Brave Girl

While looking directly at me, my dad cautiously says the heart-wrenching words. A tear wells up in my eye and my hand begins to shake violently.

I don't want a marked mate

A howl echoes through my head.

The intensity of the howl shook my entire being causing me terrible head pain. While my head was pounding, my hands involuntarily grabbed the roots of my hair trying to control the pain.

“Sweety, look at me”, mom panics.

“My mate. What about my mate”, I whisper sadly, already knowing the answer.

It would be great if you found him in the meantime. Otherwise, I will make sure you have a Marked Mate." The stern voice of my father breaks my resolve. Right now, I have no option but to give up.

Lilly's pleas go unheeded, so I nod as a complacent "yes".

Before standing up to leave, my father cleans the corners of his mouth with the tip of his napkin. Then Mom does the same and begins to put back the plates. In the end, I stood up too, unable to eat the rest of my pie.

His gaze alights on me as he stops.

“Come to my office, will you?”

“Yes, father” is all I could say without shedding a tear and I began to help my mother.

With my head pounding and my wolf clawing at me for several minutes, I am at a loss as to what to do.

“This is for the good honey. Your father and I put a lot of thought into this. If it wasn't the only option, we wouldn't do it. You need a mate. Without him, you will go mad and become a rouge.”

Her explanations are usually gentle, unlike my father's.

“I know mom”, I reply, looking at her and forcing my best fake smile.

“I will go see Dad’’ I say before entering the hallway.

The different scenarios of what could happen are racing through my mind while I walk. My wolf shut me out so I can't go for a run to take some of the stress.

My father already opens the door for me, hardly knocking on it.

"'Dad'', I say when I step into his office.

“As far as the Royal Beta Contest is concerned, I have a few things I would like to discuss,” he says in a businesslike tone. I focused my entire attention on listening to what he had to say.

In response to my gaze, he motioned me to sit down. I nodded for him to go on. The man is serious about this. This is not only about getting his daughter a mate, but it's also about giving the pack their next beta.

“Contestants are expected to arrive in two days. I want you to meet all of them”. The air is chill, like back at the dining table, and my wolf is trying to wrest the reins from me.

Nodding seemed like the most natural response, so I did not say yes. He makes a small pause before he continues.

“I want you to look the healthiest and happiest you can”

When I have two days left to act like that, how am I supposed to prepare?

I don't think my wolf agrees with anything here. I make an effort to speak, but I stay silent.

“You don't need to worry. A meeting with doctor Roman has been scheduled for you tomorrow afternoon. In two days, he will make you look good for the meeting”, he explains as he slides a folder into my hands.

“Look over the file and let me know if you have any questions tomorrow morning”. Instead of opening the file, I stand up.

"Sure, dad", I answer, going to the door to leave, but my father interrupts me.

“I am sorry that it had to come to this. Don't give up, dear”, he drops his business voice and says in a fatherly manner as he gets up to walk to me.

“It's not easy, dad. In the last four years, I've tried my best to be brave, but this is so overwhelming, I can't keep up”, I let my facade fall and hugged him. Trying to cope with my sadness, I cry like a little girl, seeking comfort in the embrace of my father.

"Everything will be alright, sweetheart," he assures.

My mother opens the door and I hear her exclaim, "Oh dear!" and I watch her embracing me and shedding tears at the same time.

Although my mate's situation has been painful for the last four years, I have never cried in front of my parents about it. However, today I don't have the strength to hold it.

………..

After having a mental breakdown in front of my parents the previous night, I arose from my restless sleep and I am already on my way to the pups care.

I stop by the bakery clad in jeans and an oversized sweater. The only place where I don't feel alone is here and at the pups' care. I feel a little bit happy and forget about reality in these places.

"Hey Taylor", shouts Dan from across the aisle.

Seeing all the eyes on me, I waved at him with a smile, feeling suddenly vulnerable with all eyes upon me. “Hey”, I say to him while within two feet of him. As the music plays in the background, he says, “Your usual doll.". With a nod, I sat down. Every morning, I come here for my bitty risky special, which is one hell of a drink. The perfect combination of coffee and non-flavour milk. Right now, if I had to choose one thing to love in the world, this would be it. My lifesaving drink.

As he prepares the drink, Dan bounces around. The teenage girls laughed with interest when he flipped the bag of beans in a few different ways. A smirk spreads across his face as he cuts the packet with his teeth and looks sensually at them. I whisper yell at him, "Dan", not only because he took my coffee packet and put his dirty teeth on it, but also because he's gay for goddess sake.

“Relax doll. There is another layer to this. Cutting it with scissors is what I intend to do. Geez”, he exclaims, grabbing the scissors. At the moment I thought he would cut it, he spins the packet fast with his fingers, then cuts it in a perfectly straight line. The girls make ohh and wow sounds before clapping. I roll my eyes, I sigh with a dry laugh. A wink is sent my way as he courtesies them.

“You are gay stop it”, I laugh. Genuine laughter. “I made you laugh, doll”, Dan exclaims and dances while changing the beat to a fast song. “You did, for sure. Now make the coffee before I come there. And to make it extra strong, I have a doctor's appointment today”. The moment I remembered this, my smile wavered.

“I am so scared, what could possibly happen if you come here”, he mocks me. As I glared at him, I motioned for him to get to work. “What do you mean by appointment?” he says placing the coffee in a large mug. “Dad's orders, yes”, I answer, sipping on my coffee. You can taste the deliciousness in every sip.

“I guess today is the day you'll meet Roman. My dear, you are one of the lucky girls”, fanning himself, he breathes out a loud exclamation.

“Our alpha allegedly hired this doctor last year because he is so good. I had never met him before and most of the time he lived on the other side of the pack. He was asked to take Tina's place when she received a transfer”, The bagel eater gossips as he took a huge bite.

As I sip my coffee, I nod. “The next two days are to be spent making me look presentable for the upcoming Royal Beta Contest”, i say as a sigh escapes me and I slump in my chair. “What's the deal?”, The man chews loudly while asking.

He yells at me suddenly when I tell him about what happened yesterday. “Are you going to get a marked mate?”

In an unmoved voice, I reply, "I am apparently". “Doll you are soooo strong,” he says with his hand pressed against his chest for emphasis

“A mate will save me from death and from becoming a rogue. I have no other shot”, I reply as I stand up and hand him the money. “Oh, you keep it, girl. It's on the house”, winking at me, he says. As I leave, I wave to him and thank him.

I am weirdly excited to meet this Roman now. Hopefully, this will go well.

I hope one of the candidates is our mate.

Lilly says and goes back to the back of my mind.

Hopefully, yes.

As I walk to the puppy's care, I promise myself that the best is yet to come.

However, I walk into a nightmare instead.