The Red Wolf's Mate
Chapter 4

I awaken before 6 AM, slightly disappointed that no dreams about Nathan found their way to meduring my slumber. Probably for the best anyway. Stretching and getting out of bed, I didn't botherchanging as I sat down at my desk to continue to work. I had three projects left to finish and I washopeful to get them done this morning. After that, only finals would remain for my last threeclasses.

I closed my laptop after finishing the last of my three projects. I stretched and rubbed my eyes.Looking at my phone, I realize I had been working for nearly six hours.

“Your school work is so boring.” Lela whined.

“I know, but you know how important it is for me to get this done.” I stand and stretch again, feelinga bit sore from the activities from last night. I shake my head, trying to get the thoughts out of myhead.

“Didn’t you invite Nathan to come back over?” Lela asked, sending images of the things that shewanted Nathan to do to me. Never images of sex — she had never sent me any of those, but shesure did send me plenty of other explicit images.

“Lela, that is enough! No more!” I moaned, knowing I am dangerously close to becomingoverwhelmed again. “And you are right, I did invite him to stop by. I have no idea if he will, but Ishould get out of these pajamas.”

I quickly went into the bathroom and got myself ready. Not sure what I was going to wear yet, Idecided to put my hair in a braid that cascaded down the side. Several strands fell loosely aroundmy face. This was one of my favorite ways to style my hair. I decided to do just some mascara and anude lip gloss.

I went to my closet and tried to decide what to wear. Not knowing if Nathan was even going tocome over, I decided to go for cute comfortable, picking out a navy color thigh length skirt and apink V-neck t-shirt. Deciding I really did want a level of comfort, I picked out my navy Converse tofinish off my outfit. Satisfied that I have met my cute but comfortable requirements, I headeddownstairs and got some lunch.

"Hey Lizzie! Did you enjoy the bonfire? I am not sure how much of it you actually saw.” I jabbed atLizzie as I entered into the kitchen.

She looked at me, turning a bright shade of red. “Yeah, I had a good time.” She looked flustered butsmiled as she clearly remembered details from last night. “How about you? Someone told me thatyou walked home with someone. Who was it?” She stated, clearly trying to change the topic.

“I had a good time. Joy filled me in on a bunch of things about the pack. Beta Jack told me thatAlpha Callan had been “more than patient’ and I am supposed to me with him tomorrow.” I wassarcastic as I make air quotes.

“Yeah, yeah, but who did you walk home with?" Lizzie clearly wasn't going to let that slide.“Nathan.” I said as I looked at her for a reaction.

Lizzie seemed surprised. “He is hot. I remember him from when he was younger, but I don’t knowmuch about him now. Did, um, anything happen?”

I sigh and shook my head. Lizzie was aware that I felt emotions more intensely than others. Lizzieand I shared almost everything, and I had told her about my experiences with my few otherboyfriends because, even if I didn’t want to, Lizzie would have nagged it out of me.

"He wanted to hug. I wanted more and I kissed him. Totally took him by surprise.” I smiled at Lizzieas I recanted what happened. I pulled some leftovers out of the fridge and threw them in themicrowave. Anne's food was too good to not eat a second day.

"Hmmm" was Lizzie's response.

"What is that hmm for?” I asked as I pulled my food out of the microwave, grabbing a fork, andsitting down next to her to eat.

I took a few bites of my food, waiting for Lizzie to respond.

She chuckled. “I just thought I heard you enjoying yourself.” She eyed me as she ate her lunch.While most people would probably be embarrassed, I was not. While I was slightly embarrassed thatmy voice carried and I did greatly hope that Lizzie was the only one who heard, I was notembarrassed by what I did.

"I did, thank you.” I stated in a matter-of-fact manner. Switching topics, I asked, “What can I expectfrom meeting with Alpha Callan? Beta Jack said he wanted to talk about me joining the pack.”Lizzie shook her head in confirmation. “All new wolves go through a brief ceremony to join the pack.It basically severs your ties with your old pack, which you don’t have anyway, and allows you to fullyjoin this pack. You can then mind-I**k with any of the members. He usually likes to do it prettyquickly after we have a new wolf, so I wouldn't be surprised if he does it when you meet with himtomorrow.”

“Is he nice? I don't have any idea what to expect.” Having successfully avoided the Alpha for the fewmonths, I was nervous about meeting him. Most Alphas were somewhat stern and commandedrespect. They have to. They have a large pack to run and have little time for niceties. They were alsofiercely loyal to the pack and would die defending it. And they were typically gorgeous. Alphas werestronger, faster, and bigger than any other wolf.

