For Bitter or Worse

ADRIANA

I wake up with a raging headache, sweat covering my body and a heart that is beating out of my chest. This shit happens every full moon, I have this nightmare about 2 women I don't know, but I feel an odd familiar thing towards them. They both share the same emerald eyes my mom had. Maybe that's why. I look over at my alarm-clock, but I already know the time before checking.

The last 3 years, since I turned seventeen, I had this dream every month and I always wake up at 02.44.

Why does this have to happen every single month? I think to myself and my wolf Alexis gives me an apologetic smile. She knows exactly why this happens every month but decided to keep that information to herself. "Just until the time is right, you know that." She sighs and I push her to the back of my head. I don't want to deal with her cryptic messages right now, I just want to be able to get back to sleep.

I toss and turn for half an hour, but sleep isn't settling in. I groan and kick back my blanket, deciding a glass of water might help. I rise to my feet and head to the kitchen.

I sit at the kitchen-table and a few minutes later I hear someone stumbling down the stairs.

"Hey baby, did you have that nightmare again?" My father walks in, gives me a hug and plants a kiss on top of my head. I nod in response. "It was the same damn thing as always, the two witchy sisters, the torture they went through and their death at the stake." Dad hugs me a little tighter, his warm embrace calming down the storm that is still raging inside me. "Come on dear, try to get some sleep. There is nothing you can do about it now anyway." Dad helps me get up and squeezes my shoulder, he always knows just what I need.

The next day I wake up by my little brother jumping on my bed, he is way too excited this early in the morning. "Adri, Adri, Adri! You need to wake up! Mom made us her super special breakfast!" His high-pitched voice fills my ears. "Rover Goddess please relax. I am getting up now. Can't miss moms' special breakfast!" I push him of the bed with a smirk and send him in a fit of laughter. I swing my legs off the bed, grab my blush pink sweats of the floor and I can put them on.

Rover stands up, tapping his foot impatiently. "Can you hurry up; I am really hungry, and mom told me to not get downstairs unless it was together with you." "I'm ready, let's go." I say while straightening the shirt I slept in a bit.

Rover's little legs carry him in as fast as possible out of my room and down the stairs. I chuckle at the sight of the little boy and his love for food.

Rover is my half-brother and just turned eight, his mom Sabine, is my dad's second chance Mate. He met her 10 years ago on a meeting with a German pack, she was their Luna's Beta and had lost her own Mate a few years before. They were shocked, but grateful the Goddess gave them a second chance for love. Sabine is the mom I never had, she treats me and Rover as equals and I love her for that.

I lost my own mother when I was just a little girl. She died while protecting me from vampires attacking our pack, while I remained unharmed. The only thing reminding me to that night is the wine-red scar on my collarbone. It pains me to admit I hardly remember my mom. Just her scent, her laugh and her emerald eyes.

Dad never really wants to talk about her, it is too hard on him. My grandparents however tell me lots of stories about her whenever I am with them. She was extremely outgoing and helpful to anyone; accepting and not afraid of the supernatural world while being human, she had a special talent with anything plant related and her love for me and dad was a beautiful thing to see my grandma always says.

I enter the kitchen and Sabine is just putting a plate with freshly baked pancakes and bacon on the table. "Goddess, it smells good in here." I smile at Sabine and look at the kitchen-table. It's filled with strawberries, slices banana, freshly baked bread and different spreads. Dad takes out the coffee can and fills up our cups, except for Rover. He is too young for coffee and gets chocolate milk instead.

"I hope you were able to sleep a bit after your nightmare last night?" Sabine informs while taking the orange juice out of the fridge. "Yeah, dad calmed me down and after that I had a pretty decent sleep." I say and take a seat at the table next to Rover. He looks up to me with his bright blue eyes. "Adri, you don't need to be scared. I can protect you; I am your brother and I am really strong!" He attempts to roll his bicep and I gently squeeze it. "I know you can, next time I will wake you, ok?" I say, trying to hide the smile that is creeping on my face.

