THE MATE I HAD NEVER MEET

Okay, here is the full long version - Part 1 of *THE MATE I HAD NEVER MEET*. This is about 1,500 words, I will write it in parts so you can actually read and post it. If you want me to continue to reach 5,000, just say "continue." --- *THE MATE I HAD NEVER MEET* *Chapter 1 - The Girl Without A Mate* In the world of werewolves, everyone has a person made just for them. The Moon Goddess never forgets anyone. That is what Elena was told since she was a child. In Silverwood Pack, your mate is everything. He is your strength, your other half, your home. Girls found their mates at 16, 17, 18. When they found them, they glowed. Their wolves became stronger. Their eyes brighter. Elena turned 18 three months ago. And nothing happened. She stood in front of the mirror on her 18th birthday, wearing a white dress her mother sewed for her. She waited for the pull, for the tingling, for her wolf to whisper _he is near_. But her wolf, Lyra, was silent. Lyra had always been a quiet wolf. Smaller than the others. Weaker. "Maybe I'm late," she had told her best friend, Mira. Mira had hugged her. "The Goddess has someone special for you, Elena. Just wait." But two months passed. Three months. Still nothing. The whispers in the pack started. "Mateless." "Cursed." "Half-blood, that's why. Her mother was human." Elena's mother had been human, yes. She died giving birth to Elena. Her father never spoke about it. Elena had grown up feeling like half of her was missing. Not just her mother, but her wolf too. So she buried herself in books. She worked in the pack's library. It was quiet there. Safe. No one asked about her mate in the library. Then, on the night of the blood moon, the dreams started. *Chapter 2 - The Forest of Black Roses* It was always the same forest. Tall pine trees that touched the black sky. A full moon so bright it made the mist glow silver. And black roses. Everywhere. Dead, withered black roses covering the forest floor, but still beautiful. And a man. He stood with his back to her. Tall, wide shoulders, black cloak swaying. She could never see his face, no matter how hard she tried to run to him. The mist would hold her legs. "Elena..." He knew her name. His voice was deep, rough, like he had not spoken in years. Like he was in pain. "Who are you?" she would shout in the dream. But he would only say, "Find me." She woke up every morning with tears on her face and her heart beating too fast. Her wolf Lyra, for the first time in years, was awake. Whimpering. Pacing. _We know him,_ Lyra whispered one night. _We know that voice._ "How can we know him? We've never met him," Elena argued. But Lyra didn't answer. After thirty nights of the same dream, Elena was exhausted. She had dark circles under her eyes. She stopped eating properly. Mira was worried. "You look like you haven't slept," Mira said. "Because I haven't. I dream of a forest and a man I have never met." Mira frowned. "That's a mate dream. My sister had it before she met her mate. The Goddess connects you in dreams before you meet." Elena laughed bitterly. "Don't. Don't give me hope. I'm mateless, Mira. Accept it." But deep down, hope had already started to grow like a tiny black rose in her chest. *Chapter 3 - The Gathering* The letter came sealed with the Northern Alpha's seal — a snarling black wolf. By order of Alpha Magnus of the Northern Alliance, all unmated wolves age 18-22 must attend the Alpha Gathering at FrostPeak. FrostPeak. The strongest pack in the continent. Ruthless. Cold. They never mixed with Southern packs like Silverwood. Why were they inviting them now? Elena's father crumpled the letter. "You are not going. The North is dangerous." "Father, it's an order. If we refuse, they will see it as disrespect," the Beta warned. So Elena was forced to pack a small bag. Three days journey by car and foot through the snowy mountains to reach FrostPeak territory. When she arrived, she gasped. FrostPeak was not a pack. It was a kingdom. Huge stone castle, towers, warriors everywhere, dressed in black furs. The air smelled like snow and blood. The Gathering was held in a massive courtyard. Bonfires burned. Hundreds of young wolves stood, nervous, excited, sniffing the air for their mates. Elena stood at the very back, next to Mira. She pulled her cloak tight. "Let's get this over with and go home. I don't belong here." Mira was about to answer when the drums stopped. Silence fell. On the high balcony, Alpha Magnus appeared. Old, huge, scarred face. And next to him... a younger man. The crowd gasped. Elena had heard the stories. Alpha Magnus had a son. Kael. The most gifted Alpha in a hundred years. He could shift at 12. He killed his first rogue at 14. He was supposed to be the next Alpha King. Then, five years ago, during a great rogue war in the Whispering Forest, he disappeared. No body. No scent. Declared dead. But the man on the balcony was alive. Kael was... terrifyingly beautiful. Six-foot-four, black hair to his shoulders, face like it was carved from ice. One long scar down his left cheek. His eyes were grey, empty, like a man who had seen death and lived in it. He wore all black, no fur needed despite the cold. He looked at the crowd like they were insects. "He is back?" Mira whispered. "They said he was dead!" Elena couldn't answer. Because the moment her eyes met his grey ones, the world tilted. A scent slammed into her nose. Pine trees after rain. Cold smoke. Snow. The scent from her dreams. Her heart didn't just beat. It exploded. And inside her mind, Lyra, her quiet, weak wolf, suddenly ROARED. Not a whimper. A howl so powerful Elena fell to her knees. _MATE! MATE! MATE! WE FOUND HIM! THAT IS HIM! THAT IS OUR MATE!_ Elena was sobbing, gasping. The pain was beautiful, terrifying. A thousand sparks rushed through her blood. Across the courtyard, Kael stiffened. His empty eyes widened. His nostrils flared. He sniffed the air, once, twice. Then his gaze snapped directly to her, through hundreds of people, like he knew exactly where she was. He vaulted over the balcony — a twenty-foot drop — and landed without a sound. The crowd screamed and parted. He walked. No, he stalked towards her. Every step faster. His face, which had been cold stone for five years, was breaking. Cracking. He stopped one foot away from Elena, breathing hard. His grey eyes were full of tears. He was shaking. "You," he whispered. His voice... it was THE voice. The voice from the forest. "It's you." Elena looked up, tears streaming. "I... I know you. I..." "I have dreamed of you for five years," Kael said, so low only she could hear. "In a forest of black roses. I thought I was going mad in that cave. I thought you were a spirit the Moon Goddess sent to keep me from dying. I have known your face, your scent, before I ever saw you. You are the mate I had never met." He reached out, his large, scarred hand trembling, and gently cupped her cheek. The moment his skin touched hers, sparks — real, silver sparks — exploded between them, lighting up the dark courtyard. The mate mark on his neck, which had been dull and grey since his disappearance, suddenly glowed bright silver. The crowd gasped. Alpha Magnus stood up from his throne, shocked. Elena was his second-chance mate. His fated mate. The mate who had kept him alive when he was trapped under a mountain of rocks for 43 days, drinking rainwater, with only the dream of a girl with brown hair and kind eyes to keep his heart beating. But not everyone was happy. From the other side of the courtyard, a beautiful, cold woman in a red dress stepped forward. Seraphine, Alpha's daughter of the Eastern pack, promised to Kael since birth to unite their packs. Her face was twisted with rage. And far in the mountains, the witch who had caused the rockslide that buried Kael alive felt her curse break. She opened her eyes and smiled. "So, he found her. The girl with the black roses." --- Want me to write *Part 2* to complete your 5,000 words? I can continue with Kael taking Elena to his room, the rejection drama with Seraphine, and the secret of the black roses.