My Alpha Mate (Wolf Series #1)

Candice "Candice, baby, wake up!" I slowly opened my eyes and warmly smiled at her, but my smile instantly faded when I saw a bunch of people inside my room. I stared in shock and suddenly sat, making my head a little dizzy. "HAPPY 18TH BIRTHDAY, CANDICE!" They all yelled in unison. What the hell? What day is it? “It’s Monday, Candice, our birthday! Don’t tell me you forgot about that.” My wolf said this in disbelief. I sheepishly smiled and scratched the back of my head. I forgot about our birthday. “Thank you, guys!” I beamed. Pack members started giving their gifts to me, while the others said they would give them later to my party. The party that will be held here in our pack house. “Hey, why were we not informed about this party?” I asked my wolf, but she just looked at me like I'd grown horns and a pair of wings. “Really, Candice? Are you really asking me that?” she said. “Chill girl!” I said. By the way, I’m Candice Reynolds, the daughter of Enrico Reynolds, the alpha of the Red Blood Pack, and yes, I’m a werewolf. We live in Chesterfield, Dornwich; it’s a little city on the far side of the North. It is a beautiful place, surrounded by trees. It also has a lake inside the forest that I love. The scenery and the weather—I just like everything about this place. The Red Blood Pack is one of the most respected packs in the North. We currently have two thousand werewolf pack members. Although we are small in population, we have won countless wars with my dad as the leader. That’s the reason why we are popular in the North. Pack members started leaving my room, which leaves me with my parents. Mom sat beside me in my bed and caressed my hair while Dad stood beside her. "Happy birthday, my princess," Daddy said, hugging me tightly. I hugged him back and whispered my thanks. “You’ve grown well and are beautiful, my baby. Mommy is so proud of you. Happy Birthday,” Mommy said. I frowned. “Mom! I’m 18! You can’t call me baby anymore,” I said, pouting my perfect red lips. Mom laughed at me and pinched my cheeks. “Says who? I can call you baby because you are my child,” she proudly said. “But Candice, you already know, right? Once you’ve turned 18, you can now find your mate,” she added. I nodded my head. Yes, I know that I can now find my mate, but I don’t like it. “Don’t talk like that; you don’t know what could happen,” my wolf said. "Yeah right! Whatever!" I answered back. Mom and Dad bid their goodbyes, and I began preparing my stuff for school. I left the pack house and headed to school. The school’s near, so I decided to walk on my way there. It is a good exercise too. “Why are you so against us having a mate?” my wolf, Claire, suddenly asked out of nowhere. “I just don’t like it, that’s all,” I answered back. “That’s quite unreasonable, Candice,” Claire shot back. “We have lovely parents that love each other, and you saw it too. We need our mate,” she added. “We’ve seen a lot of wars, and we saw what happens to those who have lost their mates: they succumb to pain—to death. Yes, I saw our parents, how they love each other, and how they care for each other, but what if... what if that ends? What will happen? That’s why I’m building this wall around us. You see, I may look tough on the outside, but this," I pointed where our heart is located. “Is fragile. We can’t handle that pain. I’m just protecting us.” I honestly answered her, and we both fell silent. “You’re thinking way too far ahead, Candice. What matters now is the present. We just have to focus on what’s in front of us right now,” she gently said to me. I didn’t answer back, but I won’t change my mind. As I entered our school, students who are also our pack members greeted me, even some of the teachers. Well, that’s what you get from being the daughter of the Alpha. But my dad didn’t raise me to be arrogant; he taught me good things and how to value our pack members. So, I muttered thanks to each one of them who greeted me. “Good morning, Candice. Happy Birthday!” Angelo greeted me with a smile. Angelo Villagarde is one of the pack warriors and Natalie’s mate. Natalie met him last month, and now the two of them are inseparable. Gross. “Thank you, Gelo! Where’s Natalie, by the way?” I asked him. “She’s with Alice,” Angelo answered. I nodded and bid my goodbye. What's up with my two best friends? They’re together and didn’t even bother greeting me? I’m annoyed! That’s it; I’m not going to talk to them. When I got to where my classroom is located, I went directly to my favorite seat—at the back, near the window. “How I wish we could find our mate as soon as possible.” “Oh please! It’s starting to annoy me. Shut it!” I groaned. She’s done it; she pissed me off because of the mate thing that she keeps talking about, but I know I can’t stay mad at her for too long; she’s a part of me. She is basically the other me, but in the wolf version. I excused myself from the class. The teacher asked what was wrong, and I told him I wasn't feeling well, so he gave me a