My Bestfriend's Mate

"Elizabeth, will you help me tie this dress?" Linsey asked me, obviously struggling with the laces on the back of her dress. "Of course. This is what bestfriends are for." I replied, getting up to help. "Thank you so much. I want to make sure I look my absolute best for tonight. You know, just in case I meet my mate or anything crazy like that." Linsey said to me, laughing. I laughed with her. We were both 20 and hadn't met our mates yet. Usually you meet your mate when you're 18 or 19 but we weren't so lucky. Our mates were obviously not in our pack, Winterfoot Pack.

But tonight we were going to Mystic Pack for their new Alpha's ceremony. The chances of us finding our mates were low, but not zero and we were mildly excited to say the least. "What do you think the odds of us finding our mates are tonight?" I asked her, tying the laces to her dress. "I mean, realistically, they're probably 1 in 1,000." Linsey said with a laugh. I tried to laugh with her but it was depressing really. "Hey, don't look so down about it. We're in this boat together. Plus, even if you don't find your mate, you're hot enough to have any wolf you wanted. I mean, look at you. You've got legs for days, beautiful hair, a gorgeous face, and curves that never stop!" Linsey said, trying to hype me up. I laughed a genuine laugh and said "Okay, okay. I get it." "Girl, I'm serious." Linsey said. "Let's hurry up so we can go." I said, turning around to head to my closet to find a pair of heels that would match my lavender silk dress. I chose a nude pair of strappy heels that didn't add too much color and almost matched my light skin tone. I put them on then took one last final look in the mirror at myself. My chestnut brown hair was curled into soft waves and pulled back half up half down. My brown eyes were accentuated with a soft purple eyeshadow that matched my dress. I stared at myself for a moment before realizing that I actually did look good. I put some lipgloss on as a finishing touch and asked "Okay, I'm ready. Are you?" to Linsey. "Yes! Just let me get my shoes on and I'm ready!" She was wearing a black velvet dress and black pumps. Even I had to admit it, she looked hot. Her blonde hair was straightened and she wore dark red lipstick. As Linsey got up, she took a look at us in the mirror and said "Goddess we looks good. If we don't find our mates tonight, at least we'll come home with somebody." with a wink. I rolled my eyes and laughed and said "Alright, let's go." It was about an hour's drive to Mystic from Winterfoot and we laughed the entire way there. Once we pulled up to the massive mansion of Mystic Pack, we got out and looked around in awe. This place was much grander than ours. There were statues of knights outside of the front doors and an immaculate garden paired with a fountain in the middle of the circular driveway. Linsey got out of the car and said "Now, this is a place I could get seats somewhere near the back of the hall and sat down, two champagne glasses in our hands. "If everyone would please silence all cell phones as the ceremony is about to commence." An older man said from the front of the Great Hall. We pulled out our phones and put them on silent and directed ouused to." We both laughed and walked up to the front doors, only to be greeted by men in butler's suits. They opened the grand front doors for us and we were immediately greeted by more men in butler's suits holding trays of champagne and finger snacks. I grabbed a glass of champagne and so did Linsey. She downed hers with one gulp and said "Well, better start the night off right I guess." and grabbed another. I let out a giggle and grabbed another as well. "If I could get everyone's attention, the ceremony will now commence in the Great Hall. Please follow me." A voice said from a distance, but was loud enough for everyone to hear. I guess that was one of the perks of being a wolf, our keen sense of hearing. Linsey and I grabbed one more glass of champagne before heading towards the direction that everyone else was going. We found ourr attention back to the front where the most beautiful man I had ever seen was standing. He was tall, handsome, and had an air of mystery about him. I almost immediately fell in love with him and had every intention of taking him home with me tonight. I turned towards Linsey and was about to make a joke about how he was coming home with me but when I looked at her, her face was stone cold serious as she was staring at him. "What's wrong Linsey?" I asked her. "That's my mate. Don't ask me how I know, I just do." She said, not even looking my way. Disappointment sank into my chest like a weighted brick. "Oh, really? That's so exciting!" I said, trying my best to sound happy and excited for her while I silently mourned. "Do you, Arthur Ringgold, of Mystic Pack, accept your new role of Alpha of Mystic Pack?" Elder Terrance said to him. "I do." Arthur said in a warm, deep voice that was like music to my ears. I looked over to Linsey and saw her intently watching the ceremony, or watching Arthur. I couldn't tell. "Do you, Arthur Ringgold of Mystic Pack, take on this new role as Alpha with true intentions and promise to obey all laws of this land now and henceforth?" Elder Terrance asked. "I do." Arthur responded. I looked back over to Linsey and saw that she hadn't looked like she had blinked the entire time. "Shit, this might actually be her mate." I thought to myself. I didn't catch what was next but heard Arthur say "I do." again. I turned my attention back to the ceremony and saw as, who I could guess was Arthur's father, untie and remove his cloak from his shoulders and place it onto Arthur's. