Some Mate You Are...

When I awoke the next morning, Enzo was already gone. I felt an ache in my chest at the realization, but I had to admit that I was not surprised. I did not expect him to stay with me, much less make me breakfast in the morning. I knew that we were not a normal couple. We probably never would be.

I ran my hands over my face, feeling slightly humiliated at the impulsive decision that I had made the night before. Yes, the sex was, indeed, amazing but was it really worth giving into him? I had let my most primal urges control my body. I enjoyed every second of it, at the time. But now I was filled with regret as my stomach twisted into knots.

I had no idea what to expect now. Would he go back to his aloof self, avoiding our mate bond? Or would he give in, now that we had strengthened our connection through our intimacy? I sighed knowing that there probably was not going to be anything good coming from what we did. Someone was bound to get hurt and that someone was, most likely, me.

“Aargh!” I yelled in frustration as I pounded my fists against the mattress on either side of me.

Sometimes I was such an idiot.

After I forced myself out of bed and readied myself for my morning run, I went downstairs to grab a little breakfast in the kitchen. As usual, my father sat at the table looking over documents involving the pack’s investments. My mother was busying herself with, what appeared to be, a new baking project. She was, no doubt, the most talented and creative baker in the entire pack.

“Morning, mom! Morning, dad!” I greeted, cheerfully.

My father did not look up from his work, which I was used to by now, but he also did not greet me. Instead, he merely grumbled, seeming irritated. My mother paused what she was doing but did not make a sound. She simply stared forward as if fixated on some invisible spot on the wall.

“What is going on? Is everything all right?” I grew worried.

They usually only behaved this strangely when they had bad news. Or if I had done something very, very wrong.

My mother turned to face me and sighed.

“I just hope that you know what you are doing, Marvel.”

She did not linger on her statement. She turned back towards her work and continued her focus on that instead. She shook her head a few times, but that was the extent of our interaction.

Given the tension in the kitchen, I decided to forgo breakfast. I ventured out in the back garden without another word. My parents never behaved this way with me. They seemed so disappointed and I really did not care for it. I did my best to try and distract myself as I started stretching, in preparation for my run, while I waited for my friends to join me. My thoughts consumed by the disappointed look in my mother's eyes.

When Aida came out of the house, Kiara was already with her. I was surprised as I did not expect Kiara to be in the pack house so early. I had thought she was at her home. The pair were whispering amongst themselves and giggling incessantly. I was curious to what they were gossiping about, we never left each other out of a juicy pack rumor.

“Hey girls, what’s going on?”

As soon as they both looked up and made eye contact with me. They busted up laughing, doubling over for dramatic effect, clutching at their sides.

“What are you guys laughing about?” I questioned.

“Do I have something on my face that I am not aware of?” I wondered.

“Did you have a good night last night?” Kiara asked, giving me a strange grin.

“I guess.” I shrugged. “Didn’t do too much after our run.”

I was not certain that I wanted to talk about what happened between Enzo and I quite yet. I still had no idea what any of it meant, if indeed it meant anything at all. When I was ready to talk to anyone about it then it would be my girls, but I still felt unsure. Maybe I would share the news after the run, but I required more time to think.

“Oh yeah?” Kiara continued, skeptically. “Didn’t do too much, huh? From what I heard, you DID quite a lot.”

Both Aida and Kiara began to snicker. Unable to suppress their giddiness. I rolled my eyes; they obviously already knew something. These two were about as subtle as an out of control semi-truck on a mountain pass.

“Who told you?”

I was assuming that Enzo had told Tyrus and Tyrus had informed Aida. I huffed, mildly annoyed that he was already telling his friends about his latest “conquest.” Like I was just any other she-wolf in the pack.

“No one had to tell us.” Aida chuckled. “The WHOLE pack house could hear you guys!”

I gasped in horror as the realization dawned on me. I knew that we were not exactly quiet last night, but the house was built for such things, given that wolves were not often restrained creatures when mating. I guess we had been even too loud for the measures that we had in place. This must have been why my parents were behaving so strangely!

It was not as though they believed I was a virgin. They knew that I was not saving myself for anything. But I do not believe that I have ever allowed them to hear me before. I typically tried to be fairly conscious of that when I was having sex in the pack house. Last night, I had been so swept up in everything that I was feeling when I was with Enzo, that I had not thought much about it at all. Damn mate bond had me feeling all kinds of crazy things, I could barely focus on anything but the pleasure.

"That must have been what my mother meant this morning." It dawned on me.

Embarrassment washed over me as I felt my cheeks begin to burn red. They had heard me calling out Enzo’s name, so everyone knew exactly who I was having sex with. My jaw fell open in shock; my mother probably thought so lowly of me, thinking I had just become another one of “Enzo’s girls.” I wished that I had realized what she had been referring to sooner, I probably would have just admitted that we were mates. It would be better than having her think that I was another fuck-buddy for Enzo.

“Did he mark you?” Aida asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

“What?”

“Did he mark you?” She pressed again.

“No.” I answered, shaking my head.

“Seriously?! Tyrus could not control himself. He marked me right away. I wonder why Enzo keeps holding himself back.” Aida clamored away without thinking.

“None of this is really making me feel better, Aida.”

“Sorry.” She apologized, sincerely, cringing as she realized what she had been saying.

The insinuation in her words, whether she meant it that way or not.

“I am sure that there is a perfectly good reason why he did not mark you.” Kiara reasoned. “He is probably waiting for the right moment.”

“You really think that Enzo is that romantic?” I stated, sarcasm coating every syllable. “I can tell you exactly why he did not mark me. It is because last night did not change anything. We both just got swept up in the moment and we made a mistake. I will bet you anything that he still has every intention to reject me. Might even get it over with today.”

“I’ll bet that he doesn’t.” Aida challenged.

“You’re on.”

“Twenty bucks?”

“Shake on it.”

So, we did. I was confident that I would soon be twenty dollars richer. Though, there was a large part of me that felt a little piece of my soul die at the thought that I was certain to win. I was attempting to act smug and brush it off, so that they would not realize how difficult this all really was for me. I did not want to feel weak; I did not want them to feel sorry for me. The tears began to sting at my eyes, and they threatened to spill over the brim. I did not want them to see it, so I quickly turned and shifted into my wolf, taking off into the tree line.