We eat our breakfast and talk a bit about me leaving the next day to participate in the European Wolf Games. Dad really hopes this is the year I find my Mate and will be able to start a life for myself. Not that he wants me out of the house, he just wants me to find love like he has and obviously he also wants grandkids.

The European Wolf Games are an annual gathering where all European unmated wolfs between the age of 17 and 21 come together. Our Council came up with the idea at least 250 years ago. It was at that time a lot of packs moved to America and Australia, now there aren't many packs left in Europe. So, the games are a way for us to find our Mate a bit easier and forge alliances between packs.

The games take up 4 days and they are held at a different pack every year. I have been to the games in Belgium and Croatia and this year will be in Spain.

A new pack will be hosting the games, they originated from Costa Rica and rumor has it the Alpha's competing in the games. I wonder what activities they have in store for us.

"The Spanish you had in school will come in handy this year-round." Alexis smirks at me. She is way too excited about the new pack and is certain our Mate belongs to it. "We will see tomorrow when we arrive, I just hope you can control yourself for 5 minutes when we do find him."

There hardly is any information about the new pack. I can't have Alexis taking control and jumping my Mates' bones if he belongs to it. "I'll try." She says, wagging her tail and a big smile on her head. I shake my head at her and I mind link my best friend, Jenna. "Babe, you wanna go on a run today? I really need to let Alexis blow of some steam." "Yeah, sure. Laura was also going for a run, maybe we can go together?" I hear her soulful voice sing out through the mind link. "Sure! Tell her to be at towns square at 8 PM." I say and I end the link.

I live in The Netherlands and we are the only pack in the country. Due to how crowded our country is, most weres moved to Germany or France. But our pack stayed at the place it was originated. We now have a small village all to ourselves on the border of a big National Forest Park. After 8 PM everybody needs to be out of the forest, so we can let our wolves out without anyone trespassing.

The Park is beautiful with a mix of thick forest, sandy plains, patches of heathland and some small streams and I am thankful we are able to have such a good life here. We have everything; a place where we can be ourselves, good schools, a park to stretch our legs and many job opportunities in the area.

ADRIANA

The afternoon goes by easily and around 8 PM I get over to the town square, we always meet up there before we take a run through the forest.

The towns square is a bit plain, it has a few benches, cute colored bricks and a fountain in the middle. There are some stores situated around the place and two restaurants that also take up a little space on the square for their terrace.

I spot Jenna seated on our favorite bench; I think she is the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. Her mom is Antillean and her father is Dutch, making her the perfect mixture of both worlds. She has chocolate colored skin, curly black hair that falls halfway down her shoulders, full lips like her mom and gray/blueish eyes like her father. Her frame is curvy but muscular, with her 5.2 ft she is a little bit smaller than I am.

"Babe!" I call out. "Hey girl, how are ya?" She stands up and walks over. She pulls me in for a hug and I give her a peck on the cheek. "I'm good. Are you ready and set up for tomorrow?" I ask. "Yeah, I got everything ready for the games. I am excited about this year though, maybe our Mates are from that new pack that is hosting them." She says excitedly. "God, you are starting to sound like Alexis. She is certain our Mate is from that pack." I say slightly annoyed. "Are you saying I am weird? Cause your wolf is definitely a bit peculiar." She smirks at me and I have to bite back the growl that leaves Alexis. Jenna sends me an apologetic smile. "Sorry Lex, you know we love you."

"Adriana! I'm running late. You can already head to the forest without me, I'll take my brother with me later this evening." Laura mind links me and I tell Jenna.

We get a move on and after a few minutes we arrive at the border of our town. We have a small building to put our clothes in before we shift. Nudity is not a big deal around. From the time we are able to shift we try to strip down on beforehand, so our clothes don't tear to shreds every time we shift.

