Mark You in This Life

1: The Big Day Freya’s POV The wind was rushing through my sparkling white fur, as I sprinted through the forest. I was running faster than I ever had before, with one word on my mind. Mate. I had found him. The one that was made for me. The one who I was to spend the rest of my life with. I thanked my mother, Selene, for giving me someone so perfect. He was everything I could have ever wanted and more. He was truly my other half, and when I was near him, I felt complete. The taste of his kiss sent sparks throughout my body, and his touch left me feeling safe and warm. My wolf pushed me through the forest to where we had agreed to meet. We hadn’t mated or marked each other yet, but we agreed on the spot where we first met, under the full moon to be the place where we would officially accept each other, and become one. My heart was racing with the excitement of it all. I didn’t even care that he was mortal, and I was of the divine. That wouldn’t matter after tonight. I was going to give up everything, my divinity to be with him. I didn’t care that I would turn mortal, and eventually age and die. That didn’t matter. All that mattered was that I would be with him, and we would have our lives together, start a family, and forge a pack from our union. As I got closer to the spot where we were to meet, I shifted back and went to find the dress that I had stashed away for this moment. It was a beautiful silver and flowed across my body freely. I put it on, taking a moment to fix my hair, as well. Though he said that he loved me no matter how I looked, for our first time together, I wanted everything to be perfect. My heart was still racing, and there were butterflies in my stomach, as everything had been leading up to this. I laced up the sandals that I had brought and made my way to the beach where we’d first met. The moonlight shone down on my skin, and the sight of the full moon filled me with confidence, unlike anything that I had ever experienced before. However, as I got closer to the exact spot where we had agreed to meet, my feelings of joy went to one of dread, and the smell of blood flooded my nostrils. No. That couldn’t be his blood. We were supposed to be one, something couldn’t have happened to him before we were able to mark each other and join together under the full moon. I picked up my pace, running to where the scent of blood was coming from. My heart dropped into my stomach when I saw the body of my mate, lying dead in front of me. His throat had been slit, blood pouring out. I screamed as I began to sob so hard that my entire body started to shake. No. It couldn’t be. It wasn’t supposed to happen this way. We were supposed to spend our lives together. It was cruel, that my mate would be taken from me before we could even become one. All of our plans, the pups that we planned to have, the pack that we planned to billed, how could it be taken from me, from us so quickly and cruelly? “I told you,” a voice that sent shivers down my spine came, and a tall, muscular, imposing figure came out, a twisted grin on his face. I looked up, noticing that there had been a fight. His eye was bleeding, and he was covered in scratches. “You are mine. No matter what the mate bond says.” I jolted up in bed with a start, sweat running down my brow. For three months now, I’d been having the same dream every night. I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. I hadn’t even met my mate yet, and certainly not for lack of trying on my part. Ever since I first met my wolf five years ago when I turned eighteen, I’d been searching for whoever they might be. But so far, the Moon Goddess hadn’t seen fit for me to meet them. I’m getting a little bit ahead of myself. My name is Freya Wilder, and I’m the daughter of Alpha James and Luna Sylvia Wilder of the Forest Moon pack. I’m both thankful and proud of where I come from. Our pack is the largest in the state of New Hampshire, the second largest on the East Coast, and one of the most well-known and respected packs in the country. I couldn’t have asked to be born to a better pack, a better family, and that’s really what we were. A family. My parents worked their hardest to make sure that every member, even the lowest-ranked Omega, felt valued and was taken care of. There was no doubt that this pack was one of the most well-oiled machines and it showed in both strength and numbers. Our warriors were among the top-ranked, and my father was always getting called to help other packs. When someone wanted to ally with us, it was out of respect, not fear. Any ideas what all of these dreams mean, Diana?> I asked my wolf, hoping that this time, she’d have an answer. You know as well as I do, Freya, the Moon Goddess has not seen fit for us to have those answers yet.