Kenna
The main temple of the Moon Goddess sits beside a lake which is currently illuminated by lanterns that make the water glow. Large tents cover the wide, grassy plain between the lake and the temple, and music rises to the star filled sky.
I’ve never seen so many people in one place at one time. Eastonia is big, sure, but my people are more secluded than the packs that hug that territory surrounding the Alpha King of Crescent Fall’s lands.
Over two dozen packs bleed into Crescent City, their territories separated by walls, or woods, or even just a single street.
On the far side of the lake, I can just see the castle where my aunt and uncle live.
I smile, my cheeks straining. I’m glad I came here, even if I don’t find my mate. The city is intoxicating.
Ryan and I lost Sydney some time ago as we moved from tent to tent, checking out the different music and entertainment. The main mating ball is taking place in the temple tonight, but we haven’t made our way there yet. I’m too busy soaking it all in.
“So,” Ryan says, nudging my shoulder as we walk side by side toward the temple, “what do you think?”
“Is it always like this?” I ask, motioning to the crowd.
“This busy? No. No way. There’re people from other kingdoms here right now. We have smaller festivals throughout the year where all the packs come together, mostly around specific holidays, but Celestoria and Crescent Falls just signed a new treaty, opening up some more territory for my dad to expand into, and with the borders opening up between here and Eastonia, my parents decided this summer is the perfect time to put on this show of unity.” He looks down at me with his cocky smile.
“Is that what you think this is? Just a show?”
“Nah, I think this is a good thing. It’s always a good time when the packs around here open their gates and mingle with each other. It keeps spirits high and communication open.” He’s quiet for a moment, as if lost in thought, then asks, “Is it true you’re here to try to find your mate?”
“Yeah. It’s true.”
“So I have to watch you flirt all night? Gross.”
I give him a playful punch to the arm, and my knuckles sing with pain.
“Don’t hurt yourself.” He chuckles, roping a burly arm over my shoulders. “Let’s go find this mate of yours, then. I’ll be your wingman.”
“You’re the last person I want as a wingman,” I reply tartly, trying to shrug his arm from my shoulders. “Secondly, I have this under control.”
“Do you even know what a mate bond is supposed to feel like?”
Like a pull you can’t ignore. Like an electric pulse is moving through your very soul at their touch. Like you can get lost in the way they smell, and taste, and…
“Do you know?” I ask, and Ryan smirks.
“Yeah, of course.”
“You don’t sound all that convinced.”
“I’m a few months older than you, Ken. Who says I haven’t felt a spark yet, huh?”
“Judging by the sheer amount of random bras I’ve found lying around your house, I highly doubt you’ve found your mate.”
“Unlike you, I’m not ready to settle down. I’m waiting.”
“Waiting for what? Why would you ignore the mate bond if you’ve felt the pull?”
“There’s loads of reasons. Jeez, Ken. You act like we all still live in caves. The bond isn’t just about breeding anymore, you know. It’s… shackles–in more ways than one.”
“You just don’t want to give up your life of bouncing from one woman’s bed to another.”
Another cocky grin. “So what?”
“So, what if you meet your mate out here tonight, then what?”
“I won’t.”
“What makes you so sure?”
“Because I’ve already met her.”
I whirl on him, and he drops his arm to look down at me with that patronizing look that runs on my mom’s side of the family. He looks like my Grandpa Maddox right now. “Shut up. You’ve met your mate?”
He nods then shrugs like it’s nothing at all.
“What? When? Why–”
“Kenna, drop it. It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It’s a huge deal! Who is she–”
“She’s–she doesn’t feel the bond yet. And I’m not saying another fucking thing about it. You’re going to drop it.”
Of course I’m not.
“What do you mean she can’t feel the bond yet?”
“We’re done, Kenna.”
Ryan starts jogging up the stairs leading into the temple three at a time, and I hurry after him, much slower in my heels. “Ryan!”
But he reaches the top of the stairs and gives me a teasing look before disappearing into the swelling crowd of party goers standing on the veranda overlooking the festival.
“No!” I huff out, standing on my toes to try to see where he went. He seriously thought he could drop a bomb like that and run away? This isn’t over. Not even close.
I wade through the sea of finely dressed people attending the mating ball. I blend in with my fuchsia silk gown, my thick, dark brown hair curled and piled on top of my head. I’m wearing a little makeup today, which I rarely do. I feel pretty.
A few people glance in my direction as I pick my way deeper into the temple. Some stares linger longer than others, but I’m not approached. I doubt many people know who I am. Even though the veil came down shortly after I was born, Eastonia is still shrouded in myth. The borders between our lands are tightly monitored, almost impossible to cross. Why would these people need to know about the Princess of Eastonia?
I smile to myself, happy to be a faceless, nameless stranger in the crowd for once.
Finally, I reach Ryan, who is standing next to Sydney near the back of the temple’s main room where a statue of the Goddess rises several stories over our heads.
I’m panting and flushed, my ears ringing from the music, when I lurch to a stop and grip Sydney’s arm for support. “Ryan, you–you better tell me–” I fight for air as Sydney and Ryan turn around to face me, Ryan looking smug, and Sydney looking concerned.
“Have you been running?” Sydney asks.
