Antiope

The place is full almost to the brim and that says a lot for a vast place in the middle of nowhere. But it is the Mating Hunt of the year after all so every unmated or mateless wolf is here, for a chance in happiness. The scenery is ideal though, with thick woods and open clearings. The biggest open space is taken by the huts the participants are staying for the duration of the hunt and the tent under which tonight's party will be held.

I hate being here. I am the first daughter of Beta the Waterend Pack, the biggest and most influential one in Northern America and I aim to be the first female Beta in the whole region. Even so, here I am, on the first day of Spring, somewhere in the wilderness along with crazed males and flushed females that reek of hormones.

"Your name?" The woman at the admission asks with a wide smile.

"Antiope Everstone. Waterend Pack."

"Ooh! Beta Everstone's daughter?"

"Yes," I answer annoyed by the dreamy look on the woman's face.

Granted, my father is incredibly good-looking still with his strong jaw and charming grey hair. And he is relatively known to our community since our pack is one of the most prosperous in the region. That doesn't mean I have to endure random women swooning over him at the same moment I want to strangle him for forcing me to be here in the first place.

"Good luck, dear," the woman gives me a wide smile, notes my name on the charts and hands me my hut's keys.

I walk to find my residence amongst excited wolves that make this place buzz with high energy. I am not the youngest of the participants but at least there are a few older than me, probably looking for a second chance to love. These are the ones that match my demeanor more. They look almost ashamed to be here. I am that and a ton of angry on top.

"I want a strong Alpha. I could make do with a Beta, though," my wolf, Maximo comments.

"Don't get excited, Max," I warn her.

What I would really like was a rankless wolf, malleable and agreeable, mild and domesticated to take back to my pack and appease my father. An Alpha or even a Beta would demand me to follow him back to his pack and be a good housewife. I am anything but.

If Goddess is in my favor, either my true mate is not around or he is exactly like I dream him to be. This evening, it is the big opening party, a chance to spot if your mate is attending and meet him in a more civilized way than what is in store for tomorrow's Mating Hunt. Those that remain unmated will have the chance to woo a chosen mate, get familiar with her scent and hunt her down tomorrow.

Tonight, I will know if he is here, I will have a chance to talk to him and make my own decisions. Accepting him or end up rejecting him, with what that implies. Though that last choice might be trickier. If I am to believe my hopelessly romantic sister, there is nothing like the feel of a true mate and the pull is strong. Plus, rejecting him will bring us both a world of pain and though it's nothing lethal, I am not sure I can take that in my current state. And let's not forget what Daddy dearest would have to say about that.

Anyway, I will know tonight if he is here and I can take my next steps. If I don't like him, I will not take part in tomorrow's Race of the Wolves that gives the males the chance to locate their mates by smell only. My secret hope is that I will not find my destined tonight and make my pick from the rest of them that will be desperate enough to agree to my terms.

"Great Goddess," I whisper. "Find me a nice, quiet boy that can cook."

"At least, choose one with killer abs," Maximo is reaching the limits of the celibacy I've imposed on us both.

I smirk at her comment and head for my hut. The party is in two hours and I need to be ready by then. I go through my things and find the dress I brought for the occasion. A black, tight long dress with an elegant neckline and a deep opening down the low of my back.

I am not playing around. If my destined is here, he is going to be thrilled to see me even if I wore a sack. If I am going to go for the left-overs, I am going to need help. I am getting a mate to rub in my father's face and then I can go on with my life.

"Don't we look hot?" Maximo studies me in the mirror.

We share the same pitch-black eyes her and me and my hair is as raven-black as her fur. And she is right. I look good. I never thought that working out day and night to prove to my pack that I can be as strong as any male had the added effect of me looking good in such a tight dress.

"I pity the fool," I tell Maximo and I get out my hut towards the great, luminous tent that is raised on the grounds for the occasion.

The smell of anticipation and expectation fills the area as men and women pour into the tent, their noses on alert, their eyes looking around. The closer I get, my anticipation grows and I suddenly feel anxious. What if he is here and he rejects me? That shouldn't hurt me but it does. I may not be a hopeless romantic like Celia but it's hard not be raised with the notion that a mate is the completion of your soul and shit like that.

"Andy?" I hear a voice and I turn.

"Noah?"

Noah was a Beta at the Academy and we became close. Well, as close as two people that were fiercely competing for the top place. Noah was a jerk at first, openly disregarding me for being a woman – hence the mostly male nickname he kept calling me - but we grew immense respect for each other. My father would just love the all-American boy that is smiling his dashing smile at me, with his dirty blonde air and that perfectly chiseled jaw that shows power.

"By the Goddess, Andy, you look hot!"

"I knew it!" Max is triumphant.

"You look good too, Noah," I open my arms and wrap them around his stout shoulders.

"So," his eyes stray down my body, "here to find eternal love?"

"How about you, Noah? No girls back in Shadow Pack to catch your eye?"

"Nah," he messes awkwardly with his already messed-up hair. "I thought I'd go after the chance to find my true mate before I go back to managing my pack."

How Beta Gerard Evergreen, my esteemed father, would love it for Noah to be my mate. At some point in the Academy, I wished so too. But he is not, we both knew instantly no matter how many times our friends in the Academy said we were the perfect fit.

For a few moments, we just stand there looking at each other. Then Noah leans closer, wraps his arm around my waist and buries his nose into the crook of my neck. I am startled by his move and I am basically blaming the dress. There was always something there with Noah but we never acted on it so his behavior is odd.

"I feel abs," Max roars in happiness. "Ask him if he cooks and we all get what we need."

Maximo is itching for me to find someone. She is pushing for my true mate as it's her calling but after all these years of extreme celibacy are taking their toll on her sanity. Max is a wolf, a physical being, a force of nature. And sex is natural. Me? More of an intellectual being. Sex is not a priority.

"Uhm, Noah?" I try as he inhales my scent.

"Just had to make sure," he says as leans back and looks down at me with a disappointed look.

"I smell nothing like she should, right?"

"You smell great, Andy," he chuckles. "Just not..."

"It's OK, I get it," I smile up to him.

"But," his look turns darker and he leans closer, close enough for his lips to almost brushing over mine, "if she is not here, Andy, I am hunting you down tomorrow."

He winks at me and then goes into the tent, leaving me feasting at his firm behind and wide shoulders that make him so popular with the ladies. I should be glad that he considers me his chosen. Unfortunately, Noah is already a Beta in his pack and there is no way he will let me make my own dream come true.

"No, no," Maximo whines. "If our true mate is not here, I will let him catch me."

"You will do no such thing!"

"Watch me."

"Bite me."

"Gladly."

I roll my eyes at Max's persistence, throw one last glance at Noah and go to the tent as well. I am suspecting that this will be a long, long night.