Mate to Match

The Big, Bad Wolf

3. The Big, Bad Wolf

(Raina)

It isn't until the first drops of hot water hit my shoulders in the shower that I realise how tired I am. The whole day, I've been running on adrenaline and small meals eaten standing. My wolf's restlessness is not helping either. I have no idea what's wrong with her, but then again, I haven't been the best at communicating with her.

Our wolves are our other halves, our souls, and our conscience. Most werewolves have a definable personality, even a separate name from their human. My wolf has always been more of a feeling. Even when I transform--which is not very often--I am still me inside the body of a wolf. Still thin, still anxious, still weak. Still Raina. 

I turn the water off and wrap myself in a towel. I am digging through my underwear drawer, thinking how I need to do laundry soon, when the doorbell rings.

Chef Nikita's daughter Meera is standing on the other side when I open the door. She's a small, sweet girl of about sixteen, and she bounds into my room with an enthusiasm that makes me even more tired. "Here's your dress, Rey," she says in a singsong voice. She's already dressed, in a sparkling green dress that throws her wild black curls into sharp relief. 

"Thanks, Meera," I say, taking the bag from her. "Tell your mom I said thanks too. I'll wash it tomorrow and give it back to you day after, if that's okay?" 

"Sure, yeah." She looks up from her phone, into which she's been typing furiously, and smiles at me. "Hey, how are you getting to the pack house?" 

"I was going to walk."

"I have my mom's car, since she's gonna be riding with Misty from the diner. You want a ride?"

I shuffle my feet. "You don't have to, Meera...I mean, it's not that far anyway."

"Dude, it's at least a mile! Come on."

"Okay..."

Meera squeals happily, and throws her arms around me. I have to quickly hitch up my towel so it doesn't fall off. Enthusiasm like this is hard to get used to.

Over the next half hour, Meera plays dress-up with me. The dress she brought me fits perfectly but for the length. I'm taller than Meera, so while it's a midi for her, it falls just above my knees. It's a cute, black halter number, and it sticks to my body in all the right places, giving me definition I don't have. Meera even does my makeup, putting on powder and eyeshadow and lipstick like I'm her own personal Barbie doll.

When we finally make it to the pack house, it's exactly 8 o'clock, and my anxiety levels are through the roof. I dart out of the vehicle and high-tail it through the front door into the pack kitchen. The catering staff is already gathered around the kitchen island, listening to the head chef of TAP, José. He stops speaking with an annoyed look as I stumble through the kitchen door. I take my place next to Jenny with my head down. 

"As I was saying," continues José, "TAP has a reputation and all of you here tonight are responsible for it. I won't tolerate any f**k-ups in front of the new Alpha." He looks pointedly at me. "That goes for all of you from Gigi's Diner as well. Got it?"

"Yes, Chef," I chorus along with the rest of the staff.

For the next hour, Joe, the manager of TAP, gives the servers a crash course in fine-dining etiquette. He explains how the seats are going to be arranged in a circular formation, with the Beta and his family sitting at the Alpha's table, the Gammas sitting at the tables closest to them, and so forth. He tells us which side to serve from and which side to clear from, whom to serve first, and how to respond to requests. The regular servers at TAP have already set the tables since they know how to do it best. Jenny tells me that the Gigi's staff will mostly be working backend. She brings me to the dishwashing station, and gives me a heap of champagne glasses to polish in preparation for the after-dinner service. 

I'm sitting there polishing the glasses while servers bustle in and out of the kitchen. Even though I am glad that I don't have to run around like the rest of them right after my double shift, my wolf seems strangely restless once more. She keeps running around in circles inside me, almost making me nauseous.  

Once the desserts have gone out, the noise outside dies down and a single voice speaks over the silence. I stop what I am doing to listen, each word sending strange thrills through me.

"Members of the Rising Moon Clan, welcome to Willow Falls. I am proud to host you all in the same space that my parents, Alpha William and Luna Rose, had the pleasure of your company. Though this pack has been managed exceptionally under the instructions of my late grandfather, Alpha Robert Black, I cannot tell you how glad I am to be back at the helm. 

"No doubt, many of you remember the horrific attack by the Southern Witches that killed my parents and several of our greatest warriors. I want to promise you today that the Rising Moon pack will never again be caught unawares. We will smother out every hindrance that threatens our sovereignty. No witch or rogue attack will go unavenged as long as I am Alpha.

"When this pack was formed two centuries ago, it was on the might of our warriors. We carved out a territory from the Appalachian to the Rocky Mountains, purely on the basis of our strength and rigour. It is time we show those ingrates how much power the Rising Moon pack actually holds."

Thunderous applause breaks out, startling me from my daze. I release the breath I've been holding all this while. I set down the glass I'm polishing with shaking hands as the Alpha begins to speak again.

"Our position as one of the four largest packs in North America is only as strong as our weakest pups. From now on, every pup over the age of eight will receive training from the pack warriors along with their schoolwork. Gammas, it will be up to you to train your wolves to be the best they can be. The most elite of our warriors will come here to Willow Falls to train with me personally. 

"As most of you know, I have been living in Hemsworth all these years. My grandfather trained me for a seat on the Council of Werewolves, which I have now formally accepted. To help protect our interests, both politically and logistically, I will need a strong chain of command. Therefore, I am asking Nathan to step down and instituting his son and my childhood friend, Jax Killian, as the new Beta of the Rising Moon Clan." 

There are shouts and whoops at this announcement, with many people chanting Jax's name. I smile through the trembling in my limbs. Jax was a couple of years above me in high school. He's a strong and sensible man, who'll no doubt make a great Beta.

