciousness. --- Jet sat in the large office his father had handed down to him when the alpha title got passed down 5 years ago when he turned 18. He groaned in aggravation snapping his pencil in half as he crumbled up the paper in front of him and tossed it across the room into the trash can. He was going through paper work other packs had sent because they wanted an alliance with his. There were hundreds of applicants in the pile as Jet and his father had built their pack up to be one of the strongest and most feared. They had some alliances already, but they were always looking for the occassional one to add. There was a knock on the door before it opened and his mother walked in with some snacks. "I thought you could use a break. Its not good to think with such a cluttered brain." Jet couldn't help but smile. His mother placed the tray of goodies in front of him. "Thanks mom." She smiled back, "don't think too much into them, Jet. You'll know when you see it." There was another knock at the door before his best friend and Beta walked in. "Hey Jet, former Luna Audrey," he eyed the goodies before continuing, "just wanted to let you know I'm headed off to border patrol with the guys and we're taking the newbie with us." Jet smiled, tossing his best friend a bag of chips that his mother had brought him, "Alright. I'm heading out in a few to meet up with Alpha Max. It shouldn't take long, but I'm sure you can handle things in my absence for a bit. Afterall I'll literally be the next territory over." Jet was confident his Beta could deal with any issue without him. He was also confident that no problems would occur on patrol. You'd have to be pretty dumb to be caught roaming near Blue Moon territory. Luna Audrey smiled, "Your father would be so proud, Rowan." Rowan smiled in return, "Thank you, Luna." Audrey frowned. She hated when Rowan called her Luna or former Luna. Rowan's mother had passed after giving birth to his sister 18 years ago - his sister following behind shortly after. Audrey had helped raise Rowan so his father could focus on his role as pack's Beta. It helped that him and Jet were also the same age- they grew up more like brothers. "Rowan, no need to be so formal," Audrey corrected, "I know I could never replace your mother, but just Audrey is fine. Be safe on patrol ok?" Rowan nodded and offered a smile. Audrey gave him a quick hug before he headed out. Audrey sighed as she once again turned back to her son, "Jax and Millie wanted me to tell you that they want you to hurry up and finish so you can spend the day with them tomorrow. I saved you some dinner in the fridge, don't stay up too late, ok?" Jet nodded. He couldnt help but chuckle. He wished his mother a good night before she left. His younger brother Jax was 15, Millie was 3, and he was 23. To be 23 and still without a mate was rare and if she didnt turn up by the time Jax turned 18 or found his mate, the Alpha title would be passed on. The pack needed a Luna - someone to balance out the alpha and rule beside him. Jet's only other option was to choose a random she wolf to mate with, but he didnt want that. He wanted what his parents had, his true mate - and he would happily pass on the alpha title to his brother just to be with her. Jet neatly placed the pile of treaty documents in a folder as he got ready to meet with Alpha Max. The two were really close friends and spent a lot of time together as kids along with Rowan. He was like another brother to Jet. The meeting was just to go over the pile of potential alliances Jet was looking at. His and Max's pack were allies and had been since their great grandfathers time, so they always worked together to go through and sign new alliances. Sure it could easily be done through the phone, but Jet and Max enjoyed each other's company, something that became less and less frequent as they both took over the alpha positions from their fathers. -- Jet and Max occupied the booth seat at their favorite diner on Max's territory, something the two friends did at least once a month. They talked business first, quickly going through the pile of potential treaties which ended up all being rejected. They were very selective in their process. Many packs wanted to have them on their good side as they were two of the most powerful packs. Max sighed, "so I wanted to throw Pria a surprise birthday party," he started as he clasped his hands together. Pria was his younger sister who was about to turn 18, "I was thinking outdoors between our territories so both packs could attend?" Jet nodded smiling, "that sounds fun. I'm sure my pack would love that." Max smiled, "She's excited to find her mate. I think she low-key hopes its you!" He finished with a laugh. Jet rolled his eyes. Max's sister has always had a crush