My True Mate

Mate

Darian and Rue walked behind the Queen but all eyes were on them. They were ushered to the center of the ballroom under the grand chandelier.

Rue gazed at the chandelier and found herself in awe of the way it sparked from the floor lights bouncing off it’s crystals.

Perfect, this night was absolutely perfect. She thought to herself.

“All right ladies and gentlemen,” A man on the stage began as he motioned for the crowd to look at them. “We have just one minute before midnight and our beautiful Princess Rue’s 18th birthday.”

Rue scanned the crowd and saw the dancing faces of admiring smiles staring back at her. Giselle and Penny were both wrapped in the arms of their dance partners as they watched her with giddy smiles. Her parents were also near by embracing each other as they smiled warmly at her. She even saw Bonnie at the top of the ballroom stairs looking at her with curiosity while also trying to disguise the annoyance she must be feeling from the ever-flirtatious Finn who was leaning into her obviously trying to make an advance again.

All of a sudden Rue felt her heart race as nerves took over. This was it, it was almost time.

Darian pulled her in so tightly that she thought she might not be able to breathe in just a moment, “I love you.” He whispered. His voice full of lust but also a hint of desperation that she was not familiar with coming from his confident self, and wrote it off that he must be nervous too.

“I love you too.” She replied warmly, then laughed, “but if you squeeze me any tighter I may just pass out.”

He relaxed his grip but still held her close. He then leaned into her and grazed the marking spot on her neck with his canines.

“Don’t.” She warned with a playful laugh.

Her and Darian had discussed to his frustration that tonight’s ball would not double as a marking ceremony. Darian argued that it would make her anticipated heat much more bearable but she insisted they wait. Besides, she had already promised her mother that she would have the chance to host a proper marking ceremony for Rue, and that promise was made well before Darian claimed Rue as his. Also she knew Darian really just wanted to mark her immediately because as he also says “his wolf has been dying for that moment for almost a year.”

He breathed in her scent and then chuckled, “We’ll see if you say that in the next few seconds.”

Darian pulled Rue in for a kiss. He gripped her tightly again as he poured his love into her through their embrace. She in turn wrapped her arms around him as she breathed in his scent. A low growl escaped him and she laughed before pulling back to look at him.

She wanted to remember him like this before their mate bond awoken in her. She wanted to remember him as just her Darian. She wanted to remember how he smelled to her when it wasn’t amplified and wanted to remember just how much her wanting him now in this moment was already enough. The one she fell so hard for not just because he was her destined mate but also because he had spent the past year pouring love into her and working with her to create the deep friendship they did in anticipation of the day her wolf would finally feel the bond too. Darian loved her and she loved him. But in this moment she wanted to remember what it felt like to love someone for all that they’ve built with you and not just because the Moon Goddess made it as such. She wanted to feel the raw realness of their chosen bond.

“Ten, nine, eight..” the crowd began.

Darian looked back at her awe-struck and then an unfamiliar emotion crossed his face. She wrote it off as him also having nerves and he quickly composed himself as he pulled her back in for another kiss.

“I love you so much Rue.” He breathed between kisses and and she once again felt Darian tighten his grasp.

“Six, five..” the crowd continued.

Rue smiled and kissed him with earnest as she felt her heart flutter.

“Three, two, one.”

Rue held Darian closely as he growled into her ear, “Mine.”

Just then the most alluring smell ever crossed her nose. It was so intense that it made her unconsciously whip her head to the crowd.

She scanned the crowd for the owner of the scents when her eyes met the confused face of Manny.

“Mate.” She breathed. Her heart beat anxiously as the horror of what she said aloud settled in.

“No!” Darian bellowed as she felt his grip around her tighten. She turned back to look at him with a racing heart, “Mine!”

Gasps were heard from around the room as the music dimmed down and the lights began to turn up.

Rue tried to distance herself from Darian as she looked around for her parents.

Her mother rushed over to her with Giselle and Penny following closely behind.

Darian released his hold as Rue’s mother pulled her into her own arms. Rue looked at his fallen face as he reached out for her.

“What are you doing?” He yelled, “Rue!”

Rue’s mind raced as she tried to make sense of what was going on.

Her mother and friends began taking her out of the ballroom. As they did, she searched the crowd for Manny but he was nowhere to be found.

“Mate! Mate! Mate!” Her wolf screamed in her head. Rue searched desperately around the room looking for Manny..or Darian..or she wasn’t sure who she she should be looking for.

Her mother ushered the girls into an empty bedroom in the servants corner and ordered Rue to sit down.

She towered over her daughter as she took in Rue’s distressed face. “Breathe, my dear.” She rubbed circles on the back of her hand while Penny and Giselle joined Rue at each side and hugged her.

