Izzy stands at the center of the spectacle called the mate-finding ceremony, her most dreaded part of being a werewolf. The entire ceremony ground is a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds that assaults her senses.
The elder stands beside her, takes a hold of her necklace and roughly breaks it. The fire turns red, green and yellow as the elder reads the sign. Then he frowns, and his eyes go to someone in the group of unmatched males.
Izzy clenches her jaws and stares at her feet. She cannot, she can’t possibly have a mate now, after all those years!
“Ah, this is strange,” the elder whispers.
‘Yes, I am strange for not wanting a mate. I know that already!’ she thinks. All the female werewolves want it, even Chloe and Aria, except her!
“Ah, I apologize, but Alpha Landon Hayes, will you please step forward?”
Izzy’s lips tremble. The sound of his name is already pulling at the strings of her heart, so she ensures that her eyes are fixed on the solid ground. But, the alpha?! The widowed alpha Landon Hayes?! He’s still in his early thirties, a few years older than her, but does that mean that she will become the pack’s Luna?! Fucking NO! That will destroy her future to irreparable damage! She’d rather have Miles!
But then, she made the mistake of looking up and her eyes meet alpha Landon’s eyes. He is standing before her, resolute and with a bit of amusement in his eyes. He is taller than her, more imposing, and her heart is beating wildly as she stares at him, at her mate. HER OWN MATE. HERS ALONE.
Izzy takes a step back, trying to distance herself from the alpha. Landon’s intense gaze is making her feel uncomfortable and she can’t help but feel a stirring of desire and possessiveness towards him. It’s confusing and overwhelming, considering she has always been against the idea of a mate.
Landon takes a step forward, closing the distance between them. “Isabella,” he says in a deep voice, his eyes never leaving hers.
She swallows hard and looks away, trying to compose herself. “Alpha Hayes,” she responds stiffly.
He chuckles softly. “Please, call me Landon.”
“No, there must be some mistake,” she whispers, shaking her head stubbornly.
Alpha Landon Hayes is a man who exudes power and strength, with broad shoulders and a commanding presence. His gaze is intense, almost piercing, as if he can see right through her. He has short-cropped dark hair and deep blue eyes that seem to hold many secrets.
His lips twitch into a small smile as he looks at her with amusement. “Suit yourself,” he says before turning to address the rest of the pack.
“As most of you already know, I have been widowed for a few years.” His voice is strong and commanding, making everyone pay attention. “I think it’s about time that we assign a new Luna.”
“Wait, no!” she steps forward and holds his arm to stop him. However, the contact made her squeal. It is hot, as if her body is on fire — for him, she fucking desires him! Like right this very instant!
He looks at her and whispers, “It’s better not to touch me. The desire for a mate is overwhelming, especially in the first few days of matching.”
It’s too late for a warning. To remove the feeling of desire, she wipes her hand on her clothes, hoping that the trembling in her body would be gone.
“Do-don’t announce me as your Luna...” she whispers. She’s a little breathless. “I can’t be your Luna.”
When Landon turns his attention to her, he raises his brow, which makes her cheeks heat up. She tries to hide her blush by looking down at the ground.
“Alpha Hayes,” the elder interrupts. “The mate-finding ceremony is not yet done.”
“I am aware of that,” he says, his eyes still on Izzy. “There are more matches for the other werewolves, right?”
“I mean… I am not yet done calling the names of this match’s mates. It’s not a one to one mate this time.”
This time, alpha Landon turns his eyes away from Izzy and asks, “What did you say?”
“There are multiple mates.”
“I’ve just been widowed,” he responds, clicking his tongue in frustration. “I can’t handle multiple mates. Isabella is already enough—”
“For her, Alpha Landon,” the elder explains. “Isabella Garcia has multiple mates.”
Landon’s jaw clenches as he stares at the elder. “What are you talking about?!” he growls.
“The mate-finding ceremony has revealed that Isabella has multiple mates,” the elder repeats, not fazed by the alpha’s tone.
Landon turns to look at her. She is staring at him with wide, scared eyes. He might be seeing the panic and confusion written all over her face.
“Izzy,” he says, using her nickname for the first time. “Do you know anything about this?”
She shakes her head, still unable to form any words. Her mind is reeling from the shock of finding out that she has multiple mates. Still, it doesn’t escape her attention that alpha Landon has just called her in her nickname.
The next she notices is when the pack members start to whisper amongst themselves. Some with a tone of excitement, while others with disapproval.
“Who is it?” Alpha Landon asks, his deep blue eyes scanning the sea of faces. It is silent now, the tension building with every passing second.
