07/08/2017

The next morning Kristin awoke to her phone alarm at eight o'clock. She figured that would give her enough time to get ready and then go have brunch with Allison and Logan before having to arrive to the pack house, where the meeting would take place.

After taking a nice hot shower she slipped into her white fluffy robe and took a seat in front of her vanity.

It took a while to dry her long blonde hair and after she ran a straightener through it a couple times to get the frizz out.

She routinely applied a light layer of foundation, darkened her brows, and put on mascara.

Going through her closet, she decided on dark black skinnies and a dark satin button up.

Before leaving her room, she put on a necklace and the ring she wore often that her father had gifted her.

She met her friends at Violet's, the local pack café, at ten o'clock.

"You look fancy today," Logan commented as he noticed Kristin's attire.

"I'm meeting the other pack coming today," she responded, taking a seat across from him in a booth.

"It's Nightfall Pack, isn't it?" Logan raised an eyebrow.

"Mmhm," Kristin replied, sliding over for Allison who had just arrived.

"Nightfall Pack," Allison stated as she took a seat beside Kristin, "I heard the Alpha's sons are super hot."

"And where did you hear that?" Kristin wondered. The last time anyone had seen the heirs of Nightfall Pack was about eight years ago.

Allison shrugged, "I just heard rumors... but you'll have to let me know if they're true when you meet them."

"Okay," Kristin rolled her eyes at her best friend.

"Chill Allison, the future Alpha already found his mate," Logan smirked at her.

"Darn," she said over dramatically, but actually meaning it, "what about the younger one? He's single, right?"

She looked to Kristin knowing she would know since her father made her keep up with the other packs, especially Nightfall due to their upcoming visit.

"Yep," she replied, popping the 'p'. "I'm not sure how I feel about us forming an alliance with them though." She didn't mean to shift the subject, she was genuinely concerned.

From the research she had done with the pack, there was something off about the Alpha.

"I heard the Alpha's turning crazier by the minute. He didn't let his son take over when he was supposed to. He seriously doesn't want to give up his title," Logan said, shaking his head.

"It's true," Kristin replied, taking a bite from her blueberry pancakes. "They say Alpha Rickard changed ever since his mate passed away three years ago."

"Mmm that's sad," Allison pouted her lips.

"I just feel like he could be unstable, especially since he's refusing to give up his position to his son," Kristin voiced her thoughts.

"How old is the eldest son?" Logan asked curiously.

"He's been twenty one for almost six months now."

"Damn."

Alphas usually handed down their title when their son turned eighteen.

Some waited until they turned twenty one, but it was rare.

Kristin didn't think Alpha Rickard was going to hand over his title any time soon.

After a while Kristin noticed Logan got a far away look in his eyes.

She knew what that meant, her father and brother did the same thing.

"The Alpha told me to tell you Nightfall Pack is just reaching the borders."

"Woah I'm still not used to that whole talking to each other through your mind thing," Allison made a face, "it's weird."

"You know what's even weirder Al?" Kristin spoke up over Logan's laughing. "Living with a pack of werewolves. As a human."

She whispered the last bit into Allison's ear, knowing Logan would hear.

"You can say that again," Allison laughed.

"Hello, wolf here," Logan pointed to himself. "With enhanced hearing."

"Oh shut up, you weren't even a wolf four months ago."

"Okay guys, I have to go," Kristin announced, scooting out of the booth, "Allison please don't beat up Logan while I'm gone."

Logan scoffed as Allison smirked, "No promises."

Kristin arrived at the pack house at a little after twelve o'clock.

She was currently sitting in one of the meeting rooms with her brother, waiting for Nightfall Pack to arrive.

She was looking over paperwork that held information about the pack.

She had already went through it last night in preparation for today, but decided to flip through it again whilst waiting.

"I wonder how Alpha Rickard's mate died?" Kristin wondered aloud.

"It's really a mystery," Marcus, her younger brother spoke, "there are rumors, but no solid answer as to how she died. All we know is that she was murdered."

"Rogues?" Kristin suggested. Many attacks were caused by the wolves who broke away from packs to terrorize them.

"Not sure," Marcus shook his head, "For some reason they kept it a secret."

Half an hour later the pack was arriving.

"You look nice Kris," Amelia, Kristin's mother said when they met to walk outside.

