Not really, I love them both.
“And anyway,” Emily continues. “Just because youcanmeet your mate once you turn twenty-one, there’s no guarantee that you will meet them straightaway.”
I take a deep breath, trying—and failing—to steady my mind. Because I already know I’ll meet my mate tonight. I can feel it in my bones. In the jittery way, I can barely stop myself from shaking. In the butterflies that swarm around my stomach. And most telling of all, in the way my wolf hasn’t been able to sit still all day. She has been pushing me to shift and go outside. To search for them. Hunt them down and claim them.
I’m certain I’ll meet him or her tonight.
“Yeah, I guess,” I say with a shrug before finishing my makeup. I slip into the red dress I bought for tonight. It’s tight and shows off my curves and long legs. I may have mixed feelings about meeting my mate, but I still want them to think I’m hot as hell.
“What are you thinking?” Emily asks, her tone soft and her face neutral. I know in my core she would accept whatever answer I give her.
“I don’t know. I’m kinda playing out the process of elimination about who it won’t be. You’re the only female from the pack I’ve ever really connected with, so I can’t imagine my mate is any ofthe females here. I’ve only dated human females, and there’s no way my mate could be human. I’ve heard of it with unranked wolves, but never with an alpha. I’ve had flings with a couple of male warriors, but I never saw them as a serious option, just a little fun. I’ve met wolves from other packs, but my wolf was never particularly drawn to any of them. So, basically, I’m a slut, but my wolf is a picky bitch who won’t settle.”
I shrug my shoulders before I draw my now sleek hair into a high ponytail as Emily giggles. There’s only one wolf that I’ve ever experienced anything intense for, but there’s no way it’s him. Because as much as I obsessed over Luca, and he seemed to be fond of me when I was a kid, that was a long time ago. I have no interest in the version of himself he became a few years ago, and he has even less interest in me.
“Almost time to go,” Emily says, placing her hands on my shoulders and giving a slight squeeze that lets me know she will have my back, no matter what happens, the same way I will always have hers. I nod my head and settle myself, knowing that no matter what tonight holds, I’ll be okay.
“Let’s do this,” I say.
Jackson is all over Emily as soon as we leave the bedroom, and I can’t blame him. Emily looks smoking hot in her figure-hugging purple dress. And as much as I tease them about how sickeningly in love they are, I’m ecstatic for them. I love how Jackson is unashamedly obsessed with Emily and how her confidence has soared since they got together. It’s so freaking cute. Even more so since they marked each other a few days ago.
That’s what I want. What I’ve always wanted.
“Ugh, get a room,” I tease, even though I know from making Emily tell me all about their sex life that they don’t need any suggestions in that department.
“Don’t give him ideas!” She laughs as Jackson growls in frustration. They share a mindlink, and Jackson’s posture takes on a serious edge instantly. Weird.
“You get that there are no guarantees of meeting your mate tonight, right?” Jackson asks, his tone free of any teasing.
“You’re only saying that because you’re not emotionally prepared to see your pseudo-little sister getting hot and heavy with her shiny new mate,” I say and wink at him, which elicits a groan from Jackson and a laugh from Emily.
We walk together over to the home I share with Ryan, Emily holding one of my hands while Jackson’s arm is slung over her shoulder. I inhale every few moments to see if I can detect my mate’s scent, but nothing is drawing me to them yet. I'm sure they aren't here as we enter the house.
My wolf urges me to leave immediately. To search them out. To hunt until I find them. But I push her down. My mate might not be here, but everyone else is, by the looks of things. Most of the unmated pack members are here, as well as several ranked wolves from other packs. Even Caleb took a night off from the search to join us.
“Hi Emily. Happy birthday, Sofia,” he says while giving me a warm hug. His eyes are tired, and his smile doesn’t reach them. Between staking out the locations Emily gave us and dealing withbeing alpha of a half-deserted pack, he’s had his work cut out for him. It’s obviously taking its toll on the strong male before me.
“Hey, Caleb. I didn’t think you would make it. How is the search going?”
“Yeah, we’ve had some developments.” He glances around before giving me a look that says he doesn’t want to talk about it here. He gives me another quick hug, but his muscles remain tight and bunched. “My brothers insisted I take a night off.”
Ryan is next to come over, wishing me a happy birthday and giving me a hug. “Pick up any scents yet?” he asks, and I shake my head. Whoever they are, my mate isn’t here.
I spend some time chatting with friends, laughing at Mike and Simon, two close friends, when they share their disappointment at not being my mate. Several visiting ranked males approach me, offering their services as a chosen mate or even a placeholder until I find my mate, which my wolf has no interest in.
Unlike humans, wolves don’t typically have relationships until they meet their mate. It only gets messy. Sometimes people will date and turn out to be mates when the younger turns twenty-one and everything works out. Other times, such as with my parents, it’s a disaster. My parents were chosen mates, and usually when you take a chosen mate, you won’t recognize your fated one. But that’s not what happened with them. Mom met her fated mate and rejected Dad to go be with him.
Destroying our family and turning my once proud father into a shell of the alpha he once was in the process.
So, when I’m asked to take a chosen mate on the first night I could potentially meet my mate, it rubs me up the wrong way.Give a girl a chance, please.
“I think you might be off the hook for tonight,” Emily whispers while glancing at the clock a couple of hours after we arrived. I grin at her, feeling like after a night with so many offers from males I have no interest in, that I’m glad my mate is not one of them. I let myself relax, ready to dance with my friends and let go of the thoughts of meeting my fated mate.
I inhale one last time, more out of habit than anything—but then I catch his scent. Familiar and yet unlike anything I’ve ever smelled before, a heady mixture of amber and sandalwood. My wolf surges forward and my mouth waters, but my blood runs cold. Because my mate is the last person I could ever imagine being with.
The world narrows to the space between us as he stares at me from across the room. Luca’s eyes bore into me while the rest of his face remains completely neutral. As if this isn’t a big deal at all.
Chapter Eight
