The Ice Wolf Alpha’s Fire Wolf Mate.

Lena’s POV “Come on Mother, do you really think this is necessary? I’m sure I’ll find my mate, it’s just because we live out in the mountains that I haven’t yet.” This was my argument against my mother insisting that I attend the election of Alpha Christian’s Luna. “Nonsense Lena, you will never find him if you never leave this house. You will go, honestly the worst case scenario is that you find your mate while being Luna to Alpa Christian’s pack. He even said in the letter that it is a non-romantic position. You’d be welcome to find your mate at any point.” My mother Anne was not going to take no for an answer, I had come in from feeding our farm animals to find my bags already packed and ready to go. I had no choice in the matter. I sighed, running my callused hands through my long dirty blonde hair, knotted and dirty from my morning chores. I wonder if she even planned to give me time to shower. “What even makes you think an Ice wolf would want a fire wolf as a Luna? My element is the complete opposite of his.” Alpha Christian’s pack was called the Ice pack, but not every wolf in it was an ice wolf, the alpha of the pack had always been one though. I am sure this meant he would want an Ice wolf Luna, to produce an ice wolf heir. “Lena, even if he doesn’t chose you, it will give you exposure, and a break away from the farm. I expect you to go on this trip. You will go shower, we will eat breakfast, and then I will drive you to the airport.” My mother’s decision was already final. I was going wether I wanted to or not. Sure I was an adult, but I lived in her house and was still very dependent on her in many ways. Ever since my father’s death, she has almost redirected her grief into motivation to make sure all her children found their mate’s. I was the only one that hadn’t yet and it put all of that attention on me now. I didn’t say anything, holding my tongue as I walked past her and up the stairs. There was absolutely no way that Alpha Christian would chose me of all people, she had to know that. I decided to simply humor her, knowing I’d be coming back once he picked somebody else anyways. My bathroom was my safe space in a way, I didn’t spend a ton of time in there but I always kept it as clean as possible and as organized as possible, it was the room I took the most pride in and felt the most comfortable in. I walked in, locking the door behind me before grabbing my hairbrush off of the marble countertop and beginning to untangle the monstrosity that my hair had become from feeding and taking care of a large range of animals from horses to chickens. Once I had finished, I got in the shower and turned the water to the hottest setting as steam quickly filled the bathroom and began to fog up my mirror, until I couldn’t see myself anymore. The absolutely scorching hot water enveloped my body in its warmth. To a human or any other creature, water this hot would leave severe burns all over their bodies. Even worse burns would be left on an ice wolf who for some reason was exposed to it, though they heal much quicker than humans, it could still temporarily affect their abilities in wolf form. Once I had thoroughly cleaned myself up, I got out of the shower and got myself dressed. I didn't have many clothes that weren't meant to be worn for chores and other ranch activities, so I went with some grey sweatpants, a black hoodie, and some black converse with white laces. I made my way down the stairs, seeing my mother had just finished making breakfast and was setting the table. There was a plate piled with blueberry and chocolate chip pancakes at my spot at the table, my absolute favorite meal. It was very thoughtful of her, even if she was forcing me to go on this crazy trip to god knows where. Mother and I mostly ate in silence. The house was quiet and lonely without my siblings now. I had four brothers and a sister, so before they moved out my house was rarely quiet. I frowned at the thought of leaving my mother here alone to do everything herself, she put up a good act, but I knew dealing with her mate’s death every day had to be so hard. I’m not sure how she did it. My thoughts were interrupted when my mother cleared her throat and looked across the table at me, fumbling with her fork a bit as she swallowed the food in her mouth so that she could speak. “I know you believe that the odds of Alpha Christian being your mate or choosing you are low, but even if he isn’t it will present multiple opportunities for you to meet your mate.. At his pack’s territory, at the airport, at your hotel, etcetera etcetera.” She explained, looking at me with an unreadable expression. It was as though she was too busy reading mine to have one of her own. “I know. I just wish I had more notice. I mean, who will help you with the chores around here?” I asked before finishing up the last of my pancakes and going to the sink to wash my dishes. “Oh, I’ll be fine! Your brother Jacob and Amanda are coming up here with the baby to stay for the weekend. I hope you don’t mind if they put the baby’s crib in your room? It’s right next to the guest room, and she wouldn’t be in your bed or disturbing anything.” ‘I guess I get a choice on if my niece sleeps in my room, but not if I got to go on some crazy trip across the country.’ I thought to myself before pushing the negative thoughts out of my head, I just smiled slightly and shook my head. “I don’t mind at all, she’s welcome to sleep in there. Better her than her dad.” I joked lightly. My mom chuckled softly before clearing the rest of the table and glancing at the clock. “We need to get going. If we don’t leave soon, we won’t make it to the airport for your flight. I already put your bags in the truck, let’s go.” She ushered me out of the door, practically shoving me along in a hurry. My mom had a lot of anxiety about being late to things, and it gets continuously worse as she gets older. I am sure it is one of the many things that my father had helped her keep in check before he died, but was now allowed to grow and become increasingly worse as time went on. I wonder if he watched over her, wishing he could help but unable to. I certainly hope not. I climbed into the passenger seat of the white dodge, shutting the door behind me and fastening my seatbelt as I gazed out of the window. I looked out at our pasture where our horses were kept. I wasn’t a “horse girl” per say, but