They were meeting them at the entrance of the pack house, where most of the pack business took place.

"Thanks mom," Kristin followed her mother outside to join her father and brother's side.

A sleek black SUV was pulling in. Kristin struggled to see through the tinted windows, her stomach knotting with anticipation.

Before she knew it doors opened and six men walked towards them.

Alpha Rickard stood tall in the middle of the group. Kristin assumed his beta was on his right. His two sons following on his left.

Two other men walked closely behind.

Kristin stood up straighter. She was standing next to her mother, who was on her father's left. Her father's beta, Jace, was standing to his right along with Marcus.

There were at least ten other men from their pack surrounding the area, just in case.

"Rickard, welcome to Spirit Moon Pack," John spoke in his Alpha tone.

Alpha Rickard nodded at her father. Kristin couldn't help but notice his hardened face of stone.

He looked like he never smiled.

"John, it's nice to see you. As you know, I've brought along my eldest son, Gabriel, and my younger son, Ryder."

Gabriel nodded respectfully toward Kristin's family while Ryder just crossed his arms, looking bored.

Kristin watched a piece of his dark hair fall into his eyes.

"It is always nice to see you and your sons. You too Karmin," John acknowledged Alpha Rickard's Beta. They all towered over Kristin. Although she was five nine she felt short between the Nightfall members and her own father, brother, and Beta. "Your trip was good?" John continued.

"Oh, yes, it was fine. We really are not that far away, are we?" Alpha Rickard turned his gaze to Kristin, and she reminded herself not to shift uncomfortably.

"This is my mate, Amelia," Her father said, wrapping his arm around her mother's waist.

"Luna," Alpha Rickard, Gabriel, and his Beta, Karmin, all acknowledged.

"My Beta, Jace..." they all nodded once again, "And my son, Marcus, and my daughter, Kristin."

When Alpha Rickard's eyes passed onto Kristin once more, they were filled with curiosity.

She knew it was because he could tell she was a human. It shouldn't have been that much of a surprise, since her mother was obviously a human as well.

Still, it wasn't that common for an Alpha to have a human mate.

Kristin watched as everyone exchanged hand shakes, starting with the two Alphas.

Although the mood was friendly, it was still intense due to the fact that there was two Alphas within close proximity. Kristin didn't have to be a wolf to sense the power radiating off both her father and Alpha Rickard. Both of their families as well, seeing that they all had Alpha blood.

When it was her turn to shake hands, Kristin tried to make her hand shake with them as firm as possible, going from Alpha Rickard, to his Beta, to his eldest son, Gabriel.

Gabriel was the only one who gave her a warm smile, his blue eyes showing kindness.

In that moment Kristin wished that his father would have given him the Alpha title.

She felt much more comfortable in Gabriel's presence than his father's.

She noticed that Ryder didn't shake her hand, taking a step back after shaking her brother's hand.

She was slightly offended, eyeing him curiously as he instead just gave her a small nod.

There was a hint of a smirk on his lips which irritated Kristin.

"Now that introductions are over, shall we go inside and begin?" Kristin knew by her father's tone that it wasn't a question. Probably not a good idea to give another Alpha orders though, that would get ugly.

Alpha Rickard nodded and followed Kristin's parents and brother into the pack house.

Jace stayed behind, turning to Kristin.

"Your father wants you to stay close to the house for now, since there are Nightfall wolves around."

"Okay," Kristin sighed as one of the men who frequently guarded her, escorted her back to her house.

She turned around and watched Jace disappear behind the doors of the pack building.

Please help the alliance to go well, she prayed.

Later that day, Kristin was relieved when her family returned to the house.

It was now almost six at night.

Kristin's family was seated around their elegant dinner table, about to dig into the delicious food.

Kristin didn't miss her family acting different.

Both of her parents were stealing glances at her repeatedly, which she noticed.

Marcus was full on staring at her, which she definitely noticed.

Kristin's nerves picked up as she set down her silverware.

"Is something wrong?"

Her brother snapped out of his stare and looked to their father.

"Everything's okay sweetie," her mother smiled at her.

Definitely hiding something.

Her father seemed to (not really) read her thoughts as he spoke up.

"We'll speak about this after dinner."

Kristin lifted her brow at him. "This has to do with me?"

"After dinner," he said firmly.

By the time dinner was over and she was sitting in her father's office with him and her mother looking at her, Kristin was on the verge of freaking out.