Jenna and I strip down and store our clothes, Jenna is the first to shift. Her wolf Jesse has a dark gray coat and brown eyes. She nudges me and I stroke her soft fur. I take a step back and fall down on all fours, my bones cracking and fur covering my body in a blink of an eye. Alexis is a lot bigger than Jesse, my wolf's fur is a bit longer and has a dark brown shade to it. Her eyes are the same emerald color my mom had, I love that I inherited that bit of her.

"This was just what I needed." Alexis purrs and I hand her the reins. Our wolves take off, playing and running together. The feeling of pure freedom you get from letting your wolf out and run doesn't compare to anything else, it truly is the best feeling of the world.

Our sight, smell and emotions heighten when in wolf form, just as our speed and strength. The feeling of the air flowing through your fur and the earth thundering under your paws is heavenly.

After a good two hour run, we head back to the small building we left our clothes. "I'm sorry we need to head home this early Lex, but we really need to be well-rested tomorrow. Our plane departs at 08:15 and Sabine and dad want to leave to the airport around half past six." I feel bad for her, normally we have runs from at least three hours. "Don't worry about it, we will be busy enough at the games." She coos and I feel how content she is with the 2-hour run we just had.

I turn my attention at my friend, she is busy chucking her clothes on. "We will be picking you up around half past six tomorrow. Sabine wanted to get breakfast at the airport, so we leave a bit earlier than normal." I say and grab my clothes from the locker I put them in earlier this evening. "Okay. I'll be ready and waiting at the front door. Mom and dad are so relieved your folks offered to give me a lift to the airport, mom was all worked up how she would get me there since our own car is still at the mechanic." She says jumping around on one leg while trying fit her foot in her shoe. "It's nothing, you would do the same for me." I snort of laughter when she falls on her butt, so far, my gracious friend.

We say our goodbyes and I walk home. I look up to the sky, it's almost dark now and the clear sky displays so many stars. I believed since I was a small pup that the ones we loved and lost were watching us from up above. It gave me peace of mind whenever I thought about my mom or my grandparents, to know they are up there and at peace.

The next morning, I wake up just before my alarm-clock, I feel rested and excited to get to Spain. I take a quick shower and put on some light make up. I look at my reflection; dark blond, wavy hair that falls till my lower back, amber colored eyes with long lashes and a winged eyeliner, high cheekbones and full plump lips. I've got a tanned lean body with nice curves and with my 5.7 ft I am not to big but also not crazy small. Being a werewolf has it perks; it grants you with stunning beauty and I am no exception.

I grab my ripped blue jeans from the closet, match it with a red, tiger printed t-shirt and chuck on my all stars. 'That will do.' I think to myself and turn on my heels to put the last stuff in my bag and take it downstairs.

I walk out my room and get downstairs, where I pour myself a glass of water. Dad is already waiting and tells me Sabine should be almost finished dressing Rover. We hear Sabine shout something unintelligible to Rover and not even a minute after they come downstairs. Rover is definitely about to throw a massive temper tantrum; he is completely flushed and his tiny fists clenched by his sides.

"You cannot wear your Superman pajamas to the airport Rover and that's final." Sabine's stern voice chastised. "But mom!" Rover makes one final attempt and dad slams his fist on the table. He glared at Rover and a low growl escapes him, Rover immediately gives up. "Sorry dad." He murmurs and dad visibly relaxes.

Seeing this as the signal we can all get up and head for the car, I put my glass in the sink and get going. "Come on guys, Jenna's probably already waiting." I say and glance at the clock on the wall, it says 06:32. She is definitely already waiting.

I get my bag from upstairs and meet them at the car. Rover is all buckled up in the middle seat and I get in next to him. He always likes to be in the middle whenever Jenna rides with us. He claims she is his other sister and therefore he always wants to sit next to the both of us. Always in the center of all the attention.

