One Girl Two Mates
Chapter 1

I whirled around the kitchen as we prepared for Ethan's birthday party. Ethan is the Alpha of Midnight Moon Pack and not only is it his birthday, but mine too. Unfortunately I'm low rank, lower than low rank. I'm a half breed, half wolf and half vampire. Vampires are considered a wolf's natural enemy, so it's not surprising that I get treated the way I do.

"Watch it, bloodsucker!" A young omega man snapped at me when I accidentally bumped into him. I didn't bother apologizing, there was no point in it. I closed my eyes and took a deep, calming breath. It's going to be okay, I tried to reassure myself as I continued my tasks. I blushed slightly when my thoughts trailed back to Ethan. He was the most handsome man I'd ever seen. He stood at six foot three, towering over my five foot five frame. His skin was a rich, creamy shade. His blonde hair was always messy on top of his head and his blue eyes, god. Those eyes were like the color of jewels, ready to suck you in. His scent was sweet unlike other male wolves who were usually a musky or earthy scent. He smelled like fresh lemons and raspberries, it made my mouth water just thinking about it. I'd never said anything to anyone, but I'd secretly hoped Ethan was my mate. Today was the day I'd know for sure, I'm finally turning eighteen. Ethan has been gone on a three day birthday trip with his Beta James and Gamma Kylie. They were strong fighters, it was almost unheard of to have a female Beta or Gamma. Kylie proved herself to be an absolute badass. Her father was the previous Gamma, that's usually how it works. Titles are normally passed down to children unless that person doesn't have a child. In that case anyone is eligible as long as they can prove themselves worthy. My stomach did flips thinking about Ethan coming home and walking through the door. I have no idea what the mate bond feels like, but when it happens you know. "Let's get a move on it! Ethan will be home in twenty minutes! The party starts in three hours! I want to see some hustling people!" Janie, the head kitchen omega, barked at us. I was on cake decorating duty, I was a master at pastries and baking. Since there were going to be hundreds of people, the Luna, Ethan's mom, had us make five four layer cakes. They were all different shades of blue, Ethan's favorite color. I was putting the finishing touches on his last cake when I heard commotion coming from the foyer. Ethan's home! I tried to contain my excitement as I pushed through his welcome home crowd. All I needed was to make eye contact, that's how you know it's your mate or so I've heard.

"I heard he found his Luna." A short redheaded omega whispered to a brunette omega next to her.

"No way! Finally, isn't he in his twenties?" I tuned them out, there's no way. Did he pick a chosen mate? Sometimes when wolves get to a certain age, they give up on finding their mates and pick a chosen mate. But not at Ethan's age, he'd just turned twenty two today. Wolves don't pick a chosen mate until after they hit twenty five. I wiggled through the crowd of people, desperately trying to get to the front.

"The rumors are true, I've found my mate." My body froze when I finally made it close to the front of the crowd.

"Please welcome Luna Elizabeth." He smiled at her lovingly.

Ethan stood with a tall brunette wrapped around his body. She looked like a model, with a beautiful curvy body. Her big brown eyes made her look innocent, but also so alluring. Ethan made eye contact with me for a split second, but that's all I needed. He wasn't my mate. Don't cry, Liliana, don't cry. I chanted in my head. I bit my quivering lip as I turned and made my way back to the kitchen. It was almost empty, since everyone was currently crowding our Alpha and new Luna. My stomach twisted at the thought, that should've been me. I should be the one wrapped in Ethan's arm, being presented to a crowd. I wanted to smack myself out of my day dreams. It's over, he's not your mate. Although it did make me wonder, who is my mate? Then a dark thought crawled into my mind. What if I wasn't blessed with a mate because I'm half vampire? There were stories of wolves having vampires as mates, but I'd never actually seen it. I often wonder if my parents were mates. I knew nothing about them, sadly. I was found in the woods next to the pack house wrapped in a purple blanket with my name embroidered on the corner. There was no last name so I was given Woods as a last name since that's where I was found. It wasn't uncommon for babies to be left at packs. Sometimes rogues that couldn't care for their baby would leave them on the packs borders. However a half vampire baby was extremely uncommon. They knew from infancy what I was, vampires give off a distinct minty smell. To anyone that isn't my mate I probably smell like foresty toothpaste. Since all wolves also have a distinct foresty smell to themselves. I helped carry the food into the grand hall, I almost stopped and ran in the other direction when I saw Ethan. His eyes connected with mine and he sent me that million dollar smile, my stomach flipped. "Happy Birthday, Lili." He spoke in his deep, sexy voice.

