The Broken Mate Bond

Alison looked up from her book in confusion.  "What time is it?" she asked, glancing frantically around the room "A little after 1:30," a voice replied from the other end of the couch.  Alison smiled as she looked at Daniel nestled in the couch cushions opposite her. His sandy blonde hair glistened in the sunlight from the window, and Alison could feel her hear warming just looking at him. He was the love of her life - her mate gifted to her by the Moon Goddess. Most werewolves find their mate at 17 or 18, but Alison and Daniel were especially lucky. They found each other the second that Alison turned 17, only three days after Daniel had turned 17. They got married the very next day and their life was practically perfect in every way.  Alison scooted down the couch towards Daniel and nestled up in his arms, content to be with him on this Saturday afternoon. They needed to go to the post office before it closed, but they had time to cuddle for a minute first. She looked up at him to find him looking lovingly down at her, his green eyes shimmering with adoration, and she smiled, feeling safe and happy in his arms.  After a minute Daniel shifted and gently pushed Alison off of his legs and stood up. "Post office time Alison!" he said, seeming a bit too cheerful. Alison stretched, dreading sending the letter that needed to be sent. Alison and Daniel lived far away from their pack, they moved right after they got married, hoping to go to college in New York once they had saved up some money. Right now they both attended community college, but they had hoped to transfer to Columbia next year.  All of that was coming to an end with this letter though, as Daniel's father had just gotten injured in a fight with a neighboring pack, and needed Daniel home to step up to be the pack's temporary leader. In the letter Daniel would tell his father that they would move out of their New York City apartment and return home within the week. Alison could feel her dream college slipping farther and farther away, and she couldn't help but feel that they wouldn't ever be coming back to New York.  She shifted her weight and stood up, suddenly feeling very sad. She looked around their tiny apartment, feeling strangely fond of the mold on the walls and the cockroach traps in every corner. Once they returned they would be the prince and princess, with constant work and pressure. No more privacy or freedom to do as they pleased.  "Ok, I'm coming!" she called to Daniel, who was already standing by the door. Sometime later..... Alison and Daniel weren't speaking. On the way home from the post office Alison had casually brought up how much she would miss doing what she wanted and Daniel had exploded. He accused her of being selfish and not caring about his father's health. He was still seething as they walked through the door. Daniel threw his keys on the hall table and stomped away into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Alison looked after him in despair. How could things have gone so wrong?  Alison sat gingerly down on the edge of the couch, wondering what her next move should be. She glanced around their tiny apartment and decided quickly to start packing, in the hopes that this would show Daniel how committed she was to moving with him back home and supporting him in all things. She brought out some of the boxes that they had saved from moving last year as well as some of the new ones that they had picked up at the store on their way to the post office. Gritting her teeth, Alison started packing up their life - the life that they had built for themselves in the last two years. As she packed she thought of the great times that they had had together in New York, all the friends they made, classes they'd taken and bridges they'd built.  Since Alison was little she had always dreamed of moving to New York, a dream that she thought couldn't come true when she married the prince of her pack, the Lightstern pack. Daniel had been training to be king and future Alpha since he was born, and she knew that eventually this would be her future. But somehow the future always seemed so far away. A distant thing, not to be concerned about. But not now, now the future was on top of them, threatening to drown Alison in sadness and what-ifs.