Mate: Part One

~Jane~

"Jane, honey... wake up"

I blinked, disoriented. My mom's voice trembled as she brushed hair from my face. The worry in her eyes struck me harder than her words.

“Mom?” I mumbled, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

She didn’t answer.

A knot formed in my stomach.

“Mom… what’s wrong?”

Her eyes immediately filled with tears.

That was when fear truly hit me.

The bedroom door creaked open. My dad stepped inside without a word, closed the door behind him, and came to sit on the other side of my bed.

"Dad?" I whispered, my chest tightening. Still nothing. Just the weight of silence and the storm in their eyes.

And in that silence, something inside me cracked open.

Because I had seen this look before.

The silence.

The fear no one wanted to name.

Three years earlier, my parents had looked at me the exact same way.

•••Three Years Ago•••

It was the day my sister, Sara, turned seventeen- the day she would meet her wolf... and possibly her mate.

I remember waking up feeling excited. I had no idea the day would end in a nightmare.

As I walked downstairs toward the kitchen, I could hear voices- low, urgent. They stopped the moment I stepped into the room. My parents and Sara sat around the table, their faces pale.

"What's going on?" I asked, pausing in the doorway.

Sara stood slowly, walked over, and dropped to her knees in front of me. She wrapped her arms around me so tightly, it knocked the air from my lungs.

"Sara?" I whispered into her shoulder. "Is something wrong?"

She pulled back and smiled- but it didn't reach her eyes. "It's nothing to worry about, little sis. I promise everything's going to be okay."

But I could see it. Something was wrong. The fear in her eyes was something I'd never seen before.

"You sure?" I asked.

She nodded. "Hey, how about we hang out? Just you and me. We can play a game or watch something. Your choice," She said.

I hesitated, glancing at our parents. Mom's eyes were full of tears. And dad wouldn't even look at me.

"....Okay," I said, unsure, but craving time with her.

We went to her room. She pulled out a board game, and we sat on the floor playing like everything was normal, but her hands were trembling. And her eyes kept drifting to the clock.

Usually, she would tease me whenever we played.

We would laugh until our stomachs hurt.

But today she wasn’t laughing.

Today she barely seemed to see the game at all.

"Sara," I said softly. "Why are Mom and Dad so sad? Shouldn't they be happy? It's your birthday. You get your wolf tonight. You might even find your mate."

Her smile faltered. "You'd think so, huh?"

"Don't you want to know who your mate is?” I asked.

She paused, staring at the game pieces in her hand. ".... Sometimes we don't get to choose what we want, Jane."

For a second, her eyes drifted toward the window.

Toward the forest.

Toward something far away.

Something she was afraid of.

I didn't understand. I just wanted someone to tell me the truth.

When it started to get dark, we went downstairs to eat dinner. The silence at the table was louder than words. No laughter. No stories. Just the sound of forks scraping plates.

Then- a knock. Hard. Demanding.

The color drained from mom's face. Dad stood up slowly, his shoulders tense. I could feel the air shift in the room- like the house itself was holding its breath.

"Mom... who's at the door?" I asked, my voice small.

No answer. Another knock. Louder

Sara stood. "I'll go with dad."

"What?" I stood up too, panic rising in my chest. "What’s happening? I’m coming too.”

"You need to stay in here, Jane," Mom said, grabbing my wrist.

"No!" I pulled free and rushed into the living room.

Dad reached for the handle.

"Dad, what's going on?" I asked.

Before he could answer, the door burst open with a violet crash. And then he was there.

The door slammed against the wall.

Then he stepped inside.

Alpha Zander.

His presence filled the room like smoke- choking, thick, wrong. His dark eyes scanned us, landing on Sara like a predator spotting prey.

Mom sucked in a sharp breath.

Dad immediately stepped in front of Sara.

Even Sara didn’t look surprised to see him.

And that terrified me.

"There you are," he said, smiling. "I've waited a long time for this."

“Zander,” Sara said, stiffening.

"Don't make this difficult, beautiful. Come with me willingly, and I won't have to punish you." He said, smiling at Sara.

My father stepped forward. "She's our daughter, you can't just take her." He said to Zander.

"I am your Alpha," he growled, looking right at Dad. "And I've chosen my next mate."

He looked back at Sara, stepping closer. "Tonight you’ll shift into your wolf,”

The smile on his face made my skin crawl.

“And after that, you’ll belong to me.”

My father’s jaw clenched.

For one terrible second, I thought he might attack.

Then his shoulders sagged.

And I realized there was nothing he could do.

"Please," Sara said, her voice shaking, "just don't hurt them." She then stepped forward from behind dad.

"Do you accept me, then?" He asked, touching her cheek. "Say it."

Sara hesitated, then nodded.

For the first time, I understood.

Sara wasn’t agreeing because she wanted to go.

She was agreeing because she was afraid of what Zander would do to us if she refused.

"I accept you as my mate... and I will give myself to you."

Her words broke something inside me. "No!" I cried out, stepping forward. "Sara, don't go!"

Zander turned his gaze on me. "You're a brave little one," he said with a smirk. "But foolish."

"Please," Sara whispered. "Let me say goodbye."

He nodded once. "Make it quick."

Sara turned to me, kneeling one last time. Her hands trembled as she cupped my cheeks.

"You are to be strong, Jane. No matter what happens to me. You’re special little sister, listen to that voice inside you,” she whispered.

