Chapter 2
Chapter Two
Khloe stood in front of the long mirror in her parents’ bedroom and stared at her ceremonial dress. She didn’t have a mirror like this in her own bedroom or bathroom. Vanity was frowned upon in her community. Modesty was touted.
Khloe had followed the strict modest norms of society her entire life. She’d worn the boring khaki dresses every day until today. Her mating day. Today she was finally wearing a pretty white-and-gold dress. It was still ridiculously modest, but at least it wasn’t brown.
She smiled at herself. “Do you think he will like it?”
Her mother was sitting on the floor behind her, fiddling with the hem in the back. “I’m certain he will love it, my child.”
“Do you think I’ll get to see Leah when I get there?”
Her mother rose. “I don’t know, honey. I’m not sure how far apart the homes in the mountains are. Nor do I know what their customs are. I would assume you would eventually see your sister, but I can’t say for sure.”
Khloe sighed. “I hope she’s happy.” Khloe had worried about Leah for the past year since her sister’s own mating ceremony. To say Leah had been reluctant to endure this custom of being claimed by an Alpha Protector would be an understatement. Khloe could only hope the match had been perfect, and Leah was happily mated.
Khloe’s mother pulled her in for a hug. “I’m going to miss you so much. It will be very quiet around here without you either chattering or playing the piano.”
Khloe hugged her mother back. She knew her parents were going to be lonely. It was very rare for more than one daughter in a family or even a generation to be born with the mark of an Alpha Protector. Not only were both Leah and Khloe born with a mark, but they were the only two children her parents had.
It wasn’t as if they would never see them again. Khloe or Leah could come down into the valley occasionally and visit, but it wouldn’t be frequent, and they had not seen Leah since her mating last year.
Khloe’s mind was racing. “Do you think he’ll have a piano?”
Her mother smiled. “I don’t know, honey. He probably has no idea you enjoy music. Maybe he’ll get one when he finds out, or maybe you’ll focus on your singing.”
Khloe sighed. “What if he hates my singing?” she murmured.
“No one could hate your singing.”
Khloe rolled her eyes. “Plenty of people do not appreciate my personality.”
Her mother straightened the front of her dress unnecessarily. “Your mate will. I’m certain of it.”
The truth was her mother couldn’t be certain of anything. Nobody in the valley was privy to the norms among the Alpha Protectors. All they knew was that a superior group of wolf shifters lived in the mountains surrounding the valley. They served the citizens of the valley by protecting them against any would-be predators or outside forces.
The Alpha Protectors were larger than any of the shifters in the valley, and they were born with a mark on their left wrist that eventually would match up with a female born in the valley with the same mark on her right wrist.
Apparently the mark was very powerful. Therefore, Alpha Protectors avoided coming into the valley until their mate came of age. It was extremely frowned upon for mates to meet before their mating ceremony, which was held on the female’s twentieth birthday. Accidentally or deliberately encountering each other before that could prove catastrophic, since according to lore, it would be difficult to resist the pull toward each other after the encounter.
“I don’t feel like I’ve sufficiently prepared you for what to expect after the ceremony,” Khloe’s mother whispered as she brushed imaginary lint off the sleeve of the dress.
“Mom… You’ve had twenty years to teach me whatever I need to know, and I was in the room when you spoke to Leah about consummation.” Khloe shuddered. She preferred not to think about what would be expected of her tonight. She could only hope her mate was kind about it and cared about her feelings.
Her mother swallowed. “I’m not sure I really gave Leah enough information either. I probably should have prepared you girls better. I guess I just assumed your mates would fill in the holes like your father did with me.”
Khloe giggled. “The holes…”
Her mother gasped. “Khloe,” she admonished.
Khloe shrugged. “I’m not the one who said my mate would fill in the holes. You are.”
Her mother’s face turned red. “Stop it. Don’t be so vulgar.”
Khloe continued to giggle. Maybe it was a coping mechanism. She definitely wasn’t usually so crude, but it was funny. The only thing she really understood about sex was that men had an organ between their legs, and they put it inside their mates to get them pregnant.
Maybe her mate wouldn’t want to impregnate her immediately and therefore wouldn’t insist on spilling his seed into her. But Khloe knew that was wishful thinking. The reality was she couldn’t shift until after her mate claimed her fully. If she couldn’t shift, everyone would know they had not consummated their union.
Khloe took a deep breath and shook thoughts of spreading her legs for her mate out of her mind. She couldn’t let herself get worked up over that aspect of things. She would deal with whatever was required of her later. Right now, she needed to get to the government center where she would be presented to her mate in the ceremonial room.
It was customary for the woman to arrive first and be waiting for her mate on her knees in the middle of the round room with her parents behind her. She certainly didn’t want to start off their relationship by being late.
“We should go.”
“Yes. Your father is waiting downstairs.” Her mother pulled her in for another long hug. “I love you.”
“I love you, too, Mom.”