In the four years since I had taken the lead at the Archives, I have never worked a shift that was as much of a shit show as today has been.
And there have been many shit shows in this library. Like the time Blessing and her friends spilled 5 cups of coffee in the study area and I had to clean it up. Or the time Alpha Maxton and his friends broke a chair in an arm wrestling competition.
And no, I still have no idea how they managed to do it but I had to discard all the broken pieces, all while battling the broken splinters that felt like they wanted to take residence in my palms. Or even the one time a mother brought her toddler pup to read some stories and the pup took a real explosive shit right in the middle of the children's section. And guess who had to clean that one up?
That's right. Me.
Not that I mind it. I love my job, even if it sometimes involves arm wrestling mishaps and downright biohazards.
But despite those being annoying and just a tad bit disgusting (okay, maybe really disgusting), they were still easy to clean up and forget about. I can wipe up coffee, I can pick out wooden splinters in my hands, hell, I can even clean up toddler shit!
But this shit show is different. Because this is the one shit show that I can not fix with a Clorox wipe. No, this shit show has to do with the one and only Alpha Maxton Briar of the Rolling Woods Pack.
Yup. The same one who broke the chair while arm wrestling.
He also happens to be my mate.
Wolf-shifters can find their mate after they turn 18. But, my 18th birthday came and went without so little as a sign of him. Mates tend to be found near each other, usually within their packs. With packs today being so large, with hundreds of wolves bonded together through a pack bond commanded by the Alpha, Beta, and Theta, it was definitely a surprise that I didn't find him. But it wasn't that unusual, so I figured he was in the surrounding packs. I attended mate balls, frequented every restaurant in the area, and volunteered to travel to other packs to train budding archivists. My 19th birthday passed that way...And so did my 20th and then my 21st. At the age of 21, I calmly resigned myself to a mateless life.
Okay, maybe calmly is a bit of a lie.
I cried. A lot.
For the past 3 years, I begged the Moon Goddess for a mate. Every night, I'd pray. I went to the Goddess Temple at least once a week. I wept myself to sleep more times than I could count. All I wanted was a mate. Just one person who would choose me. Someone would pick me every time. Someone who I would love, take care of, and talk to. He'd be my first choice, and I'd be his. It felt unfair. Watching all my pack mates fall in love with their mates and be happy. And I don't want to sound ungrateful, although I am sure I do. I have a roof over my head, two parents who care about me, an 18-year-old sister I can coexist with, and a job that I enjoy.
So imagine my surprise when I found out Alpha Maxton was my mate this morning. It made sense that we never knew. He had left the pack before his 18th birthday to undergo Leadership Training. I don't know much about what they do in Leadership Training, but it's a long process that spans across 4 to 5 years. From what I've heard, they travel to Greece to train in the Lycan Palace under the King's Guard.
Growing up, I spoke to him twice. The arm wrestling incident in which he apologized for destroying Archive property was the first time we spoke, five years ago. The second time was when he made up some lousy excuse as to why he and his friends couldn't clean up the mess they made, leaving me to do it. Besides, with him being two years older than me and the Alpha's son, there wasn't much room for him to befriend a common Archivist. And the couple of times he was able to come home and visit the pack, I was away for work.
I met him properly for the first time this morning. Right when I walked through the Archive doors, I felt something was different. My lethargic body buzzed with newfound energy that could not have been from the awful latte I picked up at the coffee shop next door. There was a pop in my step I couldn't pinpoint. And the scent, oh Goddess, the scent that wafted throughout the shelves was positively heavenly. I followed my nose all the way to him. I found him in the Wolf Lore section, holding a book titled The Wolf Mate Bond. It was fate. It had to be. The man I had hoped for the past three years was standing right in front of me, in my favorite place, holding a book about mates. He was researching me, he was waiting for me!
I can't forget his tusseled, dirty blonde hair that looked like a mess but seemed perfectly styled at the same time. I can't forget his big brown eyes, the curve of his nose, and his chiseled jawline. Or the way his tall body hunched over the book, his strong fingers gripping the sides. I can't forget the way he took in my scent, the way he turned to look at me, the way his eyes widened as he took me in. And I can't forget the way his lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure instead of a smile.
Was it displeasure? It couldn't have been displeasure, right? He was my mate! Finding your mate is a sacred, beautiful thing. It was supposed to be filled with excitement and joy. Your mate should be ecstatic to see you, they should run to you, hug you, scent you, maybe take your head into their hands and give you a small kiss. The way I've seen all the wolves around me react to their mates. That's the way it was supposed to be.
