Mate

  Our Mates were chosen from birth, they say. But we do not feel the bond until both have turned twenty-one. Daphne says it’s because the bond makes the couple so desperate for each other that many become pregnant within a few months and having a baby before her body can cope with the labour can be fatal to a woman.

  Very dramatic but Daphne is the pack doctor.

  When a pack member turned twenty-one, a party was held with all unmated pack members over twenty-one attended in the hopes of the birthday wolf being their Mate. The first hour mainly involved a hunt for Mates but once it became clear who had the bond and who didn’t, it became a lot more fun.

  For me, the real fun came the next day, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

  I grew up as part of the Forest Wolves Pack. We lived in the woods outside Seattle. Our territory stretched miles, giving us freedom to run for hours in any direction. While most of us lived in the main Pack House, a few mated pairs liked to live alone. We had a few workshops, a medical clinic, a bar, gym, stables, even our own cinema. Our small collection of buildings had everything we needed.

  At age eighteen, we were all given a job. Mine was caring for the pack’s horses. I like horses and I’m allowed to go riding once my work is done so it’s not a bad job. Occasionally, someone told me how lucky I was. I was an Omega, a weaker wolf and in many packs, the lowest of the low - often reduced to slavery. But our Alpha refused to treat anyone as lesser so this was not one of those packs. So, I had my nice calm life as a stable hand. 

  I was headed to work on the morning of my birthday. It might be the day I find my Mate, but the horses still needed food and anyway, I wanted to spend my birthday with my favourite horse, Raven.

  I skipped down the Pack House stairs, my long white blonde hair in a braid that swung dramatically with each movement. My clothes were not my nicest but how was I supposed to know what was going to happen. After all, the only person in the house at this point was the Alpha’s grandson.

  Anthony Crane seemed to be permanently sad. His parents died when he was just eighteen. As his grandfather grew older, more responsibility fell on him. He was twenty-three now but had not found his Mate. I always assumed he was lonely.

  He looked lonely that morning, hunched over the breakfast bar in the kitchen, his sandy blonde hair falling in his handsome face. I suddenly wanted nothing more than to run over and hold him, make him stop hurting.

  “My love…” I found myself saying. He looked up and his bright blue eyes connected with my stormy grey. 

  “Mate…” He whispered. Before I could even process what happened, I ran into his arms and he clung to me like he was afraid I’d fall through the ground.

  Then he tipped my head up so I was looking at him. “My name is Kate.” I said, awkwardly.

  “I know. I know everyone.”

  He pulled me into a kiss. He was so gentle, as if I was made of glass. But there was hunger in it. Like he would die without me.

  Which is how I felt. I wrapped my arms around his neck, which caused me to lift up slightly. He was very tall, most Alphas are while Omegas are usually tiny. 

  Someone came in, I don’t know who, I was too wrapped up in Anthony and our kiss. Anthony broke away and growled at the intruder.

  “Get a room.” The intruder snapped. “Happy birthday, Kate. Go and get laid.”

  Anthony gave me a look that seemed to say “should we?” I gave him a look that I hoped said “of course we fucking should.” It seemed to work because he took my hand and pulled upstairs. 

  He took me to his bedroom. It was a nice room, with a big window letting in plenty of natural light. He kept it minimally decorated and the furniture was all white wood. It was very clean. I quickly pulled my riding boots off and threw them outside the room so they wouldn’t contaminate this perfect space. 

  Anthony grabbed hold of me as soon as the door was shut again and pulled me close to kiss. He moved backwards until he sat on the bed with me on his lap, putting me at a much more comfortable angle with his height. 

  “Have you done this before?” He said.

  “No.” I admitted. A lot of wolves waited until they found their Mate, believing sex was only for mated couples. It left those who didn’t believe as such without many potential partners. 

  “Me neither. We don’t have to…”

  “You’re so sweet.” I nuzzled into his neck. “But right now I just want to fuck you.”

  “I know.” He growled as he began to nibble on my ear, something which probably should hurt but in that moment was pure bliss. He pushed me back slightly to pull his shirt off. He caught me as I began to tip back, being rather poorly balanced without his arms around me. I took a moment to look at his naked chest. Fuck, he was hot. The muscles on his chest and arms were clearly defined but didn’t bulge out like some sort of muscled mutant. 

