"Werecoyote, banshee, kanima and... kitsune?" Bella listed wearily, ticking off her fingers.
"You got it," Kova nodded.
They were both seated on Kova's bed, the door shut firmly as they murmured quietly. Charlie had gone to bed hours ago, but the younger Swans had too much on their minds to sleep. Edward had left to give them some time to talk, and both were grateful for the privacy. Edward would hear all about it in Kova's thoughts later anyway.
"And werewolf hunters," Bella snorted. Out of everything, that was the thing she found the most unbelievable.
"I can't believe you find that so hard to believe," Kova laughed.
"It's just... I don't know! It seems ridiculous," she laughed along with her cousin.
"I can't wait to see Jake again and talk werewolf shop," Kova mused. There it was again, the pain, hurt and guilt from Bella that was almost suffocating. Her laughter and smile faded, and Kova said, "What's going on between you two?"
"It's a... long story," Bella mumbled under her breath. "He's my best friend. But I hurt him, and he's not talking to me at the moment."
Kova searched her face carefully, scenting the grief she felt on the air and deciding to drop the subject for now. He had a feeling it had a lot to do with the Edward situation and what Charlie had said. If Bella and Jake really were best friends, their rocky patch wasn't bound to last. They let the silence stretch between them comfortably before Bella broke it.
"I'm glad you told me Koko," Bella said more seriously.
She reached for his hand, squeezing it tightly in her much smaller one. He returned the pressure, relieved that his cousin knew him for who he was now.
"Bella..." he started, not sure how to put what he wanted to say. "You know how dangerous it is to be in our world, right?"
Bella's face suddenly grew grave, and she seemed older than her years (as she so often did) as Kova read the experience in her eyes.
"Better than you know," she breathed, and Kova's heart squeezed painfully in his chest.
"Being human in the supernatural world is what lost me my mom," Kova said shakily, and Bella's breath hitched. "I can't lose you and Charlie too."
"It wasn't an animal attack... was it?" She swallowed, her concern and care filling Kova's nostrils.
"No," he answered simply. "And I came here to get away from the supernatural," he whispered hoarsely. "I had a whole pack in Beacon Hills, a whole family. But I wanted to leave the supernatural behind, it had cost me so much already... friends, my mom. It's why I chose to come to Forks."
Bella's sympathy, understanding and love was a powerful combination that nearly overwhelmed Kova.
"And your first day here, you discovered that Forks wasn't so normal after all," Bella sighed heavily. There was sympathy there, but her next words were a hard truth. "I'm sorry Kova, truly. But you are supernatural... you can't run from yourself."
Kova sucked in a sharp breath, knowing that she was right and hating it.
"I hate it when you're right," he said the familiar words with only a hint of malice.
"No, you just hate it when you're wrong," Bella shot back with her own familiar line, a smile pulling at her lips.
She released his hand and rose from the bed, always sensing when he needed space without him needing to say it out loud. She really was one of Kova's favourite people.
"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."
Kova was honestly shocked to hear words like fate and universe leaving Derek's mouth. But with every word Derek spoke, he knew in his bones that it was true.
"Once you find each other, it's inevitable that you'll end up together," Derek said seriously. "The pull will get stronger the longer you resist the bond."
"Bond?" Kova swallowed thickly.
"Yes," Derek confirmed, "There's a sort of ritual you need to do to seal the bond. And Kova-," he stopped again, knowing how insane his next words would sound to the 17 year old. "Werewolves mate for life."
More unbelievable words- ritual, bond, for life.
"Jesus Christ," Kova cursed, his mind reeling. "I'm a friggen teenager and we're talking about werewolf marriage right now?"
"God you spend too much time with Stiles," Derek grumbled, but there was affection there for the hyperactive pack member that held everyone together.
"What's the ritual?" Kova asked wearily, not sure he really wanted to know the answer.
"It's uhh... intimate," Derek cleared his throat awkwardly, and Kova could picture his ears turning red. "Basically... you need to bite each other, during... well, during sex."
Kova snorted at the uncomfortable tone in Derek's voice, the guy was 4 years older than he was! But Derek had a hard time discussing anything intimate, whether it be emotional or physical. A point Stiles loved to tease him about.
"But I'm not sure how that would work with a vampire," Derek admitted. "That's outside my area of expertise. You could ask Deaton. If anyone would know, it would be him."
Kova pulled at his hair, shutting his eyes in frustration. How was this his life?
"So basically... until Jasper and I have sex and bite eachother, this... need to be near him is only going to get worse?" Kova questioned, and when Derek grumbled in the affirmative, he asked one more question, "are there any other side effects of resisting your mate?"
Derek was quiet, and Kova didn't like the sounds of that.
"Your wolf will gradually get harder to control," he said gravely, his voice low and serious. "You'll grow irritable, angry... uncontrollable. Its not advised to attempt to resist your mate once you've discovered them."
Kova groaned dramatically, once again wiping at his face with an aggressive hand.
"How did I manage to get myself into this mess my first day away from Beacon Hills?" He whined in frustration.
"Life is never easy," Derek said in answer, and Kova's heart stuttered a beat. Derek knew better than most that life was never easy, especially on their kind.
"Derek?" Kova asked, his voice sounding small.
"Yeah?" The alpha murmured gently.
"Thanks for always being there," Kova said with no small amount of feeling.
"I'm one of your alphas," he answered easily, softly. "You can come to me for anything Kova, you know that."
"I know," Kova smiled his response. "I'm going to get some sleep, I'll talk to you later Der."
"Goodnight little beta," Kova could hear the gentle smile in Derek's voice before he hung up the phone.
Kova sighed heavily for the umpteenth time that day, plugging his phone into his charger and setting it on the bedside table. He slowly stripped down to his boxers, letting the clothes worn on the second longest day of his life fall to the floor. He yearned for a shower, but that would have to wait until morning. He didn't want to wake Charlie, and he was too bloody exhausted. He could hear the quiet murmurs of Bella and Edward coming from his cousins room, but didn't bother listening in. He crawled beneath his warm, soft sheets, his heavy eyelids sliding shut in relief.
He was beginning to drift off to sleep when his phone buzzed against the wood of the bedside table. His eyes snapped open, anticipation roiling in his gut as he guessed who was texting him.
Jasper: Goodnight Darlin'
Kova's heart stumbled behind his ribs, a smile growing on his lips. He typed out a quick response before melting into his mattress once more, smiling at the fitting pet name he'd applied to the vampire.
Kova: Goodnight honey
Honey, for the warm, liquid colour of his eyes.
Honey, for the spun sunshine colour of his hair.
Honey, for the sweetness of his southern drawl.
Honey, for his sweet, earthy scent that drove Kova mad.
Honey, for the sticky way Kova wanted to stay glued to his side.
Everything about Jasper was as sweet and beautiful as golden honey, and Kova fell asleep with thoughts of the vampire clouding his mind like the best kind of distraction.