The Wars of Ivory White (Book I: The Protector)

Chapter 20

CHAPTER 20

Waiting patiently near their training site in the woods, Carla wasn't sure if Tracy would show. When she finally did, Tracy was irritable about what had just happened. "I'm guessing the meeting sucked." Carla said.

"You have no idea." she muttered, taking a deep breath, before plopping down beside Carla.

"So, when's the ceremony?" 

"What makes you think there will be one?" Tracy responded.

"I would hazard a guess that it has more to do with what would happen to the pack if there wasn't one."

Tracy sighed unhappily, "It's tonight."

"Well get your booty up and get into position so I can knock you back down."

"Gee! Thanks. As if I wasn't hurting enough." Tracy said, rolling her eyes.

Facing each other, they sparred for 45 minutes. When Carla threw a perfect roundhouse kick, Tracy blocked it, then asked, "Have you found your mate?"

Throwing a series of brutal jabs and punches that landed more than a few times, the last one hit her in the face.

"Ow! Damn!" Tracy cussed, the hard right braking her nose.

"Keep your hands up." Carla said, delivering a hard kick that pushed her back several yards. "....and never let your guard down."

Tracy lay on the ground winded, "Alright. Get a plate and fork because I'm done."

Carla wiped the sweat off her brow, "Not even close girly. You need to build up stamina or your powers will drain your body."

"We've been at this for over an hour now." Tracy complained.

"So?" Carla asked, with a raised brow.

"Okay! Sure, whatever you say." Tracy said, as Carla leaned over.  Snapping her nose back in place, it facilitated the rapid healing of her powers. "Argh. Really? Wasn't I hurt enough?  And what was the point of resetting my nose when your just gonna break it again."

"Want to look pretty for tonight don't cha?"

"Oh, so now you got jokes?" Tracy said rolling her eyes.

"No one can know what we're doing. Remember?" Carla said firmly, taking a seat to fumble through her knapsack for a water bottle.

Tracy sat up and looked at her friend, "Why are you always hiding? I mean, I know things are awkward between you and your family but it's not your fault."

"My father was an unwanted mistake; an embarrassment to the otherwise perfect Beta, my grandfather. Beta Jordan sees me as a continuation of that mistake. Alpha Mason had already accepted me into the pack before he found out. That made it impossible for him to reject having me here. I refused to shift to avoid drawing attention. Alpha Mason assumed that I couldn't so I was given the position of Omega. Now my uncle avoids me and I make sure not to stand out."

"What about your wolf?"

"Omegas have weak wolves, if any at all."

"Probably, but you're not an Omega." Tracy said firmly, sensing that her statement was accurate when realizing that Carla had stiffened with the truth. "Despite your title, you don't fit with the others. Omegas are happy with who they are. You're not. I feel the power of something bigger within you.  But you hide it from everyone else, just like your scent under that pepper smell that burns my nose. Why mask who you really are?

"For one, I don't want my mate to know." Carla whispered.

"HA! I knew it!" Tracy exclaimed, Carla sending her a withering glare, "Sorry. Please continue."

Carla sighed, "I don't need another person rejecting me."

"I doubt he will. You only get one soulmate without the guarantee of another, right?"

Carla looked at the ground, "No one has ever wanted me. Not even my own mother. Sure, she loved me, but she still wished that I didn't exist. My father didn't want me because I wasn't his mate's child. If my uncle and cousins don't want me, then I'm sure my mate wouldn't either."

"First of all, you were handed the poopy end of a toilet plunger but you're still awesome. Second, none of this was in any way your fault. So, you have nothing to be ashamed of. If anything, they're the ones that should be ashamed of themselves. Finally, when it comes to the whole mate thing, it really does suck from personal experience. When I look at other couples, I can see the beauty of how they connect." Tracy felt a lump forming in her throat, "I hope that one day I'll have that with someone."

Carla snorted, "Jonathan may be acting like an idiot, but no male, especially an Alpha, will ever let their mate go."

Tracy rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to be 'his' in the first place."  she said, pausing to make her point clear before changing the subject. "So, about your wolf, what's she like?"

"She's beautiful." Carla said fondly, "Her name is Vera. She has a gorgeous coppery red color with golden eyes."

"Oh my gosh, I want to meet her!" Tracy half yelled excitedly, and clapping her hands.

"Don't you have a ceremony to prepare for?"

"Nope! I'm going just like this."

"Oh, okay. The exercise outfit is a great way to explain the sweat aroma."

"Fine. A Shower and fresh clothes, but first I want to meet Vera."

Carla sighed before pulling out a white bed sheet. "I'm going to pull off my clothes and when I'm ready to change back, throw this back over me."

"Yup."

Undressing behind the blind that Tracy held up, she lowered it a minute later when a beautiful coppery red wolf emerged. Standing tall and proud, Tracy was mesmerized at it's beauty and size.

"Wow! You are so huge. I thought that rogue wolf was big, but damn! You have to be at least the size of a pickup." Tracy rambled, stunned at the wolf's awesomeness. "Body to mass ratio doesn't make much sense right now, but I know people who turns into wolves. Soooo, logic at this point seems moot." Tracy babbled on before noticing Vera's sarcastic look . "What? Don't you give me that sassy look." Tracy said jokingly.

The wolf rolled her eyes before picking up the sheet with its canines for Tracy to take. Quickly throwing the sheet over Vera before she shifted back, Carla put on her clothes.

"Remember, you can't tell anyone about this, especially the size and color of my wolf."

"I still haven't had a chance to look anything up in the werewolf books. What does the red color mean?"

"Reds, like golds, can 'see' using their senses, even when blinded. Its nifty because it helps me see what others can't. Red wolves are known for their craftiness. I guess people associate their coppery pelts with fox-like characteristics. Werefoxes are extinct but some believe that some still exist."

"What about silver wolves?"

"They're less powerful on their own but can enhance their powers when allied wolves surround them. The gifts of their mate's are not only enhanced, but become the abilities of the silver wolf. So, if a black wolf, the strongest, mates with a silver wolf, the black wolf becomes even stronger and the silver wolf becomes its equal in strength." Carla said picking up her knapsack. Walking back to the pack house, Tracy wondered if Jonathan would have her Protector abilities if they became a couple. That thought made her sigh. She wanted to have a love based relationship like her parents had. Maybe one day she would.

"Will you be there?" Tracy asked as the pack house came in sight and her anxiety grew.

Carla sighed. Not wanting to be around others, she heard the plea in Tracy's voice and nodded. "I'll be in the back."

"Thank you." Tracy said sincerely.