CHAPTER 2
~RAULA'S POV~
A mate is not the person who makes you feel the happiest, but the one who makes you feel the most, the one who conducts your heart to bang the loudest, who can drag you giggling.
A mate is the one person whose very existence is powerful enough to motivate you to meet your soul, to do the emotional work of self-discovery, of awakening.
A mate is the only gift given to us by the gods to ease the suffering we face in this accursed world we call our home.
And a mate is a person everyone is destined to have except me.
Tonight is the mating ceremony. The one chance for everyone in the pack to find the one fated to them under the face of the full moon. Well, a chance for everyone except me. When I arrived at the fields to wait for the ceremony to start. I was taken into the woods and was stoned and beaten for even thinking of showing my face.
"How dare you show your face here?" They asked.
"How demented can you be to believe that you had a mate?" They asked.
"Someone as weak as you isn't even worthy of a companion, let alone a mate!" They said,
They left me there bruised and broken, expecting that I would run home with my tail in between my legs. And I almost did, believing them that me finding a mate was as forbidden as a fish and a bird having an affair.
But there is a charm about the forbidden that makes it unspeakably desirable
And that's why I'm here, climbing up the tallest tree in the groove with bruised fingers and a bleeding back just so I could get a taste of something everyone can have except me.
I know the consequences of not doing what I'm told. I know the consequences of wanting a hand when all you're given is a finger. I know the consequences of getting caught in the act of disobedience. But goddess forbid that I would miss my one chance to find my light in the darkness of the gloomy world.
Why I'm I the one who always has to suffer? Why I'm I the one who always has to be in pain? Why am I the one who shouldn't get a chance at happiness? Why I'm I the one who has to climb up a tree just so I could catch a glimpse of what was always meant to be mine?!
I didn't know I'd gotten to the top till the umpteenth splitter this night pierced through my skin and I groaned in pain before I sat on a branch and looked down at the pack members. I looked down at them as if a god would look down on his servants. I wish I could stare down at them like this for eternity.
Before my mind could head down the road of no return, Mingan Vuk, the beta of the pack and the one person who hadn't made my life a living hell walked to the center of the field. His vale-colored eyes scanned over the faces present before he spoke.
"Welcome, dear pack members. We are gathered here today in hopes of finding the one the moon goddess had blessed us with and just to show how special this night is the Alpha has taken it upon himself to partake in this ceremony, now please do enjoy yourselves before he arrives."
Gasps and murmurs were heard from the lips of everyone present but like a gentle wind the shock soon passed and all anyone could talk about was how their mate would look like. What would they smell like? And what would they taste like? And I couldn't help but think the same thing.
An hour had passed and the moon hadn't shown her beautiful face yet people had already begun to find their mates. Sparks and heavy scents of arousal filled the air as young wolves found the other half of their souls and completed their mate bond in the solidarity of the woods like the primal animals they were.
An hour had passed and I hadn't found the man destined for me. Suddenly, my faith began to waver and my heart was on edge as I waited to catch sight of him. My wolf paced in my mind and she let out a whimper in sadness.
Another hour soon went by and I had given up on finding him. My wolf howled in pain and a single tear ran down my face. I'm I not worthy of having a mate? Would pairing me with another person be such a burden on them? Am I destined to be unhappy for the rest of my life?
More tears fell from my tired orbs as I made up my mind to retire home before I got caught but just as I was about to climb down the tree, the moon appeared in the sky and my nose picked up an amazing scent. A mouth-watering scent that had me dying to taste it. It smelt like honey that had been spilled over the smoke of a burning bush; unusual but undeniably delicious. My eyes widened in realization and a grin crawled onto my face.
He's here. My mate is here.
My heartbeat got erratic and my breath came out in heavy pants as my eyes scanned the field, searching for the other half of my soul and after a minute of searching, I finally found him. And my heart stopped.
He was beautiful. I didn't think a man could be beautiful but he was. With a short mop of hair as black as night, A jawline that could cut through glass, enchanting gray eyes, and a body landed with muscle, he effortlessly became the most beautiful man I had ever laid eyes on.
And he was all mine.
He looked around frantically, searching as though he was trying to find the air he breathed before he looked up and our eyes made contact.
Those beautiful gray orbs stared at me with the heat of a million emotions and in that beautiful moment, the unthinkable happened. Something so unexpected that I didn't realize it had happened till I felt the air fly from my lungs.
My hand slipped and I fell. But just before my body fell to the ground, a thought ran through my mind and a smile appeared on my face.
I am Raula Pierre. And the Alpha is my mate.