For the Love of a Good Mate (on hiatus)

Prologue: Brody POV I always felt pretty average. I got As and Bs in school and was average-looking at best. The only thing I was really good at was sports. I excelled at baseball, football, and basketball. The one time I played lacrosse I was pretty good but my school cut it almost as soon as they tried to make it a part of the curriculum. I liked girls and they seemed to like me but I never dated. I never understood the point of dating in high school unless you found your mate. It was not like you could marry your partner until you were of legal age, so why bother? My parents taught me dating was meant to lead to marriage. I was raised to believe in soulmates. So of course when I met my soulmate I knew I needed to latch on and never let her go. Then again, nothing is ever that simple is it? I found my perfect person  but unfortunately she had some obstacles that became mine as well in my pursuit to make her mine forever. **** Chapter 1: Brody POV It was mid-November and my parents were making us move out of state. Who leaves Brooklyn, New York, to live in the suburbs of Savannah, Georgia? My family apparently. It was almost halfway through my junior year and they were moving us to a new pack in a different state! I'm not usually an inflexible person or this bratty but this was just frustrating. Not because I had some fixation on my school or town but because I was doing so well on the Football team. I was sure I was a shoe-in for a college athletic scholarship. My parents rationalized that I could play football anywhere. They were right but it was still annoying. "Brody Carlson, stop moping and help your mother!" My father chastised me. I got up from the steps of our new house and picked up the box my tiny mother was struggling to lift. She looked at me frustrated, "You wolves always show off," blowing air through her lips. My father was a werewolf and my mother was human. I was a half breed. The only thing I seemed to inherit from my father was his strength and speed. I didn't have a wolf like he did. Half breeds sometimes had a wolf while other times they just took on the traits of wolves. I was of the latter considering I was 17 and never shifted. It was a bit complicated but my parents loved me regardless. It was one of the reasons we left the old pack. They didn't like my father being with a human and having a half breed son. When I didn't shift on my 17th birthday last month the alpha called me an abomination and exiled us. My dad found us a new pack that was more open to half breed families. It didn't hurt that my dad was friends with the Beta, Ralph Simmons. They had known each other as pups but Beta Ralph and Alpha Marcus had left the old pack with their mates years ago and formed this new pack full of misfits and rogues. I was helping my dad unload a sofa couch when I saw and smelt her for the first time. She was jogging down the sidewalk with earbuds in. Her long pale blonde hair was tied up in a high ponytail. She was wearing a pink sports bra and black athletic leggings. The air seemed to carry the scent of vanilla only at that moment. I felt my heart stop and start. She stopped at our corner and sipped from her water bottle. As soon as I had placed the couch down in the den I ran back outside to see her again. Almost immediately she looked up at me and stared. She had a look of recognition in her eyes as if we were long lost friends. My heart was skipping in my chest and all I wanted to do was run over to her and beg for her name. I felt a smile flash across my face. Before I could take a step towards her a guy with dark hair and eyes ran in her direction and pulled on her wrist. "Mate, right now!" She looked sad as she submitted to his orders and they disappeared from my line of view. I stared in horror. What had just happened? My knees almost buckled underneath me and for what? Some girl I didn't know! And she had a mate! I ran my hand down my face in frustration. What was wrong with me? I never looked at girls who had mates or boyfriends. I knew better! I got permission from my parents to go for a run to blow off some steam. They said only if I told them what happened. I told them about the beautiful girl that made my heart flutter. They gave each other a knowing look. "Mates," they said to one another. I shook my head, "No, she had a mate. I'm almost sure he is a Alpha or Beta. He was barking orders like one at least." They shook their heads at one another and had a silent conversation. My mother was marked so they had a mindlink but he was the only one she could communicate with in that way. I could mindlink with close friends and family if in close proximity. My parents could mindlink from any distance. It was a mate thing. As I ran down the path in the woods I pushed myself to my limits. I needed to get the anger and melacholy out of my system.  There was too much going on. The move, the girl, the change in environment. It was all very overwhelming.