“Carter Grayson, please step forward.”
At the mention of the name, Izzy feels smaller than ever. Carter is a womanizer beta who is included in her circle of friends. She doesn’t think highly of him, but in her pack, even if she doesn’t like the man, she has no choice. In their pack, there is only one circle of friends and everyone is friends with each other.
“My beta is also my mate’s other mate?!” Landon growls.
Izzy hears someone laugh, and at the way her heart leaps at the sound, she knows it to be Carter. The annoying, flirty laugh belongs to no one but him! Unfortunately now, it sounds music to her ears.
“Come on, Alpha Landon. Don’t be so angry. You are the alpha. Maybe the Moon Goddess thinks you will be too busy to have the time to properly care for our Izzy here.”
NOOO!! Izzy screams inwardly as she feels rooted to the spot. She shuts her eyes close and wishes to be woken up from the nightmare.
“Be grateful that you are my beta!” Landon threatens, which Carter only answers with a laugh.
“Now, should we get this over with?” Alpha Landon asks, sounding irritated by the second.
“That’s the problem,” the elder adds. “There is still one more.”
Alpha Landon groans and Carter chuckles.
“Who the fucking else?!” Alpha Landon snarls. “How many else is there?!”
“Miles Bennett, please step forward.”
Izzy trembles. This time, her eyes opens wide with shock and disbelief. This can’t be right! She is definitely in a grim-joke-type of a nightmare. This can’t be happening!
“The mates for Isabella Garcia are...” the elder announces. “Alpha Landon Hayes, and his two betas, Beta Carter Grayson, and Beta Miles Bennett!”
Landon grumbles, Carter laughs, and then there’s the sound of Miles’ footsteps. And then she cries. Three mates... She doesn’t even want a single mate! A very, very cruel joke!
Carter takes a deep breath and softens his tone. “Izzy...”
She can smell Miles even before he comes forward. “Don’t touch me!” she screams at him. “This can’t be...”
Izzy hugs herself. The presence of her three mates is overpowering, her body is quivering with desire for the three of them. This cannot be!
Landon’s voice echoes on the field. “Continue with the ceremony,” he says, his voice firm.
Izzy continues her quiet crying, only trembling as she tries to reel herself in. This is not happening. This can’t be happening. She feels like she’s living in some kind of nightmare.
“The four of us, let’s talk somewhere private,” Alpha Landon suggests.
We walk to the alpha’s house, where Alpha Landon has set up a separate house for his office. An elder, whose name is Finn O’Malley, is supporting Izzy as she continues to deny her fate.Finn decides that each of her mates needs to talk to her. To discuss what will happen in the future. He mentioned that the other mates can reject the mate bond. In that way, she will only have one mate.ONE MATE.But she doesn’t even want a single mate. No matter what they will decide, she is still on the losing end of it all.“Izzy...” This time, it is Miles who is sitting in front of her, while she is petrified in the chair.She looks up at him, but she instantly regrets it when his warm brown eyes meet hers. He looks at her with a mixture of sadness and guilt, his blond hair disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it. Worse, she can’t take her eyes off of him.Despite not originally from the pack, Miles continued to rise until he became a beta. She has always known that he is handsome,
“Three mates...” Izzy murmurs as she lays chest-first on her bed.She is still processing her situation. Won’t that be too much work? Besides, she has a job and hobbies. She also wants to spend time with her family and friends. Surely, these men will request time and attention from her.Izzy takes a deep sigh, which she has been doing for a while now. Gratefully, she is not forced to spend the night with either of them. Although her inner wolf wants to.She is bound to three mates. Miles, Landon, and Carter. Not one of them rejected the mate bond. Miles said that he will take his chances. Landon said that he needed a Luna. Most especially, Carter assured her that he would never reject the mate bond.“Ugh!” she screams on her pillow.And so, as the night wears on, she continues to wrestle with her thoughts, tossing and turning in her bed. She is torn between the undeniable attraction she feels for her mates and the fear of losing herself in the process.When the morning sun peeks throug
Izzy focuses on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She raises her fists and begins to jab, the rhythm of her punches matching the beat of her heart.Despite the frustrating situation with her three mates, she can’t deny that she is a bit grateful that they didn’t place strict rules on the setup — which is new, knowing that Alpha Landon loves rules.Still, six days. Six days will be lost to her. She should have insisted for only a day each to her mates. It’s as if she is going with the flow — submitting her will to the pack and the Moon Goddess. She is certain, it’s all because of the mate bond! She is becoming more pliant to all their demands! She didn’t even shut Carter up as harshly, unlike before!Then, there is a laugh. She pauses and turns to the source of the voice. It’s Aria, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.“That punching bag won’t last long, you know,” she comments.Izzy shakes her head and continues with the punches. “What are you doing here, Aria?”“Wh
