Chapter 2
"This isn't going too hurt much Alpha." The pack doctor, Kitara, mumbled unapologetically as she placed a soaked cloth of antiseptic on my shoulder.
I yelled in pain as the antiseptic liquid burned like fire on the open wound. But it was necessary since it would clean out the silver berry that infected my wounds.
"Oh, that didn't hurt at all Kit," I mumbled sarcastically before she shut me up by applying more of the liquid to my hand.
"Not my fault you're prone to getting hurt let alone being infected by a rare substance." She grumbled because her patching me up was an almost daily occurrence.
I was about to laugh but as Finn came into view, I immediately shut up.
His face held anguish but behind his eyes, I could see the anger that burned within him.
"Oh don't give me that look, Finn," I said nonchalantly despite knowing that I caused him to worry about me.
"I'm so angry with you right now Everette." Finn fumed.
"Oh don't get your panties in a twist, I'm fine." But of course when I said that, Kitara applied more of the antiseptic to my wound which made me yell.
"Fine my ass." Finn grumbled before he walked over to my side and grabbed my right hand, which was my good hand, in between his palms.
I gave his hand a gentle squeeze as a sign of appreciation as I tried to breathe through the pain.
"Can you hurry up here doc?" I asked through gritted teeth.
"Maybe if you stop trying to get yourself killed..." She trailed off.
"She has a point Ev, you need to allow the pack to protect you too," Finn said.
"Would you hang back while you see your pack fighting rogues?" I asked him.
"I-" But before he could answer me, my parents walked in.
Sometimes I really hated the fact that their house was so close to the packhouse.
"Oh, my baby girl!" My mother, Emery, came rushing in and ready to heal.
My dad, Thane, on the other hand, held the same expression as Finn, angry and worried.
"I'm fine mom," I grumbled as Kitara finished cleaning my wounds.
Finn took a step back as my parents crowded my space.
"I'll heal her up Kit." My mom said to the doctor.
"No mom, I'm fine. Kitara can stitch me up."
The fury behind my mother's eyes was not be crossed as she shot me a glare.
"You'll take days to recover from the wound on your hand Everette, so let me heal you."
I pulled my hand away from her reach despite the sting of pain, "It will heal on it's on mom. You'll wear yourself out by healing me."
"Everette." My father commanded my attention. "Let your mother heal you."
"But she-"
"I'm only forty Everette. Not eighty. I could replenish my energy easily." My mother said as she grabbed my arm above the wound and miraculously started to heal me.
"Mom, really I could have managed." I released a sigh of relief as the pain marginally surpassed.
She just rolled her eyes and mumbled under her breath, "Like father, like daughter."
I ignored her as I watched my flesh and skin grow back as if I hadn't just been in a crazy fight with psycho rogues.
As my mother healed me up, I saw my father's eyebrows knitted together in confusion and I knew the interrogation and lecture were a second away.
"Everette." My dad began.
"Dad." I smiled sweetly at him.
He sighed before running his hand over my forehead and brushing off some dirt, "You scared us you know."
"I know," I rolled my eyes but in both his and my mom's distressed expressions. I usually act unconcerned when anyone worried about me.
I just didn't want to be a burden on their emotions.
My mother placed one of her hands on my cheek, "You could have died Ev."
I looked away from her sorrowful gaze, "If it meant keeping everyone alive then I don't see what the big deal is. Plus it was only a few rogues, a daily occurrence."
I heard the door to the infirmary slam shut and I knew Finn left in anger.
"There's a difference between keeping the pack safe by being a good alpha and trying to get yourself killed." My father lectured.
"I-"
"No Everette, if you're hurt then you let someone else handle the threat. You'll just put yourself and others in danger any other way." Dad said.
"You would have done the same thing, dad."
"I know but we all learn and you can use my mistakes to your advantage. Trust me on this one. You don't need to fight all the rogues yourself for us to know what a great warrior you are." He smiled gently.
"You're right... but I don't think I'll ever not protect someone. So it's going to take some time for me to actually allow someone to protect me." I chuckled.
"As long as you try Ev." My mother smiled.
"Now why don't you tell us what happened?" My dad asked expectantly.
I sat up in bed as I stretched my sore arms.
"I honestly have no idea, these rogues showed up out of nowhere. But the one that really got me had silver berry on his canines."
I watched as my mother looked at my father with shock on her face.
"What's wrong?" I asked them with a sudden panic filling me.
"It's just that silver berry is very rare." My dad mumbled.
"We've only ever encountered it once back when your aunt Tate met uncle Aiden. Your father was attacked by a rogue with silver berry." My mom explained.
