Abandoned By My Mate

Pack

My breath fogged out in front of me. The wicked wind that whipped through the mountains swirled in my hair. It was freezing here, but I was so glad to finally be back. Az was already speaking with a pale Theorn his jaw clenched tightly as Az gave him a rundown of Dran's betrayal.

A loud squeal of excitement was my only warning before I was wrapped up in a hug. Dark curly hair blocked my view of who was grabbing me, but it wasn't hard to figure out.

"Aslin!" Esmae pulled back, her lips spread in a wide smile even as her blue eyes studied me closely.

"Hi, Esmae," I smiled back, my shoulders relaxing slightly.

"You're back just in time," She said, "People are already starting to arrive and the ballroom is all set up with lots of finger foods and drinks."

"Set up for what?" I asked, my brows scrunching together.

"The first snow," Esmae replied, "We are expecting a lot of females. So many that mass is going to be held in the courtyard."

Right. The celebration.

"Already?" I looked up to the sky, taking in the dark storm clouds gathering overhead, "It feels like so much time has passed and yet none at all."

"Are you going to be alright to participate?" She asked, clasping her hands together with a frown, "Word spread about what happened... if it's too much no one will judge you."

"I'll be fine," I replied quickly, huffing out a breath, "Thank you for helping so much."

"Of course," She beamed and I followed her into the castle.

Esmae was already so much happier than she had been when I first arrived. Her male clearly was as well. Garren was standing by the door to the ballroom, his stern expression melting when he saw his mate. They kissed quickly before he opened the door, letting us into the large room.

The room was filled with females, most of them talking to each other or picking at the food that was placed on two long tables. Furs had been scattered across the floor, and some had begun to sit. Large dresses poofing up around them. There were at least thirty females in here, but I wasn't sure how many were unmated.

"You did all this?" I breathed, my gaze catching on Eva before I turned to face my friend.

"I had some help." Esmae blushed.

"I'm very helpful," Anna's husky voice cut in, "Especially when furs are requested."

"You're both amazing," I grinned, pulling Anna into a hug, "Thank you so much. Is there anything I can do?"

"Not at all," Anna replied, "Everything is taken care of. Male are going to the temple for mass and ours will be held out in the courtyard before we go to the bonfire."

"Separate?" I asked, not liking the idea of leaving my mate for too long.

"Yeah," Esmae confirmed, "It's getting late. We should start getting ready."

"I don't have anything to wear." I frowned.

"We have that covered," Anna grinned, "Didn't I just say we have everything taken care of?"

Laughter floated around the room and I followed my friends to a partition that had been set up by the back wall. Esmae went towards a rack that was filled with skimpy outfits. Anna went behind me, pushing my hair out of the way before untying the laces of my dress.

"How many of the females here are looking for mates?" It wouldn't be very useful to our population if they were already bonded.

"I'm not sure," Esmae replied.