Extinguishing Wildfire
Prologue

Aaliyah

He smells like cherries and leather with an undertone of something delicious that’s all him. I smelled him as soon as I walked into the backyard for my nephew Oren's birthday party. I had avoided him as much as possible since then, but now he was here at the bonfire with his friends. My eyes kept drifting over to him. He was tall and cut in all the right places. He also had pouty lips and warm eyes that could drive any girl crazy. I bet he’s good in bed.

"I see you've been eyeing the Cobalt Falls boys. All three of them are super adorable, right?" My best friend Carissa pointed out.

"Yeah, they're cute, but you know I don't really like those Alpha types." I rolled my eyes and looked down at my nails to feign disinterest.

"Come on, girl, you're only here for the weekend, a little flirting won't hurt."

"Actually, it will hurt…so…I...umm…"

"What? You never get tongue-tied, is everything okay?"

I hadn't planned on telling anyone, but I couldn't lie to my best friend. "Yeah..it's just…I found my mate."

"No!" Her eyes widened comically, and her mouth fell into an 'o' as she stared at me expecting me to elaborate.

"You have to promise you won't say anything."

"My lips are sealed, but who is it? Someone at Whispering Pines?" Whispering Pines was the pack in Colorado where I’d spent the better part of my summer interning at their clinic. Alpha Ethan, who was my sister-in-law Ellis’s older brother was the alpha, so he had let me stay on longer as soon as I’d asked.

I looked back up at Carissa and shook my head, scared to say the words out loud as it would become more real. "It's the Alpha." I nodded toward the Cobalt Falls boys.

"Jordan!?" She whisper yelled. "He's adorable though, you two would be so ridiculously cute together."

"I can't be a Luna, I'll have to reject him."

"Liyah, just think about it before you do something you'll regret. He's a great guy."

"Great or not, I deserve to be able to follow my dreams, and I can't do that if I'm a Luna. He'll want me to start popping out babies for him."

She shook her head at me, disappointed.

"I need to go talk to him." I got closer to where he was and caught his eye. Waving him over to a trail in the woods. He stood and followed me. When we got to the trail, I continued walking until I reached a clearing, and he followed. He looked apprehensive, almost like he knew what was coming.

'Liyah, please don't do this. He's our mate, and he's wonderful. I want our mate.' My wolf, Hope, whimpered as she begged me to accept our mate.

"Hi, I'm Jordan. Your brothers are helping train me and my friends for when we take over our pack from our dads."

"I know, I've heard a lot about you from my brothers. They…they really like you guys."

"Soooo…we're mates." He chuckled and put his hands in his pockets."

"Yeah." I looked down, and he stepped forward, reaching out for my hand. I was immediately overwhelmed by the feeling of sparks, and I snatched my hand away from him. I needed to be able to think straight if I was going to do this.

"We can't be mates. I'm studying to be a doctor, and I won't be just some Alpha's Luna."

"Some Alpha’s Luna? But I’m not just some alpha, I’m your fated mate. That has to count for something…and you can still finish school. We have some great med schools in Texas, one is even a short drive from Cobalt Falls." He looked at me confused.

"And once I finish?" I scoffed, "Then what? You'll just have me be your Luna and not even use my degree? Or worse, you'll want an heir, and I won't even get to finish. No thanks!"

"No, we–"

"No, thanks," I cut him off holding up my hand, "I won't be your Luna."

Hope kept whimpering in my head, trying to come out, but I pushed her back down. I saw Jordan's wolf come out as his eyes glowed blue.

"That's it then, you won't even give me a chance?" His eyes continued to glow as he clenched his fists in anger. He let out a low growl, and I knew I needed to leave with his wolf about to come out like this. Alpha wolves could be unpredictable when angry. He growled again, and before I could leave, he rushed off in the direction of the party but then doubled back to the forest on the other side. The last thing I saw was him shifting into his sleek black wolf. I started to make my way out of the forest, but before I got out, I heard a heartbreaking howl that I knew had come from my mate. Did I make the right choice?