"Well, then there must be a plant growing somewhere close by since the other packs haven't reported any cases of silver berry yet." I shrugged as I climbed out of the bed.
"The good thing is that it's rare and isn't poisonous." My dad sighed.
I simply nodded as I walked towards the door and mind linked Penelope.
'Pen? Where are you?' I asked through the mind link.
'Down in the Crypt. We got a rogue detained,' Her reply came instantaneously.
'Be there in five,' I responded before closing the link.
"Where are you going?" My mom questioned as she and my father both followed me out the door.
"To figure out where the silver berry plant is and why the hell rogues are growing more confident in crossing into my pack," I grumbled as I stalked out the front door and headed towards the Crypt.
I didn't shift since my muscles were immensely sore from the fighting and wounds. So I took a much-needed break as I quietly strolled through the forest.
My mind felt free as the evening sun shone down on my face and the feeling of the soil and leaves beneath my bare feet connected me to the earth.
I had one more day until I found him.
My mate.
Tomorrow night the infamous blood moon is supposed to cast its eerie glow on us as I went to the human town of Fairbairn to find my mate.
Every twenty years this happened. Except this is the first year human males will be partaking in the ritual to the beast. For centuries, it's been women who were the ones being 'sacrificed' to the beast.
That beast being me since the humans didn't know what I was.
The town is supposed to chain the guys to trees in the forest and then I'll go sniff out my mate since the Moon Goddess fulfilled a promise to one of the Luna's of the Blood Moon Pack centuries ago.
I could only find my mate on the night of the ritual, under the blood moon.
Before me, the ritual required girls to be chained in the forest since the Alpha was always straight males and the pack needed their Luna. They made the women dress in white gowns as if they were getting married when they really had no idea what was going on. It was creepy.
I had no idea how my mother or my grandma, Anne, even made it through that. I personally would've booked a plane ticket to a remote island where no one could find me. I would have flown the plan myself if I had to.
Since I was born, my great-grandaunt Jane had to get the humans to replace the girls with guys. According to her, it didn't go well at first with the humans, but after much discussion, they finally agreed.
I personally wanted the guys to be dressed up in white gowns since that was how they made the girls dress.
But unfortunately, the humans didn't think it was funny. And it wasn't since I was dead serious. They didn't take it lightly and vowed to make this more difficult for us if I didn't give up my 'dudes in dresses' dream.
It would have been the highlight of the night honestly.
Besides all that, I was nervous, anxious, worried and a bit happy at the same time.
Being the Alpha hadn't given me enough time to mentally prepare myself for what was to come but it's what was expected of me.
While I was relieved to know I was finally going to meet my mate, it was daunting to know that I had to show him I was a werewolf and hope he didn't reject me while simultaneously revealing that we had to have a baby within a year.
This archaic, aged tradition really wasn't working out in favor of us Alphas and Lunas.
I was basically screwed in trying to win my mate over.
Not to mention being the first female Alpha. What was I supposed to refer to my mate as? The Luna?
I honestly prefer to spend the night curled up in bed, eating some donuts and watching tv instead of sniffing out a dude.
My thoughts were cut short as I spot the square, gray, concrete building that led to the underground maze of tunnels where we held rogues as prisoners.
Finn was also outside the Crypt as he was one of our main security guards, but as he saw me approaching, he shifted his gaze and walked to the other side of the building.
Despite being best friends, we've kind of been constantly arguing this past week.
He didn't want me going into the human town. Mostly because he didn't trust the humans who hunted us and partially because we both got carried away with our feelings despite knowing the ritual was bound to happen.
I didn't blame him though.
His father died because of the human hunters twenty years ago. And I knew if our roles were reversed, I wouldn't want him to go seek out his mate either.
Deciding that I would clear my schedule tonight and spend it with him, I just walked past the other guards and headed down into the Crypt.
Inside the empty, one-story building, held a staircase that led deep underground. I flew down the long set of steps in no time and came to the long narrow hallway that was barely lit with a few fluorescent light bulbs overhead.
Luckily my supernatural abilities meant heighten scenes which meant I could see in the dark.
The hallway split off into different directions going left and right which led to other specialty cells for stronger rogues, immensely dangerous rogues, armor, a kitchen and sleeping quarters for guards.
But the main area where we kept rogues and interrogated them was at the end of the hallway, behind gigantic silver doors.
The guarded silver doors came into view with two guards flanking the sides. To the left was a normal steel door which leads to the room which we used to change patrolling, plan attacks or discuss the rogue activity. The door to the right was another silver door that leads to the interrogation room.
