I woke up to the smell of French toast drifting into my room and a smile spread across my face. It was my birthday and my mom was busy in the kitchen preparing my favorite breakfast. I slowly open my eyes and allow my eyes to adjust to the bright light filtering in through my window. Glancing at my alarm clock, I see that it's almost 6:30 in the morning and force myself to push the comfy blankets off me. I stumbled out of bed and into the bathroom to turn on the hot water and get ready for a shower.
Looking at myself in the mirror, I didn't look any different; my brown hair was still straight as a board and ended just below my shoulders, my blue eyes were still as blue as the ocean and my porcelain skin was still porcelain even though I did have marks on my face from where I slept on my hand. Steam started to fill the bathroom and fog up the mirror, blurring the reflection, so I peeled off my pajamas and eased under the hot water of my shower. The hot water felt amazing and relaxing as it cascaded over my skin and turned it a light shade of red. I quickly washed and conditioned my hair before washing the rest of my body so I could enjoy the heat from the shower for just a little bit longer. I didn't want to get out of the shower but I know I have to get ready for school and hopefully find my mate.
A wolf has the ability to find their mate once they turn 18 and this is my 18th birthday. Only a lucky few will be able to find their mates so quickly and for the ones that can't, a summit is held where all the packs from all over the world put their rivalries aside and meet so that the unmated have a chance to find their mates. The summit would last for up to a week in hopes that everyone would have a chance to find the one the Moon Goddess chose for them. A wolf will notice the scent of their mate first. It is supposed to draw you in and then the moment you make eye contact you will just know that the person looking back at you is yours.
I stepped out of the shower and turned off the water before reaching for a towel to dry myself off. Once I had dried off I stepped back into my bedroom to find my clothes and get dressed for the day. Even with it being my birthday, I didn't want to dress in any special sort of way, so I just grabbed a pair of form-fitting blue jeans and a black tank top. I got dressed, put on just a little bit of make up, and put on some black boots before leaving my room. The smell of French toast got stronger as I made my way to the kitchen.
"Good morning." I said to my mom as I walked past her to the refrigerator for a glass of juice.
"Good morning and happy birthday." She smiled as she looked at me.
"Breakfast smells amazing mom." I replied.
"That's because it's your favorite. I wanted you to have a special start to a special day." She said before putting more on a plate next to her.
"Thank you so much!" the exclamation came out louder than I had meant for it to when she handed me a plate full of French toast and a ham and cheese omelet.
I went into the dining room carrying my breakfast and sat down next to my dad. He already had a plate sitting in front of him and it looked like he hadn't touched anything on it at all. We didn't eat in our house until the last person sat down at the table and we could eat as a family, so my dad had a paper in front of his face reading. I checked my phone for any text messages or missed calls while we waited on my mom. I only had one text so far and it was from my best friend, only saying happy birthday. My mom came into the dining room with her own plate of food and sat down across from me on the other side of my dad and he finally put the paper down.
"Happy Birthday Amelia." He said as he laid the paper on the table.
"Thank you Dad." I responded before taking a big bite of my French toast.
"When you get home from school, we will have your present for you." He said between bites himself.
The rest of our breakfast was spent in silence as we were all too busy enjoying the food to focus on any kind of conversation. I ate pretty fast and waited for my parents to finish before gathering their plates along with mine and taking them to the sink to rinse them off. The doorbell rang while I was still in the kitchen and I heard hushed voices in the living room, so I decided to peek around the corner and see who had shown up. My best friend was standing in the middle of the living room with my parents whispering excitedly.
"Amelia! Happy Birthday!" Amber exclaimed excitedly as soon as she saw me trying to eavesdrop.
"Thank you so much! Are you ready to head out for school?" I couldn't wait to get her alone to ask what they had been discussing.
"Yes, let's get to school and see if we can find your mate." she laughed freely.
Amber waved quickly at my parents and grabbed my wrist before dragging me towards the door. I barely had enough to grab my bag on the way out from how fast she was pulling me. Amber didn't have a bag because she never did her own work, she always had one of the omegas in the pack to complete her work for her. The omegas were basically the slaves of the pack, they did all the work and never got the thanks they deserved in return.
"What were you whispering with my parents about?" I asked casually once we were on the sidewalk and walking towards school.
"Nothing important. Do you think you will find your mate today?" she swiftly changed the subject and flung her black hair over her shoulder.
"I can only hope I'm lucky enough to find him this soon." I replied listfully, her tactics had worked.
We walked the rest of the way to school in our own daydreams. I couldn't help but wonder what my mate would be like. I was hoping he wouldn't reject me and that he was sweet and caring. I didn't want to have to go to the summit to find my mate because it seemed so far away. I wanted to find my mate as soon as possible. Today was my birthday and finding my mate would be the best present I could have ever asked for. I almost didn't realize it when we made it to school and Amber grabbed her bag from the male omega that had most recently done her work for her. We walked into the building and headed to our lockers before going our separate ways to class.
Amber and I wouldn't see each other again until lunch. I went through the whole morning without finding my mate. By the time lunch time rolled around I had started to lose hope that my mate would be that easy to find. If I was lucky, he missed school today and would return tomorrow, but it was starting to feel highly unlikely that I would find him today. I walked up to the table Amber and I usually sat at and laid my head down, not even feeling like eating anything. I closed my eyes and tried to block out all the noise.
