Lotus woke up late today. She could not sleep well last night. She always thought so many things about her sixteenth birthday. But nothing was like what she thought. Even her wolf was not that much excited about the fact that she could find her mate today. Was it because Damien marked her? Her wolf had hardly spoken anything to her since last night.

She went to the bathroom to take a shower. She wore sweatpants and a loose hoodie as usual. She looked at the clock. It was almost lunchtime. She headed towards the diner.

“Happy Birthday!” a chorus shout came from the others who were in the diner. Evalyn shouted with all her strength into her ear, hugging her tightly. Jakob also joined them in a hug. Now Lotus can hardly breathe.

“You.. are.. choking... me..” Lotus said with great difficulty. They let her go instantly.

“Thank you, guys.”, Lotus said.

“Come, Lo, eat something. Fast! We have a lot to do”, Sam said with a big smile on her face.

“What?” Lotus frowned her face while Jakob and Eva started to drag her towards a table and made her sit on the chair.

She was served a large meal. Then Sam and Eva took her to a salon.

“Here, birthday girl! A little treat from us.”, Sam said.

“Well, someone does not turn sixteen every day”, Eva said with a big smile.

“Besides, you are going to meet your mate today. So be prepared”, Sam winked this time.

Lotus became absent-minded again. She could not understand what the matter was. Something kept bothering her. After an extensive treatment at the saloon, they headed to the packhouse. It was almost evening.

“Come on, Lo! Else we will be late for tonight!” they both shouted. They took her to the room Lotus was staying in. A big box was lying on the bed.

“Go on! Open it”, Eva said. Lotus opened the box. A beautiful gown was waiting for her inside the box. It was peach in colour. Its neckline, shoulder, colour, and every thread of that gown showed elegance. Lotus was mesmerised. With that, there was a pair of elegant shoes.

“You bought this for me?” she asked Evalyn.

“Nope!” Evalyn said, shaking her head.

“It came in this box for you from your secret admirer”, Sam whispered.

She smiled at them. She knew they had probably bought it, but her heart said it was really sent by someone else.

“Now wear it, quick!” they said in chorus.

She wore the dress. It fitted her perfectly. The colour was perfect. The dress ended just at her ankle at the back and just after the knee in front. Sam made her seat on a stool. Eva started to do her hair, and Sam started to paint her face.

“What are you doing?” Lotus asked them.

“You need to look your best. You are going to meet your mate tonight after all”, Eva said.

“Yeah! And Jakob is very confident about that. It feels like he already knew your mate!” Sam said.

Jakob knew my mate! How come he never told me? Lotus thought to herself.

“I felt it too. Well, he is the alpha. It is very much possible he knows but probably forces that person not to tell anyone else until Lo turns sixteen.” Eva giggled.

Well, she was not wrong. Jakob was that kind of person when it came to Lotus or Evalyn. Overprotective brother. After almost two hours, those two ladies were done doing everything for Lotus. She stood in front of the mirror. She could not recognise herself. The person in the mirror could never be her. She heard a knock. Sam opened the door. It was Jakob standing there with a box in his hand.

He looked at Lotus and stood frozen for a couple of minutes.

“Wow, Lo! You really have grown up!” Jakob said with a smile. “I have something for you”, he gave the box to Lotus.

Lotus was holding the box. It was her mother’s. She could tell that by the scent.

“Open it, Lo.”, Eva said softly.

Lotus opened the box. A pendant was there with a big stone. The stone was the same colour as her dress.

“Mom stored one for both of us for our sixteenth birthdays. Mine was blue, and yours is peach.”, Eva said. There was a hidden pain in her voice. Sam came forward.

“Here. Let me help you”, she helped her to wear the chain.

“Thank you, Jakey, Eva, for keeping it with you so long”, Lotus said with a sad smile.

“ok! Enough talking! Now go and find your mate. And don’t elope with him before telling us”, Sam said, and everyone laughed except Lotus. She was embarrassed.

Lotus started to walk towards the ballroom. She saw Benjamin standing near the door. He began to walk towards her after seeing her.

“May I?” he asked to hold her hand. Lotus nodded softly. No, he was not her mate. They both went inside. Lotus felt that uneasiness again. Shouldn’t she be happy that she would be able to meet her mate today? Then what would happen? Should she accept him and start living with him? But she was married to Damien! She was even marked. But he never acknowledged her as his Luna. In fact, he told everyone directly that she was not his Luna. Lotus bit her lower lip to control her emotions.

She started to look around the ball. She saw almost everyone was there. They were about to start the first song. She saw Jakob and Sam going towards the dance floor. Then she saw Evalyn and Lawrence. They started the music. Lotus looked at all the couples dancing. So much love in their eyes for each other. Would it be the same with her and her mate? Would he love her like them? What about Damien? Would Damien let her go? Of course, he would. He already did that. He was probably hanging out with some slut on his bed. Thoughts like that still hurt her.

