I adjusted the ornate, forest-green mask that was concealing my face but managing to bring out my emerald eyes. I hadn't wanted to attend the masquerade ball that my parents were throwing in honour of Halloween and my twenty-first birthday. However, despite my blatant protests my mother had thought it was a perfect idea and my father, the Alpha of the pack, had invited not only all the members of the Cardaver pack but every pack in the surrounding territories.

Except one, I reminded myself.

So, regardless of what I wanted to do for my birthday, I had to attend the stupid masquerade thrown by my parents. Not only did I have to be a dutiful and loyal daughter, but also pack member.

I secretly thought that it was a ploy from my father to find my mate, although he would never admit to such a thing.

So here I stood with the other revelling guests with my face masked. The cubic zirconias on the mask often caught the light, causing a mini-prism show. My dress was beautiful and matched the mask perfectly, thanks to the expertise of my mother and no doubt the money of my father. The dress was cut close and form fitted, showing off my curves. The tiny straps crossed in the back, which plunged as low as it could go. I wasn't sure how my mother had my father approve such a revealing dress, but I loved it. I was glad to have something sexy for once.

"May I have this dance, Milady?" A young man with blonde hair dressed in a white tuxedo and black/white mask asked.

I was sure that I knew who this was. My father had been trying, unsuccessfully, to set me up with a young wolf from our pack named Brendan. Brendan was always nice and sweet, but there just was no spark - no fire that would set my wolf aflame. And, without that, why would someone even bother?

I wanted to hold out for my mate. It was becoming rarer and rarer to find ones mate in recent decades. I blamed the Alphas. All of the packs were constantly at territory wars or each other's throats. If your mate was a member of another pack it would be almost impossible to find them. Even more so to actually be with them.

"Why, of course," I replied to Brendan and placed my hand in his. I didn't want to be rude and I didn't want to be left partner-less for dances at my own party.

Brendan led me out to the dance floor where, surprisingly enough, the music didn't completely wasn't terrible. My parents had had enough sense to hire a DJ and let him play whatever got people out on the dance floor, which was mostly the new music as a lot of the pack members now were in their twenties or thirties. For a while, when there had been a brief bout of peace for once, there had been a big baby boom among the packs.

"You look beautiful tonight, Rosemarie," Brendan said, leaning in close enough to whisper it into my ear.

I felt nothing from the whisper, except hot breath on my ear which kind of tickled.

"You aren't supposed to know who I am," I laughed and hit him on the chest playfully. It wasn't his fault my father kept trying to put us together.

"You weren't hard to find, I must admit. All I had to do was look for the most beautiful girl in the room."

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Brendan," I teased. "I am guessing it was more my bright red hair that pointed me out than anything else."

"Oh, so you know who I am too. See? We are even."

I gave him an incredulous look and backed away playfully. He reached out for me and I brushed someone behind me and suddenly the whole room stopped moving and my breath hitched.

I could feel my eyes dilating as a chill ran down my spine. It felt like the gravity of the whole Earth had shifted and I was suddenly off balance. My nostrils flared and I inhaled deeply, but all of the smells in the room mixed and my mind became befuddled. The room started to come back into hyper-focus and I just knew that I had to turn around, I had to meet who I had just brushed up against. It felt like my whole world depended on it.

I moved to turn around, to grab whoever it was but instead a hand reached out and pulled me - in the opposite direction. I growled and am sure it was almost inaudible over the blaring music. I turned my head to look back, to find the person that changed my sense of gravity. There was a sea of swarming masked faces blending together as I scanned the crowd. He had to still be there, he had to have felt what I had felt. No one was paying any attention to me as I looked frantically around the crowd.

And then I stopped. I found myself looking across the room into a pair of ice blue eyes who were staring back at me, almost as wide eyed as I was. I opened my mouth wanting to say something - to scream or shout or plead, but nothing came out. My breathing hitched for a moment, then picked up as if I had just run a marathon.

"Are you alright, Rosemarie?" Brendan asked, pulling my attention back to him and where he was still holding my hand.

I pulled my hand from his. It didn't feel right being there, in fact now it almost stinged from the contact.

"I- Yes, Brendan, I'm alright. I think that the dancing just wore me out a bit. I'm just going to step out for a bit of air."

I looked back to the place where he had been, only to find him gone. I scanned the crowd quickly. I had to find him.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Brendan asked, clearly concerned.

"No. No, I'll be fine. I just need to be away from the crowd for a minute I think."

Without waiting for a response, I picked up my dress and fled the dance floor looking for the man that I knew I had to find. It was almost a terrifying thought. I had to find my mate. I didn't know where I was going, but I felt a pull that was unmistakable. I knew exactly what direction he was in because my whole being was pulled towards him, like the planets rotating around the sun. From that brief, accidental touch we were drawn together by nature.

