Chapter 1
Rose
Rose stood at the centre of the clearing, surrounded by the rest of the pack. The ritual master, Salazar, stood in the centre. In front of him was a huge bonfire, and he sat near it, cross legged. His eyes were closed, and he was chanting the ancient words of the moon.
Rose sighed, wondering when this would end. She had sat through endless rituals, where the moon spirit revealed their soul mates. Today, it was Taylor’s turn. The most annoying, loud, noisy and egoistic member of the pack. He kept getting into fights with other pack members and was known to be a playboy. Rose pitied the girl who would end up with Taylor. Every girl in the pack was so nice.
Taylor was standing on the other side of the clearing, surrounded by his group of friends, who were equally as noisy and arrogant. Dominque, one of his closest friends, was the only one sitting far away, as he is the pack leader. Taylor was shamelessly flexing his muscles, his hazel eyes shining in the moonlight.
Rose wished she could deny it, but she couldn’t. She was attracted to him. Despite his flamboyant manner, he was charming, always quick to smile, and knew how make a girl blush. Of course, his looks helped. His strong muscular build, his chiselled jaw line, his hazel eyes and his light brown floppy hair, attracted almost every girl in the pack.
Rose remembered the first time he had flirted with her. They were having a small party, where all the young wolves had gotten together. He had spotted her from far away, and had walked over, smiling charmingly. Rose had been sitting with her friends, and when she saw him walking over, she blushed. The effect had stayed on her until he opened his mouth, and then it became painfully obvious. He was a jerk.
A very egoistic jerk. He thought he was the world, strong, powerful, best friends with the pack leader, and extremely handsome. Nevertheless, when he had walked over and started flirting with her, she had fallen for his charm. She had ignored his arrogant personality and flirted back. Rose shuddered at the memory, unable to believe she had fallen for him. She supressed the memory of what had happened. Never again.
Taylor was by now laughing loudly with his friends, high fiving and throwing flirtatious smiles to all the girls. Rose rolled her eyes. She had much better things to do, like training.
“Hey, Rose! Where have you been all day, girl?” Anna, one of her closest friends, asked.
“Where do you think I have been? Training out in the forest,” Rose said smirking.
“Wow, girl. You are pretty serious about this,” Anna said, raising an eyebrow.
“Look Anna, you know how much this means to me. I am tired of being called small, and skinny, and sickly. I am going to show them. I am going to be the strongest warrior in this pack,” Rose said.
“Alright, girl. Chill. I know how strongly you feel about this,” Anna said, smirking teasingly at her friend. “Now, how long do you think this ritual is going to take? Because I am hungry.”
“I don’t know. The last ritual took four hours. This is so stupid, like soul mates are not even real!” Rose said. “And to make it worse, this one is to find Taylor’s mate. Poor girl, whoever she is.”
“I don’t know. I believe in soul mates. I think they are the real deal. One person who is meant to be yours, in every way,” Anna said.
“Hey, sorry I got here late. I was getting snacks,” Delma, one of Rose’s friends, said. She sat next to Rose and offered them chips. Anna and Rose both took some, looking around as they ate.
“So, how long has the ritual guy been sitting in the centre, chanting stuff?” Delma asked.
“Two hours. This is torturous,” Rose said, grabbing some more chips.
“Shush, don’t speak like that about the ritual. It’s our culture, we should respect it. As werewolves, we believe in the moon spirit, to guide us. This is how things have always been done,” Anna said. She had always believed in true love and soul mates.
“Alright, Anna. Don’t get your panties in a twist,” Delma said.
“There are girls here, all dressed up. As if they are waiting to be announced as Taylor’s mate. Do they not see what an ass he is?” Rose asked.
“You are the only one who has such a problem with him. Every other girl loves him. Whoever gets chosen as his mate, will be the subject of much envy and jealousy,” Delma said.
“Come on. He is so full of himself. He never stops bragging; he thinks he is the very best. Worst of all, he is a playboy,” Rose said.
“Well, the ritual is sacred. You can’t just break such a sacred promise. He will be loyal after all this,” Anna said.
Rose scoffed, rolling her eyes.
“Once a playboy, always a playboy,” Rose said.
“I wonder if I will ever find my mate,” Anna said, gloomily.
“Well, think about it. Is there anyone else in the pack that you have felt a very strong attraction to? They say that even before the ritual, you will always feel a very strong attraction towards your mate,” Delma said.
Rose blushed as she remembered the only person she had ever felt attracted to. He could not be her mate. Just, no.
