“Ooh, shush. The ritual master is about to speak,” Delma said.
The ritual master had stood up and was now walking towards Taylor. He took both of Taylor’s hands and said in a deep voice, “Taylor. You know the moon spirit has decided to reveal your mate today. Before I can tell you who it is, you must understand this is an ancient and sacred ritual. It is not a joke. It is a very serious matter. It is a matter of the hearts. Take this with faithfulness and loyalty. Know that now, your heart will be tied to another. Your actions will affect another. Be careful, that you do not shatter the heart that the moon spirit trusts you with.”
Taylor nodded, looking solemn. Rose rolled her eyes at his serious expression.
“Taylor. Your mate, as decreed by the Moon spirit, is… Rose,” the ritual master said.
Chapter 2
Rose
Rose just froze when she heard it. She was the mate for Taylor. Arrogant, full of himself Taylor? She couldn’t believe it, there must be some mistake. She looked around, panicking. Everyone was looking at her expectantly. Anna and Delma looked shocked, staring at her with their mouths open.
Taylor was looking at her, smiling. He outstretched his hand, as if waiting for her to grab it. Rose just stood there, frozen. There was awkward silence all around, as everyone continued to stare at her.
“She must be very shocked. After all, being my mate is such a privilege,” Taylor said, trying to lighten the mood. People laughed awkwardly, but Rose just stood there, frozen.
“Rose? Do you accept Taylor as your mate?” the ritual master asked. He stood there, holding the golden thread in his hands. Once the golden thread was tied around their hands, their mating will be confirmed. Breaking it was a severe offense in the eyes of the moon spirit. Bad luck had befallen every single person who had broken it.
“I…” Rose stammered.
“You must accept Taylor, Rose, for the ritual to be completed,” the ritual master said.
Rose was overwhelmed. Everyone’s eyes were on her, everyone waited for her answer. She didn’t know what to say or what to do. There was only one thing she knew; she couldn’t spend the rest of her life with a man like Taylor.
Rose turned around and ran. She heard Anna and Delma calling after her, but she ignored them. She just had to get away from all of this. She couldn’t handle it. She ran as fast as she could, not knowing where she was going. She couldn’t live with a man like Taylor.
She had always dreamed of being with someone she could have intellectual conversations with, someone sophisticated, humble, and kind. Instead, she got this jerk from hell. Rose finally stopped running, collapsing on the ground. She knew she had to give an answer, whether it was an acceptance or a rejection.
Everyone only went through the ritual once, and everyone got their mate once. You could reject them, but you had to live with the fact that you would never find another soul mate. Nearly everyone in the pack had accepted their mates. Everyone trusted that the moon spirit had chosen the right person, and until now, no one had ever been unhappy.
“Rose?” Delma’s voice came. “I followed your scent. Are you okay?”
“No. Delma, how can I live my life with Taylor? He is the exact opposite of the man I wanted. His head is stuck so far up his ass! I can never have long intellectual, meaningful conversations with him. I wanted someone I could trust with my heart. I can’t trust him. I can’t! He is rude and loud! Just last night I saw him drinking with his friends and getting into another drunken fight. I can’t, Delma! I can’t marry him,” Rose said, tears streaming down her eyes.
Delma grabbed her by her arms and shook her. “Listen to me, Rose. I know he isn’t the guy you wanted. I know there are lots of things about him that you hate, I know he isn’t ideal. But is he really that bad?”
“Maybe he is a better person than I think, but I still don’t want to be with him!” Rose said.
“Then reject him! It’s fine,” Delma said, hugging her.
“I won’t get another mate, after this. If I reject him, I have to accept that I will be alone for the rest of my life,” Rose said.
“It’s stupid. That we get just one mate. But, that’s how the moon spirit works. Look, you are overwhelmed right now. Take a day or two to think. Then decide. Yea?” Delma said.
Rose nodded, taking a deep breath. “Yea. That makes sense.”
“Good. Now you wanna walk home with me?” Delma asked, smiling at her.
“I don’t want to go home yet. I am going to train a bit, burn off my feelings,” Rose said.
Rose had been training to be one of the strongest warriors in the pack. Since she was little, she wanted to be a warrior. She read stories about wolves who were great warriors and wanted to grow up to be like them.
She was often at a disadvantage in most fights because she was small and petite. The other wolves were larger and stronger, and based on strength alone, could defeat her easily. Eventually, Rose had started training to be better in other ways. She trained to be quick on her feet, to dodge efficiently, to study the opponent’s movements. She read up on how to decipher body language, guess her opponent’s moves, and how best to strategize and attack.
“Alright,” Delma said hugging her. Rose watched her leave, and then turned her attention towards the mountain that ran around the forest. She bent down a little, took a deep breath in, and started punching.
Chapter 3
