The Unwanted Mate

Winter Garden

"How does it taste, Luna?" One of the omega maids asked as Evelyn tasted the soup.

"It's really good," Evelyn smiled. "Also, you can call me Evelyn. I'm not the Luna." She stared down at her bowl. It felt awkward to her, being called Luna. Being called something she wasn't.

"But you will be!" The maid chirped. "Soon." She winked at Evelyn before leaving to take care of her chores.

Practically, every omega in the Pack was excited about Evelyn becoming the next Luna. No omega has ever taken over a position with such great reverence and responsibility. It was natural for them to believe they finally had someone who understood them to represent them.

Evelyn sighed. She couldn't tell the omegas how complicated her relationship was with the Alpha. Her heart grew heavy because she was giving them false hopes about an impossible dream.

"Luna! Good morning!" A high-pitched voice made Evelyn turn around. It was the blonde omega from yesterday.

"Good morning, Rain." She couldn't help but smile back at the boy. He really had an infectious smile.

Rain tugged on Evelyn's sleeves. "Could you come with me? I have something to show you."

"What is it?" She asked, curious what the omega was so excited about this morning.

"It's a surprise, come on." Rain giggled as he dragged Evelyn with him.

Soon they were out of the pack-house and walking towards the back. The number of trees increased as they walked. After a few minutes, they reached their destination. Evelyn gasped.

The boy giggled at her awestruck expression. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"I don't know what to say." It was the most beautiful place Evelyn saw in her life. Her jaw was left hanging open as she took in the gorgeous view in front of her.

Evelyn and Rain were standing at the entrance of a beautiful garden. In the middle was a crystal-clear pond where beautiful fishes were carelessly roaming. Around the pond were different types of plants with eye-catching flowers on them, mostly yellow, light violet, and red-colored ones. Some flowers were floating around in the pond.

The ground was barely visible, littered with pink and white flower petals. Huge flower trees swayed gently in the breeze, releasing a lovely scent in the air. It was like heaven.

"How?" Evelyn asked in wonder. "It's almost winter. How are there so many flowers?"

Rain grinned at her. "These are special plants and trees that blossom in winter," he explained, his voice brimming with excitement. "Look! This one is a cherry tree. They're my favorite." He pointed towards the tree with pink flowers. "And this is a magnolia. Isn't it pretty?"

Evelyn couldn't help but smile as Rain happily went on and on about his garden. Usually, she would feel overwhelmed by the steady stream of chatter, but she found she didn't mind when it was Rain speaking.

"This one right here is a snowdrift crabapple and the one next to it is a Loquat." Rain continued to point out different trees to her. "I like crabapple flowers, white flowers calm my mind."

He cut through the garden path to stand under the tree. "Loquats have white flowers too, but ours blossomed early this time and now it's all fruits." The tree had plum-like bright yellow fruits hanging from it.

"Loquat flowers have a really sweet scent. I come here often when it blooms." Evelyn peered even more closely at the tree. Small birds were hanging on its branches, some chirping and some eating the sweet-smelling fruit.

"Whoever made this garden is a thoughtful person. I always thought winter was boring because there weren't any flowers. But this is amazing! Now I have something to look forward to in winter." Evelyn turned to the guy, who smiled at her brightly. But even so, there was a tiny hint of sadness in his eyes.

"It's my mother," he gazed at the flowers with a fond smile. "My mother loved flowers. She planted most of the trees and plants in our front garden. The wisteria was her favorite."

"She always got sad when winter came because there weren't any flowers," he continued. "My father was upset because she was upset, so he went and bought different kinds of plants and trees which blossom in winter." Rain chuckled. "The Loquat was specially imported from Japan. The cherry tree first bloomed when she was pregnant with me... She was so happy."

Rain sighed. "I don't remember much about them. Most of the things I know about them are from stories either the former Luna and Amelia tell me."

Evelyn shifted guiltily. She was at a loss for words. She never had to comfort anyone before because she was alone in the forest for half of her life. What could she do to make him feel better?

"They would be so proud of you for taking care of their garden," Evelyn said, hoping to cheer up her new friend.

Rain smiled. "Not a lot of people know about this little garden... which is why I come here when I'm feeling down. I'm showing you this so you could come here too if you want to relax."

"That's so thoughtful of you." Evelyn ruffled the blonde boy's hair. "I'll definitely come here often because this is the coolest place I've ever seen."

"The front garden is also amazing! But there aren't any flowers because it's winter now. It's so beautiful when it's spring." It seemed the omega loved flowers as much as his mother did.

"What would you do with the fish when it's winter? Won't the water temperature become very low?" Evelyn glanced down at the fish swimming in the small pond.

"I move them to the indoor tank," was Rain's response. Then he shivered. A strong wind was coming by.

Evelyn hugged herself to protect herself from the cold. Both omegas forgot to wear coats and now they were regretting it.

"Luna, look!" Rain shouted. The wind made the petals fall from the tree, making it seem like it was snowing.

Rain giggled, bouncing around to catch as many petals as he could in his palm. Laughing, Evelyn joined him and grabbed at the flower petals, too.

The boy tiptoed and sneakily dumped the petals he caught on Evelyn's head. She gasped in surprise. Evelyn wanted revenge. She chased Rain with her handful of petals to retaliate against him.

They were so lost in playing with the petals; they weren't aware people were watching them.

"Omega!" A booming voice made the omegas stop in their tracks.

Evelyn stiffened. It was her mate's voice. The one that made her cower in submission.

Gulping, she slowly turned to face the fuming alpha staring at her.