Red Hot Love: The Morningstar Series Book 5

Chapter 7: Azai's P.O.V.

Tia has been working me to the bone this week. It's now day five. The free day. I found out that the delivery my sister had was for fireworks. I guess she planned to lay out all kinds of snack and glowy things tonight.

I think she was trying to go for a Fourth of July type thing. It's a sweet idea I have to admit. For those that have met their mates, tonight will be so romantic. Too bad I've been too busy to even try and see if my mate is here.

It's like Tia knows that this could be my year, like she doesn't want me to meet my mate. She has had me running around doing everything for her. Almost all of her help had met their mates.

Why didn't she ask already mated people to help? I have no f*****g clue. It's to the point where Miriam, Mom, and Dad had to come and help.

Are you wondering where the rest of my siblings are to help? Yeah, me too. I have barely seen the fuckers.

Axton, Amory, and Alessio were forced to help, but there was only so much they could do. Ares came home to sleep, and was gone before I got up in the mornings. I have no idea what he's been doing.

Ares always seemed to make himself scarce when it came to Mate Week, but this is ridiculous. Where does he even go?

Acaisia and Ahkari were the same. They're 18 this year. You'd think they'd be excited to see if their mates were here, but no. I guess I understood why they didn't want to be here. Almost every single Alpha has asked them to be their chosen mate. How many years in a row did these guys need to be rejected until they stopped asking?

They only want the power that would come with being mated to one of us anyways. Acaisia was ready to blow her fuse the few rare times I had saw her this week. Stupid girl is lucky I was always there to defuse the situation.

Atreus was always around at least. He helped a little bit, but would always find a way to just disappear. Usually it was when Akeehla and Vessa came to help. That seems to be happening a lot lately. I wonder if Tre and Kee are fighting or something. Still, he could f*****g help out more.

Kee and Vessa weren't even that good at helping me. Stupid ADHD girls. They see something shiney and totally forget that they were helping me. They almost f****d up the scavenger hunt for everyone. Stupid girls ruined it for me though. Because I had to finish what they didn't I missed the whole thing.

I wish Relly was here. She would have helped me. Ambrose was really the only other help we got. I was still a bit pissy towards him though. Because he's such a good cook, they take him away for every meal. What do they need Ambrose for when they have Miriam? Who do they think taught my brother how to cook?

So far, I have missed the barbaque, the mingling, game day, and both hunts. It was like I finished doing my chores a second too late every day. Who the f**k am I? Cinderella?

I groaned internally.

Part of me knew that if my mate was here I probably would have come across their scent by now. That was the part that had me refusing to say no to all of Tia's demands. I think that part of me thought that if I stayed busy, then I could make some kind of excuse for not finding my mate this year.

Another part of me couldn't help but hope. Maybe I really hadn't come across my mate's scent yet. Tia has had me running around like a damn chicken. That was why I had hurried to finish everything so fast. Maybe, if I can meet everyone then maybe I will find them.

"Azai."

I turned around to see Tia standing there. I groaned loudly. I've been in the kitchen all damn morning. Tia made me get up at 8 a.m. to come down to the school and help Miriam with breakfast.

Apparently, Ambrose was sent out on another mission this morning, after not finding his mate. I can't believe he had time to look and I haven't. By the time we were done cooking and setting everything out, it was time to start lunch. I wanted to cry.

This is so unfair.

"Nooooo." I whined out. "I need to eat and a nap and some sunshine." I started rambling.

Miriam chuckled beside me.

"Oh hush boy." She teased gently.

I looked down at her. "Do you think that I could outrun her?" I whispered to my nanny.

Miriam laughed. "You could try my dear, but I doubt it. Atiana has more experience than you." She said.

I raised a brow at her. "More experience at running away? I doubt that."

"Will you shut up." Tia scolded me.

"No I will not. I don't want to clean more bedrooms." I whined.

Tia rolled her eyes at me. "I wasn't going to ask you for anything Azai." She told me.

"Yeah right. Is this some kind of trick?" I asked with a pout.

Miriam chuckled at me again. "You poor boy." She said teasingly.

Tia sighed. "Belle and Robby managed to oull themselves apart today. They are going to take over all the things I wanted you to do today." She told me.

My eyes went wide. "Really?" I asked.

Tia nodded. "Finish up here with Miriam and take the rest of the day off." She said and then walked away.

I started jumping up and down excitedly.

"Did you hear that Mir? I get the rest of the day off." I said.

"I heard her Azai. Finish with these and then take the tray out. You can go after that." She told me.

I never put together tiny sandwhiches so fast in my life. The last one was barely rested on the tray before I bolted out of there. Miriam was calling after me to be careful, but I ignored her.

