Decimated

My life could have been very different from what it is now. I am a found orphan, well, I assume that I am one. I never really put much effort into finding my blood family. They abandoned me, but I found better because of it. The pack that found and accepted me know nothing of my past and neither do I.

Here I am, in the middle of this breath-taking Ballroom, in a stunning and sizeable Packhouse, doing one of my duties that I enjoy most; decorating for an event that the pack is holding. This time there is a Mating Ball.

All eligible bachelors and bachelorettes from all our friendly neighbouring packs are going to be here to see if they can find their mate. Not everyone will find that special someone that the Moon Goddess basically created for us, but it is also a good way to build on our alliances and just enjoy ourselves, socialize instead of only communicating with each other about business matters alI the time.

The packs host a whole manner of gatherings all year round, but Mating Balls are generally held quarterly, each time by a different pack. This time, it is our turn to play cupid.

There are seven neighbouring packs that we have close relationships with, and we all attend any arranged gatherings, eight with ours included; The Moonlight Pack.

Each pack of werewolves hold a varying number of members. Some smaller packs can packs can consist of just a few hundred, but that number mostly reaches the thousands though. Like our pack for example, it is the second largest after the Royal Pack with nearly six thousand to our name, so we do not face many challenges from others. But, regardless of the number of wolves in each pack, we all have the same leadership system; first in charge being the Alpha, then their right hand the Beta, then there is the Gamma and sometimes there is a Delta. Not all packs have aDelta though, they are mostly seen in larger packs when there is more work needed to be done to keep everyone safe and everything running smoothly. There is always a Head Warrior that oversees training everyone from the warriors, females, omegas to the pups.

There are many other packs further afield, we are more common than you would think, we are just really good at integrating ourselves with the human society. Some of these other packs we do not have positive relationships with, but that is ok. As a dominant species we are not all going to get along and so, sometimes wars happen. That is why inter-pack relationships are important to build on. Because of a wolfs loyal nature, they are highly dependable should we need assistance in any capacity, such as fighting an enemy pack or rogue attacks.

You can usually identify a rogue wolf easily. Their scent is akin to something rotting or dead and is extremely pungent. They are wolves that do not belong to any pack due to any number of reasons.

They could have been kicked out as punishment for a crime, their pack was decimated in an attack, loss of a mate or left because of the pack leadership that it did not agree with following.

Werewolves are very dominant creatures and sometimes a regular pack member will feel like they are better suited to a position of power and so would challenge a male for their title. More often than not, they would lose the challenge as Deltas, Gammas, Betas and especially Alphas, are much superior in strength, intelligence and are trained by the best of the best all their lives. Almost all males of powerful positions are born into them and conditioned from before they can even speak. The challenger very rarely lives to become a rogue.

Back to the reason I am standing here like a lemon in awe and wonder; mates. Oh, my sweet goddess. Having a mate is nothing like anything else in this world, or so I am told.

When a wolf turns eighteen, they suddenly get this natural sat nav that is activated. When our mates are within a certain distance, our inner wolves sense them and urge us towards them. On first glance, everything else melts away, no-one and nothing else exists, only the two beings standing before each other do. That first kiss, that first touch. They are nothing like you have ever experienced before and nothing in comparison to anything future ones will feel like. Each touch better and more electrified than the last. My lips tingle in anticipation of finding my future. I ran the soft tips of my fingers mindlessly over my rosy lips, eagerness to find my mate swelling inside of me.

The urge to complete the mating is instant. Completing it involves biting each other on the lower neck close to the collar bone. It is a euphoric feeling to be marked, even without having sex beforehand and as wolves we have an insatiable appetite for sex. Sex with our mates is impossible to resist for long periods of time. Hell, even short periods. With the bite, the scents of both wolves entwine together and leave a scar, essentially marking each other as theirs. It is the best way of making it easier for other wolves to see that they are mated.

But sometimes, some idiot manages to resist the intense urges and rejects the mate the Moon Goddess chooses for us. This is so painful that most wolves die from the immeasurable and unbearable pain that it inflicts upon them. Sometimes wolves reject the goddess-given mate and opt for a chosen mate in a bid for more power or stability between packs, build alliances. It is treated like nothing more than a fucking business transaction. Some will find their mates and neither accept nor reject the other. This also causes immense pain because our wolves instantly connect. Once we meet our fated mate and until we reject them and especially once mated, if a wolf is unfaithful, it is deeply and painfully felt by the other. It does not help that the rejection must also be accepted by the rejected.