The anticipation was killing her, causing her body to fill with anxiety.

"Please tell me what's wrong," she whispered.

"Honey, nothing is wrong! In fact, we have good news for you!" her mother squeezed her shoulder.

"We are in the process of forming an alliance with Nightfall. We're nearly completed, as we've come to a deal."

"A deal?" Kristin anxiously asked, waiting for the part that had to do with her.

"Until now, we were struggling to find a deal that would seal the alliance between the two packs. As you know, deals are formed to prevent each pack from breaking the alliance. It is very important."

"Okay..." Kristin couldn't stop fidgeting with her necklace.

"We've formed an arrangement."

His daughter's silence prompted Alpha John to continue.

"An arrangement between you and Rickard's son."

"What?" Kristin sputtered, taken by complete surprise. "But I thought Gabriel's already found his mate?"

"He has, its with Rickard's younger son, Ryder," her mother replied with a smile.

What was happening?

Kristin was not about to be arranged to a random wolf who has yet to find his mate! If-- no, when he found his mate, Kristin would be kicked to the curb.

Kristin tried voicing her thoughts to her parents but was interrupted.

"You are Ryder's mate," her father said.

This left her speechless.

She hadn't paid much attention to Ryder because of her focus on Alpha Rickard, but she knew for a fact that he was not her mate.

She didn't know what was going on, or if she was dreaming, but all she knew was that she understood what it was like to find your mate.

And she was definitely not Ryder's mate.

Mates were supposed to show affection. Ryder was clearly too good to even shake her hand.

"N-no he's not my mate!" Kristin said frantically, after finding her voice again.

"Now, Kristin. It's different for humans. You don't feel the bond as strong as wolves do."

"I don't feel the bond at all!"

"You may not feel it now, but you will soon enough. You just have to give it a chance sweetie," Kristin's mother patted her back to try calming her down.

"What's going to happen now?" Kristin regrettably asked. She knew for a fact Ryder and her were not mates but she decided to stop failing to convince her parents for now.

"There is a house that sits in between our territory and Nightfall's. It's thirty miles either way to each of our packs. You will stay with Ryder there for now, serving as a symbol of our alliance.

"This isn't fair," Kristin blurted out. She couldn't help it, this whole situation was a nightmare. She had to go live with a random guy for who knows how long?

"Father, you wouldn't even let me date before. Now you're forcing me to live with a random guy?!"

"Kristin," Alpha John spoke firmly, "he is your mate. He will take care of you. With him as your mate you will not only have protection from our pack, but from Nightfall as well. You will stay in the middle of our two territories, in the safest place possible."

Her father's words did nothing to reassure her.

"Why can't I stay here?"

"To make the alliance deal fair, you have to stay in the border between the two packs. If you stay here, Ryder will also have to stay here, and it will be unbalanced."

"Ryder can stay at his own pack!" Kristin exclaimed, frustrated.

How was one random stranger ruining her life?

"You know that's not how mates work Kristin. They have to be together."

"You'll understand soon," her mother added, encouragingly.

"But my friends, you guys, my financial work is here," Kristin waved her hands for effect.

"You can take a well deserved break from the financial business Kris. Plus, you can come visit us any time. We're only thirty miles away."

"That's almost an hour away!"

Kristin knew that the outskirts of their pack was thick forest. For a vehicle to drive through there, even if there was a road, it would take a while maneuvering around the thick greenery.

To prove his point, it had taken Nightfall Pack an hour to get here once they reached the border.

"Kristin you need to think about the good of the pack. This is hardly a burden for you."

"Hardly?"

"Kristin," her mother sighed, "Please trust us. We wouldn't do this if it wasn't for your own good. Once you spend time with your mate, you'll understand."

"Please stop calling him my mate," Kristin said, rubbing her temples.

This was giving her a major headache.

"Ryder himself said I was his mate?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Yes, sweetie."

"Fine." Kristin said, defeated.

She was so confused with everything happening, she didn't know how to fight it.

Her parents were obviously convinced slash brainwashed that Ryder was her mate.

The only thing she was one hundred percent positive was that Ryder was not her mate.

•. •. •. •. •. •.

Chapter Two read!

Plot is slowly starting to kick in full force!

Thanks for reading.

Vote if you'd like.

Chica_2016