Alpha's Arbitrium

Chapter 17 ~ My Alpha Mate

We arrived at the pack house just in time, thanks to the amazing traffic we had on our way. We all walked inside, laughing and whispering to each other about what we were going to do after the ceremony.
"I can't believe Julian is going to become Alpha!" Celia shouted excitedly.
"Isn't he already the Alpha?" I asked.
"He is, but he gets help from his dad because you need to be 16 to be Alpha," Elina explains.
"Oh, well that makes sense," I add.
"This way," Celia beckons for us to follow. We walk right into a room with a beautifully decorated stage, and we're a lot of people were waiting for Julian's speech. I never knew we had all these people in our pack! But then again, I didn't know there was a such thing as a pack. Fair enough.
"There he is!" Elina squealed, pointing to Julian speaking with an older man.
"Don't you hang out with him everyday? Why are you so excited to see him?" I roll my eyes. She's being dramatic, over nothing.
"When a guy turns 16, he finds his mate, you idiot!" Elina says, slapping my head.
"Oh. And ow!" I complain. Suddenly, the lights go out, and a spotlight is the only thing visible in the dark room. Julian walks out with a microphone under the spotlight.
"Who's the older man?" I whisper to Elina.
"He's his dad, Alpha Blake," she explains, pointing to the man Julian was talking to earlier. I nod quietly.
"Thank you all for being here today," Julian begins. "As you all know, I am turning 16, the rightful age to accept my position as Alpha. Also, I will find my mate. During the party, I will be roaming around to find my Luna, and we will both be announced our titles. Have a wonderful time." The crowd cheers before going off to do their own thing, leaving Elina, Celia, and I struck dead in the lonely room. Other than Julian and his parents, that is.
"Aria, wait here. Elina and I are going to grab some drinks from over there. Want anything?" Celia offers.
"Coffee would be nice," I smile. They both laugh.
"Coffee? Who said anything about coffee?" Celia smirks. Soon enough, the sharp, stingy smell of vodka fills the air, and i immediately know what they mean.
"No thanks, I don't drink," I manage to choke out. They both nod and walk away, and I walk to a nearby bench. I was about to pull out my phone, when a beautiful smell filled the air, covering the hideous stench of vodka. It smelled like coconut and peaches, along with a touch of vanilla. My wolf immediately recognized the scent.
Mate! Nyx shouted. Out of instinct, I suddenly became alert and scanned the room for my possible options, my heart beating a mile a minute. However, the only person whom I saw was the future Alpha, whose eyes also seemed to be scanning the room. Julian. He caught my eyes and swiftly walked over to me, and I began to shake. Oh god, please no. How could this even happen? I already have a mate! And it's not Julian! What about SEBASTIAN? What was he then? What is Julian? Ugh I'm so lost and scared, not to mention utterly confused. How can someone have two mates? Should I tell Julian I already have a mate? Should I reject him? He finally becomes close enough that I can see the lust and happiness in his eyes, and he can probably see my visible shaking.
"I always hoped you would be my mate," he whispered, his breath only a few millimeters from my cheek.
"J-Julian, we can't," I whisper back, my eyes squeezed shut. "You can't be my mate." His eyes widen, taking the form of sadness, confusion, then anger.
"And why not?" He growled. I gulped.
"I.. I already h-have a m-mate," I whisper. At this point, his eyes were watering, and I could tell he was extremely hurt.
"Who's your mate then? Can't you smell my scent?! We're meant for each other! You're mine!" His tone turns into anger, and I start shaking. I open my mouth to reply, before a familiar husky voice streaks my ears.
"Me," the voice answered. Sebastian. He walks over and pushed Julian off of me.
"She is mine. You're not allowed to touch her," Sebastian growled. Julian looked shocked, and I was scared stiff. Sebastian began trailing kisses down my neck, making Julian shake in anger, his fists clenched, with pure rage radiating off him.
"Fine then, there is only one way to handle this. We will let Aria choose," Julian finally managed to say. Sebastian stops, and stands in an upright position.
"Deal," he confirms. "Aria, who do you want as your mate?" My eyes go from Sebastian to Julian, who seems to have lost his confidence.
"I.. I.. I don't know anymore!" I shout, running from the bench and away from the guys, leaving them in completely frozen states, their eyes wide in shock. Sobbing uncontrollably, I run past Elina and Celia.
"Aria? Aria, stop and tell us what happened!" Elina shouts after me. I ignore her and run outside the pack house and into the woods, making my way to the tree stump I sat on when I was waiting for Sebastian. Why me? Why do I have two mates?
It must be the moon goddess's powers. There is no other explanation, Nyx explains.
Oh so now you talk?! Where were you when I had to choose? I snap back.
Aria you have to listen to me. You have to choose carefully, both of them will try to win you. They are both Alphas. You have to choose who you want to be Luna for, she pleads. I sigh, and let a tear slide past my eyes. Everything in my life is messed up. My dad's abuse, my mom leaving, the moon goddess, and now my mate having to be chosen by me. Can't anything ever go right? I suddenly hear footsteps, and a few whispers here and there.
"Aria? Are you okay?" I heard a feminine voice say. Celia and Elina's body figures came into view, worried looks on their faces.
"Are you okay?" Celia repeated.
"Yeah, I'm fine," I mumbled.
"I don't think you're fine if you stormed out of the best party ever crying," Elina teased. I forced a small smile for my friends.
"What happened?" Elina asked. I took a deep breath.
"I found my mate," I began.
"Congratulations!" They both said in unison.
"Who is it?" Celia asked.
"That's the whole problem. I have two mates. Julian is one of them, and the other is a guy named Sebastian Dusk, an Alpha-to-be from the WestWater Pack," I explained. "I don't know who to choose." I sighed and let a tear escape from my watering eyes, and cascade on my cheek.
"Look Aria, I know how you feel. It's confusing. But I don't know how to help you because I don't know anyone who has more than one mate," Celia explained, as Elina nodded.
"I think it's because of my white wolf ability," I mumble.
"It probably is. That's why you have to be careful and balance your choices. Don't choose anything without thinking about it both ways," Elina instructed.
"Thanks guy, I'll think about it carefully," I said, reaching out to hug them. I have the two greatest friends in the whole universe.

