When I hear the voice in the hall, I know who is going to come in. As a response, my muscles stiffen, so do my jaws.

I take a deep breath as the steps sound closer and closer. I try to focus on all the details that I still have to check in the dining/ballroom for tonight. I am probably hoping for some miracle to occur so I can elude this meeting. There are people around - maybe someone will stop him before he reaches me.

"Hey lady, so glad to see you," I hear as an arm touches my right shoulder.

My hair winds up on my arms at the smear. Obviously, my whole body is uncomfortable with his touch.

"Nick, you're here... Already..." I answer, faking a cheery smile.

Thankfully, I had been trained for years to be an Alpha before we discovered my wolf did not exist. As a matter of fact, I am pretty good at smiling to avoid tensions. I am faking this whole overjoyed, smiling face - People who don't know pretty well can't notice the uneasiness that I'm feeling at the moment.

If you add my natural empathy to the show, I have to admit I am a rather good liar. In this case, this is really useful and pretty convincing, as I'm playing my best part today.

"We didn't expect you so soon. Your dad told mine you would be merely in time."

I turn to face Nick and briefly hug him. Two seconds. That's far enough to prevent Nick from striking weird conclusions.

If you ask me to describe the feeling I feel when I hug his chest, I must admit that it is not the most detestable thing in the world. He is just as tall and muscular as Eli, so it reminds me a lot of him. I try to focus on it during our brief embrace.

Nevertheless, unlike Eli, his presence creates no sweet emotions inside me. Eli smells like candy when Nick smells nothing special. I relax when I am in my brother's arms - I am nothing but uneasy when Nick touches me. My heart beats fast but with discomfort. I am undeniably not in love with him. I cannot imagine it would ever happen.

Thankfully, the probability of late mating is rare. For a non-wolf like me, the likelihood is close to oblivion. Being mated to a wolf is highly improbable. And if it happened, my mate would probably not be a Beta or Alpha wolf.

The more powerful a wolf is, the more their mate has to endure their wildness. I would probably not survive long if I had to live with an influential wolf. My mate would not kill me knowingly: I would barely be able to tame his beast. Tragic accidents sometimes happen when the balance in a couple is not perfect. Most of the time, when it happens, it is because these wolves were chosen mates and not fated mates.

Nick wants me to be his chosen mate. He has never clearly said it, but his attitude is enough to get the message. So all I can do now is hope for Nick to find his fated mate soon.

Don't misunderstand: Nick is nice and handsome.

He has lovely, blond, well-styled hair, and his body is the one of a future Alpha: sexy as hell. His blue eyes are just captivating as they are deep, dark blue. I could sometimes swear that if you look into them long enough, you could be snatched, just like waves of a stormy sea would do.

But he isn't the man I want to spend my life with. There is not the slightest spark between us, and I'm a bit of a dreamer when it comes to perfect love.

When I think about meeting my mate, I picture butterflies in my stomach, lights shining on us, with the rest of the world falling into shadows. Nothing but us matters. This perfect moment would only be full of romance, tenderness, and sparks of joy, just like the fairytales my mother used to tell me when I was younger.

My meeting and friendship with Nick was nothing like that, not in the slightest measurement.

"Well, I may have asked my driver to speed up. I've been so excited about the idea of seeing you. You've been so much on my mind lately, honey," Nick grins.

His words make me feel so uncomfortable. It is probably nothing but an innocent grin, more like a clumsy attempt to charm me.

At least, I prefer to interpret it like that because I don't want to act awkwardly around him. I know Nick way too much. He could feel like I'm falling under his spell or anything like that.

"Liv, can you come? The caterer is here," I hear a voice calling for me in the hall.

At any other moment, I would have sighed because it would have annoyed me to be disturbed in my late-minute checking. But, right now, my mum has just saved me from awkwardness...

I wished for a good reason to escape Nick, and the Moon Goddess heard me for sure.

"Gotta go, Nick. I am truly sorry."

Well, I'm kind of actually sorry.

Sorry for him as he does not want to accept we are nothing but friends and that it won't change.

Sorry, because I would like to sound friendlier. And I could if I was sure he would not misinterpret my actions. That would make things stranger than they already are. Sorry because I wish for him to find his mate.

But to do so, he needs to change his mind about me. He needs to travel and find her, as she could be anywhere.

"Just go to Sam. He'll show you your guesthouse." I tap his back before I run to my mum.

Again, I see disillusion in his eyes, quickly followed by pure lust as I go away. Okay, this time, he is undoubtedly acting weird.

Damn, I played smart when I made sure he would have one of the guest houses and not one of the packhouse rooms.

If you want the whole story, Nick has always made me uneasy. But I have to admit that our encounters are growing weirder and weirder.