I took the tray outside where everything was set up. There aren't as many people here anymore. A lot of the mated couples went home already. This was a big year for Alpha's apparently.

Tia didn't blame them for wanting to leave after they had gotten their mates. They did have packs to run. I guess that a few of the others did the same and left too.

There are still mated couples here, just enjoying the festivities of Mate Week. I looked around and saw people mingling. Smoothing out my bright blue tank top I joined in on the mingling.

*********************************************

A couple of hours later and I am pretty sure I talked to everyone. I hadn't found my mate though. The hope in me is dwindling down. I know I'm only 16, but I don't know how to go another year without my mate. I really thought this was going to be the year for me. Ezra even agreed.

Guess we were wrong.

Don't be sad. Our mate is out there. Ezra told me.

I know. I said.

I tried to hold onto the hope. Dum spiro spero. While I breath, I hope. That's my favorite latin qoute.

The full quote is, Dum spiro spero, dum spero amo, dum amo vivo. It translates to, while I breathe I hope, while I hope I live, while I live I love. It's what I always recited to myself when I got too depressed. I taught it to Akeehla as well, but I'm not sure it has helped her the way it has me.

"Azai?"

I looked up to see Melia walking towards me. She looks stunning as always. Melia has on a little yellow sundress and sandals. Her long hair is up in a high pony and still hanging to her butt. I beamed at her. Melia has been just as MIA as the rest of my family this past week.

"Hey pretty lady." I said when she got closer.

"What are you doing over here? You look lost." She asked.

I had started to make my way to the forest, but had stopped when my thoughts had started to spiral. I thought that I needed some space. Maybe I just needed a friend.

"I was about to go for a walk, clear my head. Wanna come?" I asked as I wiggled my eyebrows.

Melia giggled at me, but then a sheepish look crossed her face.

"I can't." She said.

I frowned.

"Is Tia making you do a bunch of stuff too? Cause you can totally just sneak away with me." I said as I grabbed her hand.

"We can go to that one spot that my sisters don't think I know about." I offered as I tugged on her arm.

Melia shook her head, and pulled her hand back. I frowned at her, but she just stared at the ground. Okay, why is she acting so weird?

"I met my mate."

My eyebrows shot up.

"You did?" I asked. Melia nodded. "That's great Mel! Where is he? Or is it a she? Can I meet them?" I rushed out.

Melia giggled. "He's a he. A Demon actually."

My eyebrows shot back up.

"Really? That's interesting. Guess he probably wasn't upset that you weren't a virgin huh?" I teased.

"No, he didn't care at all. As for meeting him... I wanted to introduce you guys tomorrow night at the ball." She told me.

I beamed. "Of course. You guys go have fun. I'll see you tomorrow."

Melia wrapped her arms around me in a hug.

"Thank you for being the best friend I could ever ask for Azai." She whispered in my ear.

"Always." I replied as I wrapped my arms around her.

I watched as Melia sprinted off before turning around. Guess I should take my walk anyways. I stared at the ground as I trudged through the forest.

You really don't feel anything? I asked Ezra. Like something is about to happen?

Ezra shook his head. He didn't say anything. I think he just didn't want to upset me further. I sighed.

I walked through the woods until I made it to the swimming hole. That was when I heard my sisters voices. I decided to leave Acaisia and Ahkari to their fun, and just kept walking.

This sucks. My mate most likely isn't here. Eventually I came to a small clearing. There are a few kids my age sitting around. I recognized Alex and Alison right away.

"Hey guys, mind if I join you?" I asked them. It was probably best that I wasn't alone right now.

"Not at all." Alex replied.

I walked over and took a seat with them.

"What you guys talkin' about?" I asked them.

"Alison here, was just telling us that she's mated to one of the Fury's." Alex told me.

My eyes went wide as I looked at her.

"Why are you here then?" I asked.

Alison huffed and crossed her arms. "Because he's a raging asshat."

I sputtered out some laughter.

"A Fury and a Demon? Gee, I wonder who could have the worst temper." I commented.

"How did you even meet him? I have barely seen any of the Fury's since they got here." Alex asked her.

Alison shrugged. "We ran into each other in the hallway yesterday." She said.

"You've barely seen the Fury's?" I asked Alex. "They haven't joined in on anything?"

Alex shrugged. "They were forced to join game day and the hunt, but you could tell they didn't want to be there." He said.

"Oh." Was all I said.

The three of us talked for a little while longer. Alex and I tried to get Alison to go talk to her mate. Eventually she walked off to find him. Alex and I talked about how neither of us had met our mate yet. He asked why he hadn't seen me much this week, and then laughed when I told him what I had been doing.

