Hope Springs

Max led me through their house and I marveled at the beauty of it. All the floors were hardwood and everything was very modern. Their house was very large, and I wondered how many people lived here. On the fourth floor of the house was where the library was, and it seemed that the whole fourth floor was dedicated to the library. Max hadn’t let go of my hand yet and I didn’t particularly mind. He pulled me over to a large towering bookshelf and my eyes roamed the titles of the books. Werewolf 101, Werewolves: Lore, Pop Culture, and Truth, Pack Dynamics, The Werewolf Council: Founding-Present, and Werewolf: Legend of the White Wolves were among some of the titles.

“Is this bookshelf dedicated to just the werewolf books,” I asked, glancing at Max.

He glanced down at me, “Yes. We have a bookshelf dedicated to vampires, and a bookshelf dedicated to the Loup Chasseur. The rest of the bookshelves are historical non-fiction, biographies, research materials, or fictional books.”

I nodded, running my fingers along the spines of books. Max grabbed my hand bringing it back down to my side before grabbing the book labelled Pack Dynamics, and he also grabbed Werewolf 101. He led me to one of the tables that was closest to the bookshelf and set the books down on the table.

“Start with these,” Max murmured, “If you have any questions, ask me.”

“Are you sure that you won’t be distracting,” I asked and Max grinned, squeezing my hand.

“I make no promises.”

I sighed, and let go of his hand. I flipped open the first book Werewolf 101 and started reading. This book seemed to just be giving the basics of being a werewolf.

10 Basic Rules:

1. No human must find out about us

2. Don’t shift in public

3. If you find your mate and she is human don’t claim right away

4. If your mate is human consult your Alpha on the best course of action

5. Always defer to someone who is more dominant than you

6. The Luna must be protected; anyone who attempts to kill her will be killed

7. Do not kill or harm a human

8. If the Alpha of a pack is killed, the Alpha’s eldest child will inherit the position

you can challenge the child for the right to lead the pack

9. It isn’t required to shift on a full moon, and it isn’t recommended

10. Always respect the Alpha and do what is in the pack’s best interest

“Max,” I murmured, and he grunted, “Max.”

“What?” He asked, lifting his head from the table.

“What are the consequences if any of these rules are broken,” I asked, and Max rubbed at his eyes, before pointing at the paragraph below. I gave him a look and he sighed.

“When it comes to mates, the punishments are always more lenient,” Max explained, “For the ninth rule, that’s more like a guideline. The moon does call to us, but it doesn’t force us to shift and the concern with shifting during the full moon is that Loup Chasseur will be out actively looking for werewolves during that time. If you do happen to shift on the full moon, it isn’t that big of a deal. The Alpha just might issue a command that you aren’t allowed to shift for a week, or that you aren’t allowed to shift on the full moon,” Max yawned, “There aren’t really that many capital punishments, but an attempt on the Luna’s life or an attempt on the Alpha’s life are usually what leads to a capital punishment. During a challenge you aren’t supposed to kill the Alpha, you just have to make him submit. If you kill an Alpha and there isn’t a challenge issued you will face the capital punishment. Um.....I think that’s about it. Just follow the guidelines Trin, and you won’t have anything to worry about.”

“Okay,” I murmured, “We aren’t governed by the moon, that’s nice. So...If someone tried to kill me, they would be put to death?”

Max’s eyes flashed gold and he growled, “No one will be trying to kill you.”

I nodded, “Okay, okay.” I reached out and grabbed his hand, trying to soothe him.

The Mating Bond

Mates are one of the most sacred things to werewolves. A mate is to be protected at all costs. A werewolf won’t hesitate to kill for their mate, and will do anything to make sure that their mate is happy, and protected. If a werewolf feels that something is a threat to their mate, they won’t hesitate to eliminate it. Male werewolves, are more protective of their mates and at the mention of something harming their mate they will go ballistic.

Mates are for life. A werewolf can only find their mate after they have turned fifteen.

