Aether's Claim | Editing

Chapter 1

I stared up at the ticking clock across from my bed.

I had been unable to sleep for most of the night, lying anxiously in silence while I waited for the hours to go by and the day to arrive. I watched the shadows as they passed over my room from midnight, to dawn, to early morning, and yet sleep would not come to me. I was grateful, though, as if sleep came, I would surely have nightmares and wake up even more tired than when I had gone to sleep. I was itching to shift but such was the custom of our pack, I was unable to do it unless I had an older wolf accompanying me; being a juvenile and an unmated female had led to some accidents in the past that the pack didn't want to be repeated.

I sighed once the clock hit the early hours of the morning, leaving three hours until I'd have to wake up properly and start to get ready. Turning over in my bed, I brought my pillow over my head and tried my best to empty my mind so I could finally get some sleep. It was no good tiring myself out before the day even began. If I found my mate today, something I was both ecstatic for and dreading, I'd need all the energy I could get.

I had just completed the mandatory warrior training course for all the females of age and the celebration that happened after was prime time for females to find their mates, as wolves from all different packs gathered in a central location to celebrate. No one was to tell us how to do it, as far as I knew your wolf would sense when the time was right, and then would release an energy that would eventually find your mate, wherever they were. It was something ancient, something unexplainable that just came with how werewolves worked.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I imagined what my mate would look like. Tall and handsome, obviously, I wondered if they were conventionally attractive or if they'd become more attractive as we spent more time together. I wondered what their wolf looked like, what their rank was, if they were even in this pack or were from a lesser or higher pack. I wondered if they'd had other women before me; I would be able to smell it on them if it were a recent affair, and I wondered if they'd accept me with all my flaws.

I cringed in my head as my mind raced; another awful thought popping into my head; what if they rejected me?

My wolf immediately bristled in my mind, narrowing her eyes as she growled lowly. I smiled nervously and pushed the thought away, groaning and turning in my bed; I felt more awake than ever.

It would be a long night

-

I awoke with a start. The cold air sending goosebumps down my arms as I flung my sheets off me and clutched at my chest. Sweat covered my face and neck and my shirt stuck uncomfortably to my skin. I brought my hands up to wipe my forehead, shaking with fear as I gasped for air in the darkness. Tears pricked my eyes as I searched the room for some familiarity, finally laying eyes on the clock that hung across from my bed, its face illuminated by artificial lighting in the dark.

I sighed with relief, peeling off my soaked clothes and casting them onto the foot of my bed. I rested my head back onto my pillow, curling my legs to my chest and holding myself under my sheets. One thing being a wolf would never cure was nightmares; we had advanced healing and increased senses, yet our species was still plagued with psychiatric issues that would go unspoken of because we would rather bury them and look strong, than talk about them and look weak.

I didn't return to sleep. My wolf paced anxiously in my mind for what seemed like an eternity before a quiet knock pierced the silence and my mother peaked her head around my door. I was fully awake but feigned sleepiness as I rose from my bed, because if she knew I'd been awake all night she'd have forced me to get more sleep.

I looked over at the clothes set out for me laying neatly on a chair across my room and the shoes I was to wear placed neatly below them. Even the socks were already picked out, and no doubt my mother had plans for the hairstyle I was going to be adorning. She knew as well as I did the chances of me finding a mate today was high; I'd excelled in all of the training and as far as I knew this year's group of females were stronger than the last and word of our power and strength had fluttered around lots of packs, that meant there would be an unprecedented amount of packs there....and males wanting to find their mates in the strongest females.