"You like terrible. That is not allowed on your birthday." Amber's voice came from beside me, causing me to open my eyes.
"I haven't found him." was the only response I could muster.
"Not everyone finds their mates on their birthdays, he is out there just be patient." she tried to soothe me.
I shrugged my shoulders and sat up a little bit. Amber had turned 18 about a month before me and she hadn't found her mate yet either, she was already making plans to go to the summit. We were polar opposites that way. Where I would prefer to stay at home and read a book, she would rather go to parties and get drunk. I didn't want to go and socialize at the summit if I could keep from it. From the looks of everything though, I would have no choice but to go to the summit to find my mate. Today could not get any worse for me at this point.
"I have to go to the library and find a book for one of my classes, I'll see you in class." I excused myself from the table and headed out of the cafeteria.
Once I walked into the library, I sat my bag down and walked over to the section of books on werewolf history and started to browse. Finding the book I was looking for, I went and sat at one of the tables in the corner to work on a paper. It was there that I smelled the most intoxicating scent I had ever smelt in my life, like rain and oak wood mixed together. My eyes shot up from the paper and immediately scanned the room. I couldn't see anyone from where I was so I jumped up and started walking towards the aisles of books searching frantically for the scent. I felt myself growing anxious and a need erupted in me to find the source of the smell and I would go crazy if I didn't.
Just as I was about to lose my mind, I bumped into somebody and the scent at this point was so strong that it was more than intoxicating. I closed my eyes and breathed in really deep, letting the feelings wash over my body and relishing the feeling of electricity running through my body. When I opened my eyes, I was looking directly into a pair of bright green eyes that reminded me of the sunlight filtering through a leafy canopy in the forest. I felt the instant tug at my heart, like a string pulling as hard as it could to get me as close as I could be as physically possible.
"Mate." the word jumped from my lips before I even realized it had left my lips.
"Mate." he said in a gruff voice at the exact same time.
I took in all the features of my mate. He had black hair and his skin was pale, but he was tall and very muscular, he was also our future Alpha. Cade had turned 18 almost a year before I had and wasn't even in school any more. It never occurred to me to ask him why he was there that day, because I was overjoyed I had actually found my mate. He was looking at me with just as much awe in his eyes as I was looking at him. I wasn't sure how long we stood there staring at each other because the next thing I knew, Amber had come to find me. Amber didn't really like Cade, she said he was arrogant and self-serving. She knew him better than I did because her father was the Alpha's Beta and that meant Amber was Cade's Beta, so the two had been thrown together a lot as pups while their dads were working together.
"What are you doing here?" Amber asked and didn't even bother to hide the disgust in her voice.
"That is none of your business!" he retorted.
"Whatever, just leave us alone." she rolled her eyes at him as she grabbed my wrist.
I'm not sure if it was her attitude or her grabbing my wrist that caused him to growl at her, but she quickly stopped and looked at him. His posture had changed and he seemed like he was ready to attack. She looked dumbfounded and backed away, still holding on to me. I saw her glance towards the door and then look at our hands and I knew she was calculating a quick escape, but the problem was that I didn't want to escape. He reached forward and grabbed my hand just as she started to pull me to the door. I felt like a rope in the middle of a tug of war game, but I was still shocked by the tingling sensation his touch sent through my whole body even as he pulled me back to him. She stopped when my hand slipped out of hers and turned around to look at me, only to realize he had me protectively by his side trying to push me behind him.
"Let her go." Amber tried to yell, but the fear in her eyes was visible.
"How about you leave her alone?" Cade all but cooed back at her.
"Don't you have somewhere better to be? Let me and my friend get back to class." she tried one more feeble attempt while still backing away towards the door.
"No, I am right where I am supposed to be, you can go to class without my mate trailing behind you." he fired back.
She looked at me over his shoulder but I was torn. Amber and I had been best friends since we were pups but this was my mate and I still hadn't recovered from the shock. I was all but basically frozen in place with a stupid look glued on my face. I knew he relished being the one to tell her that I was his mate because he knew she would hate it. Her jaw had dropped at the news as soon as she had the chance to process it and she looked back and forth between us. My mind finally started to work again but all I could manage was just to give her a little nod.
"Go back to class now and inform the teacher that your friend has left with me for the rest of the day. I'm sure you will see her later this evening when I decide to drop her back off at home." he sounded almost condescending.
At that moment she turned on her heels and stomped out of the library. I knew I was going to have to explain myself to her later. Cade turned back around to face me again and I'm not sure if it was because he was an Alpha or not, but I lowered my eyes immediately. He put his hand under my chin and again the little sparks danced across my skin where he touched me. He slowly lifted my face to look at him and when our eyes made contact I felt frozen in place again.
"Hello Little Wolf, I have waited a long time for you." he said, calling me a nickname he used for me the few times we were together as children.
"Hello..." I could barely get my voice above a whisper.
He chuckled and grabbed my hand before turning towards the door. I willingly walked by his side with our fingers intertwined. He took me out of the school after making sure he stopped by the office to let them know he was taking me and, because he is the son of the Alpha they had no objections and let us walk out freely.