Over the years I have seen many wolves waking up on their eighteenth birthdays, dashing from a bedroom in excitement and around pack territory because of that one delectable and irresistible scent that hits them like a freight train. They move so fast; no amount of time is quick enough for them to clash and embrace each other. But that is not to say I have not witnessed a rejection or two. That shit is heart-breaking to watch, it is impossible to imagine what the rejected wolf feels.

I turn eighteen tomorrow, just in time for the Mating Ball in the evening, increasing the chances of me finding my mate. I long to find him so much, someone to call my own. I have no blood family thanks to being abandoned in the woods. Even though I am surrounded by people that care for and love me, I am lonely. To find my mate and have my own pups would help me with so much of the pain that I have carried for as long as I can remember. Unconditional love is world's best beauty, and I want it, just like everyone else.

When I was found as a pup, I was brought to the Packhouse and there I have stayed ever since. The Alpha and Luna have always treated me as one of their own pack members, as one of their own pups even. But still, it is not the same. Sure, I have close bonds with them and a few others, and I do appreciate all of them and consider them as my family, but I do wonder what the real thing feels like sometimes. Actually, most of the time.

When I was found I was roughly only a few months old. Alpha Brock, Luna Kae and the entire pack basically celebrated a random day as my birthday until I finally got my wolf. You see, each of us get our wolves on our fifteenth birthday. It is like a barrier breaks and they flood in, speaking to you like a hyperactive pup until we turn on the night of our birthdays. Therefore, giving me the date that we should have been celebrating for me all along. Each so called 'celebration' is only a reminder to me that someone out there did not want me though.

Alpha Brock and Luna Kaelyn have two pups that are theirs. The eldest, Elijah turns eighteen today, so tomorrows Ball is also a celebration for him turning of age. Hopefully he finds our future Luna as well, he really does deserve someone special. At six-foot one inch of pure god-like muscle, mousey brown hair with natural blonde highlights and soul gripping green eyes, he could have any girl he wanted. But his mamma raised him right and he behaves himself mostly. He is obviously had girlfriends but nothing serious. After all, he is a young male werewolf with an insatiable appetite, Alpha born werewolves being even worse.

Eli and his brother, Elliot, could be twins, complete echoes of each other. Even down to the playful, cheeky and sexy as fuck personalities. But then, they are only about one year different in age, Elliot being the younger one and one inch shorter. They are forever playing pranks and causing trouble together. I am surprised Luna Kae did not swap them out for quieter pups from the nursery or just flat out murder the shits.

They are never alone in causing mayhem. Our future Beta and Eli's best friend, Louis Allaway and our future Gamma and Eli's other best friend, Ajay Mullins. Together they are the dream team, so much testosterone and so goddess damn hot it should be illegal.

Back to the beauty unfolding before me. Tall, light-coloured walls leading to unreachable ceilings. From the centre and covering at least half is glass so that we can be enveloped in mother nature's choosing of weather and lighting. Right now, though? A gorgeous early morning sun is starting to peer through the misty start to the day. Even if it was rain and storms, the stunning scenery still has a calming effect on myself and others. I suppose that it is the wolf in us, we love to be surrounded by nature.

At one end of the gigantic room, a dance floor large enough to fit well over one hundred guests alone, with an area delegated to the Dj overlooking. At the other end, a black marble topped bar surrounded by overflowing wooden shelves giving it a rustic wooden feel to it and so big it would take a minimum of five staff to man it. Fully stocked with enough alcohol to sink a ship and yet more to come. Werewolves tend to have a high tolerance for alcohol and need near a bath full to get drunk.

In between the dance floor and bar, many large circular tables are scattered around the room covered in tablecloths, ready for them to be laid with glasses, cutlery and other things that were needed for the night. Large empty vases have been placed in the centres of every table ready to be filled with the masses of flowers and lights that are currently getting prepared for tomorrows event. And here I am, in charge of the decorating and standing here daydreaming, looking like a right tit with my fingers still held to my keen lips.

"Earth calling Olivia?!"

So much for wolf senses, my wolf seems to be feeling a little lazy today because I did not sense anyone within a one-mile vicinity of me. I jumped and spun to my left where a loud female voice had shouted extremely close to me. Other members of staff were milling about, preparing the room and I think that they also felt their hearts jump out of their bodies and dive up their arses. "You fucking twat! You scared the shit outta me. Don't creep up and scare me like that again, you bellend." I lectured my best friend Pops whilst taking a swing at her and missing. Her actual name is Poppy, but what is a best friend if they do not have a nickname they hate.

