“Is that Jacob?” my brother asked.

I nodded and put the mug in the dishwasher.

“I will see you tonight. Goodbye, Logan. Sienna” I said and gave my brother a kiss on the cheek.

Logan smiled at me, and Sienna gave me a cold stare. Bitch.

I walked out of the kitchen and opened the front door. My friend Jacob was standing there, smiling at me.

I always had a crush on him. I still do. He is handsome, tall, muscular and has black hair. His dark brown eyes look like a pool of chocolate. And I love chocolate. Sometimes I wish he would be my mate. We would be great together, and I know he likes me. He told me himself.

We never dated or even talked about it. We saved ourselves for our mates. It isn’t forbidden to have sex with others, but it is frowned upon, mostly by our pack elders. The rest of the pack agrees that we should wait for our mates but turns away when they see someone dating outside of a mate bond. Not all of us saved ourselves for our mates, though. I know for a fact that my brother and Logan had their share of she-wolves. I think Logan even slept with Sienna, which only added to her belief that she would be his Luna. Jake and I never talked about it, but I think he slept with some she-wolves as well.

Jacob is 22, but he still hasn’t found his mate. So maybe he is mine and I am his. I will not be happy to know that he slept around if he is my mate, but I don’t want to hold his past against him.

“Good morning, beautiful.” he said and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

“Morning, Jake.” I said and closed the front door.

“Are you excited?” he asked and took my hand in his.

“Yes, I am.” I said with a big smile on my face. “I can’t wait to shift.”

“It will be amazing.” he said. “You will be amazing. I am really honored that you asked me to be there.”

“Of course, I did.” I said. “You and Amy are my best friends. I want you there.”

“Maybe I will be something else to you as well.” he said and winked.

I laughed. “Maybe you will.”

We walked over to the training grounds together.

Amy was already there, waiting for us. She is a year older than me, and we met at high school. She introduced me to Jacob. They are cousins.

She and Jacob look a lot alike. She has the same black hair as he does. Her eyes are a little bit lighter than his, though.

“Well, if it isn’t my two favorite wolves.” she said and smiled brightly.

“Hello, Amy.” Jake said and gave her a kiss on her cheek.

She gave me a big hug. “I can’t wait to meet your wolf tomorrow, Emmy. Our wolves will be best friends, I just know it. Just like we are.”

“Oh, I am sure Alora will love my wolf.” I said with a huge grin.

Our wolves have their own names. Amy’s wolf is named Alora, and Jake’s is named Jared. I can’t wait to learn my wolf’s name.

“Enough chitchatting, girls. Time to train. I will see you later.” Jake said and walked over to his training ground.

Jacob works as a patrol wolf, so he trains harder and differently than us. Patrol wolves train separately from the rest of us. Amy works at a greenhouse. She is amazing with plants.

Jacob and I sometimes trained together. He taught me a little bit about what they do at their training sessions. He said he wanted me to know as much as possible to be able to defend myself. He wanted me safe.

After an hour and a half, we were done with our daily training session. Jake still had an hour left so Amy and I went home to shower and change.

We would meet at a diner we always went to.

When I came home, Andrew was not there. He is out dealing with pack stuff. Being a Beta is not like other jobs when you work from nine to five. There is always something to do. Especially when your Alpha is Logan.

I quickly showered and changed into a pair of jeans, a white sweater and my black Converse sneakers. I dried my hair and let it fall down to my waist.

When I came to the diner, Amy was already sitting at our usual booth.

“Hey, lady.” she said. “You look amazing.”

“Thank you.” I smiled. “Not as amazing as you do.”

She is gorgeous, tall, skinny but with curves in all the right places and totally confident. All the boys want her.

“So, tomorrow is a big day.” she said, sipping her chocolate milkshake.

“Yes. I am so excited.”

“Maybe Jake will be your mate and we will be family.” she said with a big smile on her face.

“I would love that.” I said. “You know I love Jake. He would be a great mate.”

“And he is totally in love with you.” she laughed. “Most boys are, actually.”

“What are you talking about?” I said and frowned.

The waitress brought me my strawberry milkshake, and I thanked her before taking a sip. It is amazing.

“Come on, Emma.” she said and rolled her eyes. “You are beautiful and hot. I can’t believe you never noticed the looks you are getting. It makes Jake totally jealous.”

“I always thought they were looking at you.” I said and smirked.

Amy laughed. “Well, they do. But I am not the only one they are looking at.”

I blushed and looked down at my hands. “Well, I don’t care. I will wait for my mate.”

“And here he comes.” Amy said and pointed at the door.

Jake was walking in. He gave us a big smile and walked over to our booth. He sat down beside me and kissed my cheek.

“Hey, girls. What are we talking about?” he asked.

“Mates.” Amy said with a huge grin on her face.

“I can’t wait to revisit that topic tomorrow.” Jake said and winked at me.

I laughed and blushed. “Okay, stop making me blush.”

Jake laughed and pinched my cheek. “Why? There is no prettier sight.”

“Okay, love birds. Enough.” Amy said and laughed. “Emma, when are we meeting tomorrow?”

