Where the path unfolds

Chapter 1

Emily pov

I woke up to the sounds of nature spilling into my room. It was early but I enjoyed walking in the sun. The soft rays gently caressing my skin and the cool breeze coming in through the perpetually open window gave me a peaceful feeling. This was my favorite way to start the day.

I lazily stretched in bed and grabbed my phone. Waking up the screen, I saw that it's Thursday. Only one more day before I was shipped off to the annual mating ball. This will be my first time attending as my eighteenth birthday coincides with the first day of the ball. Only unmated wolves between eighteen and twenty-nine are permitted to attend. Once a wolf turns thirty it's usually assumed their mate found someone else to mate with or they're dead. Most unmated wolves don't make it that far though. The majority of the mating ball attendees are between eighteen and twenty-three. After twenty-three the pull to mate is so strong that most wolves find someone convenient and passable to be their chosen mate. A chosen mating is nowhere near as strong as a true mating but it gets the job done.

I didn't feel nervous about possibly meeting my mate tomorrow. I knew it wasn't a guarantee. I'm honestly pretty apathetic towards the idea of a mate. I'm generally a happy-go-lucky, flow kind of person. Don't get me wrong, I could beat the crap out of just about anyone. It's just that I like to live life believing everything is as it should be. I know I'm strong enough to handle anything that comes my way. If I don't meet my mate this weekend, then it just isn't meant to be. I will continue living my life and working towards my goal of being the strongest female pack warrior. I won't lie, I've had my share of heartache in life, but I keep telling myself that good things eventually follow pain.

After going through my messages, I rolled out of bed and decided to prepare myself for the day. I always try to start with a run around the perimeter just to make sure everything is in order. My dad is the pack's head warrior and taught me from a young age to have pride in our land and the people who live on it. He is the smartest and strongest man I know. I have learned so much from him through the years and I am a better wolf because of his lessons. After mom was kidnapped twelve years ago, he could have broken down, but he became stronger and I idolize him for that strength.

I went to my dresser to grab my usual workout gear. I slipped on my leggings and sports bra and headed down the stairs. The pack house was still quiet this early in the morning and it's soothing to breathe in the fresh air of my empty surroundings. Only the lingering scents of wolves from the night before was present in the room. I was the first one up in the pack house, like always.

The feeling of utter peace hit me as I opened the heavy oak doors into the cool bright morning. The tree line isn't far from the pack house and I could sense the early morning activity out in the forest. Our pack isn't the biggest, but it certainly isn't the smallest either. We're located on a large plot of land in the middle of a vast forest. We like the secludedness of the area as we are far away from prying human eyes but there are enough packs close enough to our area that we could rely on each other as allies. We are a peaceful pack, but we are known for our ruthlessness in battle when necessary.

I did a few stretches and exercises to warm up my body before I took off for the pack border. I loved the feeling of freedom I got running through the damp forest. I could feel the earth move under my feet as I pushed myself to my limits. I dodged trees and jumped over bushes as I neared the border of our pack.

All the guards around the border knew of my morning routine. As I passed them, we exchanged waves or greetings. My dad's best friend was on duty this morning and he gave me a big smile when he saw me break through the thick bushes towards his post.

"Can't keep you away from this life, can we Emily?"

"Not even if you tried, Dustin." I replied with a giant grin as I sped past him.

I hear his chuckle slowly evaporate into the air behind me. Dustin and my dad have been close since they were pups. They earned the rank of pack warrior together and Dustin was my dad's biggest supporter when he achieved the position of head pack warrior years before I was born.

Lucky for me, Dustin has a daughter my age and we were able to keep up the tradition by being best friends as well. Suze is basically my sister. We do everything together and because I only have brothers, a little girl time is definitely needed in my life.

As I finished my round, I jogged back to the pack house sweating lightly. I won't get closer to my goals if I don't push myself every day. Along with my daily runs, I train every day after school for four hours and twice a day on weekends. When my dad is free, he'll run my training sessions, but we've been working long enough that I can take care of them myself when he's busy.

