The Unlikely Mate

Chapter 1

*Sample Only* - The first 14 chapters are available here (unedited) - look for the full book available on Amazon (Kindle & Paperback)

"Jackson!" Dr. Anderson called. "I need your help. Hold her down so I can give her a shot."

Jennifer was writhing in pain, rolling back and forth on her hospital bed. Her heart rate was continuing to increase and the doctor was trying to administer a sedative, but was having trouble because of how much she was moving.

"What's going on? Why is she reacting like this?" Jackson asked, as he assisted the doctor with the thrashing patient.

"I really don't know" the doctor said once he had given Jennifer the shot and she began to calm down. "As you can see, she has some injuries from the fight, including this cut on her face that appears to have been made from a silver blade, but I can't figure out what is causing this level of agitation. I can't find anything else medically wrong, but she isn't healing the way she should and I don't know what is causing the excessive distress."

Jennifer's eyes rolled back into her head as she succumbed to the sedative, and though she was unresponsive to the world around her, her mind continued to race as it went over and replayed the events of the last several years that had brought her to this current state of being.

Up until she had turned 18, Jennifer was much like any other she-wolf in her pack. Happy and carefree, enjoying pack-life, going to school, occasionally venturing out into the world of men to interact with normal humans, and most importantly eagerly anticipating her 18th birthday, when their wolf would be mature enough to identify their true mate.

True mates were chosen by the Moon Goddess. Everyone had a mate, and they would be drawn to their mate by the Mate-Bond, which would join them together and make them both even stronger once they accepted and marked each other. More often than not, bloodlines were a factor among mates, as Alpha bloodlines were routinely mated to others that also came from Alpha or Beta bloodlines. Alphas were the rightful leaders of packs because of the strength and power, so their mates also needed to come from powerful bloodlines in order for the powerful lineage to continue. Likewise, the general population of wolves routinely found their mates among others within a similar rank of bloodline. On rare occasions, the moon goddess would see fit to cross those lines, and match an Alpha or Beta to an Omega wolf from the general population.

Jennifer was an average Omega wolf, excited about turning 18 and looking forward to searching for her mate. As was a common practice, if a wolf didn't find their mate within their pack after they turned 18, they would travel to neighboring packs to seek out their mates, and Jennifer's family had their trip planned for the week after her birthday, in the event that her mate was identified among the members of her own Crimson Valley Pack. It was a like a rite of passage for young wolves, to go out and seek their mates. The females would often take with them a majority of their belongings as they would typically join their mate's pack once they had been identified.

Jennifer was smart, but she didn't make it a habit to study hard or put much effort into anything she did, so even though she could have excelled in school, she mostly skated by with B's. It was the same with sports and training. She was unmotivated to excel, and merely participated in what was required of her without exerting much effort. The one area that occupied her attention, was romance. For as long as she could remember, her one focus was the day she would meet her mate.

"Do you think he'll be from our pack?" Jennifer asked her best friend Danielle.

"Nope," Danielle responded dreamily with a twinkle in her eye. "Just think how exciting it will be, when you show up at his pack. He won't be expecting you, and he'll be busy doing whatever, and then he'll catch your scent and look around. Then there you'll be, beautiful and charming. Your eyes will lock, there will be a momentary pause as you both see each other from across the room and stare into each other's eyes. You'll embrace, probably make out for a few minutes and won't even exchange names until you stop to catch your breath."

Jennifer's anticipation mounted as she envisioned the scenario her friend was detailing, but responded with uncertainty, "I'm not sure that's really how it works. As strong as the mate bond is supposed to be, I'd like to think we would at least introduce ourselves before making out. Either way, I can't wait to meet him."

"What are you going to wear for your party tomorrow?" Danielle asked Jennifer. "You have to look your best, just in case he is someone from our pack, but I still hope he isn't. I can't think of anyone that I would pick to be your mate. All the guys in our pack are pretty lame" she said teasingly.

"Just wait until your birthday" Jennifer laughed. "Maybe Eric is your mate" she laughed, knowing that Danielle really didn't like Eric and that it would go against all of their romantic sensibilities for either of them to be mated to someone they felt was such a nerd and unworthy romantic partner.

On the day of Jennifer's party she was full of anticipation, and as much as she wanted to find her mate, she was secretly a little bit glad that he didn't seem to be from her pack, unless he hadn't yet turned 18. But as far as those unmated wolves within her pack who had already turned 18, Jennifer's mate wasn't among them, and that meant that the following week she would be traveling with her parents to see if she could find him among the members of another pack.

In her hospital bed, still tossing and turning in pain even with the sedative the doctor had administered, Jennifer's mind continued to race as she felt disgusted with herself at what a horrible person she had become and how much of her life she had wasted over the last several years.

"She still isn't healing right" Dr. Anderson said to Dante, the Alpha of the Black Shadows Pack. "She's been in and out of consciousness for about 15 hours. I know you have a lot on your plate right now, but I just wanted to keep you aware. There's something very wrong, and I don't know what it is."

"Thank you for informing me, Doctor. Please keep Jackson updated and he can let me know if there's anything needed that he can't take care of."

"Of course, Alpha" the doctor replied, and then directed his attention back to his patient.

Jennifer had few lucid moments in the days that followed, as her mind continued to revert back to her memories, specifically the memory that changed her life forever. The moment when she found her mate.