3 Quintessential Romance

"Thanks for trying, Dad," I say as I load my plate up with eggs and bacon, now that my mother has left. I push the hardly eaten pancake to the side of my plate, before Ellie notices what I'm doing. I gesture with my fork at the syrupy mess, and she nods, grinning widely at me. I push the carbs onto her plate and she immediately digs in happily eating what I don't want.

David watches this silent exchange between siblings with a slight frown on his face. "Sorry," he mumbles. "I didn't realize you preferred the eggs and stuff." He looks downcast as if he did something wrong.

I kiss his cheek lightly before whispering, "It's ok, love." He immediately brightens and, probably, promptly forgets about it. He really is the best boyfriend I could ever ask for. He is so sweet, but sometimes… he can be a little dense. It's like after all these years he still can't wrap his head around the fact that I'm not a girl. Not that all girls like sugary, sweet things! That's just what he thinks girls like and, by extension, what I like. But if I ate all those carbs, with my omega genes, it would all go straight to my hips. Which—upon further consideration—is probably exactly what he wants.

I sigh as depressing thoughts start to whirl around me. Sometimes I wonder if I am a disappointment to David. Our parents have been best friends since childhood, and we have been basically betrothed since before we were even born. Not gonna lie, I think my mother was secretly disappointed when her firstborn didn't turn out to be a girl. But David hadn't even been born yet at that point, so I don't think she was too torn up. There was still time for her to make the perfect mate for her best friend's son. She was determined that her child would be the next Luna.

When Mom had another son, she begged the Moon Goddess to make me an omega. As the years went by and it became more and more apparent that her wish had been granted, the whole pack took it as a sign that David and I were "destined for each other". Stupid really, because Goddess only knows who my mate will actually be come a week from now. Like literally, only the Moon Goddess knows. But I suppose if I could choose my own mate, David wouldn't be a bad choice. He is very caring and attentive, despite my eccentricities, which are many, the most recent of which is my attempt at bulking up over the summer.

I haven't talked to anyone besides Ellie about my goal of trimming my omega fat layer and building lean muscle, but I think David suspects me. He doesn't outright tell me to stop, but I don't think he is supportive either. After he caught me in the pack gym after hours for the third time, he begged me to just work out with him. He told me it wasn't safe to workout alone, saying I needed a spotter. Honestly, he just holds me back when we lift together; always hovering, giving me assists when I don't need it, and telling me to take breaks during the middle of sets. In order to actually get a good workout, I just go after hours without telling him, in addition to our time in the morning. I don't know if I'll be able to keep up with two hours at the gym everyday now that school is starting back up.

Not that I'll be able to keep this budding six-pack when I'm pregnant, I think bitterly. But surely, David won't want to start having kids until after I've graduated. Right? David is a senior this year and almost two years older than me. He will be eighteen in October, while I'm a very young junior, technically starting my third year of high school at only fifteen. Sure, I turn sixteen in a week, but I'm still always the youngest in my grade. Definitely too young to be thinking about having children of my own. Even after graduation, I'll still only be seventeen. Dad says I was a bright child and that's why he and Mom felt comfortable with me starting kindergarten so young. If I had been born just three days later, on September 1st, rather than August 29th, I wouldn't have qualified to start school until the following year. But I think it was all part of my mother's plan to keep David and I as close together as possible, despite our age gap. I bet she prayed to the Moon Goddess to make me a premature baby too, just so she could live vicariously through my "quintessential high school romance".

I sound bitter, but I'm really not. It's fine. It's all fine. In a week, if David is my mate, then it will be meant to be. I mean, soulmates are supposed to be made for each other, right? We are literally two halves of a single whole. Sure, David is a little dense and not the sharpest tool in the shed and I hate that he goes by Davy, because that is literally the worst name ever (I mean, he is either named after Davy Crockett or Davy Jones and both are… ew. One wears a skunk for a hat and the other has tentacles for a face! Shudder.) But he is really nice and objectively sexy (at least according to Ellie) and the future Alpha of the pack. Plus, maybe if I'm Luna, I could make a difference. Maybe that's why we are meant to be, so I can bring some fresh ideas and new perspectives to those crusty old elders! Why would David need brains when he has me?