I ran to the pack house to find my sister. I had blinked back a threshold of tears twice on the way there. I was breathing heavily and probably looked flustered as I opened the door to the large bi-level house. Laughter from upstairs caught my attention. I made my way up making sure to appear calm and collected. I took a deep breath to be sure I'd composed myself.
"I can't believe he didn't put up more of a fight!" A voice belonging to Cole, a very headstrong guy, was the first I could make out when I entered.
"Ah, Aylin! Hi!" I looked over to see Julie waving excitedly. I smiled at her feeling better already. She was my father's Beta, and the mate to Will who must be out patrolling with the other wolves that weren't currently in the room. She had that motherly calming effect. Her brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail with one long gray strand that she liked to brag about. She was beautiful and I was envious of Cole for having a mother like her. Cole had short buzzed brown hair and tight features that made him look like he was constantly smelling a rancid odor. He wasn't ugly per se but he only hung out with the guys and kept to himself.
"Aylin, good morning!" I turned to see Ben holding Avery's hand tightly. I waved. There were only four other boys in the room including Cole. Paul, stood next to his son, Marcus, and another boy Jeremy. Jeremy was the golden boy. He was the older son of a woman named Rena. She was a step below Julie but had authority over the other pack members nonetheless. Jeremy had dirty blonde hair that was always a mess, dark blue eyes, and a smirk that made the human girls at school squeal. I rolled my eyes as he flashed a smile now. I made sure to acknowledge Marcus with a wave but I didn't expect much of a reaction. His hair was dark black like his father's who was the first to speak.
"How have you been?" Paul asked. I came and sat on the couch next to my sister. Paul was always respectable and nice. He was as old as my father and had been best friends with him since they were young. If only he knew how shaky my world was as of now.
"Pretty good." I lied which probably wasn't at all convincing. They could probably smell my anxiety. I turned to my sister who looked at me quizzically. When I made eye contact I tried my best to show her how upset I was with my gaze. She narrowed her eyes and then turned to whisper to Ben.
"We were just talking about how Cole had won against Kenny in a challenge," Jeremy said, turning to Cole, obviously not ready to move on from the details. Jeremy and Cole were best friends despite being in different grades. Cole was a sophomore so in my sister Avery's grade while Jeremy was a junior like me. I gave a half-hearted smile.
"I see," I said looking to Cole who continued his story with an eye roll from Julie. Thankfully, my sister stood up taking my hint that I needed to talk to her.
"I'll be right back." She told Ben who looked at her with so much admiration in his eyes it overturned a ball of jealousy lying dormant within my stomach. Is that what it's like to find your mate?
Avery and I headed out of the room quietly and made our way to the kitchen. I suddenly became aware of the gnawing hunger within my stomach that I had forgotten about after the talk with my father.
"It's awful, Avery," I said releasing my emotions like a broken dam as soon as I had plopped down at the counter.
Avery grabbed some bread from the cabinet and popped two pieces into the toaster before turning to me after I explained how my father lectured me about not finding my Bond.
"Then what did he say?" She wanted me to just rip off the bandaid. Her short blonde hair fell neatly below her chin and her blue eyes were clouded with worry. I sighed.
"He arranged a marriage for me. To Noah from the Red Pine Pack." I breathed waiting for her to jump on the pity party committee but instead she looked at me excitedly.
"A wedding to a rival alpha!? T-This is wonderful news!" Avery suddenly grabbed my hands excitedly. I snatched them back. Of course, she didn't understand.
"I don't even know him, Avery! I don't want to marry some random guy." I huffed. She rolled her eyes, grabbed the toast and spread on some butter, and put it in front of me.
"Don't be like that." She frowned. "You might find you love him or he could be your Bond!" I looked at her in disbelief. She was supposed to be on my side. It did cross my mind that I hadn't seen Noah since before I was fifteen but I doubted he was my Bond.
"That's not the point. He's deciding for me. I don't, I just, I want to make this decision by myself." I was frustrated with myself. The truth was I didn't know what I wanted.
"Then why didn't you? You could have started socializing at the festivals with us. Maybe you'd find your Bond then." She sighed. I looked down at the toast before me. "Aylin, this will be good for you. I promise you. Don't be selfish." I looked at her in disbelief.
"I am not being-" She walked out obviously not interested in listening to me. I left the toast there as I walked to the patio door angrily sliding it open.
After heading back home to my room, I waited out the rain by reading a book. I didn't answer my father's knocks on my door and I didn't feel like eating any lunch. I let out a huge sigh of relief when the rain finally had gone.
I exited my room making sure my father's scent was stale and he had left to do some pack business before I ran down towards the back patio door. With a jump, I shifted into wolf form and ran through the woods again not minding the way the damp grass and dirt clung to my paws. I ran till my haunches ached and I was panting heavily.
When I finally padded to a stop I sniffed the air to see where I had ended up. I was in the northwestern part of our territory.
I knew where I'd gone. I was almost disappointed the rain might've washed it away until the scent passed through my nose. The smell of coffee and sandalwood. I wagged my tail in excitement. Without thinking, I followed the scent once again thankfully being a little mindful to be as quiet as possible. A spark of rebellion made me slip under the fence without hesitation. I huffed in triumph then began following the scent. Before long I came to a stop where the tree line thinned to a small field overlooking the backyard of a small house. I never knew humans lived this close to our territory. It wasn't like patrols had to watch the human border closely.
Curiosity brought me closer to the yard as the scent was flooding my nostrils. It wasn't till I got closer that I noticed the boy sitting on the porch reading. The scent came from him?!