"I've been dancing and talking right in front of you for ages, you dipshit. You have been standing here like a wanker, staring at the same spot on the ceiling for ages". She returned, laughing as if my trauma was the most hilarious thing ever.

"What do you want anyway? You fucking twatwaffle."

"I came to see how the decs were coming along and found you in a trance with some weird ass look on your face". Pops really does love having a joke, especially at someone else's expense.

"Ha fucking ha, very funny. And don't you mean you got bored in the kitchen and are now skiving"? Bloody tool is always getting in shit with the Head Omega Marthe.

"Ok, ok, I'm skiving. But Marthe really has a bug up her arse in there today. She is on everyone's case!" Sighing, Pops flopped like she had suddenly deflated, all five foot eleven inches of pure natural blonde beauty. "I know there is a lot she must manage with all the preparations and shit but fuck me! She's scaring everyone absolutely shitless in that kitchen! So, it is either me skive, or you are having her out here to save all our hides." Pops' eyes were wide; arms open to emphasis her point.

"Yehhhh...." I groaned on. "This thing's got everyone in a flap and driving each other dull. They are all acting as if the Alpha King and his family are coming. But the result is gunna be worth it all though." I responded to her over exaggeration.

"Ahhhh! The big eighteen tomorrow! I am so psyched for you. And me! I hope we both find our mates tomorrow. I just hope they're both from the same pack, so we still get to see each other all the time. My mate is obviously not from Moonlight, or I would have found him by now. Even if we don't find them, at least we have an excuse to get to get pissed and let our hair down. And it will be legal for us both finally. I'm so looki..."

I cut off her babbling as soon as I could, but this girl can talk fast as fuck.

"Shut up woman! Fuck you go on." I laughed. "I can't wait either but I'm so goddess damn terrified." I finally admitted it, I'm finally admitting to someone that I've been hiding my fears about finding my mate, even from my bestie.

"Why are you so scared about tomorrow? You should be happy about finding the man and wolf made for you. I know how much you crave to; you need him." She asks me quietly, her whole demeanor suddenly changing from bouncing and bubbly to this person you want to open up and share everything with. And also, one of the main reasons she is my best friend, and I love so much. Even if she is a pain in my arse.

"What if I find him and he rejects me?" I answered her dejectedly, at the same time, Pops started rubbing her hands up and down my arms in a soothing way. "I was rejected by my own family, why wouldn't my mate?"

"Why the fuck would anyone reject you? They'd have to be blind, deaf and dumb as fuck to do that." I chuckled at her reasoning with me, this girl really has a way with words that seem to start putting the pieces back together, even if it's fragile still.

"You are my best friend; you will say anything to make me feel like the most special wolf around. Even if it is just words."

"Wow you're a fucking tool. You are amazing. You are beautiful, your eyes are stunning, just like the sea. A beautiful mix of blues and greens amongst the waves. Long dark hair surrounding an innocent baby face." She was slowly threading her fingers through my long, smooth hair but stopped when she began to chuckle at my screwed-up face. "Don't pull those faces at me Mrs. You are kind, hardworking and best of all, you are you. And don't ever let anyone else tell you otherwise."

By the time she had finished, her warm and familiar hands cupped my face as she looked at me. A soft look that expressed to me exactly how much love she held for me.

I quickly wrapped my arms around her as if she was going to disappear any second. And it may have been muffled through my silent tears and desperate hug, but I just had to say it to her, "I really do love you, Poppy."

"I know what you need" Pops continued as I pulled back enough to gaze at her as she spoke. "A day with me, doing whatever the fuck we feel like." Giving me her 'I'm getting us into deep shit' face and a wiggle of her well-maintained eyebrows.

"Oh fuck, what the hell are you thinking? Or do I not wanna know? Because I am already regretting it, and I haven't even agreed to anything yet." Dread was starting to settle in the pit of my stomach at Pops' idea of a good day.

She just laughed like a maniacal crazy wolf at my fear, grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the ballroom doors like a hunter was up her arse with a hot poker.

'Goddess save us' my wolf, Beaux announced out of nowhere.

'Now you pipe up you little fucker. Like seriously, where have you been hiding? Let me guess, sleeping?'

She just laughed at the reaction I had to my realization at her quietness to all the internal bickering that I had with myself earlier.

'Just you wait, just you bloody well wait' I threatened.

'Oh crap'.