My heart lies with him

Two

Sounds of early morning chirping fills my ears. The morning light streams through a gap in my drapes, as my eyes open slowly. A yawn escapes me, my body struggling to get out of bed.

My mind was still reeling, the pull I was supposed to be feeling for Lucy non-existent. My father seemed to think as she wasn't quite 21, it may have weakened the mate connection between us. He said we'd know for certain once she was of age but the dreams were a very strong indication, at least.

Her birthday was in late December, 7 months from now. This left me with some breathing room, although it was still inevitable we'd end up together. My thoughts have been eating away at me, constantly baring down that one day I will need to face my mate, whether it be Lucy or another female I meet. My family and friends are all so excited, already planning a grand mating ceremony for all of us to celebrate. We've been hanging out a few times since that night in the forest. I know she wants to make it official but I just can't quite bring myself to do it just yet.

After a long shower, I enter the pack house kitchen, a few members milling about. Our pack house can hold about 30 members at one time with the various rooms. Most pack members who have settled down have their own home, small houses dotted around the land to accommodate some privacy between the couple or families.

My father is the alpha of our pack, The Sterling Rose pack. Named after the founding leader, my great, great grandfather. The story starts with Rose, his soulmate, who died at the hands of a feud between another pack in this region. He renamed the pack after her once he defeated the alpha, honoring her legacy and his undying love for his mate. Mother loved telling us that story growing up.

I poked Mia's cheek, before plopping down next to her, taking a piece of her toast from the plate.

"Hey sis, thanks for making me breakfast." I said, swaying on the kitchen chair taking a bite. My foot dangling in the air.

"That wasn't for you, asshole" She kicked my chair at the foot, causing me to tip backwards. I catch myself before fully falling backwards, Mia lets out a small chuckle and smiles in victory, clearly enjoying what just occurred. She had the same hair color as the rest of my family, a striking platinum blonde. Her curls were styled into a layered pixie cut, her eyes were a bright green, unlike mine. That was the only feature I seemed to get from my mother, her beautiful blue eyes.

"You totally could have killed me, how could you do that to your favorite baby brother." I pouted. She rolls her eyes, sticking her tongue out before glancing back down at her latest issue of her favorite magazine. "You're my only baby brother"

She was flicking through pages, sticky noting new trends and styles that seemed to be popular amongst the humans.She could spend hours doing this. I never understood the appeal, staring down at myself. The most effort I ever put into my appearance fashion wise was during my prom night. And even then, Mia picked out my suit and organized all the fittings. She's always trying to get me to try newer styles, implying I'd never land a girl with my drab fit. I had wanted to tell her, life would feel a lot less heavy to share my big secret with someone. But it never felt like the 'right' time.

My mind drifts to my first class of my week, and my recent run in with Quinn. He had lied to me that night in the woods. I had questioned my father on this agreement, to which he replied "We haven't changed the agreement, why on earth would you think that?".Playing it off, I said I must've heard wrong from the patrol teams. Quinn laughed when I confronted him, eager to get under my skin with his antics. It's always been this way between us. Constantly finding new ways to mess with each other, even in the tiniest way. He once shoved a dead possum into my locker, with a note attached to it. I hadn't seen you at lunch, figured you must be famished. - Quinn. Don't ask me how he even managed to get a dead animal into my locker. Or there was a time when I decided to cover his entire locker in 'twilight' stickers, now that was a fun one.