My Abuser, My Mate

Mate!

CandiAnn POV

  I saw the others run by as they went on the traditional pack run after Katya's shift. I saw a cinnamon brown wolf running at the front of the pack with our parents and Cody. I assumed that that was Katya's wolf. 

  'Brown wolves are a dime a dozen,' Ashanda snorted. 'Wait until they find out what we are.'

  'Not yet,' I told her. 'I don't trust any of them not to hurt us, except for Eric, Lily, and maybe Natalia.'

  I stepped back into the shadows where the others couldn't see me.

  'Hurt us?' she laughed. 'My girl, you don't know it yet, but we're stronger than any of them. Your human body may be weak because of malnourishment, but mine is not. We are directly descended from Selene, the Moon Goddess. We are anything but weak.'

  'I'm so glad to have you now, Ashanda,' I told her. 'Eric and Lily are at least nice to me, but even they don't know everything about me. I'm so glad I finally have someone I can talk to.'

  'I feel the same, my dear girl,' she told me. 'Thanks to fate and the Moon Goddess, we are each other's built in best friends. I mean, I live in your head,' she added with a laugh.

  I giggled at that. She was right. She would be with me wherever I went. 

  I walked back to where my backpack was hidden in the hollow tree. 

  'How do I shift back?' I asked her.

  'Simple,' she said. 'Just picture your human self, and you'll shift back.' 

  I focused on my human self and soon I was back in my human form. I pulled out the bar of soap I had placed in my backpack and walked over to the pond to bathe. I was forbidden to shower or bathe in the packhouse more than once a week so I had to bathe in the pond. I dried off with the thin towel I had brought with me. I redressed and walked back into the packhouse. The catering company had already cleaned everything up, so I went down into my basement room and laid down on my cot, covering myself up with my thin blanket.

  'Good night, Ashanda,' I said, so happy to finally have my wolf and constant companion.

  'Good night, CandiAnn,' she replied. 'Rest well. Tomorrow, we find our mate.'

  I laughed. 'Yeah, like any guy in this pack would have us.'

  She was offended by that. 'If they reject us, that'll definitely be their loss. This pack doesn't know what they've been missing.'

  As usual, I woke up bright and early the next morning to fix breakfast. I cooked the usual eggs, bacon, sausage, and pancakes, and made Princess Katya the ham and cheese omelet she demanded for her birthday breakfast. I couldn't help feeling bitter. It was my birthday too, and I'd be lucky if I even got to eat, let alone pick a certain item for breakfast. 

  I was starting to set everything out on the buffet when the intoxicating smell of orange and vanilla hit my nose. 'Mate!' Ashanda starting chanting. 'Mate! Mate! Mate!'

  I spun around to see where the smell was coming from. To my horror, I saw Cody very intensely staring right back at me. He hesitated a few seconds, then started to get up. I quickly set down the two plates of eggs I was carrying and ran back into the kitchen. No, no, no, I thought to myself. Not him. Please, not him. Why, Moon Goddess? Why?

  I pressed myself against the wall by the door. I knew he would be coming in there after me, and he did. The door slammed open, making me jump even though I was expecting it. 

  He immediately spotted me and slammed his hand beside my head on the wall. I flinched, assuming the next blow would be aimed at my head. "You!" he growled. "Of all the she-wolves in the world, I got stuck with a weakling like you for a mate," he spat. "You'll never be strong enough or smart enough to be the Luna of this pack. The Moon Goddess made a mistake, pairing you to me."

  I fought back tears at his words. Ashanda whimpered, hearing her mate saying such things. But then the more he talked, the more I felt her getting angry. She wasn't the only one that was angry. I'd done nothing but bust my butt for this pack since I was five years old. Yes, at FIVE years old I was already cooking and cleaning and doing whatever other crap jobs no one else wanted to do. I paired my anger with hers and glared up at him. "Do you think I'm happy about this?" I snapped. "You and your cronies have never done anything but treat me like c**p and suddenly I find out I'm supposed to be stuck with you for life."

  "Well, then, let's get this over with. I, Cody Jacobs, future alpha of the Howling Wolf Pack, rej - " he started to say, but he was cut off by the door slamming open again. 

  I looked over to see Alpha Kyle standing beside us, glaring at Cody with his arms crossed over his chest. The two of them looked so much alike, it was like looking at a glimpse of the future and seeing exactly what Cody would look like. "What in the Moon Goddess's name is going on in here?" he roared. 

  "Apparently the Moon Goddess gave me this - " he jerked his head toward me, "as a mate. She's weak and useless, and she'll never be able to be Luna. I'm rejecting her."

  "Are you crazy?" Alpha Kyle roared. I trembled in fear, even though his roar wasn't aimed at me. "A pack is always strongest with its true Luna, and it appears that she is ours."

  "But Dad, she's just a useless weakling," Cody argued.

  "The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes, son," Alpha Kyle told him. "I don't usually do this, but for the good of the pack, I have to. You are ordered not to reject her. You will accept her. Do you understand?" He used his alpha tone, meaning that Cody could not defy his order.

  Cody was seething. I could almost see the steam come out of his ears. "Fine," he snarled. "But don't expect me to like it." With that he turned and stomped out of the kitchen.

  Alpha Kyle turned to me with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, CandiAnn," he apologized. "You didn't deserve that. I know it's a lot to ask, but please, give him a chance. He'll come around. The mate bond will make sure of that."

