Once Upon Her Three Wishes

Chapter Six

Sergei walked to the main house of the pack with a pep in his step. His crisp black suit with purple tie accented his young fit body perfectly. He couldn't wait to finally introduce himself to his mates. The young wolf wondered how they would take this turn of events. It wasn't completely unheard of for someone to get more than one mate, but they are triplets and Isabella wasn't mated to him. There was also excitement over introducing his mother to his mates. The only dark cloud would be his father, his mouth twisted into a disappointed downturn as he thought of him. The young man shook the distasteful thoughts from his head and focused on the positive. He has two beautiful, rich mates.

The ball was in full swing, with the omegas mingling happily with the other packs' members. Sergei smiled as he walked in searching for the familiar scent he'd been smelling for the past six months. His hands itching to finally greet the greatest gift the moon goddess could give him.

Irina stood beside her mother, smiling shyly as all the Alphas' sons from the neighboring packs greeted them. Isabella stood behind her sister, a stern look on her face. She did not want to find her mate and she was not happy about this. Alyona was beaming as the strapping young men approached the family, only to have a slight look of disappointment when they weren't her mate. Her mother had taught them not to react, but it was so hard today! Maybe her mate would be from her own pack, she just had to be patient.

Suddenly, Irina perked up as Sergei walked into the room. Her wolf was dancing excitedly, her white paws prancing happily in the back of Irina's mind. "Our mate is here." Irina's wolf was beautiful, with a golden tone body, white paws, and a white tip to her tail. The wolf's soft brown eyes were a warm welcome to Irina this morning. Apparently, Isabella and Alyona's wolves were nearly identical to Irina's.

Irina looked at her sisters, neither of them seemed to be feeling any kind of pull. "Excuse me, matushka," she whispered and made her way to a restroom. Ally and Isabella noticed their sister's stunned face and followed her into the bathroom.

"Are you okay?" Ally asked.

Irina nodded, "Yes, I think my mate is here." Her wolf howled reproachfully and Irina corrected herself, "I know my mate is here. Didn't either of you feel it? Or smell that?"

Isabella shook her head, "Smell what?"

"It smelled like pumpkin and apples all mixed together," Irina said. She had to admit the smell was delicious, if a little sweet for her.

Ally giggled, "You're so lucky! Your mate is here!" She hugged her sister happily. The young woman couldn't wait for it to happen to her and she was thrilled for her sister.

"Come on, we need to get back out there, so you can meet your mate!" Ally ushered her sister out the door and back towards the ballroom.

Irina inhaled deeply, the scent of the fall fruit filling her nostrils and causing her heart to beat a little faster. She searched for the source of the scent and was surprised to see her classmate Sergei standing in front of her and Ally. He simply nodded to Isabella, his focus was now on the girls in front of him.

The handsome young man reached both of his hands out to the ladies, "Hello, I believe I am your mate," he introduced himself calmly although every inch of his being had him wanting to kiss them both. The deliciousness of their scent made his heart skip a beat.

Ally smiled kindly at Sergei, "Oh, Sergei, I'm sorry, but I am not your mate." The eldest triplet corrected him gently. She looked down at her sister, "But she is yours." Ally nudged Irina toward Sergei.

Sergei looked surprised but quickly masked it. Either way, he thought to himself, he was still mated to an Alpha's daughter and that would be the fastest way to secure himself a top position in the guard. Finally, throwing his father out of the pack while keeping his mother as safe as he could. The young man reached his hand out to Irina, "May I have this dance?" he asked as a sweet ballad began to play in the background.

Irina nodded as her parents smiled broadly behind her. Alexei nodded to Sergei and then turned to his second in command and whispered something in his ear. The beta nodded and left the ball. His boss's task was not surprising to him, one of his children had finally found his mate. As he left he thought of who this young man was and his family.

**********

The Fates looked over the watching pool and smiled.

Lachesis nodded approvingly, "They are a lovely couple."

