True Luna

　　I woke up early in the morning and got up right away. I was excited. Really, really excited. Tomorrow is my birthday. Tomorrow I will be eighteen and I will meet my wolf. I couldn’t wait to shift for the first time. They say it is painful, but I didn’t care about that part. It is just for a little while, and it gets easier later. I can survive a little bit of pain.

　　I just wished that my parents were here to see me shift for the first time. It had been eight years since they died, and it hadn’t gotten any easier.

　　They were killed in a rogue attack.

　　Rogues are wolves that don’t belong to a pack. They become rogues by being exiled from their packs for committing various crimes. Some of them choose to leave their packs and live like rogues. That is rare, though. We wolves are pack animals. We don’t like being alone. When a wolf chooses to become a rogue, it is mostly because something bad has happened to them in their pack or they have lost their mate, gone crazy and left the pack.

　　The rogues live alone. They don’t work with other wolves. But when they attacked our pack, they were working together. It was very odd. Since that night, our Alpha learned that there is a rogue wolf who has gathered other rogues to attack various packs. They call him the Rogue King. The attacks haven’t stopped since. They attacked our and other packs multiple times.

　　On the night of the attack, rogues tried to kill our Alpha’s son. We were celebrating his 18th birthday and his first shift. He was supposed to start his training to become a new Alpha and take over the pack.

　　However, that night, rogues killed his father, our former Alpha Luke. He was forced to become an Alpha right away. And he did an amazing job. He finished his training early and he made our pack one of the strongest ones.

　　My father was Alpha Luke’s Beta. He and my mom died protecting Alpha, Luna, and their son. That was their job.

　　After their deaths, my brother Andrew became Beta. He and our Alpha were best friends since childhood, and now they run our pack together.

　　My brother is an amazing Beta, and an even better brother. He was 17 when our parents died, and after that, he had to take care of our pack and me. He never complained. He took those responsibilities and did the best he could. And he did great. He always made sure I was safe and taken care of. He still does.

　　I finished high school a few months ago, and all I have to do now is train. After the attacks, my brother and our Alpha decided that all pack members must train to be able to defend ourselves.

　　The rule in our pack is that we all must go through high school. It is something similar to a human high school, but we learn werewolf and pack history, pack laws, and everything needed to help the pack function properly. For example, if a wolf is interested in working for Alpha, he or she will learn a bit more about running the pack. If a wolf is interested in agriculture, he or she will learn about plants and our crops to help sustain our food supplies. If a wolf is interested in defending the pack, he or she will learn about defense techniques, attack formations, and they will have to spend more time training than the rest of us. I chose to help the Alpha run our pack. It was natural to me. My brother is the Beta and I wanted to help him as much as I could. So, I learned all about pack laws and everything else needed to successfully run our pack.

　　The Alpha, Beta and pack healer are the only ones who leave the pack to go train for their positions. They go to different packs where they learn everything needed for their positions in a pack. The training lasts for about a year.

　　Considering our pack was attacked and our former Alpha was killed, our new Alpha and Beta finished their training in only a couple of months. The pack needed them, and it had to be done quicker than usual. I missed my brother when he left, but I knew it was something he had to do.

　　We have to train every day, but tomorrow I get a day off because it is my birthday and my first shift. It is a special occasion. The first shift is important because you get to meet your wolf, and your mate.

　　Mates are important in wolf culture. A mate is your special someone, picked by our Moon Goddess. It is the connection of two souls. Your mate becomes the most important thing to you. You love them instantly. You want and need to be with them and protect them.

　　My brother still hasn’t found his mate. And neither did our Alpha. So, until he does, his mother, Gloria, still has the Luna title and does the Luna duties.

　　She had a hard time after her mate, our former Alpha, passed away. She almost didn’t make it. She didn’t eat, sleep or do anything. That is what happens when you lose your mate. Your will to live goes away. However, she recovered, and she is an amazing Luna. I love her a lot. She helped me and my brother after our parents died, and she and I have a special relationship. She is like a mother to me.

　　I asked her to be present for my first shift. She accepted and gave me a big hug. It is a big deal to be present for a wolf’s first shift. At least in our pack. Each pack has its own tradition, but in ours, only the wolves you choose get to witness your first shift. And it was an honor to be chosen.

　　I chose my brother, Luna Gloria, and my friends Amy and Jacob. They were all honored and excited for me.

　　I couldn’t wait to shift. It will be amazing. And maybe I will be luckier than my brother and meet my mate soon.

　　I had to go to training soon, so I brushed my teeth, took a quick shower and got dressed. I put on my black tights, training bra, grey hoodie and my black Nike sneakers. I tied my long brown hair into a ponytail and went downstairs.