The Mating Rules

Raelyn’s POV

I feel like I’ve been poked and prodded to within an inch of my life, my eyebrows are still slightly sore from Mary-Anne attacking me with some tweezers.

I’m sat in the passenger seat of Mr Sparks vehicle, dressed in a sleeveless crushed velvet green dress, a black hooded faux fur cropped jacket over the top to keep me warm and hide me from the Moon until I’m in position in the woods. I still don’t think all this is necessary, but with how excited Mary-Anne was and how much she helped me, I couldn’t bring myself to argue with tradition and took the coat with a thank you.

I watch as the lights from the pack house come closer, fidgeting in my seat as Mr Sparks follows the road slowly.

‘You’ll be fine love’ Isaac’s father murmurs comfortingly, ‘worst part is sitting in the damn cold from what my wife tells me.’

A giggle escapes me and I feel my shoulders relax, glancing over at the older man who smiles softly, his gaze fixated on the road ahead of us as he drives with the utmost care.

‘Thanks’ I mutter, ‘for giving me a lift and letting me get ready at your house’ I add as I twist my fingers in my lap.

Mr Sparks chuckles, ‘I should be thanking you’ he says fondly, ‘I haven’t seen my wife that excited since Bailee was getting ready for her last claiming. Mary-Anne loves to fuss over everyone and between you and me, I think she feels a little at sea now that we only have Lauren left at home. She’ll soon be heading for her first Claiming and then our time is done. Our kids will be the ones getting their kids ready, we’ll be finding out about mates the next day as an afterthought.’

I want to reach over and touch the man beside me, comfort him somehow, erase the drop of sadness from his voice. He and his wife are such good people, it hurts to hear the older Beta speak as though they are unimportant now.

‘Well chances of me finding my mate are very slim’ I reply with a small laugh, ‘so I promise, if I ever take part in another Claiming, I’ll be coming to your house to ask if Mary-Anne will help me again.’

Isaac’s father’s face brightens as he flicks his gaze to me momentarily, ‘you don’t have to ask child, you heard Mary, you are always welcome at our home, you just pop on by.’

I nod, smiling over at him, surprised when the vehicle suddenly slows, my gaze moving back to the windscreen, whose view is dominated by the pack house . . we’re here.

‘Stay there Raelyn’ Isaac’s father orders, taking off his seat belt and opening his door before sliding out and hurrying around to my side.Material © NôvelDrama.Org.

Pulling the door open, the older wolf holds out his hand to me, smiling widely as I slip my own smaller hand into his and allow him to help me out of my seat.

Shutting my door, Mr Sparks wraps my arm around his own, holding my hand tightly as he looks down at me. ‘I hope you don’t mind me accompanying you to the Alpha’ he says with a hint of worry. ‘I accompanied both my girls; every father here does with their daughters. I kind of feel like I’m supposed to do this part with you too, is that OK?’

Sucking in a shaky breath, I nod quickly, not trusting my voice as I’m overwhelmed again at how accepted Isaac’s parents make me feel.

We head toward a small crowd of about six females, some girls standing with older men who are glaring around protectively, only One girl stands without a chaperone, and I realise that she must be here from another pack. I’ve been so wrapped up in myself, I hadn’t even realised that another pack was visiting.

‘Greg!’ Alpha Caden calls out, striding over to shake hands with the man beside me.

‘Son’ Greg replies warmly, using his free hand to clasp the Alpha’s tightly, ‘not many here this month?’ he asks, glancing at the young blonde haired girl near the edge of the group.

Caden shakes his head, ‘only two this month, the she wolf, and one Warrior male this time’ he sighs, ‘Alpha Forest has issues with his pack, Rogues keep skirting too close to his borders. He’s worried that they are going to try and attack so has kept all but Warrior Jackson back, he was only allowed to come so he could bring the she wolf as it’s her first Claiming since coming of age and he has had to get permission from the Council to skip this month.’

Isaac’s father nods sadly, ‘who led ours?’ he asks, ‘I forgot to ask Isaac who would take his place this month.’

