Some say that your forever lies just beyond the door you can't quite reach or touch. A forever full of happiness and peace; a life rich with love and passion in abundance.

The kind that can only be found in one's soul mate.

Fate has determined who a great life partner will be for you and it is no different when the Moon Goddess bestows a mate upon a lone wolf when they come of age.

Each lucky wolf gets the chance of a life time to find their other half from the moment they become eighteen. It starts with an intoxicating smell followed by sparks when eyes lock and ends with electricity when they touch.

Some wolves get lucky and their forever is already a pack member whereas others aren't as lucky and spend longer, even their whole lives, still searching for it.

Ryder begged the Moon Goddess to take pity on their pack, to see the war that was looming and hand him his mate. He'd even be happy if she granted his father's wish for him and Dahlia to be wed.

It needed to be soon for time was not on their side.

"Are you nervous?" A black-haired boy asked as he ruffled his friend's messy brown hair.

"No, now shove off, Col," Ryder gritted out, shrugging off his friend's concern.

Colton smirked, "You and Dahlia already begin your make out session?" He asked with a teasing tone as he stuck out his tongue at Ryder.

With a roll of his grey eyes, Ryder scooted over in his seat. He silently prayed for his old friend and the Beta's daughter, to be where his forever lied just beyond.

It would just make things easier seeing as she was ready to become Luna instantly. Dahlia had studied for it almost as long as he had been studying to be the next Alpha.

They were prepared and would make a wonderful partnership.

"No pressure," snorted Colton as he surveyed the room of eligible wolves awaiting Ryder to take the stand and lock eyes with each of them.

Pressure had indeed begun welling up inside of the eighteen-year-old. He had been standing here just a year before when Colton had done his own birthday initiation.

The man had gone home alone when his mate had not appeared. Colton didn't seem to care much at all then or even now as being single was something he enjoyed immensely. He didn't need a mate as he wasn't the one who had a pack that was awaiting anxiously for their new Luna.

The stakes were far higher now.

'We can't afford to be Luna-less in a time like this,' he thought with desperation as his eyes darted back and forth between the four walls of the auditorium.

His heart was beating erratically against his ribcage as time clicked on.

His nose wasn't picking up any particularly great smells but he was hoping not everyone had arrived yet.

In the past week, Ryder had been plagued with what decisions to make in regards to the pack and it's best interests.

Barely having slept a wink in the last seven days, the exhausted birthday boy had finally come to terms with what needed to be done.

Despite an original lack of love, if Dhalia was to be his chosen mate, he would cherish their life time together and build themselves a strong leadership to rise above the unseen enemy.

The love would come eventually, he was sure.

They had worked together closely before in the years that had come and gone, but this was the most important one of them all.

Ryder took a shallowing breath as he stood up to take the podium. Nerves welled up inside of him as he made the slow and dreaded walk to the stage.

There were fifty or so she-wolves all lined up in groups of five, spanning the length of the auditorium from the front of the stage to the very back of the cream-coloured walls.

There were unspoken rules tied to that of mates - the Moon Goddess never paired two wolves together that were more than two years apart. A silent promise that no wolf would ever have to marry before they were sixteen.

Child brides were forbidden in the shape-shifting world.

Alisa had asked about it the first time she'd witnessed a mating ceremony and Ryder was more than happy to oblige when answering her questions about the bond. Ryder couldn't help but remember the simpler time – when he only talked about the bond.

"Does everyone get a mate?"

"Yeah, they do. It's the Moon Goddess' promise to us; to never experience a life alone without love."

"Will I get a mate?"

Ryder looked back at the fifteen year old girl as she flinched back a little in fear.

Love seemed to be absent in her life and that made the werewolf prince want to show her their world even more.

"A soul mate bond is unlike anything else. Every wolf has one out there. There is no exception to that rule."

"But what about the members that leave to find their soul mates? Do they ever return?"

"Some of them, not all of them."

"Why is that?"

Alisa's blue eyes widened in curiosity as she absorbed every piece of knowledge she could get her hands on.

"Some people join their mate's pack and choose to uphold their loyalties to them instead. It's not a sad occasion but a happy one."

Yet as Ryder thought back to Alisa's curious questions, he took his last step in front of the pack and all of the single she-wolves, desperate to be his Luna.

The thought almost disgusted him.

For some wolves, love mattered not.

"Welcome all, today I hope to find my bride among our pack but if the Moon Goddess wills for something different, I shall be prepared for that too."

Ryder's voice bellowed across the long room as he swallowed away any last doubts he may have been feeling.

