My Destined - EDITING

Leia

I groaned as I turned over to be more comfortable in my bed when I heard loud banging on the door. I mumbled something along the lines of '5 more minutes, mom' while covering my ears to drown out the annoying noise. That's when everything that's happened flooded my head, and I jolted upwards. There was still banging with a high-pitched voice calling for Adriel. Oh yeah... I found my mate, an Alpha of another pack, and moved in with him... I wondered if he ever came to the room to sleep since the couch was empty.

I lazily got up and walked towards the door, desperately wanting the banging to stop. I opened the door to see an about my height with long, straight black hair and dark brown eyes. She reminded me of Althea. Which reminds me, where is Althea? The strange girl looked angry when she saw me and pushed past me into the room.

"Who are you? What are you doing here? Where is Addy?" Addy? I wonder if she meant Adriel and shuttered at the dorky nickname.

"Um, I'm Leia. Who are you? And what do you need with Adriel?" I watched her shuffle around the room, peeking in the closet and bathroom. My wolf was getting antsy at another female in our room like she owned the place. Her head whipped to look at me with a scowl.

"I haven't seen Addy since he left for the stupid ceremony. You don't need to know why I'm looking for him." I was too tired for this, and I hated being woken up. Feeling grumpy, I folded my arms over my chest as we had a short staring contest.

"Addy? He's probably busy. And as his mate, I think I should know." I was surprised by the strength of my voice while the strange girl's dark brown eyes widened in horror.

"What?! You're not his mate." She spat, obviously angry at the situation.

"I am! We found each other at the Choosing Ceremony, and now I'm living here." I felt my body tense as this stranger came close to me with angry eyes.

"No. You're not! You can't be. You don't deserve him! I'm supposed to be his chosen!" My eyes widened at her words. H-he has a chosen?! What the hell! I could feel Tala clawing to get out, angry and threatened by this female who claimed she was our mate's chosen. You're not supposed to pick a chosen until after you've attended the Choosing Ceremony several times and the Elders have approved it. Having a chosen is not entirely unknown, but it's uncommon.

"What are you talking about? Adriel never said anything about you!" I half-shouted back. I can't believe I'm getting so worked up over a guy I barely know, but my wolf's feelings are coming out strong for our mate.

"Hm. Probably because you aren't even worth it! Maybe he only brought you to please his parents just for show." She grinned evilly as she stepped back and began walking away. "Remember me, Leia. I, Noemi, am Adriel's chosen." With that, she walked away triumphantly.

I couldn't shake the angry tears that started to fall from my brown eyes. What is happening? There's no way that could be true. Why would Adriel continue going to the Choosing Ceremony and bring me home if he had chosen? He acted so possessively of me around Cael and Marco, so he has to feel the bond, right? I'm not just here for a show, right? Is that why he barely talks to me and always leaves me alone?

I couldn't help all these stupid thoughts that filled my mind. I hate feeling like I'm desperate for him to like me. I barely even know him! Why do I have to think like this? Lance and mom said finding your mate was the best thing in the world. Selene and Cleo look so happy already... So why can't I be?

Finally relaxing, I decided I wouldn't let this stupid girl Noemi get me upset anymore. I'll just have to talk to Adriel about it later. If I ever see him... He could have left a note or waited for me to wake up before leaving me. With a huff, I walked towards the closet to get new clothes and get ready for a shower. Forget her!

I wanted to get that Noemi girl off my mind and decided to unpack all my things and put them away in my new shared closet. I was stopped from walking into my room with the delicious smell of breakfast being made. Is it Adriel? I couldn't sense or smell him, so I doubted he would be in the kitchen. Feeling hungry, I left my dirty clothes on the floor of our room and headed toward the smell of breakfast. In the kitchen sat Selene, Althea, and two older women who were cooking. Althea! I ran to Althea with a smile, missing her crazy self already.

"Leia! You're finally awake!" Althea laughed as she hugged me back.

"For some reason, I thought we'd all be together. But I guess Lucas doesn't live in the packhouse?" Althea nodded, which made me feel a little down.

"But we can still hang out all the time!" Selene and Althea both smiled, giggling at each other. "Now, you have to meet Stella and Carmen!" Althea gestured to the two older women, who went silent and bowed slightly.

"A pleasure to meet you, Luna." One said with a soft tone. My face instantly heated up at this treatment as I shook my head hard.

"O-oh no, please don't bow, and please just call me Leia." They both looked at me with warm smiles and nodded.

"As you wish, Luna. Ah-Leia. I'm Carmen, and this is Stella." The woman with pale skin, green eyes, and short auburn hair spoke as she gestured to herself and the woman beside her. Stella had dark skin, brown eyes, and black hair that fell in ringlets over her shoulders. "We help out as pack mothers around Alpha's home and with the children of the pack."

"Oh wow. Um, thank you." I felt completely awkward and unsure of how to speak with them. I've never been Luna before, so I don't know how to act.

"Sit down, dear. We are almost finished with breakfast." I gladly took a seat next to Althea as we waited for breakfast.

I've never lived in the packhouse since my dad moved out when he had me (he used to be the Beta). Being treated as a Luna felt weird when I hadn't done anything Luna-like yet. I only just got here yesterday! I looked at Selene and Althea talking animatedly about their mates and sighed a little. They're all so lovey-dovey already...

"Hey...Althea, do you know a girl named Noemi?" I asked, wanting both to change the subject from their mates and learn about this girl that claimed to be my mate's chosen.

