The mate finding ceremony is about to start. A sense of anticipation hangs in the air, excitement palpable amongst the crowd. The grassy field is filled with pack members, their eyes all centered towards the makeshift stage at the middle where the ceremony is being held.
Izzy finds herself getting anxious by the second. She feels her palms becoming clammy and so she takes a deep breath. There’s nothing to worry about, she reminds herself.
Every year the mate-finding ceremony happens, and every year, no one is deigned for her. It’s all good, she doesn’t want a mate. However, now that she is already thirty, her chances of getting a mate are higher.
Then Izzy’s eyes find Miles. He is a few feet away from her, freshly groomed and wearing a necklace, signifying that he’s still unmatched, just like her. His eyes meet hers in the crowd and for a second they hold each other’s gaze. Izzy breaks it off first, turning away before he can think of something stupid again.
A drum roll begins, which quiets down the chatter. The sound echoes throughout the field and the elders start their chant. They are asking the Moon Goddess’ blessing for the night; asking for a peaceful ceremony and; asking for more healthy werewolves.
After the matching, it is customary for the matched werewolves to find a private place for them to have their first night of procreation. Customary, because sometimes, they start making out in the field as soon as they are announced, without waiting for the ceremony to end — something that Izzy is afraid of doing.
“It’s okay, Izzy, you don’t have to be afraid,” Chloe whispers as she squeezes her hand.
Like her, both Aria and Chloe are standing amidst all the unmatched female werewolves.
“Thank you,” she whispers back. Chloe doesn’t know how much it helps to have her by her side.
“Look,” Aria whispers. “Miles has been staring at you for the longest time. You should meet the poor guy’s gaze. Have pity on him.”
Izzy tries her best not to look at him, even if she feels guilty. She doesn’t like the feeling of hurting him. He is a dear friend. Someone she cares for a lot, but the romance in it, it is something that she never entertained.
The chant grows louder. It is intense and starts vibrating in the air. Aria holds her hand and then, by instinct, her gaze falls on Miles. Aria is correct. He is gazing at her. And then, slowly, when he realizes that she is looking at him, he smiles — that charming smile he always reserves for her.
As the chant reaches its crescendo, Izzy can’t help but feel all the more guilty. She doesn’t want to give him any false hope, and yet, she cannot take her eyes off of him.
The chanting comes to a sudden halt. She breaks away from him and watches as the elders bow their heads and perform a final blessing before announcing the start of the ceremony.
“May the Moon Goddess guide us in finding our destined mates tonight!” they proclaim in unison.
The crowd erupts in cheers as the first pair of matched werewolves take center stage. Izzy’s eyes flicker towards Miles again. He is watching the couple with a bittersweet expression on his face. She can sense his longing for the same kind of happiness — a mate to call his own.
The second pair is announced and Izzy, Chloe and Aria cheer for them. This time, Izzy can feel Miles’ gaze burning into her as another round of cheers fill the air.
Without a choice, Izzy looks at Miles again — to scold him with a look. But then, without any warning, he stands up from where he was sitting and walks in her direction. Her heart starts to race with fear as she watches him approach her with determination in his eyes.
“What is he doing?” she hisses, her eyes wide in shock. She is clinging to both Aria and Chloe’s hands.
“He probably can’t wait any longer,” Chloe replies with a knowing smile.
“It’s been five years of pining for you, girl,” Aria adds in a teasing tone.
But before Izzy can respond to their comments, Miles is already standing in front of her with a hopeful expression on his face. He takes her hand gently, and bows down on one knee.
“Izzy, will you do me the honor of being my mate?” he asks sincerely, looking up at her with love in his eyes.
Izzy stares at him in disbelief. She doesn’t want to hurt him by rejecting his proposal, but the thought of being romantically involved with him makes her feel uncomfortable.
“I know that it will be uncomfortable at the start, given our history as friends, but I want you to see me as a man, instead of a younger friend that you need to care for.”
Before she can say anything else, the crowd around them falls silent as all eyes are now on them. Everyone is waiting for her response.
**************
And then Izzy’s mind goes somewhere else. She finds herself reminiscing about the good old days, when she and Miles would spend hours together, talking about everything and nothing.
And then that night, during her thirtieth birthday. She and Miles are sitting on the kitchen counter. Her head comfortably leaning on his shoulder as he sips on his drinks and she hugs his arm to her.
“Izzy, there’s something I need to tell you,” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
Izzy looked at him, a bit dizzy from the alcohol. She had no idea what was coming, but she could feel a sense of tension in the air.
