Mate!
1140 Words
Mirellie
The night air felt heavy and charged. The entire pack stood gathered beneath the open sky on my father’s land, their voices blending into one restless wave of anticipation. Torches burned brightly around the courtyard, their flames dancing in the darkness, casting flickering shadows across faces filled with excitement.
I stood at the center beside my sister. I didn’t need to look to know where their attention was. I could feel it in the way the air seemed to lean toward her, in the way people whispered her name.
Calliope stood tall, flawless as always, her chin slightly lifted, her expression calm. She looked exactly like what they wanted their future Luna to be.
Perfect.
I kept my gaze forward, my hands clenched slightly at my sides. For once… I didn’t let it matter. For once, I refused to stand in the crowd on our birthday and watch as everyone celebrated her and forgot about me.
It was my twenty-first too. I refused to be a backdrop. Tonight wasn’t just hers, no matter what anyone thought.
“Ten!”
The pack’s voices rang out together, loud and unified.
A countdown.
My heart skipped nervously.
“Nine!”
I drew in a slow breath.
“Eight!”
I had heard so much about this moment.
“Seven!”
About the pain.
“Six!”
About how it would feel like my body was breaking apart.
“Five!”
But they always said the same thing after.
“Four!”
That when it was over…
“Three!”
You felt complete.
“Two!”
Whole.
“One!”
The clock struck midnight, and the pack erupted into cheers.
At the same time, something tore through me.
A sharp, violent pain exploded in my chest, knocking the air from my lungs as I gasped. I dropped, my hands hitting the ground as my body folded in on itself, a strangled cry ripping from my throat.
Then it got worse.
My bones cracked. My spine arched violently as something shifted beneath my skin—something alive, something forcing its way out.
I screamed.
The sound was raw as my joints snapped one after the other. It felt like I was being torn apart from the inside, like my body was no longer mine.
Heat flooded through me. My skin stretched, then fur burst through. I could feel every shift, every tear. It hurt so much I thought I would black out. But I didn’t.
A growl rumbled deep in my chest, unfamiliar and strong.
The world sharpened. I could hear every breath around me. Smell the fear, the excitement, the confusion.
I stood slowly on four legs, my breathing uneven as I took in the world through new eyes.
I wasn’t alone anymore. For the first time in my life I felt complete.
A ripple of whispers spread through the crowd. Confusion and unease l.
It pulled my attention away from myself to Calliope. She was still human. Still standing exactly where she had been. Nothing had changed. No shift and no wolf in sight.
Her face crumpled, a broken sound leaving her lips as tears filled her eyes.
“No… no, this isn’t right…”
Her voice shook, panic creeping in as she looked around, as if waiting for something—anything—to happen. It didn’t.
The whispers grew louder.
“What’s happening?”
“Why hasn’t she shifted?”
My mother rushed forward, her face tight with alarm.
“Shift!” she snapped, grabbing Calliope’s arm. “Do it now!”
“I—I can’t!” Calliope cried, her voice breaking as tears streamed down her face. “I don’t feel anything!”
My mother’s expression twisted. Then she turned to me. Her eyes burned with anger.
“Change back!” she snapped sharply. “Now!”
The command cut through everything. My body reacted before I could think, the shift pulling back just as quickly as it had come.
Pain flickered again—shorter this time, sharper—as fur receded and bones shifted back into place.
And then, I was human again. Naked and exposed.
The cold night air hit my skin, and I froze for a second before instinct took over. I reached for the white flowing gown laid out for me, my fingers fumbling as I pulled it over my body.
My hands trembled as I adjusted it, trying to steady myself. Trying to understand. I turned towards my sister.
Calliope stood a few steps away, her face tear-streaked, her eyes red. Something dark flickered in them as she looked at me.
The crowd murmured around us, confusion thick in the air.
And then something shifted. The air tightened, like the entire courtyard had drawn in a breath.
I felt it before I saw him. A presence. Heavy, commanding and impossible to ignore.
The crowd parted instinctively as he stepped through.
Alpha Evander.
Calliope had said he would be late. Her head snapped up the moment she saw him.
“Evander—” Her voice broke as she rushed toward him, desperation in every step. She threw herself into his arms, sobbing. “I don’t know what went wrong. You need to help me… tell me everything will be alright.”
I didn’t know what I was supposed to feel. Calliope had always been perfect. The one everyone admired. And yet, she couldn’t get her wolf.
My chest tightened. I had never seen this happen before.
If I had been in her position, the whole pack—led by her—would be laughing at me right now. They would say my weight was the reason I couldn’t get my wolf.
But now, everybody looked ready to panic for her.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I turned to leave. I’ve gotten my wolf. My second job tonight was to hunt for my mate. I took a step away from them when it hit me.
A scent.
The most intoxicating thing I had ever known. It wrapped around me, pulling at something deep inside my chest.
“Mate!” my wolf howled, her voice filled with joy.
My breath caught as I turned right back to trace the scent. It was the same moment, he stilled. His gaze snapped to me and everything else faded. The noise, the crowd.
Gone.
All I felt was the pull. My heart pounded as something deep inside me responded.
Evander’s expression hardened, his jaw tightening.
A flash of white light burst from my neck. A thin, glowing thread shot forward, connecting to him before I could even breathe.
The same light burned at his throat. Binding us together in front of everyone.
A growl tore from my throat.
“Mate.”
We said it at the same time—his voice low, mine shaking.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
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