My father was waiting for us on the patio. When I reach him, he engulfs me in a hug and tells me how beautiful I look, to which I roll my eyes again!
Welcome
My father's voice rang out, he didn’t need to use his dominant voice, as he was so respected that everyone. Fell silent at his words
" Welcome," He said again to our honoured guests and all my pack members. Tonight, my daughter turns 18 and will link with her wolf for the first time, and then shift. I don’t have to tell anyone over 18 what a special moment this is. It is our right of passage. We all agree that the gift of our wolf from the goddess herself is one that we do not take lightly or disrespect in any way. With that being said, I will now count down to my daughter's birthday. Please join me" He waved his hands toward the crowd, and started counting. Backwards from 10.
Any minute now I will hear my wolf, I was so nervous but excited simultaneously. What if my Wolf thought I was a waste of a wolf, what if she didn’t like me? Can that happen? I thought to myself. 5 4 3 2 1-
HAPPY BIRTHDAY Genevieve
cried my parents, my brother and Sara, who were all on the patio with me, then the whole pack erupted into cheers, whoops and clapping.
Then there was silence, as everyone now waited eagerly for the link to happen. I squared my shoulders and gritted my teeth. And waited and waited...........WTF was happening? I looked at my dad and mom and saw worry and something else in their eyes. My brother came up to my side and said quietly, "don’t fight it is, it will be more painful". I looked at my family and they looked back.
"NOTHING IS HAPPENING", I said, nothing. I started to shiver and felt cold beads of sweat trickle down my neck. It wasn’t a shift, I was totally and completely embarrassed. I hadn’t shifted? I hadn’t linked to my wolf, which meant I didn’t have a wolf.
There were gasps and whispers as the rest of the pack caught on to what was happening, or not happening as was the case.
My father told my brother to take me inside quickly, my mom hot on his heels. My father stayed behind to apologize to the Alpha present and the pack members.
When I got inside, I was rushed to my father's office on the first floor of the pack house. I loved it in here, the room smelled of books and leather, and had a fire that sat in the fireplace heating the room. I would spend hours in this room when my father was away on council business. I would choose a book from one of the bookcases, curl up on the comfy chair by the fire, and lose myself in the book.
When I was younger, this room was my way of being close to my father. When he was home, I would sit for hours watching him work. Sometimes I would read or try and learn how to play chess. But, as I got older, the room became more of a hide away from my mother, and her vicious tongue. and her equally vicious slap.
Within minutes, my father arrived and started asking questions straight away. No one had any answers for him. Especially me, I had all but buried myself in the long Chesterfield sofa, hiding my face, my embarrassment. I was mortified, I said into the pillow that covered my face. "WTF is happening"?
I was looking directly at my mom, my pale face pleading for an explanation. All she did was look at my father for help.
"Honey", my father said in a soft tone, "are you feeling any different? Anything"? I shook my head sadly and hid under a pillow. I hated the look of disappointment on his face. On all their faces. I don't think I have ever been so utterly defeated in my life. What good is a werewolf who doesn't have a wolf?
"I’m going to bed", I said in a monotone. My farther and brother staring sadly after me, I dare not look at my mother. She must be so angry with me.
I trudged up the 2 flights of stairs that lead to the 3rd floor of the pack house. This whole floor was for the Alpha and his family. It had 6 bedrooms, a lounge room, a den and a small kitchen, as most meals were cooked in the huge kitchen on the ground floor. The ground floor also had my dad's office, his Beta's office, and a wet room where clothes were always available, to borrow after a shift. It also held the large dining room that sat next to the kitchen. This was where every single werewolf would eat, as most of the mated werewolves were given houses and liked to cook for themselves and their family, although they still ate in the dining hall at least once a month, as it was a social setting and a chance to eat with the Alpha family.
The second floor had three double bedrooms and seven single bedrooms. Visitors to the pack used these or any pack member who wanted or needed to stay at the pack house for various reasons.
Then there was the third and last floor. This was divided into one large apartment for the Alpha and his family, and a smaller apartment for the Beta of the pack.
As I opened my door, all I could think about was jumping in a hot shower and washing the mound of product off my hair. I stripped my new dress off and slung it into the corner of the room. I'll pick it up tomorrow. I wasn’t a messy person, but tonight I just couldn’t be arsed!
As I turned round to enter my bathroom, I caught sight of my nakedness in the mirror. I knew I was nothing special to look at, and despite all the pack members constantly telling me how “pretty” I looked or how “beautiful” I was, I knew they only said it to suck up to my father. I wasn’t stupid, just chubby and plain. A fact that my mother loved reminding me of.
After staying in the shower for 20 mins and making sure I conditioned my hair, I decided to dry it with a hair dryer instead of leaving it air-dry. Which I would normally do. When my hair was dry, I finally crawled into bed, thinking for the first time about what happened tonight and what my family hadn’t or wouldn’t mention. I was the daughter of the Alpha of the sapphire pack, and I was wolf less, or to put it in layman’s terms, I was just a human. Just a human, that was when I started to cry.