The Contrary Mate

Jack

It was a simple request for information about her options, and it sent my wolf into full-on alarm. He wanted to drag her off and mark her this minute. I gripped the table and forced myself to breath in and out slowly, grateful again that my home was filled with furniture that was intended to survive a bit of a beating from a werewolf. Once I was sure that I had full control of myself, I spoke to her. "I don't want to pressure you, Aura."

"Is it bad?"

"I'll survive it, but it'll be hard, if I'm being completely honest." I loosened my grip from the table before I broke it.

"I'm that important to you?"

I raked my hand through my hair and tried to think of how to explain it to a non-werewolf. "My wolf is a part of me, but that part runs largely on instinct. He wants to survive, so he desires to provide, either by hunting or working for the pack. He wants to protect himself, his family, his pack. And he wants to reproduce, so now that he's found you, you're the center of his fixation. He'd do anything to have you."

She swallowed, nervously, and I hoped I hadn't scared her.

I hurried to continue. "But I'm also human, at least as rational as they are. My wolf is dragging me to you, but I have control over how I respond to that. I've lived in an urban pack my whole life, so I'm used to managing and keeping those wild instincts under wraps. I've spent so much of my life surrounded by humans."

She nodded, even that movement graceful and waited for me to say more.

"And the way I see you, my human side, not my instincts, is as a desirable woman who I would want to be with even without the influence of my wolf. I don't know you well, yet, of course, but I can already see that you're thoughtful and kind, and I'm intrigued to learn more. My wolf only makes the feeling more potent." Far more potent. I couldn't have imagined these waves of emotion before I had experienced them myself, this desperate desire to have her in any way that she would let me.

"I see. Well, I can't promise you anything. I understand this is big for you, but I can only go along with this if it seems like it's good for me, as well, if that makes sense."

"It does." My stomach was full of knots. She had to choose me. I'd have to convince her, and I had to believe I could do that. Now that I found her I didn't want to have to go looking for someone else. I didn't want anyone else. I would never want anyone else.

"So, what do you think causes you wolves to be paired with people?" she asked me.

"I don't know, of course. Lots of people think it's the moon goddess or fate. Other people think it's purely for biological survival, the wolves pick the mates who're the best genetic match."

She looked curious. "Which do you think it is?"

"Well, I have trouble imagining there's some higher power that directly interferes in the love lives of individual werewolves. And why just werewolves? Why not the fae, humans, vampires? I think the survival theory makes more sense. But then why do they often—but not always—seem compatible? I have a different theory."

"Oh?" She seemed interested, and my wolf was loving her attention.

"I think we live in a simulation. Fate is just a complex algorithm making optimum pairings for every wolf, based on complimentary personalities, location, genetic compatibility, and other factors. Also explains why it doesn't always work out, either. Glitches are a feature of any code."

She smiled. "Maybe don't say any of that to my family...or any fae when you meet them. They'd probably burn you for your heresy."

I couldn't even really care about the warning when it sounded like she was considering bringing me around to see her family. That was a really good sign. "I'll remember that."

"Some of the fae are...pretty extreme nowadays. And you're not exactly popular."

"Why would I be?" I asked. It wasn't like I had any real contact with them, other than maybe in passing at a supernatural gathering place or consuming their products.

"You really don't know?"

"What's there to know?"

"Well, some of us really don't believe that our sacred magic should be mixed with mundane human inventions, and you've been doing that, so...they see your actions as heresy."

Well, I hadn't expected my mate's people to see me as a heretic, so maybe this was going to be harder than I had anticipated. A challenge, but I wasn't worried about them if only I could win her over. "Okay. Although, if magic only belonged to the fae, then why can other species access it? Even humans can learn witchcraft."

"You may be able to access it, but we're born with it. No one knows why mundane humans might be able to learn witchcraft, and most of the ideas fae have aren't pretty."

"Why do they think?"

"Well, did you know that fae used to be occasionally hunted before the treaties? Different species tried to boost their own magic by hunting fae and...consuming them or trying to draw out their magic by other various methods. Some fae believe they stole our magic that way."

"What?" My wolf was furious, imaginings of someone trying to hurt Aura to steal her magic by harming her made him all worked up again. It pissed me off.

"It doesn't really happen anymore."

"No?"

"Everyone believes that's a myth now—except some of the fae. Although vampires apparently still really like the taste of our blood."

I growled. "Have any vampires bothered you?"

"No, that's just what I heard. My mom had a run in with one years ago. The ones at your gates were very civil though, that's all in the past. My village is very safe, and any fae blood drinking has to be consensual according to their own laws now."

"That doesn't make me feel better. Not all vampires are law abiding. Can I give your village a free security upgrade?" I asked, thinking about some drone prototypes that synced with our camera networks I'd seen in R and D the previous week.

She just looked at me incredulously. "Did you hear anything I said? They hate you and even more your tech. The village is well warded, you have nothing to worry about."

"Well, if you don't feel safe, you're always welcome to come here."

She scrunched her face just a bit. "Thanks."

"You don't like it here?"

Her look was all apologetic. "It's not that I don't like it. It's very nice."

Well, that was a lukewarm assessment. "Then what is it? I want you to be comfortable."

My words earned me a genuine smile. "Well, it's just so...empty. Like it's dead, but there was never life there to begin with so even emptier than dead."

I was surprised she said that, considering the house was swarming with very alive werewolves at the moment. My entire pack—hundreds of wolves—were all under my roof. "What do you mean?"

"We're just so far removed from life. Like those," she gestured to one of the planters. "They look perfect, but there's nothing there. Just some human synthetics and eerie nothingness."

I glanced at the plant she indicated. It looked like some sort of green and orange tropical vegetation. I'd barely even noticed it before. "I think I understand."

She nodded. "It's nothing against you. You seem to have very nice taste."

I chuckled at that. "I just paid a designer, I had almost nothing to do with it. I didn't even pick the designer, my secretary suggested him and I just agreed to some options." I wanted to tell her that once we were together, she could change anything she wanted, but was that what she would want?

"You paid people to decorate your home? Whatever for?" She blinked at me, mystified.

"Well, it's all about presentation for when I have guests. My pack doesn't really care about these things, but I do have various humans and others over to entertain when necessary. Mostly trying to look good. Curry favour with possible clients." I leaned back in my chair a bit, and unbuttoned my shirt sleeves so that I could roll them up my arms. "I used to do a lot more hands on work when the company was just starting out. We started back when Vander and I were in school, and then really got serious after we graduated. That was back when my sister Darlene—Vander's first mate—was still alive. I wish she were here to see what we had built, she would have been proud of our accomplishments. She was our biggest supporter. It goes without saying that she supported her mate, of course, but she was mine, too. I wished she could have met you."

"Sounds like you really miss her. She sounds really nice."

I laughed. "She was sometimes nice. The rest of the time she was bossy and demanding and an absolute pain in the ass. You know, younger sisters."

"Hey, I am a younger sister," she protested playfully. I liked her teasing.

"Not mine, though. So what about your family?"

"Well, they're okay, although things may be a bit...difficult with a few of them."

Her tone belied her smile.