I had a very strong connection to one horse in particular. A bay quarter horse gelding named Beau, he came to my family after being abandoned to starve by his previous owners, and I had immediately attached myself to him. I had rescued Beau when I was just 14, my depression was really bad at this point and It really helped me to redirect my focus to taking care of and saving him. It would be very hard to not get to see him every day, especially if by some chance, I did get elected Luna of the ice pack. I certainly hoped I wasn’t chosen. I have heard many rumors about Alpha Christian, and while I’m sure some are just that, some are probably true. Beau currently was peacefully grazing on the tall green grass in the pasture surrounded by his friends, no care in the world as his black tail swished away some flies here and there. It made me feel peaceful in a way to watch him. It was as if his relaxation helped ease my stress. My mom started up the truck and started down the long gravel driveway to the road, rocks crunching under the tires as she reached over and turned on the radio as she stared ahead, not saying anything. I closed my eyes as the house vanished from my view and we turned onto the road. I found myself drifting off into a deep sleep, not wanting to feel how long the drive was, and also tired from my morning chores. Hoof beats. I looked ahead as the wind blew in my face, I was smiling so hard my face hurt as Beau galloped beneath me through the vast green fields that were now open after harvesting the hay that had been previously growing in them. Dandelions grew in multiple places, and there were monarch butterflies flying around to gather nectar from wild flowers. It was freedom, I felt free, like I was flying, I spread my arms out on either side of me as I let him have his head and just run free as we loved to do together. This was my heaven. I felt his every movement underneath me as he ran his heart out, especially since I was bareback, meaning he had no saddle on. His reins were loose around his neck as I kept glancing down to make sure they weren’t sliding over his head or close to it. We came towards one of the jumps I had set up in the pasture and I reached down and grabbed the reins, making sure I had some contact with him and slowed him a bit as he approached it, and soon we were flying over it. “Lena. Lena. Lena!” I jolted awake, looking over at my mother through my semi wet hair that had fallen over my face. I then glanced out the window and saw we were at the airport with a frown. She was parked in the passenger drop off, and I knew if I didn’t jump out soon that airport security would come over and make my mom make another trip around. I unbuckled my seatbelt and slid out the passenger door, grunting as my feet hit the asphalt. I walked around to the back of the truck and got my bags out of it, putting on my backpack and extending the handle of my suitcase before closing the tailgate. My mom quickly jumped out and hugged me, kissing my forehead. “Be safe! I love you!” She exclaimed, stepping back and placing her hands on my shoulders to get one last look, before she saw an airport security guard making his way over and her hazel eyes widened. “I have to go now, but call me when you get there!!” Just like that, she jogged around the side of the truck and got in before pulling out and driving away. I looked around me, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed by the abundance of people, a totally different environment than that of the beautiful dream I had just been having. With a groan, I started walking. My mother had texted me the information for my flight so I began making my way to security once I got inside. The line was practically non existent thankfully, and I got through security quickly and without having to be checked further. The security guards were mildly intimidating as they checked everyone’s things without emotion. I suppose that the job was most likely very mentally draining. It would be a lot to ask of them to remain upbeat and welcoming. Once through security I made my way to gate A1, where my flight was already at the gate and getting ready to board. I leaned up against a pillar, as there was no open chairs, and just kind of waited as I watched people rush to their flights, or get off of them looking exhausted. I looked around and it was easy to see that a large portion of the passengers on this plane would be werewolves like myself, all female, most likely going for the same reason as me. Although they all seemed a bit more excited about it than I was. “I hope that Alpha Christian chooses me, I know he said that it was a non romantic Luna, but I mean- we are definitely destined for each other.” I heard one say to her friend, who smiled. I rolled my eyes. I wasn’t intending to eves drop on the group, but with supernatural hearing, it can be very hard if not impossible to avoid hearing others conversations. If werewolves want a private conversation, they have to either mind link each other or use a sound proofed room. “No way, Kathy! You’re a fire wolf, you think you’re destined for an Ice wolf alpha?” Another girl giggled, before adding to her statement. “I think me and him would go great together, even though I’m a water element, it’s basically the same thing, I mean ice makes water and water makes ice!” I was so sick of listening to these girls. Aren’t they from the same pack? They all seem to know each other. Why not mind link? I was grateful when the flight attendant came on the speaker and announced that we were to begin the process of boarding the plane. I smiled to myself, before grabbing my suitcase handle and getting in line to have my boarding pass scanned. Once on the plane, it wasn’t hard to find my seat as it was in row number 22 and a window seat. I put my suitcase in the overhead compartment, before getting in my seat and sliding my backpack under the seat in front of me. I fastened my seatbelt and leaned back in my seat, glad to finally be able to relax for a nice three hour nap before I would have to make my way to the Alpha’s territory, which I was not looking forward to. I was terrible at following directions and finding places, even if I was a semi-decent driver. I closed my eyes and allowed myself to drift off into another deep sleep, hoping that I would fall back into the same beautiful dream that I had had in the car on the way here, or a similar one at least.