The Game of Quadruplet Mates

Chapter 2

By the time the sun rose up in the sky, I was already wide awake, the sounds of morning activity filling my cranium. I’ve been up for hours now worried and anxious beyond belief because today was the day.

The day of the dreaded Assembly... or should I say, the Games.

I should think that after my talk with Pete I would be in a much better mood— calmer perhaps, but honestly, it only made me more nervous.

Worry towards the Assembly is not normal. Excitement is.

Everyone I know has been waiting for this since they were mere pups, either for the neutral land where the Assembly is held or just the anticipation of having our soulmates. When you finally come of age and are added to the list by the Alpha, it’s supposed to be the best thing in the world.

A knock on my door brings me out of my thoughts and a second later, my hesitant looking father comes in, his messy gray hair popping out from the small opening. He had just come back from what seemed to be a very long patrol shift.

“Hey, hun. Good morning.” His tired voice spoke through the quiet of our home.

I forced a smile to hide the worry that I was feeling and sat up. “Good morning.”

He sits on the edge of my bed and takes my hand in his. “How are you feeling?”

“Really great.” I blatantly lied, not wanting to add to his stress. He was tired enough as it was. He didn’t need anything else to worry about.

From the look he was giving me, I know he caught my lie, but being the best father in the world, he doesn’t mention it. “Don’t think about it too much. Enjoy it as much as you can. Don’t worry if you don’t get chosen. You are always welcome at home.”

He doesn’t bother with lying to me, giving empty promises and other words of encouragement about being chosen or finding a mate. My father has always been practical and has taught me to accept the reality of things instead of living in denial. He cannot guarantee that I will be chosen and he will not tell me lies just to comfort me.

The fear of every girl is to never get chosen for these things. Our pack in particular is not known for being the first choice or any choice for that matter. This new mating… it’s like a business transaction these days. If you have nothing to offer; beauty, power or wealth, no one will choose you. I have lost count of the number of girls that come running home crying because they were not chosen.

We only have until the age of twenty five to be chosen and I’m only twenty. It’s my first year.

We have five chances, but in our case, if the pack can't afford it, we only have one.

This one year.

Our first.

My father reached for the side of my cheek lovingly. “Promise me you’ll try to enjoy yourself. I know you’re worried about me and the pack— the cost of keeping unmated females or whatever it is you’re worried about that you shouldn’t be, but know that it’ll make me very happy to know that you’ll let yourself enjoy this moment.”

I held my father’s gaze and nodded. It wasn’t a hard ask. “I promise.”

The smile he gave was heart clenching. “Good. Now get ready. The car that the Alpha rented will arrive in an hour.”

Cars and other mechanisms like that are foreign in our lands. The few humans that live within our territory don’t even have it. That’s why our Alpha has to pay someone from another pack to let us borrow a car.

Within the hour, I shower and get myself ready. Still dripping wet from my bath, I stepped outside my room to find a group of unmated women who were already waiting for me. The women were holding hairbrushes and other things I was not familiar with. It’s a custom in our pack to help each other, especially on special occasions like this.

The women do not waste any time. They brush my hair, detangling the knots and taming my wild curls as best as they can. By the end of it, they’re biting their lips in frustration and groaning to themselves.

“She’s a lot of work.” They whisper to themselves, not caring if I could hear them. “Soon we will have another one of us in our midst. Our poor Alpha.”

“Her poor father.” Another chimed in, making me swallow anxiously. It felt like cotton balls were in my throat.

When my hair was tame enough, they assisted me into a beautiful soft white dress that fell just above my knees. This was the dress that the Alpha specially ordered from another pack. It was simple but elegant and detailed with the finest lace, the material hugging my body and allowing the little curves that I had to show. The dress is backless, dipping all the way down right below my bottom.

I was showing a lot of skin— more than I’m used to, but I know from the mumblings of the women that this is what clothes are supposed to look like in the Assembly. Everyone was supposed to look their best… and sometimes we had to show what we had to offer.

As small as that is for me.

Nonetheless, this dress is single handedly the most beautiful piece of clothing I’ve ever owned. It made me wonder how long it took for the Alpha and the others to afford this.

After they’re satisfied with my hair and dress, they begin to attack my face with powder and lipstick. We don’t often dress up here. There wasn’t ever a need for it. Pretty clothes, paint on our faces, it all just got in the way of our daily chores so I was all new to this.