> I groaned outwardly, as I picked myself out of bed and got dressed. Today was going to be a really busy day. After five years of Alpha training, my twin brother, Darius, was finally taking over as Alpha of the pack. I could hear the sounds of the packhouse bustling as everyone scrambled to get ready for the ceremony. There was a large amount of visiting Alphas with their Betas coming in for the weekend, and I already knew that my mother was going to do everything that she could to try and find me a mate. If I was being honest, the idea of finally finding a mate after five years of looking was very appealing, and I was willing to let my mom dress me up and parade me around as the daughter of the former Alpha, someone any Alpha or Beta would be lucky to have on their arm. And even if I didn’t find my mate, I could at least find someone good-looking to have some fun with. I certainly took pride in my looks. I was tall, muscular from training, with curves for days, smooth medium brown skin, curly auburn hair, and green eyes. I considered myself to be a fairly good mix of both of my parents. I opened the door, getting ready to make my way down to the packhouse to grab breakfast, to see my best friend, Mei Zhang sprinting down the hallway. It was an important day for her, too. Mei was my brother’s mate, and it was also her Luna Ceremony. She was also pregnant and knew that she shouldn’t be overextending herself. “Mei!” I called out, causing her to halt in her tracks. She paused, turning to look at me. “Freya! I’m sorry! There’s just so much to do with the visiting Alphas arrive and I cant’ find Darius anywhere…” I held my hands up to stop her. “Mei. Take a second. Breathe. You know you’re supposed to be taking it easy with the baby on the way. I’ll go find Darius for you. Go get breakfast, and then I know, Mom is having you get pampered before the Ceremony.” She nodded, giving me a quick hug before sprinting off. I made my way to Darius' office, knocking on the door. "Hey, Mr. Future Alpha, your Luna is going nuts getting everything ready for the Ceremony." Darius looked up from his desk, his dreads falling in front of his face. I teased him that he was starting to look like Dad. He'd respond with that, unlike Dad, he wasn't going gray. "I told Mei that Mom had everything under control," he said, shaking his head. I gave him an understanding smile. "You nervous?" He chuckled. "A little bit, but I know that I'm ready take over the pack. And I've got a great Luna by my side." I smiled at him. "That you do. Now, I've got to go talk to Mom, who's prepared to show me off to every unmated Alpha and their Beta in attendance in hopes that I find my mate." Darius laughed, "Better you than me," he said, "I am so glad that I found my mate as soon as I turned eighteen." The packhouse downstairs was swarming with unmated wolves hoping that one of the visiting Alphas or Betas was their mate. It had gotten so bad, that Dad had had to order everyone who wasn't helping with the setup for the ceremony out of the packhouse until the cocktail party before the ceremony later in the evening. Mei and Mom were running around making sure that all of the guestrooms were set up, as several of the Alphas and Betas were bringing their mates with them, as well, though Mom made it very clear to me that there was a large portion of them that were unmated. And when I had offered to help, I had been shooed away to my room to get ready because, as Mom said "You never know when your mate could show up, you want to look just right". Though I knew she met well, and just wanted me to be happy. I couldn't help but roll my eyes at it. I reviewed the dresses that Mom had sent for the ceremony. All of them were definitely geared to draw attention to me, which, considering that she was hoping that I find my mate, wasn't all that surprising. I chuckled, shaking my head. My sense of style hadn't really changed too much when it came to formal events, but I had to just be amused at Mom's efforts to try and help me find my mate. At the very least, maybe I could attract the attention of an unmated wolf looking for a night of fun if I didn't find my mate at the party. My eyes kept lingering on a dark blue dress that reminded me of the one that I wore for my Full Moon Ceremony, when I shifted and met Diana for the first time. A sentimental feeling washed over me as I ran my fingers over the soft fabric, deciding that this had to be the one. I spent the rest of the afternoon getting ready for the party and the ceremony. I joined Mei when the beauty team came. The hairstylist had arranged my auburn curls into a bun, though she left a few strands fall in front of my face. I wore the dark blue dress that Mom had picked out for me, which hugged at my curves and showed off just the right amount of cleavage. To finish the look, I added a pair of black heels and a crescent moon necklace as a statement. I looked gorgeous. I felt as beautiful as I had on the night of my Full Moon Ceremony, but this was a different kind of beautiful. That night, I felt beautiful and confident. Tonight, I still had that same confidence, but I felt sexy, too. Mom kept peaking in her while I was getting my hair done to let me know that there were a lot of very handsome visiting Alphas and Betas, plenty of them unmated. Even if I didn't find my mate, as least I'd get to turn some heads, which would be pretty fun on its own. This is going to be very good for us,> Diana said in the back of my mind. I know it, Freya.>