Blue Moon

C H A P T E R 1

MATE

ARRAH

Arrah Tyler. Why my given name warranted double consonants and a silent letter when one of the former could do the trick and removing the superfluous latter would save me from the trouble of writing it, I could never understand. They had months to think so yeah, they should've thought about it a lot more. Kidding aside though, I got nothing against my name; it's just my lazy writing hand complaining.

I celebrated my sixteenth birthday yesterday—oh, sweet sixteen!

Today I'd get to meet my mate or should I say, I'd be able to meet whoever my mate happens to be? Well, I would honestly appreciate it if my mate turns out to be a 'she'.

If she's within the pack, I'd undoubtedly be able to sense her and so would she. I'd see her and she'd see me. Bam! We'd be mates for life. Easy, right? The strong force of attraction comparable to the earth's inescapable gravitational pull and the appearance of the mating marks would serve as irrefutable proofs. With an unbreakable bond, it won't be that difficult to recognize each other. However, that's IF she's within the pack, the Crescent Pack.

If not, I might have to wait a while longer. That's problem number two: 'what happens if she's not here?'

Problem number one was the fact that I didn't shift on my birthday. Yes, the cursed Tyler blood struck. It wasn't really much of a revelation for I have been given the talk. It's not the birds and the bees talk but the kind where I sat down and learned who I could never be. Being a latent wolf wouldn't be that heartbreaking if I could have a mate. Although I had no idea how strong the mate bond would be without a wolf spirit to guide her to me, I kept my faith that fate wouldn't be so cruel and at least let me have someone.

Would it be as strong as any other true mates bond, I couldn't tell.

Gripping the strap of my backpack, I made my way to my locker. As I walked the halls of my school, I kept on checking my hand—specifically; my left ring finger where my mating marks should appear. Not a couple-thing for show, it would be visible to the mated pair only and unique to that mated pair alone.

Imagine the collective unrest if our kind walked the streets with visible tattoos on our hands; humans would think that they're surrounded by different gangs. It wouldn't be ideal since we're living amongst regular humans. The majority of the population didn't know of our existence while the few who did were married to wolves who never found their mates. No fellow pack member would sentence a wolf to a life of solitude so, when the wolf hadn't found its mate after years and years of searching, a human mate was accepted and sworn to secrecy. Still, dangerous. Humans never took kindly to those that were different—not even to one amongst their kind.

Shifter-human matings were few, as other wolves would opt to mate other unclaimed wolves to secure a continuing line of shifters. Some alphas even discouraged unions with humans for the probability of siring latent wolves was high and thus, would weaken the pack.

So, a latent wolf like me couldn't be quite the catch.

My best friend Macey greeted me when she saw me, "Belated happy birthday, Arrah!"

"Energetic as ever," I couldn't help but smile at her.

She hooked her arm in mine and joined me to the lockers, "How is my favorite girl?"

"Your favorite girl, for now," I teased.

Macey was a chick magnet and was not left wanting girlfriends from freshman all the way to sophomore year. It was hard not to when she practically looked like a blonde goddess. Plenty of other boys wanted to date her but they did not fit the bill. She was as gay as a rainbow. I had no idea if she was currently dating anyone though.