Chapter 1

It was a beautiful morning. The sun was already high up in the sky at past eight, the birds were chirping happily and the weather was cool , not too hot nor too cold.

I loved mornings like this.

Especially the morning of the day I finally get to meet my mate.

My inner wolf growled excitedly at the thought of that.

*My mate*

In my pack, the Night Walker pack, you meet and bond with your mate on the next full moon after your eighteenth birthday.

And today was the D-DAY for me.

I have waited for this day since I was little and could decipher what was wrong and right. Since I had witnessed many young ladies and boys bond with their mates.

I had even read countless werewolf romance, to be honest, those were my favourites.

I've read on how girls my age lock eyes or come in skin contact with their mates and they bond, and living happily ever after.

Yes, I believed in happily ever after.

It gave me hope and push to keep going in life.

I had always fantasized about the day I'd meet my mate, we would either lock eyes or come in skin contact or their peculiar scent would blow me away and we would bond and being madly in love and unable to live without each other, we would go to college together after high school, my mate would propose to me in our final year of college and we'd get married, have beautiful cute children and live together happily forever.

I grinned widely at the possiblity of my fantasy coming to pass and was about to growl again when a loud bang on my door interrupted.

"Dahlia! Dahlia!! Dahlia!!!" My aunt, Kristen hit my door severally, yelling my name.

I sighed loudly and jumped off my bed to answer the door.

Immediately the door was opened, she pushed me away and strutted into my room, her strong lavender cologne hitting my nostrils.

"Why the hell did you take so long to open the door? And why the hell are you growling so early in the morning?!" Aunt Kristen queried.

I looked down, unable to meet her eyes. I should have known before growling so loudly in this house, at past eight a.m.

I didn't have the best relationship with my family, which included my maternal grandmother, Joanne and my maternal aunt, Kristen. They didn't like me that much and they always showed it.

But I loved them, they were my only biological family so why not? I believed that one day they'd come around and accept me.

"Are you deaf?"

*Shit. I totally forgot she was still here.*

"I'm sorry, I got carried away." I replied her, in a low voice. That was the best response, I couldn't afford to incur her wrath.

Aunt Kristen scoffed mockingly, "Got carried away with what? Your stupid romance books?"

"Well, not that. But it's the day I finally meet my mate and I'm so excited!" I grinned at her, my voice growing excited. I couldn't help it.

I wasn't exactly expecting my aunt to engulf me in a tight hug, saying she was happy for me so when she threw me a dirty disgusted look, I was kind of hurt but not surprised.

"What a joke! You're a joke, Dahlia. I can't believe at your age and the circumstances surrounding your sorry ass, you still get excited at love and romance."

She moved closer to me and held my chin up, "Listen, this is an advice, from a werewolf to another, mating don't always happen the way they portray it in those corny novels." Then she let go of me, and sized me up and down with her cold eyes, "And I can't really think of any decent werewolf that would accept you as a mate, well, except maybe a rogue." She started laughing hard at her own "joke", holding her stomach.

"Oh my goodness, I'm sorry Dahlia, I just had to laugh." And then she laughed harder this time.

I just stood there, staring at her with my feelings matching the look on my face. Hurt. Offended. Sad.

After her laughter had reduced to light chuckles, she stood upright, "Sorry my dear niece. That's just the reality. You're not exactly lovable." She said, with a sarcastic smile.

It was at that moment, my grandmother passed by.

"What is going on here? One person is growling and another is laughing like a hyena."

"Sorry Mom but your granddaughter is so funny."

My grandmother rolled her eyes and faced me, "What are you still doing in your room Dahlia? Do I have to starve to death before you make breakfast?!"

Oh right!

I was so carried away with being excited for meeting my mate that I forgot my duties.

"Sorry Grandma." I quickly apologized and scurried off to the kitchen, but I was still within earshot when she muttered, "Tsk tsk,so pathetic, like her parents."

Her words hurt me again, like every other time, and like every other time, I pushed it into the deep, dark corners of my heart and started preparing breakfast.

After I made breakfast for my aunt and grandma, I ate just a piece of bacon, I was too excited to swallow more than that and jolted out the door to go meet Madison who was horning impatiently outside my house, while saying a quick goodbye to my family, which Aunt gruntled a response to and Grandma didn't reply at all.

"Oh my goodness Lia, can you stop bouncing on the seat?!" Madison scolded, and I sat still immediately.

"Sorry." I mumbled.

She threw me an emotional look, "Well, I get you. You're meeting your mate today...."

I didn't wait for her to finish before I squealed, "Yes! Yes! I'm so excited Maddie, I can't stay still." I said, tapping her hands repeatedly.

"For god's sake, you'd get us into an accident before you even meet your mate!"

She tried scolding again, but mirroring my expression, her mouth twitched into a smile.

"To be honest, I also can't wait to see who your mate is. I hope he goes to our school though."

My excitement died down a bit.

That was true.

I really don't want to be like those werewolves that would travel all over before they could meet their mates. I wanted to meet my mate in my environment.

My train of thoughts were cut off when Madison gave my arm a slight push, "Hey! Don't worry! Everything will work out fine. I'm sure your mate is closer to you than you think."

I'd like to believe that.

It was lunch time and I had locked eyes and had skin contact with almost every boy in my school.

Even Benson the boy in eleventh grade that picks his nose.

But I hadn't found my mate.

I was chewing on my fries when Mason walked by, he was the school's sweetheart, everybody's crush, he was good-looking, had good grades, also the captain of the school's football team. He was also sweet and very kind. Mason was perfect.

*What if the moon goddess was nice enough to mate Mason and I?*

I got up from my seat, and started walking towards him. I was about to make skin contact with him when a sandalwood scent mixed with caramel and a hint of vanilla hit my nose.

I quickly retracted my hands and moved even closer to Mason but only his lavender cologne was the scent I perceived. It was not as distinct and enchanting.

I gazed around looking for where the delicious scent came from and who it belonged to.

Then suddenly there was a loud crash and everybody in the school cafeteria, including me, twisted our heads to the direction of the noise.

It was not a crash, it was the sound of someone getting shoved across the table, splattering the trays on the ground.

The kid getting shoved was a geeky nerd, I remembered him from my science class.

Was Zion his name? Or Zachary?

I couldn't quite remember but I knew he was an easy-going kid.

And the kid shoving the nerd was Zayne.

Zayne Marshall.

He was the school's typical bad boy. But in this case, he was not dating the school's princess neither was he the captain of the football or hockey team.

He was feared by everyone because asides having a scary and intimidating presence, his father was the Alpha of the Blue Moon pack, a very powerful and prestigious pack and he is to be the next Alpha. So nobody would dare step on his toes. Not even the werewolves.

So I wondered why Zion or Zachary was getting beaten up by him.

But why does such a scary person smell of sandalwood, vanilla and caramel?

*Wait.*

*That scent*

How did I perceive his scent,in such a detailed and strong way?

"Don't ever cross my path again, you fucker." Zayne growled at the nerdy boy, picked up his bag, and started walking away. Then suddenly he stopped abruptly, turned to my direction and immediately we locked eyes.

His delicious, divine scent hit my nostrils harder. Despite his outward looks, Zayne smelled like home. Like comfort. Like warmth.

The scent felt so distinct that I could taste it in my mouth. The sweet scent heightened all my senses and made me feel fuzzy all over.

Zayne Marshall was my mate.

The school's most feared student was my mate.