Absent Mate.
1266 Words
Temperance gave a small nod.
It was tomorrow.
“No wonder your pheromones have been all over the place,” Raelith said casually.
“It's sort of faint, though.” Riven said.
Now that I think about it, Temperance really has been different lately.
“But you have a job tomorrow. How are you going to handle all that? Do you already have someone coming over?” Niko asked.
No.
I couldn’t look at him. Not again.
“I think I’ll spend my rut alone,” Temperance said at last, leaning back in his chair. His car keys tapped lightly against the table.
Alone?
“Why?” Niko frowned. “That’s seriously going to hurt.”
“Why the hell do you always spend it alone?” Raelith pressed.
Should I be relieved? The thought flickered through me before I could stop it. Should I be happy that he’d be alone?
“Just because you don’t have a mate yet doesn’t mean you should deny yourself body warmth,” Niko added, returning after setting his laptop aside.
“Why are we the ones still waiting for mates while Autumn gets hers first?” Riven complained. “She’s eighteen now.”
“We don’t even know if she’ll find him,” Raelith said with a short laugh. “We just want her at the full moon. She could meet him anywhere. She needs luck.” His gaze flicked back to me.
“I think you should just choose an omega and mark her,” Tyson suggested bluntly. “Especially you, Temperance. You’re getting old.”
“Excuse me?” Temperance scoffed, tilting his head back. “I’m twenty-nine. That’s not old.”
“You’ll be thirty in a week. Same thing,” Tyson shot back.
“You’re twenty-three,” Temperance replied evenly. “I’m seven years older than you.”
“Doesn’t matter. Same thing.”
“Don’t be rude.” He shut his eyes.
“I’m not.”
“Why don’t you get a mate?” Riven suggested casually. “You need someone.”
“She-wolf,” Raelith agreed with a nod. “Alpha or Omega. We’re not kids anymore. Start thinking about yourself.”
“Really?” Temperance lifted a brow.
“Yes. And stop acting like Dad.”
I stared down at my plate.
This was the second time they’d brought it up. They wanted him to take a chosen mate.
Niko quietly advised, “Once Autumn arrives with an Alpha, it’s your cue to take care of yourself. You’ve sacrificed enough for us, Temperance. Move on.”
“Hah.” Temperance dragged a hand through his hair. “Get off my back.”
“Not happening,” Raelith replied. “If you don’t choose a mate, we won’t drop it. We’re Gammas of this pack. You can’t waste your life.”
My heart twisted. I closed my eyes, forcing myself to breathe.
“No, seriously. Once Autumn gets marked—”
“I won’t get marked by any Alpha,” I burst out.
All of my brothers turned to me at once.
“I don’t want to attend…” My throat tightened. I forced myself to finish. “The full moon.”
“Why?” Niko asked gently, his tone losing all teasing. “What’s wrong, Autumn?”
Temperance’s violet eyes locked onto mine. They didn’t waver.
A companion is not something I require. I pushed my chair.
“I don’t want some Alpha marking me like I’m property. I don’t even know if I’ll love him or care to know him.” My eyes squeezed shut for a second. “Just… don’t make me go. Please.”
I looked at each of them. Then at Temperance. He didn’t speak immediately. His expression didn’t change. But something in his gaze sharpened.
“Do you understand what you’re saying?” he asked at last, voice low and steady.
“Yes,” I nodded.
He frowned slightly. “Are you in love with someone? Are you seeing someone?”
“No!” I shook my head quickly. “I’m not. I’m just…”
“Not interested?” he finished.
“Yes.”
A pause.
“Why?” he asked quietly. “You’ve been waiting for this day your whole life. What changed?”
His voice is always calm, and deep when he speaks. Whenever he uses such a tone on me, I rarely know what to say anymore.
“I’m just—”
“Sit.”
The command cracked through the room in a wolf’s tone. His eyes flashed violet for a split second, and before I could resist, my body obeyed. I lowered myself back into my chair as if pulled by invisible strings.
“Temperance, stay calm,” Niko warned quietly.
“I want the truth.” Temperance leaned forward, elbows resting on the table. His voice was steady, but there was steel beneath it. “Tell me. Have you met your mate?”
I forced myself to meet his gaze. “No.” My voice betrayed me with a slight tremor.
“My word is final,” he said. “You’re going to the full moon. You’re not avoiding this. If you won’t explain, then so be it.”
“I don’t—”
He leaned closer. “Don’t be foolish, Autumn. Every wolf needs a mate.” His voice lowered. “Even you.”
What’s wrong with him? He looked away first. And I knew. He had already decided. I left the table without another word.
In my room, I collapsed onto my bed and cried until my pillow got soaked.
How could he talk to me like that?
I didn’t want Temperance to choose a mate. I didn’t want him to find someone and slowly step away from me.
Why wouldn’t he choose me? Because I'm his sister?
The thought hollowed me out.
My tail slipped.
It always did when I cried too hard.
What if he chooses someone tonight? What will I become then?
“Autumn.”
I squeezed my eyes shut and pretended to sleep.
“Autumn.” His voice was softer now.
His footsteps approached. I felt the mattress dip as he sat behind me. His fingers brushed gently through my hair.
“Are you sleeping?” he whispered.
I stayed still.
“You really are asleep, beloved,” he murmured with a quiet chuckle.
Beloved.
Yeah. He usually calls me that when he wants to pet me. His scent wrapped around me. It made my chest ache.
“You must be tired.”
Carefully, he pulled the blanket higher and tucked it around me as though I might break. He shifted closer, and his lips brushed my forehead.
“I love you so much.”
Those words shattered me.
I love you too.
I wish I could say those words to him.
He stood and left. The door closed. I finally breathed.
How am I supposed to fall in love with someone I’ve never met? Temperance said I’d be fine.
But I’m not.
My mate is not out there. He is here with me.
My name is Autumn Winterfang. I’m an Omega of the Winterfang Clan.
When I was eight, my biological father died in a war between packs. Rogues attacked our town. My mother grabbed my hand and ran, leaving behind the only home I had ever known. Later, she married Varik Winterfang, son of Stormfang. For a while, we were whole again. She became a mother to his sons.
On my fourteenth birthday, both my parents died in a car accident.
My world ended.
- Writer
