Dates haven´t always been my strong suit, but lately I could manage them a lot better. He'd had one too many, but at least he was being a funny drunk, I'd been laughing at his blabbering for the past twenty minutes so I guess I could say this was the best date I'd had in a year, well, maybe two if I´m being completely honest.

“So, am I getting a second date, or what?” he asked, his smile reaching his perfect green eyes.

I was not mad at him for drinking, he might as well been just nervous and I liked him, he definitely looked like that guy from Game of Thrones that used to bang his sister, but he said he was an only child, so there's that.

"Yeah, I like the sound of that" I replied almost instantly, I liked older guys and he looked maybe around thirty two or thirty three.

"Great, I usually find it hard to talk to girls, which is why I had a couple beers to loosen up, but you" he stared at me with those eyes again, "you are just different".

"Thank you, Ryan, seriously, I had a lovely time, if it doesn't work out between us I know some girls that would be very interested in meeting you" I always loved playing match maker, because couples who are meant to be will always find their way, if it's up to me of course.

We kept on sharing some stories about our fuck*d up childhood, then a couple more about our wolves. He even got emotional when he told me about his mate dying three years back during a battle that lasted for days. He was proud, though, said she was a warrior, the best female warrior he had ever seen. She had died protecting her pack, protecting her family, and for that, she deserved to be remembered with honor.

"I have had two serious relationships, I mean, I have dated on and off, but I have never fallen for them, you know? It's hard to when you feel like your mate may be out there, waiting for you" I confessed, my eyes looking elsewhere but his, I didn't feel comfortable with the fact that the Moon Goddess probably didn't bless me with a mate.

"I understand, there's nothing like finding the one you were destined to", he offered me his right hand, reaching for mine over the table, but not in a romantic way, I could tell, "if there's anything I can do to help you find him, I will, Sky".

He remembered my name, and I believed him.

"Ryan, I need you to come with me. Now"

I got chills when I heard that voice, I felt like turning around to look at the man who was trying to end my date all of a sudden.

"Alpha, did something happen?"

Ryan immediately stood up, giving me an apologetic look.

"Yes, let's go outside for a minute. Excuse us, miss".

They were gone before I knew it, I never got the chance to see the face of the guy that made me feel something just by directing a few words at me.

Could it be? Could Ryan's Alpha be my mate?

I laughed at the thought.

"No, he's not", I said to myself, looking at the restaurant entrance, I could try to take a peek outside, the place was crowded and they wouldn't notice if I just looked through one of the windows. But I would have to make a run for it, since our table was nowhere close to where they had went. Nevermind, I wasn't going to risk being caught and looking like a creep.

While I waited, I decided to get another beer, I am usually a drinker so the five beers I've had barely make a difference.

And I started thinking, about my parents, about the family and friends I left behind once I realized I was the only mate-less woman in our pack.

I ran to the other side of the country, Texas, to be more specific, the weather was nice, the people? Even better, warmer, kinder, in my perspective at least.

I never pictured myself as a loner, but once I moved here three months ago, found a job at a human tech company, and started affording my own stuff, I was delighted. I made friends at work, human and wolves as well, turns out, wolves were allowed to live and work among humans, as long as they didn't know what we are.

It's different to where I came from, for sure, we mostly kept to ourselves and lived in small towns where no one would dare to break the rules. Except me, of course, but what choice did I have if my own family would treat me with pity.

"Hello"

There it was, that voice again, it had an accent but I couldn't quite place which one.

He walked past me with steady steps and sat right in front of me, where Ryan was supposed to be.

With strong facial features and muscular jaws, a pair of green eyes stared at me, just like Ryan's but the shade was a bit darker, a bit deeper.

He smelled divine, and his mouth twitched in a cute smirk, not mocking me, but studying me.

Then I knew, yes, you just know, like they all said I was ought to, I knew. This man was indeed my mate.

"The name is Sky, right? Not Skylar" he stated, and I didn't know if I was going to be able to speak a single word.

I paused for a minute, that seemed like an hour, took a deep breath and it was like my lips were unlocked or something because I couldn't control what came out of them.

"Right, my mom gave birth to me, just looked up and named me after the first thing she saw" I blurted out, without thinking.

"She looked up and saw the sky? I would've thought she looked at the ceiling from her hospital room" he smiled, and I laughed, looking down, I was at a loss for words.

"My name is Rolando Ricci, nice to meet you... Mate".

My eyes darted at him when he said that, it made it all... real.

He seemed nice, sincere, but I heard from other werewolves that once they met their mates, they had just reacted out of instinct, embracing each other at least at the knowledge of what was to come. But him? Nothing, his relaxed posture gave nothing away.

"Well, I can see I will be doing all the talking, that's fine. So, here's the deal, Sky, you are moving in with me tonight, I'll get to know you and decide if you're fit to be my Luna, did I forget to mention I'm an Alpha? And please, stay away from Ryan for a while, I can smell his scent all over you and I can't stop thinking about him touching you. I don't want to end un ripping my Beta's head off because of you".

What the f*ck?! Moving in with him? Tonight?! I was about to lose my sh*t, but then I remembered the next thing he said. He would test me and decide if I was fit for Luna? No, I was going to test him and see if he was fit to be my mate.

I stayed calm and collected for a few minutes, not letting him get to me, but the last part of his long as* speech DID get to me.

"What do you mean I gotta stay away from Ryan?! I just met him tonight, his scent is DEFINITELY not on me, because he barely touched my hand while we talked about YOU, so excuse me but I'm not letting you decide who I can and can't be friends with"

I had to catch my breath, that was not the way I wanted this to go, but this so called Alpha comes out of nowhere and threatens me with killing his Beta just for grabbing my f*cking hand?! I'm not a pushover and he would find that out soon.

"Let me get this straight", there was some hidden anger in his words, "I command you to move in with me tonight, a stranger, regardless of the mate thing, and all you care about is Ryan?"

Rolando wasn't yelling but his jaws were clenching.

"And why were you talking about me?", he cocked his head, "is this some kind of set up?"

"NO! I care about him being nice to me, and we were talking about me not having mate, not finding him, Goddess, you're making this really embarassing for me."

"You are all over the place, I'm being completely reasonable. Let's just go get your things and go to my place. Now."

For an Alpha, he looked young, twenty eight was my first guess, not a question for this moment, maybe later.

"You can boss Ryan around, but not me, I'm going home, and if you really want to get to know me then you'll ask me on a date."

I could be stubborn, his status was intimidating, but people get used to other people doing their bidding, and if we were to be a couple, I would be damned for letting him do that to me.

"That's not how this is supposed to go", he looked stunned, bewildered someone like me, an outsider, would challenge his authority.

"You know? I waited years to see if what they said was real, if finding your mate is that fantasy where you finally live happily ever after, I hope it is, but you are not what I expected either".