“My interactions with him have been fine. He is straightforward but has been known to spend timeduring pack functions interacting with pack members. Some people describe him as friendly, and Iam sure he can be, but he is all business most of the time. And I already told you he is gorgeous.”Smiling, she looked up at me and she raised her eyebrows at me.

"What is wrong with you?” I joked with her, finishing up the leftovers and putting the bowl in thedishwasher.

I turned back to ask Lizzie about her night at the bonfire when there was a knock at the door.

"Alex is supposed to be coming over. Can you get the door? I am so hungry and want to finisheating.” She stuffed more of her sandwich in her mouth, flashing me a smile.

“I'll get the door.” I shook my head and headed to the door. That girl could eat. Her appetite washuge at times. Wolves could eat a lot, but she puts even male wolves to shame with how much shecan eat.

Walking down the hall, I pulled open the door, expecting to see Alex. While Alex was standing there,so was Nathan. My breathing hitched slightly as I remember how friggin’ good looking he was.“Hey Raina. Is Lizzie here?” Alex asked as he walked past me. He didn’t wait for my response andstarted heading to the kitchen. I could hear Lizzie push the chair across the floor as she called hisname, clearly running up to him.

Turning back to the door, I caught Nathan staring at me. Not that I minded, but it surprised me.“Damn, he is gorgeous. Lela spoke quietly in my head, sending me an image of him shirtless.

“Yes he is.” I shook the thoughts that Lela was putting in my mind away and moved towards Nathan.“l am glad that you stopped by." I said as I reached out and touched his arm. I saw him shiverslightly as he smiled back at me.

“I had a good time last night. You said to stop by.” He seemed to trail off a bit, almost like he wasnervous. “You look nice today,” he said.

Giving him a cute smirk, I pushed one of the loose strands of hair out of my face. “Thanks. Let's gofor a walk.” I grabbed his hand and pulled him with me to the open field behind the house. Therewas a small group of trees along the edge of the field that I visited often. There were a few rocksthat I liked to sit on that would make the perfect spot to sit and talk with Nathan.

I could have let go of his hand while we walked, but I decided that I like the contact and he didn'tpull away.

The ten-minute walk to the trees was filled with friendly conversation. I asked Nathan about hisfamily, and he told me about his parents, brother, and sister. His brother found his mate last yearand lived with her in the pack. His sister was a year younger than Nathan and just found her mate.Nathan just turned 19. He has obviously not yet found his mate. He knew his mate wasn't in thispack, but he wasn't very eager to go looking for her just yet. He was one of the top warriors in thepack and was trying to establish himself as the Lead Warrior.

I enjoyed listening to him talk about himself. It made the walk go quickly. I paused as we arrived atthe small grouping of trees. The spring had filled out the small grouping, making the clearingdenser than it was when I first found the little hidden cove a few months ago.

I pulled Nathan through the trees. “I found this place shortly after I moved in with Lizzie. It wasn't aslush when I first came here, but I still liked it. It is a good place to come and think. It is far enoughaway from the forest line that most wolves don’t come out this way.”

I moved through the brush and we came upon a small clearing. There were two large rocks perfectfor sitting. Moving to sit down, I chose the rock that was being covered in sunlight, determined toenjoy some of the warmth of the late Spring day.

"So, I talked the whole way here. How about you tell me more about you?” Nathan sat next to me. Ienjoyed sitting so close to him.

I told him about my family and what happened when they died. I explained the rogue attack to himand how they seemed to be so organized, much different than typical rogue attacks. He seemedvery worried about this.

“I have never heard of anything like that. I have never heard of them attacking in such a way. Wasanyone able to determine why they attacked?” He looked worried as he spoke, and I couldn't blamehim. In the time after the attack, Alpha Thomas had spent many hours meeting with surroundingpacks, trying to gather information about the attack. He has previously asked me this, and I couldonly imagine that the details I provided had him even more worried about the attack.

"Ultimately, Alpha Thomas was not able to replace out anything else about the attacks. The roguesseemed to be looking for something or someone, but he could never figure out what it was. A fewwolves, including my brother, seemed to be missing after the attack but no one saw them taken bythe rogues, so we aren't sure what happened.” They are painful memories that I didn't talk aboutoften.

We spent the next few hours talking about much lighter topics, including favorite music, favoritefoods, and plans for the future. It was nice to have such a seemingly simple conversation withsomeone.

As the day wore on and the sun begins to set, a chill set in the air. I shivered slightly. Nathan noticedmy shiver and put his arm around me, pulling me in close to warm me.