“Hey! Finally, you guys are mated!” one of Miles’ friends interjects. “Albeit having two extra ones in the relationship.”His arm goes around Miles’ shoulders and winks at her. “I’m certain the two of you will be together.”“We are still in the process of resolving it,” Miles replies.“Hmmm, that so,” he continues. “So, when’s the mating day?”Izzy feels her cheeks flush at the mention of being Miles’ mate and the blatant question of when she will copulate with him. She isn’t used to this kind of attention and unfortunately; she didn’t dislike it.“Hi,” she says awkwardly, hoping that the conversation will veer on a different topic.Gratefully, the other pack members approach her with enthusiastic greetings. She tries her best to be friendly, but all she wants is to disappear into thin air.After a few minutes of small talk, Miles guides them towards the buffet table. He fills her plate with grilled steak and vegetables before getting something for himself as well — a common gesture th
Back on her desk, Izzy tries to focus on her work but she finds it impossible. Every time she shuts her eyes, she can feel Miles’ lips on hers, warm and tender. She shakes her head vigorously as if trying to shake off the memory.But it’s there, etched in the corners of her mind, resurfacing every so often with a potency that makes her catch her breath. She rubs her temples, willing herself to concentrate and move on from the distracting memory.“Concentrate, Izzy,” she mutters to herself, forcing her eyes back on the pile of work on her desk. But it’s no use. Her thoughts keep on drifting back to Miles — his warm voice, his soft gaze, the way his kiss made her feel... and her wanting more of those gentle kisses.She pushes the papers away in frustration, knocking over a cup of pens. She stares at the scattered pens for a while before bending down to pick them up. As she does, a picture falls out from one of the books stacked on her desk. It is a picture of her and Miles from last summ
Miles takes her hand gently in his, lacing their fingers together. “I want to embrace you the entire night.”She frowns.“The elders and your other mates allowed it,” he adds, his eyes pleading.‘Hugging, huh,’ she thinks as she gazes into his eyes. They’ve hugged before, so it doesn’t sound so bad.Annoyed by all the second-guessing, she groans. If Miles is already taking up this much head space, how could she handle more mates? Still, she cannot be selfish. This is Miles. He has been a dear friend to her since five years ago.“Okay, we can hug,” she agrees. “But we can’t do anything... intimate.”Miles smiles before pulling her close to him, their bodies pressing together. “Of course not, Izzy. Just... be with me.”She can feel his warm breath tickling the skin of her throat as he sighs softly against her neck before replying in a quiet, shaky voice, “Thank you.”Izzy has to admit, it feels strange at first — the way Miles is holding her, their chests pressing against each other as t
Izzy walks into the kitchen and finds Miles already there, preparing the ingredients for their breakfast. His back is on her, but she can sense his happiness from the way he moves.He turns to her and finds her looking at him. “Hey, good morning!”She makes another of her lopsided smile. “I’ll help you,” she says, walking towards the counter where Miles is standing.“As promised?” he asks, looking pleased, and then he laughs.“What?!” she asks, confused at his reactions.“I’m sorry for teasing you earlier.”“You already apologized earlier.”“That’s not a complete apology, though.”Her frown deepens. “Then what does a ‘complete’ apology look like, Mr. Miles?” she asks, looking at him skeptically.“Well, for starters,” he says, turning toward her with a playful glint in his eyes. “It involves food.”She rolls her eyes. “And here I thought it would involve something more dramatic.”He laughs, a warm sound that fills the kitchen and makes her heart flutter. He gestures to the array of ingr
After a long day of work, Izzy and Miles finally meet up at the park. They found a secluded spot under a large oak tree, where they spread out a picnic blanket and opened a box of steaming hot pizza.“Here’s the pizza as you requested,” Miles says while Izzy prepares drinks for both of them.“This pizza is amazing,” Izzy exclaims as she samples one slice.“I know, right? Perfect for a lazy day like this,” he replies with a grin. “This reminds me of that movie we watched before, about pizza and cheese as ultimate weapons.”“Ah! I remember!” She clears her throat before continuing, “Watch out, I have the ultimate weapon,” she says, making her voice a little deeper while pretending as if her pizza is a weapon.Miles laughs and holds up a gooey slice. “Oh no, I will need to defend myself by using the dripping cheese attack!”“Pffft!”And then they both burst into laughter. For Izzy, spending hours with Miles has always been effortless.“Remember that time we got lost in the woods?” he asks