I took one last look at the sun slowly rising in the sky before I went back into the pack house to start my day.

Chapter 2

Emily pov

After entering my room, I kicked off my shoes and looked around the familiar sight that has been my room for as long as I can remember. It's nothing special but I've put my own style on it over the years. I have a large bed and all the furniture in my room is a darker color. There's a nice sized closet with all my clothes and an en suite bathroom as well. I prefer function over having anything too fancy. My room is the only sanctuary I have indoors and I want it to be soothing, not overwhelming. I have a few sparse decorations, pictures of my family and friends and some posters I collected when I was younger to keep me focused on my goals.

Suze's room is next door of course. I can distinctly hear her snoring through the wall. She is not the same early riser that I am. I'll have to go wake her up soon. She won't appreciate not having enough time to perfect her look before what could be our last day of school.

I wonder what my morning runs will be like after I finally get my wolf tomorrow night. It isn't the most perfect scenario with my eighteenth birthday being on the first night of the mating ball. I'll have to leave early in order to complete my first shift. The royal council granted me permission to attend the first day despite the fact that I'm technically still seventeen. My dad is highly regarded in the werewolf community and our pack ranks pretty high among the others. That level of respect allows us some leeway. I figure I'll just pass the time Friday night until my first shift and if my mate is there, he can find me the next day.

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand. It's 6:30. I have an hour to get ready for school, more than enough time. Before starting my routine, I went across the hall to Suze's room. As I suspected, she is rolled up in a ball with her sheets all over the place, drooling into her silk pillow. She would be horrified if anyone knew what she looked like in the morning.

"SUSAN. GET YOUR LAZY BUTT UP." I yelled as I unraveled her from the sheets.

"mmmph...what time is it?"

"Six thirty" I replied.

That got her moving. She jumped up and gave me a quick hug before recoiling.

"Warn me before you let me hug your disgusting, sweaty body next time. Gross." She grimaced while walking towards her own bathroom.

"See ya in a few girlie!" I yelled on my way back to my room.

I walked to the bathroom and took down my hair from its high ponytail. My hair is one of my favorite attributes. It's long, silky, and chestnut brown. It's also incredibly straight. Whenever I try a new style on it, it always falls out within the hour. I've learned to embrace the fact that it's going to be straight no matter what.

My other favorite attribute is my eyes. I have light blue eyes with a bit of dark blue lining the outside. I got my eyes from my mother. From my father I got my high cheekbones and chubby cheeks. Don't get me wrong, I'm not overweight by any means, but no matter what I do, I have these chubby cheeks that everyone thinks are so adorable. I don't mind them. It's just another part of me. They don't help me look my age though.

As I step away from the mirror, I turn on the shower and peel off my sweaty workout clothes. I step into the scalding hot shower and let out a deep sigh. I'd rather almost burn my skin off in the shower than be even remotely cold. After a few minutes of enjoying the warmth against my skin, I began my routine. When I'm fully washed and conditioned, I turn off the shower and step out into the bathroom.

I wrap my oversized fluffy towel around my body and another towel around my hair. I checked the time and it was only 7am. I still had another half hour before Suze and I left for school. I could hear her next door rummaging through her closet like a crazy person. Suze has a great sense of style and always looks her best wherever she goes but her room is like a disaster zone 24/7. No one would ever believe that the same girl who always looks so put together lives such a messy life.

Lucky for me with such a fashionable friend, I have a well-stocked closet. Suze would help me on our utterly exhausting shopping trips to find the perfect clothes. Over the years I've learned how to put together a few acceptable outfits but nothing like Suze does. She's on a whole different level.

As I carefully search through the racks of clothes, my hand falls on the dress I will be wearing tomorrow. It's emerald green and incredibly soft and silky. I suddenly become extremely nervous and shove it to the side. It's not that I don't want to meet my mate, it's just that I have a great life here at my pack and I'm not sure if I'm ready to leave it. There are people here who need me...and I need them too.

