Not-So-Fated Mates

Chapter 1: The Mate

Suddenly, her alarm blared through her consciousness, ripping her from the dreamworld and back to reality. She groaned, groping for the damn thing to shut it up before it gave her a migraine. Her hand finally found its mark, and her bedroom descended into silence once more. With a sigh of relief, she closed her eyes again and buried her head into the pillow, desperately hoping for just a few more minutes of sleep. But, apparently, her mother had other ideas, as she began to feel the tug of the mind link.

“Happy birthday, sweetie!” her mom’s voice said with noticeable excitement.

A smile made its way onto her face. “Thanks, mom,” she replied as she begrudgingly opened her eyes, blinking the sleep from them. While she never understood how her mom, Jennifer Stanley, could drag herself out of bed hours before she could manage, she had to admit her mom was pretty awesome. Though they didn’t always get along, her mom had always been there for her, and she could tell how much her mom loved her, something that not every kid had. She knew her mom hadn’t had it easy the first few years of Layla’s life, though the pack had always been there to help, especially Alpha Richard and his mate, Charlotte. Still, raising a child alone was never an easy task. Luckily, her stepdad, Kristoff Stanley, her mother’s true mate, had stepped in and accepted her as his own when she was six. She wasn’t sure who her real father was, her mom refused to talk about him for as long as she’d been old enough to ask about him, but she loved her stepdad and that was enough.

“You’re getting up, right?” her mother asked through the mind link, startling Layla out of her thoughts.

“Do I really have to? I mean, it’s summer and college starts in the fall, can’t I sleep in a bit?” she whined.

“Yes, you really have to. The omegas made an amazing breakfast for your birthday, and it would be rude not to come down,” her mom replied, with a hint of irritation to her voice.

Layla rolled her eyes and sighed, “Fine, I’ll be down in a few.”

“That’s my girl,” her mom said, closing the link.

“Damn it,” Layla said aloud, sitting up and stretching. Slowly, she rose from her bed and dragged herself into the bathroom to take a shower. As the deliciously hot spray hit her body, she lost herself in her thoughts. Though she had wanted to go back to sleep, she couldn’t deny that she was excited it was her birthday. Her eighteenth birthday, which meant she would finally be able to find her mate. She’d learned from her mother’s mistakes, and hadn’t bothered dating specifically because she didn’t want to fall for someone who wasn’t her mate, and even more so because she didn’t want to end up pregnant by that someone and be left to raise the child herself while they went and found their real mate. Her mother may not have told her what happened between her and her biological father, but she could guess and any of those guesses were enough to cause her to steer clear of the opposite s*x until her mate showed up.

Speaking of mates, she couldn’t help but wonder who hers could be. Would it be someone from this pack? Or would he be a part of another pack and she wouldn’t find him for a while? That would kinda suck, but at least there was a system in place so one or the other could become part of their mate’s pack. If her mate was from another pack, would he want her to go to his pack? Or would he be okay with staying with her pack? She knew if her mate turned out to be an alpha, beta, or any of the upper echelons of their pack, she’d most likely have to move to their pack whether she liked it or not. Not that she was wholly opposed to the idea, but she did like her pack. They’d always been supportive and caring, and Alpha Richard and Luna Charlotte were like a second set of parents to her. Not to mention, her mom, stepdad, and sisters all lived here. It would be hard to say goodbye to them. She knew she’d be allowed to visit, but still, it wouldn’t be easy.

Reaching for her shampoo, she shook her head at herself. Whatever happened, she’d deal with it then. For now, she shouldn’t worry and ask the questions she would have no idea how to answer until she had met her mate. For all she knew, he’d be a part of this pack and she wouldn’t have to worry about all of that.

As she cleaned herself, her dream kept niggling at her mind. Was the man from her dream her mate?

After finishing her shower and getting dressed in a pair of jean shorts and her favorite, forest-green tank top with her black Converse, she headed downstairs, following the delicious scents of bacon, eggs, and something syrup-y like waffles or pancakes. Most of the pack was already seated at the many tables in the mess hall, chatting as they chowed down. Catching sight of her, many in the pack wished her a happy birthday, shouting over the crowd until almost everyone was looking at her while giving her their own well-wishes. Blushing slightly, she thanked everyone and hurried to the food, which was laid out buffet-style as always. The omegas in charge of making the food smiled at her as she approached and grabbed a plate.

“Wow guys, this looks amazing,” she said with a smile. “Thank you!”

They all grinned even more, appreciating her thanks. While most of the pack treated the omegas well, knowing they were just as much an integral part of the pack as the alpha himself, there were a few bad apples who would just act as if they didn’t exist unless they felt like bullying someone. Alpha Richard was very strict about respect between all the wolves, but it was a large pack, numbering almost 300 members, so it was easier than he would’ve liked to get away with bullying, especially since the omegas weren’t big on conflict and, as such, preferred to simply deal with it, rather than going to any of the authority figures for justice. She hated that it was like that, and had stood up to the bullies a few times for the sakes of the omegas when she came across those situations, but, sadly, she knew it wasn’t enough. Sometimes she wished she had a more powerful place in the pack to be able to really do some good for her downtrodden pack mates, but wolves under 21 couldn’t vie for any of the positions. Not to mention, though she knew she had a powerful wolf, she hadn’t been born to a family that was one of the upper echelons. For the most part, a wolf’s status in the pack came through birth, as powerful wolves bred more powerful wolves. Therefore, alphas had alpha children, betas had beta children, and so on. Her stepdad was a beta, but since she wasn’t biologically related, it wasn’t likely she’d inherit that title. That would most likely go to her younger sisters and whoever their mates turned out to be. Still, she wasn’t one to just accept destiny, which is why she’d trained and trained hard since she’d first shifted at 12 years old.

