The Mating Rules

I nod silently, as my mother takes a deep breath, obviously preparing herself for whatever she needs to tell me.

‘I had a sister’ she starts reluctantly, her fingers playing absentmindedly with my own as she talks.

‘Aunt Amelia’ I reply, my mother’s younger sister. There are four years between her and my mother. She had found her mate in my mother’s old pack and was still there now. Sometimes we’d go to visit.

My mother shakes her head, ‘I had another sister’ she murmurs, ‘her name was Bethany. She was popular when we were kids, pretty, and hung out with the cool kids at school. I had already met your father when she had her claiming, lived here, so I wasn’t around when it happened.’

I frown but don’t speak, waiting for the older woman to continue. ‘Her wolf called out just like she was supposed to, and her call was answered’ she says sadly. ‘Her mate came through the trees and she saw him, he was an Omega.’

My mum growls softly, ‘he was such a nice guy’ she murmured, ‘really sweet in nature, always willing to help anyone in need. My sister though, she wasn’t happy about his low rank. She had thought she would be ranked to a Beta or strong warrior with our Gamma b***d.’

I frowned, ‘did she reject him?’ I whisper in horror.

Mum shakes her head, ‘no, it would maybe have been better if she had’ she replied. ‘You see, she didn’t know what she wanted, our Bethany, she had a Goddess gifted mate, something that wolves dream of, but he wasn’t what she had been expecting. She thought she was would be getting a werewolf worthy of her rank, instead she got the lowest ranked wolf in a pack.’

I bristle, ‘Omegas are worthy! Just because they are weaker doesn’t make them any less important to our pack’ I snarl.

‘I know sweetie’ my mother replies, patting my hand, ‘and I agree with you, we all have our place in the pack, our strengths that keep our pack safe.

Her friends were also quite judgemental though, the usual cliquey type that you find in groups of young girls. Some were sympathetic to what they perceived as a bad match, others outright made vile comments about him, and told my sister to reject him.

Noah did his best though, he agreed when she asked for time, accepted she didn’t want to mark him straight away, wanted to get to know him, she said, build a relationship. He’d go out into the woods and pick wildflowers, making them in to bouquets to give to her because he knew she liked being given flowers, she was a proper girly girl. He also got the girls in the kitchen to make Bethany her favourite caramel cake as a surprise, little things like that. What he didn’t have in status and money, he made up for in thoughtfulness. He always put her first, gave her whatever she asked for without any complaint, never ever pushed for the marking, just wanted her to be happy.

Time went on, the full moon was coming closer, and still, my sister Bethany was dragging her heels, unable to decide whether to reject the guy or accept that she was destined to a low ranked wolf.

On the night of the full moon, as the clouds parted, my sister began to scream, clawing at her chest when she fell to the ground. My parents didn’t know what to do, and were frantic, calling the doctor to come to her.

One of the nurses came instead. She said our Doctor was already with another wolf who had also fallen ill. My sister writhed in pain for over an hour before it stopped as quickly as it had started. She was crying, calling out for Noah, she couldn’t feel his tether anymore, the Goddess had taken back her gift, broken their bond.

From the way that my sister described it, it was worse than how rejected wolves described the pain. They had already started to bond even without the marking, each day together strengthening their connection.’

My eyes were wide as I stammered out, ‘the other wolf, the one the doctor went too, it was Noah wasn’t it?’

My mother nodded, ‘he had fallen to the ground in the kitchen, was screaming in pain the Omegas had said. Ripping at his chest unrelentingly as though trying to rip out his own heart. He thrashed and fought as the other Omegas tried to hold him down, stop him from hurting himself. The doctor was linked, came running, and injected him with sedatives, painkillers, anything he could think of to try and help but nothing worked.

Noah screamed and screamed like his very b***d was on fire until he gasped and fell silent, his body going still.’ My mother wiped her palm under her eye as tears slipped down her cheeks. ‘He died’ she whispered, ‘the pain of the broken bond was too much for him. Being an Omega, he wasn’t as strong as Bethany, his wolf just couldn’t cope. When his wolf slipped away, there was nothing left to help him fight and he was just gone.’

I’m crying myself, for the poor man who died in so much pain, ‘what happened to Bethany?’ I ask reluctantly. ‘Did she . . did she die too?’

My mum shook her head, ‘no, but the death of Noah destroyed her. Her wolf Mercy, receded to the back of her mind, and wouldn’t come forward again, leaving her barely more than a human. The guilt ate at her, that her refusal to take what had been given to her had cost a man his life. She ended up running from the pack a few months later. The Alpha sent out warriors to search for her. Alpha Scott helped too, as we are allianced but we never found her. I hope that she found a human town, slotted herself into their world and maybe got a second chance at love. I have to tell myself that is what happened to her because I don’t want to think of any other outcomes.’

I gulp, withdrawing from my parents’ grasps, and wiping my blotchy face with my hands. ‘Why didn’t you tell us?’ I whisper, ‘why did you keep her a secret?’

My mum closes her eyes for a second, ‘because it hurts to talk about her’ she admits, ‘and I didn’t think I’d ever have to deal with one of my children not being marked by their mate. I raised you all to respect all pack members, to look past the rank and see the person. I thought we’d never have a situation like that again.’

I’m shaking, the weight of my decision even heavier now. If I don’t decide, I’ll lose both my mates and in the most painful way possible. I could kill one or both of them through my own indecisiveness.

‘Maybe it was just your sister’ I offer desperately, ‘maybe it wasn’t the Goddess taking back their bond, maybe it was something else?’

