Chapter 4 - Mate Less

Nathan Pov 

Don't you dare raise your voice at me!" I yelled back at my father. 

I sensed the whole pack behind me, listening to our conversation, waiting to hear what would be the end of it. My father was getting old so to speak and he was patiently waiting for me to be announced as the next Alpha but it was not possible if I did not find who my mate was yet. 

Everyone in the Darkmoon pack knew that most alphas found their mates only about a year after the first shift, but it had been three years since my shift, and I had not found her yet. I had heard rumors about myself, most of which were unbelievable but could not do anything about them just because there was no way to prove them wrong. 

The omegas had running mouths and were willing to engage themselves in conversations that were a bit annoying to my father, leaving him agitated each time he heard the name 'Nathan' in matters that made the whole world talk. He sorely disapproved of anything concerning me.

"I am your Alpha!" Sullivan, my father, shouted as he walked towards me, closing the gap between us. "You are my son but you remain a member of the pack regardless. If you ever raise your voice at me again, you will feel pity for yourself. Even your mother would not be able to save you. Don't dare me." My father yelled, obviously basking in the glory of his power. 

I remained silent. I was irritated but I dared not show it. The relationship I had with my father had always been rocky from the start. I did not know why, and growing up, I did not bother to ask why. I had other things to focus on, most of which were the friends that I made and the school I had to go. 

Being in school was a different kind of game. Youngsville High School was essentially for humans but the werewolves that attended the school knew themselves. Humans were not friends of werewolves. As a matter of fact, some of my classmates' parents were those who hunted werewolves for a living. What they did with them after they caught them was unknown to anyone, all we were sure of was that we never saw them again after that. 

"I need to go to school tomorrow which means I need to get some sleep now. Can I leave?" I asked my father who had suddenly gone quiet after noting that I was not giving him the satisfaction of a fight because I was not replying to him. 

He looked at me for a second before waving his hands at me, telling me to go. 

I was done with the conversation like I had been every time someone brought it up. I also desperately wanted to find my mate, I knew that meeting her was going to be life changing, I knew thatfrom all the stories I had heard from those who had met theirs, especially my best friend Finn. He recalled it as the most beautiful thing in the entirety of a werewolves life, but I was not sure he knew what he meant. 

If finding a mate was the most beautiful thing, what would one classify all the other amazing things that would happen? Like Children, birthdays, friendship?

I usually remained silent on the topic as it was not my business yet. I was not ready to find my mate, I knew my wolf was not ready and we were going to leave it that way. My wolf, Adam, had been silent for months now but it was better for me. I had other things I wanted to be that I didn't need my wolf reprimanding me for, many of which I dared not say to anyone. 

As I turned the doorknob of the conference room, I heard feet scattering on the other side of the room. They were listening and did not want my father or I to know they were. "Not a smart bunch of people." I said to myself. 

"Hey." Finn approached me as soon as I walked out. 

He was a bit shorter than I was, but he carried himself so well, it made me jealous most times. Many of the pack members whispered silently about Finn being fit to be the next Alpha but I could care less. One, I was my father's son and that position was rightfully mine. Two, Finn was my best friend and would not turn against me. 

"Nathan?" He called gently when I did not reply. 

"Yeah?" I answered. I was still not in the mood to talk to anyone but it was Finn and I respected him that much. 

Finn's father, Ben, was the Beta of the pack. Our lives seemed to have been written concerning the future and none of us had anything against it. I was to be the next Alpha and he was to be the next Beta, simple and direct. 

"I need to be alone." I told him. 

He stopped me from walking and faced me directly. "It's not right to keep running from everything. Your father is right, your mother is right, the whole pack is right. You need to put more effort into finding who your mate is. I keep telling you that there will be no time to rush things when your father is about to handover and we both know I am rooting for you to be the next Alpha." 

"Only because you want to be Beta already?" I snapped and he looked shocked at my statement but I was not going to take it back. 

He sighed. "Nathan…We both know it's more than that. I am only trying to help, put you in a really good spot here." 

"I don't need it. What I need is for everyone to leave me alone!" I walked away. 

The last look on his face was that of confusion but I didn't care. I only wanted to be alone until I could figure things out at least, until I could figure out the things that all of them, every single one of them, did not have the least idea about. 

"Nathan!" Finn called after me but I made no attempt to listen to whatever he had to say. 

Someone important was waiting for me and I wanted to get back to her. She was actually not so important to me but I liked to pretend that she was.

Sometimes when I was with her, I would close my eyes and pretend that she was my mate. But then I would have to open my eyes and feel the crushing disappointment that it was not true. I had a mate some where out there and I had to find her.

But for now, this girl was the next best thing I had to a mate, and I seriously needed the stress reliever.