I knew I didn't grow up in your average family. At least not by most human standards. Heck even in our pack my family was considered above average. Very few families were as big as ours, but my parents wanted a huge litter and that's exactly what the moon goddess blessed them with, 12 pups. There's me, Amethyst, the oldest, my 6 brothers; Reed III, Forrest, Jasper, Brooks, Cedar and Bear and 5 sisters; Raine, Jade, Hazel, Brooke and Ivy . My dad, Reed Jr, is a pack warrior and my mom, Rose, is an Omega. They both had similar upbringings but for entirely different reasons. My mom grew up in a pack, The Ice-blood Pack, where females, especially omegas, were abused mentally, taught to be nothing but submissive and were only there to serve the highest ranking wolves and to pop out pups. She was never allowed to have any opinions and had to do as she was told. It wasn't until she met her mate, my dad, that she found out that she could do more with her life if she wanted. Not that it mattered though because my mom was more than happy to be a doting house wife and mate. My dad, however, grew up in two very different packs. His first pack, The Iron Heart Pack, was similar to my mom's, he grew up living with both his parents until he was about 8, but his father (my grandfather) eventually cheated on his mate (my grandmother) and rejected her, forcing her to move back to her family in the North and the pack, The River Mights Pack, she grew up in. Because of the laws in the pack, my grandfather sought to make sure she couldn't take any of her 6 pups with her, not until they turned 16, got their wolves and were able to make their own decisions. My grandfather was an abusive wolf, believed that he was to be obeyed no matter what. It was the way most of the males in his packed lived, she-wolves and pups were there to obey the males, especially the higher ranked males. My grandfather however thought he should be higher ranked then he was and he didn't like authority, especially if it wasn't his. He hated being controlled and would constantly disobey his Alpha and Beta, and whenever he got punished for his disobedience he would come home and take it out on his pups. The abuse resulted in his pups, including my dad, the second to youngest, leaving one by one after they turned 16 to live with their mother. Eventually my grandfather was turned rouge for his disobedience and never heard from again. My grandmother however welcomed all her pups back and showed them the love and care they deserved when they came back to her. Her home pack taught them how families and all pack members should be treated and because of this most of her pups, including my dad, grew up with a different perspective on families and a new found loyalty to pack life.
My parents had met at my mother's pack during an event her pack Alpha had thrown for all newly trained warriors from the local academy. Most warriors, no matter where their pack was located, were sent to special training academies throughout the US. Depending on their skill sets and what specialties their Alpha wanted them trained for would determine where the warriors went for academy. Since most warriors were males, after they graduated they would return to their respective packs, on rare occasions, the academies would have female warriors and once they would meet their mates, they would decide to stay in their mate's home pack instead of returning to their own. Most of the time, different packs would host events after graduation as ways to hopefully start alliances or strengthen existing ones. These events also helped unmated wolves find their mates since so many different packs came together to celebrate. My mother, being an omega, had to attend the event as a server. Her Alpha only allowed warriors and higher ranks in his pack to attend as guests. My dad being a recently graduated warrior attended to celebrate with his buddies and to help represent his home pack. He was 21 at the time so he was also hoping to find his true mate since anyone could find their mate once they turned 18. My mom being 18 was also hoping to find her mate so she could do her duty and start creating a family. Her alpha made sure all omegas that were unmated and over the age of 18 would work the main hall serving cocktails or drinks that way he could keep an eye out for any possible mate bonds that could potentially help secure more alliances. My parents knew they were mates immediately after coming in contact and married a month after the event. My mom became pregnant with me a year later and just kept popping out pups until my dad decided he was done growing their family. Their history was rough and how they found each other was definitely meant to be. I just wished that their past didn't affect me like it has. I wish I had a better upbringing because goddess knows I want a better life than this.