Emily's POV

I woke up with a bang, with my alarm clock screaming his red numbers next to me.

8:30 a.m.

My eyes widened.

I was late for training! I jumped out of bed and landed on my feet with a groan.

"F*ck!" I swore under my breath.

My body felt like a bulldozer had run over it. It was sore all over, and my breasts were tender and swollen.

I knitted my eyebrows together, confused, trying to remember what had happened last night.

I slowly moved toward the bathroom, feeling the tenderness between my legs.

Did I have..?

I shook the thoughts off just as fast as they came. I couldn't have—did I?

"Sh*t!" I gasped under my breath, startled, when I saw my painted reflection in the mirror.

My nape was covered in all colors and sizes of bruises, running down my breasts and stomach.

Hickeys! What the f*ck! Who did this to me, and why?

I sighed, frustrated. There was no way I could go out to training looking like that.

I wiped my hand over my face, shaking my head in disbelief.

"How did I get back to my room?" I muttered to myself. "Weren't I stuck in the cabin under thick snow?"

I carefully turned and headed to open the shower tap, hoping it would help bring back my memories of last night.

My gaze landed on the little black dress Mila picked for me that night.

"Who gave me a change of clothes?" Everything was a bit confusing.

I reached out and grabbed the dress, noticing a faint, familiar scent on the fabric.

Memories of last night flooded in, and I yelled out, surprised, throwing the dress to the side as if it had just burned me.

Alex took my innocence and my first kiss.

"Alex is my mate," I whispered to myself.

My heart pounded in my chest, and my stomach felt as if someone had turned it over.

"Alex is my fated mate?"

I knew it wasn't a question, but even that idea sounded surreal to my own ears.

I picked up the dress, dumped it in the washing bag, and got into the shower.

I grunted and moaned with every move I made, washing my tender and sore body.

When I was eventually done, I headed back to my room to get dressed. I knew I was in trouble because I was late for training, and I was now contemplating just skipping it.

"Finally!" Mila's angry voice rang in my ears, and I yelled out, surprised to find Mila sitting on my bed.

"Where the hell did you go last night?" She yelled angrily at me. "Jax and I looked all over for you! We were worried sick! Why was your block up? How did you get home, and what the f*ck are those marks around your nape?"

When Mila was eventually done yelling at me, her anger had subsided.

"It's a long story," I said. "One that I can't tell you now. I am already late for training."

Mila huffed, rolling her eyes at me, and in return, I narrowed my eyebrows at her, confused.

"Training was canceled this morning," she said. "If you had your link open, you would have known that Alpha Cole gave everyone off today."

"He canceled training?" I asked, surprised. My gaze landed on the alarm clock next to my bed. I was sure I had set it for 6 a.m., yet it went off at 8:30 a.m.

Did Alex change the time on the alarm clock? Did he know I would be exhausted after last night?

"Yeah," Mila continued, suddenly annoyed again. "It snowed last night."

My heart leaped out of my chest. It wasn't a dream; it really did happen.

"It hasn't snowed for over twenty-five years," Mila said, deep in thought. "Alpha Cole said not to worry. He looked kind of... happy about it."

"Oh," the single word slipped from my lips.

"Yeah," Mila said, knitting her eyebrows together, confused. "He said we should celebrate and enjoy the snow and not worry about it. Change is on the horizon."

I nodded in understanding and headed to my walk-in closet.

I needed to find some clothes that would hide all the evidence from last night.

I eventually settled on a chocolate brown turtleneck top and a comfortable pair of white jeans.

I quickly got dressed inside the closet, trying to hide the rest of the evidence from Mila. She would bombard me with questions if she suspected I had found my mate. And if she hears that it is Alex, I will never hear the end of it.

I grabbed a pair of white sneakers on my way out and took a seat on my bed.

Mila was quietly sitting in the corner of my room, flipping through an old magazine.

"Are you done ignoring my questions?" Mila asked, lowering the magazine.

I stopped what I was doing and dropped my shoulders. I knew Mila was only looking out for me, but what should I tell her? The truth? I wasn't ready, and I didn't even know what had happened last night.

"There is nothing to tell," I said, ignoring the truth. "I didn't feel well and went outside to get some fresh air. I must have lost track of time and gone home."

Mila rolled her eyes at me, not buying a word I said.

"So how do you explain the hickeys all over your neck?" she asked.

