The Lycan Diaries

When I was little, the other pups would always push the boundaries my father and mother had set for us. We were always warned about outsiders and the dangers they posed. Roland, the Ulfric of the pack, looked to his daughter. “Zooma, you have disobeyed my orders. You shall be punished.” I always was linked to the other pups, even if I was not anywhere near them, and all because I was the princess.

One day, a rogue lone wolf named Jes came into our territory. My father became wary and his fur bristled up. Sephora, my mother, hid me behind the men who stepped up to protect the women, elderly, and sick. Roland became very agitated and fought the lone wolf. When all was said and done, Jes was wounded but left with a promise of future return.

Today was the day... the day I became of age and was supposed to choose a mate. Sephora and Roland stood outside, knocking on the door. I knew what they were doing. Looking out to the wheat fields, I saw them gathering in preparation. “Zooma, it’s a high honor as royalty to find a mate. Your father and I will retire as king and queen, placing it upon you. Why do you think we have trained you?”

I scoffed. “I was always in trouble for something I didn’t do.”

Sephora frowned. “Roland speak to her.”

I awaited my father’s voice. Silence echoed through and I questioned whether or not they had left.

Mother was stubborn, but father was patient. I opened the door to them. “Why must I choose a mate now? I’m only eighteen. Besides, humans don’t mate this young, so why should I?”

Sephora furrowed her brow. “It’s a tradition we carry on with us as our ancestors did.” Whether or not I accepted this tradition did not matter to my parents. As long as it was carried on, they could die happy apparently.

I finally decided that I would at least go to the ceremony of becoming of age and began plotting my way out of choosing a mate. Lycan packs true to the old ways usually have their males fight for the favor of a female. Due to the aggression some males possessed, it was prohibited to kill your opponent as that diminished the numbers of the pack once mating time came around. As it stands currently, once you pin your opponent and their neck and belly was bared, you were declared the winner and the female given the chance to inspect you to see if she finds you worthy.

There were definitely some males that I knew my father wanted to see me with, and another few my mother would pick. I never cared much for the guards they talked about and some of them were flat out jerks to me. The thought of being mated to them made me sick and mini vomit in my mouth.

As I looked around and greeted the pack, a boy named Daniel came up to me.

“Hey Z, I know this might not be customary, but I made you something.” He held out his hand in a fist and awaited my hand. “Ok?”

Daniel is six foot four, lean muscle, and a sandy blonde wolf. He wasn’t a bad friend but always troublesome as a pup. My father found him at a young age upon hunting for food one day. A pack just a few miles south of us had been killed by hunters who used arsenic to run them out. Roland talked to the council and they agreed to allow him into the pack.

Sephora would have died if she knew the things I’d seen him do, but then again, even more so if I had myself done them. My father Roland came up to speak to the pack as Daniel put the item into my hand and joined the other males in line. I looked at it and gasped silently. He had made me a bracelet with a white gemstone wolf charm bead in the middle. It was very pretty and looked just like me in my wolf form.

“And now, the males interested in my daughter please step forwards and phase. As the tradition stands strong, you will fight for her approval, and show control by not killing your opponent. I wish you all the best of luck and may the best male win.”

I rolled my eyes until a strange scent caught my nose.

Jes...