We pull up to Jenna's home and she and her parents are waiting on the porch. They give her a kiss and tell my parents once more how grateful they are she can ride with us. "JENNA! You can sit next to me. I have a special place for you." Rover calls out and pads the place next to him. "Aw, thank you little brother!" She muses and sits next to him before smothering him in kisses.

"Iiieewwll!! Kisses are gross!" He exclaims and I chuckle at them. "Yeah, well wait till you're older. Then all you'll wanna do is give kisses to girls or boys." I smirk, the look of absolute horror he displays is Oscar worthy. "No." He breathes. We all burst out laughing and dad gives us the sign we need to go. Jenna tells her mom and dad she loves them and we drive off.

Within half an hour we arrive at Eindhoven Airport, dad parks the car and we all get out. Jenna and I grab our luggage and make our way towards the entrance. "Okay, time for breakfast. Do you guys have any idea what you want to eat?" Sabine quizzes and Jenna and I both chime; "Farm foods!" Sabine chuckles and we set foot to the restaurant which has an amazing view over the runway. Rover runs into the restaurant and picks a table at the window.

I look over the place and it had the same wooden floor, white walls and cozy set up. The tables all have a checkered top, on the walls you can see old farming tools and horse tack. Different food stations are set up with a wooden sigh above them with their menus on it, it's like walking into a farmers' market.

Jenna and I race of to the station where they serve pancakes, Sabine and Rover order a sandwich and dad goes for a dish with sausage, scrambled eggs and toast. We order a kettle of coffee and a Fristi for Rover. Once we are all seated, we dig in and for a moment everyone is quiet. "Girls, be careful when you are at the Games." Dad takes a sip of his coffee and continues. "The pack, they are new to Europe and how things work around here. I heard some rumors about them and I would not want any of you getting in to trouble with a member of that pack. It's not without reason they call themselves; Lobo Furioso." "What does that mean?" I ask him. "It means raging wolf and that is exactly what they are known for. So do not get in to trouble." My dad urges us. "Of course, dad. Don't worry about us. We know how to behave ourselves by now." I smirk at him and before he can answer I see his eyes glaze over. He is being mind linked. "That was the Alpha. He just arrived with Laura and Ben and told us to meet him at the boarding station." Dad says and we finish our breakfast. Sabine pays the check and we walk off to meet up at the boarding station.

I see the Alpha pacing up and down the waiting area, he is the type that is never able to sit still in one place for long. He spots us and calls us over. "Perfect, we have everybody now. Your flight leaves in 30 minutes, so I suggest the kids check in and get a move on. We don't have all day." He says and Jenna and I grab our boarding passes and passports. I hug Sabine and kiss dad goodbye, Rover jumps up in my arms and kisses my cheek. "I will miss you big sis." He murmurs quietly. "Aw, I will miss you to Rover." I give him a tight hug and plant a kiss on top of his head. He moves over to Jenna to give her one of his hugs and even Laura receives one. I see dad raise an eyebrow at the sight and I nudge his shoulder. "So far for kisses and hugs are gross." He smirks.

Jenna, Laura, Ben and I get checked in and we wave everyone goodbye and make our way to the gate.

ADRIANA

We have a relaxed flight and three hours later we land in Malaga, Spain. We pick up our luggage and make our way to the exit. The air is warm and dry, it is almost noon and already thirty degrees. I snatch a bowl of paella for me and Jenna from one of the food trucks alongside the airport. Alexis, my wolf, is happy to be out of the plane and have some food in her belly. She is excited about seeing the new surroundings and the new faces at the games.

"So where is this gathering point supposed to be?" Ben quizzes and as if it were meant to be, as we walk around the corner, we find a bus with some other young weres hanging in front of it. I hear different languages at the same time and know that is where we are supposed to meet. "There it is, come on guys!" I say, pointing towards the bus. We walk over there and are greeted by an older woman. She is well is her fifties, has a soft face and a curvy body.