It used to be where we tortured rogues but since my mom came into the pack, she made my father change our archaic methods.
But we still had a few tricks up our sleeves which may be considered torturing but it wasn't as intense as the methods we used before.
Just don't tell my mother.
I nodded to both guards before one typed in the code to open the door and used a gloved hand to pull open the giant silver door.
"Thank you." I smiled in appreciation before entering the bright room where Penelope, Charlotte, and two male guards stood surrounding our prisoner who was placed on a chair behind a table.
Both the rogue's hands were chained with silver to the chair he was sitting on.
They only managed to get a pair of shorts on him which left his chest exposed, revealing a plethora of scars that were mostly covered by dirt. His graying hair was also covered in dirt and dandruff which was sickeningly slicked back on his head.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't the pretty little Alpha." He smirked.
I grinned at him as I stepped between Pen and Charlotte before leaning my palms on the table in front of the rogue.
"And if isn't the slimy rogue who thinks he can actually take my pack." I chuckled when his face contorted into anger.
Ah, misogynists... they get angry over the littlest of things.
"The other rogue would have ripped your pretty little head off if you didn't grab him from behind" He spat on the table. "Such a bitch move sweetie."
I swear these idiot rogues only know two insults. One was always referring to me as 'pretty' and the other was calling me a bitch.
I had my fair share of beating their asses to a pulp after though... What? I deserved it.
I rolled my eyes at the man's petty attempt at riling me up.
"Let's cut the chit chat and discuss what you were doing on my land rogue," I said unamused.
He simply shrugged and refused to answer.
"Fine. Then tell me about the silver berry."
His eyes flashed with a sudden uncertainty as his hands tried to pull on the handcuffs but since it was pure silver, he hissed in pain.
"Tell me where the silver berry plant is," I demanded.
He looked up at me without a hint of fear, "I don't know what you're talking about."
I rounded the table and walked up to him until our faces were inches apart, "Let's try this one more time, what do you say?"
The rogue gave me an unamused smile, "Tell me what you know about the silver berry."
But the ignorant ass just smirked and looked down my shirt as lust filled his gaze.
I cleared my throat to bring his attention back up to my eyes and as his gaze shifted back upward, I punched him square in the nose.
The telltale crack confirmed that I indeed broke his nose.
The rogue tried to yank his arm free again in another failed attempt. He just glared at me with rage as blood dripped down from his nose.
I heard Pen and Charlotte snicker behind me.
"Pen, Charlotte? Why don't you help me out here." I smiled as the rogue's eyes flashed with uncertainty at the girls.
"You sure you don't know about the silver berries?" I asked for the last time.
"Check your mother's-" But before he could finish his sentence, Charlotte knocked him square in the jaw.
So hard, that one of his decaying teeth fell out.
"Is that any way to speak to a woman?" Char tsked.
"Woman? All I see is a little pup." He snickered as if it was the best joke in the world.
"I'll let that go for now. Instead, why don't you tell me why so many rogues have been infiltrating my territory?" I questioned.
"Simple." He spoke and I raised my eyebrow in question. "No pack should be run by a woman."
Penelope took that as the cue to punch him right in the gut. He slouched over in immense pain and groaned.
Not waiting for him to catch his breath, I went on, "So you don't know about the silver berry and have a weak claim for actually entering my land. You rogues seem to be getting stupider by the day honestly."
"Just kill me and get over with it." He grumbled in his still slouched position.
"Kill you?" Charlotte said dramatically. "I think Alpha Blackwood has better plans for you little rogue."
"What? She's going to make me play with her dolls?" He chuckled while Penelope smirked.
"No, we're going to flip a coin." Pen said as one of the guards tossed a coin her way. "Charlotte, heads or tails."
"Tails." Charlotte giggled.
Penelope smiled wickedly while the rogue's head shot up in anxiousness.
She tossed the coin and caught it before it fell and placing it on the back of her palm, "It's heads."
"Hmm, I never seem to have any fun." Charlotte frowned as Penelope unsuspectingly swung a right hook the rogue's way and gave him a black eye.
The man seemed to have gone into shock at what just hit him. His left eye remained shut as he growled in rage.
"Now tell me, is there anything you want to say before I let my girls toss the coin again?" I asked nonchalantly.
"I do actually. You're just a little girl who's afraid to get her hands dirty." He grinned.
I smirked, "Dirt huh? You seem to be covered in enough of it."
"But we have something a little better." Charlotte smiled as she took the syringe from one of the guards.
You can clearly see the liquid silver in the tube and the rogue looked shocked.
His eyes went wide as he growled, "What the fuck is that?"