"Mosquito bites," I said, without thinking.

Mila threw her head back and roared out of laughter.

"Try again," she said, wiping her laughing tears from her eyes. "Maybe then I will believe you."

"Fine," I said. "It's a rash. I stumbled on some poison ivy."

That made Mila bend over with laughter, shaking her head.

"Maybe you should quit warrior training and rather go do stand-up comedy," she said between laughs.

I huffed, annoyed, and felt embarrassed. Mila could see right through me. Lying to her didn't help. She would eventually find out the truth.

I crossed my arms around my waist, waiting for her to be done laughing.

"It is not funny," I eventually said when she calmed down enough.

"It is!" Mila argued. "No one would believe the sh*t you just said. It snowed last night; no mosquito would dare be outside, and we don't have poison ivy on pack territory."

I kept silent, thinking about what I should say next.

"Fine," I said, giving in. "They are hickeys. It is not that I don't want to tell you; it is just that I don't know what to tell you."

"Then start from the beginning!" Mila said, dropping the magazine on the bedside table.

How do I tell my best friend that I am the soon-to-be Alpha’s mate?

I closed my eyes, praying. This wasn't the right time.

"I can't," I eventually said. "Things are a bit complicated at the moment. I promise I will tell you everything when the time comes."

Mila wanted to say something, but I stopped her.

"I don't even know what happened last night," I said, but I was hoping to find out soon.

Mila's face dropped, and she suddenly looked sad that I was keeping this from her.

I closed the gap between us, squatting next to the chair she was sitting on.

"Mila," I said. "You are my best friend, and you will be the first one I tell. Just trust me when I say I can't tell you now. I need to work things out for myself first before I share my secret with you."

Mila nodded and gave me a weak smile.

I didn't like keeping secrets from her, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever suspect that my secret would be short-lived.

****

Emily's POV

The pack house was fairly quiet when Mila and I arrived.

My parents, the Beta pair of the pack, asked me to come and help clean the community center.

It wasn't a normal occurrence for the Beta family to be involved in helping clean after a pack function. I guess Alpha Cole must have asked them to help after he gave everyone a day off.

"Where is everyone?" Mila asked, surprised when no guards were stationed at the front door of the pack house.

"I think everyone went down to the clearing to enjoy their snow day," I said, gesturing to the cold, wet, fluffy stuff lying all over the place.

Mila sighed.

"Why did you talk me into helping?" She asked, shivering. "I could have been lying under the blankets with a cup of hot chocolate in my hands, watching a movie."

"Because I needed help," I said, shrugging. "And you are my only friend."

Mila rolled her eyes as she entered the pack house.

The main reason Mila was sulking was that she was a bit disappointed that Jax went snowboarding with his friends that morning. Thus, she ended up in my room.

Jax wasn't a member of our pack; he was from one of our neighboring packs, the Dark River Pack.

Alpha Colt and Jax's father, Beta David, grew up together and were best friends in the day. When he found out that Mila was Jax's mate, he gave him permission to come and go as he liked.

One day, Mila would most likely request a transfer to Jax's pack and become a pack member there.

I sighed when I walked into the community center—it was a mess and would take us at least three hours to clean it up.

Mila's gaze turned toward me, shaking her head.

"I should have stayed in bed," she moaned under her breath.

We both grabbed a mop and a bucket and started the big clean-up.

"Em," my mother linked, after an hour. "Are you two done cleaning up the community room?"

"Almost done, mom," I replied. It went faster than I thought.

"Good," she said. "I have asked Omega Julie to prepare something to eat for you two. When you are done, come have your lunch."

Julie's food was always straight-forward and delicious. There were no funny things added to the meals, which were always perfect for us picky eaters.

I cut the link soon after, wiped the sweat from my forehead, and placed the mop in the bucket.

"Mom says our food is ready," I told Mila. "And Julie made it."

"Good, I'm starving," Mila replied, handing me the mop and the bucket.

Less than twenty minutes later, we were done in the community room, and we headed down to the kitchen.

Julie spotted us the second we entered, and she lifted her gaze, greeting us with a broad smile.

I couldn't help but notice her blond hair was neatly tied up in a bun on top of her head, and her eyes sparkled out of delight. She looked happy today.

Julie had recently lost her mate in a rogue attack. She tried to act brave, but we could all see that she was hurting inside.

