The Chosen or the Fated

Mea's POV It was a month before my 18th birthday and I, Mea DeAngelo of Golden Lunar pack, was counting down the days. I would graduate in 7 months and if all went as planned, I would be joining the Blood Rose pack. My boyfriend, Brant Cason was Blood Rose's beta. He had only taken over 6 months ago, following his older brother Asher's unexpected death. I met Brant at my 16th birthday party. My father, Alpha James DeAngelo had invited all our pack's allies Alphas and their heirs to my party, in the hopes of arranging a suitable marriage for me. My father's Luna, Lynetta, had "accidentally" spilled red wine on my beautiful ivory dress, just as guests started to arrive. Mortified it looked as though my period had seeped through, I ended up hiding out on the balcony most of the night. Many of the attending Alphas brought their Betas along and Brant had been allowed to tag along with his brother, Asher. He stumbled upon my hiding spot and we ended up chatting all night. I didn't tell him who I was until we said our goodbyes. I may have been a bit forward, but I asked him for his number. We only see each other on weekends and during special events, but we talk every day. Brant will be 21, shortly after my birthday. He already has his wolf, Niko. He was certain once I got my wolf, we would be able to finally know for sure we were mates. He was so sure of it! My father of course thought beta Brant was helping to encourage my marriage proposal to his future Alpha, Torrance. My father would never be satisfied with me being mated to a beta. Each of his children were meant to reinforce our pack's status and expand our assets. This could only be achieved with a strong match. Torrance was my age, his 18th birthday just days before mine. He and Brand were complete opposites. Brant wasn't the romantic type, but he could always make me laugh. Torrance was always serious and so short with words. While Brand had light brown hair and green eyes, Torrance had light blond hair with brown eyes. Both had amazing builds, Torrance of course being bigger since he was from Alpha blood. I didn't much care about the size difference though, I was more interested in someone who wanted to be with me. Not marry who was best for the good of our packs, but for love and passion. Thanks to my father's second mate, Luna Lynetta, I had a lot of insecurities. I wasn't as thin as my younger sister. My hair was not golden and my skin didn't tan easily like my brother and sister. I looked like my mother, my father's first mate, Mona. She had died while giving birth to me. Mona was a human. My father had been lectured and almost disowned for choosing Mona as his mate. His father, my grandfather, feared her inability to properly lead our pack, with her mere human form. Mona was a force though. She led our pack, just as well, if not better than any previous Luna. Standing only 5'3, her steel-blue eyes demanded attention and her voice gracefully commanded a room. At least, that is what my nanny Rosette, always told me. I have her dark brown, almost black hair, olive skin, and blue eyes. Quite possibly the reason why Lynetta hates the mere sight of me. My father was never around to witness Lynetta torment me. When I would complain, he would always make excuses or shrug it off as me exaggerating things. My father met Lynetta at an Alpha ball when I was 3 years old. He had barely survived losing my mother and grew distant, working all the time. He had tried getting out of the event but his alliances insisted he make an appearance. Lynetta was much younger than my father, but being the unmated daughter of Winter Crest's Alpha Pharos, she was brought to the ball as a desirable trophy. My father knew at once she was his second chance mate. Why Moon Goddess would fate my poor father to such a spiteful, shallow she-wolf, I would never know! Rosette was taken from me when I was five. Lynetta convinced my father it would help me be more independent and responsible. Plus, she needed Rosette for her twins, Jalen and Lace. At first, I was excited to be a big sister. Lynetta quickly robbed me of that though. My hands were always too dirty to touch the babies or she couldn't trust me yet to hold them or help feed them. Later, she would blame any whimper from them on my hurting them or taking something from them in spite. Rosette learned quickly not to contradict Lynetta. It was my fault really, I had been trying to give Lace her stuffed wolf and she kept throwing it to the floor. When I placed it beside her for the third time, Lace threw it and it hit Jalen. Jalen began to cry and Lynetta came flying into the room demanding to know what I had done. Rosette tried to explain and was slapped for "lying" and "suggesting such a thing" when she simply tried to tell Lynetta the truth. We both learned that day to keep quiet. I learned to stay out of sight and away from my new siblings as much as possible. Lynetta would make sure my father knew of all of Lace and Jalen's successes, school or training-wise. She also made sure he knew of every misstep, accident, or rule I broke. I tried so hard for so long to get his attention. I excelled at my academics, but I got into fights. I was skilled with hand-to-hand combat but lacked the coordination for weapons. No matter what my strength, she would make sure it was underrated with my faults. Brant was sure to congratulate everything, even if he was sarcastic about it. "You got into another fight, well at least you won" he would say.