Lucy's POV-

"Mate..." They both spoke at the same time as soon as their eyes met.

I smiled at the beautiful meeting of the two souls coming together as one. At least someone had a good meeting story. At least they could be happy with each other.

It was just like in my vision... He held onto her like she was his last lifeline and she gazed up at him as if he hung the stars and the moon just for her. I was happy for the young Alpha and Kale's sister. They made a very nice Alpha couple. My vision pointed to their union being a very good and helpful bond for all packs.

They did their introductions to each other, seemingly completely lost in each other's company. It was like they completely forgot we were all there. That must've been nice, to forget about everything except your beautiful mate for a few moments. I didn't get that luxury- I could never forget that everything rode on my shoulders. Everything was up to me. Well... Me and Kale.

They didn't break eye contact until Kale finally cleared his throat. He had given them a few moments, but I was sure he was getting uncomfortable by how intimately the other Alpha was holding onto his sister.

"U-um sorry, Alpha..." he said addressing Kale directly.

"It's okay, Corey..." he spoke calmly, seeming much older than his age. "Why don't I give you and Natalie some time together? I am assuming that your matching with my sister is enough assurance that you and your wolves will not cause any harm or disruptions to my pack?"

"Of course, Kale, I would never harm any ally, mate bond or not," Corey replied slowly.

Kale nodded once as he dismissed them. The new pair walked out of the room attached at the hip, leaving everyone else behind. They were in their own little world.

It was a beautiful beginning to their love story. I was happy for them but also a bit jealous. I knew I would never have that type of love story because of who I was. Not only because of all my trauma that I had left behind in The North, but also my new role as an Oracle. Kale was not going to get over his suspicions of me that easily; I had already known that. I was going to have to earn his trust and love diligently; it was something that I was already preparing myself for. However, it still was disappointing to not have a nice and easy little love story like his sister was getting.

With the new mates out of the room, it left me, Kale, Kale's Beta, the third in command from Rodriguez's pack, and another high-ranking wolf from his pack in there all standing around awkwardly.

"Beta Samuel, why don't you take our guests to the kitchen and have Rita whip something for you three?" he asked nicely.

"Yes Alpha, if that is what you want..." Sam said stoically. "Are you sure you're going to be okay?" I knew the last words of that question were meant to be 'with her.' I ignored the small pain in my chest as I thought about my mate's unwillingness to even try to accept me.

"I'll be fine, Sam. I'll mind-link you if I need you," Kale replied and led the men out of the room.

He waited until the men were to the stairs before he closed the door then turned to me. He studied me for a few seconds before narrowing his eyes at me coldly.

"You knew that was going to happen, didn't you?" Before I could answer he spoke again. "What am I saying? Of course, you knew! That's why you were acting like that... The real question is how did you know?"

"I told you Kale, I am an oracle. I can see the future, but not only that... The Moon Goddess said that I can see the everything. The past, present, future, choices, what could have been, and more. I'm not completely sure why or how. I don't even know how my power works yet... But I can tell you that I am your mate, and I am your oracle. You cannot win this war without me," I said softly as I stared into his eyes, trying to convey the truth in my words.

"And we will... Win the war? With you?" he asked me as he matched my eyes in the same intense stare.

"I- I don't know..." I answered truthfully. "The future changes a lot. It's dependent upon many factors and choices. One singular choice can alter everything. I don't know if we win the war. I have some visions of us winning and I have some of us losing... But I can tell you that in every future where I am not there with you, you lose. When I am not there, your whole pack is destroyed. Kale, I am asking you for one chance, let me prove to you that I am an asset. I can help. I am your mate... I just want what is best for you and your pack."

"I don't believe you..." he said when he finally tore his eyes away from mine.

I let out an exasperated sigh. Suddenly I felt like crying again. I had no other plans if I couldn't convince this man of the truth.

"But I am willing to let you stay in my pack and prove yourself. Out of nothing less than sheer desperateness to win this war," he finally said. "Let me make it clear though, I do not trust you. Infiltrating my pack and using the fact that I am mateless is exactly something that The North would and has done before. I will keep an extra close eye on you, and you will get the same treatment as the rest of my pack. As an oracle, you will help us and we, as a pack, will help you develop your powers. If this turns out to be a trick, you will die a horrible, painful death. Got it?" He said in a dark voice, making me flinch slightly at the harshness of it.

"I understand..." I agreed. "And as far as mates go, where do we stand?" I asked the dreaded question that was weighing down my heart. I had to know where exactly we were on that front.

"You are not my mate. I am mateless," he answered in a stone-cold voice.

"How do you know you are mateless, Kale?"

"I searched every single pack for five years! I even went to The North's dreadful packs! Never once did I feel anything. Even if you were young, I would have felt a draw to you... But I felt nothing!" he exclaimed angrily.

"What about what you feel now?" I asked softly, fighting the urge to flinch at his ire.

