Connor's POV

The mating season was almost here. The next full moon would mark the beginning of the month long, ecstasy filled period in which our wolves desperately try to replenish the pack with as many healthy pups as possible. Every wolf at the age of seventeen would begin to feel the need to reproduce with their mate once the season began. Every one over the age of seventeen would feel the need but pack laws state that you could only have pups with someone you marked as your own or your one true mate. Your true mate was the one other wolf who was meant to be yours. Every wolf's true mate completes them, they are their perfect other half. Most wolves find someone to mate with within five years after their coming of age to reproduce. Most wolves mark someone as their own, meaning they aren't true mates but they accepted each other as someone they have feelings for and someone they trust enough to have pups with. Some wolves decide to wait until they find their true mate. Some are lucky and meet their true mates early but some go their whole life waiting and never finding their other half. I've decided to wait to find my true mate. Those who have found theirs say it's the best feeling you will ever feel to lock eyes for the first time with your true mate. If my true mate is as special as I know she is then she deserves for me to be faithful to only her. This, however, is a problem because I'm the alpha of the fallen moon pack. All alphas have the desire to mate with some she wolf, even if it isn't their true mate. It's our instincts. As alphas we are inclined to reproduce so we will have an heir to be the next alpha. The strongest and smartest son or daughter of an alpha will be the next alpha of their mother or fathers pack once they step down. I'm twenty now soon to be twenty one and each year I find it even harder to save myself for my mate. Every year the urge to reproduce becomes even stronger until I'm basically pouncing on the first girl I see. I've managed to hold back my wolf's instincts but there have been a few close calls where I've almost marked a few she wolves but I managed to take control of myself before it was too late. The more I resist the more my wolf pushes to take control to chose a she wolf to bare my pups. I'm already starting to feel the urge and I know some of the pack is starting to feel it also. But for now we will just have to hold back our instincts.

We still have regular tasks to complete in order to keep the pack going. I quickly sent a call to my beta, Rachael, through the pack connection.

The pack connection is a link every wolf shares with their pack. It's a way to express feelings and thoughts when we are wolves but we can also use it in our human forms. Once the call was made I grab my stuff and leave my house taking a left to head towards the pack house. The pack house was a large two story building located in the center of the woods where all of the other pack members' houses are. The pack house contained a kitchen for cooking, an entertainment room for the pack to enjoy, and other various rooms. Some of the rooms were used as offices; one for me, my beta, and the pack healer. Three of the rooms were claimed by our pack healer Jason. He used two to keep the sick and injured in while they healed and the last one to perform medical tasks and check ups in.

I walked in through the front door to find the pack house filled with pack members. I greeted each of them with a slight nod before I made my way up the stairs to Rachael's office. I could smell her inside so I gave a small knock on the door before I opened it and made my way in.

"Hey Connor," she said as she put a few papers away in her desk.

"Hey," I responded, "Can you get a patrol together to check the east side of the border. It's been a while since we refreshed our scent on them."

"Sure," she said, " I'll get on it now."

"Ok. I'll be taking a group to do the same thing to the north border" I told her.

"Alright see you later," she said as I made my way out of her office and down the stairs back out through the front door of the pack house.

Once I was outside I sent a message to three dominant wolves to meet me near the start of our route. I then made my way into the woods stopping to take my clothes off. Once I found a rock to lay them on I broke into a run letting my wolf come to the surface. Within seconds my fingers turned to claws, my bones shifted, and my skin was covered with a thick black fur. Sure it sounded painful, but it was more of a mild discomfort at this point since I've been shifting for so many years now. Plus the thrill that came when I was in wolf form was worth it. Suddenly my already heightened senses became even stronger and I was able to run even faster to my destination. Within moments of arriving at the border I smelled the three other wolves I had asked to join me. Sure enough a moment later two grey wolves and one tawny colored wolf bounded into the clearing where I was standing. They each gave their heads a bow upon seeing me to which I responded with a curt nod. I used the pack connection to tell them our route then I turned around and headed into the woods, the three of them following behind me.

