"Wow, look at that," Miguel said, his eyes fixed out the window, at the grounds, where there was already a commotion. "I mean, wow."

His friend wasn't wrong, Connor thought for a second before he remembered why he was dead set against this matchmaking bullshit. "She's not that good-looking."

"Are your eyes even working, mate," Miguel's brother Daniel said, poking his head out to see better. "Imagine having that in your bed every night."

"And every morning," Miguel added wistfully.

The female really was exquisite. She had a lean graceful body, not too tall, not too short either, with the perfect hourglass proportions. Add in a wavy red hair, a charming smile, and shining green eyes, it was no surprise everyone in the house had to poke their head out or walk out into the gardens to meet the newcomers.

Those people came for Connor, she came for Connor, and still, he couldn't muster a molecule of interest. All he felt inside was dread.

"Seriously, man, can we switch? Just for a minute. Or hell, I'll challenge you right now and die a happy death, if it would mean one minute of her looking my way. Shit."

"You two fight each other, I'll console her once you're both gone," Daniel jokes, still looking at the luscious female.

Connor rolled his eyes and walked away from the window, hoping this whole day would soon be over with. "Okay, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, emphasis on Dumb, aren't you supposed to be on my side?"

Miguel frowned. "Oh come on, even after seeing her you still insist that you can do better with that invisible true mate of yours?"

"He's not invisible," Connor muttered.

"He," Daniel said, "is not here, my friend. And she is very much here, flesh and blood. You can smell her and touch her and everything. This weird fascination of yours with your nonexistent true mate was cute when we were little, but man, come on. You're of mating age and you know your father won't just let you traipse the world, looking for some mirage."

"He's not a mirage. He's as real as anything," Connor insisted, feeling annoyed that he had to defend his mate yet again.

Nobody understood how Connor knew he had a true mate out there or how he knew it was a male, not a female. He didn't exactly know how his mate looked, but he knew with all his heart he was out there. As much as he knew anything.

So to even consider mating some female, which wouldn't technically be the end of the world since Connor was bisexual, still felt like a betrayal on his part.

He had waited for his mate for twenty-five years, he could wait even longer if he must. The only problem was that his father, the Alpha of the Woodrun Pack was sick and wanted his first-born son to be mated, so he could finally claim what was rightfully his – the Alpha title.

"What are you complaining about, man?" Daniel said. "You're soon to be Alpha, about to be mated to America's Top Model, and I have to go to my empty bed every night and then protect your ungrateful ass during the day."

"Yeah, seriously, we should switch so I could show you how it's done. I'm gonna pin her to the bedpost and slide my–"

Someone cleared their throat.

Miguel shut up and stood at attention immediately. His face was as red as his uniform. "Apologies, Alpha, sir."

"Mhm," the Alpha grumbled. He had been intimidating in his prime time, but since the sickness took him, he'd seemed more and more tired, dependent on his son to give orders, meet with the people, and generally run the place. Connor was Alpha already, all but in the actual title.

"I need a moment with my son," the Alpha grumbled, and Connor's friends-slash-guards left at once. The twins were very much like one person, except one had a permanent smirk on his face and the other one had a permanent idiot face.

"Miss Nancy Flick is here."

"I saw," Connor said, avoiding his father's eye.

"Aren't you satisfied with your future mate, son?"

Connor rolled his eyes. "If she's my future mate, then I'm a deer running up that stream. She's no such and I'm a wolf in chains, father."

The Alpha crossed his arms. "You're not imprisoned, for gods' sake, Connor, you're just needed at the palace. Is that so difficult to grasp?"

"You have Mia," Connor said.

"Your sister is not the future Alpha, you are, and in case you haven't noticed, you turn twenty-five next month."

"That doesn't mean you can order me a bride like we're in fucking China."

"Connor, that's enough," his father slammed his impressive giant paw on the table, making everything rattle. "You are to take the title and you are to be mated. The people of your pack depend on it. Or do you not care about that, son? Have we lost you that much?"

Connor rubbed his face. A headache was brewing, as always when he talked to his stubborn father. "You haven't lost me, I'm right here. I just refuse to be forced to do something I won't do."

"This is about your imaginary mate, is it?"

Connor bristled at his father's irreverent tone. "He's not imaginary."

"He," the Alpha growled, "is not here. Nor has he ever been. And this woman out there is a fine breeder, she will give you pups and you will have an heir, as it should be. Or do you not care about our legacy?"

"Your legacy, father. Mine has yet to be determined."

"Stubborn child," the Alpha spat, but then he doubled down, grunting.

Connor went to his father and rubbed his back, but got his hand slapped away. The attacks were getting worse and Connor did feel guilty about making it worse for his father.

The Alpha stood up and continued in a haunted voice, "Fine, if you meet with the female and spend some time with her, and in one month you still won't have her, then we'll speak again. But until then I expect you to at least make an effort because I'll die soon and you are killing me faster."

Connor flinched. He hated it when his father said stuff like this, like it was somehow Connor's fault that he got sick. "Dad," he grounded. "I want to help you heal, I do, and I want to help you feel comfortable. But..."

"But your loyalties lie with someone you've never met, not with your own blood. I understand." And with that scathing remark, the Alpha retreated, and Connor was grateful that he hadn't ordered his son to get mated, because if he had, Connor would have had to run.

He would have run for his mate, leaving his sick father and his little sister behind, legacy be damned.

***

When he was young, Connor used to have this strange feeling of unrest, like he'd forgotten to do something, but he didn't know what it was.

When he was ten years old, he glimpsed a boy in his dreams, not details, just a fuzzy outline, who spoke to him and told him he was his true mate. Connor had been mesmerized by his voice and the promise of being with someone, like his father had been with his mother. They were true mates and his mother always said it was the most precious feeling in the world, the deepest of love and affection. A devotion sturdier than any other. A promise of eternal happiness.

Then the Moon Sickness had claimed his mother when he was only twelve and he grieved for her and for his father, who had lost the love of his life. Without his mother's temperance, his father had become colder, more distant, and eventually, father and son had grown apart.

Connor never had the dream again, but he remembered it vividly.

So when he reached maturity, he told his father that he would travel the world in search of his mate. His father had laughed and told him that he was to attend the University of Helena and then return to claim his rightful place when he was older. Connor decided it would be easier if he went along with the University thing, but he would travel as much as he could on weekends and holidays. He would visit neighboring packs and even territory that was strictly human, just in case his mate was an omega.

He didn't care what his mate was. Even human, Connor would take him, remembering his mother's promises. But the more time passed, the more restless Connor became, and when both females and males started to pursue him, he let himself take lovers, but only for a night each, careful not to get attached and lose his true mate forever.

He never broke the rule, not once.

When he graduated, he returned to the Woodrun Pack, and he did as he was told, even though every time the subject of mating was brought up, he never yielded. He simply took over some duties, to relieve his father, especially after he got weaker, but after trying so many places and failing to discover his mate, he felt like an utter failure.

A small part of him even feared that he had imagined the dream because he had wanted his mother's words to be true so badly. But in the end, if he gave up on his mate, he would never forgive himself, so Connor simply waited. If he couldn't find his mate, he hoped fervently, then maybe his mate would find him.

Which is exactly what happened.

Thanks for reading my story!

How would you have felt if you had a dream of your true mate and you couldn't find them for so many years?

And where do you think Connor's mate is?