"Wait, what?" I asked in disbelief.
"What?" Freur thought I was talking to him.
"MATE!" Ara shrieked again, panting excitedly. "Mate, mate, mate, maaaaate!"
Reflexively, I pushed Freur away and stumbled up on my feet. I could not address Ara here where Freur would hear. I nervously scratched the base of my neck. Freur looked confused. One second I was crying on his shoulders like some meek sheep and the next, I was pushing him away like he was some rapist. He must think I had issues.
"Uh… are you sure you're okay?"
"You are naked."
"Great going Audie, out of everything you could say," Ara groaned. At least she had finally stopped screaming.
"Oh." Freur only just seemed to realize he was clad in only his boxers. He picked up his clothes pile and dressed, then wore his boots. "Sorry about that," he apologized.
"No need, you wanted to swim, you can swim… I am very sorry for interrupting you," I hurriedly said. Would it be good for me if he left the forest, and told his friends: 'I could have had a longer swim at the Moon River but I met this whacko shewolf.'?Freur was the center of a loyal and devoted circle, who I would not put past, to track me down and punish me for being an inconvenience to the alpha.
"I'm sorry," he smiled, "do I know you?"
"No," I said; a bit too quickly.
"Oh." He seemed disappointed. "I'm sure I've seen you somewhere be…"
"You haven't," I cut in curtly.
"You sound so sure."
"I am sure."
"Oh, right, I'll get going then. Should we walk out together?"
"That won't be necessary, but thank you."
"Oh." Now he seemed really hurt. "Okay then." Once again, he turned his back to me and he was going, disappearing into the forest's thickness. Going.
Gone.
I released the breath I did not know I had been holding. Freur would not recognize me. Freur had never seen me before. Who he had seen, many times though, was my twin sister; her name was Fluorescent.
"Whew, that was close. He nearly mistook me for Flou."
"Are we going to ignore the elephant in the room here?" Ara queried. "Hello, Freur Ferdinand is your mate."
"That can't be right. He's 'Freur Ferdinand'."
"And you are the daughter of a beta and an ultima."
"You just described my sister. If Freur could find a mate now, it would be her."
"But it's you," Ara stressed.
"Get serious."
"Dead serious."
"Well, I don't know what to say. I mean, this could change everything."
"You tell me. With a mate like that, the world will be at your feet, doing your every bidding."
"With a mate like that, I can finally be free from under the thumb of Dad and Flou."
"With a mate like that, you'd be having the wildest orgasms for the rest of your life."
"Don't be so carnal minded Ara."
"I was just stating a fact."
"Tonight is the mating ceremony. I've gotta meet him again before then. And you've got to be fully sure before I tell him. But first, I'm going to tell Dad and Flou."
Ara was wary. "Is that a good idea?"
"Who cares? After tonight it won't matter!" I hooted, excitedly racing through the woods, chronicling my whole life in my mind, as it might one day be written about me:
'Who would have thought, nineteen year old Audeline Palmer, the Pack's outcast, the lonewolf— would be the one to bag the golden egg, having Alpha Freur Ferdinand as mate?!'
"Dad! Flou!" I yelled as soon as I entered my family's home— a decent mansion; and big too. It was hard to find the person in it but I had a pretty good idea where my father and sister would be. "Dad! Flou!" I burst into the study. My father, Zale was sitting and Flou was standing beside him; and they were poring over a document together.
Their heads shut up upon my intrusion. Flou and I looked uncannily alike. The only difference was her long wavy red hair which she was now pushing behind her ears while rolling her eyes. "We are in the middle of something important, Audie," Flou said with the signature snarky tone that she always used with me.
We were not close, but over time, we were able to establish the common ground that both names, 'Flourescent' and 'Audeline', were mouthfuls of pronunciation. So, she called me Audie and I called her Flou.
"Do you want to get grounded again? Because you are asking for it." My father's lips were drawn in a thin line. It was in his eyes that he wanted me to leave.