"Hola, I am Margareta, your bus-driver. When everyone has put their luggage in the bus we can head of to the games." She says while opening a side-panel of the bus to reveal a big space for all our luggage. Once everyone has loaded everything in the bus, she directs us into the bus.

"Alright, if everyone wants to pay attention. I have some things to say before we arrive and I do not want to repeat myself." She says with a strict voice and everyone goes quiet. "Now. We have cabins for every pack that participates and we expect you to keep things decent. We are not hosting a giant orgy, so have some decency. All meals are provided by the pack and will take up an hour, breakfast starts at 7 AM, lunch at 1 PM and dinner starts at 7 PM. Tonight however you are expected thirty minutes earlier for the welcoming speech." She finishes and Jenna whispers under her breath; "She is not messing around, I am curious about the Alpha though. It sounds like he runs a tight ship." "I know right." I say softly.

Half an hour and many bumps in the road later, I can see the pack grounds coming in sight. The place is situated against a mountainside, tiny white house's make up the village and on top of the mountain I can see a huge hacienda style building. Probably the pack-house. The lower half of the mountain is covered by small bushes and I can spot some outdoor training grounds. The rest is a mystery, hidden from all the nosy weres by a huge black screen. "I bet that's where the games are going to take place." Alexis points out. "Yeah, probably."

"We are entering the pack grounds when we cross the stream coming up. You are not allowed outside the pack-border, because we cannot guarantee your safety outside." Margareta calls out and the next moment we take a turn to a bridge. I feel Alexis becoming anxious for some reason and when we cross the stream I exactly know why.

I feel a rush of power course through me, it feels like my heart explodes with electricity and sparks. My smell, hearing and sight somehow improves and I can see, smell and hear everything. I am hit with another wave of it and I feel Alexis growing more powerful, like she is awakened. She roars in my head and prances around, her fur dancing with every step she takes. Her eyes are such a bright emerald color it looks like they are glowing. The feeling dies down and my insides settle to their normal calm motion.

"Adriana." I hear Jenna slightly panicked voice through the mind link. "What happened? You went all tense and I could feel the electricity coming of you!" I look at her and see the shock on her face. "You, Your eyes. They changed, what is happening to you?" "I don't know, but I feel much more powerful." I pull out my phone to take a look at my eyes and I am shocked at the sight. My normally amber eyes are now decorated with an emerald ring around the iris, they are beautiful.

"I am allowed to share my full power now with you. The Moon Goddess granted me by your side because you are destined for great things. I am the most powerful wolf ever to walk this earth. You will need all my strength and wisdom for everything what's to come. This place right here is a first step in discovering who you truly are." Alexis tells me and with that she pulls back to the edges of my mind. I am shocked!

I tell Jenna what just happened and she is just as much in shock as I am. She grabs my hand and squeezes it gently. "You need to keep this for yourself, this is massive! I don't know how this pack responds when they find our you are more powerful than their own Alpha. Promise me to be careful." Jenna whispers through the mind link. "I will, don't worry about it." I try reassuring her and myself.

We drive through the village, I see kids running around the playground we pass. Teenagers and adults helping everyone to get to their assigned cabins and showing people around town. This place is buzzing with energy and excitement.

Margareta pulls up in front of the pack-house, she guides us into the place and the inside is a complete opposite of the outdoor. Where the outdoor has all the characteristics of an old, idyllic hacienda, the indoor is modern/chic. The walls are a dark green and the floor is made of grey washed floorboards, the doors are made of dark mahogany and have golden placards on them, telling everyone exactly what they can find behind it.

She guides us through the hallway and into an office. The color scheme from the hallway continues but the room feels much lighter. In the middle stands a desk with a glass tabletop and golden legs, behind the desk there are two big windows with white curtains. In the far corner stands a big bookcase made of glass and gold, accompanied by a velvet green sofa with soft golden cushions and a white furry rug.