"It's a trick," he tried to convince, though I wasn't sure if it was me or himself that he was trying to convince as he looked at anything except me. "I would have felt something then. I would have felt some tiny little spark before- just so I would have known that I hadn't wasted all those years searching and yearning."

"What if I wasn't there, Kale? What if I wasn't there when you came looking for me?" I asked with tears filling my eyes. I wasn't there. I was locked away, just as I always had been. They kept me from him. They kept me from everything.

"I asked every Alpha to have their whole pack there. This was before the war broke out, so there would have been no need to not comply with my request," he answered softly as he looked at me, his face softened at the sight of my teary eyes.

I scoffed. "Right, because every Alpha definitely followed all of your orders," I said sarcastically. "Do you even know what kind of alpha Alpha Fleming was? He was horrible and- and," I paused and wiped my eyes. I tried to stop the bad memories from making an appearance. I didn't need to rehash everything at that moment. I wasn't strong enough to relive anything yet. "I wasn't there, Kale. I wasn't there when you came to his pack. I wasn't allowed to be there. I wasn't allowed out most of the time."

His face was one of confusion. He didn't understand my statements, but I wasn't ready to get into all the bloody details yet. I just knew that I wasn't there for him.

"Kale, you are my mate, and I am so sorry that I wasn't there to stop all of your searching... But I am here now. Please, please just give me a chance to show you that I am your mate." I sobbed involuntarily. I felt almost hysterical at that point. "I, I'm sorry that it is me who is your mate. You deserve better. You deserved someone to be there when you came..." I whispered softly as I let one more tear fall. I had to stop this, or it would get very ugly very fast. I didn't have it in me right then to have a full-on breakdown.

"Earn your trust as a pack member first... Then we'll talk about mates," he finally said in a hardened voice, but his eyes gave away the sympathy that he felt for me.

I quickly pulled myself together at his words. It wasn't a hard 'no' and that was all that I could let myself hope for.

"Okay, it's getting close to dinner time and you need to wash up..." He said calmly as he beckoned me to follow him out the door and through the pack house. "I suppose I'll introduce you as a new member tonight."

My eyes widened and I choked on my own spit at his statement. "I'm sorry, do what?" I asked as I stared at my handsome mate like he had lost his mind.

"Yeah, I'll just tell everyone you are a probationary member to the pack; that means no mind-link or any privileges yet. Then we'll toast to you joining us, and I'll give you your new pack duties and such tomorrow," he said as if it was the easiest thing in the world.

That sounded terrifying! The only time I was in front of a lot of people that the last pack was to be ridiculed or punished, so I was having a severely adverse reaction to the whole concept. I was beyond anxious.

"Oh, and for your sake, probably don't mention the whole 'mate' thing..." he added.

I felt more panic wash through me. I must've looked terrified judging by the face that Kale made at me.

"What? They didn't do this kind of thing in your old pack?"

Nope, they just locked me in the basement and beat me 'til I couldn't walk most days... That didn't seem like the sort of thing you just casually mention.

"I already told you, I wasn't allowed out most of the time..." I said slowly.

He lifted a questioning eyebrow at me beckoning me to explain what that meant. I wasn't really sure what exactly to say to him without unveiling how awful everything was there. I wasn't quite ready to explain the horrors of my past yet, nor was I well enough mentally to even try.

"Well... Alpha Fleming just-"

He cut me off with a growl. "Do not call him Alpha ever again. He's not your Alpha anymore. That man is a monster, and he should have never been an Alpha," he said in a dangerous voice.

"Uh o-okay..." I said slowly, forgetting completely about our previous topic. I took a step back as he reigned in his anger at me.

"Sorry. That man... He's just- He's the worst," he said when he calmed and looked at me apologetically.

"I agree..." I said, completely aware of how horrible he was. I had no arguments against that statement. He was the actual worst.

"Here is your room," he said when we came to a stop. "Almost all unmated, over eighteen, wolves stay in the pack house. My room is right there," he pointed to the room right next to mine. I guess he was taking this 'watching me closely' thing seriously. "I will see you for dinner then..."

"Hey Kale..." I said softly before turning the nob to my door. "Alpha Rodriguez is going to ask for asylum and for your packs to join forces due to whatever happened weeks ago... I- I think it's a good idea, most of my visions support the decision."

He stared at me for a few moments, taking in the information that I had just told him. "Okay, I will consider it. Thank you," he finally said.

"I just want to help," I said in a voice barely above a whisper.

"I know..." he replied. His eyes caught mine and softened once again. "Thank you, Lucy, for your valuable information. I will consider it and your advice," he told me in a nicer tone of voice, trying to correct the cold way he had spoken to me the first time.

"Lucy, go take a shower..." he finally told me after a few moments of he and I just standing there staring at each other. "I can smell all sorts of scents wafting off of you, and it interferes with your perfect scent. It's driving my wolf mad," he said before he disappeared into his own room right next door.

The only problem was that it had been far too long since I had a shower last... I wasn't sure if I could get the scents off of me at that point. I had forgotten that they weren't even my smells anymore.