Caden’s lips press together slightly, his gaze flicking to me before he replies, ‘Warrior Donovan, he’s a good strong elite fighter, twenty seven now and still not heard the call. They only went to Moon Valley so it wasn’t a hard trip for him to lead.’

Greg nods thoughtfully, ‘well I hope he finds success this month’ he says quietly.

Caden nods before focusing on me properly, ‘welcome Raelyn’ he greets me, ‘I hope you are not too nervous about tonight. It shouldn’t be any different from your Claiming’s back home but rest assured that every she wolf is protected by the ring of mated warriors for the entire night. They will stand guard until first light and if, unfortunately, your mate isn’t close enough to hear you, the guards who accompany you to your spot will return for you. Do not leave your position under any circumstances’ he adds warningly. ‘We have each she wolf placed in strategic spots to minimise the chance of a werewolf coming across a she wolf that is not his.’

I shiver at his words, ‘have you ever had a werewolf mark the wrong she wolf?’ I ask nervously.

Alpha Caden’s flinches imperceptibly, but his face remains neutral, ‘marking the wrong she wolf isn’t the biggest concern we have over a wolf finding a mateless wolf . . ‘ he replies evasively.

My mouth falls open slightly as his meaning washes over me, if any of the wolves have been waiting too long, they could be close to feral. They won’t even realise that they are faced with a she wolf, just an unmated wolf that is between them and their fated mate.

The true understanding of why Alpha Grant protected me so heavily during each Claiming crashed down on me and I start to tremble slightly.

‘I won’t leave my spot, I promise’ I reply urgently, determined not to even stand up from where I’m told to sit until I see the sun peeking over the top of the trees.

Alpha Caden nods to Greg who releases my hand, unwinding my arm from his as he turns to me and gives me an awkward smile.

‘I don’t really know what to do now’ he admits, ‘normally I would wait here by the car, but if you want me to go home . . ‘

I reach out and place a hand on the older wolf’s arm, ‘would you mind staying?’ I ask shyly, ‘I know I’m not your daughter but, it would be nice to know that someone is here for me.’

The Beta’s shoulders relax as he nods, thrusting his thumb over his shoulder, ‘I’ll be in my car’ he says softly, ‘I won’t leave until I see you come out of the woods.’ He smiles widely, ‘hopefully with a mate staring adoringly at you’ he adds, making me laugh.

Releasing the man’s arm, I turn and follow Caden who leads me toward the crowd, each father kissing and hugging their daughters before walking away. Some go back to their cars, I assume to head home, others, like Mr Sparks, just sit in the drivers seat and wait, their eyes on their daughters who are concentrating on the Alpha now.

‘Welcome to this month’s Claiming’ the Alpha calls out, looking at each of us with a smile. ‘Behind me you can just about see the ring of warriors that are already in position to protect you as your wolves call to their fated mates. I hope that the Goddess brings you your true love, now if you could form a line, I will perform the ceremony to open your connection to your mate.’

We all shuffle into a line and I find myself one from the back, just in front of the visiting pack she wolf. Glancing back at her, I give her a small smile that she tentatively returns.

The line moves quickly and before I know it, I’m in front of Caden who takes my hand in his, squeezing it ever so gently before he presses a small dagger to my palm.

Pricking my skin, he glances toward the heavens as I suck in a breath from the sting to my hand. ‘Moon Goddess, this woman offers you her b***d, a scent to help you guide her mate to her. We pray that you will help her wolf’s voice carry far and wide, so that these two souls can be united as you wanted.’

He releases me, dipping the knife into a small bucket beside him, washing off my b***d before wiping it clean for the girl behind me.

B***d pool sin my hand, and I quickly close my fingers over my palm so that no one sees that I haven’t healed yet. Beside me, a warrior I hadn’t even noticed, clears his throat slightly before gesturing to the side, indicating that I go with him.

I glance worriedly at the Alpha who nods reassuringly, ‘he will take you to your place in the woods’ he explains.