Signs: 1. Scent. The scent is one of the easiest ways to tell if someone is your mate. It is a very distinctive smell. If someone is your mate they might smell like vanilla to you but like lilacs to everyone else.

2. The wolf. Your wolf will know if you have found your mate.

3. Eyes. The instant you set eyes on someone, you will know if they are your mate or not.

Marking. Marking is an important step in the mating process. It lets all other males know that the female is taken, and the female can also mark the male to let other females know that the male is taken. Typically only the female is marked but there are occasions where the female and the male will be marked. In order to mark your mate you must bite them in the crook of their neck. The bite isn’t painful at all, and is actually quite pleasurable.

The second step in the mating process is the actual process of mating. After completing the mating the bond is complete and it is harder for the mates to be separated for a lengthy part of time.

“Max,” I whispered and he stared at me, his eyes still having hints of gold in them. “Is this all true?”

He glanced at the page I was on and nodded. “All of that is true. Does it bother you? Now that you know how serious the mate bond is, does it bother you?”

I shrugged, “I’m not exactly sure what to think Max. All of this still seems so unreal, and yet at the same time it just feels too real. The fact that the mate bond is so serious does scare me a little, but at the same time it doesn’t. As strange as it is, it is reassuring to know that a relationship can be that strong and will remain that strong until death.”

Max gave me a gentle smile, the gold in his eyes fading. I gave him a shy smile before reading the book again. It detailed shifting for the first time and gave the basics of the pack, and Rogues. I didn’t have any more questions, after finishing Werewolf 101 and so Max directed me to Pack Dynamics while he put away the book. Pack Dynamics detailed the titles that wolves had, Rogues, the threats that Rogues presented to a pack, how a pack hunts and fights together, and why an Alpha and a Luna were important. I had a few questions on this book as well, but the book seemed to be pretty self-explanatory.

The door to the library opened up and my eyes widened as Hadley, Alex, Rhea, Josh and Anya walked into the library. They were all chatting and laughing about something but abruptly froze. Rhea’s head snapped towards the table where I was sitting and slowly everyone followed her gaze. Max sat down in the seat next to me, and once he saw where my gaze was he looked over. He grinned at them and gestured for them to come over. I shifted nervously in my seat as they slowly headed towards us.

“Hey,” Rhea offered, glancing at me, “What are you doing here?”

“I thought you freaked about the whole werewolf thing,” Hadley said, her voice indifferent and I looked down at the table.

“Hadley,” Max admonished and I looked up at him, stunned. It didn’t really surprise me though. The book I had read had said that male werewolves were fiercely protective of their mate.

“She didn’t say anything wrong,” I murmured, “She’s right. I did freak out about the whole werewolf thing. Hadley, you have to understand that this whole werewolf thing is new to me and we may have been friends, but then suddenly finding out that my friends are mythical creatures that shouldn’t exist is a little difficult. Not to mention that I find out I am the same mythical creature, and....I honestly don’t care if you are mad at me anymore. I have too much to deal with right now.”

They were all silent for a minute. I hadn’t expected myself to blow up like that, but the past few days of uncertainty and craziness were starting to catch up with me.

“I’m sorry,” Hadley murmured, “I kind of forgot how new all of this is to you. But you have to also realize that you aren’t the only affected by your decisions. Max was a-”

“That is enough Hadley,” Max interrupted and I glanced at him, a small smile appearing on my face when I saw that his cheeks were beginning to turn red.

“Why are you here,” Rhea asked, “Not to sound mean, Trinity, but you made it seem that you didn’t want anything to do with us.”

“I didn’t,” I admitted, “But...But I don’t have a choice. I’ve kind of been thrown right into the middle of this whole world. I don’t have a choice, but even though it had only been a few days I did miss you guys and I am sorry for freaking out about the werewolf thing.”

Rhea nodded her head slowly, and Hadley clapped her hands together, looking excited. I was glad to have them back, I had missed them even though it had only been a few days.

“Now, how about you guys help me learn more about werewolves.”