So why didn't Maxton do that? Why didn't I sense excitement? Why could I only sense disappointment when I first saw him?
It didn't last long, thankfully.
"You're my mate," was the only thing I could say.
I know, my one-liners are fantastic.
I sounded utterly daft when I stated the very obvious revelation that this gorgeous man, the alpha, was my mate. Me. The young Archivist of the Rolling Woods Pack. Despite that, he wiped his face clean of any expression and replied,
"What's your name?" His voice, oh Goddess, his voice. Do I have a thing for voices?
"Hazel. Hazel Wren."
I took a step towards him then. My body moved on my own without input from my brain. I simply couldn't resist. Not when my mate, the mate I waited for for so long was standing in front of me.
My mate. My mate! For me. Mine. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. It was finally happening. I reached towards Maxton. His eyes softened, and he grabbed my hand.
The mate bond that had been quivering in the back of my mind since I smelled him buzzed to life. I felt it tug us towards each other again. I knew Maxton felt it too when his eyes widened a fraction, and he took another step closer. He took a deep breath, taking in my scent.
This was it. This was the mate bond.
It was so beautiful. It felt so good.
I wished that moment lasted. I could've stayed in that minute of bliss forever. But I've never been that lucky.
"What's going on here?" a shrill but extremely familiar voice broke the stillness of the moment. Upon hearing another person, Maxton snatched his palm away from mine and took a couple of steps back. I looked at the intruder.
Blessing. Of freaking course, it's Blessing!
Blessing is my younger sister. At the age of 19, she's a sight to behold. Her thick strawberry-blonde hair fell in soft waves around her face to a couple of inches below her shoulders. The shorter strands curled around her face with two small braids arching from the edge of her hairline and tied back into a small ponytail. A hairdo that I have no doubt was effortless to do for her. Her skin is sunkissed with a light blush gracing her smooth cheeks, and sooty eyelashes frame her striking blue eyes. Blessing is gorgeous. Everyone knows it. including her. She looked like the human version of an angel, or maybe a fairy, or a tree nymph? I could list hundreds of beautiful creatures, and Blessing would outrank them all. She was that beautiful.
Which makes being the older sister who looks nothing like her so much worse. Everyone just can't help but compare us. I can't blame them. Hell, I can't even help comparing us.
Where she looks soft and angelic, I look rough around the edges no matter what I do. Her beautiful blonde hair falls effortlessly with no styling. I'd be lucky if my almost jet-black curls cooperated with me for even a moment. My ordinary dark brown eyes don't stand a chance against her piercing blue ones.
"Ba-" Maxton stuttered, "Blessing." He cleared his throat, eyes darting between us. Was he nervous? Then I realized what he said. How does he know Blessing?
But then again, how doesn't he? Of course, he knows Blessing. Everyone knows Blessing. Besides, it's better that he knows her, I thought to myself firmly. She's his future sister-in-law anyway. So it's fine. Right?
"Max," she breathed out, fluttering her eyelashes a little. Max?? Then she turned and her lips slightly curled into the sneer she always wore when she looked at me. She gave me a once over, eyes landing on the middle of my body. "Squishy," she addressed me flippantly.
My cheeks heated up as I awkwardly hugged my stomach and hips, a habit I only seemed to adopt in her presence. I'm not fat by any means. The wolf genes simply didn't allow it. But that doesn't stop me from being, well, squishy. My soft tummy, thick thighs, and curvy frame somehow always seemed to dwarf Blessing's naturally athletic and lean body, despite being the shorter one.
Max's eyes darted to where I was hugging myself in confusion, making me want to cover myself even more. His lips curled in a frown when he looked back at Blessing.
She took a step towards him and grabbed his elbow.
"Everyone's waiting for us," she paused to pout, "I was looking for you everywhere!"
She started walking towards the end of the aisle where she came in, dragging him by the elbow. And he just let her. My mate and my sister were walking away from me. And he was letting her!
I took a step forward and unconsciously reached my hand out towards them.
"I-" Before I could even get a word in, Blessing's head snapped towards mine as she kept moving farther and farther away with my mate.
"Don't you have books to reshelve or something, Squishy?" Her face was painted in disdain. "Go make yourself useful." They turned right at the end of the shelves and vanished from sight. Maxton didn't even look at me.
Here we go!! You may have read this before as I am republishing this book. Worry not! There is new content coming up!! Hope you enjoyed. Please vote and comment.
Which character are you most excited to meet?
I hope you have a wonderful day jaani <3
Love, libahrary
P.S. jaani means darling in farsi, urdu, and hindi!