“Izzy, I... I’m in love with you for a while now,” Miles whispered.
Izzy felt like she had been punched in the gut. She didn’t know what to say or do. She had always thought of Miles as a friend, a confidant, a brother. She had never thought of him in a romantic way.
“The mate-finding ceremony is coming and I am afraid that you will finally find your mate without me telling you what I felt for you.”
She withdrew from him and scowled. He must have gotten an idea on the way she looked at him.
“I will always love you even if you get a different mate,” he said back then. “Even if I have become the second man in your heart, the alternative, you will always have my heart.”
**************
“Izzy,” Miles whispers, bringing her back to the present.
His voice is filled with love and longing. Despite not having a prior relationship, she is not emotionally challenged not to sense it, which makes it all the more harder for her to say no.
“Izzy?”
The drum roll sounds again, and Izzy is grateful for it. It will give her time to think about the proper way to reject him, in a way that won’t hurt him... so much.
“Isabella Garcia, can you please come up front?”
OR MAYBE NOT.
“Me?” Izzy asks a bit loudly, confused why she is being called by one of the elders on stage.
She looks at Miles and sees the fear in his eyes. And then, her eyes find Chloe, as if seeking her help.
“Isabella Garcia, please come up here,” the elder repeats, as if getting impatient.
This time, Izzy takes a hold of Chloe and Aria’s hands. “Don’t let me go. Help me escape! I cannot have a mate!” she says in panic. “I don’t want to lay my eyes on my mate!”
Chloe squeezes her hand and stares at her as if saying, ‘You can go through this’. As for Aria, she is chuckling.
“Miss Isabella Garcia!” the elder screams this time.
Izzy’s heart is racing as she stands frozen, trying to think of a way out of the situation. She can feel the stares of everyone and they are waiting for her to make a move. Aria is looking at her with amusement, clearly enjoying the drama unfolding in front of her. And Chloe, she just looks worried for her.
Without a choice, Izzy walks towards the center, towards the elder. She is walking as if in a gruesome procession where she is offering her entire life to an unavoidable prison and torture.
Izzy stands at the center of the spectacle called the mate-finding ceremony, her most dreaded part of being a werewolf. The entire ceremony ground is a kaleidoscope of colors and sounds that assaults her senses.The elder stands beside him, takes a hold of her necklace and roughly breaks it. The fire turns red, green and yellow as the elder reads the sign. Then he frowns, and his eyes go to someone in the group of unmatched males.Izzy clenches her jaws and stares at her feet. She cannot, she can’t possibly have a mate now, after all those years!“Ah, this is strange,” the elder whispers.‘Yes, I am strange for not wanting a mate. I know that already!’ she thinks. All the female werewolves want it, even Chloe and Aria, except her!“Ah, I apologize, but Alpha Landon Hayes, will you please step forward?”Izzy’s lips tremble. The sound of his name is already pulling at the strings of her heart, so she ensures that her eyes are fixed on the solid ground. But, the alpha?! The widowed alpha
We walk to the alpha’s house, where Alpha Landon has set up a separate house for his office. An elder, whose name is Finn O’Malley, is supporting Izzy as she continues to deny her fate.Finn decides that each of her mates needs to talk to her. To discuss what will happen in the future. He mentioned that the other mates can reject the mate bond. In that way, she will only have one mate.ONE MATE.But she doesn’t even want a single mate. No matter what they will decide, she is still on the losing end of it all.“Izzy...” This time, it is Miles who is sitting in front of her, while she is petrified in the chair.She looks up at him, but she instantly regrets it when his warm brown eyes meet hers. He looks at her with a mixture of sadness and guilt, his blond hair disheveled as if he had been running his hands through it. Worse, she can’t take her eyes off of him.Despite not originally from the pack, Miles continued to rise until he became a beta.She has always known that he is handsome
“Three mates...” Izzy murmurs as she lays chest-first on her bed.She is still processing her situation. Won’t that be too much work? Besides, she has a job and hobbies. She also wants to spend time with her family and friends. Surely, these men will request time and attention from her.Izzy takes a deep sigh, which she has been doing for a while now. Gratefully, she is not forced to spend the night with either of them. Although her inner wolf wants to.She is bound to three mates. Miles, Landon, and Carter. Not one of them rejected the mate bond. Miles said that he will take his chances. Landon said that he needed a Luna. Most especially, Carter assured her that he would never reject the mate bond.“Ugh!” she screams on her pillow.And so, as the night wears on, she continues to wrestle with her thoughts, tossing and turning in her bed. She is torn between the undeniable attraction she feels for her mates and the fear of losing herself in the process.When the morning sun peeks throu