“Ryan just told me about his–”
A third man comes into view when Ryan whirls to fully face me, giving me a warning look. But my eyes are on the handsome man between them, the man who’s leaning against a marble column with the first three buttons of his shirt undone and his tie loosened. His brown hair is swept back away from his face, and his dark eyes lock on mine while he gives me a soft smile, a kind smile.
He dips his head. “Hello.”
“Hi,” I manage to say, my chest locking up. I nudge Sydney, hoping for an introduction.
Sydney’s jaw flexes as he slowly turns from me and back to the mystery man he’d just been talking to when I so rudely interrupted, apparently. “This is Ella Westfall, Princess of Eastonia.”
“Wow, it’s an honor,” the man says, and promptly bows to me.
I blush.
Sydney exhales deeply, his eyes flashing with annoyance. I’m not sure if it is directed at me or his companion. He says, “Ella, this is Markus Aberfeldy, Alpha of Emerald Shore.”
“It’s very nice to meet you,” I say, holding out my hand for him to shake, as is customary in Crescent Falls, I think.
But he takes my finger and bends them, pressing a kiss to my knuckles. “Very nice indeed.”
Sydney and Ryan exchange glances as Markus straightens, his touch lingering on my fingers for a moment longer than necessary. “What brings you into town? You’re far from home.”
“This festival,” I tell him, wondering why my heart is beating so fast. Is this the mate bond? Is this breathless feeling what that first moment of clarity is supposed to feel like, or am I terribly out of shape and just spent the last five minutes chasing Ryan?
“Have you been dancing?” he asks, smiling around the words.
“No, I just arrived.”
“Well, you shouldn’t waste any more time standing around with these guys,” he says, and at first I think he’s telling me something along the lines of ‘get lost, the Alphas are talking,’ but he takes my hand and whirls me into the crowd.
I look over my shoulder at my cousins and notice their frowns. Ryan leans in to say something to Sydney who nods, looking grim.
I’m not here to get involved in the complicated pack politics of Crescent Falls. The rest of my life will be nothing but politics. I’m here for this.
Markus sweeps me into a dance–some kind of old-school waltz that has me tripping over my feet immediately.
“Do you not know the steps?” he asks in a teasing tone.
I look up at him, taking him in. Handsome, sure. I haven’t ever considered what my type would be, but he is nice to look at.
“I wasn’t ever trained in formal dance,” I tell him, and he smirks wider.
“What were you trained in, then?”
My stomach twists. While my parents always told me my powers were gifts, and something to be proud of, there was an unspoken rule about not showing them off while visiting family across the border. Eastonians are used to us and our magic, but here?
What am I even supposed to say?
“My grandfather is an Alpha, and I’m going to be filling his shoes at the end of the summer,” I say, and it seems to be enough for Markus.
“That’s odd. Do you not have brothers?”
“No, I’m an only child.”
His eyes brighten. “I only know of one female Alpha, Alpha Emery of Obsidian Temple.”
“Well, now you know two.” I grin.
He smiles too, but there’s something unreadable flashing behind his eyes as he says, “Then you’ll take over as Queen of Eastonia someday?”
“Not for a long time, but yes, eventually I will be queen.”
“Ruling second to your husband–”
“No,” I laugh as he leads us into another turn. “No, Eastonia is a matriarchal society now. My dad is actually my mom’s second.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
Something in his tone makes my skin crawl, and I briefly try to pull away, but he has a hand locked on my back, keeping me fixed in place. “What’s so hard to believe about that?”
“It goes against our nature, doesn’t it? Men lead; women follow.”
I scoff. “Maybe in Crescent Falls, but not in Eastonia. Plus, my parents have always treated each other as equals. It was my dad who actually battled to ensure my mom would rise as queen of his lands–”
“Then it wasn’t law, and your dad could have ruled as king. It might be subject to change, then.”
I narrow my eyes at him. He has a far off look in his eyes as he absently scans the crowd over the top of my head.
The exquisite string quartet music fades, and the dance draws to a close, but Markus keeps his hands on my body regardless of the Alphas coming to fetch their daughters off the dance floor.
Then I realize why.
Another song starts up, something recorded and new age. Music booming through speakers situated throughout the large ballroom. The crowd cheers as a ripple of relief washes over everyone around us.
I look around, trying to untangle myself from Markus. More women are being led off the dance floor, some arguing with what I assume are their parents. These must be the high bred ladies of the packs whose parents aren’t okay with them staying for what I imagine is about to be a huge party.
Again, I try to pull away from Markus, but… something inside of me shifts. At first, it’s a scent. Something… something faint, but delicious. Something that causes my body to tremble, and my breasts suddenly ache with the need to be touched. I find myself blushing and inhaling deeply, leaning closer to Markus to see if that scent is coming from him.
“What is that?” I whisper to myself, and then it hits me. It’s like a flicker of electricity zooming over my skin. My heart races. My blood hammers in my ears, blurring with the music.
I look up at Markus, confused, wondering if he feels it too.
Is he my mate? Is this… is this what it’s supposed to feel like?
I open my mouth to say something, anything, but then the feeling fades so abruptly it steals my breath with it, leaving behind a kind of emptiness I’ve never felt before.
Sydney suddenly grabs my arm. “Time to go, Kenna.”