CHLOE POV
I take a deep breath as I make my way into the ballroom housing Logan’s celebration. I am so nervous my palms have begun to sweat.
This is the first time all day I have been around other people. And while the chance of finding my mate amongst all the mateless females showing up for Logan is low, it is still possible.
I mean, we have male workers from the pack hanging around trying to catch females’ eyes too. And I know a few males are over eighteen in our pack. They are waiting to go to Outcast, so they are definitely around here in hopes of saving themselves a trip. Maybe just maybe, one of them is mine.
I have had crushes throughout the years within our pack. I have even prayed to the Goddess a time or two on who I wanted to be my mate.
As I try to boost my hopes I will find my mate, I pass Melanie, who is dressed up cute to serve snacks.
She gives me a wink, and I give her a thumbs up. Both my friends see me as the happy nothing can get me down girl, so she would be surprised to know how terrified I am right now. Because well…I think I’m pretty, but what if my mate doesn’t. Maybe he prefers chocolate-skinned females, a female with dark hair, or females with blue eyes. I am none of those things…I could be rejected. I could be moving to Outcast in hopes someone will love me.
I head to the punch table to calm my nerves, and on the way, I hear the voice of my old friend-enemy fake whispering about me.
“Yeah, that’s her. The omega who acts like her shit don’t stink,” she says, and my eyes roll.
I don’t even acknowledge her by turning around. She has been eighteen for about two months already and will be heading to Outcast soon if she doesn’t find her mate. Logan and her have hooked up before. They’ve even dated; I bet she will be his mate. They are a perfect match.
Oh goodness, maybe I don’t want to find my mate in our pack. She will be worse than Luna Kandace!
I snort out loud at the thought before grabbing a prefilled punch cup. Half the pack will ask to join another Alpha in a week of them taking over. Because even though Logan is strong and intelligent, he is a jerk to half his people. Add her into the mix…..oh geez.
“Chloe…don’t you know you are supposed to look up at times like these? Can’t make eye contact with your mate if you are staring at a cup of punch,” Melanie whispers from beside me, and I grin before looking at her.
“I know…but this punch looked really dreamy,” I joke, and she gives me an eye roll before disappearing yet again.
“Okay, focus, Chloe. Make eye contact with every male you see,” I demand in my head as I turn around to face the crowd.
My eyes lock with almost ten people doing the same thing in under a minute before I finally blink. I want to laugh at myself, but this is how these things are…everyone walking around wide-eyed and hopeful.
I make a few rounds around the room and come to the conclusion that my mate is either very late or just not here. Which it’s okay. The next Hunt is scheduled in less than three months, and I am bound to find my mate at Outcast.
I hear during the hunt thousands of wolves line up and walk past each other with their eyes open. And when they lock eyes with their mate, they just jump out of line. They spend the night getting to know each other and then shift together for the first time under the moon at midnight. In the morning they head back to the males’ pack.
So, going to Outcast to find my mate won’t be so bad. Thousands do it! And if he isn’t there during that hunt, I will stay at Outcast until the next hunt and so forth. My mate shouldn’t be more than two years younger than me, so if he doesn’t show…I am mateless and wolfless. It happens. I will be sad, but it happens. Fighting between packs kill thousands every year.
“Attention, in just a moment, my son will be taking the stage. Luna Kandace and I would like to invite all the of-age ladies forward at this time. Please don’t be shy; we are excited and hopeful that one of you are our future daughter,” Alpha Patrick suddenly announces, and I am surprised to find I am already where I should be.
Maybe a little too close, in fact. I have no hopes that Logan is my mate. And while I believe I would be a great Luna, I wouldn’t want him for a mate. Yes, he is gorgeous, but he is the main reason my mother is gone. While the idea to go play outside was mine and Luna Kandace’s, it was Logan who she fought tooth and nail to protect. It was Logan that they wanted and come hunting for.
I take a deep calming breath as I hear Logan’s feet make their way onto the stage. A trickle of fear runs down my spine, before I lift my head and look in the direction he is approaching from. I keep my face blank as he locks eyes with everyone he can. I am almost completely center, so he has about 75 girls, if not more, to get to before he gets to me. So I take this time to look him over.
He is a fine male. Taller than even his father. His shoulders are wide, which is nice, and his curly hair he inherited from his chocolate-skinned father is adorable. But I personally love his brown and blue eyes. I complimented him often when we were little and he used to always to blush.
Still to this day, I have never seen anyone with the same color. I have seen a lot of brown and green, or blue and green. But never brown and blue perfectly blended like his are.
As I try to remember the exact shade his eyes are, a weird since of longing fills me. I find myself getting impatient. I want to look at his eyes again. I want to see that pretty color again. And right in the middle of that longing, it happens.
Logan’s big beautiful blue-brown eyes lock with mine, and something within me snaps together. As if a piece of me was floating within my chest, just waiting to be attached to my heart, and all it took was one look. One look from him, Logan, my mate.
His long arms reach out towards me at the same time, mine lift towards him. He grabs me and pulls me up onto the stage with him without breaking eye contact, and we both smile.
Every negative thought about our past floats away, and I feel nothing but happiness. This is him. This is my male. The boy I grew up with, is mine and I am his. His wolf and my wolf were made as one and will be sent to us tonight. I found him.
“Mine,” Logan breathes, and I nod.
“Yours,” I whisper back before a screech breaks our trance.
“Logan! Come here now,” Luna Kandace screams, and both our arms drop.
I watch the happy light in his eyes dim as he backs away from me. Luna Kandace grabs his arm and yanks him towards her in front of all the visiting wolves, and I feel a strong level of protectiveness wash over me.
“Don’t grab him like that,” I snap, and her head whips towards me.
“Shut up,” she orders with her command power, and I freeze.
Logan watches his mother order me and doesn’t say a word. He almost seems like a whipped puppy now that her hand is on his arm. And the image would be comical in any other circumstance.
“Logan! Listen to me! She is an omega. Her human body is weak. The wolf she will get will be strong, but she is weak. She was born an omega. I told you what to do if you get an omega mate, now do it,” Luna Kandace snaps, and Alpha Patrick growls.
