Fate’s Design

Fighting Fate

Kelsey POV

I woke up to the sound of my alarm clock playing that obnoxious little tune. Why had I set that stupid jingle as my alarm again? I hit the alarm clock with an annoyed growl. My wolf, Tanya, was in a similar mood.

‘Do we have to go to training today?’ Tanya asked.

‘Unless we want another lecture from Durian and Jordan.’ I replied. My cousin Durian was Alpha of our pack, Crystal Run, and my brother Jordan was his Beta and the head trainer. They didn’t exactly appreciate it when I didn’t show up for training. But it was their own fault for scheduling it so early.

“Morning, Kels.” My brother said as I arrived for training, still finishing my morning coffee. I just flipped him off.

Jordan smirked. “Aw, don’t be like that, sis. You know you love me.”

“I would if you’d convince Durian to move training to a reasonable hour.” I muttered.

He chuckled. “When? After lunch, when everyone is trying to nap?”

“Don’t worry, beautiful, I can help you wake up.” A voice said from behind me.

Jordan growled when he saw Alex approach and heard his comment. My brother was the type of wolf that waited for his mate. And I guess it paid off. Amy was smart, beautiful, and just an all-around likeable person. Everyone loved our Beta female. My brother took issue with the fact that Alex and I prefered not to wait for some hypothetical wolf who might or might not be out there, whom we might or might not find, who could potentially be terrible people and could potentially reject us anyway. We were both twenty and no sign of a mate. Well… not for me, at least. I was pretty sure Alex was lying about not having found his. Last summer he suddenly got super depressed and was moaning about women and mates and whatever else he was on about. I suspected he had found his mate and got rejected. I never asked and he never said. We weren’t anything official, and he wasn’t exactly my only bit of fun, but he was the main one and had been for a while.

Alex POV

I walked up to the training ring and Kelsey was bitching about hating mornings, as usual. I don’t know why her brother still bothers. But I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get under Jordan’s skin, so I told Kelsey I’d help wake her up. Jordan clearly knew what I was getting at, if his growl was any indication. Seriously, that man needed to loosen up. If he didn’t want to live a little, that’s his loss, but he could at least let his sister do her own thing in peace. My wolf, Carter, wasn’t exactly thrilled about how I handled the shewolves, especially when Jessica rejected me last summer because of it, but he could deal. There were other shewolves, but they all seemed to think that I’d change my mind and commit. Kelsey got it. We could blow off steam without getting too caught up in our outside lives.

I smirked at Jordan’s reaction. He might be this pack’s Beta, but I wasn’t afraid of him. He needed a better reason than not liking me to do anything. I wasn’t breaking any laws, just old fashioned traditions.

Jordan POV

There was nobody in this pack that made me wish I could just do whatever I wanted as much as Alex Thompson. He was arrogant and careless and he was dragging my sister deeper and deeper into the abyss. I felt bad for their mates, wherever they were. Since they weren’t marked yet, their mates wouldn’t feel the full effect of the betrayal yet, but they would feel it some every time, and that first heat or rut after marking was going to be brutal for their mates.

I would love to be able to banish Alex… which is probably why I’m Beta instead of Alpha. Unfortunately, I couldn’t. But there was one thing I could do.

“Since Alex here ruined my good mood, why don’t we add an extra five miles to our morning run?” I told the gathered wolves. A collective groan went up, as well as a few curses aimed at Alex, and his smirk dropped.

“Aw, man! I was just playing around.” He protested.

“Well, I’m not. Move it.” I told him as I and the others started to run.

Kelsey POV

After training, Alex came up to me.

“Hey, listen… we never got to finish our conversation yesterday. Maybe you could come over to my place later and we can talk.”

“Talk, huh?” I said with a raised eyebrow.

“Ok, so maybe there won’t be much talking. But come on, Kiki, it’s been a while.”

Kiki. I was never gonna outgrow that awful nickname, was I?