"Yeah, that's my big sister! Why?" My eyes widened in response. So they are sisters... I guessed it since they looked alike, but they're both so different I was hoping I was wrong. I shook my head, not wanting to complain about Althea's sister to her.

"Oh, um...Nothing!" Althea gave me a strange look, and Selene just looked confused.

"Did she say something to you? I know she was here earlier looking for Adriel." Does she know? My breath hitched in my throat. I like Althea and hope she wasn't cheering me on to be with Adriel if she knew Adriel had chosen her sister.

"Oh, um, nothing. She just asked about Adriel." I looked everywhere but at Althea, wanting to avoid this topic further. Before Althea could say anymore, Stella and Carmen had placed the breakfast they had just made in front of us with plates and silverware.

"You're not joining us?" I turned to look at the two older women, who looked at me in surprise before laughing.

"No Luna--I mean, Leia dear. We just came to make some breakfast for you under Alpha Adriel's orders and must be on our way to work with the pack pups." Stella spoke warmly while Carmen nodded in agreement.

"Okay. Thank you for everything. It was nice meeting you both!" With a smile and wave, they both left, leaving the three of us girls to chat and eat breakfast.

After a while, my phone went off with a few buzzes, drawing everyone's attention to me. I opened it to find a few messages from an unknown number. Who's this?

U/N: Did Stella and Carmen make breakfast for you?

U/N: Dinner tonight. 7 pm.

U/N: Sorry, I'm busy all day.

That's when I realized it might be Adriel. Dinner? Like a date? My wolf began jumping in delight at the thought of a date with our mate and a chance to become closer. I couldn't help the heat that burned my cheeks. There's no way Noemi is his chosen. I kept that thought on repeat. My thoughts were interrupted by Althea's grinning face leaning over my shoulder.

Me: Is this Adriel?

"Oooo, someone's got a dinner date!" Althea teased as she pushed my shoulder lightly. "That's Adriel's number." My eyes widened at being right about who it was. How'd he get my number? "He probably asked around to get it!" Althea was clapping her hands together happily while Selene beamed. I looked at my phone again as it buzzed.

U/N: Yes, sorry. Your friend gave me your number before we left the ceremony.

Me: Oh, okay.

After cursing myself for my stupid answer, I saved the number under Adriel's name. There was no reply after that, so I pocketed my phone and looked at my two new friends.

"What are you gonna wear?!" Selene asked, and I sat there in thought.

"I have no idea... I haven't really been on a date before..." My cheeks burned, and I felt a little insecure about being a novice in dating. The two of them just laughed and smiled in response.

"Don't worry, Leia! We will help you pick a super cute outfit!" Althea cheered, and Selene nodded. We finished our breakfast quickly and put everything away in the sink. I'll clean it up later...

I told them I still hadn't fully unpacked yet, but they said they would help me arrange my things. How can they be so awesome?! We ran to my new room like giggling fools as we started to rummage through my stuff for something cute. I didn't know what kind of place we were going to for dinner, so I didn't want to be too fancy, but I also didn't want to be underdressed.

Althea decided to play music while we worked, so we danced around and acted silly the whole time. All my worries about this new life have washed away as I thoroughly enjoyed myself. We were so into it that we even went upstairs to Selene's room to help her unpack. Can't just be helping me, right?

After talking about our families and lives before meeting each other, the gnawing feeling about Noemi reappeared, and I mustered the courage to ask Althea about it.

"Hey...Althea?" I spoke quietly, fidgeting with one of Selene's tops on a hanger. Althea gave me a strange look before nodding while Selene remained silent. "Um, about your sister... Does she like Adriel?" There. I said it. Althea's eyes widened in surprise before I looked away awkwardly.

"Noemi? Did she say something to you earlier??" Althea pressed me for answers as she walked closer to me. "What did she do?"

"U-um. She came looking for Adriel, got mad at me, and said she was his chosen while I was just for show..." The words came out so quickly that I wasn't even sure they heard me.

"What? She said that?!" Althea's face went from confused to upset, and I started feeling bad for bringing it up. "Sorry, Leia, I know she likes him... But she won't do anything. She's probably just a little hurt and took it out on you. She's a good person. She didn't mean it." I felt even worse now after Althea's words. I got such a wrong impression of her sister Noemi that I couldn't see her being a 'good person'.

"R-right." I just nodded, not wanting to go further and upset Althea. We just became friends!

The rest of the day went quickly as I spent most of it with the girls. It feels like I've known them for years as we just talk and gossip all day. As lunch came and went, I became increasingly nervous about attending dinner with Adriel. Throughout the day, I texted Maia, Lance, and my mom to tell them how I was doing and that I had missed them already.

Eventually, Lucas whisked Althea away, and I was left with Selene as we decided to watch a movie in the living room. Neither of us knew where our mates were and didn't want to get lost, so we stayed inside the packhouse.

We were watching Pirates of the Caribbean when I realized it was already 5:30 pm. Oh shit! I gotta get ready! I jumped up in my seat, which startled Selene, and showed her my phone so she could also see the time. Her eyes widened in response as she paused the movie.

"I gotta get ready!" I said frantically. "I'm nervous!"

"I'm sure it'll be fine, Leia, Cleo says Adriel is a really nice guy. He just has to get used to you. Now go get ready." Selene's calm words relaxed me a little as I nodded.

"I hope so...Let's continue the movie later!" Selene smiled and nodded as she waved me off. I walked quickly towards the bedroom to grab the clothes we picked out earlier and went to the bathroom to shower.