Chapter 1 First Shift

Rowena POV

"What do you mean I don't get a party?" I yell at my brother Luca.

I stomp foot in protest. It isn't fair. The Full Moon Square is open for every pack member on their eighteenth birthday. Why should I be any different?

"There is no need for you to find your mate," Luca says as if he is bored.

"This isn't about me finding my mate!" I squeal. "This is about tradition and me being able to shift for the first time."

"You are the center of attention every day," Luca rolls his eyes at me in frustration. "You don't need a party. You are being completely unreasonable."

"Me!" I gasp. "I am being unreasonable?"

"Yes," Luca says. "As your Alpha, I am telling you that you don't get a party or the Full Moon Square."

Tears fill my eyes at the injustice. "Father would have never denied me the square."

"Father is no longer around for you to continue to get your way," Luca says, his words hurt.

I square my shoulders and try to look unbothered by his decision. "Fine," I say, fighting back the tears in my eyes.

I leave my brother's office and slam the door on the way out. Tonight, I turn eighteen. Every werewolf in the South Redwood Pack dreams of shifting for the first time in Full Moon Square.

When my father was Alpha, it was not an exclusive place. Everyone got the privilege of shifting in the Full Moon Square. Alphas and Omegas alike. But now that my brother is Alpha, it is reserved for only the highest-ranking werewolves, and apparently, that doesn't include me.

I run to my bedroom, ignoring the looks of everyone that I pass by. I swing the door to my room open and throw myself on the bed dramatically. I know I am acting like a brat, but I don't care.

A knock on my door makes me sit up and dry my tears quickly. "Who is it?" I call out.

Whoever is at the door doesn't bother to answer me. They just barge right on in. It is my brother's Beta, Zoe. She had a concerned look on her face.

"What's this I hear about you not having a birthday party?" She asks.

"Why don't you ask that blood-sucking vampire of a brother of mine," I retort bitterly.

"Luca said the decision was yours," Zoe says. "He said you didn't want a party because you didn't want to find your mate."

"Fucking typical," I growl. "I don't care about a party. I just want Full Moon Square opened for me. I didn't think that was too much to ask."

"So, no party and no Full Moon Square?" Zoe looks confused.

"Nope," I say. "If I want to shift into my wolf, I must do it out in the woods like a fucking savage."

Zoe chews on her bottom lip for a moment. It is something that she does when she is deep in thought.

"You know," Zoe finally says. "Your brother isn't the only one with keys to open Full Moon Square."

"What are you trying to say?" I ask excitedly.

"I am not saying anything. But if you want to shift in the square tonight, I suggest you meet someone there at midnight," Zoe says cryptically.

A jolt of excitement rushes through me, and I squeal. "Oh, Zoe! This would mean the world to me! Thank you so much!"

Zoe raises her arms in the air and shakes her head back and forth. "Don't thank me," she says nervously. "Thank whoever meets you at the square tonight."

I pace my bedroom and watch the clock tick on the wall. I am waiting until 11:45 p.m. to make my way down to Full Moon Square. I have decided to wear a lightweight white dress.

It is customary for a werewolf to wear white on the night of their first shift. It is a tradition passed down in the South Redwood Pack for decades. It symbolizes the purity of the bond between one's wolf and human self.

Once it is 11:45 p.m., I give myself one final look in the mirror and make my way down to Full Moon Square. My skin is humming in anticipation.

I sneak out of the pack house through the back door. I shiver against the cool night air in nothing but my sheer white dress. Wrapping my arms around myself, I make my way around the pack house. Sticking to the shadows, I keep myself hidden.

It is something that I have become good at. Sticking to the shadows. Things have been awkward since my brother took over as Alpha of the South Redwood Pack. Luca runs things differently than my father did. Luca likes to keep me under lock and key. I am required to have an escort wherever I go.

Before I know it, I am standing in front of the massive coliseum we use as our Full Moon Square. I make my way to the back entrance and see Zoe standing in the shadows as well.

"You made it out," she whispers in relief. "Are you ready?"

"I am ready to meet my wolf," I say with my head held high.

Zoe unlocks the padlock on the massive cement door and pushes it open with ease. We walk into the center of the arena together, and Zoe pulls me in for a bear hug.

"I have to leave you," she says with a frown on her face. "If your brother finds me..."

"I understand," I say bravely. "I can do this on my own."

Zoe leaves me standing in the center of Full Moon Square. I strip off my white dress and stand naked in the moonlight. The moon's light dances off my skin as it begins to stretch and sprout fur. I watch in awe as white fur begins to cover my body.

Pain spreads through my spine. I can feel each one of my bones breaking and reshaping all at the same time. No longer able to stand the pain, I drop to my hands and knees. I am shocked to see large paws hit the ground in front of me instead of my hands.

Suddenly, the pain subsides, and it is as if I am looking at the world through different eyes. Every color is sharper, and the images are more crisp. My skin is no longer cold; I realize it is because I am covered in fur. I twist my body around in a circle, trying to catch a glimpse of my tail.

'Are you quite done making us act like a puppy?' A voice echoes inside my mind.

'Are you my wolf?' I ask.

The voice chuckles in my head. 'I am your wolf, Freya. Are you ready for your first run?'

'I am afraid that we can't run tonight, Freya. I'm sure they will have noticed that I am missing by now,' I tell my wolf.

'You don't know the truth,' Freya responds.

'What truth?' I ask, but Freya doesn't have time to respond.

The scent of hazelnuts and chocolate wafts through the air, and Freya is running in the direction of the smell. There is nothing that I can do to stop her.

'Mate,' her voice rings through my head.