Nodding quickly, I hurry to step aside, letting the girl behind me step forward as the Warrior places his hand on my arm and leads me toward the woods that look a lot bigger and more ominous now that darkness has fallen.

The silent warriors part, making a small gap as we approach, and I’m marched into the line of trees, the foliage overhead blocking out the moon as we walk deeper. The whole forest is still, as if even the critters who live beneath the bushes and among the blades of grass, know that something is happening.

I’m sweating from the anxiety running though me, each step closer to where I’ll be left alone making me more and more nervous. I want to pull the hood off my head, get some air onto my hot skin, but as I move my hand up to grab it, the warrior growls warningly.

‘Leave it in place’ he orders harshly.

‘S . . s. . . sorry’ I stammer, stumbling over a hidden root among the fallen leaves as my guide quickly rights me.

‘No worries miss’ the warrior sighs in a kinder tone, ‘it’s just dangerous for you to see the moon before I get away from you. If you start to call out before I’m out of the way, I could be fighting for my damn life and I got a mate and pup at home.’

I nod, biting my l*p as I fist my dress, keeping my hands occupied so I don’t try to remove my hood again.

We walk for over ten minutes and my sense of direction is shot, I have no idea how far into the woods we are, or even in which direction the pack house now lies as we’ve had to turn left and right multiple times to get around obstacles.

Finally we reach a small clearing, the grass has a light frost covering it and I can see my breath in front of my face. The temperature has plummeted or it’s only now that I’m in the clearing that I realise just how cold it is tonight.

Beside me, my guide releases my arm, rubbing a hand over the back of his neck as he speaks.

‘OK, I got to go OK? I need you to count to twenty . . slowly’ he adds sternly, eyeing me. ‘Give me a chance to get away from you before you step out and take off your hood. I recommend that you keep it on until you are settled, if you need a blanket or something, there are some here in the trees.’ He points above his head where a plastic container with a lid sits in the branches, I quickly reach up and open it, pulling out a thick blanket which has a second waterproof lining tucked inside. At least I won’t have to sit on the wet grass and ruin Mrs Sparks dress, I was hoping I could return it after I washed it.

Giving me a small salute, the warrior turns quickly, melting into the trees and is gone.

Turning back to the open area, I clasp the blanket to my chest, keeping my head bowed so I can’t see the moon as I begin to count.

‘One . . . two . . three . . ‘ I murmur to myself as slowly as I can, stamping my feet slightly as I feel the pinch of iciness around my toes.

‘Eight . . nine . . ten . . ‘ my words are coming out even slower as I instinctively try to put off what I have to do. Goddess, what if one of the werewolves stumbles across me in search of their mate? There’s nothing here to defend myself! I can’t even make claws!

‘Fifteen . . sixteen . . ‘ keep calm Raelyn, you can do this, you always wanted to take part at home, enjoy the experience even if you will walk back out of here alone.

‘Nineteen . . . twenty . . ‘ I take a deep breath and step out into the moonlight, making my way to the centre of the clearing and laying out the waterproof sheet before spreading the blanket on top.

Sitting down, I reach up both hands, hesitating for a second before yanking it off my head, my eyes finding the Moon instantly. My breathing stops for a second as I study the light above me, soaking in the fact that for the first time in so long, I’m as close to the Goddess as I can ever be.

I can’t help myself, my body tenses up, as I instinctively wait, a tiny part of me wondering if maybe, by some miracle, I’ll be able to call out.

Seconds tick by, my gaze is glued to the moon, hopelessly waiting for . . . nothing.

I let out a strangled laugh, chiding myself for even thinking that anything would happen, I’m wolfless, I don’t get a mate.

‘But why’ I whisper to myself, sadness washing over me, ‘why did I get picked to be wolfless? Oh Goddess! I wish I knew the answer, I wish you were here!’

‘What would you like to know my child?’ comes a quiet voice beside me and I scream in terror, my hands flying up to my chest, balled into fists in a feeble attempt to protect myself.