"Happy Birthday, Ethan." I smiled at him, trying to hide my feelings.

"I was wondering if you'd come to the party as a guest instead of working." I glanced up at him with confusion as I sat the cake on the large table.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, it's your birthday too, I want you to enjoy it." I picked at the hem of my apron.

"Thank you, Ethan, but I don't really feel like celebrating, I don't care much for my birthday." I shrugged and looked away.

"Oh come on, Lili, this is a big birthday for you. You're old enough to meet your mate and you'll have your first shift tonight." He looked so excited, I'd never seen him look so happy before.

"I'll think about it, thank you, Ethan." I smiled up at him.

"It's going to be a fun night, Lili." He shocked me by pulling me into a quick hug, taking me breath away.

"I hope so." I whisper as he walks away.

Around nine PM I hurried back to my room to get ready for the party. I decided to go as a server instead of a guest, I wasn't really in the party mood. I slid on my black slacks and tucked in my white, long sleeve button up. I pulled on my black vest and tied my blue tie in a windsor knot. I had applied very minimal makeup. I applied some light blush and lip gloss, adding mascara to make my green eyes pop. I pulled my long, dark black hair into a high ponytail. Even in a ponytail the long tresses touched the middle of my back. I turned this way and that way to check myself out in the mirror. Even though it sounds like an unflattering outfit, I picked the perfect sizes. The clothes hugged my curves perfectly, I smiled as I took one final look at myself. I rushed up the stairs to come face first with a crowd of people trickling in. I squeezed through, making my way to the kitchen.

"Lili! You're late, take this champagne tray and move it!" Janie snapped as she handed me the tray. My breath caught at the beauty of the grand hall. There were hundreds of people dressed in different shades of blue. It was part of the dress code, almost a tradition for Ethan's birthday. My eyes quickly found Ethan standing in the middle of the crowd. His Luna, Elizabeth stood next to him looking like everything a Luna should look like. Her brown hair was curled to perfection and piled on top of her head in intricate twists. Her deep blue, satin dress looked as if it were painted on to her body. It had a sweetheart neckline, showing off her cleavage. I wrapped around her curves and had a long slit that ran up to her thigh. His arm was wrapped around her waist, he looked at her with so much love that I felt sick. Swallowing my emotions I turned my attention away from them. I easily weaved through the crowd, hanging out drink after drink. I watched as people held their mates close, my heart stung. I know I'm just barely eighteen, but what if I was one of the unlucky few that had to wait years. What if there was no one for me? I was technically the Moon Goddess' child, but what if she didn't acknowledge me? I tried to keep my thoughts positive, but it was proving to be quite difficult. I wasn't even sure if I wanted a mate if it wasn't Ethan. I'd crushed on him for so long, he's all I thought about when it came to imagining my mate. As I made my way back to the kitchen my heart beat picked up. The smell of earth and forest hit me like a tilde wave, almost knocking me on my a*s. I sat the plate down on the nearest table and followed the scent almost as if I were on auto pilot. I couldn't control my feet, my mouth watered at the smell. I pushed and shoved my way through the crowd. I didn't care if I was being rude, I didn't care if people were yelling at me, their voices all blurred into the background. I walked out into the garden feeling a little bit silly to see that this is where the scent ended. Was I just smelling the outdoors? Did I just crave to be outside? No the smell was different, but as I wandered around it slowly disappeared. It mixed with the smell of roses and lavender. I frowned as I looked at my reflection in the little pond. I slowly made my way back into the crowded hall and headed towards the kitchen preparing myself to be scolded by Janie.