The buzzing of Katherine's cellphone woke her up. She glanced at the clock before she reached for her phone on the nightstand, grunting in annoyance.

She looked over to the bed opposite from her to find it empty, which meant her dorm-mate was sleeping elsewhere once again. Sliding her finger across the screen, Katie accepted the call. "It's midnight, Jess. What's wrong?"

Her bestfriend's super excited tone of voice blasted through the small device. "It's your birthday! Why we're not partying right now is still beyond me."

"It's a school night, that's why." Katie mumbled, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes.

Jessica huffed, "Who cares? It's your eighteenth birthday, Katie. You could actually meet him tomorrow. Aren't you excited?"

Taking a deep breath, Katie sat straight and removed the covers. "You know I am, but you also know I'm worried just as much."

"I still don't understand why you're so worried. It's called being soulmates for a reason. The attraction of the bond isn't something one can just ignore, Katie." Her best friend explained for the hundredth time this week.

"I'm not worried about being ignored. I'm worried about being rejected." Katie sighed, looking to her right out of the window to the night sky. Her wolf was just as anxious.

"Why would anyone reject you? You're a babe; you know that." Jess argued, making her smile.

"Yes, I know that, but he doesn't. What if he doesn't take a chance with me? What if he is one of those guys who are afraid of commitment and don't even want a mate at all? Or what if he is one of those guys who like to have their options open, moving from one girl to another. You know how easily jealous I could be." Katie whined, voicing out what had been worrying her and her wolf for the past couple of months.

"You're expecting the worst. Anyone in their right mind would take a chance with you, girl. And I'm sure he's not one of those cases you're talking about. The moon goddess wouldn't do that to you." Jess sounded sure enough for the both of them.

"I hope so." Katie got out of bed and walked to the window to open it. The fresh breeze instantly calmed her senses. She could feel her wolf itching for a run in this beautiful, peaceful weather.

"Stop expecting the worst and be optimistic. I mean, what if it's Rick McCarthy, the football captain you used to have a crush on last year? Or what if it's that mathlete with the nice glasses, the one who's secretly in love with you? Or even better, what if it's Alpha Zach? Last I checked the three of them still haven't found their mates." Jess giggled and Katie decided that her life would truly suck without this girl by her side.

"Alright, first of all, Rick and I would never work because he is in fact one of those guys who like to keep playing around and aren't ready for anything serious yet. Second of all, that mathlete has a name and it's Mike and no, he's not in love with me or anything. We're both just nice with each other. Third of all, and most importantly, Alpha Zach has a girlfriend or have you forgotten about Megan? Last thing I need is to be mated to someone who's already taken. Besides, he's 22 now. That's four years to find his mate, which makes me strongly believe that Megan is actually his mate. You know how extremely rare it is for mates to be more than two years apart in age. Four is way too much." Katie explained, refusing to imagine herself with either of Jessica's suggestions.

Jessica huffed once again, "Megan is so not his mate. There's no way she's our Luna. Besides, she's nineteen. If they were mates, the mating bond would have already clicked last year. And yes, Mike is into you. He has been since last semester but you've been too oblivious. Anyway, have some rest now, we have a big day tomorrow. I only wanted to be the first to tell you happy birthday, gorgeous. I love you!" She shouted before hanging up.

Taking a deep breath, Katie smiled once more thinking about tomorrow. As worried as she was, she knew Jessica was right. She had to stop expecting the worst and have faith. And with that thought in mind, she decided to shrug out of her clothes and go satisfy her wolf with a run in the chilly midnight air.

****

Zach woke up in the middle of the night, his throat aching for some water. Looking beside him, he smiled down at his beautiful girlfriend and pulled the sheets to cover her chest. Feeling an unusual tug towards the woods, he slipped from under Megan's arm and went to the window. Something smelled different. Wonderful, actually. Zach felt his heartbeats quicken as the smell once again reached his nose. It was faint but it was there and it was captivating him in a way he couldn't comprehend. What could possibly smell so incredible?

Looking through the window, Zach scanned the woods ahead and saw nothing out of place. Deciding to ignore it for the night, he turned around to pull the curtains closed, but just as he was about to, something caught his eye. Just a glimpse of a gray wolf running through the woods, disappearing as quickly as it appeared. Zach found himself staring into the darkness, blinking rapidly as he tried to focus ahead. He felt his wolf tugging at him to go down there and look for that grey wolf, as if it was the most important mission he had yet to accomplish, but Zach ignored him. It was already a long night and his wolf was supposedly as restless as he was. Trying to get that scent out of his mind, Zach returned to bed and pulled Megan to his side, enjoying the smell of their after sex in the air. Wiping one scent with another, Zach went back to sleep despite his wolf's objection.

****

"Rise and shine, Alpha." Megan's sweet voice pulled Zach out of his deep slumber.

"I love it when you call me that." Grumbling sleepily, Zach gave her a lazy smile as he opened his eyes to the new morning. He sniffed the air for last night's scent, only to find himself somewhat disappointed that it was no longer there.

