"Jazmin, don't let insecurities get in the way of true love!" her Dad frowns at her.
"Easy for you to say, I'm afraid that I'll get rejected." She says with a sad look on her face.
"Of course, it's easy for me to say things like that, You absolutely won't be rejected! I can guarantee it!" Her dad says.
"How can you possibly guarantee that from happening?" Jazmin says as she huffed at his words.
"Derek, can you please explain what I mean to your sister?" Her dad says as he runs his hand through his hair in frustration at Jazmin.
Her brother agrees with a nod, "What Dad is saying, you're Alpha blood. You won't be rejected, Jazmin." Derek says.
"Okay, thanks for ganging up on me on this topic. I get the message loud and clear." Jazmin says, rolling her eyes, being dramatic.
"We aren't ganging up on you Jazmin, we are simply helping you secure your future." Her mom says.
"Whatever, I'll play along with the plans, if that makes you guys happy," Jazmin says.
After dinner, Derek and Jazmin hide, behind the trees in the woods nearest the packhouse, removing their clothes to shift for an evening run around the pack lands. Jazmin's wolf is a powerhouse of a beast. Standing at 5'10 (177.8 cm), she is still smaller than Alphas but more prominent than your average wolf.
She is pure white with light blue eyes, and her wolf shares the same eye color. Her eyes came from her mom. Jazmin always admired her mom's beauty. She has such a graceful attitude, as her mom can be a force to be reckoned with at times. Jazmin hopes that she can be the Luna her pack needs her to be.
'Get to meet our mate soon!' Amara, her wolf, says, feeling delighted, wagging her tail.
'Why is everyone so excited about it?' she asked.
'It's a blessing to find your true mate, Jazmin.' Amara says.
She ponders on what she says. 'If it's such a blessing, why am I so worried about it?' Jazmin questioned her.
'It's natural to be afraid of things you don't know.' Amara says in a comforting tone.
'We'll see how things work out, won't we?' Jazmin added.
'Trust in the Moon Goddess. She knows what is best for us.' Amara says.
A peaceful feeling washes over me. Maybe she can be delighted with her mate. She needs to stop questioning the process. She wonders if she is just being anxious for no reason. Other than the fear of the unknown. Jazmin pulls herself out of her daze of thinking, before she accidentally runs into a tree or something of the sort.
Looking over at her brother's wolf, He's a rare color for Alpha blood. He's a beautiful 6'1 (185.42 cm), shimmering silver wolf. Silver is not your typical Alpha. Most Alphas are solid black, dark as an abyss. His eyes are the same silver as his coat. Overall striking to see that he takes your breath away the first time seeing him shift.
They run the backgrounds. Seeing pack patrol guards along the way as they run. After a while, they shift back to human form to rest. Put on stashed-away clothes that are available for all pack members. They stop at the pack's lake, it's a beautiful clear sky night. Perfect to do some star gazing. They lay on their backs looking up at the stars in silence.
"Are you ready to head back yet?" Derek asks with a softness.
"Sure, I'm fine with heading back," Jazmin says in a doubtful tone.
They shift into their wolves and head back, cutting through the streets. Before they reach home, Jazmin inhales, enjoying the feeling of freedom. Will she still feel this way once she has a mate? She is uncertain of what's to come tomorrow. Hopefully, all goes as planned, she plans not her parent's planning.
Have you ever felt like the world has fallen apart within a day? Jazmin sits pondering the outcome of having a mate. Will life get better or worse? Will she endure tragic events in the future because she found her true mate? These questions have been eating her alive for the past 24 hrs. When will she receive the clarity? Does she need to feel confident with the outcomes?
After a while, they reach the spot where they stashed their clothes. They both shift back to human form behind trees. They quickly get dressed.
"Earth to Jazmin!" Derek says, waving his hand in her face.
"Sorry. What were you saying?" Jazmin says, coming out of her deep thoughts.
"I said, do you want to watch a movie when we get home?" Derek says with an annoyed tone in his voice.
"Yeah, we can, do you want to invite friends?" Jazmin says, still not fully into the conversation.
Her brother grunts and rolls his eyes. "No, it's probably too late to invite friends. What is up with you today? You never act this way." he asks.
She gave him a soft glance, "Honestly, I've been a nervous mess." She can tell he knows why she's been this way.
"The true mate thing again, are you kidding me, Jazmin?" He looks disappointed.
"I know, Derek! But it's eating me alive with worry!" Jazmin has too many questions and no answers.
"Everyone is trying to make this seem like no big deal!" Jazmin says, she knows nothing about mates.
On the walk back, Jazmin continued thinking things over. Debating if there is something wrong with her. Mates aren't the same for everyone. There are always challenges with mates. Even the wise Alpha and Luna have problems that occur.
'Shut up, Jazmin. You're overthinking things still. Ugh, why can't you stop stressing over this?' Amara says.
Jazmin became annoyed with herself. Her wolf was being grumpy from listening to her thoughts. Looking to check what time it is, it's nearly midnight. We couldn't have been gone that long.
"What time was it when we left the house?" Jazmin asked.
He stopped walking and looked at her. "A little after 9 pm, why?" Derek says.
"No way, we've gone for a run for 3 hrs? Derek, it's almost midnight." Jazmin says.
He looked like a deer in headlights. "Damn it. We need to get back home. Our parents might be freaking out, wondering where we are." Derek says, as they run the rest of the way to the house and up to the back door.
"Hopefully, we aren't in trouble for being out too long." she nodded and chuckled, "After you, big brother." Jazmin says.
They were creeping into the house in hopes of without being caught. The place is dark and super quiet. Lights flip on out of nowhere.
"About time you guys returned," Dad says, standing there with his arms folded.
"We lost track of time. It's my fault." Derek says as he stands face to face with their father.
His face doesn't change from his angry Alpha face when he's displeased. "Hmm, is that so, Jazmin?" her father asks, looking at her.
"Yes, it's true. He wanted to take us for a night run to unwind." Jazmin said feeling guilty even though she had no reason to feel that way.
Receiving death stares of disappointment from our father, "You could both check-in with a mind link." we honestly could have. Hearts filled with shame, they go separate ways. Their dad heads back to bed. Jazmin and Derek sneak off to go to the movie room.
"What kind of movies do you want to watch?" Derek asks Jazmin.
"Good question. Comedy or action is fine, maybe romance movies." Jazmin says.
They stay up watching three different comedy movies. Each movie over an hour long. They enjoy good laughs together. After the 3rd movie was over, Derek checked the time. It was nearly 4 am and by that time they decided to head to their rooms. By the time she reached her room, she figured a hot shower would do her some good. Maybe take things off her mind instead of more stressing, she figured it was worth a try.
Jazmin turned the shower on, got undressed, and stood under the hot water to wash the feelings away. She wants to avoid making any more mistakes. Once fully relaxed, Jazmin washes up slowly, not in much of a hurry with her mind in such a mess. By the time she turns the water off, grabs her favorite towel to dry off, she checks to see it's almost 5am.
She walks into her room, over into her closest and opens a dresser drawer. She pulls out her light blue silk pajamas, and puts them on. Jazmin crawled into bed with a sigh. Stressing will only wear her out even more if she keeps up with the over thinking of things. After a while Jazmin finally relaxes enough and drifts off into a deep slumber, she dreams of a black wolf with crystal blue eyes, "MINE." the giant black wolf says with a growl.