"A little medicine." Penelope smiled.
"Tell me! Tell me it's not silver!" rogue yelled as he leaned far into his chair, trying to get away from us.
"Tell us what we know and we wouldn't inject you," I said all serious now.
He eyed the vile and his mind seemed to be at battle, "No."
"No?" I asked. "So you want the silver?"
"Just kill me." He begged, "Kill me don't put that thing in my body."
"I don't think it works like that bud." Char shrugged.
"I wouldn't tell you!" He swore before his body shifted and contorted into his wolf.
The sheer size of his wolf knocked Charlotte and Penelope back as his canines reached inches away from my face.
He growled in my face but before he could act, the guards injected another vile of liquid silver into his body as he collapsed.
I bent down and petted his head as he whimpered in pain.
"You had your chance rogue and you chose to take the low road."
I could see the pure fear in his eyes as his body shifted back to human and he died.
The rogues were all the same. Their reasons for entering the pack was either they actually thought they could kill me or they just wanted a good fight.
They never gave any other answer. No matter how many times we had to flip a coin and punch their faces or threaten to inject them with silver.
I raised to my full height and addressed my Beta, "Have someone get his body out of here and give him a proper burial."
"What about the silver berry?" She asked.
I sighed, "We'll just have to look for it ourselves. If there's even any. For all we know they just got lucky and found enough for one of them since the others didn't have any. Let's hope that's the case."
"I'll start planning on where we should start looking for the plant," Charlotte said as she and the two guards left to the planning room across from us.
As I exit the room and headed down the hallway, I heard Penelope following me.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"To get some dinner," I mumbled before turning back to face her.
"Does dinner include a certain guard with blue eyes?" She asked smugly.
"Maybe..." I mumbled quietly since she hit the nail right on the head.
She placed both her hands on my shoulders and gave me a sad look, "Just don't do anything stupid okay."
"I'm not going to," I said but my tone squeaked.
"I know how you two feel about each other but don't forget tomorrow's the blood moon." She said.
"I know Pen," I said but my gaze fell to the ground.
"You're going to have to let him go sweetheart. Or else you're going to break his heart tomorrow. Once you find your mate, Finn's not going to be in your heart anymore."
"He'll always be in my heart," I whispered with an edge to my tone.
I felt like crumbling but no one has ever seen me break before. Not my parents, Finn, Pen or Char. If they do then I risk my respect as Alpha.
My feelings for Finn couldn't get in the way of that. We both knew the risk of being together for a brief period of time.
"You two will always have that special bond but trust me when I say that your mate will overshadow everyone else. Let him go Ev, for both of your sake."
And she was right. Penelope already found her mate, June, when she was sixteen. Pen and June have been together since then. So if I had to get mate advice, it was definitely from Penelope.
She and June was the best pair of mates I've seen besides my parents. They gave great advice and was loving to everyone. But since she was a lesbian, and therefore couldn't produce an heir to become the next Beta, her twin brother Samuel and his mate had that responsibility.
Essentially this ritual screwed us all into having kids early.
I pulled Pen into a hug, "Thanks Pen."
As I pulled away she gave me a smile, "Don't worry, he'll understand."
I nodded and really hoped that Finn understands that we had to end whatever feelings we had for each other.
I raced down the hall and up the steps before I stepped out of the crypt and saw that it was already dark out which meant Finn's shift was over.
I slowly made my way back to the packhouse as I racked my brain on what to tell him. This was probably going to be one of the hardest things I've had to do in all my nineteen years of life.
When I made it back to the packhouse, I decided taking a bath and washing away all the dried blood and dirt that covered my body should take precedence before I spoke with Finn.
I made my way up to the third floor which was the Alpha's quarters. I quickly scrubbed my body clean before I threw on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.
Making my way to the second floor, I knocked on Finn's room door but he didn't answer. As I went to the first floor, I spotted June, Penelope's mate.
"Hey June, have you seen Finn?" I asked nervously and she gave me a sympathetic smile and a knowing look. No doubt that her mate filled her in.
"He's in the library." She said.
"Thanks." I smiled before making my way over to our packhouse library.
As I entered the large room, I was instantly hit with the smell of old books and the fireplace burning.
I quietly stepped into the room and saw Finn sitting on one of the plush sofas with an old text in his hand, stretched out with his ankles crossed.
I shut the door behind me before walking over to him.
"What's up nerd?" I asked quietly.
I saw the corner of his lips quirk up but it was gone before I could blink as he continued to focus on his story.
"Are you still mad at me?" I went on as I perched onto the armrest near his elbow.
