AMAYA

"Good morning!" I chirped happily as I came down the stairs.

"Amaya! Happy birthday!" My mom, the Luna of the Shadows Pack, greeted me as she pulled me into a hug.

"Mom, you're crushing me!" I complained as she gently patted my wavy brown hair.

"I'm just so excited for you Amaya! It's your 20th birthday, you're finally of mating age!" She said as she finally released me from her grasp.

"Mom…" I groaned. "Not everyone finds their mates as soon as they turn twenty, you just got lucky with dad."

My mate, I couldn't help but think of him.

Who would he be? I really hoped he would be a kind and loving man. Someone like my father, the Alpha of the Shadow Pack.

Our pack was one of the five original packs the Moon Goddess Selena had blessed the earth with. And my family was one for the five original alphas she created, our bloodline went back to the ancient times.

We had lived everywhere, moving as the world shifted. Taking lands that the Moon Goddess had prepared for us. Luckily, we hadn't had the need to move in many generations and our people were content and happy where we were.

There were very few packs that could beat us in size, strength, or wealth. Even among the five original packs that descended from the first werewolves we weren't in any way the least. Some would even say we were one of the strongest.

My bloodline boasted one of the purest bloodlines, with each mate coming from an original pack rather than one of the newer ones.

"Ah, happy birthday my little alpha-in-training!" My father happily greeted me. As he pulled me into a hug like my mother did.

"Dad, I'm twenty, I'm not a kid." I grumbled, making my father and mother laugh. "Plus we both know that if my mate is also an alpha, I won't be the next Alpha of the Shadow Pack." I reminded my father.

"Odds are my mate is an Alpha, it's just the way things are." I continued to say as I walked towards my spot on the table.

"Amaya, you are a strong and beautiful woman. Do you want to be Alpha someday?" My father asked me point blank.

I was at a loss for words. What was I supposed to say? Of course I wanted to be the next Alpha, I've always felt that I was born to be an Alpha, even my aura screamed Alpha. But could I take that right from my own brother, my father's first born son?

"Dad, Merrick should be the next Alpha." I told my father. It was the truth, if we followed tradition then Merrick should be the next Alpha of the Shadows Pack.

"I really don't want to be Alpha though." My younger brother, Merrick, said as he entered the dining room. "Happy birthday, Alpha." My brother greeted me with a wink as he reminded me that he didn't want the job as Alpha of the Shadows Pack.

"Amaya, you've always known that your brother would rather be a warrior than be an Alpha. Why do you keep denying yourself of what you want?" My father asked. "Yes, Merrick will be a good Alpha, but not as great as you. No offense son." My dad told us as he flashed one of his fatherly smiles.

"No offense taken." My brother said with a laugh. "I really don't want to lead a pack."

I hesitated.

I didn't know what to tell my dad. I'm a woman, the werewolf world expected me to be a luna, not an alpha. It just wasn't done.

True there have been female Alphas but they are few and far in between. A female Alpha meant a world in danger, and my father would be tempting fate if he placed me in such a position.

"Let's see after I meet my mate, alright dad?" I told my dad as I planted a kiss on his cheek. "Right now we have training." I reminded my younger brother as I grabbed an apple from the table.

"Right! My favorite part of the day!" My brother shouted as he copied me and grabbed an apple as well right before we dashed out of the packhouse.

Like most packs, the Alpha family of our pack, the Shadow Pack, lived at the top floor of the packhouse.

We did have a kitchen on our floor, but my mom prefered to join the omegas when preparing our meals.

I think my parents were the best examples of the perfect Alpha and Luna.

They were both strong and brave and unafraid, at the same time my parents never treated anyone as if they were beneath them, to them everyone should be equal.

'We might meet our mate today.' I heard a purr in my head.

I smiled as I realized that my wolf, Ares, is just as excited and anxious as I was about meeting our mate.

'Who knows, he might be at training.' I told her.

'Doubt it.' She said as I sensed her shaking her head. She clearly didn't like the idea of us having a mate that was anything less than a ranked wolf.

'I can hear your thoughts, human.' Ares hissed in my head, treating the word human as if it were the most vile thing in the world.

'Whatever, wolf.' I hissed back as I rolled my eyes at her.

We werewolves from Alpha lineages tend to shift earlier than others. I first shifted when I was thirteen, while my brother shifted at fifteen.

When I first shifted everyone was at a shock, because only first born Alpha males shift between the ages of thirteen and sixteen. While females of Alpha lineages tend to shift at sixteen to eighteen, while lower ranked wolves shift at eighteen.

Since my brother and I had our first shifts earlier than others, we had a closer bond with our wolves.

"Ah, the birthday girl arrives!" A tall strong man around my father's age greeted me, he was my father's Beta, Daniel.

"Hey, Daniel." I greeted him with a hug. He was more like an uncle to me, always watching over me and my brother, making sure we were safe.

He would even cover up for us whenever we got into trouble.

"Find your mate yet, little one?" Daniel asked as he gave me a hopeful smile. Beta Daniel was always hopeful that people would find their mates as soon as they turned twenty.

"Nope." I said as I shook my head.

"That's normal." He told me with a smile. "I didn't find Lily till I was twenty three, and that's still quite early."

"Enough mate talk." My dad playfully scolded us as he arrived at the training center after my brother and I.

"Yes, Matthew." Daniel said with a wink as he went back to focusing on the warriors that were training.