I sighed dramatically. “Yeah, I’ll be there.” I conceded. “Enjoy it while it lasts, because we have some hot new wolves coming in for the party tomorrow and I’m taking full advantage.”

Alex laughed. “Don’t let Alpha Durian hear you talk about visiting Alphas and Betas like that.”

“Ah, what’s he gonna do? Tell me to not have eyes?”

“Good point.”

Mason POV

“It keeps happening, doc. Out of the blue I get this sick feeling, like somebody punched me in the gut. It always goes away after a while, but still.”

“No, you’re right, Alpha. Recurrent symptoms are concerning. Unfortunately, I’ve run every test I can think of. There’s one thing I know of that can do this without leaving any trace, but you’re not gonna like it. I haven’t brought it up before because I had hoped to find something else, but at this point, I don’t see any other possibility.” Dr. Porter replied.

“You’re making me nervous here.” Wolves didn’t get sick, not really. Our bodies healed much more efficiently than a human’s. If there was something bad enough that Dr. Porter was actually concerned, then I definitely wasn’t going to like it. “And please stop calling me that.”

“What? ‘Alpha’?”

“Yes. I’m not the Alpha. And I’m not going to be for a long time. My dad is going to figure this out.”

“With all due respect to both of you, I don’t think your father is ever going to be the same. A wolf doesn’t just get over losing a mate. I think he was serious when he said he’d retire at the end of the summer. Even if that wasn’t the case, you are acting Alpha at the moment while he honors the mourning period. I only hope that you are able to pull through yourself. I don’t know what we’d do if we lost both your father and you.”

“Doc?” I said suspiciously, narrowing my eyes at the doctor. “What exactly is going on with me? Why would you be worried about me not pulling through? It’s just some pain here and there.”

“I don’t think this is ordinary, natural pain.” She said quietly.

“What do you mean?” I urged, getting more and more anxious as she dragged this out. “Just tell me.”

“I think what you’ve been experiencing are betrayal pains.” She finally said. “I think what you’re feeling is the effect of the attack on your mate bond when your mate is with someone else.”

My eyes went wide. That couldn’t be right. Surely my mate was looking for me just like I had been looking for her. It’s what wolves did. It was humans that had commitment issues. Even bears and vampires had the decency to be loyal to their partners.

“There has to be another explanation for this. And wouldn’t that feel a lot worse?”

Dr. Porter shook her head. “Only after you and your mate mark each other. If she betrayed you after that, it would have the potential to stop your heart entirely. When you find your mate, if you accept her and mark her, then you will feel the full weight of what has happened. With as many times as you’ve complained of these pains, I worry that it could do some serious damage. I wouldn’t want you to be too far from here so that you can get immediate attention if you need it.”

“What are you saying? That if I mark my mate, I might be hooked up to a machine for who knows how long just to survive?” I asked, shocked at what I was hearing.

Dr. Porter nodded solemnly. “That’s exactly what I’m saying. That, or worse. It could put you in a coma or even kill you. In a situation like this, most wolves reject their mate and either take a partner that is not their mate or wait and hope for a second chance mate. If you are to take over for your father in a couple of months, it would be much easier to do the job with a Luna by your side, mate or not.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. I will have my mate by my side or no one at all. I will keep searching for her if I have to travel the whole world to find her and I will not reject her.”

“Alpha…” She said gently.

“I’ve already made up my mind.” I said, standing up. “If there’s nothing you can do for me, then I’ll be on my way and let you get to your next patient.” I walked out the door without waiting for a response. This wasn’t how this was supposed to go, but if this was how it was meant to be, then so be it. I trusted that I would find my mate when the time was right. If that was meant to be the last thing I ever did… so be it. I went up to my room to get ready. Me, my best friend Seth, my dad, and his Beta, Adrian, as well as a handful of the warriors were attending a party at Crystal Run this evening in honor of their Alpha’s new baby. Maybe a good celebration was what I needed to get my mind off of what I had just been told.