Finding Destiny

My Mate pt. 1

Destiny’s POV

I followed behind Kiara as she dragged me down the hall, down the stairs and down a long hallway that opened up into a large foyer with massive double doors. On edge the entire time she dragged me along, I didn’t have much time to realize the ball was just inside those doors.

The doors stood wide open with fairy lights and lanterns decorating all around them - the entire foyer area was decorated in this simple, almost whimsical feel. If my nerves hadn’t been so fired up, I probably would’ve appreciated the decor a little more. Up to this point, my mate was no where in sight and his scent wasn’t as strong down here, thank the goddess. I felt myself relax slightly and allowed myself to take in a deep breath, preparing for what was to come.

“Luna Kiara! Destiny! I hope you’re ready for a night full of excitement - we’ve got three covens here!” Luna Reese slid up beside Kiara and me. Alpha Leo quickly engaged in conversation with Reese’s mates, leaving us women to our girl talk.

“We heard! That is rather exciting, isn’t it Desi?” Kiara asked me and actually winking at me. Could she be any more obvious? Thankfully Luna Reese didn’t seem to notice anything weird about the exchange.

“Yes, it will be nice to engage with the covens more. We don’t have the best relationships with covens in our area,” I answered Luna Reese, completely ignoring Kiara and her little teasing wink.

“Oh really? One of my closest friends is actually the leader of his coven - it’s the largest and most powerful coven in our area. He’s absolutely wonderful - I’ll have to introduce you both to him! I actually planned this ball for him - he is searching for his mate, so I figured what better way to find your mate than at a ball! It’s shocking actually - he’ll be the most powerful witch in attendance tonight, but he still hasn’t come across his mate in all his traveling,” Reese says. She continues speaking, but I completely zone out as a series of images flash in my mind. Fire red hair, electric blue eyes, eyelashes that would make any woman jealous, a strong jaw. And then his smell hits me - bergamot and citrus - and I’m a goner.

“Excuse me, I think I’ll run to the ladies’ room before heading inside,” I mutter as I turn and head down the hall, back the way we came.

Fuck - I can’t do this. Heels clicking beneath me, I run away from whatever fate my goddess has planned for me. As soon as I’m positive no one could see me, I choose the first door I see and scramble inside, hiding like a coward. And of course I chose a freaking cleaning closet.

You’re not a coward, Des. Having the gift of sight is a wonderful thing, but it can also suck. You know you’re mate is here somewhere, you’ve seen him in visions and you know the possible outcomes. If you hadn’t been blessed as an oracle, this would be any other ball - you wouldn’t be nervous and you’d be shocked, excited and grateful once you met your mate. Just try to relax. Everything will be okay. Trust our goddess. Artemis tells me as she rubs against the walls of my mind - her own personal way of comforting me.

Relax? How am I supposed to relax when I can barely breathe? I feel like the air is as thick as honey and drenching me from head to toe - I feel like I can barely move without struggling.

“Damnit!” I shout in a hushed tone because I really don’t want anyone knowing I’m in here, “Get yourself together, Desi. You’re a f*****g oracle. You’re more powerful than half of the f*****g alphas out there. You can do this. Attend the ball for a little while, catch a glimpse of your mate, and split. Get the f**k out of there before he has any chance to even know what hit him,” I tell myself because let’s be honest, I need a pep talk - hell, I need a f*****g cheerleading squad cheering me on tonight to get me through this.

“Desi..you okay in there?” Kiara’s quiet whisper comes from the other side of the door. She gently turns the door knob and lets herself in being sure to close the door behind her, “Why are you in a…” she flicks the light on, “a cleaning closet?”

“I just needed a minute. I’m fine. I’ll be fine,” the words spill out of my mouth and I find they are more to convince myself more than Kiara.

“Listen, Des, you don’t have to do this if you really don’t want to. I get it. I’m sorry I freaked out earlier and was so pushy. This is a big decision. I kinda..told Leo, but he’s not mad, Desi. He gets it. He wants you to be happy just as much as I do, even if he wants to keep you as our pack oracle. No one will be mad at you for choosing your own happiness.”