A young woman stands in the middle of the office, she is busy rummaging through some papers and when we come in, she looks up. She looks like an exact copy of Michelle Rodriguez. Jenna and I are stunned, especially when she introduces herself. "Hey guys, I'm Michelle and I will be handing you all the information that you will be needing the coming days." I am baffled, she even sounds like her. Realizing I must be staring at her I quickly drop my gaze. Laura takes the initiative, being the Alpha's daughter, it comes natural to her. "Hi Michelle, we are from the Lowland Pack. It is just the four of us." She says and Michelle pulls out a big envelope. "This holds all the information about your cabin, when the games will start and where to be. It holds information about what we expect of you and some stuff about our meals. The games we have planned for you are still a surprise and you won't get to know them before they actually start, so no snooping." Michelle winks and hands the envelope to Laura. "Thank you very much." "Rui is already waiting for you to show you your cabin. You can find him at the main entrance." We bow our head slightly as a sign we are leaving and with that we walk out to find this Rui.

"Hola senoritas y senor! I am Rui, let me check which cabin is yours." A young boy, barely fifteen, greets us. He is tanned, has chopped short pink hair, tattoos and a wide smile plastered on his face. His happy demeanor is contagious to us and I can't help but smile as I see him snatch the envelope out of Laura's hands. "Ah! You guys have cabin 28, follow me!" He calls out happily and claps his hands. He hands the envelope back to Laura and leads us down the mountain.

Our cabin is easy to find, the cabin sight is set up in lanes of ten. The bottom going 1 to 10, the second 11 to 20 etcetera. Rui says his goodbye and rushes to the packhouse again.

The cabin has nice and simple interior, it has a small living room, a bathroom and four bedrooms. White walls, wooden floor and beige furniture with green and gold touches make up the interior design.

Jenna and I decide to take a quick shower before heading to get lunch. I chuck on a simple t-shirt and shorts and put on some mascara. When I get downstairs Jenna is already waiting for me. She wears her bright yellow t-shirt dress, her long legs stealing the show. "You are going to hurt people's eyes with that." I grin at her as we walk out towards town square. "Yeah, but I look amazing while doing so." She says with a wicked smile on her face. I hook my arm around hers and we walk into the sunlight. We walk over to the town-square, it's filled with long tables and benches to accommodate everyone who wants to enjoy lunch. Closest to the pack-house I spot tables filled with huge bowls with food. When we get closer, I can see every bowl had a small sign that tells you what's in it, I love it!

Jenna grabs us two plates and we start piling a bit of everything on it. The mountain of food we can put on our plate is impressive.

"So, where do you want to sit, I can't spot Laura or Ben anywhere." Jenna asks. "I don't mind, you pick a place." I coo looking over the tables. All of them are already occupied with weres, but not all are occupied to the range that we won't fit anymore.

Jenna walks up to a small group, the two guys are fully invested in their conversation and the girl just sits there, slowly eating her food. "Hi there, can we sit with you?" Jenna asks pointing at the empty place on the bench. The girl nods, she pulls out her phone and shows us a message. "I can't speak, but I can understand English and type fast." "Cool! I am Adriana and this is Jenna, we are from the Lowland Pack. How about you?" She starts typing again, but one of the guys catches her. He places his hand on her arm and nudges her gently. "I will mind link with my sister and tell you everything she wants to say. It's much easier that way. I am Sergei, this is Anatoli and this is Irina, my sister. We are from the Bolshoy Iremel Pack." The guy next to her tells us in a thick Russian accent. They do look a lot alike, they have the same sandy blond hair, same grey eyes and the same round facial structure. Anatoli has black hair, pale skin and a rough appearance, typical bad boy vibes. From the corner of my eye, I see Jenna biting her bottom lip, it's obvious why she wanted to sit here. "If I don't find my Mate and he doesn't find his either, I am definitely going to fuck him senseless." Her husky voice filling my head through the mind link. I laugh at her. "As long as I don't hear your moaning and screaming that's fine by me."