Fated Mate

When my sister and I were pups, rank did not matter to us. Age mattered to us. She loved being two years older, so that she could boss me around and cite that as the reason why she could. The fact that we were Omegas? That barely registered in our minds. Maybe it was a privilege because in the Kinderwood Pack all ranks were treated with respect and humanity. Sure, our parents worked harder than our peers in the Epsilon and Zeta ranks, but, Christmas had presents and Easter had baskets, so why would a kid care otherwise? Well, as kids we didn't, but when puberty hit Diane, that changed. She had no time to help me with my homework, to play, or god forbid even look at me. She was embarrassed of me and of our parents, as if she was not the same rank as us. My mom saw it as a phase and thought maybe the daughters of the Betas and the Gammas got into her head. I feared I would become this way someday, but when the Moon Goddess blessed me with womanhood there was no change like with my sister. I thought something was wrong with me and I still think that. My parents tried to assure me I was perfectly normal up until my sister came home with a Valentine's Day gift from the Alpha's son, Derek. The Kinderwood Pack was a newer pack broken off from a giant pack in Montana. It's name comes from the Alpha, which started its last name. To receive a gift from the Great-Great-Grandson of that Alpha was momentous. My parents realized that day they were Omegas and sought to it by using their daughter to rise above her rank. It was way too early, at 16, for Diane to be mated but, they could hope and pray that she would belong to Derek Kinderwood on her 18th birthday. They spent every Saturday night in the temple for two years begging the Moon Goddess to grant their wish. Derek was two months older than Diane and those two months were the worst. My parents even asked me to join them in the temple more than once. I declined, of course, since the family now seemed to only remember me when they needed something. Rather than take the path of my sister, I kept my head low and did my schoolwork in hopes that I would get my dream job as an artist. Maybe even find a mate. The night before my sister's birthday I did go to the Moon Goddess temple. I did it when my parents were already in bed having left their offering already. I got down on my knees and I asked her not to grant my family's wish. I did it out of pure spite and after I had spoken my request out loud I covered my mouth and ran barefoot back to my house. The next night, at her birthday dinner, we all waited for the moon to reach it's highest place in the sky at the Alpha's house. They had an observatory and had decorated with balloons and my sister's favorite, white roses. My sister sat at the head of the table next to Derek, who when we were kids we both had shared a crush on. As the moon twinkled above, I watched my sister's eyes glaze over and Derek do the same. I breathed a sigh of relief that my prayer had not been answered because at the end of the day I did not hate my sister, I just missed her. My parents were embraced by Alpha Luke and Luna Rosalina. After that, I did my best to keep my head down even further if that was possible at that point. There were some people who wished to be my friends solely to get close to my sister and my soon-to-be brother-in-law. I graduated in the middle of my class but with a 5 in AP Art that my parents simply nodded at when I showed them. From that night on her birthday, wedding plans had begun almost immediately. There was a delay when, sadly, Alpha Luke and Luna Rosalina passed away. Beta Mason took over while Derek grieved the loss of his parents. I kept painting and drawing all the while building up a portfolio and making what little I could by taking furry commissions on Twitter. Tonight, on this night, after the grieving of our Alpha and Luna, and the coronation of our new Alpha Derek, will be what I have dubbed the main event. My sister's wedding. Tomorrow is the biggest day of my life and, of course, there will be no fanfare for that but, I think I prefer it that way. Tomorrow I will take my portfolio and I present it to an art gallery that wants to showcase newer talent. "Celeste, please get your dress on sweetie!" My mom shouted up the stairs. Tonight will be my sister's night, which, hopefully, for the last time, I will be an extra in her moviestar-esque life. I turned 19 a few months ago and, to the surprise of no one, I was still unmated. The wolf within me is more like a lazy bloodhound than any other fierce creature I have heard other people describe. I try not to get my hopes up but I am excited to see the different packs that will be in attendance and maybe my mate. I would not put money on it, but it is nice to dream, right? I went to my closet and unzipped the dress my sister sent me to wear and even though we didn't talk anymore, she knew exactly what size I needed. It is a floorlength Prussian Blue dress that cinches around my waist with cold shoulder sleeves. As I slip on the matching heels, I look at myself in the mirror and I admit I look good. The color of the dress makes my blue eyes pop and I even washed my hair as a treat for my sister so it is shiny and glossy as I curl my waterfall curls. I note the hairclip I have also been instructed to wear. Once I am all put together, I again have to note that I look quite pretty. I sit at the bride's family table watching as more and more people from the ceremony. I thought my sister was joking when she said I would be her maid of honor. Surely Rebecca or Keagan would find their way to her. Rebecca is the wife of Beta Mason and Keagan is the wife of Gamma Ezra. The two women were older than my sister but that didn't seem to matter, they were as thick as thieves and although I expected pushback from them when she told me I would be holding her bouquet on her big day, they instead helped me get ready and fixed the hair I could not see onto the back of my head. They were nicer than I expected. Keagan kept apologizing as her bump kept grazing me. Keagan is often someone the pack does not know how to feel towards. Ezra and her have been inseparable since they were