"James."

The voice cut through the haze of my sleep, persistent and grating. I tried to ignore it, burying myself deeper under the warm, comforting weight of the duvet. But Drake was relentless.

"James! For fuck's sake, get up already! We're going to be late for school." His tone was a mixture of irritation and urgency, the kind of tone that could only belong to someone who'd been trying to wake me for far too long.

I groaned, shifting in bed and pulling the duvet over my head in a feeble attempt to block out his voice. It didn’t work.

"Come on, get up already!" He was louder this time, more insistent.

"Get lost," I mumbled, covering my ear with a pillow.

"You don’t want to miss school today," he said, his voice closer now, accompanied by the sound of footsteps on the stairs. I could practically hear the smirk in his voice, but I chose to ignore it.

"James." His voice had softened, almost coaxing now. "I know you're trying to avoid it, but you shouldn't, okay?"

I felt the duvet being pulled off me, the cool air hitting my skin. My patience snapped. "What do you want?" I growled, sitting up and glaring at him. "Why can't you leave me alone?"

Drake crossed his arms over his chest, unaffected by my anger. "Dude, it's your birthday today. Don't act like an ass."

"I'm not," I retorted, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. "I just don’t like you talking about me meeting my mate all the time."

"For all we know, Hailey could be my mate."

Drake rolled his eyes. "We both know she's not. You can't always pretend that you don’t need a mate."

"Honestly, I don’t," I said, standing up and stretching. "What makes you think I’m even willing to replace Hailey?"

For years, I had clung to the belief that Hailey was my mate. But as time passed, my wolf never felt the pull toward her that he should have. There was no spark, no magnetic force drawing me to her. And that bothered me.

When I confided in Drake about it, his first instinct was to knock some sense into me. He knew how deeply invested I was in my relationship with Hailey and how much it would hurt to admit that she wasn’t my mate. He tried to reason with me, to consider the possibility that my true mate was someone else. The thought scared me.

How could I let someone new into my life and ruin the relationship I’d been building for the past six years? I wasn’t ready for it. I wouldn’t know how to react if my mate suddenly appeared. I wasn’t ready to commit to someone new or to let go of my childhood sweetheart.

My heart belonged to someone else.

Why was I even thinking about this right now?

The last time I thought about meeting my mate was when I shifted a few years ago. I remember being told that the shifting process was painful without a mate and that many died during the conversion. Hailey was there when I shifted, and even my wolf couldn't deny my feelings for her.

"Are you done battling against your wolf?" Drake’s voice brought me back to the present. He stood in front of me, arms still crossed. How he managed to stand still for so long, I had no idea.

"Will you just stop annoying me?" I growled.

"Ouch," he said, closing his eyes dramatically. "This is how you treat your soon-to-be beta?"

"I do what I want. Don’t forget I’m still the Alpha."

"Soon to be," he corrected with a smirk. "You’re not the Alpha yet. Get ready and come downstairs."

He left the room, leaving me to fume. It was true, I wasn’t the Alpha yet. But once I took the position, I knew I had to settle down permanently.

How the fuck am I even going to deal with not being in love with someone who has been mated to me by the Moon Goddess?

"Do you need a horse to bring you down here?" Drake shouted from downstairs.

I rolled my eyes at his statement and got up.

---

I traipsed down the stairs to find Drake standing in front of my father. My mother was sitting on the couch next to him, talking animatedly. From the smile on her face, I could tell she was thinking about something pleasant.

"Finally!" Drake grinned as soon as he saw me. "The future Alpha woke up from his beauty sleep." He mocked.

I rolled my eyes but let it slide.

"Oh, come on, Drake. Don’t be so harsh on my beautiful son," Mom cooed.

"Beautiful? You think he looks beautiful with all those piercings?" Dad scoffed. "And wait, did you get your nose pierced? What were you thinking?" He yelled, glaring at me.

I shrugged and stood there, hands in the pockets of my jeans.

"Honey, don’t scold him. It’s his birthday today," Mom reminded him gently.

Dad huffed but didn’t argue further. He cleared his throat and forced a smile.

I couldn’t help but smirk.

Cons of having a mate.

"James, I hope you find your mate today," Mom said with a hopeful smile. "I have a feeling it's going to be Hailey. Bring her home today."

I flashed a fake smile, showing her my teeth.

"I agree with your mother," Dad said, his smile more genuine.

"Fine. I’m going to be late for school. Drake, you coming along?" I asked impatiently.

"Yeah," he said, walking out of the packhouse with me following behind.

"Let’s sprint and see who can reach the school first," he announced suddenly.

"You’ll lose," I smirked.

"We’ll see," he replied, taking off in a sprint toward the south.

I followed, the thrill of the race briefly pushing my worries aside.

---

"How the fuck did you get here before me?" Drake panted, hands on his knees as he tried to catch his breath.

"I’m faster than you," I said, clapping him on the back. "Come on, let’s go to class."

"Hey," Drake called as we walked into the building.

"What is it?"

"Tell me something. What are you going to do if you come across your mate today? What if she’s not Hailey?"

I stopped in my tracks and sighed. "I wanted her to be my mate. At this rate, I don’t even know what’s going to happen to me. I don’t think I can accept someone else."

"Are you fucking serious?" he yelled. "James, you’re taking all this too lightly. It’s not good."

"Come on, Drake. You know I’m not ready—" I started, but he cut me off.

"I know how much you love her. I have a feeling you’ll regret this," he said softly.

"I won’t," I said, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

"I hope so," he sighed.

"Anyway, you haven’t found your mate either," I pointed out.

"Mine must be lost somewhere. Though I want her to come around soon," he sighed again.

On Drake’s eighteenth birthday, he had high hopes of meeting his mate, but he hadn’t sensed her. Six months had passed, and he was still searching for her desperately. The sadness in his eyes made me feel guilty for bringing it up.

"Sorry," I mumbled.

"Woah! What are you apologizing for?" He laughed as we walked into the classroom. "Hopefully everything will work out for you today."

I took his word for it. I badly wanted everything to go smoothly today.

---

As the day progressed, I couldn’t shake off the feeling of unease. Classes dragged on, and my thoughts kept drifting back to the possibility of meeting my mate. Each time the door opened, my heart skipped a beat, wondering if she’d walk in.

"James, focus," our history teacher, Mr. Prescott, called out, snapping me back to reality.

"Sorry," I muttered, forcing myself to pay attention to the lesson.

After what felt like an eternity, the final bell rang. I gathered my things and headed out, Drake by my side.

"Any luck?" he asked.

"None," I replied, my mood souring further. "Maybe it’s better this way."

"You can’t mean that," Drake said, shaking his head. "You’re just scared."

"Of course I’m scared," I admitted. "I don’t know how to let go of Hailey. I don’t know how to start over with someone new."

"Look, James," Drake said, stopping and turning to face me. "I get it. But you can’t fight destiny. If the Moon Goddess has someone else in mind for you, you need to trust that it’s for the best."

"Easy for you to say," I grumbled. "You’re not the one facing it right now."

"But I will be," he said quietly. "And when I find her, I’ll have to face the same challenges. We’re in this together, man."

I looked at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. It was comforting, in a way, knowing that he understood.

"Thanks," I said, managing a small smile. "I guess we’ll just have to wait and see what happens."

"Exactly," he said, clapping me on the shoulder. "Now, let’s get out of here before someone else tries to ruin our day."

We made our way out of the school, walking in comfortable silence. Despite the uncertainty and fear, there was a small spark of hope in my

heart. Maybe, just maybe, things would work out after all.