Golden Destiny

Chapter 1. - Mia

I was in a clearing, with so many behind me. We were getting ready for something coming. I could almost taste the energy in the air, that excitement that slithers down the spine preceding an event that could change the world. It would definitely change our world.

I could hear my friends speaking to their families in their minds, saying their I love yous, and their goodbyes. I tried to concentrate on regulating my breathing, on getting in touch with that power inside me that I knew would be essential in what was about to happen.

"Honey, wake up. It's time for school,"

I opened my eyes, and the soft light coming from my lightly shaded bedroom window made it easier to see who was speaking to me.

"You up yet, Mia? There's breakfast downstairs. If you get ready quickly, you might still have time to eat some," mom said with a smile.

I rubbed the remaining sleep from my eyes, stretched my limbs, and let out a yawn. I got up and made my way to the bathroom down the hall, hearing the sounds coming from my brothers' rooms that said they were getting ready as well.

I washed my face quickly and brushed my teeth, humming a song I recently heard on the radio as I went. I had a lot to do for school today, and I was trying to make a mental schedule of what to do first.

I went back to my room, dressed for school, and went downstairs to the kitchen where my mom was. I got a piece of toast from the plate on the table and went to the fridge to get some juice.

My brothers, all five of them, were on the table, inhaling their food. They didn't pay attention to me as they ribbed each other about this thing or that. As I was finishing my food, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket. I took it out and saw a message from my best friend, Harper.

You want a ride to school today?

I typed out a "yes, please," and sent it then brought my glass to the sink.

"Honey, do you have an idea of what you want for your birthday?" My mom asked while she was cutting up some tomatoes.

"Not really, mom. I just want a quiet day, I think."

My mom nodded and said after a while, "You know, your eighteenth birthday is special. You never know what could happen."

"Nothing's going to happen, mom. She didn't get her wolf when she turned sixteen. I highly doubt she'll ever get it, much less a mate," Jessie, my youngest brother, snickered.

I saw Jameson, my oldest brother, who was just visiting from college, smack him upside the head. "Watch what you say to our sister, pip."

I gave him a smile and tried to ignore what Jessie said.

It hurt, though, no matter how much I heard it. The fact was, Jessie might be right. I might never get a wolf. I mean, our mom was latent so she could have passed the condition to me.

My name is Mia Larkin. I'm a senior in high school, the only girl and the fifth child in my family, and a certified geek. Oh, and I come from a family of shifters. That's the term I prefer. Hollywood has just used and abused the term "werewolf" too much.

I might also be a latent shifter, which meant that while I was born to shifter parents, I wasn't able to shift into my wolf. The condition was rare, and some believed that the condition was a curse from the Moon Goddess as a punishment for something that we made in one of our past lives. No one actually knew what caused latency and this lack of information caused latents to be ridiculed by those who could shift.

Some latents were never able to find their mates. In the the shifter world, we were always told, from a very young age, that there was someone that the Goddess had made just to be our other half. Your mate was the one who was destined to be yours, with whom you'd be much stronger. Even latents normally found their mates upon reaching the age of eighteen. I say normally, because as I've said, some never do.

My mom was a latent but fortunately, she was able to find her mate. My dad was the Beta of our pack and was the strongest wolf here, save for the Alpha and his son, the future Alpha. He was one of those wolves who were able to shift at the age of thirteen, which meant that he was destined for a high rank in the pack. When he met my mom, he was taken with her instantly. Although he was disappointed when he found out that she was latent.

My dad was still sweet on her, but it was different from the other mate pairs in the pack. When he looks at her, I see a lot of respect and affection in his eyes. But after Jessie was born and they decided that they weren't going to have any more children, he started spending a lot more time out of the house training our soldiers than here, with us. This wasn't the common practice for wolves, as mated wolves wanted to be together all the time. So everyone in the pack knew that while their Beta loved his mate, he didn't love her the way a wolf loved his mate.

Not that he made it obvious to us, his children. He also never said anything about it. He was, after all, a wolf of his word, and when he promised to protect and care for her until the end of their days, he planned on making it so. But I know mom wanted more. I could see it in the way she looked at him. I think dad loves mom, but I also think he would have been much happier had she been a normal wolf. After all, wolves were judged by how strong their mates were, and latents were generally looked upon as the weaker members of our society.

I was taken out of my musings by a loud honk outside. I went to grab my bag and hurried out the door before any of my family could see the hurt in my eyes.

"What's up?" Harper asked as soon as I shut her car door.

"Nothing. Let's go,"I said.

She looked at me for a moment then sped off to school.