Tears began pouring from her eyes, “I don’t..”she stammers, “I don’t understand Mom. Darian..he..”she can’t get out what she is feeling, it’s too much, it’s too intense. And her damn wolf is losing its mind in her head, furthering her anxiety as her heart races.

“Shhhh, shhhhh. Just breathe, my dear.” Her mother comforts.

Rue cries outwardly. This was not supposed to happen. She has known her mate for almost a year now. There’s no way Darian can’t be hers. Their bond. It was true! He was hers and she was his.

They hear a knock at the door and Penny gets up to see who it is. She opens the door slightly and whispers with the person before turning back to the Queen with a slight frown.

The Queen nods her head and Penny opens the door to let the king and Darian in, with Manny following slowly behind.

Rue’s eyes immediately fall on Manny and it takes everything in her not to rush over to him.

His hands are dug in his pockets as he looks at the floor. His jaw is clenched and she can tell just how uncomfortable this whole situation must be for him.

“Rue!” Darian calls to her, his eyes pleading for her attention.

Penny clears her throat as she grabs Giselle’s hand, “We can give you all some privacy..”

“No!” Rue interjects. “Please stay.” She knew that her mom would likely also agree and take her father, and she did not want to be alone with these two men.

“Rue!” Darian again calls to her this time angrily. She looks at him and her stomach flips as she feels like she is ready to throw up.

How can it be that she feels repulsed by him. Her Darian. Just a few minutes earlier she was consumed in their love. Now all she wanted to do was run into the arms of another man. And his best friend, at that.

Her father clears his throat, “Rue, you need to hear Darian out.”

Rue looks at her father shocked before turning her attention back to Darian. He moves boldly close to her before pulling her in. Regardless to being in the intimate presence of her parents he breathes her in before calming down.

He then pulls back and says to her sternly, “I don’t know what is going on, or why your wolf is telling you you belong to another, but you are mine.”

Usually him claiming her made her swoon, but this time she instead nervously looks at Manny who only glances up briefly before turning his attention back to the floor.

Darian catches her gaze and growls possessively. “Mine!” He bellows.

“Calm down, son.” My father warns but his term of endearment for Darian does not go unnoticed by her.

Darian looks at the anxiety that’s written across her body and pulls Rue closer trying to calm himself more. He looks into her eyes before he continues.

“You are mine Rue. You should have taken your medicine when I offered it to you. I think your wolf is confused because of your drinking.”

Rue scoffs and tries to pull back from Darian. “I told you I’m not drunk, and besides drunk or not a wolf knows their mate!”

He returns her retort with another growl and now Rue’s father pulls him so that he is no longer grasping her.

Darian is so riled up that he doesn’t even realize it when he growls menacingly at Rue’s father.

“Calm down!” Her father shouts.

A king’s command is usually enough to submit his pack members, but Darian was so up in arms that he was able to strain against the command when Manny finally speaks.

“But I don’t feel anything.” He looks at Rue apathetically and shrugs.

Her heart drops and she can hear her wolf begin to howl as tears pull at her eyes and threaten to spill over.

“Manny, I know what I feel.” She barely whispers and then looks at him, encouraging him to share more.

He shrugs and now an apologetic look crosses his face. “I’m sorry Rue, I know what I feel too, and right now it’s nothing for you. Maybe Dar is right and you’re just a little more intoxicated than you think. Or your wolf is.”

Stabbed. That’s how it feels to be rejected by Manny in this moment. Well he hasn’t officially rejected her, but also how could he if he was not in fact her mate.

“He might be right.” Giselle intervenes while rubbing her temple and sending her an apologetic look, “To be honest, my head is actually starting to hurt right now.”

“Mine too,” Penny insists, mimicking the temple rub action, “Manny gave us some pretty strong drinks. Maybe you just need to sleep.”

Rue peered around the room and saw everyone nodding. She felt shocked and angry that everyone wanted to write her off as drunk. If anything, this whole situation was the most sobering experience of her life.

She looked at Darian who was radiating anger but also looked at her eyes with a hint of desperation. He looked like his wolf was tearing him up from the inside and she felt bad.

Maybe she was a little intoxicated. She thought to herself.

She then looked at Manny again who had no emotions on his face. She wanted him to want her so much in this moment but he looked bored of the situation.

This bothered her because she knew Manny. He was always one to be cool, calm, and collected, but never emotionless.

Prior to Darian claiming Rue, Manny was actually one her closest friends outside of Giselle and Penny. He was the only guy in their friend group then that was interested in creating a bond with her. She thought this all connected back to his Beta and Gamma lineage, but now she wasn’t so sure.

Still, his lack of emotion for this whole ordeal was hurting her a lot more than she thought would be possible if he was not her mate.

Keeping her eyes locked on Manny she answered, “Okay.” Manny’s bored gaze remains unfazed, “I would like to sleep and revisit this all in the morning.”