His father came to stand beside him, placing a soft hand on his shoulder to reassure him.

"I hope you find your mate today, son. May the Moon Goddess bless you!"

Alpha Ryker commented with a smile as he gestured across the room filled with single ladies hoping to be his son's mate.

To make it seem fair, Ryder started from the first she-wolf in line. His grey eyes sought her green ones in the crowd, hoping the moment they connected sparks would fly.

But alas, as their eyes connected he felt nothing and the pressure lessened a little for a fleeting moment.

With a small sad smile, he shook his head.

The blonde girl frowned as the silence indicated that even she too didn't feel the mate pull.

Similar things occurred as his eyes fluttered across each girl in the room. There was a lack of sparks and chills being felt by anyone in the room.

Silence overlapped everyone as the pressure kept building inside of the eighteen year old boy.

As his grey eyes connected with Dhalia's bright, emerald green ones, he begged silently for those sparks to appear. She was his father's first choice for a proper and respectable Luna.

The pack would instantly accept her and love her - a natural born leader.

The moment it became apparent that even Dahlia couldn't make Ryder feel a tug of love in his heart, he knew he had failed his father and the pack.

The first choice of a bride was not the Moon Goddess' choice of destiny.

Perhaps she had someone better in mind.

'I'm sorry', Ryder murmured silently to his childhood friend.

The black-haired girl only felt truly relieved despite the pressure that had been put upon both of their shoulders.

"Wait."

Alpha Ryker stated loudly as he looked around the room.

"If not Dahlia, then who?" He asked his son, as worry welled up inside of him.

If it wasn't a she-wolf of their pack, Ryder would be doomed to search for his Luna. Ryker feared the worst: Ryder's mate would be absent in the looming war.

There were only a few faces missing from the crowd. It was obvious if his mate wasn't one of them, then he would have to go on a quest.

An inconvenient one.

"We are missing a few faces," Ryder shuffled out awkwardly.

"I thought this event was supposed to be mandatory," Colton gripped from behind the two of them.

"We are missing the girls," Parker commented nervously, from beside Colton.

Unknowing to Ryder, Parker had had a crush on Maya since they were little and with his birthday only weeks away, he hoped the Moon Goddess would take that into consideration. He didn't want to miss his chance because of a few weeks.

"Go find them."

Alpha Ryker ordered as he watched Parker stumble away with an awkward bow.

The truth was that Maya and Cora hadn't expected to be needed, so they had snuck off for a run in the forest across pack territory.

The only people who knew that was their little group of friends. Ryder had dismissed them the night before, believing the exact same thing – that the Moon Goddess would choose Dahlia. She had made the most sense before but now not anymore.

"It is more for show anyway. Dad wants me to marry Dahlia, I overheard him last week," Ryder commented casually as fiddled with a stone in his hand.

"But Alphas don't decide the mating bond; the Moon Goddess does," Cora commented as she picked some flowers for tomorrow's ceremony.

"Like the Moon Goddess isn't going to put you and her together," stated Maya with a roll of her eyes as she threw a rock across the lake, watching it skip three times before falling.

"I say let's ditch."

Ryder frowned as dropped the stone and placed his hand in the shallow water, staring at his reflection.

"Maya's got a point. Everything's all planned anyway, you guys may as well go enjoy yourselves."

"I won't tell if you won't," giggled Cora as she flicked her blonde hair over her shoulder.

Ryder gestured a lock and key with his mouth, then promptly began throwing the imaginary key into the water.

Just then the grand doors in the middle of the auditorium opened, revealing two of the girls in question. Their faces flushed red with adrenaline and sweat; their blood pumping incredibly fast in their ears.

"That's the most fun I've had in a long time," chuckled Maya as she wiped the sweat off her brow.

"You were amazing out there!" Cora hushed with a little giggle before stopping in front of the crowd.

All eyes were on them, making the two girls blush rose-red. They began apologising in mumbles and stutters but as both their eyes connected with Ryder's, they instantly stopped talking.

Instead of sparks, they could feel the confusion and irritation radiating off of Ryder in waves.

If a look of no more than a moment, could make him sure they were not his mate then he knew he didn't need any more time. He knew it wouldn't be them – it just wouldn't have made any sense at all.

However, there were still three faces missing in the crowd.

With everything inside of him, he begged the Moon Goddess not to be right about this. A stall like this hadn't happened in many centuries, and it could only mean one thing.

"I'll be back," mumbled Ryder as he took off in the same direction as Parker did.

Pushing passed the grand doors to the unknown, the brunette prepared himself for what he was about to possibly find.

A forever just beyond the doors and limits of his mind.