Linked fates, 1. Rejected

My name is Louisa Dern, I am 16 years old.

I go to high school in the city of Bormur. I live on the outskirts of this city, in a wooded village called Willow valley.

My family has belonged for generations to the pack of moons guardians who hold the place. We live among humans who are familiar with wolves and our customs.

It's not uncommon for wolves to have human mates, the wolf then has the choice to dissociate itself from its pack to live among humans with its partner, but it is very rare. Wolves need to live in the community, they suffer if they withdraw, even if it is with their companion and their children.

It sometimes happens that a member leaves for a while with his human companion, then ends up returning with their entire family, such is the need of the pack. The Alpha then decides if he is worthy of returning to the pack.

But the human mate often understands this need to live in a group and accepts it, like my mother. She immediately agreed to move in with my father in the pack, especially since he was promised an important role in the hierarchy.

Even though my mother is human, the wolf gene is dominant. So my brother and I are wolves, like my father, who has been today and for years, the gamma of the pack.

William Dern is known to be fearsome and ruthless.

It’s totally true... Except with me. He is also hell with my brother Stan who is 4 years older, but with me, he is a real teddy bear. He is an adorable father but also very, very, very protective.

He takes care of our education on a firm footing, we must play sports every day and have impeccable grades. He passed on his sense of justice to us.

Stan must become a gamma as they are in my family from father to son, but before that, he goes to a school that trains peacekeepers.

The functions of wolves are often called “keepers of” or "guardians of" because that is what we are. Our canine wolf instinct naturally guides us down this path. We preserve, we protect, and we watch over the essentials: nature, order, peace, goodness, and justice.

For my part, I do not yet know where to go. But the physical balance of power does not attract me at all, so one thing is certain, I will not follow their path.

My mother Isadora, is a literature teacher at the university, she immersed me in books as soon as I learned to read, and it worked pretty well. I have no problem gobbling up pages and pages for hours on end.

Adolescence is an ordeal that I can’t wait to leave. I hear girls every day talking about the mate bond that will soon change our lives and turn us into a romantic fairy tale thanks to the true love of our only partner in the world...

They are all ecstatic and unbearable with it, I avoid them as much as possible. Most of the time I stay with my best friend Calvin, we have known each other since childhood as his family is part of the pack. They live near my house.

He is not obsessed with this link, in any case, not for the moment. So at school, he is the only presence I want near me constantly.

As far as I’m concerned, this mate bond is what’s been ruining my life for some time. Because even though I’m supposed to be too young to know who my intended partner is, I’ve known who he is, since the first school day of the year... two months ago.

That day was an exciting day for many people, but I lived it like any other. My mother gives me a few lessons even outside of school, and I don’t particularly enjoy going back to high school... It’s a micro-society of cruel teenagers in search of identity, ready to sell their souls to be accepted and adored.

I am lucky to carry the name of my famous father. Everyone knows who I am, and in general, nobody mess with me. It’s perfect.

So I was quietly walking down the corridor of the science rooms when I ran into him... I’ll never forget that moment.

Today I promised Calvin I’d tell him why I’ve been so bitter since the start of the school year...because I haven’t told anyone since, and it’s eating me away.

I thought I could hide my discomfort from everyone but I have more and more trouble. And if there’s one person I can confide in, it’s him.

I meet him after class at our usual place. In an open clearing in Willow valley, near the lake.

"Okay, you’ve made me yearn enough. I want to know what makes you so irritable. You’ve never been very jovial but for weeks you’ve been brooding. Even your brother questioned me. So?!" He asked, eager.

"I know who my mate is." I said.

"What?! Already! Louisa... It’s huge! How do you know? Why so early? And who the fuck is he?!!" He asked again, shocked.

"Calm down. I’ll tell you everything. I’m as surprised as you to have ever felt it. I turned 16 this summer and we’re supposed to feel the bond only around 17 or 18. But it’s like that." I admitted.

Calvin: "Are you sure of yourself?"

Me: "No doubt…"

Calvin: "So! I want more, quickly! Do I know him?"

Me: "Everyone knows him… I met him in a hallway on the first day of school and I knew. He just had to look at me, my heart clenched suddenly, and I felt an intense heat in my chest.

The adrenaline, the excitement, the tingling sensations, it was all there. I also felt a burst of intense euphoria… but it subsided very quickly when I saw that he was gone.

He just looked away and continued on his way, as if nothing had happened. It hurts me. My wolf has been completely melancholy ever since. Because he continued to ignore me every day as if I was completely non-existent, insignificant...

I’m sure he felt the connection, too. I asked myself a whole bunch of questions... Does he think he is the only one who knows about our connection because I am still young? Does he want to be sure? Is he waiting for me to take a step? But he has such disdain that I can’t help but think I’m not the one he wanted. I am certainly a disappointment for him, I see only that."

"But that’s impossible… our instincts take precedence, guide us… But WHO is he, Louisa?!!" He asked, impatient.

"Do you promise to keep this to yourself? Don’t ever tell anyone...please." I begged.

"Of course... but you will end up accepting each other. Come on, tell me." He insisted.

"It’s Sandro..." I answered. He takes a few seconds, and says:

"… Crap… "