Battle of Fate - Chapter 1: Chapter 1
You are reading Battle of Fate, Chapter 1: Chapter 1. Read more chapters of Battle of Fate.
Game of Destiny
I walked over the grass, carrying a pile of wool blankets. We were setting up for tonight’s full moon celebrations. I love these monthly gatherings of the pack. We eat, laugh, and tell stories of the pack’s history and the gods. Then, those who can shift will run in the woods. The rest of us stay behind and pretend we aren’t envious of the others.
For eighteen years, I have been part of the group left by the fire to watch the pups and ensure the fire stays in the firepit. It was getting old. I wanted my wolf to come to me. I wanted to prove I wasn’t a dud.
“Hi, pumpkin.”
I turned toward the sound of my father’s voice and smiled. He had been out checking the woods with the Alpha and Gamma in preparation for the night.
“Hi, Dad,” I called as I placed the blankets down on a log and then distributed some of them on other logs we used to sit on around the fire. They were more for comfort than warmth – all werewolves ran hot, even those like me who didn’t have a wolf yet.
“Looking forward to tomorrow?” Alpha Mark asked as he, Gamma Jonas, and my father approached me.
“Kinda,” I said.
“What do you mean, kinda, green bean?” Gamma Jonas asked. He, my father, and the Alpha were the best of friends. No one was surprised when Alpha Mark named my father as Beta and Jonas as Gamma when he took over the pack from his father. That had been years before my brother and I were born.
We grew up with the Alpha and Gamma’s families as an extension of our own. My brother, Elder, was best friends with James, the Alpha’s son. Everyone expected me to be best friends with Cindy, Gamma Jonas’s daughter. But we didn’t get along at all. We just remained on friendly terms because of our families.
“I think my pumpkin is nervous. Turning eighteen is a big step,” Dad said, placing his arm around me and pulling me close.
“That’s right. She will be able to sense her mate, and he will be able to identify her if they’re both over eighteen,” the Alpha said with a big smile.
“She’s too young for that kind of thing,” my dad scowled, and both of his friends burst out laughing.
The Alpha was partly right. I was nervous about being able to sense my mate. But there was more. My wolf still hadn’t come to me, and for each full moon that came and went, I looked weaker in the eyes of other werewolves. You typically started to shift between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. Everyone knew the younger you were when your wolf emerged, the stronger you were.
James had shifted for the first time a month after turning sixteen. My brother shifted seven months after his sixteenth birthday. Cindy was a little over seventeen when she shifted. I was almost eighteen, and I hadn’t even felt a slight tingle during a full moon. I was afraid that if I found my mate, he would think I was too weak.
“You’re not still worried about your wolf, are you, little one?” the Alpha asked.
I nodded. We had had this conversation many times over the past two years.
“Armeria Rose Winstone, two years is nothing. He will come to you,” he said.
I flinched as he used my full name. My mother had a thing for all things growing and named her only two children after her favorite plants. My father didn’t object because he loved her too much to say no.
“I know, Alpha,” I said.
“You’re perfect just the way you are, pumpkin,” my father said and kissed the top of my head.
“You have to say that. You’re my father,” I pointed out.
“And if some boy tells you anything else, you tell us and we’ll beat his ass.”
“Thank you, Uncle Jonas,” I said.
“Anytime,” he said, ruffling my hair. I objected and tried to pull away, but my father laughed and held me in place. I hated when people messed with my hair. With its red curls, it was already hard to control, but if someone messed with it, it just became one big poof of tangles and frizz.
“Okay, enough lazing around. Move your asses. I’ll see you later tonight, little one. And after midnight, we’ll celebrate your big day,” the Alpha said.
“Fine, we’re coming,” my father sighed with mock annoyance.
Sometimes I thought the three of them were stuck in permanent teenager mode, and it scared me a little to think of them running the pack. But they were good at it. Our pack was one of the strongest and most respected packs in the world. It was a source of pride for all of us.
As my father and his friends continued their inspection, I returned to my tasks for the evening. Usually, I would help my mother as she and some other women prepared the food. But I had been assigned other duties. I was guessing, and hoping, it was because they were working on a surprise cake for my birthday.
