The Alpha's Sister

1 - Alex

I look up at the wooden door. It is so massive, proportional to the rest of that gigantic house, that knocking would feel ridiculous. I find the doorbell and ring. The thought of running back to the car crosses my mind, but before I can give it much thought, the intercom next to the door crackles, startling me.

"Who is it?", a raspy feminine voice inquires from the other side.

"Alex. Alex Hemlock"

The monitor clicks. After a few seconds of tense anticipation, a young woman opens the door. I haven't seen many pictures of her, but I recognise her instantly as Kaylee Darkwood. Same dark hair, tan skin and deep brown eyes - she is unmistakably Jayden's sister. I feel a bit guilty about interrupting her on a lazy Sunday as I note her oversized flannel, sweatpants and messy hair. I can see she is studying me too - there is no doubt she recognised my last name, but we never officially met.

"Hi! I'm sorry, is this a bad time?"

"I'm afraid it is. My parents are currently out of town, but they'll be back in a few days," she says, with an apologetic smile. I would have the perfect excuse to turn around and walk away, but I force myself to answer honestly.

"Actually, you... You're the one I wanted to talk to," I blurt out.

She looks at me with a mix of surprise and confusion, as if to say Are you sure?, but her expression is quickly replaced by the polite smile you would expect from a member of the Alpha family.

"Please come in then, Alex."

The inside of the house is even more spectacular than the outside. However, it is not the opulent castle I had expected. I had always pictured the Alpha house to be outrageously luxurious, with crystal chandeliers, intricate carpets, oil paintings of past alphas in golden frames, marble staircases... Instead, it is beautifully minimalistic, with wide open spaces. The large windows bathe everything in natural light and offer a gorgeous view of the lake and the forest. The walls are made of natural wood, which makes it feel like a cozy cabin. I follow Kaylee to the living room, and she indicates a modern white sofa.

"Sit down and make yourself at home! I'll just be a minute, I'll go change." She smiles sheepishly, trying to smooth her hair over, and turns around to go upstairs.

"Please don't!" She stops in her tracks and turns around. I can feel my face burn - argh, why did I come here? "I mean - you don't have to do that! You look fine! And I'm not here on business or anything, I - this isn't a formal thing!" Great, I'm starting to stumble over my words. I take a deep breath. "I just wanted to talk."

She comes back and sits down next to me wordlessly. Being here, in my clan's Alpha house, is already terribly intimidating. Being here right next to her, while she's waiting to hear why I could've possibly come to her house to bother her on a sunday afternoon, is downright mortifying. Of course, she's too polite and professional to say any of that, but I know she's probably wondering what I'm doing here. I'm wondering too, to be honest. Just like before, I decide to blurt everything out before I can change my mind.

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing here- it's, well. I mean, you know who I am. Your brother's future mate. It's just that, the ceremony is in three months and, ah... I never met him, you know? I mean, I'm not supposed to meet him before, of course, but I was wondering... what he's like ? I know I'm not supposed to contact him, but I don't think this rule extends to you? What I mean is, I'd like to know what to expect... And I'd like to be a good mate for him, but I don't know how, because I don't know him, and I was thinking, maybe you could help me a little?"

Wow, that was a lot of words to say very little. At least I got it out now.

See, ever since I was born, I was meant to be Jayden Darkwood's mate. Being the Alpha's eldest child, he would take on that role when the time came, and I would rule by his side. In our community, assigned mates are still very common, and obligatory for the Alphas to ensure their legacy. The Hemlock family is one of the founding families of the clan, and since I happened to be a girl close in age to Jayden, born just a few months after him,  I was chosen as his future mate. Arranged marriage is not really popular in human society nowadays, and is often frowned upon - a lot of people think everyone should choose their spouse themselves. I never really minded - maybe it's because I've lived with the knowledge that I would be Jayden's mate my whole life, so I never really questioned it. Just as expecting mothers don't doubt that they will grow to love their child, I never doubted that Jayden and I would grow to love each other and work together as a team... until now. As I'm growing older, it's getting more and more stressful to envision spending the rest of my life with someone I've never met. Will I like him ? Will he like me? Will we have to make sacrifices to get along ?