***Archer Amarok***
Archer's P.O.V
It's been four years to the dot since we were shunned from our pack by our very own father. All because my brother and I wouldn't put aside our beliefs to do as he wished.
He was getting older, and since we were little my brother and I had been training to take over the pack. It was our purpose, the reason that we were born, at least in my father's eyes.
When it hit our eighteenth birthday the both of us were expected to take on the Alpha title. It was unheard of to have two Alpha's as in our pack's history there had never been a set of twins born out of the Lupin bloodline.
Traditionally it was the eldest member of the pack that became Alpha whether that be male or female, unless the current Alpha decided that they weren't fit for the job.
When it came down to it, it was my father's choice to choose who was to be his successor, the two of us were only born a minute apart. He chose me. There was only one problem, by pack law an Alpha could only take on his title if he had a Luna to rule alongside him.
My father had never been a patient man. "It could take years before you find your mate. That's to say if you even find her at all. So just do what I did." He told me.
I couldn't believe he would even suggest such a thing. He knew how important it was for me to find my mate. I made that clear at a young age when my grandfather began telling me stories of Tokoda and Aiyana.
I would never do what my father had done and settle down with anyone other than who the Moon Goddess had chosen for me. For me it wasn't even an option.
My mother was an amazing woman. She was kind where my father was not. She cared about the two of us deeply as a mother should care for her sons, while my father just saw us as an investment, someone to take over his title when his time as Alpha came to an end. He didn't care about us as he never did. He only cared about his image and what we could provide him.
Like many before us we had a human mother who was previously oblivious to the world in which we came from. They never talked about it much, but somehow she had come to love my father. I knew by the way that she acted around him, the way she looked up to him, she loved him with all that she had. She even left the life that she had before just to be with him, to start a family with him.
I also knew by the many years of being around them that he did not feel the same. I'm sure there was a part of him that cared for my mother, at least to an extent. He never harmed her physically, but he never put in the effort of making her feel loved.
All of us secretly knew that it was because he never truly loved her at all. I'm sure his lack of engagement was due to the fact that despite everything my mother had done for him, everything she had given him, it didn't change the fact that she wasn't his true mate. Despite her warm, comforting presence, he still didn't feel whole.
My mother deserved so much more than what she was ever given. Sure, she had become Luna to a powerful race of beings, but at what cost? It broke my heart to see her slowly become a shell of the woman that she once was.
I would never follow in my father's footsteps. I would never treat anyone the way that my father treated my mother. I would find my mate one day. I would wait for her, for however long it took. And when I did find her I would put her on a pedestal. I would protect her with my life, and cherish her with my entire being. No matter what.
I forfeited the title, leading my father to give me an ultimatum. I would be given the chance to stay and become beta as my brother Ace ruled as Alpha or I would be banished from the pack.
How surprised they were when my brother refused as well. He had always been the more straight laced of us too, the level headed one. More times than not he would follow my father's orders unequivocally. But he had a conscience, and when it came down to this he agreed. Neither of us would be taking the Alpha title without finding our mates.
My father was furious. We, his only sons and heirs embarrassed him in front of the pack. We had brought shame to our family by refusing such an honor. At least that is how my father saw it. I believe deeply that if our ancestors knew just what he was trying to do that they would be rolling in their graves.
My father was trying to abandon all that once stood important. All of the values we once had in the past would be washed out entirely under his rule.
My grandfather, if he were alive, would have had none of it. I suppose that's why he waited until his passing before forcing such arbitrary things on his sons.
My mother tried to reason with him, to plead our cases, but it only made the situation worse. It was bad enough that his sons disrespected him, he wouldn't be having his Luna embarrass him too. Maybe if she was his true mate she would have been able to change his mind, but she wasn't.
Realizing that his decision would not waver she turned to us, pleading that at least one of us would agree to take on the role, to surrender to my father's wishes.
I knew that she understood where we were coming from, even though she was not born a werewolf she understood how important it was to us to find the one that's fate was intertwined with ours. I knew that she would secretly listen to my grandfather's stories from afar, no matter how much it pained her to hear.
Even though she understood, her words were insignificant compared to my father's. She never got the last word in, not even when it came to her own sons.
We were all that she had left in this world. By the pleading in her voice to the tears that bubbled in her eyes I knew that she was terrified of losing us.
Still, we stood our ground, as did our father. The last thing that we wanted to do was leave our pack and abandon our mother. But we refused to mate with anyone that wasn't our true soulmate.
