Chapter 5 Clary

Clary stared intently at the liquid she was brewing. She stirred it once more before boiling it with a click of her fingers, smiling when it turned a pale, almost translucent golden color. Perfect, she thought as she decanted it into a crystal bottle and wrapped a ribbon around the neck, the words 'Clary's emporium' printed on the ribbon. Nobody could say their money was wasted when it came to the presentation of her products, she thought with a smile. She glanced up when her wards went off, a few seconds before a magic circle opened into the room.

"Just wait!" Adira, her twin sister, said over her shoulder as she stepped into the room, closing the blinds with a wave of her hand before her mate, Jordon, stepped through the portal. "Three more orders," she said as she handed her a piece of paper and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

"So, has the Royal Alpha arrived yet?" Jordon asked by way of greeting, glancing into the corners of the room as if he expected the man to run at him with a stake. Which wasn't really such a strange reaction considering vampire hunting was considered something of a sport at the station; they had come up with some very creative ways of capturing and killing vampires. "I've heard he's a harasser, a proper tyrant. I spoke to a few friends when I found out his name, and they all said the same thing: apparently, Damon is extremely powerful, a true ALPHA. Not somebody you want to make an enemy of. Good job! You are an extremely powerful omega wolf. You can put him on his ass if he tries anything," he said with a laugh.

"Well, he's due in half an hour, which probably means he will be here in about an hour. We will see when he turns up," Clary said with a scowl. A royal wolf! "Why did they have to make me their leader? I was happy enough taking care of the Omegas; now I'm responsible for everyone, and I have to meet with the new head of the station," she muttered angrily, not for the first time. She certainly hadn't asked for the job.

"We made you our leader because you are one of the most powerful magical omega wolves in Nigaland. The night children wanted someone that could actually fight for them," Jordon said, grinning at the grimace on his sister-in-law' face. "One of the most powerful after my beautiful wife, of course," he added quickly when Adira glared at him. "You are equally powerful?" he asked when Clary glared at him. They were far too competitive!

"Stop whining, Clary; you are 27 years old, not 5," Adria said as she took the bottle from her hand and placed it into the waiting silk-lined box, pressing the lid into place and hand-tying a ribbon around the box. She sent it, with a wave of her hand, to the vampire who had ordered it. "What a vampire wants a love potion for is beyond me; why not just wait for your mate to come along?" she muttered as she turned to her sister. She saw her wince at her thoughtless words.

"Some of us don't have that luxury," Clary said, avoiding both their gazes, not wanting to see the pity she knew she would see on her sister or brother-in-law's faces. "Some of us weren't born with a mate. It's fine," she said with a wave of her hand when she heard her sister start to speak. "I just need to grab something," she said, rising to her feet and making her way down the small hallway that joined the storefront and workroom of her store.

Clary's face fell as she closed the curtain behind her upon reaching the store. As hard as she tried to bury the feelings, they always reared up. Every time somebody mentioned mates in a casual way like that, it hit her like somebody was trying to rip her stomach from her body. She had no mate. She had traveled the world, meeting Alpha after Alpha; none of them were her Alpha. When her sister met Jordan a year ago, she had gotten her hopes up. She had desperately searched, meeting vampires and werewolves alike, even going as far as visiting the Faries. There was nobody for her.

She had wondered time and time again if there was something wrong with her-was she defunct in some way? She tried to be a decent person, kind, and loyal. She worked hard and looked out for so many people, always making everyone else happy. Where was her own happiness? Where was her Alpha? Oh yeah, she didn't have one. She would live her whole life watching those she cared about be happy and in love. She would watch her niece and nephew find their mates and raise their own families. And she would be stuck like this, on the sidelines, watching what she could never have. All she had ever dreamed of was a family of her own.

She realized then that she hadn't taken her potion. She stalked around the counter, wiping the angry tears she hadn't realized she was crying from her face, and reached under the counter. She grabbed a bottle and drained it in one gulp, cringing at the taste. She stared down at the bottle, her only salvation from being an unmated omega, the potion that stopped her heat. It was her best invention and her best seller. Her next heat was due in the next two weeks, and she was already pushing her luck by taking it this late.

If she didn't have an Alpha, she sure as hell wasn't going through that misery every three months; desperately trying to find some way of getting through those torturous three days alone was more than she could take. And she refused to partner up with unmated Alphas. Sure, she'd had fun and distractions over the last two years, but shacking up with some random guy for three days every few months was more of a headache than she needed. It was too hard to sustain any type of relationship or even an arrangement with somebody who wasn't your Alpha, so she had tried to resign herself to the fact that she would always be alone. It wasn't working!

