Chapter 1

LEON ADLER

All my life, I have always known who my mate is. I wasn't given the option to feel what everyone felt when they were searching for their mates, wondering whether they'll be their on their 18th birthday, or when the full moon was on. I wasn't given any of that. When I was a child, an Elder told me and my parents that my case is rare. I told him that I had an idea who my mate was going to be, and the Elder confirmed it.

It is said that this case only occurs in every 10,000 years.

However, it hasn't been cleared to me as to why I was chosen to have this. I admit, the first time I learned about this, I was ecstatic. Because I didn't have to look for a mate, that I didn't have to spend countless days and nights searching for her, but when I learned that it was a male, I stopped feeling giddy. I claimed this gift as a curse.

Ever since I was a child, I've always known that my mate is Ethan Kennedy.

When my parents learned about this, my parents talked about keeping the bloodline running, which can't happen because my mate is a guy. I know I shouldn't be eavesdropping - I was a child. But I was old enough to understand what they were saying. Since my mate and I are both males, we can't conceive a baby, which means the line of an Alpha blood wound end to me.

My parents are disappointed by that fact, and apparently, it got to me, too. Of course, at a young age, I remember wanting to have pups that I could raise along with my mate. And that can't happen if my mate is a male.

This is probably the reason why I loathe him. I hate him with all my guts. But no, I'm not bullying him or anything. I'm not even speaking to him at all. All my life, I've avoided him because I didn't want to see his face. I still don't. But this is actually a little hard, considering that we're in the same pack. Perhaps when I become a full pledge Alpha, I can banish him. Or would that be too harsh?

He hasn't really spoken to me at all. Hell, I don't even know if he's aware that I'm his mate. But sometimes, I find him staring at me. Me, or at nothing. There are times my eyes would meet his, but he wouldn't budge. He would just... look at me. And I find it really weird.

I loathe him.

I wish I wasn't gifted, or cursed, with the knowledge to meet my mate at a young age. It's a different feeling. I want to feel like a normal werewolf. I want to know how it feels like to look for a mate - that feeling of hopefulness. I want the idea of me thinking how my mate would look. Is she beautiful? Is she small? Is her skin dark or white? What color is her hair? I want to ask those questions. But no, my mate is Ethan Kennedy. And I can't do anything about it.

He's not a female.

He's not worthy to be my mate.

Of course, I should reject him. I don't want anything to do with that guy. But honestly speaking, the thought of rejecting him is scary. Based on the history books I've read about werewolves, rejected mates have shorter life span, or worse, they die from pain. But for Alphas, it's stated that they have a higher chance of living but can't be the same for the mate. So I rejected him, there's a chance that I'd live and he'd die.

That's just awful.

I may loathe him, but I don't loathe him enough to want him to die because of my selfish reason of not wanting him as my mate. And honestly, I don't know what to do.

My 18th birthday is coming up, and that's the full moon. The pull is going to be strong, and I have no idea if I can resist such force. If I could just rejected him without having any consequence, I would have gladly done so. But it's not the case. I'm stuck on this mate thing, with this curse. It would have been easier if I was born normal. My parents would have been so happy. My parents wouldn't have to worry about having to keep the Alpha bloodline of my family. My father would have been happier.

While my parents have already accepted my fate, I can't. There are so many things I wish that could have happened. If my mate had been a girl, I would have been so much happier. But now, I'm filled with this hate in my heart that I can't seem to let go. Whenever I see Ethan Kennedy, I just want to yell and reject him. But then I would have risked our lives.

I'm a soon-to-be Alpha. I have responsibilities that I need to take care, shoes to fill in. Me rejecting my mate would be a sign of weakness. My dad said that having a mate is a precious thing - a gift from the Goddess. But why do I feel like it's nothing but a nuisance? Has the Goddess lost her mind to pair me up with a male, when I need a woman to keep my bloodline running?

And I want lots of pups.

How dare she take that privilege away from me?

Has the Goddess realized that it would just complicate things? Has the Goddess thought of me and my well-being at all before she decided to give me a male mate? Truth be told, I've stopped caring about what the Goddess wants for my life. I just want to rule and be a legendary patriarch of this pack, of my family. It's sad knowing that I wouldn't get to experience those things. I wouldn't experience a complete family. My own family.

And there he is - Ethan Kennedy.

His dirty blonde hair is tousled, his eyes crinkling in a smile as he speaks with Dante. He's wearing a black shirt with floral designs, and paired it with ripped jeans. His teeth sparkling as he gives a dazzling smile. I hate how attractive he looks. All my life, I have never questioned my sexuality - I know I still find women amazing, beautiful, sexually. But when it comes to Ethan Kennedy, there's this voice at the back of my head telling me that he's really the one for me.

