"The time has finally come." My father's deep baritone jolted me away from my school of thoughts. Here I was, before my full length mirror in my room.
He came to my side, resting his hand on my right shoulder. He had a deep smile and his grey eyes bloomed with nothing but joy. I smiled too, for his sake.
"You lack the excitement an Alpha should have in special times like this." He muttered while he adjusted my red bow tie I was wearing on my tux. He was right, one could tell from my grey eyes that all I wanted to do was dabble into some work or enjoy the rest of my morning sleeping.
"I'm excited of course." My thick voice protruded. He paused, giving me a skeptical look.
"I know you Remus. You can't hide your emotions from your father, you know."
"Dad, I'm fine." I tried to assure him with a smile.
"First of all, that smile of yours is fake. You should work on that if you're going to make a good impression at Clawers Pack." He gestured before grabbing a brush from the drawer. Even though my black gelled hair needed no tweaking, he still did it either way.
"I really don't get why you're this way though." He mumbled. "Today is a joyful day for you, for me, for all of us here in Vêtus Pack. You're supposed to be the happiest man alive right now." He explained with worries hinting faintly in his voice and that was the last thing I wanted for my old man right now.
"Dad." I stopped his efforts on my hair, assuring him with the calmest look I could morph. He stared deeply into my eyes as if he wanted to read what was going on in my mind. "Trust me, I'm excited. I'm happy."
His lips parted into a tiny smile.
"This is not the look of a happy man. You're going to meet your mate, this Pack Future Luna in the coming hours and you're being this way. You can't possibly be having second thoughts are you?" His brows arched in a worrisome manner.
I heaved a light sigh. There was no use hiding the truth, he could perfectly read the weather on my face.
"I'm not having thoughts. It's just that, this mate of mine is someone I have never met before. I mean, there's no assurance that I might like her or that we might have to build a bond between each other. And that's what worries me the most. As the Alpha, I need to be careful of the kind of mate I choose. If not for me but for the Pack. Getting engaged to a stranger is not something I'm in support of." I explained and he smiled.
"I understand your worries." He replied and in a way it soothed me to an extent.
"But I want you to know that Sylvia Tarrant is not a stranger."
"Sylvia?" I frowned and he frowned too, except that his expression quickly faded into that of surprise.
"Sylvia, that's the name of your mate. Have you forgotten?" He queried in disbelief.
"Well…" I chuckled nervously while he wriggled his head.
"Sylvia is not a stranger to the Lowell family. I've known her father during the Werewolf great wars. We fought side by side and he did save my life on several occasions. Trust me, the Tarrant family are honorable."
I rolled my eyes.
"You've literally told me this story countless times. It's beginning to get old."
He chuckled while he tapped my shoulder again. He walked towards my room door and then he suddenly stopped.
"I want you to know that she is perfect for you. Your mother and I were betrothed to each other right from birth just like you. I thought the same thing but in the end," he paused with a bit of sadness gleaming in his eyes. "We had you. So I'm sure, the both of you are going to fit just fine." He assured me with an endearing smile. I nodded and he did the same too.
"We'll be waiting downstairs." He said before leaving.
Another sigh escaped my breaths inadvertently. He was probably reminiscing about old times with my mother. I returned my gaze to the mirror and I wondered what my mother would have said to me if she were still alive. There was one thing for sure. She would probably do a better job convincing and comforting me. I smiled at that thought.
I inhaled deeply.
"Well Remus, we don't want to keep our stranger Kate waiting." I mumbled to myself, I looked around my ridiculously large room for anything out of place. There was nothing and so, I left too. I threaded down the stairs to meet my father and a stunning ebony young man dressed in suit too. He was Brent, my Beta. He like my father, was smiling like they were seeing fireworks for the first time.
"I thought you were going to spend eternity upstairs." Brent remarked with a smirk.
"Shut up, you're usually the late one." I scorned him playfully, both of them laughed.
"At least I'm not late for an important occasion like this." He defended.
"Alright boys, it's time we leave for Clawers Pack." My father announced and we followed quietly behind him. Immediately we got outside, four S-class Mercedes were already parked in waiting with several guards. My father chose the third vehicle where there were already few Elders in waiting too while Brent and I took the last one.
Immediately our journey began, I leaned my hair against my seat trying to get some sleep.
"So, have you wondered what your mate would look like?" He chirped with so much excitement blooming in his voice. Even though my eyes were closed, I could clearly feel his gleaming eyes on me.
"Please Brent, I'm trying to get some sleep." I mumbled in a tired fashion.
"Oh come on, don't be this way." He pushed my shoulder gently forcing me to open my eyes.
"You of all people should be fantasizing what she looks like."
"Nope. Never did and I'm not sure I will ever do that." I wriggled my head.
"So you have no expectations?"
"Having expectations is what leads to disappointment." I responded and he gave me a skeptical look.
"Are you being serious right now? You don't even look like you're looking forward to this occasion."
"Yes." I stressed emphatically. "You guys are happy and all that I'm finally getting engaged but I can't feel that way. I'm the one who's going to take a stranger as my mate."
"Well, you're twenty four already. It's about time you got hitched."
"Yeah to a stranger." I remarked dryly and he grimaced.
"Stop making it sound bad."
"It's bad."
"When has your father made any crazy or bad decisions about you?" He challenged me and I went mute. "You should trust him on this one too. He knows and always does what is best for you."
"So you think she's going to be the right person for me?"
He smirked.
"I don't think so. I know it. I'm sure it's going to be love at first sight." I smiled and then stared out through the tinted glass. He started giggling devilishly all of a sudden and I knew what that meant. I turned to him and he already had that devilish smile and overly ambitious gleam in his eyes.
"Brent if you do anything stupid at Clawers Pack, I would claw you apart."
"What? I never said I was planning anything." He played innocent.
"I know that look."
"Who knows, I might find my mate there too."
"A chronic flirt like you doesn't deserve one. At least not in a hundred years." I laughed and he frowned.
"Haha, very funny."
"Trust me, except the moon goddess is blind that is when you'll have a mate now."
"Look who's talking, thank your stars you were betrothed right from birth. No lady would want to be mated to a boring personality like you."
We both laughed.
"Either way, even if I don't find a mate there I'm sure my time there will be memorable. I hear Clawers ladies are quite the work of art." He began with that giggle again.
"Just shut up Brent!" I groaned while I leaned my head back. He chuckled and surprisingly he heeded. Brent was normally stubborn headed and a parrot but this time he chose to focus on his phone. At least that was enough time for me to get some sleep.
"Hey dumb head! Remus!" Brent tapped me, causing my eyes to jolt awake.
"Are we there yet?" I asked, lazily rubbing my eyes.
"Nah, our car broke down and now we have to walk the rest of the journey."
"What?!"
"Yes we're there you idiot." He laughed before alighting off the vehicle.
I rubbed the area between my eyes before alighting too. Immediately I stepped out, I was welcomed by a gigantic white building. The winds gently breezed past me, bringing along a nice olive scent. My wolf instantly jeered to life as my gaze returned to the magnificent building. He was a lot more excited than usual and I needed no soothsayer.
My mate was here, the time had finally come to meet who this mystery mate was.
