Harry

It’s my favorite time of the year.

Every June there is a gathering in town to celebrate the foundation of our pack, but this year is the centenary of that date, so it’s gonna be a massive event that the entire pack is expected to attend.

We bill it as a festival for the humans so we can close off the main town square for this event. Some packs celebrate the full moon with festivities and we love to do that too, but this is the main event in our pack calendar.

Usually, my dad gives a little speech at the beginning of the celebration, but this year my idiot brother gets to speak since he is the Alpha now.

There are several booths with food and other activities where you get prizes, like a shooting gallery. It is a proper fair.

It’s the biggest event for our city - not counting what the humans produce, the harvest festival. Honestly, having grown up in a small town I love events like this.

Plus, there is tons of security with every warrior present at the event, so children run rampant and we still feel safe. Though no self respecting mother is going to let their toddlers be by themselves, teenagers are let loose, to some extent.

Spencer and I always loved going to these festivals. It is a great chance to connect with other werewolves that we normally don’t see in our daily lives.

I need a little ‘pick me up’ after I attended this year's high school graduation ceremony at my old school and still didn’t find any mate whatsoever. That means now that I am already 20 years old, my mate can’t be younger than me or I would’ve already discovered him.

Basically, he can only be older and away in college or living in a different town than mine. There are simply too many variables for me to wrap my head around. I’m mateless, that’s just the way the cookie crumbles.

I hope to get drunk at the centenary, honestly. I am desperately in need of a good time.

“Good morning, Harry.” Jessica greeted me as she, Aaron and I took our seats in the dining hall for breakfast.

“Good morning, Jess. Are you excited for the centenary?” I asked her, ignoring my brother. For the last week since I’ve returned home, we have been butting heads on a daily basis and that is simply not good for either of us.

“Very much so. It’s gonna be my first festival as Luna of the pack.” She replied, giddy with excitement.

“I’m happy for you. You’re gonna knock it out of the park.” I said, confidently.

“Thanks. I’m sorry it didn’t pan out at your old school.” She felt bad for me, especially considering this was my last chance.

“It’s fine, I already expected it as much. It was a long shot anyway.” I mumbled, discontentedly.

“What is yours is reserved by the Goddess. But the whole pack is gonna be here today, including people who were away in college. If ever you had an opportunity to find him, it’s today.” She informed me with clear excitement.

Okay, I didn’t want to give in to expectation, but she is right. The whole ten thousand pack members are expected to attend today’s event, even those who were previously in college. There is no better opportunity for me to find my mate than today.

Frankly, that is what I am counting on.

“I know.” I stated, barely containing my excitement. She reached out her hand to touch mine and we smiled at each other.

“I just hope your mate got everything right for today. Nothing can go wrong!” I said in a snarky tone, sideways glancing at my brother.

“No, I just want to be embarrassed in front of my entire pack today on the biggest day of the year.” He shot back, glaring at me.

“Whatever, dork.” I muttered.

“It’s Alpha dork to you.” He retorted. I rolled my eyes in annoyance.

I start eating the hot food before I lose my appetite. Nothing can go wrong. I am going to find my mate, I don’t care what it takes. Not even my brother is going to rattle my cage today.

After breakfast, I checked in with Spencer before I got downtown for some last minute shopping.

“Good morning, Spence. Morning, Kevin. How is my favorite couple doing?” I asked as they left the other dining hall where they eat with the rest of the people who live in the pack house.

“Hi, Harry. Not as excited as you, apparently. But we’re happy to attend the centenary festival.” Spence replied, getting infected by my chipper tone and wide smile.

“Good morning, Harry. I’m glad to see you in a good mood after last week’s graduation ceremony.” Kevin said, feeling sorry for me.

“Today is the day, Kev. I can feel it coming. I feel it in the air.” I said, not willing to let that fact bring me down.

“I’m so happy for you, my friend. But if you apply for a transfer after you find your mate, know that I’ll never talk to you ever again.” Spencer snickered in a rather menacing tone.

“Come on, Spence! I would never do that…” I said, getting wide eyed then laughing mischievously.

I don’t plan on changing colleges just for my mate, but depending on where he goes, who’s to say? I’m not ruling anything out at the moment.

