Page 2 of Untamed

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Tarkik - 11 years Old

"Tarkik, stand up straight," Ma scolds me under her breath through the fake smile plastered on her face. I don't roll my eyes... barely.

I also don't tell her that her lipstick is cracking on her lips.

"She'll get wrinkles if she keeps smiling like that," Eoff mutters to me as he sidles up to me after Ma walks off, still creepily smiling.

"Wrinkles? You sound like an old female, dumbass," I whisper.

He smirks. "I heard it from my Grams, sooo..."

We both snicker but stop as Ma tosses us a scowl. I sigh, trying to stretch unobtrusively. This suit and tie crap is something awful. I feel like ants are eating me; it's so damn scratchy. But, it's the'perfect shade of celestial blue'according to Ma. We match.

I look like a moron.

"How come you got to wear a black suit?" I mumble, pissed off at Eoff's regular suit. My suit isshiny, on top of being an embarrassing color.

"'Cause, my Ma ain't the Luna."

I exhale noisily. Ma tosses a glare my way again. This time I do roll my eyes, but only when she turns her back to me. I onlylookdumb.

An hour later, we're finally done greeting the guests from the western packs. Holy goddess, there are so many wolves here, including a lot of females who keep looking at me and smiling, weird,greasysmiles that make my stomach pitch.

"You're popular, Tark," Eoff smirks at me.

"Whatever." Females don't interest me. I'm too busy to worry about their dumb hair and clothes like they always seem interested in.

"Hey, you think we can sneak out of here or what?"

I glance over at my ma. "Yeah, she's not even looking at us. Pa's out until late with the other males," I add in frustration. I wanted to go with my Pa, but he just laughed when I asked.'You have plenty of time to grow up, Tark. You're only nine!'

One day I'll be the alpha of Adlartok wolves. I just have to wait. "Let's go," I whisper to Eoff.

I tear off the gross suit as soon as I can. I do fold it. I don't want Ma to whack me for messing up the ugly thing. "Let's go, Eoff!" I shout.

Laughing, wearing only our plain underwear, we crash through the trees, our bare feet squelching in the mud, the grit getting between our toes. Ma had to pick one of the warmest days of the year to have this gathering. We don't get many muddy days. Just a few in the fall, a few more in the spring. A storm is heading in. Soon this mud will all freeze solid, maybe even tonight.

"Hiya, Tark!" a couple of the young females Eoff's age and my own come bounding up, their hair still in curls and ribbons, their pretty dresses as muddy as our feet on the hems.

"Hey, Skyla, Greta," Eoff grins.

I stay a little more stoic. Pa always says to make sure I don't do anything that would make my mate upset. He always tells me about my mate, about how it's the best thing about being a wolf. He talks about females who will want to be my luna, but I'll only have one mate. She'll be the only female that gets my bite. The only female I should touch in love. Then he laughs at my face when I feel all grossed out about females and touching oneonpurpose.

"Hiya, Tark!" Skyla greets me again. She's frustrating. A few years older than me, I'm still about an inch taller. But... she'solderand always trying to hang around. She never says 'hi' to Eoff, even when he says it to her.

I don't like her much, but Pa says I have to speak with all the pack to be friends. That's what good alphas do.

"Hi, Skylar," I say in a voice that Ma would smack my head for. Pa says, 'be warm, but distant,' whatever that means. I don't like this female.

"Hiya Tark!" she giggles.

I glance at Eoff, who shrugs his shoulders, palms up to the sky. I just shake my head at him. Females, who understands 'em?

"What are you doing? Aren't you supposed to be inside?" Greta interrupts Skylar's dumb giggles.

"Not anymore," I snap. I don't need to explain to Greta why I left, and I don't need her permission. She's not in charge of me.I'mthe Alphason.

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