Chapter 1

1570 Words
Chapter One Arden POV*   “Arden, you took your time travelling the world, but now it’s time.” My mom chastised me “I’m sure your wolf would agree that it is beyond time to find your mate.” I was standing at the counter fixing myself a quick sandwich before going shopping. I rolled my eyes as I finished then turned to face her. “I know mom.” I said seriously “I’m going shopping with Jess later to pick out my dress for the party.” “Oh.” I watched her slightly deflate as I took a bite from my sandwich. She was ready to spend time trying to convince me that I needed to go to the Mating Party this weekend. But just as quickly as she deflated, a bright smile appeared on her face as she jumped up and excitedly wrapped me in a hug. Since it was so unexpected, I nearly choked on my sandwich before she let go. “Well, you and Jess go have fun!” Mom exclaimed before grabbing her purse and digging for her wallet. “Here is my card, make sure you get something that will knock your mate off his feet! Just don’t show too much skin. Always leave him wanting more.” She said with a wink while trying to shove her credit card in my hand. “Mom, I have plenty of money. I don’t need your card. Not to mention, there is never any guarantee that he will even be there. Not everyone leaves with a mate.” “Nonsense. You will take this and buy your dress, my treat.” her tone not leaving any room to argue “Plus, I know that you will find him. The poor man has had to wait the last three years while you galivanted across the globe. I’m sure that he will be there waiting for you, and probably wondering why it took you so long to show up.” The whole time she was ranting, I was finishing off my sandwich. I knew that she was only concerned, and also wanting grandkids. Over the last few years, she had pointed out quite a few times that I was making my mate wait for me. In her eyes, and the eyes of many others, I was being selfish for travelling the world instead of finding my mate and settling down. In my own opinion, my mate would understand. Mates are supposed to be our other half, and if that’s true, he wouldn’t hold it against me for exploring a bit before settling down. “Ok mom, go and do whatever you need to do. Jess will be here in 30 minutes and I need to shower and get ready.” “Have fun, baby girl. I love you.” Mom pulled me down and gave me a kiss on the cheek before rushing out the door. Mom always seemed as if she were in a rush, even though she rarely was. She moved around like a whirlwind, getting things done so quickly that you would think it were impossible, but she did everything with a smile on her face and managed to keep everyone happy. She was only 5 feet tall, but her personality more than made up for her short stature. Everyone remarked how I looked like her. Both of us have the same olive toned complexion and wavy dark brown hair that goes down to mid back, as well as a lack of curves. I resemble her thin frame very closely, only she had more wiry muscles since she doesn’t stick to a strict training schedule like me. Quite a few times, I’ve heard that my muscular structure wouldn’t be desired in a mate. But that was always from the guys at school that had a type. Their type being; long legs, blonde hair, big boobs and butt, and… no brain. So it had always been easy for me to ignore them. The main differences between my mom and I is that she is 5 feet even, and I’m 5’7”. The other is that her eyes are a beautiful dark chocolate color, while I take after my father with a crystal blue eyes that stand out against my dark hair and olive skin tone. Dad was one of the best warriors in the pack. I’d grown up hearing story after story of how he helped save the pack from rouge attacks and pack wars. He lost his life protecting our Alpha during one of the largest attacks our pack had ever faced. I was 4 at the time and didn’t know much of what was happening. My mom and I were sent to the bunker with the other children and pack members who weren’t able to fight. I remember being shuffled down with everyone else and sitting on my mom’s lap. We could’ve been down there for hours, for all I could tell at the time. One thing I will never forget though… is the sound of my mother’s cry when she felt dad die. I had heard other family members howl at the loss of their loved one, but mom’s scream was forever burned into my brain. She cried as she held me so tight that I was barely able to breathe. When it all was over, we had lost nearly 50 of our warriors. My dad among them. As I got out of the shower and looked in the mirror, I could see the smallest of features that were passed down from him. My eyes stood out the most, but the subtle ones were what I felt like kept me close to him. The way my nose was straight with a slight upturn. The way my jaw was slightly stronger than my mother’s, and resembled dad more. I shook my head and headed to my room to get ready. I knew the Jess would be here soon, and she is one of the most impatient people I have ever met.    *****************   “Arden!” Jess practically yelled through the store, “I think I found it!” I turned around to find her jogging towards me with a red dress folded over her arm nearly knocking me over when she reached my side. She held it up for me to examine, and I could feel the color drain from my face. “No.” I said, “Not only no, but hell no!” The dress she had so enthusiastically brought over was definitely gorgeous. However, there is no way I would ever try it on, let alone wear it out in public. It was a beautiful deep crimson floor length dress with thin straps. The problem was the VERY deep neckline as well as the slit that looked like it went all the way up to waist height. When I turned it around, I saw that the back was… well, it wasn’t there. “On what planet do you think I would ever wear this?” I asked my best friend of over 15 years, “There is barely anything to cover the essentials!” “Wellllll,” she dragged out “I just figured that since you’re finally going to find your mate, why not look drop dead gorgeous when you do!” “How about because I’m not going to show off my body for the whole damn world to see. I know you have a one-track mind to s*x, but that is not at all what I’m thinking.” Jess rolled her eyes as she folded the dress back over her arm. Then she looked at me with her lip pouted, making her look like a toddler who had their candy stolen. “But Ardy” I grimaced as she used my childhood nickname “I want you to look H-O-T for your bound to be sexy ass mate. What better way than to show off what you got!” She started to do a small shimmy, but I grabbed her shoulder to stop her and look into her eyes. “Jess, I love you, but no. I have no curves to show off, and showing all that skin is not for me. Let’s keep looking.” “You’re no fun!” she called over her shoulder as I turned her around and gave a gentle push. “Keep looking, sister.” After another 10 minutes, and another ‘hell no’ dress from Jess, I saw a little bit of fabric peaking out from between all the other clothes. Pulling it out, I grinned like a mad woman while calling Jess over to me. She wasn’t happy with what I was holding up, but as I looked over the dress, I couldn’t be more ecstatic. After trying it on, even my best friend couldn’t deny that it was a perfect fit, and I immediately took it off and brought it to the register. My mate wouldn’t know what hit him.
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