What Remains Unclaimed

CHAPTER 2

**LILA’S POV**

As soon as I stepped foot inside my house my aunt was sitting at the table waiting for me.

“Alright. Sit down and tell me everything.” She said, handing me a coffee.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

“I saw you and the Alpha. Tell me everything.” She said.

My aunt is actually only a few years older than me. She was a lot younger than my mother so she’s more on my wavelength and she’s been more of a girlfriend than an aunt and guardian. Not that I needed one anymore since I turned 18.

“What do you want me to say?” I asked, sitting at the table.

“I want you to tell me everything. What happened tonight after the competition? You two were looking pretty cozy.” She said.

“I have to know something first.” I said.

“What?” She asked, looking at me with excitement.

“Why is he single? I mean, he’s got everything going for him but I’ve never seen him with a woman. Why?” I asked.

“Because he’s not a womanizer. Never has been. He’s always been interested in finding his mate and that’s all. There were girls in high school, but they all knew that they were temporary. And most of them have moved away now anyway. So, stop dodging my question. What happened?” She asked.

I took a deep breath and I turned to look at her and the excitement written all over her face.

“He asked me out tomorrow night.” I said.

Aunt Linda let out a squeal that almost pierced my eardrums.

“Oh my goddess. I can’t believe it. I can’t believe he actually did it.” She squealed.

“Would you calm down? You look more excited than me.” I said.

“That’s because I am more excited than you.” She said.

“Linda. Please, calm down. I am going to have a shower and go to bed. Please settle down and we’ll talk tomorrow.” I said.

“Fine.” She said, looking disappointed.

“Love you. See you in the morning.” I said, leaving the room.

After my shower I went to my room but I couldn’t sleep.

I even had to admit that I was a little excited about the upcoming date. And I couldn’t keep it to myself. So I pulled out my journal.

Dear future Lila,

I hope you’re reading this in the distant future and you’re settled with kids and a mate and all that crap. I don’t know who our mate is, but I know who we are mated to. And I really can’t believe that he finally asked me out. I know he’s a few years older, but I don’t think we’re going to be crucified for being only five years older than me. He’s just a young Alpha, that’s all. But he knows what he’s doing and this is a dream come true. I didn’t think I would ever find my mate. And he turned out to be an Alpha. An amazing Alpha. And he asked me out for tomorrow night. I guess we’ll wait and see how the date goes. I’ll let you know tomorrow. Goodnight.

Lila

I went to bed and actually managed to get a few hours of sleep that night.

Luckily when I woke up Linda had already gone to work so I didn’t have to worry about her behaving like a lunatic again.

I got something to eat for breakfast and then I decided to go for a walk through the forest.

I stopped at a little stream that I always go to when I want to think about things and I took my shoes off, sitting on the rocks while my legs were in the water.

The first thing that came to mind was my mother’s smile. Not to mention her laugh when her and dad would start messing around in the kitchen. Usually when dad was teasing her or something like that.

He always knew how to make her laugh when she was upset or if she had a bad day.

And since we were living in a human community, she had a lot of bad days.

She didn’t like it there, but she stayed for dad. His career was there and she was supportive of him.

They were both fated mates which meant they knew exactly what the other needed when they needed it.

That was something I always admitted. Something I was looked up to and something I aspire to have myself one day.

Thanks to my parents, I won’t settle for second best. I want my mate and now, it looks like it’s getting closer than I thought it could.

As soon as I made my way back to my house I saw Maya, my best friend, sitting on the front stairs waiting for me.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“I’m helping you get ready for tonight.” She said, standing up and looking at me like she was disappointed.

“How do you know about that?” I asked.

“Linda. She said that you need as much help as possible. It’s really important for tonight and you need hair and makeup and everything done. So, let’s go and choose the perfect outfit and we’re going to make sure that everything goes great tonight.” She said grabbing my arm and dragging me inside.

As soon as reached my bedroom she started tossing clothes out everywhere, looking for the perfect outside for me.

There were clothes scattered all over my floor as I sat on the bed and watched her go through everything I owned until she found the perfect dress for me.

We hung around the house talking about different makeup concepts and hair designs and all that s**t but honestly, I was happy when it was time to start getting ready.

I went to have a shower just to get away from Maya and her excitement just for a few minutes. As much as I love her, she’s really full on when she wants to be.

As soon as I got out of the shower I put my dressing gown on and she did my hair and makeup. Keeping it pretty neutral because I don’t like bright colors and I didn’t want to come on too strongly or anything.

She knew that. So she did a great job.

I then got dressed into the pale pink tea length chiffon dress with lace over the top of it with thin straps and matching high heels.

“Oh my goddess. You are perfect.” Maya said, standing abc and admiring me.

I looked in the mirror and I was starting to get really nervous about tonight. I was getting butterflies in my stomach. I was getting scared even.

I don’t know why. I was excited but scared at the same time.

Maya could tell and helped me as much as possible.

But as soon as it was time to leave, I told her to stay while I headed to the river alone.

The last thing I wanted was an audience and I knew she would make a big deal out of everything and make it a lot more awkward than it had to be.

So I walked along the path to get to the river but Alpha Derek wasn’t there yet, so I sat on a bench and waited.

I looked out over at the sunsetting over the river and it was absolutely amazing.

It had to be the best view in the whole pack.

As I noticed the sun getting lower and lower until it was dark I was really starting to wonder what was going on.

I looked around for Alpha Derek but he was nowhere to be seen and even if he did go to another location, he would have been able to see me. If he couldn’t see me, he would have picked up my scent. But he wasn’t anywhere.

And then the realization that he wasn’t coming finally hit me and I slumped back down on the chair that I had been sitting on previously.

I wish I had a thought in my head, but there was nothing. It was blank. I didn’t know what to think.