  “You’re perfect.” I said, pulling him back into the kiss. He broke the kiss and pulled at my t-shirt.

  “Can I?”

  “Please.” I was incredibly grateful for the warm weather or I’d have bundled up. Instead the removal of my shirt revealed the sports bra I wore to ride. “I should have worn my sexy underwear.” I said as he began to kiss along my collarbone. “I just didn’t expect to find you this morning.”

  “I thought I’d never find you.” He suddenly seemed to sober up and snapped his head up to look at my face. “I thought I’d be alone forever. I’m just happy you’re here.”

  “I think you’d be happier if you saw my sexy underwear.” 

  He laughed and his face lit up. He was beautiful when he laughed. “We have all the time in the world for that.” He pulled me back towards him and resumed our kiss. His arms wrapped around me, making me feel safe for the first time since…

  No. None of that mattered. Just this.

  Which was going so slow. I realised that what I’d heard about Alphas being quick and rough lovers was not true for my sweet Anthony, I’d have to take charge occasionally. 

  I lifted up so I could shimmy out of my jeans, somehow managing to kick them off without breaking away from Anthony. He seemed to get the message and let go to push me off him and onto the bed. Without me on his lap, he quickly kicked his own pants off. I leaned back against the pillows, which were incredibly comfortable. Maybe I should spend the rest of my life here. 

  He lay next to me and pulled me back into the kiss but this time his hands ran down my body while my own arms wrapped around his neck. He unhooked my bra and began to run his thumb over my chest. I felt a pang of insecurity, wondering if he’d rather I had full round breasts. It was irrational, clearly, as he seemed to think every inch of my body was the best thing he’d ever touched. 

  His hand grazed over my hip and he paused. “Can I…”

  “You’ll know when I want you to stop.” 

  He peeled my underwear down my hips and I kicked my legs to get them off. He began to move his hand between my legs. I suddenly cursed myself for not bothering to shave but he didn’t seem bothered. I felt a finger slide inside me and I hissed at the sudden new feeling.

  “Bad?” He moaned against my lips.

  “Fuck no.” I gasped as another joined it and involuntarily moaned as it moved. 

  “Is this ok?”

  “More than ok.” I buried my face in his shoulder as I felt the pressure building up inside me. “Please…” I whined, bucking towards his hand.

  “What?” He paused.

  “Well, don’t stop.” I panted. “Anthony…” I moaned as the pressure exploded through my body. I stopped moving, slumping against him and leaving into his embrace. He withdrew his hand and pulled my face up to look at him.

  “Do you want to stop?”

  “Never.” I breathed. He began to detangle me from him. “No!” I cried. “Don’t leave me!”

  “I’m right here, Kate.” He pushed me to lay on my back. “I’m not going anywhere.” He moved down my body and lifted my leg, draping it over his back. 

  “What are you…” My question was answered when he began to kiss me… “Oh fuck.” I closed my eyes and threw my head back, leaning back into the feeling of the pleasure he brought. But when it was over, I just wanted him back in my arms. “Come back.” I panted, holding out a hand. On my order, he pulled himself back up until his face was level with mine. My leg was still wrapped around him, around his hip now, and my arms settled back around his neck. “Where did you learn to do that?” I asked.

  “I read a lot.” He admitted. “Do you want to stop now?”

  “What a stupid question.” He pulled me close and shifted until he was sitting with me on his lap again. 

  “I heard… it’s less painful like this.”

  “I think the pain is a myth.” I said. 

  “I don’t want to hurt you.” 

  “You’re so sweet.” I teased. I clearly had to take charge here. I looked down to get an idea of what I was doing. He’d lost his own underwear at some point. He looked pretty big but I haven’t seen that many naked men so what did I know? I decided to go for it. I lifted my hips and positioned myself so I’d slide down onto it. I gasped as it went in. The pain was a myth but it wasn’t exactly a familiar sensation. But holy shit, it felt amazing. Part of it was the stimulation but part of it was him, I knew it. He was there, holding me, fucking me, it just felt so perfect. 

  We stayed like that for a while, with me on top, rocking slightly, mainly out of instinct. “Do you want me to… take over?” He asked.

