One True Alpha

Prologue

I couldn't sleep. My friend from the North Shore pack, Jessica Pratt, was sleeping in the bunk above me. Soft snoring could be heard from beneath her sheets. There were about twenty of us in the room with the beds squeezed close together, Jessica and I had demanded the beds on the far wall as it had the most space. The cheap cots were borrowed from several packs for the festival that was beginning tomorrow. There were even wolves sleeping outside and in the hallway. Jessica had taken a few leaves from her healer to get her to sleep deeply. I regretted not taking any from mine. The only other wolf awake in the sleeping dorm was Veronica.

She was praying quietly to the moon by the window, I could not hear her, but I could see the tears fall and hit the floor. The moon's soft glow bathed Veronica's pale skin in her light. I assumed she was praying for her mate. Brown eyes looked up at the moon, shiny with salty moisture and she moved a coffee brown strand away from her face. She was approaching her thirties and had been attending the Moon Blessed Festival since she turned fifteen with no luck. Her pack had been shipping her off to every gathering they could in hopes of finding her mate. Even though she was the only surviving child of her Alpha, her pack did not allow females to be an heir. Only males can be Alpha.

I turned on my side, giving her some semblance of privacy in a room with twenty other she-wolves. The biggest festival in the werewolf community was starting tomorrow and I couldn't sleep. Tomorrow, I would have a chance to meet my soulmate in the first of several events.

Forty packs in the region, seventeen from the Eastern region and four international packs would be in attendance this year. The Moon Blessed Festival was held once every three years around the world, my own pack would have a small celebration. Several events would unfold but the first event would be the Mate Hunt Ceremony. I was excited but worried for three reasons.

Reason One. I was the firstborn pup of an Alpha and I am female. That was usually never the case. In some packs, it was a bad omen. It meant that the Moon wanted the current Alpha line to end. It was why Veronica's pack was so desperate to find a male heir to eventually replace her father. Females almost always went to their mate's pack, but if he could move up the ranks he could be persuaded. It was the wolf's nature to want to be of higher rank. My father had announced that I would be the heir as Ironclaw's Alpha last year. There were few alpha females in our history and even fewer who could hold their position. Just like humans, males were stronger pound for pound. An female Alpha had to be strong physically and mentally to maintain her position.

Reason Two. Because I was a first-born and heir to Ironclaw, if my mate was of lower rank, he would have to move to my pack. Males almost never changed packs. He could reject me and I would be alone. I wasn't going to fight for male that didn't want me if I didn't have to. Even if he held the position of Luna, some packs found it shameful if the male had to submit to the female.

Reason Three. If he was of high enough rank and power, we would be required to fight for domination in The Trials. Few alphas would allow their sired males be of lower rank than their females. If he won, I return with him. And if he won...who would take care of my pack?