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, the new Alpha of Mystic Pack, Arthur Ringgold!" Elder Terrance yelled out into the crowd. There was a loud applause and some cheering from the front rows of the Great Hall. Linsey stood up and said "I have to meet him before the night is over." She was looking and acting something like a zombie, unblinking and stone cold serious. Soon the crowd began to disperse and Linsey immediately made a B-Line for Arthur and I followed. He was stepping down from the stage and paused. He tilted up his nose to get a better whiff of a scent he was catching, no doubt it was Linsey's. He searched around the room and finally laid eyes on Linsey and I, we were carefully bumping our way through the crowd to get to him. He began walking to get to us as quickly as he could, not even acknowledging some of the people trying to talk to him. Finally, we met and he said "Is that you that I'm smelling?" looking in my direction. "Um.. probably not?" I said wistfully. Linsey blushed and said, "I think it's me you're smelling. But hi, I'm Linsey." "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you Linsey." He said, holding his hand out for her shake it but she didn't get the hint. "So.. uhh.. who is this you have with you?" He asked her. "Oh, this is my bestfriend, Elizabeth." She said, motioning in my direction"Do you think..." He began to say but Linsey cut him off and said, "Yes, I do." Arthur bit the inside of his cheek. "I was not prepared for this tonight. But, the Goddess knows what she's doing I guess." Was it just me or was he not exactly thrilled to have met his mate? "Umm yeah, I think she does. Not exactly great timing but she knows what she's doing nonetheless." Linsey said, her excitement fading. "Well, would you two care to come meet my parents?" He asked us. Linsey looked at me with a look on her face that said "Is he serious?" I didn't know what part she was referring to but I just shrugged my shoulders. "Um yeah, that sounds good." Linsey replied. "Great, they're over here." He said, holding his hand out for Linsey to grab. She grabbed his hand and he guided us over to the right side of the Great Hall where the man who had given him the cloak sat with a beautiful woman with dark brown hair. Finally we reached them and Arthur spoke first. "Mother, Father, this is Elizabeth and Linsey." He said. "Well hello there ladies, my name is Barry and this is my wife Jasmine. It's a pleasure to meet you." The father said with a confused look on his face. "Father, I have reason to believe that Miss Linsey here is my mate." His mother's face dropped and so did his father's. "Well that is wonderful news my dear!" His mother said, getting up from her chair and walking around the table to give Arthur and Linsey a hug. "We can't wait for you to join our family! We've waited for this day for a long time! Come, come sit down with us and have a chat."Jasmine said, motioning for Linsey to come and join them. "Hey, I'm going to go have a look around and mingle." I said, feeling like a fifth wheel and slightly uncomfortable. "Okay! I'll catch up with you in a bit!" Linsey said, barely looking my way. I turned to wander off but grabbed a glass of champagne from one of the butler's trays first. This surely turned out to be an eventful night. I wandered off to find the bathroom but was stopped by Arthur. "Hey." He said. Confused, I took a sip of my champagne and said "Um, hello." "I'm sorry. I know you must feel left out, you can come join us if you want. We can pull up a chair for you." He said, gesturing towards the table where his parents and Linsey were. "Um, no. I'm okay but thank you. I'm going to go try and find some people I know." I said, turning to look into the crowd. "Well, if you change your mind, just know the option is available." He said, looking at me up and down so quickly, I almost didn't notice. "Well, you have fun out there." He said with a smile. I turned away and wandered throughout the hall, looking for a bathroom. The whole time my mind was over thinking about the encounter I had just had. His smile was beautiful, he was beautiful but he was also Linsey's mate. Sometimes the Moon Goddess wasn't fair. I downed my glass of champagne and grabbed another from one of the many servers walking around with trays full of champagne and downed that one too. I waited a moment before grabbing another and only sipped at it this time. I stopped a server and asked "Where is the bathroom?" He pointed to the left and put up 3 fingers, I guess indicating that it was the third door on the left. I made my way to the door he had pointed to and opened it to a thankfully empty bathroom. I placed my bag and glass of champagne on the marble counter top and looked into the mirror. "What are we going to do now Elizabeth?" I asked myself.