This was the first time that the forty-five-year-old Omega had a smile on her face.

"Afternoon girls," she greeted us and waved us closer.

"Hi Omega Julie," we greeted her. Everyone, especially the kids, loved her.

"Your lunch is ready," she said, gesturing to the warmer, and Mila and I rushed toward it.

"Have you two washed your hands?" Julie asked the second we tried to retrieve our plates.

Mila and I looked at each other and then at Julie.

"No," we both whispered.

"Then off you two go," she said, chasing us out of the kitchen.

Mila and I exited the kitchen with our tails between our legs. We were starving, and now we needed to get our hands washed first before we could have our plate of food.

Julie made us her famous mac and cheese, and I could already imagine tasting it on my tongue.

Mila pulled a sour face, seemingly annoyed—the closed ladies' room was at the far end of the long hall.

I, in return, gave her a cheeky smile and winked at her.

"Oh, no, you don't," Mila warned.

"Oh, yes, I am," I said, reading myself to sprint down the hall.

"We are going to get into trouble," Mila complained.

"Only if they catch us," I said.

Mila rolled her eyes with a sigh, and before she was done rolling her eyes at me, I was already sprinting down the hall.

"That's cheating!" she yelled behind me.

Mila caught up with me a few seconds later, and the two were giggling with every step we took.

No one was there to see us, and no one would yell at us for making a racket or moan about seeing us running.

Mila won the race by just a few seconds.

"You cheated," I said, panting.

"Why do you say that?" She said, looking up at the roof, ignoring my gaze.

"Because you tapped into your wolf's speed," I said, annoyed.

"You didn't set any rules," Mila argued.

"But you know I don't have a wolf," I defended. "You are not playing fair!"

Mila turned silent, looking down at her feet, and I suddenly wondered what she was thinking.

Did I say something bad?

"What's wrong?" I asked, stepping closer.

"Em," she said, hesitating. She opened her mouth without making a sound, yet I could see that she had a lot to tell me.

"Mila, what's wrong?" I asked.

Her gaze snapped at me, and worry and confusion were reflected in them.

"You can tell me," I said. "You know you can."

Mila took a deep breath.

"Last night," Mila said, dropping her gaze to her hands and playing with the hem of her shirt. "I saw something happening to you."

My heart skipped a beat. Did she see me and Alex together?

"What did you see?" I asked, swallowing hard at the lump forming in my throat.

Mila lifted her gaze slowly.

"When we returned from the restroom, I noticed that you were acting strangely," she said.

My thoughts raced to last night. I remembered that the pull toward the exit was unavoidable—every living cell in my body wanted to go there.

"And?" I asked, remembering her gasping and taking a step back from me. She looked kind of horrified.

"You were not you," she said.

I fell silent, trying to process what Mila was trying to tell me.

What did Mila see?

"What do you mean by I wasn't me?" I asked.

"Emily, your eyes turned red," Mila whispered. "And your aura looked like red flames moving around you."

That confused me even more.

"Do you think that it might be my wolf?" I asked hopefully.

"Whatever it was," Mila said. "It frightened the living sh*t out of me."

Maybe I have a wolf after all?

****

Emily's POV

Mila and I headed back to the kitchen, taking a shorter route through the square.

"No cheating this time," I called behind Mila.

"Oh, come on, Em!" she yelled over her shoulder. "We both know that you will beat me by far if I don't use my wolf's abilities."

I chuckled, knowing she was right.

Mila's parents were only high-ranking warriors, but everyone knew that her father came from Delta rank. He forfeited his title when he decided to switch packs to be with Mila's mom.

I watched as Mila grabbed the door handle, swung the door open, and ran inside. She only had a two-second lead.

I swung the door open, seeing Mila sprinting down the hall, and she disappeared around the corner.

There was no way I could catch her now.

I started running at a slower pace, passing my father's office. I knew that Alpha Col's office was situated next to his, and I didn't want to disturb an unknown meeting. I quickly, but as quietly as possible, tried to pass them.

I froze in my tracks, passing the third door, when the most intoxicating scent of apple crumble hit my nose.

Alexander.

He must be in there!

I hesitated in my tracks, and before I thought it through, I stood in front of Alpha Alexander's office.

I swallowed hard, hearing his and an unknown woman's voices coming from inside.

Jealousy and possessiveness bubbled up inside me, and the urge to barge in rose in me.

