The Fall Ball
Chapter 1

I sit here thinking about my future…

In two weeks I will be eighteen…

What will happen on my birthday?

Will I replace a mate?

What will he look like?

Will he be kind to me?

Will I even get a mate?

I have all these questions swirling around in my head. Every year around my birthday it is the same. I always come up with so many unanswered questions.

It’s been four years since I should have had my first shift. It never happened. I never got the voice in my head to help me make decisions. The voice to comfort me in all my pain and struggles. When I am happy, I want someone to celebrate with me. I want that person who is apart of me. This other part of me helps me cope with all the ups and downs of life.

I just never got it. My wolf never came to tell me that everything would be okay. I am alone and have been for as long as I can remember. All I have is my parents and that is it.

On my fourteenth birthday I was so excited. It was the day that I would finally get my wolf. It is a day that I will always remember…

The day that broke me…

I woke up and had breakfast with my mom. Dad came out of his study with a smile on his face. He came up to me and gave me a hug, before sitting down at the table for breakfast. After we had all finished our breakfast, we cleaned up and got ready for the day.

We spent the entire day together. We strolled to the park, walked around the pack, stopping to talk to our friends and other pack members. Everyone who talked with us smiled and wished me a happy birthday. They were all excited for me to shift, so that I could join in on the pack runs.

We made our way back home and ate supper. After eating, I saw my parents exchange a look. Then I noticed that Dad had tears in his eyes. I was so confused. We had an amazing day together. Why was he so upset? Had something happened that I didn’t know about?

We wandered into the living room, and we sat on the couch together. Mom on one side of me and Dad on the other. They both looked at me with sadness in their eyes. A sadness that I had never seen before. My father took my hand and looked me in the eyes.

“Rose, I love you so much. I hope that you understand that what we are about to tell you doesn’t change that. You are our girl, and we will do anything and everything for you,” he said.

At this point, Mom got up and walked into their room. She came back out holding a small box. She sat the box down on the table and opened it. She took out a small pink blanket. It looked dirty and old.

I had never seen this blanket before. She handed it to me. I looked at her questioningly.

“We love you so much, but it is time that you learned the truth. We don’t want to upset you, but we think today is the best day to tell you,” she said.

At this point, Dad looked over at me. “ Fourteen years ago today, we were out on a walk. We heard a baby crying in the woods. We followed the sound, and we came up to an old oak tree. At the base of the tree we found this blanket. Wrapped in a blanket was the cutest baby we had ever seen. Rose, that baby was you. All you had on you was this blanket and a small red rose lying on top of the blanket.” Dad says, squeezing my hand.

“We called the pack trackers and told them what we had found. They searched all around the trees and trails. But there were no scents, no tracks, no nothing. We had no idea where you came from or why,” Mom tells me.

“We stood in front of Alpha Jake and explained to him what we had found. We let him know that the trackers had searched, and we could not replace any trace of where the baby had come from. After listening to everything Alpha Jake looked over at the baby and smiled.”

“’What is it that you want to do with the baby?’ Alpha Jake asked us. Your mother and I looked at each other and smiled. We hadn’t discussed it but we both knew that we wanted you as our own. As chosen mates, we were not lucky enough to have a pup ourselves.”

“We told Alpha that we would take you home and raise you as our own. He agreed to it and smiled at us. As we started to walk away, Alpha Jake asked us what we were planning to name you. We looked at the rose that was still lying on the blanket while Kat held you. I smiled at her. We will name her Rose; I told the Alpha.”

“Alpha Jake chuckled and looked over at you. He walked up to us and reached for your delicate and small hand. ‘Welcome to Opal Moon Pack little Rose, I have faith that you will do remarkable things,’ he said. Kat and I looked at each other and smiled.”

As Dad finishes telling me the story. They are both looking at me, we are all crying. I don’t know what to say…

I looked at them and quietly asked, “Does this mean that I won’t get a wolf?”

My parents looked at me with conflict in their eyes.

“We don’t know for sure, Rose, we never found out where you came from. So we don’t know what may happen as you get older,” my mother tells me.

After they both hug me and tell me that no matter what happens, it doesn’t change that they are my parents. They love me regardless of whether I have a wolf or not. I headed to bed and cried myself to sleep.

The next morning, I came out of my room to see Mom and Dad both watching me. They looked lost and unsure of what to do. I smiled at them and sat down to eat breakfast.

I looked at them and smiled again.

“I know that you have done all that you can to keep me happy all these years. You chose me when no one else did. I don’t know who my birth parents are, and it doesn’t matter right now. You are my parents and I love you so much.” I say to them.

Finally, they smile and give me a hug. They tell me that they are so thankful for me and all the joy that I give them.

The bell rings, snapping me out of my daydream.

As I gather my books, I start to leave the room. I get shoved to the floor. As I look up, I see Ashlee looking down at me with a smirk on her face. John walks up to Ashlee and wraps his arms around her waist. She k****s his cheek and then looks down at me again.

“What were you thinking about during class? We all know you weren’t paying attention to the lectures,” Ashlee asks me.

“Nothing,” I tell her.

“Sure, you were probably thinking about your birthday even though it’s no big deal. Since you never got your wolf, you will never have a destined mate. You’re practically a human, no one would pick you as their chosen mate either,” Ashlee giggles as she walks away with John.

I get up and wipe away the tears. It has been this way since my fourteenth birthday, and I didn’t get my wolf. Kids picked on me and the adults just looked the other way. In their eyes, I was just a weak human who was stuck in their pack. I can’t wait to get away from here. I wish to travel the world and replace myself.

With that being my last class of the day, it’s time to head home. As I walk home, I can clear my head.

The forest is beautiful this time of year. The leaves have started to change colors and the sounds of the forest bring me joy. The sounds of all the birds chirping. If I listen close enough, I can even hear the soothing sounds of the river that flows along the pack border.

I don’t want my parents to worry about me. I never let them see the pain that I am suffering through. As I get closer to home, I start to relax. I grab the mail as I walk through the door. I smile as I enter the house.

Home is my happy place…