slip. After I got out, I decided to go to the forest at the back of the school; this is where we run. This forest is probably my second home aside from the packhouse; it is where I can be with my wolf. I can feel the breeze gently touching my skin. I smiled and inhaled. I feel so refreshed. “ARE WE GOING TO RUN?!” My wolf said excitement was visible in her voice. I nodded my head and started unbuttoning my shirt. I closed my eyes as I could hear my bones cracking and snapping, my fingernails growing into claws, and I could feel hair sprouting all over my body. I landed perfectly on all four paws. A pure white wolf—that’s my wolf. I let her take over, and she started running faster. She knows every nook and cranny of this forest. We ran a few kilometers before stopping because we felt tired. She does enjoy running. We played around by the lake for a few minutes. It feels great—we didn’t even notice that the sun was about to set! “Oh shit! The party!” I exclaimed. I hurriedly transformed back to my human form and grabbed my bag. When I arrived at our house, I heard a clamor in our backyard, and I was ecstatic to see so many pack members at once! Alice and Natalie approached me. Okay, this is it, Candice. Act cool, like you don’t know them. “That’s mean!” My wolf said, but she’s smiling. “Happy birthday, sis!” Natalie greeted me. I just stared at her and didn’t answer back. She pouted her lips and hugged me. “We’re sorry, sis. We were so busy organizing this party for you that we didn’t have the chance to greet you. Happy birthday, Candice!” Alice explained. My irritation suddenly melted away; seeing that they organized this party makes me really happy. “Okay fine! I forgive you two! Thank you so much, guys,” I sincerely said. "So, do you like the party?” Natalie asked. I scanned around the area; it was simply decorated with my favorite flower, the lilac. There’s also a picture booth at the entrance, and they make it as simple as possible because they know I don’t like an extravagant party. I nodded my head. They organized it very well, as expected of my best friends. “I love it!” Natalie and Alice both giggled and pulled me inside the house. We hurriedly entered my room, and Alice started rummaging through my cabinet. She picked up a navy blue A-line dress. It fits closely around my waist and is slightly wider at the bottom. I remember that one; we bought it last month. “Here, wear this one. It suits you well,” she said. I took the dress from her and put it on my bed. “Okay, I’ll wear it, but please let me shower first! I can feel my sweat all over my body, and I stink!” I said, frustrated. They both laughed at me and motioned for me to go to the bathroom to shower, which I gladly did. After a few minutes of showering, I got out of the bathroom and saw the two of them holding makeup kits and whatnot. “Faster, Candice!” Natalie ordered. I rolled my eyes and picked up the dress. “Yes, your highness!” I said that and jokingly curtsied. I put on the dress that they gave me. Natalie pushed me down onto the cushioned chair in front of my vanity mirror. Alice started applying make-up to my face while Natalie did my hair. “May I present to you our gorgeous Candice. Open your eyes, girl.” Alice and Natalie beamed. I slowly opened my eyes and stared at the girl in the mirror. “Wow, I love it! Thank you so much, guys!” I stood up and hugged both of them. “You are most welcome!” They said it in unison. “Now let’s go down and start the party!” Alice winked at me. We all laughed and headed downstairs. "Let's all welcome the debutante, Candice Reynolds! Give her a round of applause!" The emcee said: I heard them start clapping their hands. I gave a small speech, and Kurt, my cousin, escorted me down. "Hi, beautiful! Happy Birthday," Kurt said. “Thank you, cousin! I’m glad you could come to my party because I heard you were busy,” I said to him. Kurt smiled at me and pinched my cheeks. “If it’s for my favorite cousin, of course, I will come,” he joked. I punched him in the shoulder, but he just laughed at me. He led me to where my dad is, and my dad introduced me to his friends and the neighboring Alphas. After a few talks with them, I finally sat at our table. “I heard there is a new pack in the vicinity,” Kurt said. Really? Another pack? Interesting. “Yeah, there is a new pack. Candice, your dad invited them here, but they were busy dealing with rouge attacks; that’s why they can’t come.” Angelo said this while hugging Natalie. Eww, a public display of affection. Cringe. Sometimes I just want to smack the both of them for being too sweet, but who am I to do that? If that’s what makes Natalie happy, then I won’t object. "Don't worry, Candice, we will find our mate soon," my wolf teased. "No thanks; I don't want a mate," I replied back, making her sad. Suddenly, I became curious about the new pack. What was the new pack like? “Hey Kurt, what’s the name of their pack?” I asked Kurt, who has held a glass of wine. "I think it’s called the Blue Moon Pack." He answered.