2|Mateless

[Cora]

“I can’t believe this. You haven’t gotten dressed yet?” screamed my mother, who suddenly opened the door to my room.

“Relax, Mom. It only took me less than five minutes to get ready.” I zipped up my red dress. The skirt fell on my knees. This dress shaped my curves perfectly, just like my mother wanted.

“How can I calm down? This is the sixth time you have gone to the matchmaking event held once a year in this kingdom. We’ve been to the same event five times, but you always come home mateless.” Mom helped braid my hair, then pinned the ends.

“If this year you are lucky and you finally meet him, do you think he will be your age? He must be younger. Men don’t like to see women who can’t take good care of themselves. He may reject you even though the mate bond is difficult to break. We don’t want that to have happened, do we?”

She took a step back after helping to apply lipstick on my lips and blush-on on my face. Her eyes looked satisfied with her work.

“I hope that Moon Goddess will finally listen to our sincere pray. Wish you meet your mate this afternoon.” Mother caressed my cheek affectionately.

Even though she was talkative and liked to scold me, I knew she meant well. She was only worried about me being single when other women my age had their mates.

At the age of eighteen, each werewolf would meet his wolf, at the same time his mate. Some people were fortunate to find their mate in their respective pack, like Mom and Dad, also my brother and his wife. A few more met during a visit or event we attended at another werewolf pack.

For the less fortunate werewolves, there was an annual event where all werewolves who had not found their mate would gather from all over the kingdom. It made it impossible for a werewolf to be mateless when he passed his twenty. Of course, unless his mate was much younger than him.

It was what I was afraid of. I was twenty-three years old. It would be the sixth time I attended the annual event. If all the werewolves who had not had a mate came in previous years and none of them was my mate, then my mate was most likely a werewolf who had just turned eighteen.

The five-year age difference was a huge age gap of a werewolf in general. But there were always particular cases that only Moon Goddess knew why She allowed it to happen. I was not too bothered by that. If only I had met my mate, I would be grateful. That was all that mattered.

However, there was one unusual case that Father and Mother were suspicious about. I could be a second chance for someone who lost a partner in a war, got sick, or got rejected. It was nothing to be ashamed of being the second option for us werewolves. Finding a partner was something to be proud of. Life without one would make us a laughing stock.

“Every year attending the same event just for your sake is a complete waste of time.” Tyra mocked me as I descended the stairs. She was my brother’s wife. “I believe you are cursed to have no mate.”

‘Please, let me just this once rip off that presumptuous mouth,’ Lou growled.

She was more temperamental than I, who was better at controlling emotions. Lou was my wolf. We met when I was turning eighteen. Though we had different characters, we complimented each other. She was a perfect gift from the Moon Goddess. I wouldn’t ask for a different wolf.

‘Just let her talk as she pleases. We both know that we will meet our partner sooner or later.’ I reassured her.

I was accustomed to Tyra’s bullying, so I stopped replying or taking it to heart. Fighting her wouldn’t do any good to me. She would be pleased if I got provoked. I had promised myself I wouldn’t let anyone hurt me. Having a partner or not, it was not what would determine my position in this pack.

“Are you ready?” asked Garrett, my kind-hearted older brother, who had just put my suitcase in the trunk.

My clothes and a few necessary things that I had to take with me were inside it on an assumption I met my mate today. The rest of my stuff could be picked up later by the guys from my mate’s pack. That was if I met him.

‘We’ll meet him, Cora.’ It was Lou’s turn to soothe me.

‘You mean we’re going to see him today?’ I asked in a hopeful tone.

She just kept quiet as she always did. After giving me a statement that gave me hope, she was never willing to tell more clues. She was a lovely wolf, but sometimes she made me so mad I wanted to pinch her cheeks hard.

I got into the car first, then Mom and Tyra followed. Father sat in the front with Garrett behind the wheel. Being close to the location of the event provided its own advantages. We didn’t have to make long trips or stay in a hotel every time we went there. It was only three hours drive.

It wasn’t just my family and me who went to the event. Those who had not had mates in our pack went with their families. Among all of us, I was the oldest. Luckily, my family didn’t seem embarrassed to accompany me to this festival. Only Tyra tried hard to hide her dislike. But I didn’t care about her opinion.

The Alphas of the other packs in this continent also attended as the person in charge of the event. That meant Maddox, Alpha of the Royal Blue Pack was in front of us, leading our way to the location.

The streets were lined with people waving us off, hoping we would all go home with our respective mates. I saw my best friend was standing with her husband in front of their house. I waved my hand at her. She threw a kiss in the air for me. I saw Tyra sneering, but I just ignored her.

Dad and Garrett dominated most of the conversation throughout our journey. I preferred to be quiet and listen. A big shock just happened two days ago. Scarlett Sky Pack was destroyed by a group of Rogues and Hunters. Although no survivors were found from the pack, the King ordered an in-depth investigation. We have lived in peace for a long time. That incident ruined everything.

Rogue was a werewolf who did not belong to any pack. It could be because of his own decision or banished by the pack. On the other hand, Hunters are cold-blooded humans who hate our kind and love to kill us.

The two groups were not good friends. Then for what reason did they work together to attack a strong pack? Scarlett Sky Pack should not have collapsed that easily. Their opponents were only Rogues and Hunters.

“There must be another reason for the end of such a large pack. I can’t believe that Knox and Ursula Blackwood were gone. This is the first time I won’t be meeting them at our big event.” Seeing Father grieving, we were silent and did not dare to speak. Only Mom rubbed Dad’s arm to comfort him.

“According to the news, Alpha Axel’s body was not found. They found several enemies who were killed by an Alpha. He joined the war, but his body was not there. They assumed that he was deliberately drowned in the river because the location of the corpse he killed was not far from that location,” said Garrett which intrigued me.

His body was nowhere in the pack?

“If he fell into the river, he would not survive. On the night of the war, it was raining heavily. That was why the King’s men couldn’t quickly carry out an investigation. It is astonished me. How could an Alpha be defeated by untrained people? How could his Beta and famous formidable warriors lose their lives?”

Garrett was right. Alpha was the strongest one in his pack. He would not be easy to beat. Rogues and Hunters were no match for him. I had seen Maddox and Atlas, his wolf, in battle. They were strong, ruthless, and quick to kill. They were literally difficult to defeat.

“Hopefully, there are living witnesses who can tell us what happened because they even killed innocent women and children. They have not officially announced whether there are survivors from Scarlett Sky’s or their attackers,” Garrett said.

‘Poor Alpha. They wiped out his pack, and he could not get the funeral he deserved. I hope his death wasn’t too painful.’ Lou sounded sincere in sympathy.

‘Alpha Axel. Fortunately, I didn’t get to know him while he was alive. I had only seen him from afar on a few occasions.’

According to some people I knew, he was a good person and cared deeply for the people in his pack, the kind of ideal Alpha. He even treated low-rank werewolves with respect. His people were satisfied under his command.

‘He was handsome and sexy, for sure.’ Lou began to fantasize.

‘All Alphas are handsome and sexy, Lou.’ I rolled my eyes mentally.

“Do you think the king will come? We have an urgent situation. I hope he will do something to stop the war from spreading to another pack,” Mom said in fear.

Dad looked at Mom and held her hand. “He will come. He didn’t attend the event last year. He never absent two times in a row.”

“You know rogues and hunters didn’t destroy that pack. One of us did. We are closer to Scarlett Sky Pack, honey,” Mom reminded in a shaky voice. “Don’t you think we can be their next target?”