The Society.

Chapter two.

   When we get home, my mother and a few others immeadietly begin making preparations for dinner. I go straight to my room in the pack house. It had become my own after my brother, Collin, found out Bree, my former roommate and closest friend was his mate, so now they shared a room. Usually it would be two per room but with the whole Selection thing everyone was too busy to give me a new roommate.
      The pack house is an old house that is big enough to accommodate all 47 of us. Wooden boards constantly creak with age and its original colour, white, is now a dirty cream. The men in the pack always ensure they fix what they can.
      I sat trying to process the day's events. I had been nominated. My fate was set. From the time my brother became illegibal for the Selection it had become painfully obvious that I'd probably end up being chosen due to the never ending training I received.
         There was a small knock on the door. "Come in," I said looking up at the door. It was Bree and Collin. Collin was tall and muscular. He had green eyes, short brown hair and a beard he hadn't been bothered to shave in the past few days. Bree was slightly shorter than me and had long dark brown hair. They had similar markings as they had completed the mate bond.
          They talked to me for a while mostly about pointless stuff, which seemed to make me laugh. My brother looked at me as I laughed. His face turned to sad as he pulled me in for a hug. "I'm going to miss you, Raya. Love you. I know you'll make The Court," he said into my shoulder.
          I felt the tears roll down my cheeks. My gentle sobs turn to full blown crying when Bree joins in on the hug and she rubs my back. We stay like that for a few minutes. They let me cry knowing that nothing much would help make me feel better. Once I calm down, Collin pulls away and kisses my cheek , so does Bree.
               "You better win,"  Bree says as she playfully pushes me. I wonder if there is a thing as winning. I smile anyway. They get up to give me a few minutes before dinner to wash up.
         "I love you guys," I say as the door shuts behind them.

            The rest of the evening I spend with fellow pack members giving me goodbyes and eating and for the last time I run in the woods in my wolf form with a few other close friends. 
             Before bed, my parents pay me a visit. They both sit beside me on my bed, my father barely fitting on it due to his large frame.  My mother is beautiful with her light brown slightly graying hair and green eyes. My father has short gray hair and blue eyes which I inherited. He was probably once handsome but age has changed him.
              " Tomorrow you go to Prime City. After a few days you the Selection begins. No matter what, I need you to fight for your life. The Court is better than death. Apply all that you have been taught, no distractions. Don't trust anyone," mother tells me. I nod in response. She hugs me tightly and kisses my cheek. I do the same. She excuses herself from my room as she begins to cry. She's trying to be strong for me.
            "Listen to what your mother said. I love you," I look at the floor as the tears begin to flow," Don't worry, we will see each other again."
             "Love you too dad."
             He hugs me, ruffles my hair then leaves.
              For hours I lay awake thinking of all that is to come from tomorrow. I tried coming up with survival strategies but not much came. I wasn't very good at planning. My brother was. I relied heavily on instinct. I drifted into sleep a few hours to dawn.
               Tap! Tap! Tap! That was the knock to wake me up.
               I must survive this.