“June is taking twice as long as we did with Larissa.” One of the women complained under her breath. It was not a comment to be mean to me but of truth.

“That’s because Larissa is prettier.” Again, not to be mean, but only stating facts.

Larissa is much prettier than I am and, with an event like the Assembly, that meant a lot. I can only hope she finds a mate so that there won’t be two failures this year.

“And Larissa actually takes care of herself.” They say, shooting me pointed looks. “Like brushing her hair and taking more baths.”

It can’t be helped. Larissa has five older brothers who all excel in the pack. With five brothers, there’s very little she has to do outside their home.

There’s only my father and I in ours, so there’s a lot more things to do physically that are eating away at my time. And honestly… if I did have time, it wouldn’t exactly be to brush my hair.

Maybe a bath, but not to brush my hair.

“You have to take care of yourself more, June.” One of the women told me. “I know there’s a lot of work to be done but you’re not a child anymore.”

I haven’t been a child in a very long time. Knowing they’re only trying to help me, I don’t say this out loud.

“If not for yourself, June, do it for your father.” And that’s all it took for me to nod. “I know he wants you to be happy and well.”

He does.

He has always wanted the best for me.

“You might very well find a mate in the Assembly,” Another spoke, making the others laugh. “And then you’ll have a different kind of duty then and it requires a lot of self care.”

“I would rather eat my own tongue.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. My eyes widen and so do the rest of them.

They sighed, my reaction, though surprising, was not out of character. “June…”

“If I do decide to take care of myself, it would be for me— maybe for my father, but never for a man I hardly know that buys me off because of a bolt of silk.” I rebuked, but it is a weak argument coming from pure frustration and helplessness with my situation.

Because I know I am not the best choice.

Because I know I have nothing to offer.

Because I know no one will choose me and by Monday I’ll be back here.

Because I know all the hard work my father and the Alpha went through is all for nothing.

The elder in charge gestures to the group of them. “And that is why you’ll be joining us one day. You’ll be destined to try your best to help another girl in the future because you didn’t do your best.”

Again, not very comforting words, but the reality of my future.

A puff of powder that makes me sneeze is dusted on my nose before they step away, inspecting their work. “I think you’re ready.”

I forced a smile, hoping it showed my thanks. Deep down I know they want this to work for me. I want it to work for me. It just has to.

They do not say I am beautiful. They do not compliment the dress. But they do offer me a small smile in return, their hands gripping my arm in quiet support.

They’ve all been in my position once. They’ve all wished for a better life too.

“June,” My father calls from outside, his weathered voice echoing in our empty home. “It’s almost time.”

Right as he says this, I start to hear the rumble of a low engine from a distance. It was the car that was bringing us to the Assembly.

Anxiousness makes me play with my fingers as I feel my heart rate increase. I bit my lip, trying to convince myself that Pete and I had promised… that I had nothing to worry about.

But I was the type of person that if it hasn’t happened yet, I don’t believe it.

The women that helped me get ready gave me one final nod before I got the courage to walk out the door. My father was right outside, his back to me as he faced the beat up old car that was driving towards the pack house in the center of our little rundown village.

He finally turns to look at me when I’m standing beside him. “You look beautiful.”

Try as I might, I can’t seem to detect any kind of lie in his tone. He was being honest. “Thank you. Truly. For everything.”

Everything.

He knew what that meant even without me specifying. He knew what he had done for me… taken me into his pack, took no mate during his time in the Assembly— for how could he explain his daughter? A random girl he found in the woods to any woman?

“I’ll make you proud. I’ll find someone… someone good, someone that will let you retire in peace.” I say weakly, knowing the likeliness of that happening is little to, no, it is impossible.

When chosen and mated, the man has the power if he so desires and if he's wealthy or kind enough, to help the girl's family.

“I don’t care about that. I will never care about that.” He tells me, his tired eyes heavy with meaning. “I’ve always been proud of you. I want you contented. That’s all.”

Words failed me.

For what could I say to the man that saved me? My thank yous never seem to be enough.

“Remember, you don’t need to find a mate if you don’t want to,” He says seriously. “If no one there is good enough for you, just come home and we’ll figure something out.”

I love the fact that he thinks no one would be good enough for me, as if that’s what the problem was.

My arms moved before I could think about it, wrapping them around father and pulling him close. We were never really affectionate, but today, he wraps his arms around me too.

“I’ll be right here.” My father swears to me and I know the meaning behind his words.

