*Ten Years prior to the events in the prologue*

Kai awoke suddenly with a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. It was as if a thousand butterflies were spooked by some unseen force and were now frantically flapping their wings in all directions, trying to escape his insides. He learned in school what this feeling was supposed to represent, the awakening of his mate bond. A bond that would be forged between him and another wolf upon his eighteenth birthday. The feeling marked the start of the next chapter in his life. A chapter that would leave him bound to another soul until they died. It was the feeling of his mate, his fated mate.

Kai quickly stumbled out of bed, nearly tripping over the blankets that were currently wrapped around his legs. Catching his balance, he moaned lightly at the feelings inside his stomach, leaving him lightheaded and nearly causing him to stumble again. Quickly shaking it off, he rushed to his closet, catching his appearance in the floor length mirror. His jet black hair framed his pale face, jutting out in a manner that signified that he had just gotten out of bed. His dark brown, almost black eyes were still half closed, sleep still digging its claws into his hooded lids. Both features reminded him of the man who gave him life.

Everytime Kai looked into a mirror he was reminded of the man. His hair, his eyes, even his lean but muscular body was passed down. The only true difference that they had was their height. Being an Omega made Kai stand at only just over five feet. He clenched his hands into fists at the sight. A reminder of the man that left him to fend for himself almost a year ago. A knock quickly brought him back from his thoughts and he quickly threw open the closet door and got dressed. 

Stepping into the living room, Kai stopped once again as his mind was flooded with thoughts of his father. He had taken all of the family photos down off of the wall, leaving the burgundy wood barren, but he couldn’t bring himself to get rid of the chair that sat in the middle of the room. His dad’s favorite armchair. That stupid piece of beat up furnature just sat their catching dust, creating a record of the time that has passed since its favorite resident had left it.

His father was a mysterious man that the pack held in high regard due to his abilities as a pack warrior. He was considered one of the best warriors the pack had ever seen in their two hundred years of existence. He had joined the pack as a young man in an arranged marriage between the Crescent Moon Pack and a secretive pack that called the Great North home. This pack was so secluded from the world that it did not have an official name, but everyone just called them the Great North Pack.

Nobody knew why the marriage was arranged or why it was the Crescent Moon Pack that was chosen. The only thing that was public knowledge was that one day a blue envelope had been delivered to the Alpha at the time. The letter was said to be short, stating clear instructions that a warrior would be sent from the Great North Pack to live in the Crescent Moon Pack and that the Alpha was to arrange a marriage between the new warrior and a high ranking female pack member. The Alpha could not decline the offer, nor would he even if he wanted to. Having a member of such a pack as the Great North join his own pack was a great honor.

Kai’s father, whose name was Benji, showed up at the Crescent Moon Pack a few weeks after the letter arrived. He quickly completed the trials required to join the pack and was married to Kai’s mother, Abigail. Benji had required seclusion from the pack and so they had built their home in the woods. This was abnormal for pack warriors, as most lived in the pack house, but the Alpha did not ask questions in fear that they would lose their new member.

A year after Benji joined, Kai was born. A bright light that couldn’t be distinguished, even by the darkness that followed. Soon after the birth, Abigail became ill and died, leaving Benji as a widower and a single father. Most members of the pack feared that Benji would be a bad father, as he was often seen as a cold and unapproachable man. His wife’s death and Kai’s status as an omega only made those fears worse, but the pack members were surprised to find that Benji was a great father who loved and treasured his son. In fact, having a child was his only goal in life.

Over the years, Benji was very protective of his son, knowing that life could be hard for an Omega, even in a progressive pack such as the Crescent Moon Pack. He secretly trained his son to be a warrior, passing down everything he knew about fighting to his young Omega son. Benji thought that if he could train his son to be a great warrior, then he would be able to protect himself even if he wasn’t there to protect him. Kai was a naturally shy boy, but took to training like wildfire. He grew up mentally strong, resilient, and while small in stature, he could wrangle with the best warrior given the chance.

