The Mating Ball.
Cathy
It is that painful night again.
The night of the mating ball.
Before I begin my story, my name is Cathy, and this year, I’ll be celebrating my twentieth birthday. It will also be my third year without a wolf. My third year participating in the mating ball rituals, holding onto a small glimpse of hope that the fated mate willed to me by the Moon Goddess would be revealed.
As I hide behind the large beige curtains of the grand, roofless hall where the ball is being held, I munch on fresh apples as I observe the guests milling about. The hall is roofless to allow the light coming from the almost full moon shine down on everyone. Omegas frolic about, chatting excitedly at the prospect of finally being mated.
I once shared that excitement. On my eighteenth birthday, and at least my nineteenth. Waiting, praying, hoping that I would finally feel a rise within me. Feel a stir underneath my skin. Feel a change waiting to break through. I waited on a bond too. An Alpha to call mine. I wasn’t even picky on who he would be. If he would be a Beta, a Gamma or even Delta. I wanted someone. Anyone.
That excitement died this year, and I’ve stopped hoping. Tonight, I’m just here for the damn sake of it. To fulfill all righteousness. In the crowd, I see my twin sister, Carla with her mate Josh, locking lips. Their bond was discovered on the eve of our eighteenth birthday, and they’ve been inseparable ever since.
Life has always been kind to Carla. She’s prettier, skinner, and more generally liked than I ever was. I’ve always been known as the overweight, wallflower sister. The useless one. The one who can’t shift, can’t fight, and can’t even have a bond to save her life, and it’s stuck.
That’s why I’m hiding here, behind these curtains. I didn’t even care to look the part this year. I’m wearing my normal purple plain gown, and my hair is not packed into a bun like usual. Instead, I’ve allowed my fiery-red curls lose, flowing down my back and shoulders. Once the moon is full, and confirms a fate I already know, and I’m prepared for, I can take my leave quietly without anyone noticing.
The hall is now filled to the brim, and on the podium in the center, Hector Abrams is impossible to miss. Tall, blonde, broad-shouldered, he’s perfectly sculptured to perfection. The golden Alpha of Greyhound. And tonight is his night. Hector turns twenty-three this year, and everyone is waiting, with bated breaths to see if his fated mate will be revealed this year.
Hector and I are worlds apart. He is so out of my league. So perfect. So right. We’ve never crossed paths, except once when he walked absentmindedly into me in the school hallways, knocking over my books. He apologized briefly, hardly even looking at my face. I knew he didn’t see me, as usual. No one ever did. I’ve stopped expecting any less.
My eyes sifts from him to the damsel standing next to him. Giselle Powers. Black-haired cut into a bob style, a flawless, spotless face with a Cupid Bow jaw, she’s perfection. The delicate kind. Everyone agrees she should be Luna. She goes so well with Hector. Beautiful, strong, and fearless. Her silver gown clings to her curves, and she smiles daintily at the sea of Omegas crowded around them, gushing over the detailing on her outfit. It’s always a fashion statement whenever Giselle is attending a function.
She’s waited her entire life for this night. The night that would confirm Hector as hers forever. I know she has a speech memorized once it is confirmed and she’s instated as Luna. Giselle and I have never exchanged words with each other. She’s never considered me as a threat or anything, so she’s always let me be. Hardly even seeing me, or taking note of me in school. Once, she’d saved me from being bullied by her girls. I think she pities me, and for some reason, it stings. I would rather have her cruelty. Her pity wounds my ego so bad.
But then again, what fat Omega should have an ego to protect?
I shake my head, and straighten when the Elders start calling everyone to order. The mating ritual is about to start. The Moon is now full, and its bright, silvery light bathes us from above. Everywhere is quiet. Every ear attentive. The room is now divided, Omegas to the left, Alphas to the right.
I remain behind the curtains, certain I won’t be finding my mate tonight or getting my wolf. Soon, mates start finding each other, Omegas running from their stations to hug the Alphas they’re bonded to. I clutch the edge of my gown and sigh.
Just another failed ceremony, Cathy. Better luck next year.
As I step out of the curtains, the laughter and excited talks fades. Blood rushes to my ears, hot, sudden, and frantic. My vision blurs, then narrows to just one person.
One Alpha.
Him...
This has to be a mistake.
On the podium, Hector clutches his ears, disoriented. Giselle lets him go, her perfectly-lined brows furrowed in confusion as Hector stumbles off the podium. Everyone gets themselves together as they observe him, equally confused. They make way for him, until there’s a straight road that leads to...me.
The electricity surging through my veins intensifies, and ripples outward, towards Hector. It feels like an invisible thread is pulling us both together, against our wills. Hector stumbles closer and closer, and all eyes are on him, following him, and settling on me. I try to run. Try to stop the pull, but it is useless. Hector reaches me now and stops, wide-eyed as he takes my hand in his, and our fingers interlocks. The electricity roars violently, the bond snapping into place.
We are now one.