Clary sighed when she heard footsteps coming down the hallway. Shaking herself off and pushing her morbid thoughts down as best she could, she turned and pushed her way through the curtain, meeting her sister halfway down the hall.

"Clary, I'm sorry. I should have thought about what I was saying," Adira said, taking Clary's hand in her own and clutching it tightly. She looked into her blue eyes, just a bit lighter than her own brown eyes, noting the red rims and damp eyelashes. She cringed internally when she thought of the news she had to share with her, deciding to just come out and say it as she led her back into her workshop. She took a deep breath, forcing herself not to cry. "There was another reason for our visit; other than bringing the order forms, Olivia has found her Alpha," she said quickly, trying to soften the blow.

Adira stared at her sister as her eyes sort of glazed over. She watched as a shudder ran through her entire body, her shoulders sagging slightly as if a huge weight were being lifted from her. She heard her breath huff out in a deep sigh. "Clary, did you hear what I said?" she asked with a frown. This was not the reaction she was expecting when she heard the news of their cousin finding her mate.

Clary didn't hear a word her sister had said. She was too busy grinning at herself like an idiot. For some reason, she felt as if all her worries were floating away, one by one. She felt light, almost relaxed. She had this feeling in her stomach, not as if it were being ripped out, more like it was being rung out. This fluttering, giddy, hopeful feeling. As if happiness were there in front of her, just out of reach. All she had to do was reach out and grab it. The thought made her laugh.

"Clary, are you okay?" Jordon asked, rising from the stool he was sitting on when he heard his sister-in-law laugh. Clary didn't laugh; she barely even smiled, so sad all the time. She put her mask on when it came to anyone who wasn't family. But Jordon had known her for years, and that noise rumbling through him was as alien as the thought of an Omega not having a mate. He stared at Clary, grinning away at herself.

"Clary," Adira said, shaking her sister. "Clary, are you listening to me? What is wrong with you?" She asked with genuine concern. Her eyes darted to her mate; he looked just as worried as she did.

Clary rose to her feet when she felt something push through the wards on the front door, a light brushing against the door handle. She frowned when it stopped; maybe she had imagined it. She sat back down again, a huge grin spreading across her face when that feeling returned-that wonderful, strange, beautiful feeling of peace, mixed with equal parts of anticipation. It was spreading through her entire body, pulling her in a thousand different directions. Something good was coming. She felt the wards go off again; she hadn't imagined it; maybe she had a customer.

"Clary, did you hear what I said? Olivia has found her mate," Adira said, shaking Clary's shoulder to get her attention. She watched as she slumped in her chair, her eyes welling up as she inhaled a massive lungful of air, dragging in breath after breath through her nose as her eyes slammed closed. This was the reaction she had been expecting-kind of, maybe not the sniffing, but the rest of it certainly. She almost shits herself when she bars ALPHA! Look at her. "Yes, she found her Alpha... Claire?" she asked, staring at her.

Clary wasn't listening to her sister; she was listening to the voice in her head, screaming the same two words over and over again as the most amazing, intoxicating scent wrapped around her. The scent climbed into her nose, burrowing down into every cell that made up her body.

She could feel it as if it were a tangible thing she could caress as it filled every hole in her-the hole in her gut-where she had been punched again and again whenever that feeling of loneliness rose up in her. The hole in her brain told her she was unworthy of having somebody to love her. The hole in her heart, the hole that had been chipped away over the last years, slowly but surely with each happy event that she had been a part of but apart from. And the hole in her soul-the hole that should be filled with a sliver of her mates' soul. And as it all crashed through her, she listened to that voice screaming those two words again and again: ALPHA MATE, ALPHA MATE ALPHA MATE ALPHA MATE. She couldn't stop the words from pouring from her mouth as she shuddered, inhaling the scent over and over again. The scent of sandalwood, honeysuckle, and mint. And pure, raw Alpha. Her Alpha. It was a heady combination.

"Adira, she's... She's..." Jordon couldn't get the words out past the lump in his throat as he watched his sister-in-law. His mate was oblivious, not even taking in the scent that was wafting down the hallway from the storefront. She was too preoccupied with her sister's reaction to realize what was happening to her. Jordon pulled her away as Clary leapt from her seat and vaulted towards the hallway.

All Clary could think of was getting to her mate. She obviously had not traveled the world far enough and met enough Alphas. How long had she been missing out? How many years, decades, and centuries had she spent lonely and miserable when she could have been with her Alpha? It was hard to think about that when she felt the happiness and relief sweep through her again and again as every instinct in her body dragged her towards the curtain at the end of the hall, pulling her irrevocably towards her future, her happiness, and her mate!