Chapter 46: Fated To A Fuckboy

"By the covenant of the First Flame, I call forward the fated souls bound to the noble houses of Helix. Let the flame of dynasty speak."

The flame erupted ruby and wolves made of ruby light emerged.

They moved differently than the green ones. Less sheepdog, more arrow. Each one locked onto its target with the focus of a creature that knew exactly where it was going and had known before it left the fire.

There were about fifteen total. All draftees who went after Nova.

Eyes went wolf in both sexes. Nostrils flared. Same circus as the emeralds, except where the emeralds carried their mates like luggage, the rubies carried theirs in identical vertical holds. Same act. Different tax bracket.

"CARRYING IS STILL PROHIBITED."

One ignored his grandfather on the elders’ panel and continued carrying his mate vertical like any dignified dynastic wolf would.

Once the final ruby wolf walked into the fire and went poof, half of the elders started hollering again like Nova had personally canceled joy.

Joke’s on them.

They were the ones stomping it to death.

"I MOVE TO HAVE 7709 REMOVED FROM THE GROUNDS IMMEDIATELY."

"I WANT A FULL AUDIT OF EVERY MATCH MADE AFTER DRAFTEE FIVE HUNDRED AND FORTY-ONE."

"LOTTERY. I AM FORMALLY PRESSING CHARGES."

Nova stared at the fire and considered jumping. Question was whether the elders’ bitching had enough range to follow her in.

One of the Thunderfangs, the one who’d given Nova his cloak earlier, cut off the yelling choir.

"The Lottery. Removal. Seizure. Formal charges. For a girl who lit your campfire." He paused. "Quick poll. Who here thinks the elder should keep yelling at the nightlight and draw out this ceremony longer than it needs to be?"

No one raised their hands.

"Nobody? Great. Moving on."

The sapphires was where things got interesting.

"By the covenant of the First Flame, I call forward the fated souls bound to the Gamma’s of Helix. Let the flame of the wise speak."

Three total. All of them had gone after Nova. The single sapphire who had gone before Nova didn’t get a fated mate, which was sad.

But the three who were matched all had a different reaction than the rubies and emeralds. All of them seemed to know already who their mates were. Their eyes still changed to wolf, but the recognition was there before that.

The Thunderfang Gamma gave Nova a nod as he passed. It wasn’t thank you. It was deeper than that. It was the nod of a man who had been watching one woman and had just been told by a wolf made of light that his gut had been right all along.

"CARRYING IS STILL—" The elder stopped. Looked at the flask elder. Took a swig of it. "These are the third in commands of packs. None of them are following the protocol."

"They never do. Twenty says the silvers are worse," the flask elder replied.

Finally, it was the big one. The priestess raised her hands and the fire turned silver.

"By the covenant of the First Flame, I call forward the fated souls bound to the Alphas and Betas of Helix. Let the flame of the leaders speak."

WHOOOOM.

The silver flame climbed higher than the others had. Brighter. The fire knew what it was carrying and it was making sure every wolf in the clearing knew too.

One silver wolf emerged from the flame and stopped in front of Maria Emberclaw, who was still holding Nova’s right arm.

A second silver wolf launched from the fire in the opposite direction. It crossed the clearing at full sprint towards the Thunderfang section and found a man standing next to one of the Thunderfang brothers.

Their Beta. Nova could see from where she stood. The Beta of the largest pack in Helix carried more weight than the Alpha of half the smaller ones. That was an honor that Maria deserved and Nova knew it in her bones.

Maria’s hand flew to her mouth.

Nova turned to her and flashed a grin. The kind that said I told you so and I am so unbelievably excited for you and your flame was the brightest silver I saw tonight and I knew, I knew before the wolf left the fire. All of it compressed into one look that Maria caught like a ball she’d been waiting to receive.

The Thunderfang Beta did not look surprised. It was clear he knew.

Maria on the other hand look about as stunned as possible, and considering she was the most talkative person Nova knew, it was funny.

The silver wolf that had found her nudged her forward.

The moment they met, the Beta dipped her like it was a ballroom dance, held it for three full seconds while the clearing stared, then carried her like a bride.

He stopped and turned towards the elders panel and said, "For the record, she’s on her feet. My feet. We’re sharing."

Seraphina and Nova exchanged a look that communicated: fuck he’s perfect for her.

Another silver wolf descended from the flame.

Nova gave Seraphina’s arm a squeeze. She hoped this was for her but she wasn’t sure.

It found the princess standing on Celeste’s other side. The Dunestorm princess. Estelle. Nova hadn’t heard her speak tonight. Dunestorm was a smaller pack. No slaves.

The second silver wolf came down and found none other than Kai Starborne.

Estelle’s face lit up like the sacred flame had just made her dream come true. Her eyes went wide, her lips parted, and she looked at the wolf circling Kai’s legs with the expression of a woman who had just won a lottery she’d been too afraid to enter.

Kai looked at his wolf. Looked at Estelle. Looked at his wolf again like it might correct its mistake if he gave it a second.

Then his eyes cut across the clearing to Maria Emberclaw, who was standing with the Thunderfang Beta, their hands intertwined, looking at each other like the rest of the ceremony was optional. Something in Kai’s jaw tightened so hard Nova heard it from where she was standing.

"Sorry, no." Kai held up both hands like he was stopping traffic. "NO. She’s doing it." He pointed at Nova. "There is no way I would be matched to her. I am rejecting this right now."

The Dunestorm princess’s hand flew to her mouth.

Half the draftees in the clearing mirrored the gesture in synchronized horror. Nova’s included. Her fingers covered her lips before her brain authorized the motion because what she had just heard was so unprecedented, so cosmically stupid, so breathtakingly cruel that her body needed a moment to confirm it had actually happened.

Who the hell rejects their fated mate? Nova genuinely had never heard of this because fated mates were so rare. This was on sacred ground. In front of every Alpha and elder in Helix. After a wolf made of light connected them.

Not only was that fucked up and mean, it was politically stupid. The princess’s father, the Dunestorm Alpha, was right there.

"Kai," Alpha Starborne said. His tone carried warning. His expression suggested he didn’t disagree with the sentiment so much as the venue.

"Nope." Kai threw both hands in the air with the theatrical finality of a man who had made up his mind and was now performing the decision for the cheap seats. "I, Kai Starborne, Alpha Prince of the Starborne Pack, reject you, Estelle Dunestorm, as my fated mate." He paused. Looked at the crowd. Then added air quotes around the last two words. "Fated mate."