Gabriel growled deeply, stepping forward with the robe, wrapping it tightly around her body.

“What the hell do you think you're doing?” Gabriel asked her, his anger getting the better of him.

She could see the black pupils of his eyes widen, his wolf clawing at the surface, desperate to come out. Apparently man and beast agreed on one thing. They did not like their mate naked in front of others.

“We’re wolves, Gabriel. Nudity is nothing new.” Amelia stated, tying the robe around her.

“You are my mate. You will conduct yourself accordingly.” Gabriel growled once again.

“Or what?” She asked, challenging him.

Gabriel and Amelia continued staring at one another until they heard the sound of someone clearing their throat. Amelia noticed her father standing before them, his green eyes flitting back and forth between the two of them.

“What is going on here? Alpha Gabriel?” Stephan was doing his best to keep himself from losing his temper given the fact that this man he barely met was just gawking at his naked daughter.

Amelia stepped forward in front of Gabriel. “It’s nothing daddy.”

“She’s my mate.”

Amelia turned her head, her mouth hanging open. Did he really just announce to everyone present that he was her mate? He came up to stand beside her, his stance dominating and ready for a fight.

“Mate?” Stephan gasped. “Amelia, is this true?”

Amelia rolled her eyes, now thoroughly annoyed. “Yes. We have the mate bond.”

“And you chose not to tell me, why?”

“It’s kind of new, dad. Not exactly something I wanted blurted out.” She hissed, gritting her teeth, directing her gaze to her mate.

Gabriel ignored her outburst, his gaze strictly on her father. “She will be leaving with me tomorrow, back to my pack.”

“The hell she will.” Damon growled, going to stand beside his father.

“Now just wait a minute there. We haven’t discussed anything.” Stephan started.

“This is ridiculous.” She mumbled to herself, huffing aloud, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Y’all are ruining a perfectly good party. In case any of you forgot it’s Damon and I’s birthday, so y'all can shut up or you can leave.” She shot her mate a glare. “Now if you don’t mind I’m gonna go get changed.”

Amelia left the Alpha males to their posturing and almost the entire pack gathered around, listening and talking amongst themselves. Great. That’s just what she needed. Her fellow pack members parted before her, allowing her a clear path to the pack house.

“Amelia!”

Amelia turned around to find Cordelia chasing after her. “Hey Cordie.”

Cordelia fell into sync, walking alongside her up the flights of stairs. “So, a mate huh? How come you haven’t told me?”

“I’ve barely had a chance to process, let alone speak about it.”

“Hmm. Still, you could have ended up with a worse mate. That Alpha is a fine-looking specimen.”

Rey growled defensively. Amelia hadn’t realized she’d done so aloud until she noticed Cordelia’s eyebrow raised. “I don’t want a mate.”

“You should consider yourself lucky. Mates are rare.”

“The Moon Goddess did me no favors. She should have chosen someone else.”

“Maybe she has a plan for you.”

“Yea? What about my plans? Am I just supposed to throw those away now because some mate wants to claim me?” She hissed, trying to keep her voice low.

She threw open her bedroom door, leaving it open for Cordelia to follow. She threw off the bathrobe, letting it fall to the floor, before walking into her closet. Cordelia sat down on the bench at the end of the bed, leaning back on the soft mattress, propped up on her elbows.

Amelia pulled on a fresh pair of underwear, clasping on a matching black lace bra. She looked over her clothing options and decided instantly against a dress. She wanted to be comfortable in case someone challenged her. She loved getting into fights. She pulled on a pair of ripped black skinny jeans and a form fitting teal blue top with a built-in corset. It accentuated her full breasts, pushing them up even further and hung off her shoulders, but it was snug enough not to allow anything to pop out if things did get physical. She had fought more times than she cared to admit in that top.

She stepped out of the closet back into her bedroom, finding Cordelia waiting for her. She walked in front of her, motioning for her to help her with the laces. Cordelia stood up, lacing her up, pulling and tightening the laces as she went. Once she was finished, she tied the ribbons into a simple bow at the end.

“Good to go.” Cordelia said, patting her on the butt.

Amelia walked into her bathroom, staring at her reflection. Her silver blonde hair was a tousled mess, wild and tangled. She ran her brush through it until it was tangle free and smooth. She pulled her hair up into a high ponytail, leaving her neck free and bare. Her make-up was still decent. For the finishing touch she added on her mother’s necklace. A simple rose gold crescent moon.

Cordelia followed her in, leaning against the quartz counters. “So, what are you gonna do?”

Amelia sat down beside her, sighing. “I don’t know.”

Cordelia seemed to chew on this. “What’s the mate bond like? We’ve all heard the stories but actually knowing someone who’s mated by fate doesn’t happen every day.”

“The last people I knew of were my parents.” Amelia said, remembering the way her parents used to be. How in love they were.

She took a moment to think on it, remembering their brief moment alone together, her cheeks flushing as she replayed it in her mind. “It’s all true and so much more, but the worst part about it is I feel like I have zero control. The Moon Goddess threw this man I don’t even know in my path, forcing us, telling us this is who I have to be with. That’s the one part they don’t tell us in the stories. No matter what kind of man your mate is, you still have no choice.”

“You could reject him.” Cordelia suggested.

Amelia scoffed. “And risk killing myself? I don’t think I could do that.” She pulled on knee-high leather boots before resting on the counter beside her.

“Just throwing it out there.”

“I don’t want a mate. I just wanna be free.”

“But what if he’s a really great guy? You might actually have a chance at love.”

“And what if he’s not?” Amelia said, asking the bigger question. “What if he’s horrible and abusive and tries to force himself on me?”

Those are honest questions....let me know what you think :D

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