Kai was once again brought back to reality when he heard another knock at the front door. The memories and thoughts of his father had flooded his head, threatening to bring tears to the young Omega’s dark eyes. A few even managed to escape, which he quickly wiped away. He needed to stop thinking about his father. He had to be strong. He wasn’t even sure why he still thought so positively of the man who had abandoned him without even a single goodbye. He quickly composed himself and went to answer the door.

“Hello?” He said as he opened the door, but before he could process what was happening, he was enveloped in a tight bear hug that threatened to crush his spine. He was lifted up off his feet and shaken around like a ragdoll. If he wasn’t so used to this treatment, he might have been a little scared of the six foot figure that now held him hostage.

He let out a giggle, “Kyle, please stop trying to murder me so early in the morning!” 

“I’m sorry, I am just so excited! It’s your special day! Are you not excited?” Kyle responded happily, finally dropping Kai and releasing him from his death hug.

Kyle had been one of Kai’s best friends growing up and they were a strange pair. Not only were they opposites in stature, but Kyle was also the Beta successor which made the pair quite unique. Most Betas did not spend their free time hanging around Omegas. Although a strange pairing, Kai was grateful for Kyle’s friendship. It created a blanket of protection for the Omega. Kai could fend for himself, but that extra security was nice to have, especially growing up as an Omega and in the shadow of his warrior father.

“I am very excited! The connection is already so strong! I think my belly might explode at any second. It’s quite possible that my mate has already turned eighteen or will within the next couple of months!” Kai responded.

Kyle’s eyes grew wide for a moment before he gained composure again. There were only two pack members who were turning eighteen in that given time frame. The first was Marvin, a nerdy, quiet wolf who worked in the pack’s library. Kai might be small and quiet upfront, but he was a lot to handle once you got to know him. He could be extremely strong willed and outspoken when he needed to be and on several occasions had even given Kyle a beating when he got too aggressive with Kai during play fights. Honestly, Kyle would fear for Marvin’s sake if he was Kai’s fated mate. The second was the Alpha successor, Alexander. Kyle feared that pairing even more. Alexander was a good guy, but his parents were cornering him into marrying some girl from a neighboring pack. 

Kyle was at a loss for words. Kai wouldn't know about the arranged marriage between the future Alpha and the girl, but he didn’t know how or if he could bring it up. Instead he looked around the room and changed the subject.

“I still don’t understand why you choose to live here Kai, when you could be living in the pack house with me!”

“We have already had this conversation Kyle,” Kai rescinded, turning to head into the kitchen. “I like my privacy. Plus, I grew up in this house. I can’t just leave it to rot in the woods.”

“I know, I know… I just don’t like the idea of you living out here in the woods all by yourself.” 

“Tea?” Kai replied, signaling that the conversation was over. Kyle didn’t dare press the matter, remembering how upset Kai got during several of the similar conversations that they had throughout the year since his father had left. 

***

After the tea, Kai and Kyle made their way to the pack house. There was going to be a pack-wide meeting in the auditorium discussing the current rogue invasion that they were facing. Rogues were a growing problem for the Crescent Moon Pack, as their land was in the center of the nation and ownership of that land would be beneficial as it allowed easy access to the other surrounding packs, including the packs to the north. Rogues wanted to gain control of their land to have a better chance of future invasions.

“I will talk to you later,” Kyle stated, hugging Kai tight, “please do not do anything too crazy while I am gone.” 

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Kai responded as he hugged the Beta back. As they ended their embrace, Kyle went over to sit with his parents, as Kai went to sit in the back. Honestly, he hated pack meetings. They were usually long and boring. He was just about to doze off when the butterflies in his stomach seemed to explode. The feeling was almost unmanageable, it was so uncomfortable. His eyes immediately found the source of the feelings as the Alpha and his family walked onto the stage. His fated mate was tall with deep blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He was beyond handsome with a lean but strong build. His fated mate was the Alpha successor, Alexander.  The person that he had a crush on since he was a young child. At that moment, it felt like his dreams were coming true.