Mated

First Meeting

Chapter Two "First Meeting"

Kieran stood in the woods, staring up at the sky, and exhaled. How long did it take his mother to ask her questions and make her choice? Or not make any choice, as she had in the past. If he hadn't found anyone he deemed a suitable prospect, his mother would not make a choice from any that he had picked from other Packs. He just hadn't found someone that he believed would fit in his life properly. Until this Pack. While their way of thinking was rather extreme compared to his own and even the many other Packs he'd visited, he'd thought their Ritual was fascinating. Add in the fact that they had a rarity among them—albeit she was an Omega at best—and he was over the moon. He'd made his choices based on their scent alone, as instructed. When he'd gotten a whiff of that redhead, his knees had nearly buckled, and he knew right then that he wanted her. He had felt guilty for placing the crown on her head last, but seeing as how she ranked so low, he figured it would make the most sense to the higher ups of her Pack.

More endless minutes passed and he started to worry and pace back and forth among the trees. Honestly, how long did it freaking take to ask some damn questions?! The more seconds that ticked by, the more his nerves flared up and the faster he paced. Maybe it was a good sign that his mom was taking this long. Maybe she had to eliminate the girls one at a time, with multiple questions. Kieran was just about to reach his breaking point when he heard a twig snap behind him. He spun around, already on the defensive, and let out a relieved sigh—yet nervous—sigh when he saw his grandmother standing there.

"Time to head home?" he asked, his heart sinking.

"No," she smiled. "It's time for you to meet your mate."

Kieran's heart rocketed from his toes to his throat and he had to brace himself against the closest tree when his knees turned to jelly. He was finally mated. They had been searching for months at this point and he had begun to lose hope. He had been subjected to quite a few curious looks when the Packs found out that not only was an Alpha-son having so much issue finding a mate, but he was almost twenty-five and unmated. And that was all over now.

"Please let it be the redhead," he whispered as he started after his grandmother. "Gram, is it the redhead?"

"You know I can't tell you," she laughed.

"You can too tell me!" he whined. "You just won't."

"You're right," she laughed. "Why ruin the surprise?"

The thought of being mated to one of the blondes made him uncomfortable. He knew it was wrong to feel that way; especially seeing as how he had chosen them after all. But all he really wanted was to have the redhead. And not just because of the fact that she was a rarity. He had seen her go after the oversexed Alpha-son with such fire and spirit that she didn't show normally. At that moment he saw the vault of potential that was hidden in her. She would make a perfect Alpha female. Granted, she'd need a little refining, but who wouldn't? Having one of the blondes by his side for the rest of his life just wouldn't satisfy him.

"Her name is Lyric," Gram said, stopping when a picnic area came into view.

"Lyric," he smiled. He liked how the name rolled off of his tongue. When he saw the fire reflecting red off of her hair, his heart fell briefly. Then he saw that it wasn't a reflection. It was the redhead. Kieran bit back on the joyous whoop that wanted to erupt from his throat, but he did jump around in excitement.

Once he had worked a fair amount of the thrill from his body, he composed himself, and took a deep breath. He smoothed the front of his black dinner jacket and then adjusted the form fitting black jeans that had somehow managed to slip down his waist a little when he was doing his happy dance. Lyric somehow hadn't even noticed him and she sat at a picnic table with her back to him. Before he went to her, he took a chance to soak the sight of her in.