Izzy focuses on the punching bag hanging from the ceiling. She raises her fists and begins to jab, the rhythm of her punches matching the beat of her heart.Despite the frustrating situation with her three mates, she can’t deny that she is a bit grateful that they didn’t place strict rules on the setup — which is new, knowing that Alpha Landon loves rules.Still, six days. Six days will be lost to her. She should have insisted for only a day each to her mates. It’s as if she is going with the flow — submitting her will to the pack and the Moon Goddess. She is certain, it’s all because of the mate bond! She is becoming more pliant to all their demands! She didn’t even shut Carter up as passionately, unlike before!Then, there is a laugh. She pauses and turns to the source of the voice. It’s Aria, leaning against the wall with her arms crossed.“That punching bag won’t last long, you know,” she comments.Izzy shakes her head and continues with the punches. “What are you doing here, Aria
“Hey! Finally, you guys are mated!” one of Miles’ friends greets. “Albeit having two extra ones in the relationship.”His arm goes around Miles’ shoulders and winks at her. “I’m certain the two of you will be able to resolve it though.”“We are still in the process of resolving it,” Miles replies.“Hmmm, that so,” he continues. “So, when’s the day?”Izzy feels her cheeks flush at the mention of being Miles’ mate and the blatant question of when she will copulate with him. She isn’t used to this kind of attention and unfortunately; she didn’t dislike it.“Hi,” she says awkwardly, hoping that the conversation will veer on a different topic.Gratefully, the other pack members approach her with enthusiastic greetings. She tries her best to be friendly, but all she wants is to disappear into thin air.After a few minutes of small talk, Miles guides them towards the buffet table. He fills her plate with grilled steak and vegetables before getting something for himself as well — a common ges
Back on her desk, Izzy tries to focus on her work but finds it impossible. Every time she shuts her eyes, she can feel Miles’ lips on hers, warm and tender. She shakes her head vigorously as if trying to shake off the memory.But it’s there, etched in the corners of her mind, resurfacing every so often with a potency that makes her catch her breath. She rubs her temples, willing herself to concentrate and move on from the distracting memory.“Concentrate, Izzy,” she mutters to herself, forcing her eyes back on the pile of work on her desk. But it’s no use. Her thoughts keep on drifting back to Miles — his warm voice, his soft gaze, the way his kiss made her feel... and her wanting more of those gentle kisses.She pushes the papers away in frustration, knocking over a cup of pens. She stares at the scattered pens for a while before bending down to pick them up. As she does, a picture falls out from one of the books stacked on her desk. It is a picture of her and Miles from last summer’
Miles takes her hand gently in his, lacing their fingers together. “I want to embrace you the entire night.” She frowns. “The elders and your other mates allowed it,” he adds, his eyes pleading. ‘Hugging, huh,’ she thinks as she gazes into his eyes. They’ve hugged before, so it doesn’t sound so bad. Annoyed by all the second-guessing, she groans. If Miles is already taking up this much head space, how could she handle more mates? Still, she cannot be selfish. This is Miles. He has been a dear friend to her since five years ago. “Okay, we can hug,” she agrees. “But we can’t do anything... intimate.” Miles smiles before pulling her close to him, their bodies pressing together. “Of course not, Izzy. Just... be with me.” She can feel his warm breath tickling the skin of her throat as he sighs softly against her neck before replying in a quiet, shaky voice, “Thank you.” Izzy has to admit, it feels strange at first — the way Miles is holding her, their chests pressing against each ot
Izzy walks into the kitchen and finds Miles already there, preparing the ingredients for their breakfast. His back is on her, but she can sense his happiness from the way he moves. He turns to her and finds her looking at him. “Hey, good morning!” She makes another of her lopsided smile. “I’ll help you,” she says, walking towards the counter where Miles is standing. “As promised?” he asks, looking pleased, and then he laughs. “What?!” she asks, confused at his reactions. “I’m sorry for teasing you earlier.” “You already apologized earlier.” “That’s not a complete apology, though.” Her frown deepens. “Then what does a ‘complete’ apology look like, Mr. Miles?” she asks, looking at him skeptically. “Well, for starters,” he says, turning toward her with a playful glint in his eyes. “It involves breakfast.” She rolls her eyes. “And here I thought it would involve something more dramatic.” He laughs, a warm sound that fills the kitchen and makes her heart flutter. He gestures to t