It's always the pull. I've always blamed it on the pull.

I hate how attractive he is. And I'm going to say it every single day. He rarely smiles but when he does, he makes sure I see it. The audacity of this bitch. He's making it harder for me as every single day passes by. With my birthday and the full moon coming right up, I'm bound to make a rash decision.

"You're so quiet," Mom says as she puts a hand on my shoulder, her gaze switching from me to Ethan Kennedy. "Your birthday is coming up. Whatever your decision is, I'll support you."

My mom has been very supportive from the start. She always knows what to do, but she leaves the decision up to me. She likes to make statements that would make you think about your decision twice, to confirm if you really want to choose that decision over something more logical. While she isn't that happy that my mate is a male, she told me that she'd be as long as I'm happy. Whatever my decision may be.

I smile at her. "Has someone told you how amazing you are as a mother?"

"I get that a lot from your father," she chuckles. "On your 18th birthday, you'd formally meet your mate. Ethan would know you are his mate. I haven't seen that kid together with anyone. At least romantically. I mean, we all have our puppy loves, right?"

"I couldn't care less about him, mom." I tell her exasperatedly, as if talking about him really tires me. "I can't picture Ethan Kennedy as my mate. No matter how hard I try. What I feel towards him right now, it's hate. And I know hate is such a strong word, but I tried to look for anything positive that I might feel towards him, but there's nothing other than hate."

"Can't you give him a chance? You know, having a mate, regardless of their sex, is a blessing." She says while smiling sadly. "You may not be able to have an heir, but should you focus on that? Trust me, I'm a bit disappointed that you have a male mate, but am I allowed to interfere what the Goddess wanted? I don't."

"Mom, I hope it's that easy to accept the fact that my mate is a guy." I tell her honestly. "There are times that I'm wishing that this was all just a dream, that I didn't receive a gift to know my mate. I wish I had been born just like you, just like dad. And the more I think about rejecting him, the more I grow to hate him because I just can't do it."

"Think this through carefully," she touches my cheek and gives me a motherly smile. "You're turning 18. It's time for you to make big decisions on your own."

"Thanks, mom." I hug her and let out a huge sigh.

When I shift my gaze back, Ethan Kennedy is longer there. In 4 days, my birthday would be celebrated. It's time that I should speak with him. But how am I going to approach him? Never in my entire life I've approached him. Hell, there are, like, 10 to 15 words that have been uttered when I spoke to him, and that's when there were pack meetings about rogues.

And if I did approach him, what are we going to talk about? Should I just barge in and tell him that he's my mate? And after that, what's going to happen? He's probably going to think I'm crazy. Only my parents and the Elders know about my gift.

"Do you have plans for today?" Mom asks.

"Eh, not much. I just plan on training with the pack warriors this afternoon."

"You do that. Don't rush your decision, all right? And if you need me or your father, you know where to find us." She pats my head and grins. "If you need to clear your head, or you need more explanation, see if you could speak with the Elders. They might tell you something."

"Our Elders always speak in nonsense language." I roll my eyes. "Gibberish."

My mom laughs at that, shaking her head. "You're like your father."

"That a bad thing?"

"No. Not at all." She begins to walk away, waving her hand. "Don't be too harsh on the pack warriors on the training."

"I won't!" I shout.

My eyes immediately look for Ethan Kennedy. He was just there a few minutes ago, and now he's gone. When I saw him smiling earlier, that was, like, the first time I saw him wearing a different facial expression this week. His face is always on neutral, not showing anything. Maybe there's always something bothering him. Do I have to care? No, thank you very much.

Ethan Kennedy is a huge pain in the ass.

Just thinking about him makes me want to yell and curse loudly. My dad could have banished him from the pack, but no, he had to be the responsible and smart Alpha. So here we are in this situation. I wish my dad had been an asshole and homophobic.

Did I also tell that he's an orphan? Ethan Kennedy grew up without a family. His parents, according to my mom, have died in a tragic accident. And by tragic accident, they were ambushed by rogues. Ethan Kennedy was just lucky to be alive. A pack warrior found him hidden in the trunk of a car. He was sick, but he wasn't crying. And the weird thing is, the pack warrior said he had no smell of being a werewolf. It's probably the reason why he was alive. The rogues couldn't find him, so his life was spared.

Everyone, and I mean everyone, should carry a certain smell for us to determine that they are a werewolf. He couldn't be a full human, considering I've seen him transform into his wolf when he was a 14-year-old kid. That's almost 4 years ago.