"You'll always be my Alpha, my soulmate and my forever. You know that." Megan recited the promise they had made each other years ago. After waiting to find his mate for two longs years, Zach had given up hope of ever being happy or complete. It was extremely uncommon for an Alpha to remain unmated, yet it was even more rare for a wolf to find a mate after two years. And after spending some good time depressed and angry at the moon goddess for punishing him for absolutely nothing in the worst way possible, Zach had suddenly found Megan.

She was a new ray of hope that brought him back to life, with her sweet personalityand kind heart. Despite how rare it was, they still waited eagerly for her eighteenth birthday, hoping to have the mating bond click between them even a year later than usual. Yet, after her eighteenth birthday had gone uneventful and no mating bond had clicked between them, they just decided then that they were still each other's forever, no matter what. No, they didn't need a mating bond to define the love they felt for each other, despite how disappointed Zach had felt at the fact.

Megan gave Zach a kiss that made him smile even wider. Letting out a moan, Zach pulled her on top of him, removing the covers in process.

"Let me make your morning even better." Megan's eyes tingled with excitement to match his as she kissed his throat, earning herself another growl in approval. She went down further, trailing wet kisses all the way south. Zach shuddered in pleasure when she reached her destination and he shut his eyes, enjoying how his day had started.

****

Katie walked through the university's front gate, her senses more aware than ever before. She still hadn't smelled or felt anything different. Any moment now, don't lose hope, she kept telling herself.

"There you are, birthday princess." Jared, Jessica's twin brother and Katie's other best friend, greeted happily. Placing a plastic tiara on Katie's head, he smiled broadly.

Pretending to huff in annoyance, Katie crossed her arms. "How many times do I have to tell you, Jay? I'm not a princess. I'm a-"

"A queen, yes, I know. Still, you'll always be my princess, you know that." Jared shrugged with a chuckle, his deep gray eyes shinning bright.

"Funny, how you say that when I'm actually four months older than you are." Katie teased back, giggling softly when Jared glared at her. It was their little inside joke, since Jared has been playing the over-protective big brother role ever since they met, a year ago. "Where's your other half anyway?"

"Present, your highness." Jessica appeared

on Katie's right with a small box in her hand with a ribbon on top of it.

"You didn't have to." Katie shook her head softly with a smile on her face.

"Yes, we did. I hope you like it." Jess gave her a quick hug and waited eagerly for her best friend to open the small box.

"Of course she'll like it. I picked it." Jared stated with a 'duh' tone and Katie felt all her anxiety from earlier fade already. Nothing could match the love she had for those two idiots.

Opening the box, Katie felt her eyes go wide and her breath catch in her throat. Before her eyes was a gold necklace with a gold crescent pendant, incredibly elegant yet so simple, exactly how she preferred.

"I don't know what to say, you guys. It's perfect. I'll never take it off, I promise." Her heart was filled with warmth as she gave both siblings bone-crushing hugs.

"I'm so glad you liked it." Jessica squealed with happiness.

"May I do the honors, your heighness?" Jared asked playfully, and Katie giggled in return nodding her head rapidly. She turned around to let him put the necklace on her when she suddenly felt it. That smell. What was that smell?

Katie sniffed the air once more, trying to find the source of the scent. Her heart was beating achingly fast, threatening to jump out of her chest, and her wolf was as excited and nervous as she was.

"Katie? What's wrong?" Jessica noticed how Katie had frozen.

"I can feel him. He's here, Jess." Katie's voice was a mere whisper. Although she couldn't see him, his scent had easily consumed her to her very core. Her eyes began moving as quickly as possible among the students around campus, trying to catch where his scent was coming from, her wolf begging her to find him.

Moving her head to the right, Katie finally spotted him. His crystal blue eyes stared at her hazel brown ones from afar for what seemed like forever. Katie didn't dare blink, as if she was afraid he would disappear in that fraction of a second. She felt his eyes pinning her exactly where she stood.

****

Zach had been listening to Megan trying to convince him to go to a party tonight when he smelled it again. The same scent from last night hit him with full force this time, daring him to ignore it once again. His wolf instantly became alert and anxious, waiting eagerly to find its source. Surprisingly, Zach found pleasure breathing in the scent deeper. It somehow calmed him, rooted him more firmly to the ground he stood on. His eyes scanned the crowd on their own accord, only to come to a sudden stop when they fell on her. Before him was the most beautiful female he had ever seen.

She had caramel blond hair in lazy waves down to the middle of her back and a bright pink tiara on top of her head. Her eyes were big and beautiful, the hazel in them just like a sea of honey that Zach found himself dying to explore. Yet, what concerned Zach the most was the male figure behind her, helping her put on a necklace. Zach's fist clenched as he saw the bright smile on her flawless face and his wolf got instantly pissed, yet his heart skipped a beat when her face suddenly changed from happiness to shock.

The gorgeous female looked around urgently, searching for something, and he already knew she was looking for him. His suspicions were confirmed once she found him among the sea of people present. Her big doe-like hazel brown eyes mesmerized him to an extent he never knew possible. And once his gaze was locked to hers he knew who she was. His wolf confirmed his assumption as well, begging him to rush to her already, screaming the same word in rhythm with every rushed beat of Zach's heart, mate. He had found his mate.