Her Mate Dilemma

1 - Preparing for the Celebration

Alexandria 

    I wasn't the least bit surprised when Devon and Jasmine ran to each other, as soon as he walked into the dining hall on the day of his eighteenth birthday.  Over the last year, they had been spending more and more time together, so we all had a feeling that was going to happen.

    Even though I had a crush on Devon, I was happy for both of them.  They were cute together, and I knew Devon was going to treat her like a queen.  He acted a lot like his dad, Alpha Damien, who treated Luna Sasha like a queen.  That's how I knew my sister would be treated good and showered with love.

    Once they found out they were mates, they were even more inseparable than before.  I understood Jasmine's desire to stay close to her mate, but I found myself missing the fun times we had together, before they became mates.  It felt like I was loosing my sister and my bestfriend, but there wasn't anything I could do about it.  

    Instead of making Jasmine feel bad about it, I spent a lot of time sulking in my room, whenever I started missing her.  I could go see her at the Alpha suite anytime I wanted, but I didn't want to impose on her time with Devon.  

    Not long after Jasmine and Devon found out they were mates, Jasmine's twin Jonas discovered he was mated to Fay and Justin's daughter Jessica.  Jonas had always been infatuated with that she-wolf, and I was happy he got mated to her.  

    She was very pretty with her blonde hair and violet eyes.  So it was no surprise to me why my older brother was so fond of her.  Not only was Jessica pretty, but she also had the bubbliest personality out of everyone I knew.

    Once that happened, I noticed my twin walking around with his shoulders slumped and sadness swirling in his light brown eyes.  Alexander and I had always been close to each other, but not having Jasmine and Jonas around bought us even closer.  

    Since we hadn't found our mates yet, we were looking forward to the next Celebration of Mates that was scheduled to happen in a month.  I already had my gown picked out, and Alexander had his suit picked out.  My gown was a beautiful shade of emerald green, and Alexander's suit was black with a white under shirt and an emerald green tie that matched my gown.

    We had always had similar taste in clothes and color choices, not to mention, we liked most of the same foods.  We both had the same jet black hair that we inherited from our father, and we had the same light brown eyes that we got from our mum.  We were the same height, but Alexander weighed a little more than me, simply because of his muscular, manly frame.

    I was also muscular, but I still had that typical curvy, female physique.  I considered myself to be beautiful, but sometimes I would get a little self-conscious about my looks.  Whenever that happened, my mum would point out all the beautiful things about me, and I would always end up with a smile on my face.  She was always good at cheering me up when I was feeling down about something.

    My mum knew about my crush on Brady, and she was quick to let me know he was coming to the Celebration of Mates, as soon as she heard the news.  That only fueled my excitement about the upcoming celebration, and I was even more adamant about looking my absolute best.

    I had thought about Brady a lot over the years, but even more so since I turned sixteen.  Unfortunately, I had not gotten the opportunity to see him since we both turned sixteen, but I was finally going to get that chance, and I was ecstatic about it.  The fact that he was attending the celebration led me to believe he hadn't found his mate at his home pack, which gave me a little hope that I might get lucky enough to be mated to him.

Brady 

    We had a party on my eighteenth birthday, but I didn't find my mate within my pack.  In some ways that made me sad, because I was ready to find my other half.  However, it made me hopeful that my other half would be Alexandria.  If we were mates, her family would accept me with open arms, and I wouldn't have to hide the fact that I was infatuated the beautiful she-wolf anymore.

    After my birthday party, I asked my parents if they would take me to the Celebration of Mates at the Forest Pack, and they were quick to assure me it wouldn't be a problem.  I was thrilled with the idea of seeing Alexandria again, even if she wasn't my mate.  Also, if she wasn't, there was a high probability of me finding the she-wolf who was my mate.  Either way, it would hopefully be a win-win situation for me.

    In the days leading up to the celebration, I could feel my excitement and nervousness quickly escalating.  I was adamant about wearing my nicest suit, and I bought a new pair of nice dress shoes, as well as, a new silver tie to wear.  My suit was dark gray with a beige under shirt, and I looked damn good every time I wore it.  I planned to dress for success and show my confidence when we arrived at the Forest Pack.

    My parents were insistent on teaching me how to dance.  At first, I was a little embarrassed, because I was dancing with my mum, but it didn't take long for me to relax and start having fun with the impromptu dance lessons.  My parents were surprisingly good dancers, and I actually learned some really good dance moves from them.  Naturally, that gave me a boost to my ego, which made me feel even more confident.

    The last few days leading up to the celebration, all I could think about was holding Alexandria in my arms, while we twirled around on the dance floor.  I couldn't stop fantasizing about dipping the gorgeous she-wolf backwards and smashing my lips against hers for a passionate kiss.  I could only imagine what it would be like to kiss her full lips, and I imagined them being soft and molding perfectly with mine.

    Even my wolf was excited.  I wasn't sure if he was as excited about seeing Alexandria, as I was, or if he was just excited about the possibility of finding our mate.  Either way, he kept prancing around in my head, and we were definitely feeding off of each other's excitement.

Liam 

    I was so bummed when I wasn't able to go to the Celebration of Mates when it came around the first time.  Unfortunately, we helping one of our neighboring packs fight a battle against a large group of rogues.  

    I took my anger out on those disgusting rogues, and completely let out every bit of the rage I was feeling at that moment.  I fought with a ferociousness like never before, and there wasn't a werewolf around that had even the slightest chance of getting the better of me during that battle.

    After we won the battle, we returned to our pack, then I kept to myself for almost a month.  I was tired of waiting to find my mate.  I needed her to help keep me on the right track, and to give me more purpose in life.  I had a lot of love to give, but I didn't have my mate to give it to, and it was really starting to get to me.

    When it got close to time for the next Celebration of Mates, I couldn't hide the happiness I was feeling.  I made myself very clear about not being available for anything the few days prior and after the celebration, and there was no way I would bend on my decision.  

    I knew I had a long drive ahead of me, but I was fortunate to not have to make the drive alone.  A few of the other unmated werewolves in the pack heard about my plans, and they asked if they could ride with me.  

    I had no objections, since I knew how important it was to find your mate, so I was quick to let them join me.  Two of the warriors that trained with me, as well as Valerie's friend Liza were all riding with me.  The rest were riding in a separate car.

    The night before it was time for us to leave, I made sure to pack all of my nicest clothes and shoes in a suitcase, as well as my toothbrush, toothpaste, comb and styling gel.  I also put together a bag of snacks and drinks for the car ride, then I took a long shower to relax my tensed up muscles.

    My shower had especially good water pressure, so I liked to stand there and let the water hit me in the center of my back.  I found it to be the best way to get my overworked muscles to relax.  

    That was another reason why I wanted to find my mate so bad.  I knew having her near would help keep me more relaxed, which would prevent my muscles from aching so much in the evenings.

    As soon as I got out of the shower, I pulled on a pair of black gym shorts, then I climbed onto my bed.  Of course, I didn't fall asleep right away.  I was too excited about the upcoming celebration, so I laid there and stared out the window.  My eyes locked on the moon, as my thoughts drifted to the mysterious she-wolf that appeared in my mind after I smelled that flower petal.

    I was secretly hoping I wound find her at the celebration, but I had kept everything about those flower petals and that black haired beauty to myself.  I didn't want anybody to think I was crazy, so I didn't speak a word about it, and I didn't plan to unless I found her and we were actually mates.

    After almost an hour of gazing at the moon and letting my thoughts roam, my eyelids finally grew heavy.  I pulled the blanket over my body, then I drifted into a peaceful sleep with a wide smile plastered on my face.