'Of course not,' Hope growled out into my head before laying down with her head over her paws. 'You know how special mates are, but you didn't even give him a chance. Now we're going to be alone for the rest of our lives.'

'We won't be alone. We'll eventually replace someone.'

'No, I won't let you get into a relationship with someone else. I'll make it miserable for you. I only want Neo, he's perfect for me.'

'Crazy wolf, you'll eventually get over it.'

'Never,' She retreated to the back of my mind and cut me off after that. She must really be mad at me to behave this way toward me.

Jordan

"I won't just be some Alpha's Luna…I won't be your Luna."

Her words cut me and Neo deeply. When I first found out about her, I was nervous because I didn't think I was ready for a mate, but seeing her in front of me made me forget those nerves. Touching her and feeling the sparks of the bond was even better, but it damn near broke me when she yanked her hand away. Was it really that bad to be mated to me?

Her reasoning didn't make sense to me. If she wanted to go to school, then who was I to stop her? Yeah, she'd be my Luna, but she could also be a doctor. I didn't understand why she thought she couldn't be both.

'Her wolf wants us.' Neo's gruff voice came into my head.

'You talked to her?'

'Yeah, Hope loves us already, and she keeps trying to convince her human to accept us.'

'At least we have her on our side.'

Neo continued down the woods and howled to let out his pain. The more pain he let out, the more angry he became. I heard footsteps approaching and turned around to replace my Beta Cristian. Neo growled at him, but Cristian just stayed back with his hands out in front of him. "Hey, Neo, you want to let Jordan back out?"

Neo growled back in response. One wrong move and I was certain Neo would attack Cristian.

"It's okay, your dad's on his way. We'll get you back, Jordan." He was using his most soothing voice. He was good at this, probably because his wolf, Ax, was a hot head and he'd had to learn how to handle him.

Before long, my dad showed up with Alpha Kedrick, Gamma Isaiah, and Noah. He managed to get Neo to calm down, and we all headed inside. I felt like complete shit, and I was a little embarrassed with what happened with Neo. He had retreated to the back of my mind to lick his wounds.

After everyone left, my dad stayed behind. "How are you really doing, Mijo?"

"I feel like shit." I placed my head in my hands as I tried not to cry. My parents had always taught me the importance of the mate bond, and they had the best relationship, they were perfect for each other.

I always thought my mate would be the same, perfect for me…but I was wrong. "I just always thought I'd have what you and Mom have. That I'd replace my mate, and we'd be happy together."

My dad sat down beside me and patted my back. "What your mother and I have is great, but we've had to work hard for it. Things haven't always been easy, sometimes you have to learn to be mates, but we've learned to make it work. It took us years to get to where we are."

"So, you think I still have a chance with this girl?"

"She didn't officially reject you, so I think anything's possible."

I nodded, not sure what else to say, but before I could think further I blurted out, "It's Alpha Kedrick's sister."

My dad let out a low whistle, "I wasn't expecting that. I thought you might at least know her name, but it makes sense why you didn't say anything."

"I didn't want her brothers to think badly of her."

"That's very kind of you. You're already loving your mate without even trying. Whenever she decides to come around, you'll be a good mate to her."

"You really think she'll change her mind?"

"I do, if she gets to know you, then she'll have no choice but to fall for you. You are my son after all, and us Ramirez men are naturally charming."

"Thanks, Dad...you really couldn't help throwing in that last bit though?" He chuckled as he patted my back and brought me in for a hug.

"You'll get past this, and you'll be stronger for it in the end. I love you, Mijo...and don't ever forget that I'm proud of you."

"I love you, too, Dad."

If only I had known that was the last time I would see my dad, I would have kept him with me longer. I'm glad our last time talking in person was good, though, and that I at least got to tell him I loved him.