"Nathan, I thank you for your years of service to the Clan. They will not be forgotten. May Jax carry on the legacy of your family, and may the Rising Moon pack be ever victorious. In the name of the Moon Goddess."

"In the name of the Moon Goddess," chants the assembly. I know they must have raised their glasses to the new Alpha and Beta. As the noise from outside swells once more, I stand up shakily, trying to bring myself out of the spell of the Alpha's voice. 

Jenny and a couple of other servers come in through the door. Jenny bustles over to me, her face flushed. "The new Alpha is powerful as f**k," she huffs, "To have so much authority in his aura at only twenty-one... I don't think I've been so enamoured since I first watched Richard Gere in Pretty Woman." 

"These are all done," I say, pointing to the glasses in front of me with a trembling finger.

"Oh, you poor thing, sitting in here all alone while we all gawked at the Alpha! Here, you can take the champagne out. Tell me if he's as handsome as I think or it's just my ovaries going crazy." She gives me a tray with glasses of bubbly in it and shoos me out.

I step into the warm night. The backyard has been lit with thousands of little fairy lights. The white tables and chairs from dinner are being packed away by the wait staff while the guests mill around talking to one another. I weave in between them, glasses flying off my tray left and right. I am making another round to collect empty flutes when my eyes meet with his.

The tray falls from my hands and the glasses shatter on the rocky ground below. The backyard goes quiet as everyone turns to look at me in disapproval, but all I can do is stare at the man in front of me. My mate.

His dark eyes are boring into mine with just as much shock. He's standing so still that his neck-length hair waving in the breeze is the only thing moving. I feel a heady blush rising into my cheeks as I take in his tall, tuxedoed body, all the way down to the smart, formal shoes on his feet. 

My mate, Alpha Aiden Black, is f*****g gorgeous. 

Somebody--Jenny--hastily pushes the tray back into my hands and ushers me back into the kitchen. I drop the tray down on the counter and clutch my hair, hyperventilating. Jenny is saying something, but all I can hear is the ringing in my ears. She puts a hand on my shoulder and shakes me.

"I-I need some air," I gasp. I pull away from her and rush out the back door into the woods. 

With my back to the broad trunk of a birch, I double over, still gasping. Finding your mate is supposed to be one of the best moments of your life. When then does it feel like someone's driving a stake through my heart? 

I feel him approach even before I can hear his footsteps. As I straighten up, I see his silhouette standing tall in the darkness of the woods, framed by the light of the party behind him. His obsidian eyes shine like glowing coals in the night as he comes closer. He traps me against the tree with a hand on either side of my body. I can tell he's breathing hard too.

"Who are you?" he rasps.

His scent hits me full on, somehow tightening the screw in my chest and filling me with pleasure all at once. "R-Raina."

"Raina what?"

"Kova. Raina Kova."

He sighs, and the scent of his breath makes me groan. The sound sends a shiver down his spine. He bends into the crook of my neck and inhales deeply, his nose grazing my skin. His hands slip down to hold me by the waist as he pulls me to him. I want so badly for him to sink his fangs into my flesh and mark me. 

But then he straightens up, his black eyes boring into mine. "Why were you waitressing?" he asks with a hint of derision in his voice.

"I-- That's what I do. I work at Gigi's Diner in town," I say defensively.

He pulls away further, holding me at an arm's length. A frown mars his gorgeous features. "Why can't I feel your wolf?" he demands. "What rank are you? Your family?"

"My father was a pack warrior. He and my mom are both dead. I don't have a rank."

Aiden springs back and turns away from me. He runs a large hand through his dark hair, cursing under his breath. He tugs at his bow-tie, unravelling it, and undoes the top button as if he can't breathe. I step closer instinctively, panic starting to build in my chest. 

"My wolf is usually dormant," I venture, "My mom was human, so I'm not a full werewolf."

"You've got to be f*****g kidding me." Aiden rounds on me, his teeth bared in a snarl. If he weren't my mate, I'm sure his Alpha aura would have reduced me to a sobbing mess. "Look at you! You're a skinny, rank-less half-blood! You don't even look sixteen. How in the hell are you my mate?" 

"Excuse me?" I snap, scowling back at him. "Just because I am poor doesn't mean you can treat me like trash. I'm nineteen, for your information. I work to earn my keep and I won't let you shame me for that. Not all of us are born in a f*****g mansion, you know?"

Aiden growls. He pins me against the tree once more, fury lining his face. "Talk to me like that again and I'l have you banished from the pack. I am your Alpha." 

I push futilely against his chest in a bid to get away, trying to put on a brave face even though his threat has me quaking in my boots. "Some Alpha you are, talking down to your Luna like this."

"You are not my Luna."

I look up at him then, fear showing plainly in my eyes. If he rejects me, what will I do? Where will I go? Worse, what if he actually banishes me? To be banished means to be a rogue. There isn't a station in our society lower than a rogue's. 

Perhaps it's the starkness of my expression, but something in his face softens. He lets me go and steps back hesitantly. He begins to run a hand through his hair again. I observe his profile with its Grecian features, thin lips pursed in frustration, the deep-set eyes that look so troubled...and I want to kiss all his worries away. I want to hold his head in my lap and sing him to sleep. Even after everything he's said, I can't help feeling like he's my whole world.

Suddenly, I am bone-tired. The stress of the day has come raining down upon me all at once. "Look, if you don't want me--" My voice breaks at the thought of letting him go. "I'll stay out of your way. I won't show you my face. J-just let me be, okay?" 

I step around him and dash back towards the house, flinging away the tears streaming down my face with a careless swipe of my hand.