Fated to Two

“Reese! Hurry up, we’re going to be late!” Dad yelled from downstairs. Alpha Elijah was coming home after being away for 2 years at training. Elijah and I are best friends - with my dad being the current Beta of our pack, Pack Blood Moon, and Elijah’s dad being the current alpha, we grew up together and have been inseparable since we were toddlers. Elijah is 20 years old and will be taking over the position as the pack Alpha tonight at the pack celebration we are holding. Our neighboring packs, Crescent Moon and Viper Moon, will also be attending to welcome Elijah as the new alpha. Elijah’s father, Ezekiel (Zeke for short), will be stepping down, as well as my father, Reggie. My brother River will be taking my father’s place as Beta. River and Elijah are the same age and they are extremely close, or I guess they would call each other “bros” - some weird guy slang. I decide to wear a black maxi dress and wear my auburn hair down in loose waves. Mom always says I have a “natural” beauty and don’t need to do much with my face and hair - I got my auburn hair and green eyes from mom and my olive skin tone from dad. River has the same skin tone and hair color, but he has dad’s dark brown eye color. Some people have mistaken us for twins in the past, besides the size difference. River is a whopping 6 feet tall, whereas I’m only 5’4. I’m rushing downstairs when I start to feel a little lightheaded- Remi is prancing around and antsy, but she won’t tell me what is going on. Remi is my wolf - I just turned 18 last month and I was finally able to connect with her. I shift any chance I get to let her out and run - Remi is a very energetic wolf and needs to run off energy any chance she gets. Since connecting with her last month, she’s talked nonstop about meeting our mate. She’s always daydreaming about some tall, blonde guy, but I have yet to meet my mate. Most wolves meet their mates within days of turning 18, but River and I haven’t so much as caught a whiff of our mates. Mom and dad are waiting for me at the front door. “You look beautiful as always sweetie,” mom tells me. Dad gives me a quick kiss on the forehead and we all start walking towards the pack house. River is picking up Elijah from the airport and driving him back - I figured he would jump at that opportunity to pick Eli up since he’s been complaining every day since Eli left about how boring it is around here without his best friend. Most siblings don’t hangout with the same group of people, but River and I have always been extremely close and share everything with each other. The alpha and beta families have always been like family to one another, too. We celebrate birthdays, holidays and any thing in between with each other. We make it to the pack house and stand next to Alpha Zeke and Luna Ember. It’s custom for the beta family to stand with the alpha family when we are welcoming guests to our lands. “Reese, you look lovely as usual!” Luna Ember says to me - she’s been like a second mother to me my entire life. She didn’t have any daughters of her own, so she would take me out to lunch once a month and we would go do girly things together. Eli’s brother, Evyn, is standing next to Alpha Zeke and gives me a quick wink. Evyn is a few months younger than me and he has made it quite clear he thinks we are mates. We won’t find out until Evyn turns 18 in a couple months, when he gets his wolf. It’s not that I don’t find Evyn attractive, because Goddess knows the alpha family is literally like some sort of s*x gods - ALL of them with their tan skin, sandy blonde hair and crystal blue eyes - but I just don’t get any warm fuzzies from Evyn. I just view him like I view Eli - more like a brother than a potential match. Who knows, I guess we will finally find out in 2 months! I can see the black SUV coming up the windy roads leading up to the pack house now. Remi is literally jumping and yipping in my head. Remi, stop that! You’re giving me a headache! She finally stops jumping around but she is still yipping and pacing back and forth. Huh, weird wolf, wonder what has gotten in to her. Maybe I should take her for a run tonight after the party. The SUV finally pulls up and I see River and Eli getting out. As soon as the doors open, I catch a mouthwatering scent - it smells like rain in the spring and spicy evergreens. Goddess what is that?! I start looking around trying to find the source of that marvelous smell, when I notice everyone staring at me. I lower my brows in confusion - did I have something on my face? Did I forget some formality?? Goddess knows I’m not the best with all these pack rules and customs - dad is always getting on to me about that. Maybe I should’ve listened more during his lessons. That’s when I notice who they are also staring at.....Eli.....who is staring at me like I’m the last animal on earth and he is starving - like he’s going to literally devour me. Before I can move or say anything, Eli is standing right in front of me, our faces inches apart, and he whispers the last word I ever would’ve thought he’d say to me. “Mate.”