Julian's POV
So this is what she was hiding. She has two mates, and the only thing I have been capable of was making her feel horrible. I don't care who she chooses anymore; I just want her to be happy. I walk into the woods and cringe when I hear the sounds of leaves crunching under my feet. I have to find her and explain to her that this is her choice to make, no matter how long I've been waiting for.

Sebastian's POV
Two mates?! No one has ever had two mates!! There is only one explanation for all of this; Aria has to be the legendary white wolf. She can speak to the moon goddess. This can be good in my benefit. I know she'll choose me. She'll become my Luna, not Julian's. I know that for sure.

Aria's POV
I finally know who I'm going to choose. Sebastian may be nice and attractive, but he doesn't have a good pack. He's only a form of betrayal, and his father is living proof of that. Julian, I've known longer, and he won't betray me for the world. Plus, this is my pack. I don't want to leave it. I smile at my friends' advice, and walk back to the pack house. Sebastian is waiting for me near the bench I was sitting on, giving me a light smirk. Oh, that smirk is going to be wiped right off his face right now. I walk over and prepare myself with a small pep talk. I have to reject him. He grins and rubs the palm of his hand on mine, making me shiver. He grins slightly at the effect he has on me.
Stop Aria.
Focus.
"Sebastian, I have to tell you something," I whisper.
"You can tell me anything, beautiful," he whispers back, kissing me on the cheek. Oh god.
"I, Aria Lynn, reject you, Sebastian Dusk, as my mate," I state swiftly. It all happened so fast. I rejected him, his frozen wide eyes, and me walking off to find Julian. Sebastian grabs my arm before I can go.
"I.. I respect your decision, Aria. I hope you have a wonderful life with your mate," he says with a small smile. He walks away, leaving me confused and disappointed. Sorry, Sebastian. I walk off again to find Julian. It was easier than I expected it to be, all because I bumped into him no more than two steps away from the bench.
"Aria, you can reject me, and-" I cut him of right there.
"Julian, I'm not rejecting you. I rejected Sebastian, and I accept you as my mate," I say happily. He doesn't talk for a minute, then pulls me immediately into a hug.
"I knew you would come back," he whispers.
"Back?! I was here all along you idiot!" I shout, slapping him on the arm. He chuckles and walks to the stage, pulling me close to him.
"Dad, mom, meet my mate, Aria Lynn," he introduced.
"Oh my gosh! You're adorable!! You're going to make a great Luna!" Julian's mom gushes over me.
"Thank you, Luna," I said.
"No, please call me Christine. You're the Luna now, honey," she demands. I nod, while Julian's father reaches over to shake my hand.
"Blake, nice to meet you," he introduced. I nod again, as Julian pulls me over to the front of the stage.
"Everyone, please gather around," he booms in his Alpha voice. A huge crowd forms around the stage, and Julian smiles.
"I have found my mate, and your future Luna. Please give a warm welcome to Aria Lynn," he announces. The crowd claps, and I smile, making a few of the guys clap louder and smirk at me. Julian notices and puts an arm around my waist protectively.
"Any male who touches her, talks to her, or merely looks at her the wrong way will be punished immediately," he growls. I smack him on the arm, and the crowd erupts into a loud cheer. Elina and Celia cheer louder, and the crowd calls my name in unison. Julian looks at me and smiles, kissing me on the cheek.
This is my mate.
We are meant to be.
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Hi everyone!
OMG 2 MATES?!! What do you guys think of that? I told you, if you don't like Sebastian as her mate you'll be happy later. ;)
Just let your imaginations wander, no questions. Comments are still welcome of course.
I want to give a HUGE shoutout to my readers. This book has reached more than 300 reads!! Thanks a million guys!
Also, for the title of the book, I have settled on 2 thanks to the messages I got:

1) Let's play a game, shall we Alpha?
And
2) Dear Alpha, Decision Made

Votes will be counted, and the title will be announced next chapter! Thanks to
@alpha_bruder02 for the second title and @luna_mate792 for the first title!  Covers are still being accepted.

Vote and comment please! And tell me what you think! Thanks again for all my readers who have made this book such a great success! Love you all!!

Happy reading!
~Twilight ✨