“One day you’ll understand what I mean... It will protect you no matter what."

"I don't want to be strong," I cried. "I want you."

For a moment, I thought she might cry too.

Instead, she smiled.

The saddest smile I had ever seen.

“Don’t forget me, okay?” she whispered.

As soon as the words left her mouth, I shook my head.

“You’re my big sister, I never could forget you.”

She pulled me into a tight hug. "I love you. Always."

I held on as tightly as I could to her.

As if refusing to let go would somehow keep her there.

After a small moment, she eventually pulled back. And turned her head towards mom and dad.

Tears filled my parents’ eyes.

For the first time in my life, they looked helpless.

Like they were watching their daughter be torn away from them and could do nothing to stop it.

Letting go of me, she stood up from the floor and walked over to our parent’s and hugged them both.

They didn’t say anything.

There was no words left to say.

“That’s enough with the goodbyes.” Zander growled in anger.

Letting go of our parent’s, Sara then walked over to where Zander continued to stand… Sara looked back one last time.

Her eyes found mine.

Then the door closed.

And she was gone.

And that was the last time I saw my sister.

The days that followed blurred together.

Then weeks.

Then months.

And eventually, a year passed without Sara.

•••A year later•••

It had been a year since Sara was taken- but that morning, the air felt exactly the same. Heavy. Still. Wrong.

I woke up with a chill crawling down my spine just like the day she left. Something inside me whispered that something was coming. Something bad.

Slipping out of bed, I padded quietly down the stairs. The kitchen light was already on. I followed the smell of breakfast, hoping the unease in my chest was just leftover grief.

"Morning, Mom. Dad," I said softly as I stepped into the kitchen.

My dad looked up, forcing a small smile. "How'd you sleep, Jane?"

"Okay," I murmured, taking my usual seat at the table.

He placed a plate of eggs and bacon in front of me. "Here you go, sweetheart."

"Thanks," I said, managing a faint smile on my own.

We ate in silence. Lately, silence had become normal—the kind of silence that wasn't peaceful- the kind that pressed on your chest. Since Sara was taken, the three of us had become shadows of who we once were.

I missed her every single day. Her laugh. Her warmth. Her fierce love. And sometimes, her last words to me before Zander took her away would echo in my mind.

"You are the most special person I've ever known." But how? I still didn't understand.

After finishing my breakfast, I stood and quietly gathered our plates. I had just turned towards the sink when a sudden knock echoed through the house.

Knock. Firm. Heavy. Purposeful.

I paused. My parents froze. And my heart dropped.

Another knock. This one is harder.

Dad stood slowly. He looked at Mom, that same look I remembered from the night Zander came for Sara. Confusion. Worry. Dread.

"I'll get it," Dad said, his voice low.

I followed him out of the kitchen, unable to stop myself. I needed to know. I had to.

He looked through the peephole. Then he froze.

"Who is it?" I asked quietly.

He didn't answer. He just unlocked the door and opened it. Standing on our porch was Beta Oliver, Zander's second-in-command.

I didn't need to hear a word. The second I saw Oliver's face- the way he carried himself, the pain in his eyes- I knew. My breath caught in my throat.

"Beta Oliver," Dad said, trying to sound calm, but I could hear the panic creeping into his voice. "What's going on?"

Oliver didn't speak right away. His jaw clenched as he looked down, then up at my father with eyes full of regret.

"Mr. Foster... I'm so sorry," he said quietly.

"Sara...” Oliver swallowed hard.

The silence stretched.

Too long.

Far too long.

Then came the words that shattered what was left of my world.

“She’s gone.”

My world shattered all at once.

And everything inside me fell apart

Time stopped. My knees nearly gave out.

No. No, no, no... She wasn't gone. She couldn't be gone.

I could still hear her voice in my head. I could still feel her arms wrapped around me the day she left.

"Gone?" Dad echoed, his voice cracking.

"I tried to stop it," Oliver said. Emotion shaking his words. "I tried to protect her. I loved her. But Zander-" his voice broke. "He learned we were mates,” Oliver whispered.

“And because Sara couldn’t give him what he wanted… he decided she was no longer useful. He killed her.”

Tears stung my eyes. I looked at Oliver, and in that moment, I knew he was telling the truth.

Mom walked into the living room, drying her hands on a towel. "Johnathan? What's going on?"

Dad turned to her, tears already in his eyes. He didn't need to say anything. She knew.

"No..." Mom whispered, her face draining of color. "No, please, not our baby..."

She collapsed to her knees, hands over her mouth as a wail built in her chest. Dad dropped beside her, wrapping his arms around her, his own body shaking with sobs.

I stood frozen in place. Numb. Hollow.

The tears came fast, burning my chest. My big sister was gone. Zander had stolen her from us a second time- this time forever.

I looked at Oliver. "You did everything you could," I whispered through the tears. "She knew you loved her."

He nodded once, pain etched into every line of his face. "I'm so sorry," he repeated. "I failed her... and I will never forgive myself."

He turned and stepped off the porch, leaving us in the doorway, shattered and broken.

"Jane," Dad said softly, reaching for me.

I finally moved. I walked into his arms and collapsed with them onto the floor. And for the first time in a long time, we cried together.

Somewhere deep inside, I heard Sara’s voice again.

Be strong, Jane.

Even a year later since that evening, I was still trying to be.