My friend glared at me for a minute, then we made our way up to the playroom. Kevin had to get changed for work, so he went up to his room.

"I'm really excited for you, Harry. I know how much you deserve this. And you should know happiness with your mate, whoever he is." Spencer told me affectionately.

"Thanks, Spence. I really do deserve it." I agreed, feeling the weight of my unmated status.

Honestly, I wish my life didn't revolve around finding a guy. I'm not even that thirsty or desperate to find a man. I'm not particularly feeling lonely either.

It's just that feeling of inadequacy that I have lingering deep inside me. The real problem is not that I don't have a mate, it's that everyone else does.

I know, right? Society and its crushing expectations.

After talking to Spencer, I went downtown for some shopping before lunch time. If I am going to meet my mate today, I'm gonna look my best.

I combed through some stores to find the perfect pants and a cool shirt. I haven't felt this excited in a long time, to be quite honest.

I don't want to get my hopes up, but I can't help feeling like this is my time to shine. In this case, I do mean that literally.

Our eyes shine when we meet our mate. That's how people can tell it is actually your mate that you found, by the eyes.

Internally, our wolf goes haywire inside our chest, agitated, actively driving us towards that person. We can't ignore a mate bond, even if we wanted to.

Not that I want to ignore anything. Fingers crossed he is cute, so I can spend the remainder of my day making out with him.

I went to my parents' house for lunch today. I needed their warm presence to keep me in a good mood and not have any disagreements with Aaron.

"Okay, I know why you're in such a good mood today. I know what the centennial festival means to you. All I have to say is… don't forget to text me his name afterwards." - My mom told me over lunch, sounding excited for me.

"Mom, he's not gonna have time to text you anything if he's too busy making up for the lost time." My sister chimed in with a mischievous grin.

"I'll make time, mom. Don't worry about it!" I assured her, confidently.

All my family was excited for me to finally find my mate. And I am so here for it.

The town square is rapidly filling up with pack members. Even though it's a public space, we managed to close it for the festival. It’s the only venue in town that can fit ten thousand people.

The stage where my brother will speak as Alpha of the pack is ready to receive him. On the other side of the square, several booths were assembled with local business owners who set up shop for the day offering some attraction.

We really built it like any human festival to the outside eye. Thousands of pack members are more than happy to spend their Saturday afternoon eating good food, taking the kids to a carnival and I am ready to smell something good other than the food court.

I know it is a daunting task to find my mate among thousands of people, but I’ll roam the largest town square from one point to another until I find him.

Warriors are strategically positioned around the place to control who can enter. There are also a bunch of them protecting the Alpha family. With everything going on, one can never be too careful.

I see Kevin and Spencer talking near the barbecue stand and I decide to approach them.

"Aren't you on duty, Kev? I didn't know you were allowed to eat during the festival." I said, causing him to blush at my remark.

Spencer glared at me.

"He's just grabbing a bite while on bathroom break. Leave my mate alone!" Spence said, defensively.

I raised my arms, quickly surrendering.

"By all means, you should eat." I conceded, not wanting to cause trouble.

"I need to return to my post now, mate. See you soon." He said, pecking him on the cheek before exiting.

Spencer glared at me some more.

"I was just curious, that's all." I said, defending myself.

"You should be looking for your mate, not stopping mine from snacking." He said, peeved.

"I tried. I already walked this square from top to bottom several times and still nothing. My brother is gonna give his speech any time now." I mumbled, discontent.

"I'm sorry, my friend. Maybe your mate is running late." He opined, feeling bad for me.

"Yeah, two years too late." I said in a snarky tone.

Spencer and I walked towards the center of the square, where people were crawling to check out my brother's speech.

Personally, I'm not a fan of hearing him give out speeches, but if I don't stand with the rest of my family it'd look bad for me.

Maybe from the stage I can get a better sense of who I haven't sniffed yet. I find my family talking to other prominent members of the pack.

My dad is conversing with council members next to my mom. My brother is doing the same next to his mate. I joined them and mom introduced me as the son returning from college.

“Right. The unmated one?” Someone said, staring at me with pity.

“Yeah. Hopefully not for much longer.” I responded, trying to maintain my decorum.