"I know I'm unneeded but I figured you'd want to hear this one. I FOUND MY MATE!"
They stared at me as if I had not said anything yet.
"Uh… I said that I found my mate."
"You found your mate in the Sanctuary? Gee, I wonder who the unlucky person is," Fluorescent mocked me, a smug grin on her face. I had already thought towards that direction. The average werewolf would hate to have me as a mate given my unfavourable social status and all. But Freur was no average werewolf. Freur was above ostracism. If it all panned out well, Freur's influence would wipe clean my hate slate; and I could start over as a respected luna.
"Do we know him?" Zale did not care but I guess he was obligated to ask. "Does he know you are his mate and vice versa?"
"I don't think so, not yet." I answered the last question first, eager to get over its unpleasantness. "But you know him for sure. It's FREUR FERDINAND!"
They were doing it again. Looking at me like I hadn't said anything yet.
"I said that it's Freur Ferdinand," I repeated, dampened. My family sure knew how to wet my blanket.
"Impossible, where would you even get the chance to meet him?" Zale scoffed.
"I was hiking through the woods when I saw someone going towards the river and I was wondering if he was… well," I paused. That was exactly the stuff that would get me in trouble faster than the blink of an eye. "That's irrelevant, forget I said that part. Anyway, it was Freur. I could feel it, and Ara confirmed it."
Flou folded her hands, "Do you even know what you're saying?"
"The mating ceremony tonight, I'll show you."
"Or you'll embarrass us," Zale pointed out. "Many young shewolves like yourself have loved so much in the past that they began to feel things that weren't there."
"This isn't like that Dad. This is there. This, is real."
"Tonight, Freur is announcing his engagement to Maude Caulkin; Ultima of the Shiners," Flou said.
"What?!" I exclaimed. "How come I didn't know that?"
"Because it hasn't been announced yet. And you aren't exactly interested in pack politics. Freur's twenty eight. It goes without saying that he's been freezoned."
I stifled. A 'free zone' was the possibility that one's fated mate existed far away, in another pack, or a probable rogue; and could not be conveniently found. Every werewolf in the sanctuary was bound to find their mate between the ages of eighteen and twenty one. Consequently, the age gap between werewolf couples in the pack was never more than three years, except when they were freezoned and could thus marry any wolf of their choice.
"I have even less time than I thought," I said. "I have to let Freur know before tonight that he has a mate, me. I gotta go."
"Now wait a second," Zale ordered.
"You don't know what you are getting yourself into," Flou shook her head.
"What do you mean? Why are you guys sounding so sinister? Is there something I should know?"
"Remember the circumstances of your birth," said Zale. "Audeline, you are not supposed to exist. You were unplanned for. You are not supposed to be entitled to the werewolf privileges. The only reason you've come this far is because you are under my protection; not by my choice, but because that was your mother's last wish, even though you killed her."
Shit. I had already figured that part out long ago, but him saying it so straightforwardly put a new twist to the game. I felt tears pool up behind my eyes again. I avoided looking at Flou, ashamed of the sudden surge of jealousy that flushed me, thinking of how easily our roles could have been reversed.
"What's your point Dad?" I asked coolly.
"If Freur is indeed your mate, you have to reject him."
I scoffed. "Why exactly would I have to do that?"
"This is a matter of your life Audie," said Flou.
"I'm sure you agree with Dad, my life means nothing. You didn't seem to care about my life thirteen years ago. Want to make me think you care now? I thought that you would at least be happy for me. My union to Freur would benefit not just me, but all of us; as a family. But I guess you hate me that much, huh?"
"Audie, it's more complicated than that." Flou looked absolutely earnest, her blue eyes thoroughly sincere. But I knew her better as the one who had looked upon me with the most disregard. I no longer wanted her opinion about my choices.
"Shut up Flou," I snarled. Then I turned away and ran.
The day I reject Freur Ferdinand, had to be the day the Sanctuary collapsed in on itself— like some crazy metaphysics experimental joke.