The Mating Rules

Raelyn’s POV

My eyes are tightly shut as I wave my fists around in the air in front of me, feebly trying to ward off whoever it is that is now with me.

A light laugh fills the air around us, warm and soothing, and I slowly peel open my eyes to find the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen sitting beside me on the rug. Her silver hair flows down her back, moving softly in the warm breeze as her white dress lays around her. She sparkles with an ethereal glow that mesmerizes me, her deep blue eyes studying me as I try to remember how to talk.

‘M . . m . . Moon Goddess?’ I finally manage to get out, my hands dropping to my lap in shock, ‘what are you doing . . Why are you here?’

The Goddess smiles brightly, ‘call me Selene dear, Moon Goddess is so formal’ she replies, her voice like music, ‘and as for what I’m doing here, you tell me, you are the one who called for me, are you not?’

My eyes widen as I nod dumbly, ‘well yes’ I mutter in confusion, ‘but I didn’t think you’d actually show up.’

Selene laughs again, reaching out and patting my hand, a warmth flowing through me from her touch. ‘Why would I not come?’ she asks curiously, ‘I always answer my children when they truly call for me.’

I look around us, suddenly realising that the world around us is completely silent, not even the leaves are moving despite the enticing breeze that swirls playfully around us.

‘Don’t mind the outside world’ Selene murmurs, following my gaze to the treeline, ‘to everyone else, this is but a blink of an eye, a mere moment in time.’

‘Time has stopped?’ I ask stupidly.

The Goddess’ smile widens, ‘I find it less distracting if my other children are kept in place whilst I talk to one who calls for me’ she replies simply.

I nod, tucking the information away as the Moon Goddess makes herself more comfortable beside me, picking up a plate of cakes and holding them out to me in offering.

I reach out totake one before my hand stills and I glance down, the blanket that was bare only moments ago, now holds sandwiches, cakes and an array of treats.

‘It’s always more comfortable to talk over a snack, don’t you think?’ Selene says, taking one of the cakes herself and popping it in her mouth.

Nodding dumbly, I take one of my own, placing it in my mouth and chewing slowly.

Once I swallow, the Moon Goddess gives me her attention, smiling encouragingly, ‘now child’ she says quietly, ‘what was it you wanted to ask me?’

I fiddle with the edge of my dress nervously, averting my gaze as I feel a blush of embarrassment crawl up my cheeks.

‘Why didn’t you give me a wolf?’ I blurt out suddenly, shocking myself in the process.

Selene’s smile fades slightly as she sighs, her gaze moving toward her Moon for a second before she answers. ‘I did’ she admits, ‘and she was the most loving of creatures, I picked her especially for you.’

My lips part in surprise, I had a wolf? Then where is she?

Seeming to read my mind, Selene gives me a knowing look, ‘can I tell you a story?’ she asks.Ccontent © exclusive by Nô/vel(D)ra/ma.Org.

Confused by the abrupt change of subject, I nod in agreement, and wrap my arms around my waist protectively as I wait.

‘There was once a she wolf, named Collette, she was a low level warrior, who belonged to a pack that lived an easy and quiet life. They didn’t look for trouble and the Alpha had no desires to expand his territory, only wanting to keep his people safe. They defended their borders on the rare occasion that Rogues would attack but other than that, their existence was peaceful.

The Alpha had a daughter, and she was beautiful, she caught the eye of an Alpha of another pack at a meeting and he asked for her as a chosen mate as part of an alliance. Her father said no, that she would wait for her fated mate like everyone else, he didn’t want her to take a chosen until she had thoroughly searched for her fated.

The other Alpha was mad, he wanted the Alpha’s daughter, and so he led an army of warriors and attacked the pack on a full moon night.

The Alpha and Luna were slain, along with many of the male wolves, and mated females. Realising that they had no chance, the Alpha’s daughter fought through the woods until she found the she wolf, who was her friend and begged her to run, taking any unmated females as she could. The Alpha’s daughter could see what was going to happen, she would not be the only one who would be forcibly mated and either marked or killed that night.

The warrior she wolf begged the Alpha’s daughter to go with her, but she refused, saying she needed to stay, distract the angry Alpha so others could escape.

The Collette ran through the woods, trying to find any unmated she wolves but they were either dead or had been dragged away by the awful pack that had attacked them.