After a few moments, we took our seats at the small audience chairs at the back of the stage, which was reserved for us and the Beta’s family.

We literally had front row seats for Aaron's speech.

My brother took to the microphone and asked the people on the other side of the square to join us for a moment.

Warriors were dispatched to gather people around at the main space. Thousands of people packed the place to watch my brother speak.

It's our biggest turn up ever. And still, where is my mate that I can't scent him yet?

"Good afternoon, esteemed pack family. It is my great honor to address you on this most auspicious day of the centenary of our foundation." Aaron started off at the microphone.

"I understand that you are used to hearing my father speak on such occasions, but I assure you all that as your new Alpha, I have everything under control to make this an unforgettable experience for all of us." He spoke with a hint of pride.

"It's been one hundred years since our foundation, out of those many were spent waging war against our main rival. But not anymore." He pledged, boastfully.

There's a round of applause for him.

"I've crushed their spirits with one single blow and now they're reeling from the giant loss of their Alpha. I put an end to this silly pack war, once and for all.” - He stated, smugly.

A loud round of applause can be heard from the audience. Even my parents were clapping for him at the back of the stage.

Jessica looked proud of her mate, standing next to him.

"Wow. I couldn't have imagined your son could grow an even bigger head." I whispered to my parents.

"If you had ended a decades old war, you'd feel the same, son." Dad pondered in a low tone.

"Right. I don't think he ended anything. They're just biding their time." I conjectured, feeling suspicious.

"Their time for what?" Dad quizzed me, puzzled.

Unbeknownst to us, a squadron of drones were approaching the town square while my brother gave his boring long speech.

At first, no one paid much attention to it, but as soon as they came closer to us, the more obvious it became that they had something to do with our festivities.

Once I noticed them hovering above the crowd, I asked my parents:

"Did Aaron hire drones to commemorate the centenary? What are those things doing here?" I inquired, curiously.

"Not that I'm aware of, son. Maybe Jessica planned something for the end of the speech." Dad replied, looking intrigued at them. From our vantage point at the stage, they were hovering over the crowd who attentively watched my brother speak.

The drones got closer to the people who were at the festival, waiting for something. Maybe they are just waiting for my brother's speech to be over so that they can drop the surprise. I could see that the devices were carrying something on them.

My brother, the show off. Hiring drones too, bitch? What are they gonna do? Say you are the best Alpha we've ever had?

"In conclusion, may this new centennial mark a prosperous era of peace and bounty for us. Thank you very much!" My brother concluded his speech, getting a loud round of applause from thousands of pack members.

Both he and Jessica basked in their admiration. I stood up quickly and went to talk to him.

"Did you hire drones for your speech? What are they supposed to do?" I inquired of him, curiously.

"No, I didn't. I thought dad did." Aaron replied, looking puzzled. All of us are looking at each other thinking: who the hell ordered those drones?

A loud agonizing scream could be heard from the crowd below the stage.

When we came closer, we saw drones dropping some sort of bomb at the people who were in the square all at the same time, above every corner of the place.

There was no escape. Not even for the warriors who were downstairs to guard. It seemed like they were strategically aimed since drones hit each point where they were stationed.

The drones are dropping a bomb that when it comes into contact with a hard surface, it pulverized some sort of chemical, causing a terrible reaction among the people.

Panic took over the population. People tried to escape, but there was no escape from it. Drones are everywhere.

We seemed to be protected at the stage for now, but everywhere else people were bleeding through their eyes, ears…

It was gruesome to witness.

My siblings are attached to my mom, who’s trying to shield them the best way she can, while my father and brother try to make sense of this.

"What's happening, dad?" Aaron asked my father, protectively shielding his mate.

"From the looks of it, this seems like wolfsbane. The deadliest poison to our kind. Once it comes into contact with us through the skin, it's game over. And they seemed to have converted it to aerosol, so it's even more dangerous.” - Dad explained, deeply distraught.

Loud screams from so many pack members can be heard down the square. It was like a gas chamber massacre. People asking for our help, drenched in blood pouring from their every orifice.

Jessica, mom, Aaron, dad and myself are all crying watching the scene play out as if we were watching a horror film. The Beta and his family are also deeply horrified by this.

A|N: BOOM!

Love,

Léo.