Her Unforeseen Destiny

Fated Mates

Tristan was glowering at Emmeline as if she had done something wrong. She looked at him and his father and turned to Jamie, who was still stood behind her. 

"Why is he looking at me like that?" Emmeline was nervous - Tristan had a look on his face as if he just wanted to kill anyone who even glanced her way. 

"He thinks you're his mate," Jamie replied, looking uneasily at his brother. 

"I think? She IS my mate! For some ridiculous reason." Tristan roared, making Emmeline jump in fright. Alpha Randall put a cautioning hand on his son's arm and she watched as both their eyes clouded over. 

"What are they doing?" she whispered to Jamie, her confusion multiplying by the minute. Firstly, she's a werewolf. Secondly, this guy is apparently her mate, whatever that was. And now... what on earth was happening?!

"It's called mind linking," Jamie responded slowly. "Once you're part of the pack, you'll be able to mind link anyone within the pack to talk to them privately. I think dad is telling Tristan to... calm himself."

Emmeline watched as both father and son's eyes cleared and returned to normal. Tristan glared at his father before he stormed off.

"Emmeline, I'll have someone show you to your room," Alpha Randall approached her and put a friendly arm around her shoulders, leading her away from the group of people who were now chattering between themselves loudly. He gesticulated at one of the women that he passed and she joined them. 

"Alpha, how can I help?" She was a tall, slim blonde woman with striking blue eyes and spoke with a slight accent that Emmeline couldn't quite place. She could be a supermodel, Emmeline thought to herself. The woman's eyes were kind and there was an air of confidence about her. 

"Emmeline, this is Hanne. She's one of our top fighters and is also our Gamma female. She'll show you to your room and answer any questions you might have. I'm sure you have many, I can imagine this has all been rather overwhelming," Alpha Randall squeezed her shoulder gently in a friendly way and Emmeline felt a little more at ease than she had been. She relaxed her shoulders slightly, not realising how much stress she had been holding in them since she arrived. 

"Follow me," Hanne instructed and smiled at her before briskly walking down the hallway and towards the impressive staircase. Emmeline quickly grabbed her bag from the floor and practically ran to catch up with the older woman. Hanne strode up the stairs two at a time and Emmeline imagined this was what Laura felt like when she couldn't keep up climbing the stairs in Emmeline's flat. She smiled at the thought.

"You have a room in the guest wing," Hanne glanced around to see that Emmeline was a little slower and adjusted her stride so that Emmeline could catch up. "The east wing is reserved for any guests such as visiting alphas and their pack members. We don't have any other guests at the moment so it will only be you there for now. The entire west extension is private and accessible only to the Alpha and his family.

Ranked pack members, such as my mate and I, live on the third floor. The second floor has a recreation room that is open to all pack members, ranked or otherwise. A few unranked members who have vital roles live on the second floor as well, such as our groundskeeper, who you met earlier.

The first floor has event rooms, meeting rooms and offices. Most pack members live in the village around us, I'm sure you noticed there were other houses within the compound. Did you have any questions?"

Emmeline's brain was reeling from all the information that Hanne had just given her. There was still so much she didn't understand.

"What's a ranked member? What is a mate and why did Tristan call me that? What is an alpha and why would they visit?"

Hanne chuckled at Emmeline's word vomit of questions. They had walked along a corridor on the second floor and finally stopped outside a room with '6' on the door. 

"Let's get you settled in and I'll explain a few things," Hanne offered, using a key to unlock the heavy oak door. The door swung open and Emmeline gasped as she saw the room or, rather, the suite in front of her. 

"This is all for me?" She glanced over at Hanne to see if it was some kind of mistake and she should be in another much smaller room.

"Of course, you're our guest." Hanne's tone was matter-of-fact as she strode into the room, placing the room key on the coffee table in the centre. Emmeline followed her in and gazed around the huge space. They were currently in a seating area with a sofa, an armchair and a coffee table and she could see a huge four-poster bed to the right. After a brief tour of the suite, Hanne settled herself in the armchair and gestured for Emmeline to get comfortable on the sofa.

"Now, let's answer some of those questions you have." Hanne chuckled and seemed to think about something for a moment. "First things first, let me explain the hierarchy of our clan to you. At the top, we have the Alpha and the Luna. Think of them as... a king and queen. Or president and First Lady. Does that make sense?"

Emmeline nodded slowly and Hanne continued.

"Alpha Randall is Alpha of the Black Down Clan, this pack right here. His Luna, Goddess rest her soul, passed away before I moved to this pack. I believe it was a long illness, although Randall doesn't discuss it much. The Alpha's second in command is called the Beta and third in command is the Gamma, who is my husband. The wives are referred to as the Beta female and Gamma female, although we have just as many responsibilities. Just a less cool title." Hanne grinned at Emmeline, who smiled shyly back at her. There was so much information to take in but she wanted - no, needed - to know everything. 

It seems a bit sexist, she thought to herself. 

"Can't a woman be Alpha? Or the Beta or Gamma?" she asked Hanne, who sighed before replying. 

"In some clans around the world, sure. Most clans here in the UK and the USA are... traditional, though," Hanne clarified with a wry smile. "Where I'm from, in Denmark, it's pretty similar although things are starting to change. I know of some clans in Sweden and Finland that have a female Beta or Gamma. Usually, all of these things are decided by birthright, but some of the more progressive packs have changed to a challenger method so that only the strongest person can claim the title. The Ahoroa Maeke Matawaka in New Zealand has a female Alpha, but I don't know of any other.

Now, to explain about mates... this may take a while. Almost every werewolf has a fated mate. Our destinies bring us closer together, although sometimes this can take years. For example, my father is the Gamma of our pack in Denmark and was supposed to join his Alpha on a trip to some of the clans here in the UK. For some reason, I just really felt like I needed to go with them and I ended up meeting Scott, my mate, when we visited Black Down. Some people never find their fated mate and taken a chosen mate instead. I guess that's more in line with how humans do it. Mates are... like your soul mate. When you're together, it's as if the whole world has been put to rights. You can't imagine life without them. It's as if a missing piece of you has finally been put in the right place and you're complete at last.

You are Tristan's mate. I'm guessing he never found his mate because you hadn't turned 18 yet. Now you're here and he can feel the mate bond. I'm sure you can feel it too."