Alpha Symptoms

Chapter 1

"You ready Mer?" My father asked.

I breathed in a huge breath, closing my eyes and regaining composure.

"I think so." I smiled, and tears started to fill my eyes.

I was buzzing in excitement. In just a few minutes, I would be standing across from Nate at the altar, giving my vows and promising to love him forever. Soon I'd be Mrs. Nathaniel Blackstone, the Alpha of the Blackstone pack.

But, Nate was not my soul mate. We were not destined to be together by the goddess like most other werewolves and their partners were.

I waited three years for my mate to come, I even got out there and tried to find him, but I had no luck. I met Nate, and we soon fell in love. Not only are we helping both of our packs, but it's helping us find love, even though we haven't found our mates.

I'm the last one in my close group of friends to get married, but they all got married to their mates. I didn't feel the need to find my mate. I don't need someone to be my other half when I found it in Nate. I don't need someone to make me whole. It's just not an important part of my life, and it never has been, to find my mate. My mother had always told me how wonderful having a mate was, but it always seemed like something forced, as if without the bond giving you unwanted feelings, the two wouldn't be together.

My father's voice snapped me out of my thoughts. "You really don't have to do this, we don't need to combine the packs. You can find your mate. He's out there Mer, and he's probably looking for you." He looked in my eyes and put his hands on my shoulders.

"Dad, I really don't need this right now. I'm marrying Nate, and that's who I want to be with." I nudged his hands off my shoulders and looked in the mirror, scrutinizing my appearance.

"Emerald, I think the main reason you are going through with this is because of threats. Even if we join the packs, we still have a very small chance of surviving an attack from the Lancaster pack. They are the strongest pack in this region of the U.S., maybe even the country." He pulled my chin to face his so I could see the truth in his words.

"I don't care about the Lancaster pack. I care about Nathan. Maybe, at first, I chose to date him because of the threats. But not now dad. I love him." I smiled and continued to fix myself up in the wall length mirror. I saw my dad smile behind me and nod.

"Alright then. I just wanted to make sure you're not rushing into this, or making the wrong decision." He smiled once more before he walked out the door.

I fixed my hair until it was perfect and adjusted my veil. Running my hands along the sweetheart neckline of my dress, my eyes wandered down the fit and flare bodice and down to the silk skirt. I touched the diamond necklace I had on and my hands found their way to the matching set of earrings.

I was amazed at how serious and mature I looked.

I was also speechless at how much I looked like my mother.

"Hey, Beautiful." Nate said, surprising me, as he leant on the doorframe.

"You know you aren't supposed to see me before the wedding, right?" My voice had a hint of humor, matching the smirk on my face.

"I know, I know, I just missed you. And your father invited some, um, guests, that we didn't originally plan to invite." He rolled his eyes and made a cut throat motion.

"Who?" I asked, curiosity getting the best of me.

"Well, he invited almost all the Alphas in the region, but word of mouth traveled, and apparently the Alpha of the Lancaster pack is coming to make a deal with us for peace."