Dad had consulted the Elders about Ethan Kennedy's case. But to them, they found it weird that he didn't carry that werewolf smell and hadn't heard such ability. Dad kept tabs on him. While he was growing up, dad was observing if Ethan Kennedy would be able to switch off his scents. This is actually one of the reasons why dad wanted him in the group of elite pack warriors. That's if he did have the ability to switch off his werewolf scent. But no, he doesn't have that ability. From then on, he had established that it was just a one time thing.

Ethan Kennedy is nothing special. He's just a regular werewolf with no special traits. But he's attractive, I give him that point. I would hear some comments from girls that he looks like a model. They probably want to bang him. Some would have the guts to flirt with him, but he really doesn't entertain people.

"Brother, the pack warriors are waiting for you in the field." My soon-to-be Beta, Shane, announces. "Did you forget?" He laughs.

"Fuck off, Shane." I can't believe I forgot about our morning run.

Shane smirks, shaking his head while clicking his tongue. He always loves to tease me about things I always forget. Shane is a year older than me, and he has already found his mate. A girl. Her name is Lolita. A very cute and bubbly girl. I wish I could have been Shane. What a lucky guy he is.

"I'm going to tell Lolita that you're flirting with someone,"

"Dude, that's not okay!" Shane argues, crossing his arms across his chest. "You know how crazy she can be. Goddess, my mate is a warrioress. Despite having a 5'4" frame, she can be a real pain in the ass."

"You're going to turn 18, which means you'll finally meet your mate. Excited about that?"

I think about Ethan Kennedy. "Not much."

"Well, you better be, Lolita mentioned that she's excited to meet your soon-to-be mate." He chuckles. "They'd probably gush over everything. You know how girls are."

"Yeah," I pretend to smile. "Come on, I don't want to keep the pack warriors waiting."

"You should really implement a clock management on yourself," he grins.

"Fuck off, Shane."

The moment we arrive in the field, all pack warriors salute and greet me and Shane. The pack warriors have already taken off their shirts. Both Shane and I join them, taking off our shirts, discarding them to the side. Our shorts are disposable so it would be easier to get into our wolf form without destroying our real pants. Kudos to the person who invented them. Ever since then, we've been using them.

This morning run is actually an exercise to all of us. We have laid out courses of obstacles in the woods to train us to be agile and cautious of our surroundings using our sense of smell. To be able to use our reflexes as much as we can. My dad has always told us that we shouldn't always rely on brute strength. There's always a pack that is stronger in terms of strength. So we should also rely on our brain and agility.

My dad, who's been patrolling the pack grounds along with his Beta, signals through the pack communication that there's nothing to worry about. He has been gifted with a great sense of smell. He can literally smell anyone kilometers away, and further than that if he focuses.

I announce to the pack warriors that in a minute, our morning run will start. I also remind them of the goals, obstacles along the way, and the major rules. If someone from the pack needs help, we help no matter what. We build strong bonds here. We build a strong pack family.

After my speech, I signal them that the morning run has started. In less than 5 seconds, they have already switched to their wolf form and they begin to run into the woods. Both Shane and I switch as well, following after them. I'm not really participating in this run. I'm just watching after them, making sure that they wouldn't get hurt.

We have run for an hour, nonstop. Everyone makes it without injuring themselves; they were able to surpass each obstacles that my dad has placed, consisting of catapults, random surprise attacks, smoke bombs, and booby traps that wouldn't actually kill.

"Good job. Everyone did well." I tell them, their chests heaving up and down after changing into their human form. "Our next morning run is next week. Everyone deserves an hour break. After that, let's go back to our tasks, understood?"

"Yes, Alpha." They all say.

"What did I tell you all just a few days ago?"

"To call you Leon, Alpha."

"And what are you calling me now?"

"Alpha, Leon."

"Nice. You may call me an Alpha, once I become an Alpha."

"Yes, Leon."

"You all may go," I announce and they salute.

I pat Shane's back and tell him he should go visit his mate, who has been watching since the morning run started. Shane nods his head and immediately runs after his mate. They both kiss each other and I look away, finding it so intimate. I deserve that, too.

I deserve to have a wonderful and amazing mate like Shane. Why wasn't I given that privilege again? Oh yes, the Goddess wanted me to have a male mate. My life sucks.

My mom said that he'd support whatever decision I will make, and she also told me that my happiness is just as important as me being an Alpha someday. If I reject Ethan Kennedy, will I be completely happy? Or is it just going to bring me into bad situations and risk both our lives?

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Author's Note: Well, guys, here's the Chapter 1! Let me know your thoughts about Ethan and Leon. And what do you think about Leon realizing that his mate is Ethan at a young age?

This story will be published as well in Dreame, containing bonus chapters and unseen POVs from other characters. For more updates, you may visit my Dreame page.

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