The Blood Moon Alpha's Mate

I’ve been dreaming about him every night for a week now. He’s tall, he’s funny, kind, smart, caring, attentive, everything I want. He’s perfect. I feel sparks when he touches me, and butterflies in my stomach when he looks at me. There are dreams when its just him and I talking of our future in bed and dreams of starting a family, he kisses me goodbye on my way to leave and I am so at peace knowing I’ll come home, and he will be waiting for me. I tell him that he’s my everything and he tells me the same, and just when I’m about to see his face. I wake up. Alone, back in the same depressing place. My name's Araya and this is my life, my boring, depressing, lonely life. I know how cynical I sound. Believe me I know. I wasn’t always this way. My childhood was happy, I was happy my parents were loving. That, attentive, kind, fun they loved me and each other just a normal middle-class family. That is until my dad left. When I was 8 he came home one day and packed his things leaving my mom and me behind taking all of our happy life with him. Since that day my mom’s been practically catatonic not paying me any attention at all most of the time and when she does acknowledge my presence she’s just mean, not abusive just dismissive and sometimes that hurts worse. Maybe that’s why I have dreams, hoping and praying for someone to just love me, to stay. I swear I can hear a small nearly nonexistent voice say, One day we’ll have that, in the back of my mind. I finally pull myself out of bed to get ready for class. I go to school at the local community college I’m a pre-med student studying to become a pediatrician. My mom isn’t any help so I’m working and going to school full time, it’s hard but I have zero social life. I finish getting dressed and take a final look at myself in the mirror then run downstairs. My mom is sitting on the couch watching tv, she works the night shift at a 24-hour diner so she’s home all day just sitting in the same spot or sleeping. “Bye, mom.” I yell as I open the front door. I look back over my shoulder and see her turn her head slightly to brush me off, no words, a slight wave eyes never leaving the tv just a gesture to urge me on my way. I get into my 2011 bronze Honda accord and start on my way to school. After class I head to my favorite coffee shop to study before work, that’s where I see him. Romans pov Roman, ROMAN WAKE UP my wolf Atlas screams startling me awake WHAT DO YOU WANT MUTT? We need to go on a run No, WE don’t go to sleep I can’t I’m to anxious It’s 4 o’clock in the morning what could’ve possibly made you anxious in the middle of the night? I don’t know. I just need to run. Is it another rouge? I don’t think so. Then go back to sleep mutt we’ll worry about it in the morning. Don’t make me take over Roman I NEED to run FINE. I sigh, finally caving to Atlas’s demands as I get up. Usually, he isn’t so needy unless there’s a threat, but I know I’ll never be able to get back to sleep now so I throw on some swats and make my way outside. The cool early morning air grazes my skin as I start shifting into my large charcoal grey wolf. Atlas takes off into the woods howling along the way calling to something, but I’m not sure what. We run around the pack lands for hours, then right up to the edge of town where we stopped and watched cars pass by for a while. Are you done mutt? I call to Atlas ready to start my day, he ignores me but lets me shift back. I put on my clothes on grey sweats a black t shirt and old white shoes that I’ve had for so long they’re not white anymore. I make my way to the nearest coffee shop hoping that will wake me up the rest of the way. When I walk in I see her and finally realize what had Atlas so on edge on morning MATE he roars in my mind. What have you done mutt I growl back, as she looks up at me and our eyes meet. She’s the most gorgeous woman I’ve ever seen but I have to get out of here I never wanted this never wanted her. I turn around and walk out slamming it shut behind me. Fuck I curse when I get outside. Where are you going you stupid human? Atlas roars What did you do? You dumb mutt I growl back. I try to walk away from the evil coffee shop, but Atlas won’t budge he’s fighting for control, and I can’t move. I found mate. No one asked you to. I don’t want a mate, you know that. When werewolves turn 16 they get their wolves and shift for the first time some find their mates then but most find their mates when they’re 18 they imprint then mark each other mating for life. I met Atlas when I was 16 and he has always wanted a mate. Wolves always do it’s in them to love and cherish their other half, but I haven’t wanted a mate since I was young. My father is my packs alpha my mom was the luna she was died when I was 8 killed in a war between my pack and a rouge army. When she died leaving my father devastated and grieving, he used the last of strength to avenge her death but after winning the war he was weak without her he withered away, he let the pack become weak, stopped training, stopped fighting, and a couple years later there was another attack and more lives were lost. Word travelled and a lot of our enemies came wanting pieces of our land we couldn’t defend ourselves and my dad just let this go on for a while. My father recovered eventually fought hard to regain the respect of his people, but after seeing all of their suffering I couldn’t forgive his fragility and vowed to never be like him. I started training to be a pack warrior when I was 15 and when I turned 20 I asked my father to let me take over the pack, even though he’d recovered and made a lot of improvements I knew I could to better, he let me become alpha without complaint and I did. I made my pack strong again and I vowed to never accept my mate I wouldn’t give my her the chance to break me or my pack. My mind had been made up for a long time and though Atlas tried to argue at first, he stopped trying to convince me after a while. After years of never finding my mate I thought I got lucky and didn’t have one that happens sometimes mates die before meeting each other I hoped that would be the case for me but apparently I was wrong.