I can not believe the elders are forcing me to come to this party and to choose a mate. In a few hours, I have to choose a female with whom I will spend the rest of my life.
I pull up to the pack house and sigh when I get out. Adam and Toney are behind me and we make our way to the front door.
"Welcome, Alpha Max,"
Leo says as he steps onto the front porch. I stick my hand out to him and he shakes it begrudgingly.
Luna Charlotte invited me to lunch. I really don't want to sit through an entire meal with these people if I don't have to, but I put my wants and needs aside. We must work together, or else all of this would have been for nothing.
I can not imagine a female sacrificing her entire life and happiness for nothing. I already feel guilty enough as things stand now, so I will do everything in my power to make this alliance work for both packs.
Lunch is served, and Luna Charlotte begins discussing the women attending the party. She has an entire list in front of her that she is working through with me, telling me a little about each female.
Suddenly, she falls completely silent, and we all look at her. She has been blabbering on for about 30 minutes, and all of a sudden, she is quiet. Something was wrong.
Alpha Leo leans over and looks at the paper, clearly not seeing what Luna Charlotte is seeing. She points to a name and I see his jaw working before he schools his features,
"Don't worry. She will not come. Not after the last incident,"
I lean forward and raise one eyebrow at them. I watch them fumbling for answers or a good lie to give me,
"She is a bit of a mess, but don't worry about it, she will not attend,"
they both assure me and I get the feeling there is something more going on here than there letting on.
Luna Charlotte continues with the list and I pretend to listen. I have zero interest in listening to information that will not help me at all. I pride myself on being a good judge of character and with the help of the moon goddess, I will make the right choice for my future mate. A good and strong Luna for my pack.
After she has worked through the list, we stand from the table, and one of the pack members comes running in,
"We have spotted two rogues at the pack border line Alpha,"
Luna Charlotte grips her chest as she sits back down,
"Alpha Max, would you like to come with us?"
Leo asks and I nod. No way in hell am I missing out on a rogue hunt.
I strip my clothes off and shift as I run, following Alpha Leo to where the rogues were spotted so we could pick up their scent.
I smell them as soon as we reach the borderline. Rogues have a particular scent, just like each of us. Packs in the woods tend to smell like trees, whereas packs from the mountains smell mostly like air and a fresh breeze.
The best way to describe rogues sent is homeless. They smell like garbage and desperation and it makes your skin crawl.
With my enhanced sense of smell, I easily follow the rogues sent. Leo howls behind me, and I look back, only to see he is still at his borderline. What the hell is wrong with him? We need to hunt them down before they come back and find a way into the pack lands.
I stop and slide as I try to turn on the wet grass. As soon as I reach them, I shift back to my human form,
"What the hell are you doing? We need to follow them,"
Leo shifts back to his human form,
"they did nothing wrong. They did not cross over the border, so we aren't going after them."
My mouth almost fell open. How naive can one male be? Doesn't he understand that they will come back? This is not your pack and he is the Alpha here. I remind myself before making my way back to the pack house.
I grab my clothes and make my way to my room. The rogues have been getting more brazen. They have been trying to get into pack lands all over the area, apparently looking for someone.
Most of them did not speak, but those who did said they were looking for someone and a few said they were looking for a female. I have been keeping a close eye out for any reports of a new female joining our area or a female who has gone missing, but so far, I have had no luck.
I jump into the shower and try to push my feelings down. I am so frustrated at this situation. Not only the rogues that have been getting out of hand, but the entire mating ball as well.
What if I don't find a suitable mate or worse, I find one and she doesn't want to be my mate? What if I have to drag her away from here, kicking and screaming?
I feel my stomach twist and turn as I imagine carrying some poor girl away from here like some animal.
After my shower, I put on my black 3-piece suit and a red button-up shirt. I smell Adam and Toney just outside of my door and I let them in.
"Happy to see the two of you can also look like proper high-born wolves,"
I tease them,
"We have to impress the ladies. The Goddess knows you're terrible at flirting and charming the females, Alpha."
I laugh at that, they were not wrong. I most certainly did not have any flirting skills. We, as wolves, don't sleep around, and we tend to wait for our mates before having intercourse. Of course, not everyone waited, but I do pride myself on the fact that I waited.
Now that I think about it, I don't know why I waited before having sex. I was waiting for my true mate to share that with her, but now the elders took that decision away from me.
"It's time,"
Adam says as he looks at his watch and I feel the dread pooling in my soul. My wolf was so unhappy with this entire situation that he crawled deep into my subconscious and stayed there.
We make our way to the ballroom and Alpha Leo calls me over,
"ready for this?"
he asks and I shake my head. I was not ready for this and I knew neither was he.
Females started arriving and Luna Charlie introduced me to a few of them. They were all pretty and proper, just like she said, but I did not feel any sparks towards any of them. In fact, they all looked like they were about to either throw up or pass out when they saw me.
Not because of my looks, I have been told I'm pretty attractive, but because of who I am.
Suddenly, my wolf perked up and I smelled it, or more accurately, I smelled her. As soon as the doors opened, my wolf went wild in my mind and I was struck stupid by the beauty walking down the stairs.
I took another long inhale of her scent, but there was something wrong with it. I could not place my finger on it, but it was incomplete. It was like I could smell part of it, but not all of it.
I wait for her to smell me or sense me, but nothing. This is exactly how they described the fated mate bond, but she did not feel nor sense it. Maybe I was just so desperate for a mate that I was imagining things.
The closer she gets to the landing, the harder it seems for me to breathe. Her escort has his hand on her lower back and I know it's just to assist her down the stairs, but I want to rip his hands off of his body.
He says something to her and she blushes. My wolf's hackless raise and I try to calm him by assuring him that she is not our mate. If she were, she would have scented us by now and she has not even glanced in our direction.
I watch as he leaves her side and the ballroom is so packed and noisy that I can not hear what he says as he walks away. I do see the fucking wink he gave her and I want to kill that male.
What is wrong with me? Have I lost my mind? She is not my mate, and I need to get a grip on myself.
"Not her,"
I heard from behind me, and it snapped me out of my daze. I turned to see a furious Leo behind me,
"And why not?"
I ask with a smirk on my face,
"Anyone but her. You are not allowed to pick her,"
he says again and now he has piqued my interest.
"Well, if you recall, the elders said I can choose anyone for a mate,"
his hands fists into balls at his sides and all I want to know is why not her. They have been throwing females at my feet all night, but I'm not allowed to pick her.
"Fine, if she comes and talks to you, you may talk to her. But I will not force her to go with you, so I suggest you set your sights on someone else."
Leo turns and storms off.
'Not her, anyone but her,' I replay his words in my mind. 'I will not force her to go with you,' but he's willing to force anyone else? This is so strange and I wonder if she might be the one his son has in mind.