Chapter 25: Mating?
Raven’s POV
The next day came sooner than I thought. The communal breakfast went well and I spent sometime with Loel whom I had gotten much closer to. Raphal her brother was cute and fun to talk to and I also met Xarna the friend she mentioned. She was extremely nice and we all got along pretty well.
They invited me over to the river and the side of it where a few women liked to gather. They even taught me games I’ve never played before which excited me. Even more when I found out that Lilian had been put in the kitchen which was where the layout was heaviest since they had to prepare breakfast lunch and dinner for the entire pack, while preserving whatever meat the hungers could gather.
They had the least amount of time and were stuck in a building that was always warm regardless of the weather. I caught sight of her carrying a bucket of water in and I couldn’t help but feel smug.
Her hair was messy and she looked tired and irritated until her gaze landed on me as anger filled her eyes. we hadn’t spoken since we left but I knew she disliked me ever more. Her father and Leon were dead and I had watched her mother almost go mad.
I didn’t envy her neither did I pity her as I glanced away, listening to Loel who was talking to me as I nodded my head. By the time I looked back towards her, she was no longer there and had entered the building.
"It’s a good thing you escaped the kitchen. Worked there for a while and I almost died," Loel began to speak changing the topic, "The only benefit is that they get extra rations for family members that are unable to work. It’s the one reason why people volunteer for it,"
"Some people can’t work?" I asked even as Loel nodded her head. "People aren’t forced to work, but you simply won’t be given food and would have to fend for yourself. If you have family it helps, if you don’t then you’ll have to work until you die," she stated without a trace of pity in her tone and I understood it.
We were werewolves, we grew older but we were still strong enough to do things until our bodies finally collapsed on the ground dying a couple of days later. Laziness was vastly looked down upon.
One of the reasons why someone as fragile as me was looked down upon and seen as being lazy for being a weak omega.
"We can help make baskets. They are fun and it helps the hunters," Loel said next with a wink in her gaze that made it clear that the baskets was to get the hunters attention and not simply because we wanted to help.
"There’s barely any other way to entertain ourselves. I would have found a mating partner already if not that I have to constantly look after Raphal my brother," she sighed as I listened.
"But what about your goddess mate. Your soulmate. Don’t you want to wait until you find him?" In asked only for her to chuckle in response with an incredulous expression on her face like she couldn’t believe what I had just said.
"Soulmates? That’s rare! Moreover I hear it only happens between alphas. Once never known someone who heard the call," she sighed as she looked into the distance with a sigh on her lips.
"I’m training my body harder so I can start training once I reach my moonage which should be soon. Transforming into my wolf won’t be such a painful affair," she sighed with pleasure in her eyes fixing her gaze on the sky with a feeling that I would never know.
I simply nodded my head and sighed. The truth was that my moonage was the next day and according to humans I would be two decades and One.
We had lunch among ourselves and Xarna joined us, her hair long and brown with freckles on her face: she was cute and she had puppy eyes that made it hard to say no to her. She was feisty like Loel which was excellent since I was much quieter.
A smile on my face as I watched them play struggle pouncing at each other like they would in wolf form. It was nice and for a moment I imagined that it was the kind of life I never wanted to end.
But dinner had just ended with them heading off to their homes, Xarna lived with her family and Loel with her brother as I walked back to my sleeping place when I felt a thumping in my chest. It was almost painful as I ran into my sleeping place and shut the door.
Realizing that happiness would always be a distant thing as long as Rex, Axel and Thor were alive. ’It’s your fault Raven! Your fault,’ I muttered under my breathe realizing that if I had kept my mouth shut their families wiuof have lived and they wouldnny hate me.
I sat on the ground for a very long time, dressed in the worst of my clothes. The simple ones that covered every part of my skin brown but soft enough that they didn’t bruise my skin as I moved.
I could hear the pack grounds get quieter as most people holed up in their homes together for the night or with people to warm their beds or bear pups with simply to starve off the loneliness. It was the way of werewolves. Nothing was more important than pack and children.
But my mind was starting to drift as I became much calmer thinking that maybe Rex would have better things to do and I wouldn’t have to... when I heard a knock on the door. One that seemed to squeeze my heart tighter in my chest as I instantly got up.
Pushing the door open with trembling hands only to see the familiar bald headed female guard there with a stony expression on her face.
"Alpha Rex demands your presence," she said and I felt my heart leap in chest as I held on to the door to not fall to the ground as I nodded my head, stepping out and closing the door behind me.