Clotho grinned as she wove the scene in front of her, "I am surprised that he thought he'd get more than one of them, though."

Atropos shook her head as she snipped the thread in front of her. "They are identical, and he never got Alyona alone." She lifted another one of her threads and snipped it gently. It was a quiet night in the Fates' room, especially since most of the creatures were in the Dragonmoon Pack, celebrating the triplet's birthday. "That would make sense to me," Atropos shrugged. She was more focused on her task than the party below and Sergei's behavior.

Her sisters agreed, "That does make sense." Clotho turned her attention back to the scenes below. "Oh, no."

Lachesis shook her head disapprovingly, "Sometimes a free will is terrible."

They all turned their attention to the pool as Aldrik walked into the ballroom.

**********

"Sergei! My son!" He swaggered over to his son, "An alpha's daughter!" He exclaimed as he slapped his son on his back. "I thought you told your mother you had two mates!" The drunken man said loudly as he swayed beside Sergei and Irina. "But even if you were wrong, as always, you still got one." Aldrik assessed Irina and sneered, "Too bad it wasn't the warrior one." He lifted an amber bottle to his lips and took a deep swig. "At least she's pretty."

Sergei's mouth twisted in anger, "Go home, you're drunk. Or better yet, go find one of your whores."

Aldrik's expression grew dark with fury at his son embarrassing him in front of the whole pack. His fist connected with his son quickly, splitting his lip and drawing blood. Sergei just stood there, seething. The guards rushed Aldrik and removed him from the ballroom so fast that most of the partygoers didn't notice.

"Oh, dear!" Irina cried and reached into her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief, dabbing at Sergei's split lip gently. Sergei jerked his head away.

"I'm fine," he snapped at Irina. He walked away from his mate, he needed to breathe. He walked out to the patio, he slammed his palms against the cool concrete railing. "Why does he have to do this? Every. Single. Time." Each word was enunciated by a slam on the railing. Irina came up behind him, touching him gently. Her touch soothed his tumultuous emotions. He turned to her, "I'm sorry, he's so cruel."

Irina smiled, "His words are nothing to me. And it would have been easy to think that you had all of us as your mate." She rubbed his back and leaned her head on his shoulder. He tilted his head down and kissed her forehead.

"Thank you." He held her in his arms and relished in the calming effect she had on him. He let out a gentle breath and looked out at the night sky, allowing his stormy emotions to abate into a soft sigh.

Irina smiled up at him, he looked down at her and he couldn't help himself. He kissed her gently. The touching of their lips caused an explosion of new feelings through the both of them. He wouldn't do more than kiss her, not yet. He broke off the kiss and pulled her into a tight hug. "Thank you."

Irina returned the embrace then pulled back slightly, "Tell me about your mother."

Her request was easily fulfilled, he told her all about how kind she was and how strong she was. As the list of positives grew Irina could feel his pride in his mother, but there was something he was holding back. They held hands and got to know each other until well past midnight. She yawned deeply, "I'm sorry."

Sergei shook his head gently, "Don't be." He stood, "I have to go." The disappointment in them both was palpable but understandable.

Irina nodded, "We have a lifetime together," she assured him. She watched as he walked away, undoubtedly to speak with his mother about tonight. She smiled, she couldn't wait to meet her.

*****************

Atropos shook her head sadly, she hadn't noticed this thread in her bunch. As she snipped the thread, she heard the young man call out for his mother.

Lachesis's eyes widened, "She didn't!"

Clotho gave an exasperated sigh, "This can't be good for him."

*********

"Mom!" Sergei called. "Mom?" his voice grew concerned as he looked for his mother. He knocked once on her door, "Mom?" He saw her on her bed, a vial beside her. He rushed to her lifeless body and lifted it to his chest. He sobbed as he realized what she'd done, and cursed his father's actions for driving his mother to this. His heart hardened as he found her note. A rage grew inside of him that he never knew was there.

He made the decision then and there to make sure his father paid the price for this. No matter what happened.