In the Luna's shadow

Georgie I closed my eyes letting the warm sun cover my body and the sound of the waves soothe me. The beach has always been my happy place. I was lost in my own thoughts. “Ball!" Nathan called to me from further down the beach. My eyes fluttered open, adjusting to the bright sunlight, just before a volleyball came flying towards me. I raised my arms over my face just in time for them to block the ball from hitting me in the face. The ball slapped against my arms, leaving them red and stinging. I squeezed my eyes to stop myself from crying out. Nathan came running over to me, kicking up sand from his feet and spreading it all over my towel. I groaned. Nathan bent down beside me while his friends stood behind him chucking. I could hear them snickering and rolled my eyes. “Sorry Georgie.” Nathan said, trying to hide his giggle. I glared at him. “When you asked if you could come to the beach with me, I did not expect you to bring the whole basketball team…” I muttered, glancing back at the boys waiting for their ball to be returned with their arms crossed across their chests. “I didn’t realise you were coming on your own!” Nathan defended. “I thought you would at least bring some friends!” He added with an exasperated sigh. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair. His greeny-blue eyes staring into mine, he had a mixture of our mother's and father's eyes. It literally looked as if the two colours crashed together, with specks of green and blue throughout his irises. So he got his friends here by telling them there would be hot girls here… Skye, my wolf, muttered to me via link. I knew Mum wanted me to hang out with boys more to see if they are my mate, but I really doubt my mate will be in this pack. Seems like it. I replied, what a let down, it’s just me! I laughed. “I like to enjoy the beach in silence.” I replied to Nathan while lying back on my towel and closing my eyes again. He shook his head before standing up beside me. “Fine. We’ll move further away.” Nathan sighed and walked back to the boys. “I truly don’t believe that she is your twin.” Lenny, one of Nathan’s friends, groaned. “We’ll believe it. And she would kick your arse if she ever heard you.” Nathan grunted. He was right. I was the only child that my mother's First Founding Wolves' abilities were passed down to. Skye, as well as having blue fur, also had an unnerving amount of strength. From looking at her, you couldn’t tell, but as soon as anyone threatened her or challenged her, they didn’t stand a chance. I tried to turn my brain off but I couldn’t. About an hour later, we packed up the cars and headed home. Nathan drove while I listened to music. “You really could be a bit more friendly and approachable.” Nathan murmured as we drove off in silence. I fought the desire to rip his head off and yell. “I could be. But why? I don’t live up to their expectations anyway…” I shrugged my shoulders. Our mother is the Luna of the Red Shadow Pack. She is a descendant of the founding wolves and, in turn, has passed on their special abilities to me. We were still uncovering some of my abilities as they appear over time, but we do know that I have a coloured wolf and increased wolf strength. Those two things were enough for the pressure to build. I would turn eighteen in three days and once I turned eighteen, I was supposed to find my mate. The other half to my whole. The person who will complete me. To be completely honest, the idea sounds great in theory, but think about how many people roam the planet. How likely is it that I will stumble across my mate on my eighteenth birthday? But my Mum and the elders are all convinced that my mate bond will be stronger because of my generational abilities and finding my mate will uncover more abilities that I haven’t discovered yet. They have decided that it is destined to happen. I waited for Nathan to reply but he had nothing. He knew that the pressure for me to find a mate was significantly greater than the pressure for him to find his mate. Even though our birthdays are the same day, no one has even mentioned Nathan’s mate. Nathan was the poster boy for the pack. He was smart, handsome and popular. The captain of the football team and, if we had a prom, he could be prom king. “Just do me a favour and try to have fun some more.” Nathan sighed as we pulled into the driveway at home. “OK.” I nodded and smiled meekly. I knew he just wanted what was best for me. I walked into the house while Nathan unpacked his stuff from the boot of the car. I threw my wet and sandy things into the washing machine and headed to my bedroom. I picked up my pyjamas and walked to the bathroom. I stood under the hot water for too long. I enjoyed the sensation of water easing the worries and tension in my body. *knock* *knock* *knock* “Georgie! Hurry up!” Nathan shouted from outside the bathroom. “Sorry!“ I called back and turned the water off. I dried myself, wrapped my body in the towel and hurried out of the bathroom. Apologising to Nathan again as I went down the hall. I changed into my pyjamas and brushed my long brown hair. My phone vibrated on the bed. Sierra: Are you coming to the game tomorrow? I rolled my eyes. The last thing I wanted to do was go and watch a football game with everyone watching to see if I found my mate. Me: Wasn’t planning on it. Why? Sierra was one of my best friends. We have been friends for forever. We were similar in a lot of ways, but Sierra was a lot more outgoing than I was. Maybe it was because she was genuinely more interested in joining in during community activities or maybe it was because she didn’t have the same amount of pressure on her. I picked up my homework to finish the stuff that was due on Monday morning. I had a very strict rule: no homework on Sunday. Only a few more weeks of school to abide by that rule… I reminded myself. Then the doors open! Skye added enthusiastically. My phone vibrated on the bed again. I put my pen down to read it. Sierra: Seriously? Well, can I borrow that knitted purple jumper of yours? I chuckled. Me: Sure. Come over and pick it up tomorrow before the game? Sierra: Perfect! Are you sure you don’t want to come and have a perve at the hot footy players??? Me: One hundred percent. I will be fine at home. I shook my head. And continued doing my homework.