Best Friends and Mates

Party Prep

Julia had been keeping herself busy all day making sure to avoid Chris. She had been waiting for this day since her father and Christophers first explained the werewolf world to her at the young age of seven. She listened intently that day to a story she only thought existed in fairytales.

They spoke of their meeting in college. Julia's dad was in his last year of medical school and had been heading back to his dorm after a late night study group. He took a short cut that brought him to a scene he never expected. Two giant wolves were fighting, both were badly injured. Just as he was about to make a run for it, the larger wolf took one final swipe at the smaller wolf, ending the battle. Both wolves collapsed and a shimmer in the air occured leaving two men in place of the wolves. The human instinct to run battled with the doctors oath to help and Julias father, Lance, chose the latter. After quick inspection he saw that one of the men was dead but the other alive with major injuries. That man just happened to be Alpha McKenzie, Christophers dad. Lance was amazed that this man was still alive. His first thought was to call for help, but the pleading look in the injured mans eyes paired with what he just witnessed told him that wouldn't be a good idea. He helped the man to his feet and together they made their way to his apartment.

Once there, Lance began to stitch his wounds and was surprised to see they were already healing. Before the man passed out he was able to thank Lance and give him his name, Aaron McKenzie. He made a quick call asking someone to take care of the man, or wolf he had been fighting then begged Lance not to say anything to anyone until he could explain everything before succumbing to exhaustion. Lance wanted to do the exact opposite, but the curiou scientist at his core kept him there watching over Aaron as he slept. The next morning Aaron woke them both with a startle. He was surprised and relieved to see Lance had not left. Over a cup of coffee everything was revealed. Aaron explained how there were thousands of werewolves living among humans. Most were no threat to humans but there were a few, like the one he fought the night before, that refused to live peacefully and gave in to their animalistic nature. They were called Rogues. It was werewolves like Aaron who tried to keep humans and other peaceful werewolves safe from these Rogues. He explained how he was part of a pack of wolves, one which he would soon be taking over for his father as soon as he finished college. Aaron warned that it was against werewolf law for humans to know of their existence unless a human had the rare fortune of being a mate of one. A mate was the other half of a werewolves soul. The missing piece to his or her being. A werewolf wasnt his strongest until he met and mated his one true soulmate. Being that Lance did not fall into that category, there were serious consequences ahead. However, Aaron had an idea. He asked Lance to come back with him to his pack to be their doctor. It was the only way to assure he would be safe and their pack was in need of a young, new doctor.

Lance took some time to think it over. He didnt have any set plans after graduation, he didnt have any family since both his parents died when he was young. He had recently broke up with his longtime girlfriend. Plus this offer came with a home, job, and enough money to set him up for life. He knew a good deal when he saw one and though it would take some adjusting, he accepted. From there history was made and Julias father was the first human to be accepted into a pack of werewolves. There was some apprehension at first but the Alpha's word was law and Aarons father backed the idea one hundred percent. Lance took the time to get to know everyone and took extra veterinary courses to make sure he was the best doctor for the job. Once the werewolf community saw how dedicated he was to their care, they learned to trust and accept him.

Lance and Aaron grew very close. Lance was there when Aaron met his mate Sheila and served as best man at their wedding. Aaron was there when Lance's ex girlfriend arrived on his doorstep with a one year old Julia in her arms and papers granting him full custody. Though that part of the story wasnt shared with Julia until just a few years ago.

Julia shook away those memories. Now was not the time to dwell on the past. Shooting Chris a Happy Birthday text with promises of seeing him later brought her back to the reason she traveled down memory lane to begin with. The hope that she would be the other half of Chris. That she would be the mate that completes him and makes him stronger.

She picked up her dress from the boutique which happened to be in his favorite color, blue. It was strapless and ended at her knees, hugging all her curves. She  wished she had a little more to offer up top but thats where the push up bra she picked up at the same boutique came in. From there she hit the salon and had them blow out her hair so it would be straight and silky. Chris always complemented her when she kept her hairstyle natural. Her last stop before heading home to get ready was the local bakery. His mom had ordered him a cake but Julia wanted to pick up his favorite dessert, Banana Cream Pie. She hoped they could share it privately after he recognized her as his mate and marked her.

A small voice in the back of her mind warned her not to get her hopes too high as she drove home but she quickly smothered it. She had waited far too long for this dream to come true. She didnt want to accept that she may not be his mate.

Positive thinking.

Hopefully thats all she'd need paired with a little help from fate.

A/N Hey there! If you still have this story in your library you must have been shocked to see it updated. I'm so sorry for my absence but this past year was a rough one for me. I am slowly getting back to writing and am thankful for all of your support. I will warn you that updates will vary. Aside from being a mommy of four I also work an overnight job so finding time to write will be difficult. It also means very little time for editing so I may miss a few things. Hopefully I won't get chewed out for that lol! I plan to get to all of my stories but for now this one is the freshest in my mind. I hope you stick around for the rest of Julias journey!