Academy Of Mates novel Chapter 3

Chapter 3

By the time the sun rose up in the sky, I was already wide awake, the sounds of morning activity filling my mind. I’ve been up for hours now worried and anxious beyond belief because today was the day.

The day of the dreaded Academy… or should I say, the School of Love.

I should think that after my talk with Jeff I would be in a much better mood- calmer perhaps, but honestly, it only made me more nervous.

Worry towards the Academy is not normal. Excitement is.

Everyone I know has been waiting for this since they were mere pups, either for the neutral land where the Academy is held or just the anticipation of having our soulmates. When you finally come of age and are added to the enrollment list by the Alpha, it’s supposed to be the best thing in the world.

A knock on my door brings me out of my thoughts and a second later, my hesitant looking father comes in, his messy gray hair popping out from the small opening. He had just come back from what seemed to be a very long patrol shift.

“Hey, hun. Good morning.” His tired voice spoke through the quiet of our home.

I forced a smile to hide the worry that I was feeling and sat up. “Good morning.”

He sits on the edge of my bed and takes my hand in his. “How are you feeling?”

“Really great.” I blatantly lied, not wanting to add to his stress. He was tired enough as it was. He didn’t need anything else to worry about.

From the look he was giving me, I know he caught my lie, but being the best father in the world, he doesn’t mention it. “Don’t think about it too much. Enjoy it as much as you can. Don’t worry if you don’t get chosen. You are always welcome at home.”

He doesn’t bother with lying to me, giving empty promises and other words of encouragement about being chosen or finding a mate. My father has always been practical and has taught me to accept the reality of things instead of living in denial. He cannot guarantee that I will be chosen and he will not tell me lies just to comfort

The fear of every girl is to never get chosen for these things. Our pack in particular is not known for being the first choice or any choice for that matter. This new mating… it’ s like a business transaction these days. If you have nothing to offer; beauty, power or wealth, no one will choose you. I have lost count of the number of girls that come running home crying because they were not chosen.

We only have until the age of twenty five to be chosen and I’m only eighteen. It’s my first year.

My father reached for the side of my cheek lovingly. “Promise me you’ll try to enjoy yourself. I know you’re worried about me and the pack- the cost of keeping unmated females or whatever it is you’re worried about that you shouldn’t be. Know that it’ll make me very happy if you’ll let yourself enjoy this moment.”

I held my father’s gaze and nodded. It wasn’t a hard request. “I promise.”

The smile he gave was heart clenching. “Good. Now get ready. The car that the Alpha rented will arrive in an hour.”

Cars and other mechanisms like that are foreign in our lands. The few humans that live within our territory don’t even have it. That’s why our Alpha has to pay someone from another pack to let us rent a car.

Within the hour, I shower and get myself ready. Still dripping wet from my bath, I stepped outside my room to find a group of unmated women who were already waiting for me. The women were holding hairbrushes and other things I was not familiar with.

It’s a custom in our pack to help each other, especially on special occasions like this. The women do not waste any time. They brush my hair, detangling the knots and taming my wild curls as best as they can. By the end of it, they’re biting their lips in frustration and groaning to themselves.

“She’s a lot of work.” They whisper to themselves, not caring if I could hear them.” Soon we will have another one of us in our midst. Our poor Alpha.”

“Her poor father.” Another chimed in, making me swallow anxiously. It felt like cotton balls were in my throat. “Another mouth to feed.”

When my hair was tame enough, they assisted me into a beautiful soft white dress that fell just above my knees. This was the dress that the Alpha specially ordered from another pack. It was simple but elegant and detailed with the finest lace, the material hugging my body and allowing the little curves that I had to show. The dress is backless, dipping all the way down right below my bottom.

I was showing a lot of skin- more than I’m used to, but I know from the mumblings of the women that this is what clothes are supposed to look like in the Academy. Everyone was supposed to look their best… and sometimes we had to show what we had to offer.

As small as that is for me.

Nonetheless, this dress is single handedly the most beautiful piece of clothing I’ve ever owned. It made me wonder how long it took for the Alpha and the others to afford this.

After they’re satisfied with my hair and dress, they begin to attack my face with powder and lipstick. We don’t often dress up here. There wasn’t ever a need for it.

Pretty clothes, paint on our faces, it all just got in the way of our daily chores so I was all new to this.

“Vareesa is taking twice as long as we did with Kelcey.” One of the women complained under her breath. Much like the Alpha, it was not a comment to be mean to me but of truth.

“That’s because Kelcey is prettier.” Again, not to be mean, but only stating facts.

Kelcey is much prettier than I am and, with an event like the Academy, that meant a lot. I can only hope she finds a mate so that there won’t be two failures this year.

“And Kelcey actually takes care of herself.” They say, shooting me pointed looks. “Like brushing her hair and taking more baths.”

It can’t be helped. I didn’t have time. Every waking second of my day is dedicated to ensure that my father and I would have something to eat at the end of the day.

Kelcey has five older brothers who all excel in the pack. With five brothers, there’s very little she has to do outside their home.

Whereas there’s only my father and I in ours, so there’s a lot more things to do

physically that are eating away at my time. And honestly… if I did have time, it wouldn’t exactly be to brush my hair.

Right as he says this, I start to hear the rumble of a low engine from a distance. The sound was unfamiliar to me but I can only guess that it was the car that was bringing us to the Academy.

Anxiousness makes me play with my fingers as I feel my heart rate increase. I bit my lip, trying to convince myself that Jeff and I had promised… that I had nothing to worry about.

That there’s still a chance for me.

But I was the type of person that if it hasn’t happened yet, I don’t believe it.

The women that helped me get ready gave me one final nod before I got the courage to walk out the door. My father was right outside, his back to me as he faced the beat up old car that was driving towards the pack house in the center of our little rundown village.

He finally turns to look at me when I’m standing beside him. “You look beautiful.”

Try as I might, I can’t seem to detect any kind of lie in his tone. He was being honest.” Thank you. Truly. For everything.”

Everything.

He knew what that meant even without me specifying. He knew what he had done for me… took me into his pack, took no mate during his time in the Academy- for how could he explain a daughter that wasn’t even his blood.

“I’ll make you proud. I’ll find someone… someone good, someone that will let you retire

in peace.” I say weakly, knowing the likeliness of that happening is little to, no, it is impossible.

When chosen and mated, the man has the power if he so desires and if he’s wealthy or kind enough, to help the girl’s family.

“I don’t care about that. I will never care about that.” He tells me, his tired eyes heavy with meaning. “I’ve always been proud of you. I want you to be content. That’s all.”

Words failed me as emotions rushed to my eyes and I had to quickly blink away tears.

“Remember, you don’t need to find a mate if you don’t want to,” He says seriously. “If no one there is good enough for you, just come home and we’ll figure something out.”

I love the fact that he thinks no one would be good enough for me, as if that’s what the problem was.

My arms moved before I could think about it, wrapping them around my father and pulling him close. We were never really affectionate, but today, he wraps his arms around me too.

“I’ll be right here.” My father swears to me and I know the meaning behind his words.

A pack elder approached us before we could say more. “Vareesa, they’re waiting for you. It’s time to go.” ​​​​​​​