Runt Of The Pack

Chapter 16 Part One

"So are you hungry? Thirsty? Want me to get you anything?" Mason asks me, his eyes meeting mine with an intensity that makes a shiver go down my spine.

"No... I'm fine," I smile at him, but then my stomach growls loudly, as if to protest. I sigh, "Okay I might be hungry."

He laughs, and I can't help but smile at the sound, "Well I'm going to go get dressed. You should too, I'm taking you out to eat."

He grins at me for a moment before darting out of the room. I'm tempted to call him back, before the realization that this will be my first official date with my mate- or anyone for that matter- hits me.

In an instant I'm off my bed and rooting through my closet, trying to find the violet minidress my friends forced me to get for semi. Thinking of my friends makes an ache go through my chest; I miss them. I'm tempted to pick up my phone and call Cass, but I decid to wait until I'm done getting ready to. I slip into the dress, although when I try to do up the zipper, I remember why Cass had to help me get ready for Semi... My arms are too short to reach it.  Shit.

I'm about to start rooting through my closet when theres a knock on the door. I roll my eyes, muttering curse words before I walk over to it, opening it enough that I can stick my face through.

"What is- oh its you." I glare at my older sister who, for some reason, has a huge bag slung over her arm.

"Well I'm here to help you get ready for your date with mason obviously." She rolls her eyes at me, stepping into the room.

"Uh, excuse me?" I narrow my eyes at her, she has to be kidding me.

"Leah, I know you hate me. I get it. But don't you want to look amazing for your date with Mason?"

Damn her and her valid reasoning. I sigh, turning around as she quickly zips me up. She sets me down in a chair, pulling out hair products and a curling iron. What the fuck? Mason's probably already waiting....

"Thea I-" she presses her finger to my lips, silencing me.

"Scar's stalling him. There will be no arguments on this. You're going to look your best," she informs me.

I try to ignore the wave of gratitude I feel towards her. Thea never cared about me before, and I'm not sure why she's pretending she does now.

"Maybe because she's not pretending..."  my wolf whispers hesitantly into my mind, "maybe she's genuinely sorry...."

"Bullshit. Besides even if she is sorry I could care less. You remember what she did, How she ignored us in the halls, how she never answered when we knocked on her bedroom door, how she just stood there when Mason shoved us down the stairs!" I feel my resolve to give mason a chance shaking as I talk about the horrible memory, a lingering flash of pain flickering through my mind. My wolf doesn't respond, and I know why. I can feel her anger at my view of mason. He's our mate and I'm supposed to accept him wholeheatedly. But... No. But nothing. I take a deep breath as Thea pulls the brush through my hair. While she makes it into some fabulous work of art I would never even dream of replicating, I let my mind wander back. I think hard, trying to find a good memory of Mason, one to focus on instead of all the bad ones. I can feel my wolf looking too, although she has less memories than me because our wolves don't manifest until we turn seven.

Thats when I remember it, the first time I had actually ever met Mason. We were six and it was a feild trip- we were in different classes and hadn't really met despite him being future beta- but both of our classes had odd numbers so we got paired together as feildtrip buddies. We had went to a bug exhibit and at the time I had been absolutely terrified of spiders and other creepy crawlies, in fact I hadn't even wanted to go. So when they led us out of the butterfly exhibit and into what was dubbed "the spiders web"- a circular room with spider exhibits on all the walls and a big, bouncy floor painted to look like a web- I had almost started to cry. When he found out what was wrong, Mason had held my hand and walked me quickly to the other side to the doors. He told me countless jokes and did everything he possibly could just to make me smile, so by the time the classes were ready to move on I was no longer so scared. Right after we left, I found out via one of his friends that the spiders web was the part he had been most looking forward to. When I ask him why he hadn't just left me by the doors and went through the exhibit, he had answered. "Well I couldn't just leave you there, you looked so scared. I didn't like seeing you so scared and unhappy so I wanted to make you smile,". I don't really remember the rest of the trip, but I remember that. Of course, after that trip we had went back to our own circles of friends and didn't really speak until after I turned seven and was labelled a runt... But I try not to think about that part. Instead, I focus on that good memory and try to forget the bad. I feel my wolf's satisfaction with the memory, her approval of me choosing to focus on it.
She starts quizzing me with questions about it, and I'm so engrossed in my conversation with her that it takes me a minute to notice Thea gently shaking my shoulder.

"Leah look in the mirror," she commands gently, smiling timidly at me as she turns the chair around.

I look up and into the mirror and am unable to stop the small gasp that escapes my lips. There is no way the girl in the mirror could possibly be me. Her chocoate brown hair looks like velvet as it perfectly frames her face in loose curls, the half updo a work of art that somehow looks perfect on her. Her green eyes seem to sparkle like emerals from beneath her bangs. The light makeup she wears perfectly accentuates her every trait, masking any flaws she might have. No, there is no way this beautiful creature can be me, although she moves when I do, so I suppose she must be.

"Thea must be magic..." I find myself whispering to my wolf, "Look... we look... we look..."

"You look perfect," Thea smiles, "Absolutely perfect. Now come on, Mason's waiting for you."

Mason. His name sends a shiver of anxiety- or maybe it was anticipation- straight through me. I nod and let her help me into a pair of high heels that can only be hers, I have never bought a pair in my life.

"Thank you," I can't help but whisper, looking at Thea. Thea, who had stood by and simply watched when I was in pain. Thea, who had worked magic on me, like some kind of fairy god mother, to turn me into the beautiful creature I seen in the mirror. Thea, my sister who I can't decide my feelings on.

She looks happy, smiling brightly as she walks me down the hall, "It's no problem Leah, I wanted you to look your best. This IS your first date with your mate after all."

I smile, and am about to respond when we walk into the front hall. I hear a quiet gasp, and look up to see Mason standing by the door in a suit that looks amazing on him. His eyes are trained on me, and I feel a slight blush spreading across my face as he reaches out to me through our mating bond.

"You look.... I think..... Wow."  his voice rings in my mind, filled with an awed adoration, and somehow my cheeks find a way to get more red.

"So um... Where are we going?" I ask him, trying to make myself stop blushing

"Well, since it's now dinnertime Scar and Thea booked us a table at a fancy restaurant..." He smiles, his eyes meeting mine.

Shit... Dinnertime? It must be later than I thought...

"Then lets go!" I smile, at least until my stomach growls loudly and we both laugh

"Have her back by ten," the protective sounding voice of Scar growls from across the room.

"Of course," he smiles, then he loops his arm through mine and pulls me out the door, sending sparks flying through my skin every time our skin brushed against eachother.

And with that, I started my first date with my Mate.

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Oh geez it's been ages since I last posted LOL

So, I'm sorry I (once again) lied about when my next update would be, there's a lot of stuff going on and I haven't been in a good enough mood to really write. I'm working on part two of the chapter later tonight.. or rather today since its 3am LOL

So anyways, I'm anxious as always to hear what you guys think. If you could comment and vote it would really make my day :)