Becoming Luna

Chapter One: The Death of an Alpha

The loud and obnoxious voices of my brothers pull me from my sleep, disturbing what little peace and quiet I had before. I groan, stretching as I sit up in bed, listening to my family in the kitchen. Mom must have cooked breakfast, nothing else would draw the boys in this early. They would never pass up a home-cooked meal from mom. I slip out of bed, throwing my bedding to the side sloppily. I grab my phone, seeing that I am already behind schedule. I'm glad I showered before bed, now I have time to wrestle my older brothers for some bacon.

When I get to the kitchen, it is as crowded and noisy as I pictured it would be. My brothers have brought their entire families over for breakfast. It's not even a special occasion, it's just a normal Tuesday. Unless it's one of my many nieces and nephew's birthdays. Then maybe I'm in trouble.

My oldest brother is 12 years older than me. Anderson found his mate when he was 16 and now has five children. Three girls and two boys, the oldest being nine and the youngest two. The difference in our ages definitely has an effect on our relationship. He's basically a parent to me, and that makes it hard to be close to him as a sibling. He's the one I talk to when I need to make a big, life-changing decision.

Alexander is six years older than me, he has two kids, one of each and I am closer to his mate Ophelia. She's the sister I never had, and I go to her for pretty much everything. Their relationship gives me hope, as they hated each other growing up. Ophelia is from a different pack within our tribe, but we all share a high school. Alexander was in lack of better words, a bully. Then when they found out they were mates, it was like a light switch went off.

Apollo is the only sane one in the family. He's four years older than me, and he's always been a peacekeeper. He has a mate, she's just as quiet and reserved as him. Their daughter, she's wild and rowdy just like the rest of us. He blames me and our other brothers for teaching her the craziness. I say she was born with it.

And last but certainly not least, Arden. He's only a year older than me, and we are often confused for twins. He's got the same stubborn and headstrong personality as I do. He found his mate a few months ago. He's got a baby on the way. We were supposed to graduate and start training to be members of the guard together.

A few months before I graduated, the Alpha outlawed females from being members of the guard. I tried to convince him to change his mind, it was such a sudden change, it blind sided me. He told me that the guard was no place for a woman. None of the other girls in my class cared, none of them had any desire to be one of the guard members. They all wanted to be mothers, just as their mothers and grandmothers had before.

It's tradition for the girls in a family to find their mate and assume the role of wife and mother. My mother did not want me on the guard, especially since I am her only daughter, but she knew there was no stopping me. To this day, I know it relieved her more than anything to hear the news.

The Luna, heard me speaking with Augustus and offered me a job as her personal assistant. I figured that a job with her might earn me brownie points in the long run. That was three years ago, I'm nineteen now. I don't think the Luna thought I would be around this long. Most if the time people find there mate at sixteen. It's sort of unheard of to be nineteen, single with no kids here.

But I'm just an oddity all around. The wolf gene is dominant in males unless both parents are wolves. My mom isn't a wolf and my dad was. I shouldn't have a wolf, but I do. No one can explain it, the medicine man says I'm blessed. I don't know how true that is.

"Aye." Alexander flicks a piece of egg at me as I walk through the kitchen. "The beast has risen!"

I roll my eyes at him, flipping him the bird, "I know, to what do we owe the pleasure?"