Ryder The Mate-less Novel – She sat nervously in the waiting area to see the Matchmaker; it was a tradition here within the pack to come and see the Matchmaker, one month before you turned 18; to see how long you had to wait on scenting out one’s Mate. She wasn’t the only wolf here, there were four others waiting as nervously as she was for their names to be called. Her father Dereck was not here to see it.
He had passed away a year ago now; she’d lost him in a rogue attack, though she still got to live in the house he had raised her in. Alpha Franco had asked her what it was she wanted to do. She had been only a month from turning 17 when her father had died and Alpha Franco had thought she was old enough to live on her own, in that house, if she wanted to stay there.
He had given her the option of moving to a single dorm, or finding a friend’s family to move in with, seeing as she didn’t have any other family here. Her grandparents had passed a decade ago, and she’d never had a mother. She’d died in childbirth. All Ryder knew was that her mother had been her father’s girlfriend in high school, they’d gotten pregnant at 17, and that Ryder had been born before her mother was 18.
It had been a difficult birth, and she’d died due to complications. That was all he would ever say on the subject. Ryder had opted to stay within her father’s home. It was small and neat, just a two-bedroom cottage, and it was safely located in the middle of the pack. She’d had friends stay over all the time in the past year, so she wasn’t too lonely. Alpha Franco had said she was going to be allowed to keep the house once she was 18, instead of it going to someone else, and she didn’t have to move into the singles dorms. The only thing Alpha Franco had asked of her in order for her to stay in her family home, was that she had to show him she could keep her grades up.
If he thought she was struggling, he would put her with another family, see it as she wasn’t coping with being on her own in that house. Ryder had not disappointed him; not only had she thrown herself into her school work, as a distraction from her grief, she’d also gotten excellent grades. Alpha Franco kept a check of all her grades throughout the year, himself. He had smiled at her and said he was happy she was doing well.
She’d also thrown herself into her warrior training for both her and her wolf Thorn. They’d needed the distraction from their loneliness, and training helped with that too. Alpha Franco had praised her and encouraged her to attend more training, and told her she had the potential to be ranked right up there as an Elite Warrior; that he wanted to see that happen. That she was going to make her father very proud of her. He’d kind of turned into her personal cheer squad over that year, she’d thought. She liked her Alpha; he was a good kind man.