Beta Lodge

02

who is your celebrity crush?
***

"You look as fine as a dime," I smiled and laughed as I looked at my friend.

Today was supposedly going to be one of the best days of her life. That is what the elders had said, but every female werewolf knew that it was only wishful thinking.

The Mating Ceremony was anything but fun, so I've heard, and it was the first time my friend Lilliana would be attending.

The Mating Ceremony is where all the packs meet on neutral ground so that males could choose their mates. Everyone from the ages of eighteen to thirty were required to attend and it always took place on the first Friday of October. All the lucky males and females eligible could find a mate.

The whole thing was a more formal way of males choosing their mates and they would have a wider selection, however once you turned eighteen you were fair game to anyone.

But a male choosing a mate outside of ceremony was incredibly rare.

I had never really considered myself 'lucky.' However, considering that my birthday landed on Saturday this year, I was the happiest she wolf in the world. Even though my eighteenth birthday was tomorrow, I was still technically seventeen and therefore unable to attend.

My friend, Lilliana, on the other hand, had her eighteenth birthday in May. So here I was, helping her get ready.

"I don't want to go. I want to stay home and watch movies with you," she grumbled and crossed her arms.

"I wish you could too, trust me."

I was being completely honest when I said that. Lilliana was quite literally one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen in my life and she was the beta's daughter. There was no way she wasn't going to get picked and I would miss her like crazy.

Her thick black hair was pin straight and went down to her waist and her body was clad in a tight black long sleeve dress that accentuated her body ended right above the knees. When I told her she looked fine, I meant it. She had curves for days thanks to her Latina mother and she was constantly told how thiccc she looked. Lilliana's acrylic nails were always coffin shaped and she rotated between white, pink and white ombre, and pink.

Tonight they were white.

And her makeup was always done flawlessly.

I honestly do not remember I time when I saw her leave the house without her brows being perfectly groomed and some sort of lash product whether it be falsies, extensions, or mascara.

If I could look like her or at least have half of her makeup skills, I'd be incredibly happy.

She always told me that she would teach me, but neither of us ever had time and whenever we hung out together we just wanted to relax.

Lilliana wasn't my only friend, but she was the friend I was closest to and we'd known each other for more than ten years.

"Lilliana we have to go!" her father, the beta shouted from downstairs.

She let out a whiny noise and I looked at her with sympathy. "You have to wait up for me so I can talk to you afterwards,"

"Of course," I held up my hands, "I'll even get snacks,"

"Goddess Addy, I really don't want to go," she said as she opened her bedroom door.

I followed her out, listening to her complaints about and ravings about how she could 'beat the system with my help' and how she was going to 'throw hands if a male older than twenty five chose her.'

I shouldn't have laughed at her but I did, even though they were very real and serious things to talk about.

"You could just hide in a corner, but I don't know," I shrugged, continuing to follow her out of her house.

"I'll probably just hide in the bathroom the whole time to be completely honest," she sighed, "and what if I get chosen by... ya know,"

Lilliana looked at me suggesting something and I raised my eyebrows. No, I did not know who.

"Oh my goddess Addy, Beta Lodge or worse his alpha? Alpha Donnelly?" she looked at me accusingly as if I didn't know the answer to two plus two. The names did sound familiar and soon there was a click of memory.

"Oh from the Agrios Pack, right? The stories about them probably aren't true." I said dismissively.

"They are," Lilliana's father brushed by me and into the drivers' seat of the car.

Ah, Greg, always packing a punch.

Her father was a man of few words but he was nice to me and spoiled Lilly and her mother with everything he had. On the rare occasion he spoiled me too because I was also like a daughter to him.

On my seventeenth birthday I went to a movie with Lilliana and he came along only to buy snacks for me. That was my present from him. However, movie theatre snacks are expensive for absolutely no reason.

After that movie, he gave me a crisp one hundred dollar bill and told me that if he had a son, he'd want him to choose me as a mate.

Her father waved me goodbye and so did Lilliana as she got into the passenger seat of the car. I returned it and then walked next door to my house. I walked inside, grabbed my car keys and left.

I really hope Lilliana would be okay. She did seem to go a bit pale when she mentioned their names but I'm sure it was fine. Sighing, I stepped into my car and drove to the store to buy snacks for when she came back.

***
how do you guys feel when authors put pictures in their stories to show an outfit or something?

Also I feel like some of you think she's going to end up with her friends dad and that's not the case lol and shout out to my friend d for making the cover