After another minute in my closet I settled on a white lace crop tank top and jean shorts. I grabbed my sandals from the shoe rack and made my way back into the room. Once I was dressed, I checked my appearance in the mirror. My hair was brushed out and air drying, and my outfit looked great for a warm spring day.

I didn't bother switching up my jewelry as I wore the same every day. They're all my mother's. I wear a heart shaped locket where I keep a picture of the two of us and her favorite diamond earrings. I don't need anything else as they always make me feel closer to her. Despite the fact that it's been twelve years, I can still smell her scent around me and sense that she is with me. This helps my father and I know that she is still out there fighting to get back to us. We surely haven't given up either.

Checking the clock one more time I see it's 7:15, just enough time for some breakfast. I love to eat. No matter how much I eat, I am constantly the same size with how much I train. I've got a flat stomach with some definition but no six pack. Not everyone is made to have one and I'm perfectly fine with that. I definitely look strong though. No one would look at me and think I was some dainty little wolf they could take advantage of. I'm about 5'8" and I've got some muscle tone all over my body. I love feeling strong.

As I descend the stairs all I can smell is the sweet sweet smell of bacon. I LOVE bacon. I would eat bacon on anything. Probably even on ice cream. Scratch that...definitely on ice cream.

I walk into the dining room and see that there are already other wolves at the table and the platters in the middle of the table are piled high with various breakfast items. I sit at an empty seat and begin to fill my plate. Once I have my bacon, eggs, and French toast, Suze saunters into the room and plops herself on the seat beside me. She yawns lazily and I start to laugh. Suze cannot do the whole morning thing. I push a mug of coffee in her direction and she smiles at me.

"You will forever be my favorite, Quinn."

"I'm going to hold you to that, Suze. Now drink up so we can get this school day over with."

She takes a long sip of the black coffee and then begins to fill her plate as well. I'm halfway through mine and Suze is on her second cup of coffee by the time she finally wakes up. We finish our meal, take our plates to the kitchen to be cleaned, grab our bags, and we're out the door.

This is Suze's week to drive so we make our way to the garage where her "baby" is. She has a beautiful bright blue BMW that her parents bought for her sixteenth birthday a little over two years ago. I swear her mate will have competition once she finds him. She loves this car more than life itself. We toss our bags into the back seat and jump in. She starts up the engine and we are on our way. Possibly our last full day together. I don't want to think about that now though. High school here we come.

Chapter 3

Emily pov

As we drive off the pack territory towards our school I see Suze tense a little. I can tell she's getting nervous and I assume it has something to do with the ball tomorrow.

"Whatcha thinkin' about, Suze?"

She sighs but doesn't take her eyes off the road. "I don't want to lose you Quinn. What if we find our mates tomorrow and we never see each other again? I can't live without my best friend. You're my sister."

I hadn't really thought that far into it. I didn't have much faith in finding my mate my first year at the ball. It took many wolves a few tries before finding the other half of their soul. Only one of my three older brothers found his mate on the first try and that's because they were the same age. I didn't really realize that Suze might find hers before I did though.

It's common for there to be at least some sort of age gap between mates so one could be looking for years before finally finding them. Some people never find their mate because one of them gets frustrated and gives up. As much as I'm not ready for a mate right now, I hope that doesn't happen to me. What if he's already given up on me though?

Suze's quiet sob pulls me from my thoughts and I give her a pointed look.

"Suze, there is nothing that could pull us apart. We are both the strongest wolves I know and not even our mates could stop us from being together. Even if we both move across the world from each other, I will still make sure we are close. We can each visit one another and our pups will grow up to be the best of friends. Cousins even! I have faith that no matter what happens tomorrow, we will be fine."

Suze gave me a warm look through her watery eyes. "Thanks, Quinn. I needed to hear that. I know that if you say it'll happen, then it's going to happen. There's nothing you can't do."

I smiled at her kind words. She had such faith in me and it gave me faith in myself as well. There was nothing I couldn't handle. She was right. I would make sure we were just as close after finding our mates as we are now. Sisters for life.

