Dedicated to Floor_Ooms for making this beautiful cover for me!
***

When he looked at her, for the first time in his life, he felt his heart beating.

It had been a long time since I saw my mom mad. She used to be mad often, I mean she was from the Ira quarter of the pack, so how could she not? It was in her blood after all, she had grown up with it. My dad, however, managed to tame her fire with his cool reasoning as he had learned in the Ratio quarter. 
Anyway, it was a long time since I saw my mom mad. It was not directed at me, thankfully, but at my big brother, James. He cared for all of us, I think, but in his own way. He didn't really belong here, in the Amor quarter. He didn't love as fully as most people here did. He was more of a Peccatum person, a person who didn't care for the rules, a person who would just go his own way. Therefore, he sinned often, in my mothers belief. Ever since she fell in love with dad, she didn't get mad as much as before, but now it was just too much. I could hear her screams everywhere, hell I think the whole pack could hear her screams. She tolerated his acting for years, knowing that after the ceremony, it would all be over. And now, the evening before the actual ceremony, it became too much. She just gave in to her urges, and got mad, but not just mad, she got really mad. I'm not sure what James did, but it sure can't be good.
Knowing that mom probably would cool down as soon as dad got home, I decided to take a walk outside, away from the fight that my brother and my mom should solve themselves, preferably before the ceremony.
"I'm going for a run, bye!" I yelled loudly while pulling off my jacket and running into the garden. I loved running, almost as much as I loved chocolate, and I can tell you I really loved chocolate. There was just one thing that I loved more than chocolate, and that was running, in my wolf form. Okay maybe there is just one more thing that I would love even more. The thing I would love the most is to find my soulmate, my other half. And that is why I was looking forward to the ceremony so much. It was held only once in three years, and all 18 to 20 year olds had to go through it, to find out in which quarter of the pack they belonged. And that wasn't even the most awesome thing. The most fantastic thing about the ceremony, was that after everyone has found out in which pack quarter they belonged, they would meet up in one big festivity, where everyone could find their other half. As I just turned 18 a couple of weeks ago, this would be my ceremony as well. Even though I didn't hope for it, it was possible that this was my last evening in the Amor quarter, the part of the pack where all people live that love fully, with all their hearts. I think I belonged here, as I loved the place, loved the people, loved everything about it, except for the fact that I hadn't found my mate here yet. But I would. Soon. I could feel it in every part of my body, I could feel it in my whole being.In the mean time I had reached the edge of the woods that were located around the whole Amor quarter. Miles and miles of century old trees, leaves and dirt. The absolute perfect place for a run as a wolf. I took off all my clothing and hid them underneath the roots of an gigantic tree. Naked as the day I was born I walked a bit further into the woods, enjoying the feeling of mud between my toes, loving the way the last rays of sunshine fell through the leaves of the trees on my body, warming my creamy skin. As I spotted a running rabbit a couple of hundred meters in front of me, I felt the excitement of running again. Immediately I let my wolf form take over, and slowly but surely I morphed into the body of a small, grey coloured wolf. With a speed incomparable to those of humans, I sprinted through the forest, not even looking twice at the rabbit I ran past a while ago. I just enjoyed the feeling of the wind through my fur, the feeling of the dirt I moved with my paws as I made my way forward to the clearing I loved so dearly.

It didn't take me long to get there, but that wasn't the point for me. If I wouldn't return to the Amor quarter, I wouldn't be able to see this clearing ever again, so I wanted to just see it once more before the ceremony.

As I reached the clearing, a small place on top of a hill with an amazing view, I quickly shifted into my human form again. I didn't care about my nudity, as this was a normal thing in the Amor quarters. I just watched over the countless of trees that stretched throughout my whole horizon, except for that one place. That one place, the castle of Sensus, the centre of all quarters.

The place where the ceremony would be held.

What must have been hours, only seemed minutes. But in the end, the sun went down completely, and the sky had turned dark. The first couple of stars shone brightly in the air, and then I knew I had to go back before my mom would get mad – again. I didn't want to risk ruining what could be a beautiful last evening together. If I were to belong in another quarter, I wouldn't see my family for three years. I would only be able to see them at the next ceremony, ages from now.

I ran to the edge of the forest silently, after which I put on my clothing and went home in a scurry.

"Mom, dad, I'm home!" I called out right away when I opened the door.

"Great, love!" I heard my dad yell back. "Go take a shower quickly, dinner is ready. If you're back within ten minutes we might wait for you."

I laughed out loud. Knowing my family and their love for food, they wouldn't wait even if I'd be back in ten seconds instead of minutes. "Sure thing," I mumbled, but I tried to finish as quickly as possible anyway. I just put on my pyjamas, and left my hair to airdry. As I walked into the kitchen to eat, I saw to my utter amazement that they actually did wait for me. I smiled brightly. "Thank you mom, dad," I said politely, my eyes watering if I thought about missing them.

"Come on now dear," my mom said lovingly. "Wewould never miss dinner together with the whole family on your last day here."This time she looked at James as well. I'm sure she would miss him a lot, buteven though he was no Amor citizen in his heart, he cared for her as well, andhe would call. I really expected him to call me once too, if I was honest. Iknow I would call for him all the time. Because I loved him. Just as much as Iloved my mom, my dad, my chocolate, my running in wolf form, and the thought ofmeeting my mate tomorrow. I loved many things, many people. Why? Because I wasme, because I loved truly, deeply. Because I felt like I belonged here. I wasraised as an Amor after all.