We made our way to the edge of the border, the one we shared with another smaller pack. They called themselves the Flowing River Pack. They were usually a quiet bunch, always stood on their side of the border. They tended to fear us because our pack consisted of about thirty wolves compared to their eighteen. We each marched along the border, stopping every now and then to rub our scent on a tree or piss on a rock. We continued on the border refreshing our marks for about thirty minutes until we came to a clearing with a small creek running through the center. With a flick of my tail I let my pack mates know they had permission to rest. As they lied down I walked over to the creek and stuck my nose in, enjoying the cool crisp taste of the fresh water. Once I was finished I walked back over to take a seat. Just as I got comfortable I was hit with a sudden feeling of fear and anger from Rachael and two other wolves. They were using the pack connection to let us know something was wrong. Immediately I stood up and the three others followed. I stuck my nose into the air, flinging my head back as I released a howl letting Rachael's group know we were on our way.

Once I finished the warning I took off into the woods, sprinting towards the location of Rachael's group with the three other wolves hot on my heels. Within five minutes we made it to where Rachael's bunch was. They had been patrolling the border we shared with the Evergreen Pack. They were a tough pack with a few more members than ours and they were constantly coming onto our territory to hunt so we often patrolled this border. However, with one quick sniff I immediately knew the trouble wasn't from the Evergreen Pack. The smell was unfamiliar which meant only one thing, a rogue. Rogue wolves were uncommon over here because so many packs inhabited these woods. Only the bravest of most desperate wolves came through these territories without a pack. Which meant know good because a desperate wolf was a dangerous one.

We quickly rushed towards Rachael's groups side. They were growling with hackles raised at a large brown she wolf. The rogue was doing the same to them. It was a stare down, each wolf waiting to see what the other did. Suddenly the rogue made a leap towards Rachael with a mighty growl, knocking her to the ground. Rachael quickly recovered and lunged at the rogue she wolf catching her front paw between her teeth. She bit down hard which resulted in a cry of pain from the rogue. In a counter attack the rogue made another lunge at Rachael aiming for the neck but she was met by the claws of three other wolves. Together they made quick work of the rogue, knocking her onto her back once again and securing her to the ground with their paws. She tried desperately to get away but Rachael took her front paw and forced the rogue to lay her head back on the ground. It was the ultimate form of submission, exposing the neck and stomach to another wolf.

Just as Rachael made a lunge towards the wolf's neck to deal her a painful dangerous bite, our eyes locked. I was immediately appalled by the she wolf's beauty and the sudden rush of love I felt towards her. It was like I met the most wonderful person in the world and it rocked me to my very core. Right then I knew she was my other half, I had found my true mate. And I had to protect her. With a sudden rush of fury I leapt at Rachael knocking her easily off the she wolf. Before she had a chance to recover I pinned her to the ground her stomach exposed and my snout inches from her neck.

"Don't touch her," I growled dangerously.

Rachael whimpered, " I don't understand alpha, she's a rogue on our territory" she responded. Yet through her confusion she still showed a sign of submission because as laid back as I am I'm still extremely powerful and I demand respect.

Then I did the unthinkable. I got off of Rachael and rushed at the rogue sinking my teeth into the part of her neck that met her shoulder. The she wolf whimpered in pain but gave her tail a wag as the sensation turned to pure ecstasy. I had marked her. The bite would create a mark that would last on the she wolf now and in her human form for days to come. It was the official way to show a wolf was off the market and claimed as someone else's mate. Once I finished I turned towards the patrol with my hackles raised and a terrifying snarl on my face.

"No one is to hurt her. She is my true mate," I said to them.

Every wolf whimpered at the anger I was sending them through the pack connection. They bowed their heads and tucked their tails between their legs in shame. They sent feeling of apology towards me and I eventually let my fur lie flat again. Once I was sure no harm would come to her, I turned to face my Luna.

Thank you for reading! I'm very insecure about my writing so please comment how you felt about the first chapter. Update should be coming out soon but I have no real schedule for updates.