HIS ASSIGNED MATE
Chapter 1: The Farewell
My brother, Jeffery, was hauling my two big suitcases down the wooden stairs, the sound resonating off the walls of our silent house.
I looked towards my mother and father sitting around the dining table holding each other's hands as they stared at me glumly.
Rebecca, Jeff's mate and wife, stared at me with a forced smile, some wet hair sticking against her forehead while the rest was in a long braid because of the recent shower she had taken. She was touching her pregnant belly as Jeff rolled the two suitcases toward the front door, his eyes keenly focused on his task rather than me whom he was supposed to be bidding farewell soon.
"I'm not dying," I finally broke the silence with a loud stomp of my black shoes that I wore under dark tights and a long white dress reaching my knees. I clenched onto the cascading length of the dress sitting on my thighs and turned to look at my mother and father with a smile. "At the moment I'm momentarily questioning if I am your daughter. This is the Beta's house; you have more chances of seeing me than Omegas who will be gone without any knowledge of whether they will be meeting their family. Look at the positive, please!"
My mother smiled softly and stood up while my father continued resting in his seat, his eyes reddening as he continued staring at one spot on the table. Walking over to me, my mother engulfed me in a tight hug and caressed my back with the palm of her right hand. "Even though you are my only daughter..." she pulled away to stare into my eyes sincerely, her light brown hair looking messier than before while her green eyes shined brightly, "...you are the bravest girl in this pack! I know you will get through anything, so don't be afraid. There are no fated mates since the Moon Goddess changed the course; it will be hard to keep control over your mate, but it is not impossible!"
"Yeah, and believe it or not..." Rebecca came over to my mother's side, her thin brows furrowed together, "Even though there will be no sparks flying and the magnetic feeling as our ancestors used to have, the blood bond that will be made in the ceremony does initiate something that will make the bond with your mate unbreakable. Right, Jeffery?" She looked at my brother.
I cringed at the thought of the blood bond process that I would have to take part in at the ceremony. Shaking my head at my thoughts, I looked at Jeff who was resting on the couch with his knees apart, his eyes watching me like a hawk.
"There is another thing that can be done to make sure your mate stays in line," Jeff started, and I raised a brow at him, "don't keep secrets from me," he continued, making me purse my lips, "If he ever even threatens to hurt you, I will shred him into pieces without a care of his status," the way he finished convinced me that he was not joking around.
Smiling slowly, I nodded my head. "Noted! Thanks, Jeff!"
He looked away, unable to meet my eyes.
I was about to say something else when suddenly there were flashing lights that could be seen from outside our long window. Like my family, numerous houses down the line also had their lights bright and window curtains pulled back to the side, awaiting those dreadful flashes of light that would signal our time for farewell was coming to an end.
While families who served the Alpha directly, such as ours, had the benefit of coming to the wedding reception, there were families of omegas that were not allowed to be a part of the wedding. I feel relieved for myself but at the same time saddened by the events everybody would have to face. It is unfair to the omegas to be treated like they have no feelings or family merely because of their status which they did not choose to have in the first place, that's why I hope I get an opportunity to speak with someone in authority of the ceremony to reconsider the rules they have made.
Also, is assigning mates that important? Why can't we just let the universe do its course? However, that's where faith in the Moon Goddess, who hasn't made a single appearance since she initiated the extinction of fated mates comes into play because by this it is implied that mates be assigned so werewolves of all statuses are provided their mates in timing like how mates were fated in the before time. It is to keep steady the status quo of the werewolf communities.
Swallowing down bile, I licked my lips and ran a hand through my long brown hair, my eyes sweeping the room for the last time while refraining from tearing up. That's when my father's loud and fast footsteps finally thundered the room, and I watched him go around my mother who was still holding my hands. I was forced to leave my mother's hands when my father engulfed me in a tight hug, making me a little surprised but then I sunk into his embrace and placed my head against his chest.
"As Jeff said," Father whispered against my ear as he brushed my hair with his large hands, "No matter who you end up with, whether he be an alpha, beta, or just a pack member, you will always be my little girl, and so I won't hesitate to fight against the whole pack if I have to if he were to harm a single hair on your head," he then pulled away to hold my head in his hands. His eyes looked deep into mine, "So don't keep any secrets," he finished and asked for confirmation through his bloodshot eyes.
I nodded my head with a frown, but inside I felt completely rest assured that my family had my back.
Jeff broke through our hug and grabbed my hands, I stared up at him expectantly to assure me of his protection, but what he said made me confused, "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.
Rebecca furrowed her brows in confusion at her mate's words, and I met her glance to ask her through my eyes 'what is up with him?' She just shrugged her shoulders and smiled.
"Jazz," Jeff used my nickname to divert my attention back on his face, his chestnut eyes looking a little sympathetic, "I'm apologizing for giving you a hard time while training to be a Beta, as an heir to the position, I'm trying to practice authority and I know I unleashed some of my wrath on you time to time. So, if I hurt you in any way, I'm sorry!"
I rolled my eyes, "Hey!" I finally exclaimed, "I'm just getting assigned a mate. So what if I have to move far away and live with strangers for the rest of my life? I will be coming back to annoy the hell out of you and Rebecca! You all are looking at me and speaking to me as if I've gotten a death sentence, sheesh!" I chuckled, making everybody force a laugh.
The irony of my words and how I felt at that moment is astounding because I did believe the latter. I believe this is like a death sentence. Without the actual mate bond to compel the male and female werewolves to be tied to each other with an extraordinary force, it would be easy for dishonesty and tragedy to befall all couples since the relationship of this generation is no different than that of a human's now. It would be easily breakable.
