Mated, But Not Marked

Chapter One: A Chosen Mate

“I promise, it’s only a few days. You know how important it is for me to get to know the other packs. Nobody knows who I am and I want to earn my place as your future Luna. I’ll be surrounded by a ton of our pack members and will be back before you know it. You won’t even have time to miss me.” I said reassuringly.

Evan sighed in defeat. Each year, there is a conference for all of the major packs making up North America. Representatives such as alphas, lunas, and other high ranking members could attend to discuss important issues impacting all packs, such as threats to our kind, alliances & enemies, and more. It also gives unmated wolves the chance to meet other pack members in hopes of finding their fated mate. Lastly, it allows future Lunas and Alphas to meet other future leaders and existing ones in order to solidify new alliances between neighboring packs.

Going to this conference was an important opportunity for me. My former pack, the White Moon pack, was very secluded and fiercely protected from other territories. Many packs didn’t even know about our existence, just about the legends that preceded us about our special abilities. I remember my family saying we kept to ourselves because our bloodline was special and we needed to be protected from those who would use us to their advantage or try to harm us. Our bloodline was most strongly connected to the Moon Goddess herself and was a blessing bestowed on us.

I never understood why we kept ourselves hidden away from others, but I quickly learned how seriously my pack took its protection. One day, my wolf and I went for a run and took our time exploring the beautiful White Moon territory when I felt it. The sheer panic in the pack’s mind-link was enough to make me run faster than I ever imagined back to our village. I heard my mother and father in the link panicking as they tried to find my location and then, just like that, the link went silent.

When I got back to where the packhouse should be, there was nothing left. Houses, families, the training grounds, had all disappeared without a trace. One day, I was with my pack and my family, and the next day, I was alone and had no idea what had happened.

I didn’t know if they were killed or if the Elders shielded our territory from being found, but what I do know is that I was the only one left behind.

Being a descendant of the original Ascended ones in the White Moon pack, my bloodline would be sought after by many and would put me in danger, which is why I never told anyone about my past, not even Evan.

This all happened when I was very young. I remember aimlessly wandering around the area, realizing I was unlikely to survive on my own when I was so little. I felt so powerless and decided in that moment that I would become strong so that I never had to feel that way again.

Instead of living my life as a rogue, I decided to find a new place to call home. Coming to the Sea Moon pack’s territory, I immediately felt comfortable and eagerly asked to join their pack. It was there that I met Evan. He didn’t force me to talk about my past or where I had come from. He had asked his father, Alpha Patrick, to accept me in the pack, no questions asked.

Evan quickly befriended me and made his intentions towards me clear as we got older. Future Alpha Evan Adams and I slowly evolved our friendship into something more serious. After years of searching for our fated mates, we had opted to take each other as chosen mates instead.

It took the pack members a while to learn to trust the child who showed up in their territory under suspicious circumstances and no apparent recollection of her past. They initially thought I was a spy or had bad intentions, but overtime, as I grew older, they started to see more of who I really was. I insisted on being a pack warrior, one of the few female warriors as mainly the males sought to become one. I worked harder than the warriors in training and pushed myself to the limit in order to be one of the best. I wanted to earn their respect.

Once Evan and I decided to become chosen mates, I also wanted to be approachable as the future Luna, and so I made a point to create bonds with each pack member as much as possible.

Our Alpha & Luna ceremony was set to commence in eight months' time, where we would mark each other publically in front of our pack and Alpha Patrick and Luna Linda would step down to give Evan and I the title of the Alpha & Luna of the Sea Moon Pack. We were learning everything necessary to prepare ourselves to take over the pack responsibilities.

Normally, your family and previous pack could automatically deem you worthy of being a ranked member. However, due to my hidden past, no one knew of my bloodline, my family or my pack, which meant I would need to always work hard for people to see me as the Luna, a title they were finally starting to see me worthy of, and I had every intention of continuing proving to them I was.

The Sea Moon pack was an average but growing pack, with their territory expanding year by year. Alpha Patrick & Luna Linda worked hard to ensure all members were taken care of and were training harder than ever before. They were a couple to be admired for all they did for their pack and their family and I was honored to call them my future family.

Evan and I initially were supposed to both attend the annual conference together, as do most Alphas and Lunas, in order to mingle with other pack leaders and help develop future allies, but since we were still getting the ropes of becoming the future Alpha and Luna, Evan was staying at Sea Moon to handle other important pack obligations.

As much as I would’ve enjoyed this moment together, I was also eager to earn my place here alone. Nobody knew me or my secret, and while I intended for my past to stay hidden, I wanted to earn the respect of the other packs and their leaders without them knowing who I truly was to our world. I, along with my future Beta, Clara, were allowed to go with some of our other pack members as an educational experience and as my first real Luna responsibility in the supernatural community. The pack Elders wanted to see how I could handle things on my own.

“I’ll miss you Myla. Please be safe. It’s not our territory and we could only allot a certain number of pack members to go with you for protection. Keep in touch and do your best to make a good impression. Soon, this will be our pack and we need the others to see us as a strong pairing.”

“I don’t need protection” I muttered to myself, but nodded in understanding and gave him a peck on the cheek. Evan and I have always been a good team. He always felt the pressure of living up to his father’s reputation, and working together allowed us to become an efficient team that the pack needed to thrive. I needed someone like him. He was safe. I was a complete workaholic and my true passion was helping others. He was the lighter balance between the two of us.

Since the demise of my pack, I forced myself to be independent and while I did enjoy the camaraderie of the pack life, I never fully immersed myself in the lifestyle, fearing being abandoned or let down again. While I remained guarded, Evan always remained open, trusting, and lighthearted.

Like me, Evan spent years searching for his mate. Finding a fated mate is often hard to find and is considered to be the ultimate blessing from the Moon Goddess herself. Fated pairs are usually meant to create greatness in our world, and to find your fated one was a true honor that most wolves never found.

When he was unable to find his fated one, he decided to pick a future Luna sooner than later, knowing that would give the pack the best chance to become even stronger. While our relationship wasn’t the same as being a fated pair, we worked together well, respected each other, and cared about each other enough to move forward.

I want to be a good Luna. I want to make the Sea Moon pack proud. I know I can handle the duties of being a Luna, but a part of me can’t help wondering why a piece of my heart is holding me back from being ready to take the role.