To Be A Mate

Chapter ThirtyOne

"Why is this necessary again?" I ask Jake, as I curl a piece of my poker straight hair.

"It's tradition. Not so much for the mate of a beta, but since we found our Luna we just planned to do both." Jake tells me, while messing with the collar of his shirt.

It was a day after me and Jake had gotten "married" and apparently his pack had planned to throw a huge party/ cook out type of thing in celebration of their Alpha and Beta finding their mates. I think Jake was excited, but I was nervous.

I hadn't said anything to Jake, in worries of offending him, but the fact that I'd be surrounded by a pack of werewolves made me very nervous. Especially since I was the only non-wolf.

"And after this you'll mark me?" I pretty much tell him. He wasn't excited that I had convinced him to do it so soon, but it made the most sense. I couldn't live with Jake the whole summer, even with the extended vacation I was pretending to be on with Riley. She was supposed to be gone for a week and a half. I told my parents she'd be gone three.

The point was I needed to get the job done. The sooner he marked me the sooner we mated and the sooner he would calm his ass down when we weren't within a mile of each other.

"Yes." He tells me through his clenched jaw. I didn't doubt his promise to me, but I knew he would probably try something to get out of it. 

I heard a knock on the door and I asked Jake to get it. He came back a moment later with a very quiet Anna.

Jake had told me that she was fine yesterday, assuming that's what he heard from Tyler, but I thought otherwise. She looked exhausted and ruined, as if she had just escaped from a torture chamber.

She was wearing a red dress, that was light and summery. It was way longer than any of my summer dresses, the hem coming down to her knee. Tyler and Jake had said it was tradition for the luna to where red on an occasion like this, and for the beta's mate to wear white, so that's what I was in.

My dress was also a summer dress, though a little shorter than Anna's. Although Jake wished my dress was longer, it wasn't as important for me to me as modest as the luna, so I was told. It had spaghetti straps and the skirt was covered by a think lace, that I actually really liked. I was glad that even if I was attacked by these werewolves I'd at least die looking fine.

"You look pretty Anna!" I tell her, trying to sound as happy as I can.

She smiles at me and reaches for me. I hug her and she sighs into my hug. If it was anyone else I'd be a little weirded out. But this was Anna. And to Anna, I was a reminder of Jace.

I had voiced my concerns about this to Jake last night but he told me not to worry. He said that if I ditched Anna assuming I was making her sad she may get more depressed than she already is. I mean he didn't actually say that, because he couldn't insult his luna, but that's what I heard.

"You'll stay by my side tonight right?" She asks me in my ear, her voice barely a whisper.

"Of course." I sigh hugging her. I never thought a mate could be a bad thing before Anna met Tyler.

A half an hour later we were finished getting ready and prepared to go downstairs.

Well, actually I was finished. Anna had just sat there in the time it took me staring of into space. I pulled some of her hair back from her face in a attractive way, but didn't bother on her make up. I wasn't that good at it myself and she still looked pretty without it.

When we walked down the steps, Tyler was waiting there for Anna. He looked in awe at first, staring at her beautiful form, then he returned to his sad smile. Jake said Tyler knew she was upset, but his wolf wouldn't accept it.