After the tears stopped falling and we cheered up to one of our favorite songs on the radio, we pulled into the school parking lot. Suze touched up her makeup before we grabbed our bags and headed into the large building.

We wouldn't be here much longer. It was mid-May and our graduation was only a week away. It was perfect to have the mating ball this close to the end of the school year. It ensured us some time to get our affairs in order before we were off on our next adventure. Most eighteen year olds won't come to school tomorrow in order to prepare themselves for the ball. Suze is making me take off so she can make sure I look my best. I gave in if only to spend more time with her.

The wolves who didn't find their mates after graduation were normally taken into the forces to train to be warriors and guards. The ones who did, either left right after graduation or stayed with their mate in the pack.

I hoped my mate would be willing to stay in my pack. It wasn't unusual for the two mates to talk things through and decide where they wanted to live. The female used to always uproot their life to go live with the male but times have changed and we've learned that sometimes the grass is greener in the female's pack.

The only time a wolf was forced to uproot their life was if their mate had a title in their own pack. Alphas, betas, gammas, and deltas were needed in their packs and there was no arguing with that. Sometimes head warriors were given the same option, especially if there was no one suitable to take their place.

For these reasons I hoped my mate would just be some common wolf so we could make the decision together. I'm not the type to be forced into something against my will. I understand the circumstances but it doesn't mean I like them.

As I walked next to Suze down the familiar hallway I started to feel a bit nostalgic. I had been at this school for the past four years. All my pack mates go to this school along with the human population from the area. I have made friends here and had so many great memories. Some people say that high school is the worst years of their life but I beg to differ. This was a great place to grow up. We all get along so well and despite the regular drama that comes with being a teenager, we are all one big family.

Now it was my turn to start tearing up as the memories all hit me. Good thing for me, I don't wear makeup so my face won't be ruined. Suze turned to me with a knowing glance. She also knows our time here is almost up and feels the same as me.

I feel her grab my hand and look down at her with a smile. "I'm gonna miss this place too, Quinn."

We head to our lockers and grab our things for one of our last days in these halls. The day drags on but not annoyingly so. Our teachers are preparing us for the end of the year. Thankfully seniors don't take finals so there's no build up to some horrendous test.

Most of our teachers spend time closing out chapters, talking about future plans with us, or reminiscing over our time together. It's nice we have adults in our lives who care about us and our wellbeing. I'm going to miss them as well.

As the final bell rings for the day, I find Suze waiting outside my English class. Her eyes light up when she sees me and I know she has something on her mind.

"Hey Emily , how about an afternoon at the spa?"

"Suze, you know I have training. Just because you feel the need to look pretty for your mate tomorrow doesn't mean I should skip out on my obligations. I need to stay on my game. If my mate doesn't like me for the strong she wolf that I am, then I can reject him. Being true to myself is more important than some guy."

Upon hearing that Suze gasps. "Quinn! How could you say such a thing? Your mate is a gift from the Moon Goddess made perfectly for you. Your mate will love you for who you are, strength and all, but don't even talk about rejection! Just the thought of it gives me goosebumps!"

I sighed. Suze was right. The thought of rejecting my mate also made my wolf howl within me. I could never go through with something so painful. It would destroy me. Hopefully he wouldn't reject me though...

"You're right, Suze. I'm sorry I even said that. I will absolutely give my mate a chance to prove himself. But that doesn't mean I'm going to the spa with you! Take Beth with you. You guys will still have fun and I'll get my hours in for the day."

Suze rolled her eyes at me but agreed. She and Beth are close but nowhere near as close as Suze and I are. Beth was more of a girly-girl though so a spa day would be right up her alley.

As we pulled up to the pack house, I gave Suze a big hug before jumping out of the still moving vehicle. I could see her shake her head at me as she stopped and Beth jumped into the seat I just vacated. Moments later they were gone down the dirt path leading away from the pack house and I was on my way to the training grounds.