AllFreeNovel
Share Us
"So, that's when you started liking him?"
"No, not then. At first, it was still all about duty. We were doing what was expected of us. After a while, though, I began to warm up to him. Then one day, I realized that I actually enjoyed his company. I found that I wanted to spend time with him.”
She rested her head on my shoulder, and I squeezed her hand again.
"Things changed from there. I started to really care for him. Suddenly, I loved him. And, eventually, I couldn't imagine my life without him. His strengths complemented my weaknesses, and my strengths supported his."
She shifts her gaze to me very slowly. "But that realization didn't come until almost a year after you were born."
“I always thought you liked him right away. That you were friends from the start."
She shakes her head, looking guilty. "Not exactly. I was young and inexperienced. I hadn't yet learned that love isn't a feeling that comes instantly. Love is something that grows over time. It doesn't happen overnight. It takes patience and commitment and caring and trust." She rests her other hand on my arm as she looks me in the eye. "But you have to be open to the possibility," she continues. "I was so set against your father at first, so determined to be miserable. It wasn't until I started to open up to him that I realized there was a spark between us after all."
"Sure...but Dad is awesome. What if he'd been an actual asshole?"
She furrows her brow at my language but doesn’t call me out on it. "I guess things would be different now. I'm not going to force you to stay with someone if they mistreat you. But I need you to have an open mind about this and really give him a chance."
"Why are you talking like you've already picked someone?" I frown as I slowly pull my arm away from her. "And why did you give me the necklace last night, even though I don't have anyone in mind?" Suspicion fills my chest, and my wolf stirs in concern.
"The elders made a decision a few days ago." My mother looks away and lets out a shaky breath. "You can't remain unmated. With how small our pack has become, your options have become unacceptably limited, so...they’ve submitted your name to the registry."
"Submitted my name!" My voice is sharp, brittle. "Why? There are plenty of other wolves who haven't mated yet. Why me?"
"You're the oldest unmated member of our pack right now. There's no one else. If we don't regularly submit a name to the registry, then we'll lose our protection," she explains. "You know what that means."
The registry is maintained by a committee of elders from the largest packs in the region. Unmated alphas and omegas can submit their names to be paired with a compatible mate from another pack. It was intended as a means to promote stronger ties between packs and ensure mutual cooperation.
Small packs like mine rely on the protection of larger packs to avoid hunters and stay ahead of any potential risks to our safety. But if your pack doesn't actively participate in the registry, then that protection goes away. Just one more reason why omegas like me are expected to mate and have babies as soon as possible.
I take a deep breath as reality sets in. There really is no more fighting it. I'm going to be mated to someone I've never met, from a pack I've never visited. As an omega, it’s up to me to leave my home and my family to travel to god only know where.
But I don't hate my parents. They’re in a bad situation, and they were forced to make a decision for the broader good. Really, I hate the situation and resent that this is the way things are.
Now I understand what my mother meant by "doing my duty." Agreeing to become the mate of some unknown alpha will ensure my pack's continued safety for a while longer.
I steel my resolve and lift my eyes to my mom. "Alright then, who is he?"
4
JORDAN
"You did what?" I can't believe what I'm hearing. My parents are both sitting on the sofa in the living room of their cabin. Neither of them will make eye contact with me.
Pacing across the living room in front of the unlit fireplace, I still can’t wrap my head around what they’ve just told me. My wolf is agitated, bristling beneath the surface. I mean, I expected my parents to bring up the whole "finding a mate" thing again and had prepared myself for it as much as possible.
But nothing could've prepared me for this.
"There are plenty of other unmated wolves in the pack." I stop short and level my gaze at them. "Any one of them could've been added to the registry instead of me. Why not one of them? You both know how busy I've been. You know I've got a lot on my plate with work right now. How the hell can I even think about a mate? Or pups?"
My father sits up straight and squares his shoulders as he looks at me. "You're destined to become one of the elders of this pack someday, Jordan. The others look to those in charge to provide stability and safety. An unmated heir is an uncertainty that no one wants to deal with."
"They don't care what I want!" Yelling is childish, and I hate that I’m losing my temper, but this is ridiculous. "I'm an adult. They can't just decide that I'm supposed to have a mate! What if I don't like him? What if he's a jerk? Do they even care about that? No. All they want is a babymaker for their pack."
I turn away from them and stalk toward the kitchen, only stopping when I reach the sink. Staring down into the cold water, I wish for it to cool my temper. Instead, anger is rising inside me, and I want to hit something.
Dammit, this can’t be happening.
"What good is it to pair me with someone I don't even know? Some stranger from a distant pack?" This doesn’t make any sense. "How is that going to help make this pack any safer? Why can’t we just wait until I’m ready to settle down?"
