Page 13 of The Alpha Wolf Defying Fate

“We have some time if you want to talk about it,” Aurora whispered as she looked back at me.

I nodded and made room for her to come inside and sit.

I waited until she zipped the tent closed to begin, my silencing charm that Abuela Alma taught me about activating the silence of our conversion to the outside world.

“Okay, speak,” Rory said.

“Why would The Fates give me that prophecy at graduation only to turn around and then reveal that I am to mate with Ayden? What purpose could that possibly serve them? I mean, we almost went to war over that prophecy. It could have been a massive World War Three of supernatural proportions, yet they had planned for him and me to be mated and enemies at the same time? Why? Did they say anything to you and Baer as to what they were thinking?”

My words came out rushed, the bottled-up feelings spilling out to my cousin and best friend. I hadn’t even realized how bottled up I had been until that moment when the words wouldn’t stop spilling out of my mouth.

Rory held up her hand, waving me to slow down.

“I have no idea why you received that prophecy. What I can tell you is that you and Ayden are mates. That is no mistake. However, if you keep resisting it will only make things harder for all of us. You know how both of our parents tried and failed to reject their mate bonds. You really think you will be any different?”

I shook my head and sighed. “Is there anything else at all you can tell me? Any hint you can give me? I need more than this assurance that it’s not some big mistake.”

“No, you don’t,” she said.

“What?”

“You don’t need anything more. You’re worried that it was a mistake, and I’ve told you that it’s not. You don’t need to know anything else. Not at this time anyway.”

I watched as she turned her face and stared off in that strange way that seers often did when there was more they wanted to say but have said all that The Fates will allow them to. I sighed in defeat and nodded.

“Fine, I get it,” I said. “I guess I’d better get out there and start taking down my part of the camp then.”

Rory nodded and moved to crawl out of the tent before pausing just before opening the zipper.

“Just, don’t fight the desires. If you do, your wolf could take over and trust me, you don’t want to be marked and mated that way. Keep some control, and you’ll be okay.”

With that, she opened the tent and crawled out. I followed behind and watched her join Baer in tearing down their tent. The two looked so happy together. They had been that way ever since they discovered they were, in fact, mates. Something that we all long suspected for as long as I could remember.

They hadn’t had any dangerous mission surrounding them. They hadn’t had any dramatic fall out that resulted in one of them hating the other.

From the very beginning, they were best friends and as they sat together on Rory’s eighteenth birthday, they held each other’s hands and prayed to be mates. A prayer they soon celebrated for coming true.

I had always held some jealousy for that. Had always wanted to find a mate who would love and care for me as strongly as Baer did for Rory. After some time, I began to think that maybe I didn’t have a mate out there. That maybe I was destined to walk this path alone, take a chosen mate who also was destined to walk their path alone.

I had often caught myself praying to The Fates to send me a strong mate to help me lead rather than a mate who wouldn’t be able to so much as stand up to me, much less lead an entire pack.

I supposed they had answered my prayer, just as they had answered Rory and Baer’s prayers. It just wasn’t what I would have chosen for myself.

My gaze moved over again to Ayden, his back to me as he shook out his shirt and began to pull it over his muscular back. I bit my lip as I watched that rippling skin disappear beneath his shirt. My head turned away quickly as he looked over his shoulder at me.

I found myself wishing that I had more time to admire his bare back. A desire to run my hands along the muscle there, to feel where it was hard and soft along his body.

Then Rory’s words came to the forefront of my mind.

Just give into the desires.

I looked back over at Ayden as he threw his backpack over his shoulder and nodded for Baer to come over, their voices carrying over the wind with plans of how to navigate the forest without getting lost.

Despite myself, I didn’t hear much of what they were discussing, my mind clouded by the desires that plagued me even now.

‘Maybe Rory has a point about denying the bond,’I thought to myself.

‘Yes, I agree,’my wolf nearly purred as she watched Ayden.

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