Episode 4

I will never forget it, the day after that tremendous and almost terrifying storm, the sun came out and stood high in the sky, as if nothing had happened during the night. The large puddles of water, the mud, and the odd fallen tree were living proof that the storm did exist. I was in my small house, washing some clothes, I didn't have too many and buying clothes was not a luxury I could afford very often, so I used to wash what little I had quite often. I spent a lot of time in a small garden I had, so I used to get dirty easily. When I heard the knock on the door, I just assumed it could be the people from the council, as nobody came to the land where my house was located. When I went to the door, I was right, almost the entire council was standing outside, I say almost all of them because only two men were missing. The council is made up of seven men, who are considered wise, three of them are very old, not only are they wise, but also old, which gives them more status, since they possess more knowledge. They greeted me kindly, and asked permission to enter, which I granted. The job of the council is to try to maintain the balance between the packs, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. So far, the only one who had made things a little difficult for them was Alpha Kyle Kinnaman. The power he flaunted, a product of his many won battles, and all the wars he declared and in which he was the victor, made him a difficult figure. The men of the council enjoyed immunity, so to speak, however nothing assured them that that ruthless Alpha would abide by the laws and not attack them. The council ceasing to exist would be the beginning of chaos. Especially for those Alphas who, thirsty for power, would start one battle after another against the smaller or weaker packs.

"Akela, good afternoon."

"Good afternoon sir." Who greeted me was Ryan Corr, one of the least long-lived members of the council.

"You may wonder why we are here."

"Mmmm, did something happen?"

"You could say so. You see Akela, an oracle predicted last night, with a full moon and while the sky seemed to want to fall as a sign of something, who your destined mate is by the Moon Goddess." Upon hearing those words my eyes opened as did my mouth, letting out a gasp of surprise. I couldn't believe it, my mate? my destined partner? Something inside me stirred, I felt happiness. All my life I had been alone, even when I lived in my father's pack. He couldn't relate to me, I spent long hours playing alone, with the nanny or with the children of the pack. But I didn't have a father figure, and my mother's presence had been denied to me by fatal destiny. I saw the other families, full of puppies. I used to play with one boy in particular, he was the second of five brothers and his parents loved each other as their bond asked, they were a beautiful and happy family, and I... only had the nanny, the maids, and my father's beta, who from time to time was the one who made an appearance in my school activities. He used to tell me how my parents loved each other, that the fruit of their encounter and their love only brought prosperity to our small pack. The moon is a very important part for her, because it is the fundamental part of the Alpha, and with her by his side, he makes the wisest decisions for all the people in his pack. She is the one who guides him, who calms him, who soothes his wild side and fills his human side with warmth. Everyone says that if they had not been predestined by the Moon Goddess, they would still be together, because the love they had and lavished went beyond all bonds. I loved hearing about my parents' love story, about how she loved him, but how he had almost a divided adoration for my mother. I was still too young to understand why despite all that love and being what was left of her, he couldn't get close to me. I'm sure he dragged until the day of his death, that heartbreaking pain for her loss.

Because of all this, when they told me that, despite being only twelve years old, I felt happiness, immense happiness. I longed to have company, to share with someone, to leave that loneliness that accompanied me every day in my little house. Maybe we could leave, go to another pack, ask them to shelter us, to accept us, have a small house there and eventually puppies. I wanted a family, I longed for it. So many years in solitude had only made me think about that moment, the moment when I could look for my mate, find him and be happy. Feel loved and never be alone again. Having a partner, thinking about that felt so good, I think I even drew a smile on my face just thinking about it. I had heard stories of wolves who found their mate instantly after their transformation and also, on the contrary, stories of wolves who spent centuries without finding their mate. I was afraid of being one of the latter, it gave me immense joy to know that that wasn't the case for us, that I hadn't even transformed yet and I would already know who my partner was.

"We wanted to come and tell you this personally. You are supposed to wait until you are eighteen to find your mate, but given the circumstances, it may be better for them to know in advance, so they can start creating a bond."