MATE BY CHANCE

~MATE ~

I was coming back from my runs when I found one of the pack's omega at my door. I was still in my wolf form meaning we could only communicate through a mind link if I had one. 'What does he want, and why does he reek of the Luna?' My wolf asked in disgust as she bared her teeth to the smug omega, Bret. The name fit his bratty attitude. Leenah, my wolf growled at him in annoyance as she went behind the house to transform so we could talk with the very annoyed and bratty omega.

"Was that necessary?" I asked my wolf who just huffed in response. She was petty, but I wouldn’t have her any other way. Shifting back to my human form, I put on the robe I always have around the house for times like this. Not that I was shy or anything, I just did not like being naked in front of mated wolves. They always had something negative to say, all while masking it as a 'Compliment'.

“Took you long enough, next time your mutt of a wolf bares her fangs at me again, the Luna will hear of this,” Bret said in an attempt to threaten me and I could vividly see Leenah roll her eyes at the absurdity.

'Please let me at him...' Leenah begged as I felt her approach the surface, I willed her back as now was not the time to fight.

“Just say what have to say and leave, Bret. I have duties to attend to. ” I told him as Leenah added, 'we can’t all be Luna’s bitch.'

“We have a visiting pack coming by tomorrow, Alpha’s friend and some of his pack mates. Luna wants you to prepare the guest house. By tomorrow noon.” He said with a smug look on his face.

Well, there goes my afternoon. I was planning to spend it in the forest alone, stalking the mystery man in the cabin but, I guess duties came first. I did not like complaining to the Alpha about being overworked because that would be directly translated into defiance, by the Luna who seemed to have it against me.

“I’ll start right away. Is that all?” I asked him when I noticed he had more to say.

“You are currently the only unmated wolf in our pack, so you will be welcoming the guests as well as serving them for the duration of the stay. Maybe one of the visitors will take pity and take you as a slave.” He finally said as he took his leave. I hated it when they brought up my unmated state, not only did they use it to spite me and make me do as they wished, but it always made the dull ache in my heart intensify. Such comments made me feel... less than, even when I was stronger, both as a wolf and in my human form, they made it seem like I was the scum of the earth. All because I wasn’t mated. I did not necessarily feel like I needed a mate to survive as the ache in my heart had been slowly fading away with each passing year that my mate did not appear.

The human part of me was okay without a mate or partner or whatever, but my wolf Leenah was still hoping for a mate, unlike me, the human, she would slowly fade away, each full moon that her mate was not found, that was if our situation did not change.

I had heard of such legends where sometimes both the wolf and human would waste away especially if their mates rejected them for no reason. The same legends talked about Celeste offering the broken-hearted wolves a second chance mate or mates if they were loved that much. It was those legends that kept me and my wolf going, but that would only happen if our mate was dead, or did not want us. Leenah always cried out to Celeste, our moon goddess, every full moon, for our mate to find us. I hated it when she howled in pain because, in as much as we were almost different entities, we all shared the same body at the same time, and sometimes, the emotions of the other would find their way into the body of the other. She healed my broken heart but I could never seem to do the same for her and it broke me.

I changed into some work-friendly attire and went to the Pack store to get the supplies that I would need for the heavy work I was about to embark on. I was about to make the turn into the store when I heard the voices of Anna and Caitlyn outside the store, I could tell it was them because of their scents. I did not like to label myself as nosey, but I wondered what they could be talking about, the one thing about being unmated is that it made me almost invincible, and so was my scent. Plastering myself on the wall I stretched my wolf senses to… eavesdrop. Yes, eavesdrop on the Beta's wife and her friend.

“Did you hear, the Luna asked that mate-less b***h to look after the guests coming tomorrow. I thought she was on our side.” Caitlyn, the betas wife, said in annoyance and I almost laughed, adding my colorful name to the list I have been called.

“It's, Just because of her face Caity… we all know she is just a flower… a wilting one at that. Let her do the slave s**t she is used to. she can never be on our level. ” Anna said sounding as annoying as she always did.

Having heard enough, roughly dropped the bucket of cleaning stuff I had hoping to get their attention. The last thing I wanted was to be labeled a snoop, I already had enough names, to begin with, each more colorful than the next.