  “Yeah.” I moaned. He rolled me onto my back, still inside me with my legs wrapped around his hips. He was better able to move now, which he did, bracing one hand against the mattress while he thrust into me. He had a good angle, I assumed, because it was hitting something inside me that sent shocks through my body, ripping through me in explosions of sheer pleasure. He was pretty gentle still until the last few seconds, where his body seemed to just become desperate for release until I felt it happen. 

  We lay there, limbs entangled, for a few minutes, attempting to regain our breath. Eventually, I propped myself up by the elbows and watched him. “If I’d known it was you, I’d have made more of an effort to talk to you.” 

  “Would you?” He smirked. “It’s alright, I know I’m not very fun. It’s a bit hard to be fun and a good leader. That’s why Grandfather has such a stick up his ass.”

  “Nova says you’ll find life easier when you find your Mate. The responsibilities of an Alpha are not meant for just one man.” I quoted. “Not that I expect to be much use in that regard.”

  “Why not?”

  “I’m an Omega, we’re not exactly… made for leadership.”

  “Why would the Moon Goddess make my Mate someone who could not lead by my side?”

  “Maybe it’s a test. Maybe you’re supposed to reject me for the good of the pack.”

  “Do you want me to reject you?”

  It was an unfair question. I should want him to reject me, put the pack first. But I also wanted to stay here forever, in his arms, ideally with him fucking my brains out like that all day.

  “I should. But I’m a selfish bitch.” 

  “And I’m a selfish man.” He pulled me down to kiss him. 

  We spent the next few hours in his bed, kissing, talking, and exploring each other’s bodies. But eventually, the rest of the world decided to bother us.

  Anthony was dragged away by his Beta who wanted to discuss the vampires who would be visiting tomorrow. So I headed down to the stables.

  My fellow stable hand, Nova, was brushing Raven when I arrived. “Where the fuck have you been?” She asked.

  “I had… a thing.” I really should have come up with an excuse before leaving Anthony’s room. 

  “Is that thing sex? Your hair is a mess.” I began to quickly smooth it with my hands. I should have stopped to tidy my braid before I left too. Then realisation spread across her face. “You found your Mate!” She cried. “That’s where you’ve been.”

  “We thought it best to get to know each other.”

  “That’s one way to put it. Now you know why Daphne says if we felt the bond too young, the pack would be full of teenage parents. Who is it?”

  “Anthony.”

  “Future Alpha Anthony?”

  “Do you know anyone else called Anthony?”

  “Three in this pack alone. It’s not an uncommon name.”

  “Yeah, that Anthony.”

  “Wow. Yeah, I can see why you were late. I’d climb him like a tree.”

  “Kind of a weird thing to say about my Mate to my face but ok.”

  I had brought a cute dress and heels for the party, expecting to meet my Mate there. I’m sure Anthony would still appreciate my effort. Especially when we were alone and he got to see my much nicer underwear set.

  “I can’t believe you spent all that money on fancy underwear and he saw you in your riding bra.” Daphne said as we sipped cocktails and watched the pack having fun. 

  “Trust me, it didn’t stay on long.”

  “Because he wanted to get your clothes off or because he couldn’t bear to look at it any longer?” 

  She was cut off by a fork hitting a glass, a terrible sound really but it got everyone’s attention. On the stairs stood our Beta, Ryan Connors.

  “Thank you for coming tonight to celebrate that Katherine Archer has come of age. As you may already have heard, we have been in talks with a local vampire clan about forming an alliance. The vampires have come to us with a new condition. They are looking for three women to marry members of their High Council. If you are chosen, you will go with them. We need to make this alliance work.”

  “Why would vampires want werewolf wives?” Daphne asked. 

  “Maybe they plan to turn us and make vampire-wolf hybrids.” I said.

  “No. That’s not possible.” She chewed her lip. “But I don’t see why we couldn’t reproduce with them.”

  “I was joking. You don’t think they want to make half vampire half werewolf babies?”

  “I could see the appeal.” She shrugged. “Now, I need to go and speak to my Mate. You should do the same.” She pointed to where Anthony was talking to his grandfather. My heart began to beat faster at the sight of him. I’d have probably run straight to him if his grandfather didn’t scare the living daylights out of me. 

  Anthony spotted me and made his excuses before pointing to the stairs to signal he thought we should leave the party. That was much more appealing. I ran to the stairs, at least as well as I could in my heels, and let myself into his room. Anthony wasn’t far behind me and suddenly he was there, holding me.

