Winter's True Mate

Winter My eyes pop open as the rays of the early morning sun shines into my bedroom. Yay, today is my birthday! I am officially 18 now, which means that I am supposed to find my mate today as well. I am excited but scared at the same time. I wonder who it will be. I don’t have any family to celebrate my birthday with. My parents died when I was very young. Different members of the pack have been raising me ever since. I roll out of my bed while still rubbing my eyes, grab my clothes and toiletries and head to the bathroom to get ready for school. It’s my last year this year. I am not quite sure how I even survived the last 3 years. I am an outcast in the pack and even in school. I am picked on constantly, especially by Cherry Thomas. God, I hate her. Just because she is the Beta’s daughter, she thinks that she is better than everyone else and that she can do as she pleases. But I get bullied by her more than anyone else because I am the orphan of the pack. Oh well, just another day and I hope no one finds out that it is my birthday. I walked out the door and I am immediately jumped by my two best friends, Kendra Johanson and Valyrie Jorgenson. “Oh my god!! It’s your birthday!!!!” they both started screaming. “Shhhhh, I don’t want anyone to know!” hushing them quickly. I started to walk towards school. “Awe.... But Winter, this is the most absolute important day of your life!” whined Valyrie. “Yea, I get that, but all I am is an outcast among the pack and school. I am nobody special.” “Girl, shut the hell up!” snapped Kendra. You see, Kenda is the level-headed one out of the three of us, Valyrie is the dreamer, and I am just the pessimist. We are almost to school, and I stop the girls, “Please just promise me that you won't tell anyone that it's my birthday?” I pleaded with them. “Okay, fine.” they both say with frowns on their faces. We walk into the school, and everything seems different. The scents of other wolves are staggering, the scent of humans is so much stronger and more sickening, and my hormones are all over the place. My wolf wakes up then, my eyes flash a bright piercing blue as she comes to the front of my mind. “What is happening to us?” she asks. As we are mind-linked, I can respond to her just by thinking about my answers. “I think this is part of finding our mate....” I replied. No one has ever really explained to me what I am to expect during all of this, or how it all works. No one has ever cared enough. Everyone just kind of tolerates me. Kendra gently nudges me, and the three of us start to walk down the hall. We are headed towards our first class, homeroom, when, all of a sudden, I get shoved from behind. As I fall on the floor, my books scatter in the hallway. I looked up to see who pushed me and I see Cherry. She is laughing uncontrollably, along with everyone else in the hallway. I feel my wolf get pissed, as tears want to start to well up in my eyes. I hold them back so as to not show her any weakness. “You’re a pathetic little runt. Can’t even stand your ground. I wonder why that is.... Oh yea, your parents are dead, and nobody cares about you!” she scoffs down at me. I say nothing in response to her. I just look away. I hear her high heels clicking on the tile floor as she turns on her heels and walks away, laughing. Kendra and Valyrie try to help me stand up. I push their hands away, embarrassed and angry and hurt, get up and run out of the building. I ran into someone outside but didn’t look to see who it was. I didn't care. I just kept running. I ran into the edge of the woods, sat down behind a tree and just cried. Aeric As I step off my private plane, I look around me. All I see is trees and mountains. Ugh, I really hate being here already. “Where the hell did my damn father send me now” I growl, extremely unhappy at the situation I am finding myself in. My beast inside me is just as unhappy as I am. You see, my father is the King of All Beastly Creatures. He sent me to this ungodly place, as if I were his errand boy! Ha!! No, he just wanted me out of the Palace because I am “careless” as he says. I am not careless; I just prefer my Viking ways. I continued to walk down the steps of the plane. My sister Astrid, behind me and my bodyguard, Herrick, behind her. He has been my bodyguard for the last 125 years. My sister only came with me to help me with this mindless case. My father thinks there is something more to the packs that are here continuously having territory disputes and killings. I just say kill them all and be done with it. You see, we are lycans. We are bigger, better, older and meaner than these useless werewolves. But they are my father’s loyal subjects and I am obligated to treat them as such, unless the need were to arise to take one out. But that can only be decided by the council. “Brother, you going to get in the car?” Astrid asked. “Yes.” I growled, still unhappy to be here. We drive for what seems like forever, until we turn into a driveway with a huge metal gate that is locked. Herrick puts in the passcode and the gates swing open, closing again as soon as the car is through. We continued to drive for another couple miles until we pulled up to this huge mansion. Astrid and I looked at each other, then the house. “Home away from our damn sweet Palace. Shall we sister?” I give her a look of dread, knowing what lies in store for us tomorrow. As we walk in, everything is spotless and clean. You would never be able to tell that no one has lived or even stayed here in hundreds of years. I doubt anyone even knows that it's here. That's good. I don't want anyone to know that I am here. If they did, they would act differently. I obviously don't want that, so that I can get to the bottom o what is going on without interference from anybody.