What Will Be... Read online

  ~

  After a long, hot, relaxing shower I made my way out into the changing area and got myself organised and ready to go. The silence of the room washed over me, helping relieve some of the stress and tiredness that always comes from having such a hectic day. Being the only one left in the change rooms now created such a secluded and relaxing atmosphere I was finding myself reluctant to leave and return to the real world, just outside those off-white doors.

  After a few tranquil moments I decided that I had spent enough time in my serenity and quickly brushed my long, black hair into a high pony tail and headed out the door, grabbing my sports bag on the way past. As I dawdled along I pulled a red ribbon from the side pocket of my bag and tied it in my hair, following the familiar path towards home.

  After walking for around five minutes I noticed the ringing in my ears had ceased and I could clearly hear the sounds of my surroundings. The birds chirping their final goodnights as they readied themselves for bed, the traffic coming up and down the nearby road, the wind whistling slightly as it passed through gaps in trees and branches, the comforting sounds of home. About ten minutes from my street I heard a muffled shout coming from the children’s park across the road. Worried about the safety of an innocent little child that may have been hiding in the dark and gotten lost, I carefully dropped my bag on the path and jogged over to check it out. The closer I got the more voices I could hear. The various voices, or rather their owner’s, seemed to be having a whispered argument inside one of the pieces of play equipment. I listened intently for a moment and relaxed when I recognised the voices, determining that there was no child in need of help. Satisfied with my discovery, I spun back to face my bag, before noticing that my name was being repeatedly whispered by the hidden voices. I decided to stay and listen; I really love my sensitive hearing sometimes. Justifying my actions of eavesdropping by telling myself they were talking about me so it was alright for me to listen in, I crouched down behind a nearby bush and focused in on the argument.

  "We can't let him tell her.” That voice, I would recognise it anywhere. It belonged to Baydon Tallon, the son of our packs Beta and the next in line for the position. That boy always seemed to be around when I needed someone, we aren’t exactly friends as we didn’t really hang around together, but we are more than acquaintances. To be honest, I had no idea how to explain the nature of our relationship to myself let alone anyone else.

  "I don't understand why we can't just let him tell her. It's not as though Roxy is some stupid, weak whore like some of the other femme wolves around here," I heard Jeremy Black, another member of my pack, reply. I smiled slightly to myself at the compliments; well that's how I was going to interpret them anyway, before frowning and wondering why they were talking about me. It had to be me, there were no other Roxy’s in our pack.

  "Yeah, we don't understand either. Why can’t she know?” The twins, Frankie and Jordan Eames, chorused in unison. Right, so that made almost the entire male side of the ‘popular’ crowd of my generation, huddled together under play equipment in a children’s park, discussing something to do with me and not finding out something. What are weird bunch if they have nothing better to do. The only voice I had yet to hear was that of our soon to be Alpha, Blaze Aston, but he was sure to be under there somewhere. Those guys were worse than some girls; the way they were always together was a little creepy. It was like they couldn’t go anywhere without the rest of the group. Don’t assume the worst, they mingled and had many friends but those five had been the best of friends for as long as I could remember. Mentally slapping myself for my straying thoughts I tuned my hearing and mind back into the argument on hand to see if I would work out what on earth they were talking about.

  Baydon let out a frustrated sigh before continuing, "Because if Blaze tells Roxy they are mates and she accepts him, she will be the next Luna when Blaze takes over as Alpha. If the other packs see the way she behaves, we will be questioned on our reputation and the safety of the pack could be in danger. Also other pack members have expressed their concern over the mating, Blaze makes it ridiculously obvious that she is his just from the way he watches her constantly. The members are worried that if she is by Blaze’s side when he takes the Alpha role, that we will be under attack from other packs whom may see us as either weak or a new kind of threat. Some have even mentioned that they are hearing whispers of a riot if she doesn’t change to fit the Luna description if she takes over. As future Beta, I need to have clear judgement in matters that will the cloud the future Alpha's mind, and this is a big arse cloud."

  My hands made their way to cover my mouth and stifle any noise I may have been tempted to make in light of recent information. My head was spinning as it tried to absorb exactly what it was that was going on.

  "We have two more days to try and convince him not to tell her before it may be too late.” Baydon added this on after what seemed like a few minutes of silence. I couldn't stay here and listen to any more; I already had enough to digest without hearing anything else they may have had to say. Tip-toeing back to my sports bag as silently as I could, I snatched it up and continued my journey home, soundless tears sliding down my cheeks.

  The tears weren’t caused by the thought that boys I had always been friendly with were trying to keep my mate and I apart. Being that I wasn’t eighteen yet, I was yet to feel the beginning of the bond towards Blaze. My sadness was, in fact, caused by the thought that I could be putting my pack into potential danger if I were to accept Blaze as my mate. I wouldn’t be able to bear it if any of my extended family got hurt, or worse, because of something I could have prevented.

  You see, in our way of life, the Luna of a pack is supposed to represent the qualities of the phenomenal Moon Goddess, our creator and keeper in the heavens. They are supposed to be utterly beautiful, smart, caring, soft and loving, feminine and portrayed as fragile objects. Luna's are also extremely strong, forceful and taught how to fight to protect themselves and their pack, although the Moon Goddess is seen as mainly beautiful and feminine. Legends have told that any Luna who does not possess all of the qualities is an imposter and, in fact, weakens the Alpha by draining his strength, therefore, endangering the pack members.

  The fact that I didn’t possess all of these qualities would be enough to cause trouble for the pack if I stood by Blaze in leadership. The attributes that I didn’t possess were all qualities I would never be any good at anyway. While I didn’t think I was beautiful, with my long black hair and bright green eyes, I didn’t think I was unattractive either. Smart I knew was something I had, being in the top 5 of every class in school as well as attending online courses that counted towards my career choice took care of keeping my mind well fuelled and active. I loved and cared for the people around me, and was known to be forceful and opinionated whenever it came to something I was truly passionate about. That is where the qualities stopped though, I had never thought of myself as soft and definitely not feminine or fragile. I was more independent, competitive, kind of empowered in my femininity without being needy and ‘airy’ like was portrayed by the Moon Goddess.

  If what I had overheard the boys discussing was indeed true, then I was in a position that could cause enormous problems and danger for all the people I had grown up around and loved like blood relatives.

  On the spot, I made my decision. My bond with Blaze wouldn't start until my eighteenth birthday and even then it would only begin if Blaze did something to start the process. I took a deep breath as my house came into view and I quickly headed towards it. However, before entering, I glanced up to the moon shining above me and muttered under my breath.

  "Please forgive me, Goddess, but I must do this to save the ones I love. Your judgement may have been off when you matched me with my mate." I let out a soft sigh, this was far too much pressure for an almost eighteen year old to handle.

  "I must reject the soon-to-be Alpha, my mate. I have to reject Blaze."

  Blaze

  Rolling out of
bed I could sense the familiar feeling of a huge grin on my face. I knew it was there, it had been for weeks, steadily growing bigger every day. Today was Thursday; this meant there were only two days to go until Roxy's eighteenth birthday. My beautiful, amazing Roxanne. I could hardly contain my excitement, two days until I could freely hold the other half of my soul, my world, my life, my mate.

  As I stood in front of the mirror brushing my teeth I wondered off into thought, thinking about the day I found out it was her.