His Blessed Luna Found at Last

Elia POV: "Mate..." a voice said. I turned to find my best friend since childhood staring at me. The same word left my lips before I could even think. Justin's eyes were wide as he started to back away. Why was he moving away? I took a step forward and he turned and bolted. Before I knew it, I was chasing after. "Justin, wait!!" I yell, holding my dress. He was always faster than me, but tonight, I was quick on my feet. I hadn't met my wolf yet, but I could feel her helping me push on. All of a sudden he stops and I nearly smack into his back. "What's wrong baby?" an all too familiar female says. My adopted stepsister looks at me with a scowl on her face. "What are you doing here? And why are you chasing my boyfriend?" My voice fails me as Justin stands behind her, his head turned away from me. "He's my mate," I say, no louder than a whisper. A loud cackle emits from her throat as she bends over holding her stomach. "How could a girl like you be mated to the Alpha's son? You're cursed with bad luck!! It was your fault that war broke out anyways," Serra sneers at me. She wasn't too wrong about it, but that didn't make it hurt any less. I was kidnapped as a child by an enemy pack because of my hair. Once every few hundred years, a wolf with unimaginable powers is born into the wolf society. This time, it just so happened to be me. "Step away from my mate Serra. He's not yours anymore.." is all I say to her insults. She's about a year older than me which means she already has her wolf along with Justin. If they were mates, we would've found out last year. But they weren't. Because I was his mate. Her eyes wandered from my head to my feet and back as she snarled at me. "Well, I'm gonna be his Chosen Mate." A satisfied smirk spread on her face as I looked to Justin. He just looked away again. A sharp pain went through my body. "I'm sorry Elia...." was all I heard before the next words would forever haunt me to my core. "I, Justin Ryan Blake now and forever reject you, Elia Willow Quinn as my mate and future Luna.." No sooner did his words leave his mouth did a searing pain shot through my body, making me scream. I heard his cries of pain too but they didn't matter to me. Tears streamed down my face as I crumpled to the ground, sobbing. "Shh... the pain will end soon. I promise," a voice flits through my head. I didn't respond, but I trusted it. Justin and Serra step over me. Through the blurriness in my eyes, I can just barely see him clutching his chest. "I'm sorry Elia. I had to.." Justin mind-links me. But my heart had already closed off to him. As they faded away, their scents but a faint trail, I finally stand up and look up at the moon that was slowly making its way to the highest point in the sky. "Why?!" I scream at the white orb, my heart hurting. "Why curse me this way?! Why make him for me and then take him away?" I'm not sure I could even be mad at the Moon Goddess. If she thought to take him away.... then there must have been a reason for it. I just hope I find out sooner rather than later. "Don't worry Elia. You've always got me at least!" that voice says again. It sounded like a mind-link, but, not quite. Much closer than that. "I'm your wolf. My name is Artemis..." A small smile found my lips as I wiped my face. Artemis smiled in my head as well as a small laugh left my lips. "Hey... thanks for earlier. I'm not sure I could've made it through that without you... I've known him for years. I thought he would be happy with me. But I guess I wasn't enough," I tell her. She whines a little but doesn't say anything more. A booming voice comes from the direction of the party and I make my way back, trying to look as presentable as possible. The current alpha glances at me, no doubt already aware of my situation with his son. "We are here to celebrate the birthday of our late Beta's daughter on her 18th birthday and first shift. It's about time for everyone to head toward the forest. Elia?" Alpha James says. I slowly make my way next to him with a smile plastered on my face. The crowd looks at me with anticipation and I take a deep breath. I knew this was coming a long, long time. I just never thought I'd actually be here. "Hi... I am, Elia Quinn as some of you may know, and..." My gaze drifts to Justin as his arm wraps around Serra's waist and my world shatters even more than before. I was supposed to take over my father's position and be Justin's beta. But I just can't. That would mean I would be stuck here with him every day. "Um... I was supposed to be the first female beta, but.. I... I reject the position." Alpha James looks at me, a little shocked before he finds where I was just looking at. Justin drops his gaze and I continue. "Instead, if