I was about to say something else when there was a loud knock on the door. Pursing my lips together, I gulped and watched as Jeff walked over to the door and opened it to reveal a tall man with a black headband strapped around his head, his eyes looking dark and domineering as he said, "The Moon Goddess team is here to take Jasmine Haze for the mating ceremony," as loud as his voice was, that's how deep it was too.
Looking around at my family, I almost let my real solemn feelings show, but I quickly covered it up and hugged them all again. For a moment, we all huddled in the center of the dimly lit living room, just cherishing the little time we had together before I left.
Finally, we pulled away and I walked out onto the porch. I noticed the same man who had come to take me had hauled my two suitcases with my names printed on the back, onto a big truck with all the other suitcases.
Long black limos were lined down the street, and I couldn't see the end of their line. All the limos had imprints of the moon, and the logos were glowing yellow in the night.
The man escorting me waited beside a limo at the end of my driveway, he held a door wide open while his eyes scrutinized me. I could see many guys and girls my age, whom I was familiar with, sitting inside already. I walked over to the driveway and stopped in the middle to look back at my whole family standing on the porch steps, waving goodbye.
Smiling warmly last time at them, I turned back around and began walking towards the limo, my smile fading as quickly as it had appeared on my face. Frowning, I got inside the limo and sat down on a vacant seat beside a girl whom I knew from school as my lab partner, her name was Natalie.
"Hey, Natalie," I greeted her with a nod, and she looked up from where she was staring at the space under her shoes. Her blond straight hair was quite messy, the mascara she must have had on was smeared over her cheeks, and her blue eyes I remembered as always shining bright were missing their hue altogether. I didn't know whether to sympathize with myself or her. "Are you okay?" I asked while biting my lip when the door smacked shut.
"How can I be, okay? My parents were sobbing when I was dragged from my house a few blocks away," she squared her jaw as she continued scratching the side of her thumb with her index fingernail.
"Wait, they dragged you out of your home?" I asked in bewilderment.
"Yeah, because I was taking too long talking to my family," she forced a chuckle, "That's the life of an omega. I never really cared how lowly we are treated, but at least today they should have spared us!"
"I'm sorry that happened to you" that's all I could mutter. Despite being the Beta's daughter in my pack, I don't have the authority to make decisions or state my opinion, so whatever I feel about the situation with the omegas, I can only sit and watch. Maybe one day I will get a chance.
Through the window opposite of mine, I could see a limo pass ours with windows down. An arm was outstretched from the window, showing a tattoo of a moon covered in blood. The Red Shade Pack.
"Those are the alphas," someone among us said.
I looked away from the window and glanced down at my twitching fingers.
**
Once the endless road ended, the limo took a right turn in the direction of a clearing in the forest. It was then that my hands began to sweat, making me rub my hands against the hem of my dress. My heart was beating hard against my ribcage as I followed everyone out of the limo as indicated by our escort.
Following my group further into the trees, we all came upon a circle in which a long stage was situated in the middle circumference, the designation of the stage divided people into two groups on either side. I noticed numerous male and female werewolves radiated great power and dominance situated on the opposite side of where I began taking my seat in the middle row. They were the Alphas, and because there was no light over our heads except for it blaring on the stage, I couldn't see any faces on the opposite end. If I were in my wolf form, I would be able to see.
Natalie sat down beside me nervously, but I did not know how to assure her since I was in the same state.
I hate surprises, and to be forced to sit through a gathering in which my fate with an unknown man would be decided gave me chills.
After everyone settled, the host came upon the stage with a grin much to my annoyance. "Hello, how are you all this fine evening? My name is Mike, and I will be your host tonight for this... event!" Mike adjusted the cuffs of his black blazer as he tapped his leather shoe against the wooden stage. "Without wasting any time, we'll get started with calling the names. The Alphas don't like waiting," Mike turned around to look at the other side of the stage from where there was no noise, not even a small cough.
From my seat, I could see Nicole Sanders sitting in the front row with her right knee over her left, her red heels moving from time to time as she smiled with anticipation. Her straight jet-black hair made her look sinister, and it's not just her looks that makes me give her that title. Many girls told me she has attempted in any way possible to end up with Liam Reign in the Red Shade Pack.
The host played around with the box that read "Alpha," and then he looked around at the box full of other pack members. Mates will be assigned to Alphas and Betas, and random pack members who are either omegas or children of Alphas and Betas will be assigned first to those categories before other pack members of equal status are assigned together.
There is a rumor that Nicole and Alpha Liam have been in a relationship, and that's the reason why Nicole has tried her best to be mated with him, but rumors may just be rumors, because who would want to be with Alpha Liam?
As if on cue, the host spoke, "Liam Reign's assigned mate is..." and then Mike began struggling to unfold the other paper with the mate's name.
I was anticipating the girl's face who would be assigned to Liam Reign. That poor, poor girl. Murmurs were already being erupted through the crowd as to how he was Alpha of the Red Shade Pack, and how he was also the most ruthless, relentless, and powerful leader from amongst the other packs spread far and wide across cities.
Some even say that he and his wolf have a raw sexual drive and that he needs a girl in his bed every other night to satisfy himself, but those girls whom he would spend time with would never be seen again. Strange.
"...Jasmine Haze!" The host finished, and I began looking around only to see everyone's face turn in my direction with eyes wide open. That's when everything hit me like lightning. That's my name!
** >< **
Miss_Independant647
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