I grabbed the door handle firmly in my hand and pressed my ear against the door, listening to their conversation.

"Where did you go last night?" A woman growled. "You left me there all alone with those mongrels!"

The screeching sound of the woman's voice made every hair on my back rise. I hadn't even seen her face yet, and I wanted to rearrange it.

"I had an emergency," Alex said.

"What kind of emergency?" She snapped, getting to her feet and walking closer to where Alex was, her shoes moving noisily over the hard, cold floor.

"Something unexpectedly came up," Alex said aloofly. "And I needed to deal with it."

"By leaving me alone on the dance floor?" She snapped. "You could have taken me with you!"

Alex was on the dance floor. Why haven't I seen him there?

"Angelica," Alex snapped. "I am the soon-to-be Alpha of this pack. I have to take care of my people first. If you don't like it, you are welcome to leave and go back to your pack. Nobody is standing in your way!"

"Leave?" She gasped in disbelief. "In this weather? You have to be kidding me! I have better ideas than to leave now. Why don't we get comfortable at the fire? I'll even order the low-life omegas to make us something nice to eat!"

The office suddenly turned silent, and my curiosity got the better of me.

I pulled the door handle down and started to push the door open, but a huge hand grabbed hold of mine, pulling the door close.

My gaze snapped at my invader, and my eyes widened when I saw him as my father.

He looked angry and disappointed in me.

"What are you doing?" He asked, his blue eyes almost gray, out of anger.

"It's not what it looks like," I tried to defend.

"Not what it looks like?" My father growled. "You were about to enter the young Alpha Alexander's office without his permission, Emily!"

"Who is with him?" I asked, trying to change the subject. I needed to know who the other woman was.

"It is none of your business," he snapped.

"It is," I argued.

"If you must know," my father sneered. "It is his future, Luna."

Luna?

His future, Luna?

Alexander is matted.

I blinked a couple of times, unable to process what he had just said.

Did I hear correctly?

Did I understand what he was saying?

Does Alexander have a mate?

But how? He had no mark on his nape. Did he lie to me?

My gaze snapped back at my father. I had questions and needed answers.

"Who is she?" I asked, feeling tears well up in my eyes.

"He met her at the Alpha training camp," he said. "She is a perfect suitor for him. It snowed last night, indicating that his wolf is happy with his choice."

My heart sank, and tears made their way down my cheeks.

Alexander took my innocence last night, and now he is taking that thing in his office as his Luna.

My father lifted my chin and knitted his eyebrows together.

"I know you have always had feelings for young Alpha Alexander," he said tenderly. "But it's time for you to let go of those feelings and find your own mate."

If only he knew that Alexander was my mate.

I burst into tears, and my father pulled me to his chest.

"Calm down, Emily," he muttered. "It's not that bad. You will find the other half of your soul soon; he will be your perfect half. You will be happy and never think of Alpha Alexander again."

That made me sob even louder.

If only what he said was true.

My father scooped me up in his strong arms, carried me back to the car, and drove me back home.

We didn't live far from the pack house, but our cottage did border the forest.

My father had designed and built the cottage when my mother fell pregnant with me. It was a beautiful two-story place centered between four huge trees and had a large garden.

My father told me that someday the cottage would be mine.

Most mated couples had built their own places to raise their offspring, whereas most unmated wolves still lived in a pack house.

My father stopped the car, picked me up, and carried me upstairs. He sat me down on my bed and pulled the blanket over me.

His eyes were tender yet full of love, but I couldn't help noticing the pity hiding behind them.

He felt sorry for me.

He saw me as a weakling and maybe even a disappointment.

My father silently left my room, gave me one last look, and closed the bedroom door behind him.

It wasn't long before my mother knocked and peeked her head in.

"Emily," she said, with almost a hysterical pitch to her voice, entering my room. "I am so sorry, baby girl. You should've found out like that."

The bed suddenly dipped next to me, and I knew she must have taken a seat on the bed.

I inhaled her soft flower scent, and my heart pinched hurtfully inside my chest.

My mother stretched out her hand and tenderly stroked my chocolate brown hair.

She had done this many times when I was sad.

My mother suddenly bent over and kissed the top of my head, then quietly rose to her feet to exit my room.

"Everything is going to be alright," she whispered to me before she closed the door.

If only my mother had known that this would be the last time she would see me before I started a new chapter in my life.

****