Chapter 4

Chapter Four

It was all Leah could do to keep from hyperventilating as she paced the ceremonial room in the government building. She and her parents had arrived early. Her parents had insisted it was proper and that her mate would appreciate her promptness.

It was customary for the twenty-year-old sacrificial virgin to be waiting on her knees in the center of the room. Head bowed. Demure. Submissive before she even met her mate.

That’s what she felt like, a sacrificial virgin. Would he expect her to let him into her body immediately? Perhaps even before leaving this room? Surely not.

She wasn’t fond of the dress. It fit her perfectly because her mother and sister had ensured it would when she’d finally come out of the bathroom to try it on two nights ago.

It wasn’t really the dress itself that she abhorred. Even though she’d never been very girly, she had to admit this gown was stunning, and deep inside, she felt special wearing it.

What she hated was what the dress represented. The barbaric nature of this tradition. The fact that she had no say in who she was going to spend her life with. The fact that she had yet to meet the man. It infuriated her.

Leah had considered all her options and come up blank. If she’d refused to participate in this farce, she would have humiliated her family and sullied their name. The entire pack would have spoken about her behind her back. She never would have escaped the criticism.

Besides, in the end, not going through with this never would have been an option. She was a smart girl. She understood that as soon as she was in the vicinity of her intended mate, her entire world would shift on its axis. She would be drawn to him in a way she couldn’t imagine yet.

Evidence of that fact came in the form of every shifter she knew who was already mated.

Running away wouldn’t do any good either. Anyone could find her, but her mate would be first among them. Last year a marked female was abducted on the day of her ceremony, and her mate followed the trail of her scent and found her with incredible speed.

Luckily, Suzette was not harmed. She was probably traumatized in a way Leah couldn’t fathom, but she was not injured, and she was now living her life with her Alpha Protector.

The bottom line was that Leah had no options here, and frankly that infuriated her more than anything else. Short of taking her own life, from this moment forward, she would be the mate of an Alpha Protector, like it or not.

She was disgruntled by the barbarity of the situation, but she wasn’t so desperate that she would end her life. The truth was she was relatively certain she was going to have an amazing life filled with privilege. Her complaint was that she had no choice in the matter.

She stopped pacing and turned to face her parents, who were standing quietly in the exact spots they were meant to occupy for the ceremony. “What if he doesn’t show?”

Her father chuckled. “He’ll show, Leah. He has no more choice than you do.”

“Has it ever happened? Has an Alpha Protector not come down to the valley to claim his mate?”

“Not that we’re aware of,” her mother responded.

Her parents were frustrated with her, but they weren’t angry. Her father found her defiance slightly humorous. He’d rarely commented on her position because it wasn’t necessary. Years ago, he’d said all he’d needed to say on the subject. “Leah, you’re an intelligent, hard-headed, strong-willed female. It’s like you come from another time or place. But this is the time and this is the place you were born. You can no more escape your fate than you can change the color of your hair. You don’t have to like it, but in the end, I assure you, you will find out Fate does not make mistakes. I have no idea why you were created with such curious defiance in your blood, but someday you will know why, and until then, you’re wasting your energy, my daughter.” He’d kissed her on the forehead, left her with those words, and rarely spoken of it again.

Leah shook those words from her head for the millionth time. She wondered when and if there would come a day when everything made sense. It seemed unlikely.

“What if he’s eighty years old?” she asked, grasping at straws.

Her mother rolled her eyes. “I’ve never heard of any Alpha Protector’s mate not being born for sixty years. That seems farfetched. He will likely be older than you. That’s common, but not eighty.”

Another idea came to mind that she hadn’t considered before. “What if he’s younger? Could he be sixteen?”

Her father chuckled. He was struggling to maintain a serious expression. “Equally unlikely and unheard of.”

“But it’s possible. Both of those scenarios are possible,” she argued. Her imagination was getting way out of hand.

“Let’s not invent problems, Leah,” her mother scolded.

Leah tugged on the front of her dress. The neck felt too tight. Why did she have to wear clothes that were so stifling? The level of modesty expected from the citizens of the valley was maddening, especially from girls.

Leah had rarely been around boys or men. She didn’t even have a brother. Khloe was her only sibling. She’d spent her entire life at an all-girls school like everyone in her pack. She’d worn the modest dress with layers of shifts under it like every other female. She’d never cut her hair, wearing it loose and long down her back—like every other female.

Leah felt like she had no individuality. It was almost frowned upon. Aside from her interest in painting, she didn’t have many hobbies. No one did. Khloe was musical, so she played the piano, but in both cases, no one really cared much about their skill level.

If Leah had her way, she would paint all day most days. It was freeing. She went into her head and escaped the world through the brush in her hand. Would her mate care that she enjoyed painting? Would he permit her to keep the hobby? Or would he squelch her artistic side and force her to behave in some proper way expected of the mates of Alpha Protectors?

She knew her submission would be expected. It was expected of everyone in their pack. Her mother had taught her to cook and clean from a very young age. Most females in their pack were homemakers. They managed their houses and raised their offspring. It was, once again, tradition.

What a stupid tradition .

Renewed frustration consumed Leah as she pictured herself arguing with her mate over her desire to paint. Would he want her to get pregnant right away and focus on their family?

Gross . She shuddered. The thought of being pregnant made her want to vomit. She didn’t even relish the thought of what she would have to do to put that infant in her body in the first place.

Leah was aware that many women her age were already mated and pregnant. They all seemed ecstatic as though they were carrying the best gift in the universe inside their bodies.

Sheesh. No, thank you .

Babies cried. They needed attention around the clock. They had to eat in the middle of the night. They had to be changed and held and played with. Exhausting.

And yet…most likely by this time next year, Leah would be just like her peers, gigantic and waddling around with a small human inside her.

Why was she letting all these thoughts consume her? She was near tears for the millionth time. Lately, she’d cried a lot. She hadn’t been able to stop herself. She would wake up in the middle of the night sad, nervous, frustrated, and angry with the world.

Why was life so unfair?

“It’s time to take your position, Leah,” her father stated.

She glanced at the spot on the floor in front of her parents. A pillow was placed in the center of the ceremonial room. She was expected to kneel on it and bow her head.

Even during the ceremony itself she would not see her intended mate. She would stare at his shoes while his father spoke the ritual words that would bind them for eternity.

Leah took a deep breath and shuffled toward her destiny.

Eternity was a long time.