Hours later, I was sitting in front of the fire, laughing along with the others as Nick, one of the oldest warriors in the pack, told the story of how he had defeated a swarm of vampires. The number of vampires in the story grew with each full moon, but we all loved hearing it.
Most of the pack members were running in their wolf forms in the surrounding forest. I still hadn’t felt the need to shift, so as usual, I volunteered to watch the pups and keep an eye on the teenagers.
Just after midnight, the pack started to return. In groups or pairs, they came walking out of the woods, all smiling and looking relaxed. I wondered why they were heading back so early when my mother and Luna Joy came walking out, carrying a birthday cake between them.
My eyes grew wide as I saw the amazing creation they placed in front of me. It was three tiers tall with white frosting and covered in sugar flowers, looking like a flower meadow. On top, two candles burned – a one and an eight.
“Happy birthday, sweetie,” my mother said.
“Thank you, Mom.”
My mother hugged me, and then Luna Joy pulled me into a tight embrace as well.
“I hope you find your mate soon, and that he is everything you hope for and deserve,” Luna whispered to me.
“Thank you, Luna,” I said.
“Time to blow out the candles and make a wish, pumpkin,” my dad said as he joined us.
“Not yet. Elder isn’t here,” my mother pointed out.
“He’s off with James and Cindy,” Luna Joy said, snuggling up to the Alpha.
“I can wait,” I offered, earning a smile from the Alpha pair.
“Honestly, the whole pack is here and we’re waiting on our son,” my mother said, impatience evident in her voice.
I heard my brother and our friends before I saw them. Elder came half-running out of the forest, closely followed by James, while Cindy took her time.
“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t realize how deep into the forest we had run. You didn’t blow out the candles yet, did you?” Elder asked.
“No, she’s been waiting,” our mother said, giving him a stern look.
“Sorry,” he said again.
But I wasn’t paying attention to my brother. My full attention was on the scent of sandalwood and pineapple. Even without my wolf, I knew it was the scent of my mate.
I turned toward it and saw James standing at the edge of the forest, looking back at me with as much surprise as I felt.
James, the Alpha’s son, was my mate?
I walked over the grass, carrying a pile of wool blankets. We were setting up for tonight’s full moon celebrations. I love these monthly gatherings of the pack. We eat, laugh, and tell stories of the pack’s history and the gods. Then, those who can shift will run in the woods. The rest of us stay behind and pretend we aren’t envious of the others.
For eighteen years, I have been part of the group left by the fire to watch the pups and ensure the fire stays in the firepit. It was getting old. I wanted my wolf to come to me. I wanted to prove I wasn’t a dud.
“Hi, pumpkin.”
I turned toward the sound of my father’s voice and smiled. He had been out checking the woods with the Alpha and Gamma in preparation for the night.
“Hi, Dad,” I called as I placed the blankets down on a log and then distributed some of them on other logs we used to sit on around the fire. They were more for comfort than warmth – all werewolves ran hot, even those like me who didn’t have a wolf yet.
“Looking forward to tomorrow?” Alpha Mark asked as he, Gamma Jonas, and my father approached me.
“Kinda,” I said.
“What do you mean, kinda, green bean?” Gamma Jonas asked. He, my father, and the Alpha were the best of friends. No one was surprised when Alpha Mark named my father as Beta and Jonas as Gamma when he took over the pack from his father. That had been years before my brother and I were born.
We grew up with the Alpha and Gamma’s families as an extension of our own. My brother, Elder, was best friends with James, the Alpha’s son. Everyone expected me to be best friends with Cindy, Gamma Jonas’s daughter. But we didn’t get along at all. We just remained on friendly terms because of our families.
“I think my pumpkin is nervous. Turning eighteen is a big step,” Dad said, placing his arm around me and pulling me close.
“That’s right. She will be able to sense her mate, and he will be able to identify her if they’re both over eighteen,” the Alpha said with a big smile.
“She’s too young for that kind of thing,” my dad scowled, and both of his friends burst out laughing.
The Alpha was partly right. I was nervous about being able to sense my mate. But there was more. My wolf still hadn’t come to me, and for each full moon that came and went, I looked weaker in the eyes of other werewolves. You typically started to shift between the ages of sixteen and twenty-five. Everyone knew the younger you were when your wolf emerged, the stronger you were.