Four years ago, alphas from most of the packs of Northern America sent future alphas and some other kids of their packs in camps. They expected agreements between clans to be found. This idea of having camps was not just some random action to keep their kids busy.

Alphas hoped that the tensions that had started between some packs would stop. Conflicts had begun some decades ago and had stayed under control for a long time. Unfortunately, they had been only growing stronger and stronger for a decade.

Werewolves are very territorial. Boundaries between the packs had been reasons for packs to fight each other - again. There had been more and more incidents with wolves injured and sometimes killed. The problem had to be solved as quickly as possible.

King Andrews had had to interfere multiple times. Finally, he had ended up asking for the packs to find a solution. If they did not, he would - let's quote - "deal with it himself."

King Andrews is not just a simple werewolf. He is the descendant of one of the first and most powerful bloodlines - he is a lycan.

Lycans are not a different species.

They are just more powerful wolves - untamed, giant, and powerful wolves who could kill a regular werewolf in a blink of an eye. Their human forms are as intimidating as their wolf forms... Totally scary, if you want me to be honest. You can do nothing but respect them.

Well, at least that's how I remember them.

Some of them used to attend these camps just to supervise. Imagine if wolves' kiddos had started to kill each other... That would have been some kind of problem situation.

Anyway, thanks to the King's eminence, packs had found a solution on their own and created these Youth Meeting Camps.

A few years ago, Eli and I went together, even if I could not shift. As you can guess, Nick was also there. So did Julie.

We were only about to turn sixteen, and my parents still hoped I could shift. But, instead of my first shift, another event was about to change our lives forever.

As soon as I smelled Julie, I could tell that Eli had found his mate. I could feel his heart thumping faster, and his mind was getting blurry. I felt like I could smell the cherry perfume Eli could smell at that precise moment. He was hormonal and unable to hide anything from me at that time.

Liv, what's going on? This smell is... excruciatingly amazing.

Eli was panicking. That's what it does when you find your mate, as my dad told me when I was a kid. "A hurricane for your senses that might be freaky scary." I wish I could feel it too one day. I was nothing but happy for Eli back then. I just wanted to help him through this joyful moment.

Calm down, Eli. That's okay. I think you've just found your mate. Breathe slowly and follow the scent.

Probably because she was Eli's mate, Julie's scent appeared to be very agreeable and relaxing. Wolves usually don't notice other wolves' scents. Of course, I should not have scented any wolf hormones with no wolf. Anyway, I did with her. She smelled so good. Almost as pleasant as Eli.

Would you come with me?

Eli's little pup mode was on, for sure. I've rarely seen him that powerless and lacking in courage.

As soon as I took Eli's hand, his heartbeat slowed down, his feet led him to Julie, a beautiful blonde girl, just a few steps away. She was seated near a fire. She was only fourteen and was not yet able to recognize Eli as her mate yet. But she understood as soon as she saw Elijah's shining green eyes that he had mated to her.

I introduced him to her as Elijah could not talk, then gave Julie Eli's hand. I let them have some space so they could learn more about each other. I knew at that precise moment, just like a gut instinct, that their two opposite personalities would create a perfectly balanced couple.

After half an hour, Julie put a kiss on Eli's lips, and the feeling went so strong. So powerful that I was overwhelmed by the emotions that went with the two of them finding each other, just like I was the one feeling them. I have to admit that was the most incredible feeling I have ever partly experienced. It must have been far more powerful for the two of them. I must confess that I envied them for that.

Without this camp, Julie and Eli would probably never have met. Julie lived in a French Canadian pack. We live in a pack that is lost in the middle of Michigan forests. Our two packs are separated by others, and both our fathers are peaceful men. There would have been few chances that they would meet. But, thankfully, Mother Moon had decided differently.

Eli and Julie aren't the only couple who met in these camps. I genuinely think that this is one of the hidden purposes of these camps. Mates to meet so covenants between packs would naturally form. I'm pretty sure the King strongly proposed this camp thing to create sentimental unions. If werewolves are territorial, they are also really respectful of bloodlines. You don't attack a pack that is related to you or your mate.

And, as I said, Nick was also there, and he seemed deeply convinced that some relation could happen between us.

I don't know why he got this idea as I felt nothing particular but discomfort as he tried to seduce me.

He had everything a she-wolf could hope for in a future Alpha. It was just that I felt nothing but respectful and platonic feelings. His stubbornness to seduce me made me feel nothing but pure discomfort.

His father is a firm, powerful, and very admirable Alpha. Our packs are not that far from one another, so he was not a total stranger. But that's the moment he started to be a little bit... obsessed with me.

I remember what he told me as we quit the camp. That I would one day realize that we are meant to be together. Since that day, every time we've met, he's been trying to make me change my mind. Every meeting, every party, as soon as our two packs are part of the guests, I can be sure he will come, hoping I am here too.

The scariest part is that it was growing creepier and creepier.