The Unforeseen

Chapter 1

*** One year later***

As I sit on the floor of my room looking at the two dresses spread out in front of me, I begin to think about the past that has lead up to this day. I think about all of the laughs and tears that we have been through.

My mind wonders back to the night that I last laid eyes on my, for lack of better words, assigned mate. I remember the hurt that flashed through his eyes as I did nothing but watch as the guards took him away. I will never forget the pain I felt when the mate bond was broken because of the actions I did. It was a similar feeling I imagine when your heart is being ripped from your chest and stabbed repeatedly while you can do nothing to stop it, just watch as it happens.

For a slight moment, as Colton walked away, I could feel the pain that he felt. It was just a moment before the bond was ripped away, but I know what I felt, I know I wasn't imagining it.

I can't help but wonder how life would have been like if I followed Colton that night. Would we have somehow made life work for us? I would like to think yes, that we would have worked things out and I would have forgiven him for his action that had led up to me getting taken. Honestly, I don't think I would have known what to do with my life if I would have followed him. I have been training all my life to take over the pack but if I had gone with him I wouldn't know where to begin looking for a job. I've been preparing to care for a whole pack and going to just caring for myself and one other person would have been a huge adjustment.

I know that if I would have left, my father would have kept the Alpha title for much longer than he had planned. He would have had to train Oliver on the roles that would be different from Beta to Alpha. I know that Oliver would have been perfect for that role but as selfish as it sounds, I don't want to give up my position.

"Mia, honey, I'm home," I hear from downstairs.

That brings me back to reality and thinking about the choice I did make and how happy I am that I made it.

Since I chose to let Colton leave, my pack slowly went back to normal, as things were before he came. I resumed training to take over as Alpha and the rest of the pack began warming up more to the idea of me leading.

About two months after he left I thought it was time to fully move on with my life and I went to Oliver to talk to him about the plan that we had in place before things got crazy. After a long talk, we agreed that we were going to take things slow and see where it goes. The end goal was to become mates, unless Oliver found his mate, and lead the pack alongside each other. We didn't want to force things like we had originally planned this time. Instead, we were going to do the normal couple thing and go on some dates and see if we really would be a good fit romantically.

Luckily, things went wonderfully. After the first date I knew that if I could choose anyone to be my partner to love and help lead my pack, I wanted it to be Oliver.

However, the thought was always in the back of my mind that one day he may meet his true mate. I know that I would let him go no matter where we were in our relationship if he met her. I knew the feeling of wanting to be with your mate but not being able to.

One night while I walked back to my room from grabbing a drink I heard a yelp from Oliver's room. I remember knocking once and opening the door just a crack to ask Oliver if he was okay. When he told me to come in I found him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands and tears streaming down his face. That night he told me that he felt the pain of his mate, wherever she happened to be, as she died. We had talked for hours about life that night. The next morning, we spent hours looking up deaths of young girls. We were able to narrow his mate down to 3 possible girls, one died from an unknown illness, one from a boating accident, and the other was found murdered. Oliver had no way of knowing who his mate was, so he sent flowers to each girl's family. Oliver slowly got better but I know he still feels the loss deeply.

I am brought from my thoughts once more when I hear footsteps coming up the stairs,

"What's going on here?" Oliver asks upon seeing the dresses laid out in front of me in the middle of our bedroom.

I smile up at my soon to be mate, "I'm just trying to decide on which dress I should wear tomorrow at the mate binding ceremony."

He looks from each red dress to me before pointing his finger to the dress on the right. The dress that he chooses falls to the ground and has a slightly full skirt. Not a full princess skirt but not a straight down. It is off the shoulders and fits me perfect.

Oliver then holds his hand out for me to take. I place my hand in his, he pulls me up off the bedroom floor and holds me close to his chest.

"Can you believe that after tomorrow we'll be mates?" I whisper into his chest.

He tightens his grip on me and kisses the top of my head, "Then you'll be stuck with me".

Laughing he loosens his grip on me and smiles down. "Tomorrow is going to be crazy so why don't we have some fun tonight." Winking he falls back onto the bed and pulls me down on top of him.

I'm done living in the past and for tonight I am not going to worry about the future. Whatever happens tomorrow is out of our hands at this point. At least for tonight, it's just me and Oliver.

I smile down at him as I grab his face between my hands and kiss him.