One True Alpha

Chapter 01

"Here you go, Heir Ironclaw. You're in Group 60 today," said the elderly wolf in charge of the ID table. He handed me a lanyard with an ID card in a plastic pouch. My name was printed along with my pack and rank below a surprisingly good quality picture. My tan skin and dark brown waves took up most of the frame with little of the white wall showing behind me. Piercing green eyes from my mother looked back at me and a faint wisp of a smile on pink lips showed a touch of fang. I was surprised at the quality of the photos for just a five-day festival. Every unmated wolf that wanted to attend the festival was required to enroll in the Mate Hunt.

Iris Diane Ironclaw
Ironclaw Pack-Western Region
Alpha Heir
Age: 18

I swallowed the lump in my throat, and I moved away from the table. "Everything will work out. Trust the moon," I repeated my father's words again. He was on the other side of the council's territory with the males. This helped keep things organized and civil. My father said he met mother when the council had the females hide in the woods starting at first light, with the males entering in the evening. This allowed males to track down their hiding mates to show them they were worthy partners. A wolf that couldn't track a new trail was hardly a wolf at all, my mother had said.

That was the year the last female heir went into the woods for the Mate Hunt. My dad said something happened with her mate in the woods. He never elaborated on the issue but that was the last time the Mate Hunt was hosted in the woods. That was also the year Alpha Terra Greenbrook took over her pack. Her father had been quite proud of her and was supposedly with his daughter this year. That information surprised me as she was without a Luna or an Heir.

Needing something to do, I fixed my turquoise blouse and smoothed out my grey dress pants. Matching shoes covered my feet and barely peeked out from underneath the hem of my pants. It was customary to wear the colors of your pack throughout the festival. I couldn't help but resent not wearing a dress. I may be future Alpha, but maybe I should have worn something more fun, feminine instead of business. Too late to change now, I was already here. I made my way to the ballroom. This would be my first Mate Hunt, and to say I was nervous was an understatement. Most wolves went to at least two before finding their mate. Unlike most wolves, my father did not allow me to travel to our allied packs to search for him. "If we're visitors we won't have the advantage in a fight if their male decides you have to stay," he had said when I asked. It left me irritated, especially when the male Heirs visited our territory. I couldn't help but feel a little hurt when the Alphas took a breath of relief when their sons weren't affected by my scent. I pulled on a loose thread on my blouse before cutting it with a sharpened fingernail.

The ballroom was warm and stuffy with the hundreds of females that were crowded inside one of the council's more modestly sized ballrooms. Most of the wolves were between sixteen and twenty with a few who looked to be in their late thirties. Everyone was separated out by rank, a small sign hanging from the ceiling in the back with "Heirs" written in black script behind "Alpha-Born Females" told me my place. I would be in the last group. I made my way to the back of the room, passing through the ranks as I went. Everyone went quiet as I continued my journey to a scarce corner with the highest ranked females.

All of them were staring at me. Sizing me up. A few gave me smiles of encouragement as tears fell from their cheeks. I wondered if they had been required to come here, as some packs did. Some packs had a highly established patriarchy that was even worse than Veronica's at Willow Wood. The pack would want to be rid of females that did not have mates within the pack as they were seen as an unnecessary burden. I felt sorry for them as I passed by. My father had asked if I was ready to enter the Mate Hunt this year and I had said yes. He didn't permit me to come last time as he was worried another Alpha born would claim me as his and force me back to his pack. I had grown into my wolf since then. That was the year my mother taught me a variety of dancing and etiquette just as grandmother taught her.