Chapter 1 - Catherine
I stood in the corner of the ballroom, watching the party unfold before my eyes without really feeling as though I was a part of it. It was the night of the summer solstice, and the three main Alphas in the region had got together to throw a huge ball to celebrate the occasion.
But of course, that wasn’t the main reason behind the party. The main reason, as with many of the social events on the werewolf calendar, was to help us find our mates. And as far as I could tell, it seemed to be pretty effective. I had already seen a handful of men approach their mates and start the courtship process.
Except my mate was still nowhere to be seen. I was almost twenty-five, and nobody had claimed me. Most of the friends I had grown up with found their mates shortly after their twenty-first birthday, and I was starting to wonder if the moon goddess had decided that I wasn’t worthy of having a mate on my own.
‘Don’t worry, human, our mate is getting close. I can feel his presence,’ my wolf informed me, sending my heart racing. I had been looking forward to this day for so long, and now that it was finally here, I was worried that I wouldn’t be good enough for my mate. That my dress wasn’t going to be fancy enough, or that I wouldn’t be beautiful enough for him.
I knew that it was ridiculous. Nobody ever rejected their mates, especially over something so trivial. But knowing that didn’t stop me from worrying about it. There were stories of rejected wolves who died from the pain of heartbreak. Nobody knew if these stories were true, but they were enough to make most people fear rejection.
With all these thoughts swirling through my mind, I was starting to feel a little uneasy, so I decided to take a small drink to steady my nerves. Nobody paid attention to me as I picked my way along the back wall, avoiding the dancefloor and the group of high-ranking pack members who were talking politics beside it.
When I finally arrived at the drinks table, I looked at it in confusion. I didn’t drink often, and on the odd occasion I did drink, it was my parents who chose my drink, so I had no clue what to pick. I didn’t want to get too drunk if I might meet my mate this evening, but the only drink with a low alcohol content was beer, and my mother always told me that beer was a man’s drink.
“Let me help you.”
The sound of the Alpha’s voice directly behind me caused me to freeze on the spot in fear. I knew of our Alpha by reputation only, but everything I had heard about him made me determined to keep my distance from him. Even the moon goddess herself had shunned him by refusing to give him a mate.
“No, Alpha, there is no need for that,” I replied, trying to keep my fear from entering my voice while keeping my gaze low and away from him.
“But I insist, Cathrine.”
My breath caught in my throat, and I looked straight at him. It was a bad sign that a man like him knew my first name, and despite my instincts telling me to run, I needed to know how he knew who I was.
“That’s better. Now let me pour you a drink.”
I nodded my head in acceptance as I studied his face. The smirk he wore as he filled two glasses with champagne told me that he was enjoying my discomfort, but other than that, his face gave nothing away. If I wanted to know what he was planning, then I was going to have to swallow my revulsion and speak to him.
“Is this some kind of celebration?” I asked before taking one of the glasses from him.
“Of course. Many of our pack members have found their mates this evening, and that is always a cause for celebration, but I do have an extra special announcement to make later this evening.”
“I will look forward to that,” I replied, the corners of my mouth turning up slightly.
There had been rumours around the pack that our Alpha was being pressured by the werewolf council to step down from his position. Although Alpha Blackstock didn’t look much older than me, he was already approaching two hundred years of age. Most unmated Alphas his age would have succumbed to madness years ago without the calming influence of a Luna by their side.
It has been suggested that the only thing keeping Alpha Blackstock’s madness at bay was his mistress and the father to his three sons. But as she passed away two years ago, everyone in the pack knows that it is now only a matter of time before he loses what is left of his sanity and drags our pack down with him.
If the council had finally got him to agree to hand over power, then it could only be a good thing for our pack. Even though, by all accounts, his sons were just as cruel as he was.
“I’m glad to hear that, Cathrine. I will be looking for you in the crowd when I make my speech.”
I opened my mouth to ask him to elaborate, but before I could get the words out, he winked at me and walked away. I watched him merge back into the crowd, even more confused than I had been to begin with.
Why would he be looking for me? And I still didn’t know how he knew my name. The whole situation left an uneasy sensation in the pit of my stomach. I knew something big was going to happen tonight, and I had a feeling that I wasn’t going to like it.