Eventually it got dark out, and we decided to walk back to the school. Everyone was gathered in the backyard for the fireworks. I scanned the crowd but no one stood out to me. Alex asked if I wanted to sit and watch the show with him, but I denied.

I just want to be alone now.

So, I made my way home, and to my room. Kee had tried to talk to me, but I just wasn't in the mood. Once I was in my room I stripped out of my clothes and crawled into my bed naked. Sleep never claimed me though.

*********************************************

I watched the sun rise through my window. Sighing, I got up and showered. By the time I was out of my shower Tia was already banging on my door and asking me to do things.

I had to set up for the ball. Which was annoying as all hell. Tia did an elements theme this year, which was actually pretty f*****g cool. Each corner of the room was set up in a firey, watery, earthy, or windy theme. It was actually a very smart idea for Tia to do this. This way all the creatures could pick out where they felt most comfortable.

By the time I had finished helping set up it was time for me to go get ready. There was no longer a pep in my step like usual. I have just a small sliver of hope left, but mostly I'm just nervous. Making my way back to my bedroom I took another shower, and began to put my suit on. I combed my short dark curls back and then ruffled them to give me that 'just rolled out of bed' look.

"Hey."

I looked up to see Ares standing in the doorway of our joined bathroom. He has on a suit similar to mine. As always he's a mess. His curly hair is like a mop sitting on his head, and his shirt isn't even tucked in. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Hey." I replied. "Please tell me that you are at least going to tighten your tie." I said.

Ares chuckled. "I'm not going. This is just to make Mom and Dad think I am." He told me.

"Ahhh." I said.

Of course he isn't coming. Why would he? He doesn't want to meet his mate. I bet if he took part in this stupid f*****g week he would of met his mate though.

Fucking ridiculous.

"Why are you so angry? I never go." Ares asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I don't care about that. And I'm not angry." I said.

Ares chuckled. "Yeah, okay."

"If you aren't coming then what do you want?" I asked him.

Ares shrugged. "I haven't seen you a lot this week. Just wanted to see if you met your mate." He said.

I turned back to my mirror to avoid his eyes.

"I haven't." I stated.

Ares nodded. "Explains why you're mad."

"I'm not mad." I said again. "I have to get going. The ball has already been going on for a while."

I rushed out of my room, and to the school. By the time I arrived a few people had already cleared. Damn, I really took that long getting ready?

When I entered my eyes landed on Melia's immdeiately. She waved me over and I went to join you and her mate. I sat down at the table next to her. The man sitting on the other side of her offered me a small smile. He has long black hair and black eyes. He's not a big guy, he's taller than Melia, but more lanky than beefy.

"Azai, this is my mate Marco. Marco, this is my best friend Azai." She introduced us.

Marco offered me his hand and I shook it. The three of us made conversation for quite a while. In fact, we had talked so much that I didn't even notice that mostly everyone left. Marco is a really cool guy, I would expect nothing less for my best friend.

"Well, we are gonna get going." Melia said.

I nodded to them. "Have fun."

I watched them walk off and sighed. Another year to being mateless. My heart ached. Ezra whined in my head. Sighing, I decided to just go home. I'm not feeling like the after party anymore. Grabbing my glass, I stood up ready to leave.

When I stood up my eyes scanned the dance floor again. A strong scent of toasted almonds and cinnamon hit me. Did Tia get extra snacks here? It smells amazing.

Then another scent hit me, this one is cirtus and cedar. Ezra surfaced and began pacing in my head.

My eyes scanned the dance floor again and that's when I saw them. An absolutely stunning couple dancing together. I stared at them in awe.

The male has bright red hair that is slicked back. His suit is a deep red and black. He's tall, even from here I can see that he's probably an inch or two shorter than me.

The female has on a deep red dress that matches the man's. Her long dark brown hair is flowing in curls around them. The girl has curves for days. Curves I need to touch.

The man spun her around and she giggled. It was like music to my ears. My eyes scanned down their bodies. Her curves are killer, and his body... He isn't as lanky as Marco, but not as beefy as me. I wonder what it's like to be sandwhiched between them.

They danced their way closer to me, and my feet moved on their own to get closer. Is this really happening? It feels like a dream.

When I got close enough, the girl turned her head to me. Our eyes went wide at the same time. The glass fell from my hand and shattered on the floor. That got the attention of the man. His eyes went wide as well.

My jaw dropped. Ezra started going nuts in my head. It was like the whole world stopped, all I could hear were the words that my wolf shouted over and over again.

MATES! MATES! MATES!