After filling her plate with a good amount of the delectable food her packmates had made, she smiled and once again thanked them for preparing such an amazing feast for the pack, as well as telling them to make sure they got enough to eat as well. They continued smiling as they wished her a happy birthday, and a few gave her one armed hugs so as not to spill her food. Looking around, she spied her friend Chelsea at a nearby table and started heading for the seat next to her. She had just set her plate down when the most amazing scent invaded her nose, completely drowning out the mouth-watering scent of her breakfast. She froze, the hairs on her neck rising as her wolf howled within her. He was behind her. Her mate. Her very own mate.

Slowly, she turned, not noticing as the nearby tables went silent as they watched what was going on. Finally, her eyes fell on him. His short, curly brown hair like his father’s, chocolate brown eyes like his mother’s, his strong nose, sharp cheekbones, and utterly kissable lips. He was just slightly shorter than her, coming to only 5’10”, but his body was well-muscled, thick and delicious. It was Zach, Alpha Richard’s son and the next alpha of the pack.

“Mate,” she growled.

He didn’t respond for a moment, his eyes filling with lust, and yet, something else, something a lot like sadness, accompanied it. She hardly noticed, though, too caught up in the moment to care. That is, until Zach snapped her back to earth with but a few words, “We need to talk, privately.”

“Um, okay,” she said, a little breathless, still trying to rein in all the crazy emotions and feelings that the mate bond was slamming her with. He held out his hand, and she took it, causing sparks to flare between them. He walked her through the mess hall, leaving her plate of food with a confused Chelsea.

She followed him into the hallway as he headed towards the back of the house. As soon as they had exited the mess hall and were away from the curious stares of the pack, he swiftly dropped her hand and continued walking until they reached the doors leading to the packhouse’s “yard.” It wasn’t so much a yard as a huge open space bordered by the forest they all enjoyed running through. Since they believed in letting the land grow wild, instead of constantly wasting water trying to keep the grass as green as possible, the open area was a little wild, with all different kinds of grasses and patches of dirt here and there. They did maintain some order in it, meaning the patchwork of different types of grass that made up most of the “lawn” was occasionally mowed for the ease of those walking through it.

Zach didn’t stop until they’d reached the treeline, turning to face her with a look on his face like someone had kicked his puppy. Seeing his look, she had a sinking feeling in her gut. She’d known for a while that he was dating Kelly, another member of the pack, and though they weren’t mates, they seemed to be in love. But when she’d realized he was her mate, she had hoped he would do what most shifters did when they had been dating someone before meeting their mate, and be with her. Not that she’d wanted Kelly to have her heart broken; while she didn’t know the girl very well, since they ran in different social circles in both high school and in the pack, she seemed pretty nice. But he was her mate. Mates were meant to be together, like her mom and stepdad. And yet, with the look on his face, she was fairly sure he wouldn’t feel the same way.

He looked down at the ground and sighed heavily before looking back up at her and clearing his throat. “Look, Layla, I know we’re mates, and we’ve known each other since we were pups, but…” he paused, running his hand through the brown curls on the top of his head. “I’m sorry, but I’m in love with Kelly, so I can’t be with you.”

Layla took a shaky breath, trying to push down the despair and disappointment as they threatened to overwhelm her, tears already forming in her eyes as it felt like her heart was being slowly shredded to nothing. “I-I understand,” her voice shook as the tears started spilling onto her cheeks, unbidden. “You-you love her, and you should be with her.”

“I’m really sorry,” he said, pity and a small hint of pain in his eyes, which was probably simply the dregs of her emotions coming through the new, weak bond. “I just-I have to do this. So, I, Zachary Harp-”

“Wait,” she interrupted, wiping the tears from her face. With a deep breath, she straightened, rolling her shoulders, and lifting her head to look bravely into the eyes of her supposed mate, despite the fact that he was above her in the pack. It shouldn’t have been possible, yet she was able to hold his gaze. “Let me do it, please.”

“Uh, yeah, okay,” he replied, taken off guard.

“I, Layla Stanley, reject you, Zachary Harper, as my mate,” she said slowly, with as much bravado as possible, though the last few words came out a little strangled as she fought the intense emotions waging war within her. She winced as her wolf howled for the loss, both her and Zach clutching their chests as the bond ripped apart, the pain so intense it was hard not to fall to their knees. But Layla clenched her teeth, banishing the tears at the edge of her vision, and walked away into the depths of the forest as her supposed mate simply stared after her. Once she was far enough away from him that his scent couldn’t reach her anymore, she threw off her clothes and shifted.

The pain seemed less intense than usual, mostly because the emotional pain she was in was so horrible it drowned out the physical pain of the shift as her bones broke and reformed. As the pain subsided, a sleek, black wolf lay on the forest floor where she had once stood. Picking herself up, she howled her pain to the sky and took off running.