The Ritual

Mates

"WHAT?!" 

"I should probably start from the beginning."

Everyone was extremely confused and shocked by this. We all stayed quiet.

"When Jara was about 2 weeks old she was abandoned by her parents in a snowstorm. I am not aware if she originally had any siblings because I found only her curled up by a small crack in a cliff. I brought her home, luckily in time to save her life. If I hadn't found her she would be dead today. When I found her there was a black residue on the cliff, though it didn't actually occur to me until later that she was just warm enough to survive. I then raised her as your sister and though she was a bit younger than you she did fairly well. She was always sick due to side affects from her early abuse. She eventually got strong enough to overcome these issues, which is quite impressive. This means that any of you can fight to have her as your mate today during the Choosing of Alpha and Mate."

Everyone was confused, myself more so than the others. After all, my entire life was apparently a LIE. I stared blankly at Kara for about 5 minutes while my sibling who were also not my siblings were arguing over who would win me. Everyone except Aseer, who came over to talk.

"So, uh, big surprise..." Aseer was looking down at the floor.

"You could say that..."

He looked at the others with a glare, then looked back over at me. "Don't worry, they won't get you."

"Aseer! You can't hurt them!"

"Fine. We will face off against one another in the competition though."

I stared at my paws for a couple minutes. There's no way to get around it. They'll all be fighting each other for me. I was the prettiest female in the pack.

"The competition starts soon!" May, the alpha's mate, called.

My pack mates gathered around the stone ledge where she sat. The alpha's den was connected to the ledge. It sat above the heads of everyone, tall enough that when anyone stood upon it they would be highly noticeable.

"Jara!"

I looked over to see Wren, my close friend, trotting over. Her two toned fur had been fluffed up to be as full as possible.

"Hi Wren."

"I'm so excited! Aren't you? I mean, we're  getting our mates!"

"I don't know...maybe," I sighed, thinking about the troubling events that would take place soon.

"Come on, we gotta join them."

We quickly made our way to the back of the gathering. From there we saw Fang, the alpha, coming out. He said something to May quietly, so we wouldn't hear. She walked into the tunnel that led to the den, disappearing from sight.

"The competition will take place in near the woodland stream. We will travel quickly. No-one is left behind."

"He really is straightforward, isn't he?" Wren whispered. Before I could respond I heard the authoritative voice of May behind me. 

"I have a few...topics...to discuss with you, Jara."

"Yes ma'am." 

When the pack followed Alpha Fang into the woods May and I stayed a bit behind. Her piercing green eyes followed my soft steps. We were about half the way to the stream before she spoke.

"I assume Kara told you?"

I nod.

She sighs.

We run a bit farther before she speaks again.

"Do you know who your mother is?"

"No..." 

"Her name was Mira. You look exactly like her."

"How do you know her?"

"She was my sister."

"I...I had no idea. I'm sorry."

"There's nothing to be sorry for. Your mother was a traitor. She left the pack because she was pregnant with a loner's children. You are the only one we are positive survived."

We fell into silence again. It was shocking to find out my mother was a traitor. Our paws beat the ground in a rhythm. We were still behind the rest of the pack when we came to a stop.

"Would all the females ready to mate come forward?"

All of the females, including me, stepped up. There were 5 of us. Wren, Cho, Robin, Cassie, and me. We were put in an order. I was up on a rock that jutted high above the ground, Wren was on another stone in a different area, Robin in another area, then Cassie and Cho. There were a total of 9 males. The ones who didn't get a mate would leave the pack and search for one elsewhere. The males spread out to the female they desired most. If they were beaten they would go to a different female. The male who defeated every challenger would get the girl.

Aza, Raze, and Aseer came to me. Wren got Roan and Kore. Robin got Ruiz. Cassie got Cin and Mars. Cho got Kunal. 

"Let the fights begin."

Aza and Raze were the first to fight. They immediately crouched down, both on the defensive. Aza leaped at Raze, causing Raze to snarl and meet him halfway. Raze caught his throat, but Aza broke free, hitting him in the jaw. This continued for a few minutes until Raze came out as the victor. I looked around to see Kore flirting with Wren, Cin and Mars still fighting, and Kunal and Ruiz looking extremely nervous.

"I guess I'm gonna get the girl~" Raze smirked at me.

"You'll have to go through me first." Aseer steps out from the shadow of the stone. Raze falters for a moment. Aseer has already been marked as the next Alpha. Of course he's strong.

"All who failed move to a different female."

Cin moved to Wren, Roan to Robin. The fights started again. This time I watched Aseer closely. He won, of course. Raze glared at him. The fights went on. Everyone knew Cho and Kunal we're in love, so when the boys got to her they purposefully lost. I ended up with Aseer, Wren with Kore, Robin with Ruiz, Cassie with Mars, and Cho with Kunal. The other boys accepted that they would have to search for a male elsewhere.

"These are your mates. We will go our separate ways until the females have pups two weeks old. Good luck everyone."

With that we all sperated. I leaned on Aseer, happy to have him as my mate. After awhile, he speaks.

"Would you like to go? I have the perfect den in mind." He softly rubs his muzzle on the side of my head.

"That would be wonderful." I sigh in contentedness before stretching and getting up.

"Lead the way."