Mate!

"What's his name?"

"I'm pretty sure it is Alpha Hughes."

Gasps fill the limo. The Alpha Jack Hughes? He's the most feared Alpha. I truly feel bad for whoever his mate is. He's a monster. Stories about him circle around in my pack every month. This month he killed a family of six because they didn't obey him. What kind of man does that? 

"But isn't he like a hottie?"

"I don't know! If I get ten feet of him he might kill me!"

"That's preposterous."

"No, if he can kill his own parents, he can kill me."

"What if he's your mate?"

"HE ISN'T!"

Fear filled in my veins as I make myself listen to their conversation. I know I shouldn't eavesdrop but this is too good to not get in on! How come none of us heard about his appearance at the Mating Ball? "Hey! Sam! Snap out of it." Genelia orders. "Sorry, I was thinking." I apologize. Genelia rolls her eyes and continues her story.

"The chance of us finding our mate is about eighty-seven percent." Genelia is a wiz with math. I never understood how she does it. "How did you get that!" I say. "Okay..." She goes on explaining to me about how she got her answer but I was too busy thinking about my mate.

He's going to be loving, nice, and very cute. He'll treat my like I'm the only woman in the world. I can see it now. We're dancing together at the ball, his hands are on my waist but they aren't going too low. I'm looking up at him with so much admiration my heart breaks open. He looks me in the eyes with a look that says 'I love you' but we can't call it love yet.

I dreamily sigh at my mental movie. That's all I want. Love. It is a beautiful thing. I see the Central Hall! Girls start screaming and yelling with joy as we reach the entrance. "Girls, when you get into the ball please sit where your name is and don't move until instructed to do so. And lastly, have a wonderful night." 

We all exit the limo and I thank the driver for driving us to the night of our lives. "We're here." Genelia laughs. I join her. "Are you ready?" I ask. Genelia looks at me sadly and shakes her head. "Don't worry, babe, you'll be fine." I encourage her. She smiles at me and we proudly walk into the Central Hall to attend our first Mating Ball.

"Welcome to our 127th Mating Ball! Ladies and Gentlemen put on your masks! Now, may I have all the ladies come up here!" Lady Beatrice cheers. We all stand up and go to the stage. "Okay! We will be rating you on your strength and beauty that you all tested for last month." 

Each of the girls went through and because my last name was Wright, I'm one of the last. "Samantha Skylar Wright!" I walk towards the podium. "Age: 17, Strength 7, Beauty: 10." I smile in satisfactory that people think I'm beautiful but the glares lead me to think otherwise. I look down and carefully exit the stage.

Afters the girls, all the boys went up. "Alpha... Jack Hughes?" Lady Beatrice calls. The crowd silences at the mention of his name. I look over to where Genelia is sitting and she's already looking at me with so much fear. I shift in my chair awkwardly.

"What's he doing here?"

"Who's his mate?"

"He's kind of cute."

"I hear he's really strong, if you know what I mean."

"He's not cute! He's a monster!"

"Come off it, he's nothing but trouble."

Those are a few of the things I could hear throughout my section of the ballroom. Lady Beatrice clears her throat and continues calling the names. I secure my mask on my face and wait for further instructions. 

Once all the names are done we all go down to the dance floor and have our first dance. "Genelia-" I stop my sentence short when I see her walking off with red-haired man. I smile at her and give her a thumbs-up and go sit down. I'm the only girl sitting down. Then a smell hits me. It was a mist of Rose and Vanilla. The smell intoxicates me. 

Mate.

I look around to see if anyone is looking at me. But no one is. I wonder around and the smell gets stronger the closer I get to the boys' side of the ballroom. I find his brown hair facing the opposite direction. I see him tense and he turns to face me. My eyes widen, and fear is the only emotion I am able to feel. He won't love me. 

I turn my back so I'm not facing the monster that so happens to be my mate, collect myself, and I get out of there. I never look back just run. I hear footsteps behind me and I see him chasing after me. "STOP!" He orders. As an Alpha he has full control over me. I stop and turn around. I close my eyes waiting for him to say the words. "What are you doing?" He questions. I open one eye and then open the other. "I-I was w-waiting-" He rolls his eyes. "Spit it out."

"I-was-waiting-for-you-to-reject-me."

He pierces his lips and nod. "I'm not rejecting you." He looks at me. The look isn't filled with love, or any emotion. "Y-You a-aren't?" I'm full of bewilderment. "Stop stuttering." Alpha Hughes says impatiently. "S-Sorry Alpha." I look down. "What's your name?" He asks. I clear my throat, "Samantha Skylar Wright," I whisper. "What pack are you from?" He quizzes me. "Midnight Shadow." I whisper again. He nods and walks away.

I stand there for what seems to be forever. What just happened? He cannot be my mate! He's a murderer! A monster! He's probably going to kill me after the third day. Tears fill up in my eyes. "No." I whisper and fall onto the ground cradling myself. All I really want right now is my father to tell me it's all just dream. Alpha Hughes just cannot be my mate. He just can't be.