A Warrior's Fury

"There you go!" I laugh as I knock Marius flat on his ass in the dirt. "Not such a big, bad alpha yet, can't even beat a girl." I laugh as I reach out my hand to help him back up. "It's not so bad when the girl who beats me is you, the best warrior in our pack." He says with his teeth gritted together. Marius and I, Annie, have been best friends for as long as I can remember. We've known for years that he'd be alpha and I'd be his beta.  "Wanna go for a run before we head to bed?" He asks. Usually, when he wants to go for a run late at night, he's nervous about something. It's not surprising, given that he takes over his dad's alpha duties tomorrow. We quickly undress and change into our wolf forms. Marius' wolf Alex is an enormous brown wolf with pine green eyes. Mine is just as large in comparison, a beautiful midnight black wolf with deep purple eyes. Her name's Lily. The two look absolutely terrifying together but are honestly big, sweet mutts when no enemies are around. Together we run to the big lake where the wild game tends to gather for water and we hunt to our heart's content, after which we bathe in the lake. I still remember our disappointment when we found out we weren't each other's fated mates when we turned 18. At 21, we've both been waiting for our mate for 3 years. Finding one's fated mate has become rarer and rarer these days, and I honestly wouldn't be surprised if I never found mine, or Marius his. Still, although I've contemplated it, I wouldn't mate with Marius and pick him as my chosen mate for the slim chance that my true mate might still show up. The consequences could be disastrous. Whole packs have been destroyed over mates, and I wouldn't want that kind of blood on my hands. I'm happy to be his best friend.  When we finish bathing, We run back to the packhouse together, the deer we caught strapped to our backs. We get dressed and run inside. "We have a surprise for you!" I yell down the hallway and an omega named Maggie comes running. Her face lights up at the sight of the deer and she walks off to get some help with preparing the beast. We plop de deer down on the butcher's table near the kitchen and leave it there. I make us a sandwich and a cup of tea and we head to the living room to relax after all that running around.  I've always felt at home here. Marius' parents, alpha James, and luna Delilah took me in after my parents died in a horrible accident. My dad was from this pack, but my mom was from another pack, although I never knew which one. In fact, I've heard it said once that she had some alpha blood in her, which might explain the size and strength of my wolf. From what little information I've gathered about them, they were very private people. Nonetheless, James and Delilah have never treated me as anything other than their daughter, and for that I am grateful. I could never be disloyal to them or Marius. They mean too much to me for that. "You know", Marius starts, "I'm still nervous about tomorrow. I know I'm supposed to be excited, but I find it so hard. I'm not even mated yet, but I'm supposed to lead a pack. What do I do, Annie?" "Mar, just take it one step at a time. You've got this. You've been training for this very role all your life, and don't forget, you'll have the magnificent me by your side all the way." "You really won't leave me, right?" "Of course not! I mean, how big is the chance that I'll meet my fated mate anyway. I expect I'll be here, a lonely spinster, till the day I die." "You know that's not what I meant. I just want to know that I can always count on you for advice." Marius pouts and I teasingly punch him in the arm. "Of course I'll be there. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else." The air between us seems to get tenser by the minute, both of us not quite knowing what to say. Lately, I've been having the feeling that Marius' feelings about having a chosen mate rather than a fated mate have shifted from 'definitely not' to 'perhaps someone I choose is better than someone who might never show up'. Before he can say anything else, I get up and say "I'd better go to bed, I need to be in top shape tomorrow.", and turn to walk out of the living room and up to my bedroom. Before I can leave the room, Marius' hand wraps itself around my wrist and pulls me back. I feel myself being pushed against the wall and feel I'm in dangerous territory. Marius stands as close to me as he can get and wraps his arms around me as he pulls me into a hug. His breath is hot on my neck. "What would I do without you, Annie?" He says as he looks into my eyes, his face too close for comfort, "you know we could be good together, you and I." I look into his eyes and gently push him back, away from me. "You know we can't, our mates are out there somewhere, and we just need to be patient." "You just said it yourself, that it's unlikely we'll find our fated mates. Why not give us a try? Please, Annie." "Marius, you know I love you as a friend, my best friend in fact. If fated mates hadn't existed, I would have given myself to you in a heartbeat, but our mates are out there. I don't want to lose what we already have or endanger it. Please clear your head, I'm going to bed." Without a further word, I turn around and walk out of the living room and into my bedroom on the fourth floor of the packhouse. That night, I barely sleep, my head filled with what could be.