Destiny's Tethers

Chapter 14 - Friendship

"No worries." Cael chuckled. "Finding your mate is a lot to take in."

He paused as his phone chimed.

"Oh...excuse me. I need to take this."

Carl got up and went off into what had been designated as his room, leaving Olwen and Stela outside as Sylvie hummed in the kitchen, audibly turning on the stove and whisking something - probably eggs.

Olwen noticed the conflicted look in Stela's gaze.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, it's just..."

Stela leaned forward, her voice lowering with some amount of embarrassment.

"...I've...never really thought about what it would be like to find my mate. After my eighteenth birthday passed and I knew my mate wasn't in the Silver Arrow Pack, I kind of just...chose not to think about it. My dad was training me to become his replacement once I was of age, so I just devoted all my thoughts to that."

She shrugged and looked down nervously.

"I can discuss pack matters and give speeches and presentations just fine, but I still can't talk to guys, let alone my mate."

Sometimes, Olwen forgot that Stela was far from untouchable and had her own self-doubts as well. Back even before they'd become friends, she'd admired the girl from afar. Stela had been known for being hardworking and diligent even in her teenage years, to the point where she didn't really attend any parties or talk to others outside of studying and training. Only after Olwen had started her Luna training and grown closer to her did Stela admit to her that it wasn't because she didn't want to get to know her pack members - it was because she didn't know how to just talk with others without feeling self conscious.

At this thought, she rubbed her friend's shoulder encouragingly.

"I'm sure that your mate wouldn't mind that about you. Maybe you two still need time to get to know each other better, but from the way Beta Elijah couldn't take his eyes off you since the east borders..."

"I know." Stela reddened again at the thought. "He spoke to me outside. He seemed so...happy and relieved. He told me how he'd waited years for me, and that he would do his best to be a good mate to me."

Her lips pressed together.

"But...what if he's just like this now because of how much he wanted to meet his fated? Once we start spending some time together he might be disappointed..."

She covered her eyes and rested her elbows on the table.

"He said he's going to come back here tomorrow to take me out on our first date...and I have no idea what to expect!"

Olwen sighed softly and gently pried her friend's hands away from her face.

"Give both him and yourself a chance, Stela. Don't think about what could go wrong before you even start. Putting aside all your fears, what do you think of Elijah?"

Stela paused before looking up at Olwen.

"Honestly? Based on first impressions?"

"Uh...sure."

"By the Moon Goddess that man is gorgeous." Stela burst out, as if she'd been holding that back for ages. "I never thought I had a type, but it would be him. He has such warm eyes, and I didn't know I had a thing for freckles until now. And he told me he loves to visit the library in his spare time...I didn't realise my mate would enjoy reading as much as I do."

She paused as her eyes flashed to indigo and then back to dark brown again, and she blushed even more deeply.

"Sorry...as you can probably tell Starr has been driving me up the wall since we found our mate. It's taken everything in me not to just jump the guy. Although something tells me he probably wouldn't have minded..."