“Well, I will have lunch with my brother and spend the day with him, and we will meet at the shift site at 8 pm.” I said.

My brother and I have a tradition of spending our birthdays together. No other people. Just him and me. We always have breakfast and lunch together. After that, we watch a movie and eat as much cake as we can. I love our tradition.

“Great. I can’t wait to see if your wolf will be as small as you.” Amy said and laughed.

Jake joined her as I glared at them. “You bitches.”

“Oh, come on, Emmy.” Jake said laughing. “We love how small you are.”

I frowned but joined their laughter.

We spent the rest of the day talking, laughing, and making plans for our first run together.

It was late when I came home, but Andrew was still out. I quickly showered, put on my pajamas, and got under my covers. I can’t wait to see what’s to come tomorrow.

‘Good morning, Emma.’

I turned towards the door to greet my brother, but nobody was standing there. I am alone. But whose voice was that?

‘It is me, silly. Your wolf.’

I flinched. Of course, it is my birthday. I got my wolf today. It is weird, though, to hear a voice inside my head.

‘You will get used to it.’ A voice said.

‘It will take some time.’ I responded.

‘We have all the time in the world.’ My wolf said.

‘What is your name?’ I asked her.

‘Eliza.’

‘I like it.’ I told her.

‘I know you do, Emma. Now, get up and go spend the day with your brother. Asher has already sensed my presence, and he can’t wait to meet me.’ She said.

I got up excited and full of energy. I can’t wait to see Eliza.

I brushed my teeth, showered, and put on sweats and a hoodie. Perfect for a lazy birthday day with my brother.

When I came downstairs, Andrew had already made pancakes. It was our traditional birthday breakfast.

“Happy birthday, Emma!” he yelled and gave me a big hug. “Asher sensed Eliza. He is so excited to finally meet his sister.”

“She can’t wait to meet him too.” I said and gave him a big smile.

I adore Asher. He is the best wolf there is.

“Come on, let’s eat.” he said and pulled me to the table.

After we were full, we went to the living room to start our first movie of the day. We always watched the Avenger series. Humans did a great job on those movies.

At around 1 pm, Andrew and I went to the kitchen to start making lunch. On my birthday we have my favorite meal, lasagna. On his birthday, we have his favorite meal, pizza.

I started making the lasagna while Andrew sat down at the kitchen table.

“Maybe you will find your mate soon.” he said.

“Maybe.” I said, not looking up at him.

I don’t like talking to him about this. He is my brother, and talking about mating is weird. And I don’t want to leave him, ever. It will be really hard for me to leave with my mate.

“Maybe it will be Jacob.” he said.

I looked up at him. “Would you be okay with that?”

“Yes.” he said and shrugged. “He is one of our best warriors, so I know you would be safe with him. And I know you like him already. It would be easier for you to go with him.”

I walked over and sat beside him. “It won’t be easy for me to leave. No matter who my mate is. You are my family. I don’t want to leave you.”

“I know, Em.” he said and smiled. “I don’t want you to leave. But if you find your mate you will. And we will be okay.”

“Maybe I won’t find him.” I said and got back up. “You never did.”

“Yes.” he nodded. “But I have a pretty good feeling you will, and it will be Jacob.”

I smiled and rolled my eyes. “We will see.”

He got up and helped me finish our lunch. After we ate, we went back to the living room to watch another movie.

At around 7 pm, Andrew told me to go and get ready. We had to walk for about 20 minutes to reach the shifting site in the forest.

It is a small clearing in the middle of the forest where all wolves go for their first shift. It is special because it is the only place in the forest where the moon can shine on you completely. Our forest is so thick that moon can barely shine through the trees. The clearing is the only place it shines freely.

I put on my white dress, chosen especially for this night. It is tradition to wear white on the night of our first shift. I put on my shoes and went back downstairs.

Andrew was waiting for me at the door. He handed me my jacket and we left the house.

My heart was pounding in my chest. Andrew probably heard it because he grabbed my hand and pulled me closer to him.

“Don’t be scared, Emma.” he said quietly. “It will be amazing. And I will be there for you.”

“Thank you.” I said. “I love you.”

“I love you too, little one.” he said and gave me a side hug.

After about 20 minutes, we arrived at the clearing. My friends and Luna Gloria were already there, waiting for us.

Luna approached me first. “Happy birthday, sweetie. I can’t wait to meet your wolf.”

“Thank you, aunt Gloria. She is excited to meet you too.” I said with a big smile.

Amy and Jacob came towards me with big smiles on their faces.

“Happy birthday, Emmy.” Amy said and gave me a tight hug.

“Happy birthday, Emma.” Jake said and kissed my cheek. “Now, let’s meet your wolf. It is cold and I don’t want you to get sick.”

He is right. It is December and the only thing I am wearing is a dress. I do have a jacket, but it is not keeping me warm. The only reason I am not shivering is excitement.

“He is right, Emma.” Andrew said. “Give me your jacket and stand in the middle of the clearing.”

I did what he said and stood in the middle of the clearing. They all gave me an encouraging smile and turned around to give me some privacy to remove my clothes.

I carefully removed my dress, underwear, and shoes and folded them neatly into a pile. I stood back up and looked up at the moon.

