raiden

"Raiden," Dad sighs as I sit in his office. "It's been six years."

"Don't you think I know that?" I say and he shakes his head.

It's been six years since I turned eighteen. Six years since I've been able to meet my mate and I still haven't had any luck in doing so.

"Maybe it's time you consider Alpha Demos' offer," Mom suggests.

A scowl forms on my face. Alpha Demos was the leader of the pack neighboring ours. After his eldest daughter had died, his younger one inherited the title of alpha. Or she should've, but when her mate rejected her, Alpha Demos decided to wait until he could find a good suitor for her. Seeing as I was the son of a former gamma and still hadn't met my mate, in Alpha Demos' and my parent's eyes, this was perfect.

I didn't want to do that, though. I didn't want to be married off to someone who wasn't my mate just because of what rank they held in their pack. It didn't matter how long I had to wait, I just wanted my mate.

"No," I turn Mom down. "I've told you time and time again that I have no interest in marrying Nara. My answer isn't going to change."

Mom frowns at this and Dad shakes his head again.

"How long do you plan on waiting? What if they never come, then what are you going to do? This is a good opportunity for not only you, but your future children, Raiden," Dad says.

"The only children I plan on having are with my actual mate. If they never show up, then so be it."

With that, I stand up and move towards the door. It had been the same thing for the past four years. I knew there were wolves who didn't marry based off if a wolf was their mate or not, but I wasn't going to be one of them.

Once I leave the room, I make my way toward the front door of the house. I should've known the only reason Mom and Dad invited me over was to try and convince me to marry Nara.

As much as I loved my parents, their definition of "doing what was best for me" was much different than my own. In their eyes, as long as I didn't die a sad lonely man then I was okay. It didn't matter if I was happy with my partner or not.

"You're leaving already?" Turning around, I see my sister, Maia, staring at me with a raised eyebrow. "You just got here."

"You know how they are," I sigh. "I can't deal with them today."

Maia frowns at that. "You know they only want what's best for you, right?"

I roll my eyes. "If they wanted what was best for me, then they'd stop trying to get me to marry people who aren't my mate. They waited until they found each other, so why are we any different?"

I don't give Maia the chance to reply. Instead, I turn to the front door and open it before leaving.

It didn't surprise me that Maia was defending Mom and Dad. She had married Hopper, the head warrior of our pack, around three years ago. The two claimed to be mates and in love with each other, but I could see the look of regret in their eyes every time they stared at each other.

Maia was ten years older than me. While I'm twenty-four and haven't met my mate, Maia was thirty-four and, though she claimed otherwise, still hadn't met her mate. Hopper had lost his mate when he was eighteen and Maia had gone thirteen years without one. I doubt it was hard for Mom and Dad to convince her to marry him seeing as they both were already in a fragile state.

As I walked through the pack, people smiled and greeted me. The Howling Night pack wasn't a huge one, but we were all close. Everyone knew everyone here and while it could be a pain when we were younger, I enjoyed the close sense of family.

"Who pissed in your cereal?"

Turning around, I see Mars approaching me. Mars was a warrior in the pack, but even though he didn't hold a high rank within the pack, we were still best friends. Hell, he was probably family at this point. We've known each other since diaper days but truly became best friends after I kicked his sister in the face with a soccer ball when I was seven and he punched me or attempted to.

After fighting for what felt like hours, but was probably only a few minutes, the two of us forgot what we were even fighting over and I had invited him over to come to play after school. Ever since our "fight", we've been close. When I had a problem it was Mars who I went to.

"My parents, you know how they are," I sigh.

Mars' eyes soften slightly. "Are they talking about mates again?"

"You know they are. Still trying to get me to agree to marry Alpha Demos' daughter."

Mars frowns and throws an arm over my shoulder. "Don't worry about them, dude. You're only twenty-four. Soon, you're going to meet your mate and they won't know what hit them."

A smile forms on my face, but it doesn't meet my eyes. Call me impatient, but after eight years, I was tired of waiting around. I had traveled to other packs and abroad for years only to come back with nothing. In that time, Mars had managed to meet his mate without even having to leave the pack.

As each day went on, the possibility of me finding my mate seemed to grow slimmer and slimmer. Mom says that these are my prime years and I shouldn't waste them, and while I ignored most of the things she said, that had stuck with me. At this rate, I wouldn't meet my mate until my thirties or later. It wouldn't be the end of the world, but I still couldn't help but fear that I would spend all my life waiting and by the time I met them, it would be too late.