I then rounded the corner as if I had just gotten there. I bowed my head in respect of the Beta's wife even if all she deserved, according to Leenah, was a proper smack in the face, with a chair laced with wolves bane.

I went into the store and pulled out the big trolley, putting in all the stuff I was going to need for the clean-up.it would soon be dark and I wanted to do as much I could do before I went to bed. I got to the guest house and began my dusting and scrubbing, with nothing but my thoughts to keep me company, and Leenah who was still throwing a tantrum.

Wilting flower, that was what they saw me as. Did they not know that words hurt more than sticks and stones? All I ever did was exist as a mateless wolf. To them, I was just a wilting flower, that would soon be thrown away and replaced by a fresh bunch. Why did I let their words get to me? I was better than this, I managed to keep my emotions in check but today, their words got to me and I had never wanted to be a lone wolf more than I did today. I just wanted to leave the pack and exist with the other beings and creatures, but that would only make me a rogue, I wasn't so opposed to that option, anything would be better than a wilting flower.

By the time I was done with the house, it's was close to dawn and the muscles in my body were sore. I pushed the trolley back to the store and dragged my tired bones to my tiny home and flopped onto the bed. I closed my eyes and let sleep take over, wishing my mate was not as bad of a time as I was. Sleep came immediately and I was plunged into dreamland, my second favorite place. In my dreams, I existed in a different reality. A reality where I had a mate and I was happy even if all I ever saw were silver eyes, following me everywhere I went, we never spoke, just running side by side in a blur of fur, theirs was always pitch black. I knew they were my mate because the ache in my chest disappeared the moment I saw the silver eyes and the darkest fur I had ever seen on a wolf. In my dreams, Leenah was in her happiest form, rolling around the grass, sometimes sand- with our mate. my dreams were the reality I secretly wished for.

BRRRR! BRRRRRR!

The buzzing of my phone painfully dragged me from my dreams, plunging me back to the harsh reality that was my sorry life. I rolled over in bed and blindly swiped the screen of my phone silencing the vibrations. I turned back to face the wall, forcefully willing myself to continue the dream from where I had left it.

BRRRR! BRRRRRR!

The vibrations went off again, successfully waking me up from my fake sleep. Turning to check my phone, I paled when I saw it was indeed a call from the Alpha, not my alarm as I had presumed. clearing my throat I answered the call.

"Yes Alpha," I said to the phone, praying to celeste that my voice would not betray me.

"Where are you, the guests are already here. Get here now!!!" he yelled into the phone.

"Yes Al-," the call was disconnected and I took that chance to check the phone and let out a groan, Bret had lied to me the guests were not arriving at 12 since it was 9 am and they were already here. I rushed to my bathroom and prepared to meet the guests. I could feel Leenah get excited as I got ready making my heart beat faster in anticipation. would today be the day? I shook the idea away and made an attempt at taming my wild hair, I did not have the time to apply makeup, no one would notice anyway. I put on my favorite-only- dress and headed to the Alpha's Residence, sending a quick prayer to Celeste.



My cabin was the farthest from Alpha's Residence meaning I would be passing a few other houses before I got there. lucky for me, our pack loved gossip and almost all the members had gathered to meet the visitors so they could get something to talk about when I wasn't the topic. I fixed up my dress and ran my fingers through my wild hair, I needed to look as composed as I could since Leenah decided to be in a frenzy. I still did not get what made her so giddy all of a sudden. The Alpha's Residence came into view and my heart began beating faster than it should. I knew what was happening but I chose to ignore it. It cannot be that simple, can it?

Ignoring the sneers I was getting from my packmates, I hurried up the steps that led to the Alpha's Residence. at this point, Leenah was all but scratching to get out and do what we all knew would be embarrassing. as soon as I crossed the threshold, the scent hit me. I called it the scent because that was the only way I could explain it even when it felt like I had been slapped in the face with air so strong my eyes watered. It took a while for me to separate the scents assaulting my nasal cavities and narrow it down to the smell of tropical fruits. The scent was was so strong I could feel it on my tongue.

Now I understood why Leenah was so giddy, the smell made my brain feel light and I could have sworn I was floating.

We had found them.

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Mate!