The Game

     A silly little game, that is all it was supposed to be but it turned to so much more. It was four years ago and I was fourteen. It was my brother's going away party. At sixteen male werewolves go to academy to serve in the military and prepare for their adult roles in the pack. My brother Bo and his best friend Drake were leaving the next day. The adults had already called it a night and the teenagers had somehow ended up in the basement playing truth or dare, typical dumb kid stuff. When it came to Drake's turn, he was challenged to draw a name from a cup and go play seven minutes in heaven with them. He drew my name. I had always had a crush on Drake and this was my chance. He was gorgeous and every girl wanted him but it was my chance to show him how I felt. He nearly choked as he read my name allowed, but in the end he reached his hand out to me and said come on kiddo in his thick Texas accent. I slowly rose on legs that felt way too wobbly to support me and then followed him to the closet. Once inside it was dark, but I could feel his nearness and was intoxicated by his earthy scent. Being a werewolves, or wolves as we simply referred to ourselves, we were able to easily see each other in the dark as our eyes adjusted. He lifted my head to him and chuckled when I let out a little squeak of surprise. Slowly Drake lowered his mouth to mine. The kiss started gentle but as soon as I nipped his lower lip it quickly deepened into a frenzy of lips, tongues, and hands everywhere. Just as things were getting good the door swung open and my brother was standing there fuming mad. Bo jerked me out of the closet and told everyone the party was over.

     Later that night, I snuck out and went to Drake's house. I knocked on his bedroom window, and he came to the window half asleep and half dressed. Drake seemed confused as to why I was there. I told him I hoped my brother wasn't too hard on him and asked if everything was okay with us. He chuckled and called me kiddo as he explained it was just a game. I told him it wasn't for me and that I cared for him and always had. I will never forget the look of surprise on his face. It only lasted a second before it vanished and he hardened his expression telling me all I needed to know, he did not feel the same. A second later a she-wolf I did not recognize came to the window in his shirt. She practically purred his name as she asked who I was, then to my horror and humiliation he told her I was just a silly little girl. I did not hesitate, I turned and ran as quickly as I could from his presence. Drake called my name but I would not look back, I felt betrayed and hurt. I did not know if I would see him ever again and I did not know if I even wanted to at this point. 

     The next day, I told my brother goodbye at home. I faked being sick so that I could stay home and not have to chance seeing Drake. It saddened me greatly to see my brother leave but I knew this day would come as it does for all wolves. He was excited to train and find himself outside of our pack. He would train and serve for two years and then return and take his place in our pack, The Desert Moon Pack. There was of course the chance he would be recruited by another pack after graduation but I know he would return home. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else and I knew he felt the same. Shortly after turning eighteen he would begin trying to find his mate and she too would come to live in our pack's territory. I knew how things would play out or at least I thought I did. I was wrong.

     I struggled to snap out of the depression my heartbreak had sent me spiraling into thanks to that silly little game. Drake's cruel words calling me a silly little girl still hurt for months but that was nothing compared to the pain that awaited me six months later. Wolves are strong and live much longer than humans usually, but a group of rogues attacked our pack and all the adults fought just as they were trained to do. My mom was among those fighting. She was strong and came from an alpha bloodline, not just any bloodline but a particularly strong and old alpha line from Italy. She was one of our fiercest warriors and as such she was on the front lines of battle. There were too many rogues and she was fatally wounded. The loss of my mother was devastating to me and my brother but even more so to my dad.  It is rare for wolves to live long after the death of their mate, my dad lasted almost a year. He continually got sicker and sicker but held on for me as long as he could. 

     Just shy of my sixteenth birthday, I said goodbye to my pack, my home, and everything I knew. I boarded a plane to Italy. My brother was still at the academy and I was sent to my mother's family.  I did not see my brother after he left for the academy, except for the 48 hour leave he was given to attend our mother's funeral. Most of that time was spent travelling so we actually had very little time together. I would be in Italy until I turned eighteen. I would be staying with my aunt and uncle that I only knew through video calls and once I turned sixteen I would attend academy. My uncle was my mother's brother and a strong wolf. He was probably intimidating to most, however he was kind and gentle with me. I truly felt loved with my aunt and uncle. It was nice to have a sense of a family. The academy in Italy was very different from the one in the United States. It was all girls and in addition to combat training we were educated in etiquette and female specific techniques of persuasion and interrogation. Needless to say I outgrew my braids and overalls that I so frequently wore when I left my home. I had grown into my curves and had lean muscle with just a little softness. My long brown hair was usually worn in loose curls down my back and I had learned to dress sexily and could do just about anything in heels. The latter still amazes me. I was strong and top of my class in combat. My family's alpha blood flowed through me and I feared no one and nothing, except graduation. I would then return home and my old pack, where I left as an awkward shy girl who looked like a tomboy and spent most of my time reading alone. I would see Drake again, he had returned and was now alpha to the Desert Moon Pack. Drake would be my alpha.