Apricity {Jasper CullenxMale OC}

Chapter 11

"Get some sleep Koko," she smiled, closing the door behind her again.

And as the stress of the day washed over Kova, he really would have loved to sleep right then. But he needed to call Derek. He gave himself a moment, flopping back onto his bed and staring up at the ceiling. His wolf was prowling beneath the surface again, and had been ever since he'd parted with Jasper.

Mate.

With a sigh as heavy as the world itself, Kova pulled his phone from his pocket and dialled one of his alphas, as he'd promised. The phone only rang once.

"Kova?" Derek answered instantly, and a small, tired smile graced the werewolf's lips.

"Hey Der," he responded, and the alpha could hear the exhaustion in his beta's voice.

"It's late, you should be getting some rest," the alpha's mother hen showing in his words.

"Believe me, I know," Kova agreed, running a hand over his face. "But I really needed to talk to you."

"Is everything alright?" Derek asked seriously.

"Mostly, yes," Kova answered, before launching into a quick rundown of his day.

The alpha on the other end of the line stayed quiet, listening and absorbing everything his beta was saying.

"That's a helluva day Kova," Derek murmured when the werewolf had paused for breath. "Why do you trust that these vampires aren't a threat?" The curiosity in his voice was genuine.

He trusted Kova's judgment more than most, and was trying to understand how he could so easily trust the vampires he'd just met. There was a long pause as Kova tried to work up the courage to say the word his wolf had been screaming at him a damn day, the one thing he'd conveniently left out of his retelling.

"I think... I think one of them might be- might be my mate," he blurted the last word, thinking it sounded strange coming from his mouth.

He knew Derek's back would have straightened at the word, his eyes searching again.

"Your mate?" He said in shock.

"My wolf has been screaming it in my brain ever since I laid eyes on him," Kova admitted in frustration. "What does it mean Derek?"

"It means... well it means that he's your mate," Derek said stupidly, and Kova wanted to roll his eyes. The alpha must have sensed it because he said, "if your wolf is telling you he's your mate, you need to trust your senses, trust your instincts."

"But what do I do?" Kova asked, a hint of desperation in his tone.

Derek sighed heavily and Kova could see him running a hand over his face in his minds eye.

"Mates are... well they're actually not nearly as common as you'd think," Derek explained. "My parents were mates, and Peter and his wife. But I've never met any other mate pairings before."

That last sentence sounded less truthful, and Kova wondered if maybe Derek had met his mate and was lying to himself, unable to admit it. The man was incredibly stubborn. Stiles' face flashed through the betas mind, but he pushed that thought away for now. Derek was giving Kova a second to mull his words over. What are the chances that Kova's mate turns out to be a damn vampire? The werewolf simply couldn't believe his luck in general at this point.

"Basically, it's like... fate, as cheesy as that sounds," Derek said, amusement in his tone. "You're made for each other, your personalities compliment each other. It's like the universe designed your ideal, perfect partner."