  “You’re beautiful.” He whispered. 

  “This is how I wanted you to see me for the first time.”

  “You were beautiful this morning.”

  “I like to dress up for the horses.” I smirked. “Are you going to kiss me or what?” 

  “If you insist.” He pulled me into a kiss and began to guide me backwards towards the bed. Once we were closer, he let me go so I could see what I was doing when I sat down. I kicked off my shoes and pulled my legs up onto the mattress as Anthony settled next to me. He pulled me close and continued to kiss me.

  “Oh, good, you’re here.” Daphne said, sitting next to me and Anthony at breakfast. “I thought you’d still be at it.”

  “Grandfather said it reflects badly on the pack if I’m not here.” Anthony said.

  “I just really wanted pancakes.” I admitted. 

  “I’m thinking of skipping it.” Daphne said. “I’ve got a Mate, they won’t want me.”

  “I heard the vampires don’t believe in the Mate Bond.” Anthony said.

  “I don’t think I would if I didn’t see it everyday.” I admitted. “It does sound like something out of a sappy romance novel.”

  “Please don’t say that to the vampires.” Daphne said. “That won’t help.”

  “What? It is real.”

  Alpha Thomas came in, followed by seven tall pale men in suits. “Take your pick.” One of them ordered. 

  “I don’t want one.” One of the vampires snapped in a rich British accent. He broke off from his group and took a seat at the kitchen counter. He looked young, early twenties, although he was probably seven hundred or something. He was tall, dark haired, and very handsome. They did say vampire men were smoking hot, they must have been talking about this one. 

  “Oh don’t be silly.” A red haired vampire slapped him on the shoulder. “What about that one?” He pointed to our group. “You like blondes. There’s three blondes there.”

  “Fine.” He stood up and came over. I could sense Daphne and Anthony growing tense. I felt a hand on my shoulder. “This one.” 

  Anthony suddenly leapt up from his chair, tackling the vampire to the ground. 

  “Anthony!” Alpha Thomas ordered. Anthony jumped back to his feet like a well trained dog, while Daphne and I just looked in bewilderment. “Adrian, Katherine Archer and my grandson are fated to be together.”

  “Oh, not that again.” Adrian scoffed. “Looks like I’m doing you a favour.” He patted my shoulder as he walked past. “If no one needs me, I’ll be in the car.”

  “He wants her.” The lead vampire shrugged. “You should pack your things.”

  Thomas looked between the vampire and Anthony. He seemed to be weighing up his options. He did promise the vampires their choice of wives, he apparently didn’t set any rules. But would he be willing to hurt Anthony? “The bond has not been completed, they have not performed the ceremony. They can still reject one another.”

  “You can’t do this.” Daphne cried. “This is not your choice.”

  “It is if our pack is to survive. We will die without this alliance!”

  “Fine!” I cried. “I’ll do it.” I stood up so I was a little more level with Anthony. “But I won’t reject you. I’m not burning any bridges until I’m certain I can fix this.”

  “You don’t have to do anything.” Anthony pulled me into a hug. 

  “I did. I was chosen to be this pack’s Luna. What kind of Luna would I be if I didn’t try to save us?”

  One of the other girls chosen was Cienna, a warrior who was still only nineteen, and Petra, a chef in her mid twenties. 

  “Well, as someone who never found her Mate, I’m ok with this.” Petra said as we took our bags to the limo that was waiting for us. “Do you know how likely you are to find love outside the Mate bond?”

  “Humans seem to manage.” Cienna said. 

  “Your Mate might still be out there.” I said. “What if you meet them?”

  “I’ll deal with that if and when it happens.”

  I climbed into the limo and found myself sitting next to Adrian. 

  “You’re welcome.” He said.

  “What?”

  “For getting you out of there. That Mate bond shit gives me the creeps. Where’s the choice?”

  “You do realise I didn’t choose you either, right?”

  “No but I don’t expect much.”

  “Much?”

  “Be nice, try not to kill me in my sleep, maybe cook occasionally.”

  “You eat food?” I raised an eyebrow.

  “I eat a lot of things.”

  I began to let the feeling he was implying one of those things was little werewolf girls.