“It’s fine, K. Let’s just get out there and get this over with. I’m ready,” I tell her, but I’m really not ready at all. Her words don’t even really register - Leo wouldn’t be mad, which is absolutely shocking, but I’m not all that surprised. He’s just as much my friend as Kiara is, even if we aren’t super closer.

I give her a nod and force a smile to my lips. Kiara reaches over and gives my hand a squeeze before turning around and opening the door, never letting go of my hand because she knows that’s exactly what I need right now. We walk hand in hand down the hall and finally make our way back to the main doors to the ball. We walk straight to Leo and he gives me an encouraging smile, which is surprisingly nice of him, before Kiara gives me a tight hug and then moves to his side to be escorted in with her mate.

Kai’s POV

“Come on, Kali! We’re already late. You look fine, now let’s go!” I tell my little sister for the millionth time. Luke and Nix waited beside me, both on their phones. All three of us matched by accident (or so they say) - satin black tuxes with silver bow ties. The only thing different was our masks - I chose a simple black mask with silver detailing, while Luke and Nix chose all black masks.

“Fine? I need to look better than fine, Kai! What if I meet my mate tonight? This is a big deal!” She yells back at me, but thankfully she gets my point and comes scurrying down the stairs making a beeline for the portal. She looks like a princess in her dark plum dress with a fluffy skirt covered in sparkles. She ties her sparkling mask behind her head just as she a steps off the final stair.

“You look beautiful as always, Kali-bear,” Luke tells her - and just like that, she settles down. Suck up.

Over half of our coven will be in attendance at the ball tonight, so I opened the temporary portal out of convenience. It seemed we were the last ones to be leaving that were attending. Luke steps up and gives Kali his arm as they step through the portal, Nix close behind them.

“This is it. Your mate might be on the other side of this portal. Ready or not,” I say to myself and step into the cool unknown, emerging just outside of the pack house.

“Who’s ready to party?” Nix says with a wink and hurries inside, Kali and Luke right on his heels. Some things never change - those three were always the partiers.

I make my way through the front doors and maneuver my way through the house until I’m standing right outside of the main ballroom. The music is loud and the sound of voices inside even louder, but that’s not what catches my attention. There’s a light scent lingering all around me - Jasmine and coconut - that has my mouth instantly watering. What in all the gods is that? I’m instantly drawn into the ballroom as I search for what, or who, has such a delicious scent.

“There you are! What took you so long?” Reese comes up beside me, snapping me out of my search. Hunter and Eli are close behind. I swear they are all attached to the hip - must be a mate thing.

“Sorry, Kali took forever getting ready. Look at this turn out! You really know how to throw a party, Ree!”

“Please don’t encourage her. All it does is make her want to throw more parties. She literally threw a party a few months ago because she learned how to make macarons and wanted the entire pack to taste them,” Hunter says with a teasing smile as he stares at Reese.

“Ugh, I never want to see another macaron in my life. They were so good, but I ate way too many,” Eli says. Reese rolls her eyes at both of them and then turns to me.

“So, feel anything yet? How does the mate bond work with witches? It’s pretty intense with wolves - like magnets being pulled together,” Reese asks me. The four of us survey the crowd as if my mate will hop out at any moment.

“Uh, I’m not really sure. I did feel something a little bit ago, but it could’ve just been all the power of the other covens. But there was a freaking delicious smell - I was on my way to the dessert tables to see what it..”

“Smell? Did you kind of..zone out?” Hunter asks with a knowing smile.

“Yeah, actually. I was on my way to track it down when you found me.”

All three of them share that same knowing smile before Eli claps me on the back. “Happy hunting, pal.” They leave me behind and head towards the other side of the ballroom. I track them with my eyes when I land on a small figure talking with Reese’s older brother and Eli’s beta, River, and Hunter’s beta, Dax. The small woman radiates power even from across the room. Her bronze skin appears to shimmer in a magical way and her ebony hair is full and thick in curls above her shoulders. She turns slightly and I get a distant look at her full lips, which almost rival her full hips. Gods, who is this woman? And then it hits me. I’ve seen her before..gods, I even know her scent. The girl from my dreams, literally, is right here. And I think she’s my mate.