it's alright with you, Alpha, and my adoptive father, I would like to keep training as a warrior instead..." They both smile and my father wraps me up in a hug. "I would be glad to keep training you, my dear. Maybe you can take my job instead one day," he says. I nod. I would much rather be with him than with Justin. The Alpha gives an approving nod and I smile myself. Happy to be accepted by this little family. Zane POV "GET OUT OF MY SIGHT!!" I scream at the half-naked woman who was scurrying to get away from me and out of my bedroom. Tears were falling down her face, but it did nothing to ease the anger that was surging through my veins. I was going to kill Gabe. Murder him in front of the entire pack. Gabriel, or Gabe as most of us call him, is my beta and my best friend. It's the only reason I allow him to pull crap like this and get away with it. Anyone else would've been demoted by now. Not him. His father was my father's most trusted second in command and their family has ties with mine quite often. Our fathers would roll over in their graves if I ever actually did something to Gabe. But best believe he was going to get an earful from me. "Damn... you didn't like her either?" his voice comes from my doorway. I massage my temples to try and prevent the headache I could already feel starting to set in. "Sometimes I wonder if you're really attracted to women. We visited every pack we could to try and see if your mate was there and she wasn't.." "Did it ever occur to you that maybe she doesn't have a wolf yet? Or she's someplace we haven't looked?" I ask. Not that I really cared anymore. I had given up looking years ago. She didn't exist then and she doesn't now. "Besides, I don't have time for that. I have a pack to run and that's more important than anything." He scoffed and walked in before checking my temperature with his hand. "Are you feeling okay Zane? Since when have you not been obsessed with finding your Luna? You know, the woman that's supposed to be by your side for the rest of your lives?" He stares at me. His green and blue eyes boring into my soul. I look away before heading down to my office. Gabe's footsteps sound right behind me. "Hey!! Will you please give me an answer?" "I don't have to. Just because you're my friend, you're still my beta. If I tell you anything, it's out of respect for our friendship. I don't have to divulge that information," I grumble at him. I've always hated having to pull rank on him, but more often than not, it was the only way to get him to shut up. Otherwise, he would keep bugging me about something I would rather forget right now. I don't want to think about her. What she looks like, smells like... "Stop it-" River growls at me. River is my wolf. More often than not we are in sync. He was pretty pissed off when I gave up on finding our mate. "Damn right, I was. She was made for us and you don't want to find her... Let me out, I'll do it myself!!" He starts fighting me for some type of control, which leads to me throwing my oak desk at the doorway, which an omega male just so happened to be standing in, his face pale. "What?" I manage through my clenched teeth. He was shaking like a leaf in a windstorm as he drops his upper half in a bow to avoid eye contact. Smart. I might've killed him had he kept looking me in my eyes. "Th-the cook was wondering what you wanted for dinner," he stutters out. I roll my eyes as River finally calms down some. Something so trivial shouldn't be a reason to send someone to my office. Whatever... "Go look for her," River says, trying to take over again. I won't let him. I don't want to look. She doesn't exist anymore. The Moon Goddess cursed me to be mateless. That's all. She forgot about me when pairing everyone else... That's got to be it. "That's not it and you know it!! She has to be out there, waiting for us to find her. Give up now and I will hate you forever!!" I knew he was bluffing and didn't respond. He may not talk to me anymore except for here and there, but I'm 23 now. I've been looking for my mate for 5 years. I should have found her by now. "Just be quiet River. I have work to do," I say. And he quiets down, retreating to the furthest depths of my mind. I could feel him watching me, his anger making me agitated. I will never hear the end of it from him. Despite the irritation I was feeling, I set to work with the paperwork I had to deal with to ensure the pack runs smoothly. Something tells me that my life was going to change soon... I wasn't sure if I was happy about that, or upset. "Tell them that I don't care. Next time they can decide for themselves," I state. The omega nods and runs out like I would change my mind about letting him live... I was honestly thinking about it...