I almost ran, but remembering myself and not wanting to draw attention I compromised with a half-run, half-walk as I made my way towards the other side of the room. I was so focused, so determined, that I almost screamed when the pull suddenly shifted and someone grabbed my hand, stopping me in my tracks.

Electric shocks shot up my arm as though I had just stuck my finger in a light socket. I turned quickly to look my mate in his gorgeous eyes again. His black hair was falling past his plain, black mask and he was smirking at me mischievously. He motioned with his head for me to follow and I nodded, allowing him to lead me - my hand still firmly wrapped in his own. By now, my whole body was on fire and charged. With a simple touch he ignited my body and I hadn't even heard him speak yet. It was getting harder and harder to keep my wolf in control who was crying out for him.

He led us away from the party and outside into the gardens. They were far enough from the party that it was unlikely that anyone else would have wandered in, so we would have some privacy. He stopped and turned to me. I wanted nothing more than to rip the mask from his face and pounce him, but I knew that the last part was my wolf roaring at me to take my mate.

He reached out and brushed his fingers across my cheek bone just under my mask before moving his hand into my glossy, fiery curls. I smiled and moved closer to him, drawn by the force that brought us together.

"Let me see your face," I said, not being able to bear it any longer.

I reached up behind his head, undoing the knot that was keeping his mask in place.

The dark mask dropped from his face and onto the ground, forgotten. He was the most beautiful man I had ever seen. I wondered how I was so lucky. His bright blue eyes were the colour of an aquamarine gemstone and rimmed in black rings, surrounded by thick, dark lashes. His cheekbones were chiseled and prominent as was his jaw. His nose, long and straight. His lips captivated me the most. His bottom lip was plump and his top was arched. I unwittingly licked my lips as I stared.

"That's not fair," he spoke for the first time and it was like heaven. Just his voice was enough to send me over the edge.

He slowly reached behind my head, bringing us so close that my ragged breath ruffled the white shirt of his tuxedo. His expert fingers undid the tie of the mask deftly and it joined his own black one on the ground with a dull thump.

"You're perfect," he whispered and allowed his hands to fall back, one brushing through my hair on the way down.

We stood there for minutes, hours, days memorizing each other as if we were both afraid if we moved the other would disappear. My mate made the first move, bringing his hand back up an placing his thumb on my bottom lip. He brought his head down slightly as though asking permission.

I moistened my lips nervously and met him halfway.

The kiss was like nothing I had experienced before in my entire life. The moment our lips met it was like an explosion went off in my body and I suddenly had no control over my actions. My hands found their way into his hair and he pulled me inextricably closer. I let out a moan when his tongue touched my lips and I didn't hesitate to allow him entrance. His hands roamed all over my bare back, causing electric shocks wherever he touched. I was suddenly very thankful for its low cut.

He backed me up against the wall of the house, never breaking the kiss. It was a kiss that would bring a desert out of a drought, it was spectacular and I never wanted it to end. My wolf howled, wanting him to take me then and there and I almost couldn't disagree.

When we drew back from lack of oxygen only, we were both breathless and he leaned in, placing his forehead against mine. He kept us close, his hands resting on my hips, his thumbs moving in circles through the satin material.

"Who are you?" He asked, staring into my moss eyes with his piercing ice ones.

"I'm yours," I replied simply and placed my hands on his neck. He let out a low growl of approval which set me on fire. "And you are mine. My name is Rosemarie."

"Rosemarie," he said in nearly a whisper, almost like a prayer. "I'm Jackson."

Jackson let his hands roam up and down my body and I shivered, arching into him. He leaned down and kissed my neck and I inhaled his scent, willing my body to memorize it. He smelled like sandalwood, cinnamon and pine. I ran my hands through his dark hair and moaned. He pulled away slightly again.

"You're my mate." He stated, as if he couldn't believe it.

"What pack are you from?" I asked.

I had to know. That would be the pack that I would belong to soon, the pack where I would go when I belonged to him and him alone.

He hesitated for a moment, looking down into my eyes as if searching for something. Why wasn't he saying anything? Surely he belonged to a pack.

"I am an alpha," he said slowly and uncertainly. "The alpha of the Merphate pack."

I stepped back involuntarily. Merphate pack? That was the only pack my father had not invited to the festivities tonight. They were sworn enemies with the Cardaver pack. How did their alpha of all people get into the masquerade?

And more importantly how is he my mate? I felt faint and started to hyperventilate. How? How could I be mates and feel so strongly for the leader of the pack that has been at war with my own for as long as I can remember?

"Rosemarie?" He said and took a step forward and reached for me. I took another step back and covered my mouth. A hurt look crossed his face and I knew that this was just as painful for him as it was for me. It physically hurt to pull myself away from him.

"My full name is Rosemarie Cardaver. I am the daughter of the alpha of the Cardaver pack."

A confused look crossed his face and he dropped his hand from reaching for me. We looked at each other from the distance that was put between us. My mate and I were enemies on the opposite side of a battlefield.

And he was the leader of the opposing forces.

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