“Thanks. We have been out here all day. It is getting chilly.” I said as I snuggled into his chest. Icould feel him breathe in deeply as he placed his chin on my head.

"What do you think about the mate bond?” He asked, surprising me with his question. While I wasnot quite old enough to replace my mate, Nathan was. Surely, he would have told me if we were mates.Pulling back slightly, but staying close enough to enjoy his warmth, I gave him a puzzled look."What do you mean?”

“My mom and dad are not mates. My mom's mate was abusive. My dad was her brother's bestfriend and was there when her mate came back to “bring her back home’ after she had left him. Ahuge fight happened. My uncle was almost killed and my dad ended up killing my mom's mate.Although she was obviously heartbroken at first, she loved my dad for saving her.” He looked downas he spoke.

"What about your dad? He never found his mate?” I asked, somewhat confused as to where thisconversation was going.

Nathan shook his head, keeping his eyes down. “No, he never found his mate, at least not that I wasever told about. I think that this is partly why my dad doesn't travel. He came with us when mygrandparents needed help, but he never travels with us. He is the pack accountant and typically onlyinteracts with the Alpha and Beta. I think he was afraid to replace his mate. He loves my mom so much— more than I have seen some mates love each other.” He looked up and stared me in the eye as hespoke.

I had just met Nathan, but I got the sense that he was feeling a much stronger pull than I was. Ienjoyed his company, but I knew really nothing about him, outside of the hours we have spenttalking. I felt nervous suddenly, and I tried to pinpoint what was making me feel this way.

Deciding that it is best to be honest, I took a deep breath. “I believe in the mate bond. My wolf and Ihave been waiting for my 18th birthday so I can replace my mate. My mom and dad were mates andthe love that they felt for one another continues until the moment both died.” I spoke sincerely.

He shook his head and I could see that he was a bit disappointed.

“Nathan, you still have plenty of time to replace your mate and I won't be old enough to even try toreplace my mate for a couple of weeks. I doubt I will replace my mate as soon as I turn 18. We can still seeeach other in the meantime.” I placed my hand on his thigh and looked at him, trying to conveycomforting feelings through my touch and my eyes

“But what happens if you replace your mate?” He asked. Wolves tended to feel much more quickly anddeeply than humans, but I was still a bit surprised by how deeply he seemed to care about me in ashort period of time.

“I doubt I will replace my mate quickly. You could also replace yours, you know.” I playful jabbed him,hoping it will lighten the mood. Realizing that the words still need to be said, I returned to my softbut serious tone.

“Look, we are both of the age where relationships can end suddenly. My cousin was datingsomeone for nearly two years. Three weeks after he turned 18, he found his mate. She wasdevastated but understood. Two days later, she found her own mate.” I hoped that the words willhelp to soften the reality of dating as a teenage werewolf. “As long as we both know this canhappen, we can at least be somewhat prepared.”

Lizzie and I had actually already had this conversation. Lizzie knew that either her or Alex could replacetheir mate at any time. She had cried for hours when Alex turned 18, so afraid of him replaceing hismate. Helping Lizzie see that she will one day replace her own mate helped to ease her pain.

“I know.” He said, but he still appeared a bit sad.

“Look, Nathan, I like you. Today has been the best day I have had in a long time. Let's just havesome fun, enjoy each other's company, and worry about mate stuff when it happens.”

He pulled me in even closer and brought his head down to mine. I could feel his breathing increase.He hesitated for a moment and then finally leaned in to kiss me. I felt his mouth open slightly and Itook that as an opportunity to explore his lips with my tongue. I placed my hand on his chest,enjoying the feeling of his muscles through his shirt. He touched his tongue to mine and deepensthe kiss. I moved my hand to the back of his head, pulling him closer to me. He pulled backsuddenly. The kiss seemed to end much too soon for my liking.

I saw his eyes slightly grey and I realized that he was mind-linking with someone.

“The Beta needs me. There was a random rogue attack in a neighboring pack and we need to set upsome additional patrols.” He stood up and pulled me in for a hug. Before he completely pulledaway, he kissed me gently again. “Is it okay if I don’t walk you home? The Beta wants me there asquickly as possible.”

"Of course, I understand.” I smiled up at him. Damn he was good looking. I watched him run awayquickly back through the open field.

“Well, that was a fun day.’ Lela chimes in. For once, she is not being sarcastic.

“I agree.’ Despite having just kissed Nathan, I was able to control my desires. Last night must havehelped reset my emotions.

"Want to know what a good end to the day would be?” Lela asked, walking circles in my mind. “Arun.”