The first song ended. Some more couples now joined the dance floor.

“Lotus, will you dance with me?” Benjamin asked.

Lotus almost forgot about him standing beside her. She was too lost in her thoughts. She nodded her head, and they also walked to the dance floor.

“You look beautiful, Lotus”, Benjamin said while dancing. There was admiration in his eyes. He smiled softly at her. Lotus smiled back. She did not say anything.

Suddenly Lotus felt a different kind of sensation that she had never experienced before. Her wolf became restless.

‘Mate! Mate! Mate!’, her wolf shouted in her head. ‘He is standing just behind us. He is walking towards us!’

“Mate!” she said. She did not realise that she had said it out loud.

Benjamin was a little surprised. “You found him?” he asked.

“Yes. He is right behind me!” Lotus said. Her face was lit up like a Christmas tree.

“He is walking towards me”, Lotus uttered again with a gorgeous smile.

“Are.. you.. sure?” Benjamin asked in a shuttered tone.

Lotus nodded and said, “He is close”. Her eyes were dreamy. It was the best feeling in the world. Finding her mate! She felt her mate grab her by his hand and pulled her into his chest. Mint and rain! Damien! She thought. Then she heard a loud growl, “MINE!”

Damien! He was her mate! He knew! Still, he never told her! She now sensed Alex and Ben as well. She pushed him away with all her strength.

“Why do you always want to go away from me, Kitten?” he said softly. His common dialogue.

“You knew! You knew all along!” Lotus yelled at him. The music stopped with her shout. Everyone was watching her, but she did not care right now. All these months she spent thinking that her mate would be different, he would acknowledge her, love her. Now she knew why it hurt so much when she saw him with others. Her mate kept sleeping with other sluts, and he even kissed another wolf after marking her.

“Kitten, listen to me.”, Damien said in a soft voice.

“All these months, and you never told me. You even never acknowledged me”, Lotus said again. Her voice was weak. She felt so helpless. She felt like her legs could give up now at any moment. Her wolf was whimpering. She felt betrayed by her mate.

“Lo! Listen to alpha once”, Ben said, taking a few steps towards her.

“How long, Ben? How long? You knew, didn’t you? You knew that too, right Alex?” Lotus was crying uncontrollably. Everyone was shocked. They tried to understand what was going on. Some of them knew Damien. The strong girl they knew was not standing there anymore.

“Answer me, Ben!” Lotus yelled. Ben stood there in silence, hanging his head low.

Jakob walked towards her and said softly, “Lo! Calm down and listen once to Alpha Damien.”

“You knew too?” Lotus felt lightheaded this time. Her brother. He knew but never told her. Of course, he knew. He went to Blood Stone Pack to take her back with him. He was furious when he entered the packhouse, but he was so calm after talking to Damien.

She almost fell to the ground, and Evalyn held her tightly and hugged her.

“What is going on here?” Evalyn yelled at everyone, “Why is she crying like that?”

“Let me tell you a story, Eva. It was about a girl who got married to an alpha before her proper age. That girl heard so many things about her husband, but she still kept faith that things might change one day. Things were different than she thought. Her husband never acknowledged her. She kept thinking the reason for that was a forced marriage. Her husband never touched her. Instead, she saw her husband spending nights with his mistresses. The girl didn’t say anything to anyone.”

Lotus paused a little. Then she started again smiling a little, “But one day that girl received the respect from the whole pack. They all acknowledge her as their Luna without knowing that the girl was married to their alpha. But her husband was not there at that time. When her husband came, he held his mistress in his arms and declared that the girl was not their Luna. The girl felt broken, but she still was strong enough to live like that. Eventually, everyone knew about that girl one day. Things changed. Before that, the girl was no one to that pack. But now, she was the main source of humiliation. She heard everything. She was insulted now and then by her husband’s mistresses. She never showed anyone her weakness. She just cried every night silently. She knew one day she would find her mate, and she would leave that hell. Before that day could come, that girl got marked forcefully. She slept for so many days because of that. When she woke up, she found her husband again with another woman. This time she ran away.” Lotus stopped. Everyone was listening to her. They all could feel her pain; there were tears in Eva’s eyes as well.

“Lo! You never told me. You went through so much!” Eva said softly.

“No, Eva, the story is not finished yet. That girl came to her right age, and she found her mate. She found that her mate was always there in front of her, but he never acknowledged her. That man she was married to for all those months was her mate. Her mate never bothered to share that with her. The funny part of the story was her friends also knew about that but never bothered to tell her either.” Lotus paused.

“Alpha Damien is your mate!” Eva shouted in shock.

“Patience Eva. That story does not end here. That girl had a very caring brother who always protected her. She trusted him blindly, but it turned out that he knew about that too. All along. That girl was betrayed by her mate, her own family, her friends,” Lotus started to cry. The last few words of her were more like a whisper.