Jonquil – You Will Never Guess 

I lay on my parents’ bed, surrounding myself with their familiar and calming scents. Mom wasn’t just a great Luna. She’s also a midwife and nurse. She could be pretty much anywhere on pack land. Dad was an established businessman, and a champion warrior. He was either in his office or on the training grounds. I sighed in relief, happy to have some time to organize my own thoughts.  

I am almost 17 years old. Just another month until my birthday. I’ve been training to be Alpha my whole life. I am strong and fast as I am, and I expect the same when shift to my wolf. I know the ins and outs of the pack. Mediating between pack members, training warriors, protecting the pack land, and keeping everyone fed, clothed, and educated.  

It’s not an exaggeration to say that training a female Alpha is rare. Most are “reserved” to be mated to the Alphas of other packs. They are trained to be Lunas. My parents chose differently. I have excelled at my studies, and I have enough credits to graduate, even now. I have won many sparring contests with the training warriors. I have not been in a real battle though, but now with Evangeline, I can shift, and I can defend my pack land by my father’s side. 

They only hesitate to send me to the college of my choice because it is a human school. It is close enough to commute, but I want the full package of youth! Living in a small apartment with a roommate who has either become my best friend ever, or my worst enemy. I want people to respect me for my accomplishments, not just because I am Alpha’s daughter. I want genuine friends. And, I want to fall in love.  

“But you have Ares to love!” Evangeline interjects between my thoughts. 

“Is having your mate handed to you truly a blessing? I feel like it’s a cage.” I felt her recoil inside of me at the mention of a cage. “We are werewolves, not animals. We have autonomy. I have autonomy.” 

“Rejection, though, Jonquil,” I could feel Evangeline’s mixed emotions fidgeting. “It’s true that a lot of wolves don’t survive the initial rejection. Even more are lost when their partner takes a chosen mate. I... I don’t want to see Ares in pain. I don’t want to hurt him.” 

I did my best to give her a mental hug. Having a wolf is new to me, and I hope the sentiment gets through to her. I felt her relax, so I guess it worked. We both lay in silence until the bedroom door flew open, powered by Emmaline, the Omega in charge of all pack house staff.  

Being an Omega, Emmaline was not intimidating in stature. She is even shorter than me, with a tight well-kept bun of grey hair at the nape of her neck, and her uniform neat as a pin. Looking over the glasses on her nose were some of the prettiest green eyes ever seen, most of the time. When she gets in a tizzy though, well, they are pure green fire, like they are right now.  

“You!” she exclaimed. “You nearly gave your father, our beloved Alpha, a heart attack! Finding your mate, already, child!” She rushed to me and took my hands in hers, tugging me to a stand. She wrapped her arms around me and sobbed into me, “My baby, oh my baby. You can’t grow up, no. I won’t allow it!” 

Emmaline was never a mess. She never cried. She never reacted with more emotion than a soft smile or a solemn frown. She could bring a warrior to his knees by being disappointed in his behavior and raise even father’s confidence with her approval. I didn’t know exactly what to do with the sobbing Omega in my arms except to squeeze her gently and kiss her head. Her assistant stood in the doorway, mouth agape, watching his stern and stoic supervisor melt in her emotions.  

He managed to straighten up and fix his face before Emmaline pulled away from me. She pulled a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at her eyes softly. “Oh, whatever shall we do with you?” She stepped back to look me up and down. “You’re not ready for marriage. Uh-uh, no, not yet.” She patted my cheeks and tugged at my top, as if inspecting just how immature I was. 

“Well first,” dad’s voice boomed from the doorway, “we’re going to have a special dinner for my daughter, to celebrate her wolf, and to get her ready for her first shift tonight! Emma...” 

Emmaline’s eyes grew wide, and a smile beamed from her face, “Yes! Of course!” She turned and stunned even my father with her joy. “I’ll make all her favorites. Maxon, write this down...” She practically skipped from the room with her assistant close behind.  

I rushed to my dad and wrapped him in a hug, squeezing him as tight as I could. “Hey now,” his voice came from above, “I need to breathe.” As I pulled away and looked up at him, he stroked the golden strip of hair at my temple. “My Jonny-girl, we should talk.” 

As we sat on the couch, mom arrived, gliding with all the grace of a queen. She sat on the other side of me, taking my hand in hers. I sat there feeling all the comfort and love. I know in a minute they’re going to go over the ins and outs of my first shift. It always starts the same way as talking about sex, “This is a new and exciting time for a teenager...” 

Most of our pack came to the packhouse to congratulate me and enjoy the feast presented by Emmaline and our chef. Everything indeed was my favorite, but I could not fit all of it onto one plate, never mind into my stomach. Nearing the end, whole trays of food were packed up, with some wolves taking plates home for those that didn’t attend. The rest of the food was taken by van to the neighboring human town, to their homeless shelters and soup kitchens. The driver was not a wolf I am familiar with. Soft dark hair and the bluest eyes I’ve ever seen. There was no mate bond pulling at me, but dang he caught my attention. 

In bright spirits I took the stairs two at a time to go change for my first time shifting. I could feel Evangeline’s excitement grow with every step. I slowed down when I got to our floor of the packhouse. I passed by my little brothers’ rooms and came to my own. I closed the door when I got inside and released the excited breath, I didn’t know I was holding. I pulled my phone from my pocket. I messaged my oldest little brother, Declan. He’s 15 and awkward, but my best friend in the whole world. 

♥Declan! You will never guess♥ 

♣I heard, your mate.♣ 

♥Ugh. No. Not him. I saw a new wolf...♥ 

♣Your mate is a new wolf. Dad and Mom met with him and one other like, 2 days ago.♣ 

♥The dark haired one, did you catch his name?♥ 

♣Nope. Not my business. Why weren’t you there?♣ 

♥I pulled an all-nighter tutoring Cait.♥ 

Declan stopped responding. He and Rhys didn’t trust Cait. Not like she was a danger, but more because she’s fake. That’s the whole point of why I want to go live in a dorm and meet people who don’t know I’m destined to be this pack’s Alpha. I just want to have people around me that aren’t using me for status. At least use me because I am smart, or pretty, or whatever.  

Mom pulls me from my thoughts by knocking at my door. “5 minutes, Princess. We'll meet you out back.” I listened to her soft footfalls as they carried her away. I slipped out of my party outfit and into some loose shorts and a baggy t-shirt. I’ve been told so many times that the first shift is the most painful. I am as scared as Evangeline is excited. Some wolves are lucky enough to have their mate with them.  

I could. But he scares me as much as shifting does.