He’s telling me that whatever happens, he’s here… with me, unlike my mother who left me in the woods to d i e.

A pack elder approached us before we could say more. “June, they’re waiting for you.”

Before I knew it, a rusted and paint chipped car was already parked and waiting by the pack house. I could already see the other attendees milling around it, wondering how the four of us, plus the driver, the Alpha and our luggage could fit in the small thing.

“It’s the only thing he could afford.” My father explained, gesturing to our frowning Alpha, who was standing to the side. “His pride is wounded enough by renting this car.”

I shrug, unbothered. “What werewolf needs a car anyway?”

It would be easier to run in wolf form— cheaper too, but since we’re going to a neutral land where there’s a strict rule that no one is allowed to shift, this battered car can’t be helped.

“June!” Pete shouted from across the way. “Come quick. We’re loading up the stuff now.”

Currently, a group of men were trying to push our luggage into the trunk of the clown car rather aggressively. The sight was laughable if not for the ever deepening frown on the Alpha’s face.

The Assembly always has him in a bad mood. It basically showed everyone else how hard it was for him and our pack. There was no helping it. We’re a very small pack with no allies. Our population of able bodied werewolves is low and very few want to marry into our pack to grow it. The only way out of our predicament is if the Alpha’s offspring or anyone from the pack mate well.

So far… no one has mated with anyone that could lift us up in that way.

Once, though someone mated with a very distant cousin of a Beta and to celebrate, they had a huge party in our pack, serving food and drinks for everyone. It was like Christmas but better.

I get to Pete and he gives me a long embrace, a secretive smile playing on his lips. My father catches this, staring at us with an unreadable expression on his face.

Our things finally fit and as they closed the back, I caught a sight of a bolt of silk at the very back. My stomach turns with anxiousness all over again.

“Feels like you’re about to be auctioned off, doesn’t it?” Larissa whispered to my side. She was in a bright blue dress, looking beautiful with her curly hair and brown eyes. “I hate it. This is all a game for them and we’re just playing a part in it.”

I gestured to the silk. “At least you have a crystal.”

She laughs dryly. “As if our dowries will make a difference. We’re pawns.”

Grasping straws in this very gloomy conversation, I gave her a small smile. “Still, I hope you get the mate that you want.”

My efforts are futile as Larissa rolls her eyes. “People like us never get the mates that we want. If I could, I wouldn’t even mate with anyone. I’d rather stay home forever.”

Good for her, but I don’t say it out loud because the Alpha heard us, his razor sharp eyes glowering down at us. “If you two wish to speak such nonsense, do so quietly because I have sacrificed much to be able to give us what we have right now— it is not a lot but it is all I have and to hear you speak like this… it makes all my hard work turn to s h i t.”

Larissa and I bow our heads low, shame filling our stomachs. Thankfully, she has the decency to mutter a quiet apology. “Apologies, Alpha. I will do my best. We will all do our duty to the pack.”

We are lucky our Alpha is so forgiving because he nods his head. “I know it is difficult and unfair. I know most times we never get a choice like others do and I am sorry for that. I am much to blame.”

It wasn’t.

It’s not his fault.

He has always done his best and treated all of us with respect.

The car engine starts and everyone slides in, the metal can of a car that we had rocks and dips low with each body that sat down. Before going in, I wrapped my father in one last hug before looking away. It was hard to make promises when nothing I could do could guarantee what would happen to me in the Assembly.

So I did not say anything.

Squished between Pete, who was sitting by the window, and Larissa, who was also squished by the other guy we were with, the back seat wasn’t the most comfortable. We all don’t say a word about it, knowing the mood the Alpha was in. He’s the last to get in, sitting in the passenger side seat. This car was far too small for six people, much less six full grown werewolves.

A chorus of cheers erupted from the pack members that gathered, a mere twenty people, but they cheered like it was more. They waved, shouted our names and jumped in excitement. I can only wish I could return their enthusiasm.

Warm hands affectionately squeezed my own. “Cheer up, June. It’s gonna be a great weekend.”

I looked up to find Pete smiling down at me. “I’m sure it will be.”

“The party goes on the entire night and the food! The drinks! It’s going to be awesome.” He adds happily, his knee going up and down in anticipation. “We’re going to have the best time.”

But I knew better deep down. I know what it’s like to be abandoned and I knew, in a way— a terrible gut feeling, that Pete would abandon me too.