Having no choice and seeing the m******e that was once her pack, the she wolf had no choice but to run alone. Leaving the pack lands, there was no pang of severance as her Alpha was already gone, she was a Rogue.

She ran for months, hunting in her wolf form and keeping away from packs and Rogues alike.

One day, as rain pelted down on her, freezing her to her core, she stumbled upon a cabin, abandoned and forgotten, rotten holes in the walls and a large c***k in the porch that surrounded the structure.

She pushed open the rusted door and stepped inside, sheltering from the storm that raged around her. She remained hidden, cold and shivering for days, listening to the continuous thump of heavy rain against the structure trying to

After three days, the rain abated and Collette finally could hunt for food, returning to the cabin with the rabbit she’d bought. Though damaged, the structure of the cabin was sound and the she wolf turned it into a home, living there for two years, alone.

One day, she came back from hunting and found her home ransacked, the smell of Rogues everywhere around the area, realising her time was up, Collette knew she had to move on, once again on the run as a lone wolf.

Time passed, she kept mostly to herself, never stopping anywhere to long, picking up odd jobs in human towns for long enough to buy things she needed.

One night, as she was making her way through a thick forest, she heard voices ahead. Immediately, she changed course, not wanting to find out if the voices belonged to human or supernatural beings, either one could be dangerous to a female travelling alone. Though she could defend herself against most human men, werewolves or Vampires would be a challenge.

She only made it a few steps before warriors stepped out of the trees surrounding her. They’d scented her a while before and had carefully tracked her from downwind so she wouldn’t realise until it was too late.

They took her to their leader, a man named Ivan, who was the Beta of a bloodthirsty pack to the north. They were currently travelling, scouting out smaller packs that would be good targets to attack and conquer to extend their Alpha’s territory.

Throwing her before the Beta, the warrior snarled in disgust, ‘Rogue’ he growled, ‘alone, we made sure.’

Ivan looked up at Collette and as the full moon illuminated her face, he growled out ‘Mate!’

The Beta swept her away to his tent, mating her fervently until the morning light filtered through the thin material of his quarters. From that moment on, Collette was no longer a Rogue, treated with respect by the other warriors as the Beta female, moving with them from camp to camp as they continued their scouting mission.

Two months passed and Collette awoke one morning alone, the space beside her still warm as she reached out instinctively for her Mate. Sitting up, she climbed from the bed, grabbing Ivan’s coat and wrapping around her naked body as she headed toward the entrance to the tent.

As she reached for the flap, she heard one of the men speaking, his voice low but still carrying in the morning air.

‘What will you do Beta?’ the warrior asked harshly, ‘the Alpha will not accept it, she is a Rogue.’

The Beta sighed, ‘I know’ he replied, ‘she cannot return with us.’

The warrior sucked in a breath, ‘you intend to reject her? Let her go?’ he asks in surprise.

A snarl of jealous anger emanates from the stronger wolf, ‘no’ he growls harshly, ‘she is mine! No other will ever touch her, I will rip apart any male who thinks he can.’

‘So what will you do Beta?’ the warrior asks in confusion.

The Beta laughs without feeling, ‘I’m going to kill her’ he replies simply, ‘if I cannot have my Mate then no one will, I shall Mate her until she passes out and then slit her throat.’

‘Collette stumbled back from the entrance, her heart breaking as tears ran down her cheeks. She silently scolded herself, she hadn’t survived this long to have her own Mate end her life.

Dragging on her clothes, Collette, grabbed one of Ivan’s empty bags, stuffing it with food that had been placed at the small table to the side of the tent and raced to the back of the accommodation. Extending her claws, she ripped through the thin fabric and climbed out, giving a quick glance for the Beta’s men before running from the camp and in to the surrounding trees.

She ran until exhausted, wading through streams and covering herself with smelly mud to hide her scent, so her Mate couldn’t find her.

Weeks passed and the she wolf was feeling tired, always sickly and her body ached. She believed that she had caught some sort of illness until the swelling of her stomach over time told her the truth, she was with child.

Collette’s desire to survive only grew, her refusal to give up no matter how cold, tired or hungry she was, spurred by the life inside of her. Her pack had been taken, her Mate had betrayed her, but no one was going to take her baby.