James had shifted for the first time a month after turning sixteen. My brother shifted seven months after his sixteenth birthday. Cindy was a little over seventeen when she shifted. I was almost eighteen, and I hadn’t even felt a slight tingle during a full moon. I was afraid that if I found my mate, he would think I was too weak.
“You’re not still worried about your wolf, are you, little one?” the Alpha asked.
I nodded. We had had this conversation many times over the past two years.
“Armeria Rose Winstone, two years is nothing. He will come to you,” he said.
I flinched as he used my full name. My mother had a thing for all things growing and named her only two children after her favorite plants. My father didn’t object because he loved her too much to say no.
“I know, Alpha,” I said.
“You’re perfect just the way you are, pumpkin,” my father said and kissed the top of my head.
“You have to say that. You’re my father,” I pointed out.
“And if some boy tells you anything else, you tell us and we’ll beat his ass.”
“Thank you, Uncle Jonas,” I said.
“Anytime,” he said, ruffling my hair. I objected and tried to pull away, but my father laughed and held me in place. I hated when people messed with my hair. With its red curls, it was already hard to control, but if someone messed with it, it just became one big poof of tangles and frizz.
“Okay, enough lazing around. Move your asses. I’ll see you later tonight, little one. And after midnight, we’ll celebrate your big day,” the Alpha said.
“Fine, we’re coming,” my father sighed with mock annoyance.
Sometimes I thought the three of them were stuck in permanent teenager mode, and it scared me a little to think of them running the pack. But they were good at it. Our pack was one of the strongest and most respected packs in the world. It was a source of pride for all of us.
As my father and his friends continued their inspection, I returned to my tasks for the evening. Usually, I would help my mother as she and some other women prepared the food. But I had been assigned other duties. I was guessing, and hoping, it was because they were working on a surprise cake for my birthday.
Hours later, I was sitting in front of the fire, laughing along with the others as Nick, one of the oldest warriors in the pack, told the story of how he had defeated a swarm of vampires. The number of vampires in the story grew with each full moon, but we all loved hearing it.
Most of the pack members were running in their wolf forms in the surrounding forest. I still hadn’t felt the need to shift, so as usual, I volunteered to watch the pups and keep an eye on the teenagers.
Just after midnight, the pack started to return. In groups or pairs, they came walking out of the woods, all smiling and looking relaxed. I wondered why they were heading back so early when my mother and Luna Joy came walking out, carrying a birthday cake between them.
My eyes grew wide as I saw the amazing creation they placed in front of me. It was three tiers tall with white frosting and covered in sugar flowers, looking like a flower meadow. On top, two candles burned – a one and an eight.
“Happy birthday, sweetie,” my mother said.
“Thank you, Mom.”
My mother hugged me, and then Luna Joy pulled me into a tight embrace as well.
“I hope you find your mate soon, and that he is everything you hope for and deserve,” Luna whispered to me.
“Thank you, Luna,” I said.
“Time to blow out the candles and make a wish, pumpkin,” my dad said as he joined us.
“Not yet. Elder isn’t here,” my mother pointed out.
“He’s off with James and Cindy,” Luna Joy said, snuggling up to the Alpha.
“I can wait,” I offered, earning a smile from the Alpha pair.
“Honestly, the whole pack is here and we’re waiting on our son,” my mother said, impatience evident in her voice.
I heard my brother and our friends before I saw them. Elder came half-running out of the forest, closely followed by James, while Cindy took her time.
“Sorry, sorry! I didn’t realize how deep into the forest we had run. You didn’t blow out the candles yet, did you?” Elder asked.
“No, she’s been waiting,” our mother said, giving him a stern look.
“Sorry,” he said again.
But I wasn’t paying attention to my brother. My full attention was on the scent of sandalwood and pineapple. Even without my wolf, I knew it was the scent of my mate.
I turned toward it and saw James standing at the edge of the forest, looking back at me with as much surprise as I felt.
James, the Alpha’s son, was my mate?
End of Battle of Fate Chapter 1. Continue reading Chapter 2 or return to Battle of Fate book page.