Rosaria

I was running through the forest as I followed the most intoxicating scent I have ever smelt. The alluring scent was a mixture of mint chocolate and vanilla. It got stronger as I moved further down the forest path, making my mouth water and I ran faster picking up my pace. The wind gently stroked the treetops making rustling noises and the smell of pine trees filled the air.

Birds could be heard chirping up in the tall trees and the fresh air hit my face leaving a refreshing feeling. I kept running deeper into the woods as I stepped on twigs and branches that creaked, the smell of the green grass that was wetting my shoes as the morning dew stuck to them while my feet trampled on the grass and leaves was intoxicating. But it paled in comparison to the strong alluring scent that wafted through my nostrils, teasingly.  I kept running until I found what I was looking for..

Him… Standing in the meadow was a handsome god-like man. The hot culprit behind the divine scent that I had been trailing. He was gorgeously handsome with a clean shaven face, long black hair almost reaching his broad shoulders and he had the most beautiful blue eyes I have ever seen. His hair was let down in a curly middle part hairstyle and his manly face was well defined with a chiseled jaw making him look like a god from an ancient movie.

“I have been waiting for you,” he said huskily.... and I gulped. His amazing deep voice echoed around the meadow and I couldn’t help the shiver that ran down my spine. I looked up at him and drooled, trailing my eyes over his well defined body. While I had a good height, he was taller, thereby towering over me. He looked like a dominant CEO from a romantic novel.

He took a step closer to me and grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to his well sculpted chest as he leaned over bringing his face closer to mine at an agonizingly slow pace. My heartbeat quickened, pounding erratically against my ribs. Was this Greek god going to kiss me? I smiled tilting my head upwards and reciprocated by grabbing my pillow and..... wait… What???

I opened my eyes and found myself in my room hugging my pillow. Guess it was one of those weird dreams. But I wouldn't mind having such dreams if the main character of the dream was that sexy Greek god. 

Picking up my phone, I cursed when I found several missed calls. Shit… Today’s Mark's twentieth birthday and I was supposed to go shopping with my best friend Sheila to get dresses for the birthday banquet. 

After a short shower, I ran downstairs and found Sheila already dressed up and ready to go..she looked up and rolled her eyes at me. “The sleepy princess is up!” She exclaimed and I rolled my eyes and went to kiss my mom on the cheek. Always dramatic as usual, firstly, we lived in the same house but she called instead of coming to wake me up from my room. I usually slept like a log and no amount of calls could wake me up. It wasn't easy to do it physically either, I always asked for a few extra minutes to sleep because I felt like I hadn't slept enough. Yep, I was the type of person who would keep snoozing an alarm every five minutes before waking up an hour later than the original set time.

“Good morning mom," I greeted her as I rushed to the table to eat my favorite vanilla muffins. 

“Morning pumpkin.” Oh yes.. did I mention that I was adopted? Sheila is my best friend and adoptive sister. I was adopted when I was 5 years old, they found me in the woods but no one talks about it and I don’t remember what happened either. I have a brother, Jack, he's the next beta and Mark who is kind of my boyfriend is the next alpha to the moonstone pack.

I am saying kind of because I am waiting for him to imprint on my wolf tonight since he's reached the age where a werewolf finds its mate. I will only date him if we are true mates to avoid complications. Every werewolf is blessed with a mate, who becomes your better-half, a soul-mate. Someone you could lay down your life for. The bond is so powerful that when one dies, the other mate hardly survives because they lose half of their soul. This is why dating is discouraged among unmated wolves because many hearts are broken due to partners finding their destined mates.

The werewolf race is ruled by the most powerful wolves and they have a strict hierarchy. There are ranks which differentiate their power, the strongest is called an alpha and he's the leader of the whole pack. His second in command is called beta, gamma and delta are the third and fourth in command respectively. These ranks are given according to strength or one has to be born in a ranked family. The Alpha though, is born into his role but could be overthrown if defeated by a challenger.

“Hurry up Rosa we have a long day today,” Sheila said and I sighed. She's too excited because she might also meet her mate today.. her twentieth birthday is in two days but she can still recognize the pull since she's close to her birthday.

“Let me eat my muffins in peace please,” I rolled my eyes as she chuckled. After breakfast, I groaned as I was dragged out of the house to the car.. I really don’t like shopping.. I pouted as we headed to the mall in town out of the woods.

We spent the whole morning looking for Sheila’s version of the perfect dress. I was exhausted and starving, I could eat a whole cow. After what seemed like forever, we were finally done. Sheila had picked out an off shoulder burgundy dress for me, saying the colour would match my fair skin well. The dress was a velvet backless bodycon and it was knee-length. She had gotten herself a long sleeveless chiffon red dress with a high split because she wanted to look sexy for her mate. "First impression matters, better be ready than sorry," she said as she went to try on her dress excitedly.

'Shouldn't it be, better safe than sorry?' I thought, confused.  

"It's perfect, I'll get this one," Sheila said after coming out of the fitting room. I had tried on my dress earlier and loved how it gave me an elegant look while showcasing my figure perfectly.

Satisfied with the dresses, we paid for them and returned to the pack to prepare for the birthday party. Now this brought back my energy, I couldn't wait to find out if Mark and I are mates.....