Cognitive Dissonance

Chapter 6-Lily's Mate

I woke up today feeling extremely antsy. Even though I didn't know who my mate was, I could tell they were nearby. When it comes to finding mates, it's kind of like using a metal detector.

You can tell when they're within 25 miles of you, and as you get closer, the stronger the feeling becomes. I crawled out of bed and opened the drawer where I'd kept the oburo bracelet for the past year. Reluctantly, I put it on, and Issac automatically starts whimpering.

"Shut up!" I seethed, annoyed at my weak wolf. Issac whines in response, and a sharp, stabbing pain runs through my mind making me dizzy and nauseous.

Telling myself I'll be fine, I get up and prepare breakfast. For Lily and I's birthday, we had a family tradition of going out for brunch to celebrate.

I throw on a nice pair of jeans and a black and green flannel. Heading downstairs, I see that both my parents and sister are up. My parents are at the breakfast table drinking their first cup of coffee for the day while my sister sits at the island typing away on her phone. Lily jumps up and hugs me when I enter the room.

"Happy Birthday Bryce!"

"Happy Birthday, Lil," I replied, tightening the hug.

"I can't believe our kids are so grown up," My mom remarks to my dad while looking at my sister and me proudly.

"Yeah," My dad agreed. "You guys are finally 18! How does it feel?" He asked with a grin.

"I dunno," I shrug. "I feel the same,"

"Of course you do!" Lily rolls her eyes. "You haven't found your mate yet. Once you do, everything will change!" Lily was quite the romantic and, unlike me, had dreamed of meeting her mate since childhood.

"Where are we going for Brunch?" I ask, ignoring Lily's antics.

"Your mother and I were thinking Pamela's,"

"Cool, I love Pamela's," I grinned. Pamela's was a local diner that served the best hotcakes in the world.

When we entered the dinner, we saw a few people from school, including Luke and his best friend, Claudia. It was evident to everyone except Luke that Claudia was madly in love with him. I knew that Luke was human, but Claudia, on the other hand, I couldn't get a read on. She smelled like a human, but something in my gut told me to believe otherwise.

Our waitress walked us to our table, but as I followed, I realized Lily had frozen up and was trembling. Lily looked pale and stressed out.

"Lily?" I ask worriedly. Lily grips my bicep and allows me to drag her over to our table.

The two of us sit down in the booth across from our parents. They shoot Lily a concerned look but let the waitress know our order first. We always ordered the same thing when we came to Pamela's, so my parents didn't bother to ask us what we wanted.

My usual was the banana walnut hotcakes, while Lily's was the strawberry and sourcream hotcakes.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" My mom comforts Lily.

"Luke's my mate." She responds sadly.

"That's great! Why do you seem disappointed?" my dad chimes in.

"He can't feel the bond, and I'm pretty sure Claudia and him have a thing," Lily explains.

"But he is your mate," I specify. "You just have to show him what he is missing out on."

"What if he rejects me?" Lily queried in fear. It was uncommon for wolves to reject their mates because of how sacred the bond was viewed. However, on the off chance of a wolf getting mated with another species, rejection was more likely to occur since they don't necessarily feel the bond.