Introspect [The Mating Games #3]

ORION KALLIS

He had just turned twenty-two when the Alpha had announced that invitations to the Mating Games would be handed out then. It was the first time that he had been eligible to attend but unlike most other wolves, Orion felt nowhere near ready for his life to change in the way it naturally would after he had been gifted with a mate.

Like most other wolves at that age, Orion was very selfish. Other than his mother who he still lived with; he didn’t care much for anyone else. Other than training with pack and spending his evenings with his mother in the kitchen, helping out and training to be a chef, he didn’t do much else.

Orion very satisfied with the way his life was spanning out, and he was more than comfortable with it just being his mother and him. The thought of having a mate at that age, and the responsibility that came with it…frankly, it terrified him.

At that age, he wished for nothing more than some more time before he finally met his mate and when his mother found out, she had a few things to say to him. He hadn’t taken her seriously then but now he wished he had.

To this day, he remembered that conversation with his mother very vividly. Now, not a single day passed that he didn’t think back to what she had said to him back then, only realising the true meaning of her words now.

“What’s wrong, Ri?” his mother asked, wiping her hands on a dish cloth.

“Nothing,” Orion denied with a sigh as he continued peeling the potatoes, more so playing the role of his mother’s sous chef than her co-chef. But he didn’t mind. Not when he was learning so much.

“I’m your mum,” she smiled from beside him. “I know when something is bothering you.”

Aware that she wouldn’t drop the topic until he was honest with her, Orion sighed. “The Alpha said invitations to the Mating Games are set to go out tomorrow.”

“And you’re nervous that you’re not going to receive one?” his mother guessed, a soft, knowing expression on her face. “You shouldn’t put so much pressure on this, Ri. This is only your first Mating Games. If we go off statistics here, fifty percent of wolves receive an invitation the first time. And if you don’t this year, you definitely will next year. Trust me when I say that there’s nothing to worry about.”

“That’s the thing, mum,” his lips turned down at the corners as he grumbled. “I’m not concerned about not receiving an invitation to the Mating Games. In fact, I’m concerned about the opposite happening.”

A few moments of silence passed, his mother using them to understand what he truly meant.

“Are you saying that you don’t want a mate?”

“I want a mate. Just not now.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t think I’m ready for a mate yet.” Orion shrugged, returning his attention to chopping the potatoes as they were now all peeled. “I just want some more time to myself before I have to open up my life to someone else.”

“Yes, but you also shouldn’t be closed off to the notion of a mate,” his mother said to him, her voice gentle and motherly; encouraging.

“I prayed to the Moon Goddess yesterday that I wouldn’t receive an invitation to the Mating Games this year,” Orion admitted aloud after a few moments, not quite why he was telling his mother since he already knew that she wouldn’t approve. If he was being completely honest with himself, Orion, himself, now that he had made the wish, wasn’t quite sure if he approved but it was too late to take it back now. “I think I’ll be much more prepared next year.”

“Orion Kallis!” his mother all but gasped. “Why would you make a wish like that? Do you know how offensive that is to the sanctity of the mate bond?”

“I didn’t mean it like that, mum,” he denied but his words sounded weak even to his own ears. “I’m just not ready for a mate yet.”

“The Moon Goddess would never give you a mate if the both of you are not meant to be together, or even if it isn’t the right time,” his mother insisted with a deep sigh, moving around the kitchen to be busy. “I know it’s your life, Ri, but I would put more faith in the Moon Goddess. She knows what she’s doing and not trusting her is quite disrespectful. The last thing I want is for you to upset the Moon Goddess because that might be something that you’ll have to live with for the rest of your life,” when he didn’t say anything, she sighed; her expression softening. “You may not value having a mate now, Ri but when the moment comes, you’ll realise that there isn’t anything better for a wolf.”

In that moment, Orion had been very grateful but looking back now, he didn’t regret anything more. His mother had been correct to say that he didn’t understand the value of a mate then but he would in the future.

But he hadn’t realised just how right she would be.

Five years later and it was now time for the second Mating Games that he would be eligible for.

Alpha Demetri had announced yesterday that all the invitations to the Mating Games would be handed out today.

To say that Orion was excited would be an understatement. He may not have wanted a mate last time but this time, Orion wanted nothing more.

At the ripe age of twenty-seven, he currently craved nothing more than companionship. He wanted a mate he would be able to spend the rest of his life with, someone he would be able to share all the special moments with and spend the rest of his life with.

While he had friends, the pack wolves and most importantly, his mother, they just couldn’t provide him with the love and comfort that a mate could. And so, for that reason, he was one of the first wolves to gather outside for the announcement.

The several minutes it took for Alpha Demetri to join them, Orion was all but bouncing on the balls of his feet in excitement.

He could feel it in his bones that this year, he would receive an invitation to the Mating Games and finally meet his mate. This time five years ago may have been a different case for him, but a lot of things had changed since then.

“You need to calm down. It’ll just be a few more moments” his mother chuckled from where she was stood beside him. But the large grin on her face told him that she was nearly as excited as him.

“I can’t,” he denied, his lips twitching up higher at the corners. “I’m so excited! I know I’m going to receive an invitation to the games this year, mum!”

Before his mother could say anything else, the Alpha announced his presence. Silence filled the field as he began calling wolves up to the front to receive their invitation.

However, as the long list of names continued, Orion felt his hope start to drop. The more time passed, the more dread settled in the pit of his stomach until finally, the last name was called out but he remained in the middle of the large crowd of wolves; all his hopes and dreams now crushed.

“I wouldn’t worry, Ri,” his mother spoke cheerfully from behind him, resting a gentle, reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You may not have received an invite this year, but you definitely will next year.”

Orion wanted to believe her. He really did. But he didn’t end up receiving an invitation the time, or even the time after that. His mother had passed shortly after and now, before he knew it, it was time for the Mating Games all over again.

Except this time, he wasn’t the least bit hopeful.

After four Mating Games having passed him without so much as the promise of a mate, Orion knew that his chances were equal to nothing.

And all because as a young, selfish adult who wasn’t any better than an ignorant child, he had prayed to the Moon Goddess to delay in giving him a mate.

He either wasn’t destined to have a mate, or she had already passed.

The last thought put a lump in his throat; one which was immensely difficult to swallow but he refused to focus on it. Destined to life his entire life without a mate, without a companion, a friend, someone to call his own and vice versa was difficult enough. Having to think that there was someone out there for him but they had never been granted the chance to meet made him feel so much worse.

It was a strange notion but Orion didn’t think much of the Moon Goddess anymore. How could he when she had taken from him the one thing that every wolf was destined to?

A soulmate.

Either way, this whole experience had alienated him. Everyone he knew, everyone at the pack was destined to have a mate. They all had someone except him and if they didn’t already, they were destined to eventually meet their significant other.

That was not the case for Orion, unfortunately.

“Orion?” he briefly heard the Alpha call out to him, but he didn’t pay much attention. “Are you still listening to me?”

When Alpha Demetri snapped his fingers in front of his face to grab his attention, Orion finally snapped out of the torturous daze that he was in. Blinking, he glanced at the Alpha wolf briefly before glancing down and returning his attention to the envelope in front of him.

Could it be that the Moon Goddess had finally forgiven him?

-

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Layla Knight

23.05.2021