on him growing up.. Jet knew he wasn't her mate but was amused by her thoughts, "don't think so Max," he chuckled, "starting to worry if I'll ever find her though... But this is about Pria, not me. Just let me know what you need help with to make this happen." Max nodded, "Thanks Jet....and you'll find her, it's just a matter of time." "I don't know, Max - I'm 23. Wolves are supposed to be able to find their mates at 18. That was 5 years ago..." Max smiled mischievously, "hey, there's always Ophilia," he joked trying to get on his friend's nerves, "I can share her with you." Jet scowled, Ophilia was Max's "s*x buddy." Unlike Jet, Max didn't want a mate. He preferred the bachelor lifestyle, sleeping around, partying, drinking... despite their differences they were still close friends. "You know I don't want that." Max chuckled, "you need to lighten up, dude. Your mate will come when she does, but you need to live up your prime years." Jet rolled his eyes, "your mate isnt gonna know what hit her when she meets you," he chuckled. -- Jet worked in his office for a few more hours or so after returning home before heading to the kitchen to warm up the food his mom had left him. He looked at the clock and sighed, it was 2am. The past few months he'd had more to do and without his mate he was drowning in work, struggling to keep up. His mother had offered to help, but Jet was headstrong. He wanted to prove he was worthy of the title his father had given him and he wanted her to be able to spend time with his siblings. Jet took the food and returned to his office to eat and try to look through a few more things. It didnt even hit him how tired he was as he drifted off to sleep. Jet woke up when the sun came out at 5. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and took in his surroundings when he realized he had fallen asleep while working. His half eaten leftovers sat on the table beside him. He sighed, bringing it out to the kitchen to clean before going to his house for a quick shower. His office was in the pack house. He had an office at home as well, but he preferred the one in the pack house. At least there he wasn't alone. His parents and siblings lived in the house beside his. When he became alpha, he got his own house. His mother had decorated it to be welcoming, she had always been excited for Jet to meet his mate. But as time passed and his mate had yet to make an appearance, he knew that she worried for him. Jet's house was quite large for one person. It had 5 bedrooms and he didnt like how empty it felt. His parents offered to let him stay at their house, but he refused, preferring the couch in his office in the pack house - at least there he could get stuff done as late as he wanted. Jet took a quick hot shower before getting dressed and heading to the training fields to watch his top warriors train the new recruits. It was a job his gamma usually did, but he was away on pack business right now. Jet liked to make the occassional appearance so he could see if there was anyone who stood out. "Newbie" as Rowan called him, stood out. He had potential and Jet's gut was rarely wrong. He watched for a while, he knew his presence intimidated a lot of people, before heading to his parents for breakfast. He opened his parents front door to be tackled by his sister. Millie embraced him with her small arms hugging him tightly. "Jet's home!" She cheered. Jet smiled, gathering his sister in his arms as she continued to hug him. He walked into the kitchen to see his parents cooking. Rowan and Jax sat at the table playing a game together. They both smiled as Jet walked in, putting Millie down as he approached. "You look tired, bro," Rowan started as he leaned back into his chair, "Also I guess you were wrong about newbie. He got his a*s handed to him by some girl last night." Jet frowned, "Like on patrol?" Rowan nodded, "There was a female right outside pack borders and he attacked only to be pinned onto the ground. Lemme tell you, he struggled. Asked him to bring her to the prisons and not to f**k up but he got his a*s kicked again and I had to intervene." Jet's wolf paced in the back of his mind and he knew something was off, "Where's Dax and this girl now?" Rowan shrugged, "I was just gonna throw them both into the prison, but newbie Dax wanted a last chance so he's trying to get info from her. She's with him in the prison. I told him to do what he will to get answers until you have time to stop by." Jet nodded, "you could've gotten me, you know. Outsiders by our territory are rare." "Figured you could use the rest, besides we got it handled." Jet and Rowan sat down for breakfast befre deciding to head over. Jet was curious about the girl. A lone female by his pack. Its as if she came looking for trouble.