My father held true to his promise, and without much thought or effort forbade us from ever entering the grounds again. From that moment on we were no longer part of the pack, part of the family. We were dead to him. Just like that all we had ever trained for, all we had ever done was thrown out in the dust.
Maybe it was better this way though. At least now we wouldn't be forced to do something that went against every fiber of our being. At the very least we had each other. Even if we were to be rogues for the remainder of our existence. In the end it would be worth it. I just knew it.
Every night since then, though I wandered far into the night, conversing with the moon. I begged the Moon Goddess to give me a sign, any indication to when or where I would find my mate. Every night I was left without an answer, but every once in a while I swear she would give me subtle signs of reassurance.
Maybe it was a hallucination after waiting so long with no avail, or maybe it was a sign from the Goddess. One night while I lay in my wolf form deep in thought underneath the light of the moon I could have sworn I had seen a bright beam of light shine down onto the water. I didn't know what it meant, I didn't even really know if it was real or not.
For days I lay awake at our cabin thinking back to what I had thought I'd seen, trying to decipher the possible meaning. The following nights I would return to that very spot, waiting until the sun rose to see if the light would appear again. It never did.
On the fifth night my brother Ace finally asked me what was going on. We were twins, and for as long as I could remember we would tell each other everything, no matter how big or small. We knew each other better than we knew ourselves.
I told him about what I had thought I'd seen. He too wasn't quite sure if it had been real or not. It had been years since the Goddess had been in contact with any of our kind. But it was a possibility, and that was enough to leave hope in my spirit.
"Have faith." Ace would remind me every time he caught me praying. Always for the same thing. I repeated the sentiment daily, but it grew increasingly more difficult when we had gone so long without any sign of change coming our way.
At times I found myself questioning whether or not we had made the right decision.
We had everything back home in Missisquoi Valley. A pack, a title, wealth, anything we wanted we could have had. But none of that mattered. The only thing that either of us really wanted was a mate.
The love, affection, and companionship we had back home was fake, a facade put on by others because of our title. For a time we took advantage of it, we reveled in it, especially me. But I woke up, and we grew up. We needed something we've never had before, something real.
"Wanna go for a run?" Ace asked, pulling me out of my train of thought. I looked around the room, in the house that Ace and I had built together.
Before I had come in here everything had been in order, the gym equipment neatly placed, the walls in perfect condition. Now, everything was thrown about, the punching bag thrown across the room, a giant hole gaping in the center, the barbell bent, part of it deep inside the wall.
I was finding it harder to control myself, my anger was coming completely unhinged, even when I focused on taming it. We were only twenty two and I was questioning everything I had ever done. Had I permanently messed up our lives? Had I held onto hope for nothing?
Even though my brother was better at controlling himself I knew that he was questioning it too. Being twins our minds were linked. We could tap into each other's thoughts and emotions if we focused on them for long enough. But I didn't need a special mind link to know what he was feeling. My eyes shifted to the set of barbells that he too had bent and broken in the corner of the room, peaking out of the half open closet.
"Let's go." I said, pushing past him, leaving the broken objects behind, but the emotion traveled.
Nothing was said as we climbed the stairs, exiting our home beneath the ground. Before either of us got so much as a foot away from the hidden door we shifted into our lupin forms in one quick snap of bones and muscle, kicking off hard toward the same route that we usually took when we went out for a run.
Each of us challenging the other, urging each other to go faster, to push harder. We did this every time we both needed to blow off some steam, and the pattern seemed to become more frequent in recent days.
The both of us traveled high and low throughout the years, throughout the state, country, and even into some other parts of the world too. Each time we would return to the cabin, only in the company of each other, a little more defeated than when we left.
"We'll find our mates at the right place, and at the right time." Ace would tell me after each escapade. I agreed with him, but I couldn't help the ache.
My brother had always been more reserved than I was. From the start he had always been better at concealing his emotions, but I knew him well enough to notice. Every now and then when his guard would slip I peeked into his mind, coming across the same anguish that I felt. I wasn't the only one here who was suffering.
As we ran I thought about getting back on the road again. Where should we go next? There were so many places we hadn't gone.
All thoughts of travel blew out of my mind when my senses grasped onto the most amazing scent that I had ever come across. An overwhelming abundance of flowers; lilies, orchids, honeysuckle and roses, with a hint of morning dew. The delicate but powerful scent allured my very being. It drew me in like a hypnotizing spell. My heart raced in wonder and excitement.
