His Unidentified & Untouchable Mate

Preparation (2)

Jacob POV

My sisters chose my wardrobe for me, which was a godsend, because I couldn’t be bothered. I would be lying if I said that wasn’t freaking out a little bit.

“What do you think Jacob’s mate will be like?” Jada, my oldest sister, asked Amalia, my youngest. She was looking through my nice button-ups, choosing between a soft blue or a soft green.

Amalia, sitting cross-legged on my bed, pondered the question seriously. “Well, she has to be pretty,” the twelve-year-old tapped her chin. Her expression changed to somber when she added. “…and loyal.”

And didn’t that just spoil the mood?

I couldn’t help but think of Amber’s cracks about the family’s luck with mates thus far. While some of the more gossipy wolves liked to call it a curse, in truth, it was just a run of bad luck and bad tempers.

I couldn’t help but notice how Jada flinched at the remark – and it was no wonder why. Jada and Jared, the eldest of all of us, had the most dramatic story of all. Jada killed her own mate in a challenge when he cheated on her with Jared’s mate. Jared’s mate had the sense to run, but Jared, the alpha in charge of managing most of our security forces, was an excellent tracker. He hunted her down. She was never seen again, until her funeral, just a month later.

That was bad enough, but Samuel, the southern alpha, had been very publicly rejected in front of the crowd at his eighteenth. The girl and her mate left the pack soon after. Archer, the eastern alpha, had yet to find his goddess-given mate, but as he was nearing twenty-one, he was considering taking a chosen mate instead. And Rowan… well. His mate had been sickly. She died just a year after he’d met and marked her – with his unborn child in her belly.

Of course, all that was just my generation. Father’s generation ended with only one happy pairing – him and my mother. My brothers often whispered that it took a strong luna to become High Alpha, and as they all wanted that position more than anything…

I had tried for months not to think of that, but with it in my face, it was hard to ignore.

“I’m sure the goddess will come through,” I said – and that was all I could say. I didn’t want to crush poor Amalia’s hopes of finding a good, handsome, and loyal mate. But I could see the look of brewing concern in Jada’s eyes as she handed me a soft green shirt. I stripped my current T-shirt off, ducking into the bathroom, but keeping the door open so they could hear me. “Amalia, sometimes bad things happen to make room for more good in the future. I’m sure our brothers have their happy endings awaiting them.”

My little sister’s voice was small when she replied, “I hope so.”

“What about you, then?” Jada asked, rerouting the conversation. “What kind of mate do you want?”

“Someone big and strong,” Amalia answered without hesitation. “Someone that smells nice and likes cats.”

“A werewolf that likes cats?” I laughed. Not a lot of werewolves kept pets – considering we all had an inner beast that craved nothing more than freedom. Those that did, usually chose a dog – easier to relate to. “Do you want a cat?” I asked.

“I think so,” the mattress squeaked as she flopped back onto it. I walked back into the room, dressed in slacks and a dress shirt, to see her laid out like a starfish. “Or a ferret.”

“Ferrets stink,” Jada wrinkled her nose. “Like. A lot. You don’t want a ferret.”

“What about a goldfish?” I asked, mostly kidding. “They have some pretty cool fish tanks these days.”

“Ew.” She replied and left it at that.

Jada busied herself picking out a vest to go with my outfit while I rolled my sleeves up and buttoned them in place, then put on a watch. “Amalia,” Jada called, finally setting aside a brown vest. “Why don’t you let mom know we’ll be down soon?”

“Sure!” Amalia bounced up off the bed and hit the ground running.

Jada waited a full minute after the door shut to turn on me. “Don’t let what they’ve said get into your head.”

I tossed her a sidelong glance. “Who said anyone said anything at all?”

“I can tell, trust me,” Jada laid out three different ties and sat on the bed to decide between them. “No two wolves are the same. And a lot of what happened to us is because of the pressure and stress of our positions.” She bit her lip, “I mean, I was technically never alpha, but I was still competing for it at that time.” Her expression fell deeper into despair. “I was so busy I didn’t have time for him. And Jared’s mate did. I was immature… foolish even.” I could see her eyes watering. “I should’ve-”

I clapped a hand on her shoulder firmly and grabbed a brown tie only a shade darker than the vest. “No. Don’t think like that. Remember – he betrayed you.”

I wasn’t sure if that betrayal warranted the loss of his life, but I’d always heard that emotions run hotter, deeper, wilder when a fated mate was involved. She’d been blinded – and it wasn’t like her lost love had tried to deescalate.

I turned to get socks, and she grasped my wrist with surprising strength. “Jacob. Listen… you’re going to get a lot of advice tonight. Everyone thinks they’re an expert when it comes to mates. Just know that…” she stood, tying my tie for me. “…nothing is black and white. Love is complicated – just because the goddess blessed us, doesn’t mean that your love will be perfect.” Her eyes were intense when they met mine. “Don’t go in expecting her to be perfect.”

I, foolish and arrogant as ever, huffed a laugh. “Of course.”

If only I’d known then how imperfect things could be.