Her Ethereal Mate

Chapter 9 : The First Shift

The First Shift

Author's P O V :

The whole pack was celebrating Ariana's victory. Her uncles, aunts and cousin sent her so many presents. Ariana was feeling nothing but heavenly happiness as she made her parents proud. As the only girl in the family she always had this thought that they would undermine her and wouldn't treat her as equals. That's why she was always so adamant about proving herself. Now she did it. She proved that she could be a kick ass Black Moon too.

Meanwhile, both Alpha Benjamin and Luna April looked a little worried as they were discussing something.

" It's high time honey, we should tell her " Alpha Benjamin said.

" We still have some days left. I don't want her to get all worked up about this ", Luna April said.

" She has a right to know Luna " Alpha Benjamin said.

" Yes and we will tell her everything on her eighteenth birthday " Luna April said. Even though Alpha Benjamin wanted to tell his daughter everything, he kept his mouth shut because deep down he was relieved that at least his daughter still had some more normal days in her life.

Two Weeks Later

Ariana was more than happy because she was going to make the most of today. Today was the last Christmas in her life before she embraced her lupine life. Her birthday was the day after Christmas and because of that she always felt proud. These two days were like celebrations for her entire family. Ariana used to be the center of attention whenever all of them gathered for Christmas back when all of her cousins were young. But everything changed when, one by one, her cousins became older and got busy with their lives. Still, her parents tried very hard to make Christmas as lively as possible. After a few years, she understood.

After finishing her morning routines, she put on her dress and went towards the hall. As she expected, she was amazed to see all the decorations. There was nothing there yesterday and now the whole hall gave nothing but a pleasant Christmas vibe. Her eyes lit up to see the huge Christmas tree and the Santa Claus statue. There were so many gifts, mostly for the children in the pack. She was excited to receive her gifts but she knew she had to wait till midnight. Her parents always gave her Christmas and birthday presents just a few minutes before midnight. She never really understood why they did it but never complained about it.

She was enjoying the decorations when she heard a high pitched voice and turned her head.

" Meeeerrry Chhhrrrriiiiiistttmasssss " Alpha Benjamin sang in a very high tone as he came slower to his daughter.

" Merry Christmas dad " Ariana said and hugged her father.

" Merry Christmas princess " her father said, hugging her. Just then, her mother came with a plate full of cupcakes and Ariana ran towards her mother. After a happy breakfast with everyone, Ariana left with her friends.

After spending the whole day, Ariana was tired and all she wanted was to take a nap, but she was way too excited for her eighteenth birthday. It was only eleven at night and that meant in an hour she would be of age. She was lost in her own thoughts thinking about how great it would be to have her wolf when she heard her parents knocking at her door. She knew it was time. Finally, the presents. Yay ! ! !

But her smile vanished when she saw her parents had no presents with them.

" Ana " Alpha Benjamin said, looking at his daughter.

" There is something we need to talk about " both Alpha Benjamin and Luna April said in unison.

" What is it " Ariana asked.

" Come on , come with us " her father said and, feeling a little nervous, she got up from bed and started walking towards her father. All of them went towards the Alpha's study room. Ariana was confused about what was going on. She never saw her parents being this scared unless it was something serious. The last time she saw her parents like that was when one of her cousins was attacked. After that, he never recovered fully.

" Mom, Dad, is everything okay ? " she asked when they reached the study room.

" Yes, Ana, everything is fine " her mother said, assuring her. She saw her father adjusting something on the table and then her haw drooped when she heard some metal grinding sounds and the large book shelf divided into two parts, revealing a secret room. She looked at her father, who opened the secret door and went inside.

" Come in " her mother said as she went inside next.

She looked around and saw the whole room was filled with books. Books which looked ancient to her.

" Dad, what's all this ? " she asked.

" Do you know why I named you Ariana " her father asked, smiling gently.

" Yes, because that was the name of your great grandmother and I was the first girl to be born after her " she said, her voice a little confused about what was going on.

" Yeah that's the reason, but I never thought you would be so much alike " her father said, showing her a piece of ancient painting.

Ariana's eyes widened when she saw the painting. The portrait painted looked exactly like her. In fact, it was her.

" Dad " Ariana whispered.

" When you grew up you started to look a lot like your great grandmother and after your sixteenth birthday you became an exact copy of her. That is the reason why everyone in this family loves you , adores you and treats you like you are the heart of our family ", her father said, smiling.

" I still don't understand. Why are you showing this to me Dad ? ", Ariana asked.

" Remember when you heard some legends about special wolves " her mother asked, and Ariana tried to remember.

" Yeah, it was said that there were some wolves who possess certain magical powers and that's why there are called special wolves but no one ever saw a special wolf in real life ", Ariana said.

" That's just half the truth. Actually, special wolves do exist and have been for hundreds of years. There are only five types of special wolves still known to us : Crescent Wolves, Red Wolves, Snow White Wolves, Royal Wolves and Golden Wolves. Their families and pack try very hard to keep their existence a secret to keep them away from evil eyes " Alpha Benjamin said.

" I don't understand " Ariana said, looking at her parents.

" Ariana, you are a special wolf, a golden wolf " Luna April said.

" What " Ariana whispered.

" The golden wolves are only restricted to our family. A female she wolf of Black Moon blood is a special wolf. The last known special wolf was our great grandmother, Arinana Black Moon. That's why I named you after her, because you, my little princess, are just as special as her ", her father said, taking her hands into his own.

" You are kidding, right ? "

" All this is some sort of elaborate prank. "

" Who put you up to this ? " Ariana asked, chuckling, but stopped when she saw her parent's faces. Their faces screamed nothing but seriousness.

" Am I really a special wolf ? " Ariana asked for confirmation.

" Yes you are a golden wolf ", her father said. She heard her parents as they told her everything from the beginning. She listened to everything with concentration. The next morning she did not feel like celebrating at all. The whole day she spent in her room thinking about last night. Finally, the moment came for which everyone was waiting. As she expected, only a handful of people were there, people who perhaps knew her secret even before than her. She looked at her parents and started to shift while ripping her clothes in the process.