Momentarily, I looked to my brother, his wolfish eyes mirroring my own. Just by the look in his eyes I knew that he too sensed the same blessing.
"Mate." The word was echoed simultaneously through the mind link, before we both bolted, running after the sweet, enticing fragrant.
We kicked off on our hind legs, the both of us running blindly through the forest, our mind link stronger than ever. The only thought was getting to our mate. I ran faster than I had ever ran in my entire life.
In a moment's notice I was there on the edge of the forest, by a nearby bank. My occupied mind hadn't registered the large mountain lion that's hindquarters were now facing me.
It didn't take long for me to pick up on a frantically pounding heartbeat, the owner of which was blocked by the frame of the large cat.I wasted no time making my way over to the beast, but it was too late. I only caught a glimpse of her small form for a fraction of a second before she was falling from the edge of the cliff, her fiery red hair draping around her as she went.
My eyes stayed locked onto her, my body quickly reacting to move toward her. The distraction earned a harsh bite from the cat that had now turned itself on me. I snarled as its teeth sank into the black coat of my wolf, biting down beneath my skin. I managed to shake the animal off, but in an instant he pounced back, latching itself onto me.
Still, my attention only snapped back to the creature when I saw my brother, now in his human form diving after her.
I was frantic, terrified for the safety of my mate, but it was obvious that she was his mate too. I knew that Ace would do anything in his power to make sure that she was safe. I knew that he would take care of her.
"Got her." Ace's voice sounded through the mind link, easing my worries as I wrestled with the feisty catamount.
It was like the conformation gave me back my strength. My mind now solely set on the animal, how it had almost hurt my mate. I saw red as I looked into its yellow eyes. Getting back up on all fours, the hair on my back stood as I bared my teeth, the cat directly in my cross hairs.
It seemed to sense the change, instead of pouncing once again it was slowly backing up, ready to retreat. I wouldn't allow it.
If we had been there a moment later it would have attacked our mate. Centered by that thought I lunged at the beast, aiming for its neck with my claws. I hit my mark on the first blow, pinning the cat down on the ground, my teeth quickly sinking into its flesh before instantaneously ripping a large chunk out of its neck. It went limp at my feet, its blood falling from my mouth, pouring out of its open wound.
Without a second thought I ran down the cliff side, towards the two forms by the water. I only shifted just before coming into view, hastily, wiping the blood from my mouth.
My heart sank as I saw the sight before me, my legs heavy as I drew closer to the motionless form sprawled out in front of my kneeling brother.
My mate's long reddish hair was strewn on the ground around her. Her porcelain skin was covered only by the thin, discolored dress that clung to her small frame. Many scrapes and bruises littered her tiny body. I never knew that something could simultaneously look so beautiful yet so heartbreaking.
Ace had already started chest compressions before I had come into view, desperately trying to expel the water from her lungs without harming her fragile form.
I wanted more than anything to come closer, and help, but I was frozen. I could hear the soft rhythm of her heartbeat fading. Terror and anguish swept over me as I stared helplessly at the scene unfolding before me.
The chest compressions went on for far too long, she still hadn't moved or made a sound. The water must have gone to her lungs by now and if it wasn't out soon...
"Please Goddess. Please don't take her away from me." I fell to my knees. Not a sliver of the moon was in the sky, but I prayed that the Goddess was watching. I had been waiting to find my mate for so long, for her just to be taken from me... I wouldn't survive it.
Just when all hope was lost a loud gasp broke through the air, followed by the sound of purging water flowing out of her body.
In a flash I was there next to her, steadying her head as she expelled the unwanted liquid. Holding back her hair as I soothed her I felt an entirely new sensation sparking against my skin. It was as if an electric current ran between the two of us. I pushed past it, my concern for her my main priority.
Ace let out a breath of relief, his eyes closing momentarily as he silently thanked the Goddess.
My gaze fell back on our mate, her eyes remained shut, but her breathing and heartbeat returned to a steady pace.
"She'll be okay." He said aloud. I nodded in acknowledgement, but my worries weren't yet put to rest. She was so thin and frail. Her garments tattered and torn. Her angelic skin was littered with markings that you could only get from being in the wilderness for an extended amount of time. Twigs and leaves were tangled in her long red hair.
Even in this fragile state she was beautiful. She reminded me of the forest nymphs my mother used to read to me about in bedtime stories when I was young.
I didn't know anything about her. I didn't even know her name, yet I knew right then that no matter what I would lay down my life for her. She was what I had been searching for all of these years. My gift from the Moon Goddess. My soulmate.