  I nodded slowly. "Honestly, I'm not sure if I even want him as a mate. But I won't reject him right now."

  He nodded in return. "Thank you, CandiAnn. That's all I can ask."

  With that, he turned and walked back into the dining room. I was left by myself wondering what just happened. Cody Jacobs as a mate was the last thing I expected. 

Cody POV 

  *This is the same event but from Cody's POV*

  I got up the morning after the party, still mulling over last night's events in my mind. I had thought that Katya could possibly be my mate, but I have to admit that part of me was glad she wasn't. She was a good lay, but I wasn't convinced I would want to be stuck with her snobbish, whiny, spoiled ways for the rest of my life.

  I showered and pulled on a pair of jeans with a royal blue T-shirt depicting a howling wolf. I headed down to the dining room and, along the way, decided I would talk to Katya about continuing to see each other. She might not have been my mate, but I was still a man and darn it, men had needs. Jared grumbled a little at that thought, but didn't say anything. 

  As I walked into the dining room and sat down in my usual seat, I began to smell a scent I had never smelled before. It smelled like roses and vanilla, and it was nearly overpowering. I looked around, trying to find the source of the scent. Katya and Ethan weren't there yet, but David was, and he was looking at me strangely. 

  "Dude, what're you looking for?" he asked. "And also, I'm sorry I had to miss the party last night. Granny and Pop had a water pipe burst, so Dad and I went to fix it."

  I waved him off, distracted by the scent. "It's cool, dude," I said absently. "Anyway, do you smell that?"

  "Smell what?" he asked.

  "I don't know, it's like roses and vanilla," I replied. "I need - "

  'MATE!!' Jared started yelling. 'She's here! Go find her! Mate!'

  "You need what?" David asked, looking confused.

  "My mate is here," I said, looking around wildly. People were starting to stare at me, but I didn't care. She was here and I was going to find her.

  Suddenly, the kitchen door swung open and the scent became much stronger. I whipped my head around to see CandiAnn come out of the kitchen carrying two heaping plates of eggs. Her gaze landed on me, and as soon as we locked eyes, Jared went crazy. 'Mate!' he screamed. 'MATE!! Go to her! Go to our mate!! MATE!'

  'Are you crazy?!' I yelled at him. 'She can't be our mate! She's a weakling! A nobody! Her own family doesn't even want her! How would she ever be the Luna?!'

  'Shows what you know,' he snarled back. 'Go. To. Mate!!'

  'Fine,' I snapped at him. I knew what I needed to do. Might as well get it over with.

  As I started to stand up, CandiAnn set the plates of eggs down and rushed into the kitchen. I knew she'd felt the mate bond, and probably wasn't any happier about it than I was.

  I slammed open the kitchen door and immediately spotted her leaning against the wall by the door. I slammed my hand beside her head on the wall. I noticed her flinch, but I ignored it. At that moment, I didn't care if I scared her. I was p**sed!

  "You!" I growled. "Of all the she-wolves in the world, I got stuck with a weakling like you for a mate," I spat. "You'll never be strong enough or smart enough to be the Luna of this pack. The Moon Goddess made a mistake, pairing you to me."

  She glared at me. "Do you think I'm happy about this?" she snapped. "You and your cronies have never done anything but treat me like c**p and suddenly I find out I'm supposed to be stuck with you for life."

  I was impressed. So the wench actually seemed to be finding a little backbone. No matter though. She was still a weakling. How the Moon Goddess thought she would be a suitable Luna was beyond me.

  'You're making a huge mistake!' Jared snarled at me.

  'Shut up, you big oaf! I know what I'm doing!' I snapped. 

  "Well, then, let's get this over with. I, Cody Jacobs, future alpha of the Howling Wolf Pack, rej - " I started to say, but I was cut off by the door slamming open again. 

  I looked over to see my dad standing beside us, glaring at me with his arms crossed over his chest. "What in the Moon Goddess's name is going on in here?" he roared. I could see his eyes practically shooting sparks at me, but I was too angry at the situation to care. 

  "Apparently the Moon Goddess gave me this - " I  jerked his head toward her, "as a mate. She's weak and useless, and she'll never be able to be Luna. I'm rejecting her."

  "Are you crazy?" Dad roared. I felt the wench tremble, but Dad's roar was aimed at me, not her. "A pack is always strongest with its true Luna, and it appears that she is ours."

  "But Dad, she's just a useless weakling," I argued. How was it that he couldn't see that?!

  "The Moon Goddess does not make mistakes, son," Dad informed me. "I don't usually do this, but for the good of the pack, I have to. You are ordered not to reject her. You will accept her. Do you understand?" And because he used his alpha tone on me, I knew I had to follow his order.

  I was furious and was seeing red. "Fine," I snarled. "But don't expect me to like it." 

  I turned and slammed the kitchen door back open as I stomped out of the kitchen. The pack members in the dining jumped at the loud bang as it hit the wall. They were all staring at me, seeming to expect an explanation, but I just ignored them all and strode out of the dining room and out of the packhouse. I needed a run. Jared was furious at me for trying to reject our mate and then leaving her behind, and he wouldn't speak to me or let me shift. So, in human form, I took off through the forest. D**ned if I would accept such a weak she-wolf as my mate and Luna!