pups and everyone assumed that they would be mates. On Keagan's birthday night, however, there was no shine or twinkle when she looked at Ezra more so than any other time she looked at her boyfriend. Then, as my sister would tell it, Ezra did the most romantic and proposed to her anyway like he had planned to if they were mated. Alpha Luke and Luna Rosalina urged against it for awhile, which caused a rift in what you could call The Royal Family. My sister was still only a teenager but she still loved to tell it at the dinner table. The biggest point of contention that everyone asked is what happens when they find their true mates? They both swore that they could never love another the way they loved each other. Moon Goddess and Instinct be damned. If this was an issue among Epsilons, no one would care. The issue lies in that the Gamma rank is third in command. When you meet your mate you are stronger than you have ever been. We wouldn't want one of our top ranks weakened all in the name of love. So a contract was written and a ritual made with our High Priestess. Both Ezra and Keagan have sworn that their relationship ends the second they find their mate. They still got married and against everyone's judgement, they are now with child. Keagan sat at the end of the line during the ceremony rubbing her stomach like a worry stone. Now, as I watch her whisper to Ezra, she still is rubbing her stomach. Everyone has made their way to find what table they will be sitting at and I do not envy whoever had the job of ensuring all the packs were not next to someone they hated. I notice that most of the Alphas are still missing and must be tied up talking to Diane and Derek. I scanned the room again since more people have found their seats. I notice Beta Sean with other members of his pack, The Clover pack. They are, as you can imagine, mainly of Irish descent. Sean looks more English though, with his brown hair in a high and tight. He adjusts his glasses as he joins me in my hobby of looking around the room. On the other side of the room, I noticed another Beta. Leith of the Twistriver pack. His short black hair, piercing blue eyes and stubble would surely make any woman swoon. So much so that many parents pay for him to come to their daughter's birthdays on the off chance he could be their mate. "Ladies and Gentlemen, for the first time ever I would like to introduce Mr. and Mrs. Derek Kinderwoood", The DJ announced and cued up the fanfare. The double doors behind the main table swing open and I see Diane and Derek linking arms and waving at all of the guests they can see. They come to the front of the table and do some stage bows and curtsies. As they return to the behind of the table Derek pulls out the chair for Diane. "Now that we have all got acquainted with the couple, we can feel less bad about eating all their food, eh?" The DJ laughs and a couple of dads join in. Including my dad who has sat down at the table next to me. I greet them with a polite smile and turn back and see that Diane and Derek are whispering furiously back and forth and part of me wonders what could be bothering the newlyweds already. I turn back to the table that I saw Beta Sean at earlier and see someone who was missing earlier. Alpha Rourke O'Malley. Sean is cute. Don't get me wrong, but he is the boy next door. Alpha Rourke is CEO hot. His shocking red hair in short curls on top of his head. His perfectly placed freckles and those emerald eyes will make you melt. Beat Sean is whispering intently to him as Rourke gnaws on his fingers with his family ring shining on his middle finger. A Celtic knot tattoo creeping up his neck and darkish-reddish beard went well with his dark olive green suit. An i***t might want to call him a leprechaun but, honestly, he could rip your head off as well as any other Alpha in here. I find myself looking longer than normal at him and he catches my eye. I try to look away but something holds me there. I see a shimmer over his eyes and it looks like someone threw a rock in a mossy pond. I can feel every hair on my body standing on end. My mate is an alpha. I see him slowly push Beta Sean away from him while still meeting my gaze. God, I just had to people watch and now look, I am gonna be a Luna. Or he could reject me, which is always an option, but, I don't think that would be appropriate at my sister's wedding. Beta Sean realizes what's happening and mouths my favorite curse word. I saw Alpha Rourke stand up from his table and start making his way through the crowded ballroom toward me. I am freaking the hell out. I am grateful that my sister picked this dress so that I have some shimmer for what ever comes next. I gulp. Petrified, I stand and get ready to face what comes next and as I rise to my feet I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around to find Diane standing there with Derek and someone else behind her. "Hey Celeste, how's the champagne?" She asks, gesturing at the flute that she is holding. "Oh, I uh haven't tried it yet." I stammered. "Here, take mine, I'll get another one at my table", she says, handing me hers, and although I am terrified of throwing up, I am grateful to have something to do with my hands. "It was a beautiful ceremony" I said, pulling from the book of generic wedding phrases. "Well, of course, only the most beautiful people were part of the ceremony" and as I realize this includes me I blush. Before I could fumble over a thank you, she adds. "Speaking of beautiful people, there is someone I want you to meet." From behind her steps another wrench in my plan of lying low. Alpha Xander Riverson of the Twistriver pack. The second I meet his chocolate eyes I am done. I felt the deja vu hit me and realized the shimmer in his eyes all too late. Just as my hair stands up again for the second time in five minutes, I feel another tap on my shoulder. I whirl around thankful for the distraction only to be met with the root of the problem. I flick back and forth between green and brown eyes until I make myself dizzy. "I don't . . . . feel goo-" I tried to say before I was on my way to the ground. Before I met the ballroom floor, I realized. I have two mates and they are both Alphas.