‘Are you ready, Emma?’ My wolf said.

‘I am.’ I responded. ‘How do I do this?’

‘Just let go. It will hurt. But don’t fight it. It will be over soon. Let go and give me control.’ She said.

I did what she said. I took a deep breath and let her take control of our mind and body. I started to feel my bones break. I let out a little scream and fell down on my knees.

“That’s right, Em.” I heard my brother’s voice. “It will be okay. Just let go.”

The pain was unbearable. It was like breaking all of your bones at the same time.

I fought the urge to throw up and focused on letting go of my control.

A few moments later, I was standing on all fours, my white fur shimmering under the moonlight. I took a deep breath and lifted my head proudly.

My friends and family turned around and gasped.

“She is white.” Luna Gloria said.

I looked at her and cocked my wolf head. Is that something special?

‘We are a pure white wolf, Emma. Nobody is a pure white wolf.’ Eliza said.

‘What do you mean?’ I asked her. ‘There are white wolves. I have seen them before.’

‘Yes. But none of them are pure white.’ She said proudly. ‘They all have a spot in a different color, or their paws are different. We are all white.’

“What does that mean?” Amy asked quietly.

“I don’t know.” my brother said, not taking his eyes off of my wolf. “But she is beautiful.”

“She is.” Jacob said quietly.

I looked at him and immediately felt disappointed. No sparks. No connection. He is not my mate.

‘We are not his.’ Eliza said. ‘We belong to somebody else.’

‘What do you mean, Eliza?’ I asked, surprised. ‘Do you know who our mate is?’

‘I do.’ She said. ‘You will know soon.’

‘Who is he?’ I asked. ‘How do you know?’

It isn’t common for a wolf to know who his or hers mate is. They only know when they see them. But not before. What is going on?

‘I am not talking to you about it.’ Eliza said. ‘Now, stop thinking about this and focus on your friends and family. Andrew is trying to mind-link you.’

I pulled my focus away from our conversation and focused on my brother’s voice inside my head. Now that I shifted, I can mind-link the entire pack.

Emma? He called me. Emma, can you hear me?

Yes. I responded. Sorry, I was talking to Eliza.

You are beautiful, Emma. He said proudly. Do you want to go for a run?

Yes! I said with excitement in my voice.

My brother told the rest of the group to shift, and we all went for a run. Eliza met all the wolves, and I could tell she loved them all. And they loved her. Especially Asher. He was attentive and careful with Eliza, just like Andrew is with me.

When I had enough, I mind-linked Andrew to tell him to go back. All the excitement and nervousness got to me, and I was tired.

We got back to the clearing and took our clothes into our mouths. We all went behind a tree to shift and change.

Shifting back hurt as well, but not like the first time.

‘Each time we do this, it will be easier.’ Eliza said. ‘After a while, it won’t hurt at all.’

I walked back to the clearing, and my friends and family were already there. They hugged me and gave me a lot of kisses. They are proud of me and happy that I finally have my wolf. Nobody mentioned that I am a pure white again, so I just decided to forget about it. It is nothing special. I am nothing special.

Luna Gloria left first. We stayed at the clearing for a while, just chatting and laughing. After a few minutes, we started walking back.

Jacob walked beside me, and Andrew and Amy were in front of us.

“So, we are not mates.” he said with sadness in his voice.

“I guess not.” I responded, not looking up at him.

“That doesn’t mean we can’t be.” he said. “I would choose you as my mate. I love you, Emma.”

I looked up at him, surprised. But before I could say anything, my brother interfered.

“Jacob, no.” he said strictly. “At least not yet. I know you love my sister, but she is only 18 and there is a chance she will meet her true mate. If she doesn’t in a few years, and if you don’t find your mate by then, you can make her your chosen mate. If she wants to get a chosen mate. But not before she has had a chance to find her true mate.”

I looked between Andrew and Jacob.

Jacob wanted to fight, but he knew my brother was right. I love Jake, but I deserve a chance to find my true mate.

After a few seconds of Andrew and Jake just glaring at each other, Jacob nodded and lowered his head.

“You are right.” he said quietly. “But I will wait for her.”

“I am sorry, Jake.” I said and took his hand in mine.

“You have nothing to be sorry about.” he said and gave me a small smile.

Amy was quiet the whole time, but I could tell she was sad. She really hoped Jake and I would be mates.

We continued our walk through the forest, and soon we were back at our house. Jake and Amy said their goodbyes and went home.

Andrew and I went back inside the house, and I looked at my watch. It was 10 pm.

“Hey, do you want to watch another movie? It is not too late.” Andrew asked and took my jacket to put it away.

“I would, but I am so tired.” I said.

He smiled. “Yeah. The first shift will do that to you.”

“I will just go to bed.” I said. “Thank you for today. I loved it.”

“I loved it too, little one.” he said with a big smile. “Asher and I love your wolf.”

“We love you too.” I said and smiled.

I walked upstairs, and Andrew went to the living room.

I hopped in the shower and put on my pajamas. I got under the covers and closed my eyes immediately.

I don’t think I slept long when I was awoken by a loud knock on our front door.