My father is the one who answers, shaking his head sadly, ‘no, your mother’s old Alpha had to notify the council of what had happened, it turns out that Bethany was not the first to go through the bond withdrawal.’

‘What?’ I snarl, jumping to my feet, ‘this happens regularly and no one ever thinks about adding this to the stuff we have to learn? Goddess, we learn about the correct way to approach a human mate but they don’t think it’s important to tell us our bonds will be taken away if we don’t mark within a full moon phase?!’

‘Sit down JJ’ my father orders, glaring at me until I sit down reluctantly again. ‘It very rarely happens, as so few wolves reject their mate. Honestly, how many wolves in your lifetime who have gone through the claiming have still had a bare neck after two nights?’

I scowl because until me, the answer is none, every she wolf has been claimed and marked, most immediately, right there in the clearing, others that night in the privacy of the werewolf’s room.

‘The council felt that it was not prudent to worry the werewolf world about the chance of having their bond revoked when it was so rare. Any she wolf or werewolf who doesn’t want to mark, is given time and then informed by their Alpha about the full moon.’

‘So why didn’t Alpha Scott tell me this?’ I ask, trying not to sound accusing toward my Alpha.

My dad sighs, ‘because we were trying to give you space to get to know the boys. You were already stressed about the choice, we didn’t want to overwhelm you with the knowledge of what happens if you refuse to choose. We also worried that maybe you would just pick one without thinking it through because the thought of losing them both would be too much for you.’

‘Do Caden and Hadley know?’ I ask quietly, wondering if they too have been keeping this secret from me.

My dad shakes his head, ‘no, we have told neither of them, but JJ, if you don’t decide soon, we are going to have to tell them so they can make the choice to reject you instead.’

I start at his words, grabbing at my chest as pain laces through me, ‘no! I’ll decide’ I gasp, ‘I’ll make a decision I promise. I’ll be marked before the full moon and so will my mate, I won’t let them suffer that pain, I just can’t.’

My dad nods, standing up to walk around the table and crush me in a warm embrace that only dad’s can give you. ‘I know you will JJ’ he murmurs into my hair, ‘and I’m sorry you have to make this decision, it’s not fair and I wish mum and I could do it for you. I know that you’ll give it more thought than anyone else would do and that you’ll come to the best decision for all of you.

Unwrapping myself from my father’s arms I give him a small smile. ‘I need to go back to the pack house’ I mumble, ‘I need to be alone.’

Both my parents nod, my dad stepping back so I can rise from my chair, hugging my mother quickly before heading toward the door.

‘Lee! I found you a picture to colour!’ my sister Lauren calls out as I pass the living room door. I glance over to see her waving a fairy picture at me hopefully.

Slapping on a smile, I walk into the room, crouching down next to the seven year old and ruffling her hair. ‘I’m sorry little Ren,’ I mumble, ‘but I’m going to have to rain check you on the colouring date, I’m so sorry.’

I watch my sister’s body sag as she averts her gaze from me sadly, ‘OK’ she whispers, her lower l*p trembling, making me feel even worse. I am truly the worst mate and sister that was ever invented, no matter what Isaac said, the Goddess hates me, if she didn’t, she wouldn’t be making so many people I love so miserable because of me.

‘I’m so sorry’ I repeat, gulping back a sob before standing up and rushing from the room, slamming out of my parents front door and racing at wolf speed toward the pack house and the safety of my room.

Pushing through the Pack house entrance, I race up the stairs ignoring calls from other members, asking me what is wrong, intent only on reaching my bedroom.

Once I get inside, I shut my door, locking it behind me before sinking to the ground and sobbing, my chest heaving with the force.

A knock on my door echoes but I ignore it, ‘Lee’ Ashleigh calls through the wooden structure, ‘let me in.’

‘I’m fine!’ I call back, ‘just hurt myself, the meds will kick in soon and I’ll be fine, don’t worry.’Property belongs to Nôvel(D)r/ama.Org.

‘Lee’ my best friend calls again, more sternly this time.

‘Please, Ash, I’m fine’ I lie, ‘please, just give me a little while on my own.’

I can hear her sigh, knew she was struggling with whether to force me to open the door or to give me space. Thankfully she chooses the later and slowly walks away, back to her own room.

I can feel both Caden and Hadley pushing against the wall I threw up in my mind, agitation from both coming through the bond.

‘I’m OK’ I say again, opening the mind link to both of them.

‘No you aren’t, I can feel your pain’ Caden growled, ‘I’m coming to get you.’

‘NO!’ I shout desperately, ‘no, I mean it’s not necessary, I’m on my monthlies’ I blurt out. ‘You know what we are like when Flo comes to visit. I made the mistake of watching that film with the dog that walks miles to find his family and then at the end, when he finds them, he dies? You know the one? I’m just being stupid, I’ll be better tomorrow, you don’t need to come up here.’

‘Baby’ Caden starts uncertainly.

‘Please Caden, I think I just need to have a shower and go to bed’ I cut him off. ‘I feel rubbish and bloated and now my face is all red. Come see me tomorrow and you’ll both see it’s just my hormones.’

The Alpha huffs as Hadley murmurs, ‘OK sweetheart, if that’s what you want. You know you can link me or Caden at any point though right? Even if it’s the middle of the night, you call us and we’ll come.’

I suck back my sobs at his words, ‘yeah’ I manage to send back, ‘I know, thank you both.’

‘Night Baby’ Caden mutters sadly.

‘Yeah, night sweetheart’ Hadley adds.

‘Good night’ I reply, ‘I’ll speak to you both first thing, I promise’ before I cut the link and curl up on the floor, alone.