The Warriors Mating Games

Chapter 1

Darics POV

I step out of the car and inspect my surroundings. I'm a Warrior of 28 years old; 6'4" with dark brown hair and blue eyes. I was raised in a Warrior Village, my father was a retired Warrior and my mother was a rejected She-Wolf who was found in the old way. My parents are wonderful and have raised me my whole-life to believe that my destined mate will be found among these special She-Wolves. I've seen first-hand how their tough experiences mould them to be strong mates for Warriors.

We have arrived at the location that this year's Games will be held. I run a practiced eye over the area and quickly determine that the Games will be held in a heavily wooded area of the territory. With a sardonic grin I realise that the Warriors have held many training events in this location and myself and my brother Warriors will have a distinct advantage being familiar with the terrain. Not that this would really matter, after all having trained from the age of 14 to be Warriors we will certainly have the advantage over any young She-Wolf. No doubt the women will be just as eager as us to meet their mates.  After all what wolf doesn't want to find their other half, the person they are destined to spend their lives with?

I can see a flat area before the treeline, there are small wooden podiums lined up, perhaps this is where the inspections will take place. To the side is a huge building it is easily the same size as the Pack House where the Warriors are housed. This is clearly where the Games participants and organisers will be housed during the event. A shout from my friend Bear draws my attention, he and some of my brother Warriors are heading to the building to get settled.

Hurrying over to join the others we make our way into the huge building which will serve as our base for the next couple of days before entering the arena. Spotting my friends Bear and Zev I head to meet them. I know that everyone is as eager as me to get started; this has been a tough 5 years for everyone. It's hard to hear at 23 that you may not be granted the opportunity to meet your mate. Having grown up seeing how my father dotes on mom I have always wanted that. I have seen how they look at each other, my mom's face lights up every time father enters the room, when I visit I can see that they are just as in love now as they were when I was a kid. I want that.

The three of us head towards the hall where my brothers are gathering, Bear is bouncing along beside me clearly eager to begin the games and find his mate, Zev is more sedate and circumspect. They could not be more different in personality Barrett has been my friend since I joined the training, he is a little older than me and acted as a big brother and mentor. He is huge man standing at 6'8" with black hair and eyes so dark they appear black. Due to his size and strength everyone calls him Bear. He can appear intimidating at first glance and his deep voice only serves to make him more daunting. However once he begins talking it becomes swiftly apparent that he basically a giant teddy bear, the second meaning of his name. Bear is gentle and kind but fierce in defence of those he cares about and when performing his duty. Zev is quiet and is definitely the planner of the group. Standing at 6'2" with blond hair and unusual green eyes with a surfer look he has no shortage of female attention, like all of us although he enjoys this attention he would never engage in a serious relationship preferring to wait for his mate. Ethan makes the last of our group, spotting him across the Great Hall we make out way to him. Ethan is a total ladies' man with brown hair and dark grey eyes, at 35 he is the oldest of the group and is the only one of us who had reached the mating age before the new rules were in place. However unlike most he preferred to wait to find his mate and didn't partake in the annual travel. He has always claimed that he doesn't need a mate to tie him down, however we believe that he secretly regretted not traveling to meet his mate before the new rules as he was the first Warrior to sign up for the Games and has seemed on edge in the lead up. The four of us were closer than any siblings and had been through some extreme missions together. Warriors are sub-divided into teams of four who undertake all training and missions together. We work closely with other Warrior teams and generally several teams will be assigned per mission.