Mate

Nyra’s pov.

Whap!

The loud slap cracked across the kitchen, and my face stung with a piercing pain that caused me to stagger back. 

My mother's eyes, like brimstone, shone with hatred, as if she wanted to rip me apart. Tears trickled down my face, but my pain meant absolutely nothing to her.

“Where were you?!” She thundered, her voice shaking me to the very core, the smell of her wrath filling my stomach with dread. 

“Mother.. I..”

“Don't open your filthy mouth, you useless child! You can't do anything right! Did I not ask you to get your sister ready for the mating ceremony?!” Her eyes were wide with rage.

“Yes mother, but I went to check..”

“Shut up!” She cut me off again. “I don't care what you went to do! It is not more important than your sister!” 

My heart twisted in pain, my head spun with grief. Of course, only my sister mattered. She was their golden girl, the white wolf that everyone adored, the one who everyone believed would be mated to the son of the Alpha.. Damian. He was handsome, strong and the dream man of every girl.

And me? I was the failure, the daughter who had brought shame to them. I didn't shift, I didn't have a wolf. The pack bullied me for it, and my own family joined in. I was weak, and I had accepted it, nothing I did ever mattered, not even the fact that I had gotten a scholarship into the most prestigious college in the tri pack area.

“I'm sorry, mother.” I muttered, a huge lump clinging to my throat and refusing to disappear no matter how hard I swallowed. 

“She is still getting ready, so leave and go to her at once. Make sure she looks perfect,” she raised her finger to point at me, eyes squinted. “And I better not see you anywhere close to that ceremony. I don't want you to embarrass us any further.”

She turned and walked away, her luscious, black hair swaying behind her. More tears fell from my eyes as I pulled out the letter of admission from my pocket. I stared at it longer than I should have, a tear dropping onto it. 

I should have known that applying was a waste of time. They would never let me go. They would rather keep me here as their servant, as a shadow meant to stand behind my sister at all times.

Wiping the tears off my face, I tucked the letter back into my pocket and hurried off in the direction of my sister's room. She was busy with her make up when I entered, and a bright smile played across her lips as soon as set eyes on me.

“Nyra! There you are..!” She let out a giggle, obviously excited about being mated to the Alpha's son.

“Hey Kira.” I sighed, falling into the bed next to her. 

“Don't I look gorgeous?” She squeezed her palms together.

“Of course you do.” I forced a smile.

“I can't wait to get to the ceremony. I can only imagine what it would feel like to be Luna! All the attention, all the power that comes with it. I guess it's one of the perks that comes with being a rare white wolf. You wouldn't understand, but it feels so rewarding.” 

My smile faltered, and more tears threatened to fall from my eyes. Kira had never physically bullied me like my parents, but she would always remind me that I had no place amongst wolves.. It was suffocating. 

“I'm happy for you.” I swallowed. “Let me help you get ready.” 

I helped her like my mother wanted me to, and as soon as she was ready, she left in the car with my parents while I decided to go for a short walk in the nearby woods. 

Moving through the quiet woods, dry leaves cracked under my feet, twigs snapped as I marched through the clearings, and wolves howled loudly in the distance. I wrapped my arms around myself as I walked, my chest burning with pain and a million questions that I might never get the answers to.

I had often wondered what it would feel like to have a mate. I didn't have a mate, so it was impossible. I was destined to be alone right from birth, scorned by everyone, and I couldn't help but wonder if it would ever end.

I was jolted from my thoughts when a strange scent invaded my nostrils. It wasn't the moss or the wet stem that I had been perceiving, it was something different and stronger.

Resisting it was impossible, instead, it grew stronger and closer, and my heart raced violently inside my chest.

My feet moved faster than I could think, fighting through the thick woods. My nose flared as I sniffed the air, relentlessly searching for the scent, until I arrived near the river bank and saw the shirtless man standing beside the flowing water. 

His muscles pulsed with every movement, his wet hair clinging to the back of his neck. He had his back turned on me, but I could shake the feeling that I already knew who he was. His thick arms stood out beside him, bold tattoos covering his right arm. 

The scent grew stronger, and breathing, abnormal. Something reeled inside me, but it wasn't possible for me to feel anything because I did not have a wolf!

I did not understand what was happening, until a frail voice started to echo in my head..

“Mate! Mate!” 

My eyes widened in disbelief as they clung to the frame of the male who was supposed to be my wolf. My chest rose and fell in rapid breaths, and my palms folded beside me. 

Mate? I should not have a mate… I couldn't! 

As if he felt the bond snapping into place, the male swung around to face me, and a loud gasp escaped from my throat. 

I staggered back, rubbing my eyes to make sure that I was not imagining anything. But he was still standing there, staring intensely at me. 

The Alpha heir, Damian. 

How could my sister's proposed mate be mine?! 

“You?” He breathed, his voice low and firm, hiding his shock. 

I swallowed, squeezing the hem of my blouse. 

He stepped closer and closer until there was no space between us, until I could feel his warm breath on my skin that caused my knees to buckle and my womanhood to throb. 

“Damian..” 

He slammed his lips on mine, shutting me up and roughly grabbing my waist like I was his possession. I froze instantly, my blood running cold.