He continued to look at his worn book so I moved my face closer to his.
"Come on Finn, you can't be angry at me." I pouted and gave him my puppy dog eyes.
His gaze finally shifted away from his book and towards my brown eyes.
"What in particular should I be mad at you for this time?" He broke his silence.
"I don't know. For almost dying?" I shrugged.
"That's a daily occurrence for you Ev. I don't think I could stop you even if I tried."
"So you're not mad at me?" I raised an eyebrow unconvincingly.
"I was...but not anymore." He gave me a small smile.
"Good or else I would have told your mom." I grinned because his mother, Maria, always had my back.
"You'll be the death of me Ev." He shook his head.
"I know I should be more careful but-"
"You don't need to explain yourself to me, I know why you do what you do," Finn said understandingly. "I'm not mad, I promise."
I nodded and felt an ounce of relief.
My eyes wandered to the book that he had in his hands, "What are you even reading about now?"
He grinned and showed me the book title, 'Werewolves Encyclopedia'.
"Finn you've read that like fifteen times." I rolled my eyes at the dork.
"Hey, it's only been like eight times." He grumbled. "And I'm trying to figure out the optimal conditions for silver berry."
"To figure out a location." I guessed. "Well looks like your nerdiness is coming in handy."
"Ha ha ha." He said sarcastically as he laid the book down on the coffee table in front of him and then moved over.
He patted the space next to him and said, "Come here."
I slide off the armrest and sat with my feet curled under me, next to Finn. He kept his hands to himself which was odd since he usually wrapped his arm around my shoulder.
"Find anything useful in that book yet?"
"Not yet." He responded.
"Finn-"
"Ev-" We both spoke at the same time.
I looked up at his anguish expression. I took his hand that was closet to me in between both my palms.
"Are you ready for tomorrow?" He asked.
I gave him a fake smile, "I have to be."
"But are you?"
"Does it really matter if I am?" I looked up at him as I fiddled with his fingers.
"Of course it does Everette. If you're not ready I-"
"You'll what Finn?" I asked. "I have to find my mate. It's tradition."
"Screw tradition. You shouldn't be forced to go into the human town just to find some human boy who can't take care of you like-"
"Like you can?" I smiled.
"Damn straight." His hand gripped my own. "You have no idea how much you mean to me, Everette. Fuck the blood moon. That human town is filled with hunters and after the war they caused twenty years ago, I don't think it's safe for you to go there."
"Nothing will happen to me." I placed my other hand over his in a comforting gesture.
"They killed my father Ev. The hunters almost killed your parents." He reminded me.
"I could handle them, don't worry. Plus my dad made sure no one in Fairbairn knows we're werewolves. If they even get close to me, they wouldn't have silver bullets." I assured him.
"You don't know that for sure." He said.
"I don't, but I do know that my mate's going to be there. And I need to find him." I said determinedly.
"So what? You two can make a baby to just repeat the system?" Finn released my hand and shifted away.
"Yes because as the Alpha, it's what I need to do." I groaned. "Look I didn't come in here to fight with you Finn. You're my best friend and the last thing I want to do is lose you or hurt you... I just wanted one last night."
"I- I just can't let you go." He whispered.
"You wouldn't have to. I'll still be me. With or without a mate, you'll still be my best friend. We'll still be Finn and Ev." I said trying to assure not just him but myself as well.
He turned to me with a sad smile, "No, it'll be Ev, her mate and I'll just be some guy in the pack."
I wrapped my arms around his arm and shifted closer to him, "You're wrong. The only way that will happen is when you get a mate."
"Impossible." He muttered before placing a kiss on the crown of my head. "So that's it huh? Tomorrow you'll find your mate."
I nodded my head without answering since I didn't want to break in front of him.
"But what if your mate isn't there?" He questioned.
"Finn-"
"You can only sense your mate under the blood moon, right? Well, what if you don't find him because he isn't there."
"I don't think that's how it works Finn," I said.
"But what if he's here. What if your mate's here?" His voice was pleading. "What if."
"We'll only know tomorrow," I answered. "But right now, I just want to spend time with my best friend."
I thought Finn wasn't going to respond until he finally answered,
"You'll always have my heart, Everette Blackwood."
Everything was about to change. I could feel it.
A/N
So a little insight into the ritual for our newcomers :) Also how cute is Finn? My heart is with him when Ev finds her mate :( He got friend zoned so hard lol.
Hope you all liked it!
The Ritual is going to be epic!
Picture of the library above.
Song: Ed Tullett - In Cure
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Chapter update: Tomorrow!
Read on wolfies, ðº
-Shania. ð¾