Author's note: picture of Aiden.
"Would you like to stay for pizza?" I asked Aiden.
"I don't think there's enough food," Nick said.
"Nonsense. You ordered two dozen wings and garlic knots plus the pizza. That's more than enough to share," I said.
"I ate at your party. I'm just going to tell Nick here what I have to say and leave. It was good seeing you again. See you soon," Aiden said.
"Bye," I said as they exited the apartment.
I ran to the door to see if I could hear anything but someone was scratching on it. I couldn't believe they were using these measures to make their words inaudible.
I went back to the couch and waited for Nick to come back. He came in thirty whole minutes later with the food.
"Did you really make Aiden leave?" I asked.
"Of course. This is our night. He shouldn't have come here in the first place," he said.
"Okay Alpha," I said teasingly.
"I'm not an Alpha, but I do run their pack. It's slowly growing as we get the word out," he said.
"Can I visit your pack?" I asked.
"I expect we'll live there for a while after you graduate," he said.
"Really? I thought we'd live in the Palace so you can get some practice being King," I said.
"I'm not really interested in doing that," he said.
"Doing what? Being King or learning about the job?" I asked.
"Either one really, but I will for you," he said.
"You scared me there for a second. Though I am leaning towards abdicating, you almost had me convinced not to. Your support means everything to me," I said.
"Thank you. I am honored . I do think you'll make an amazing Queen and now we get to live that life together," he said.
I put my pizza down and kissed him. He pulled me towards him so I straddled him. I kissed him then checked out his mark. It was beautiful. I got off him and went to the bathroom to see if mine looked the same. It did.
It was a white wolf and black wolf curled together like the yin yang. The white wolf has a bluish tint to its trail with a giant white star. The black wolf had a red trail with an orange star with tiny stars all around.
I went back to Nicholas and showed him my mark. He looked at it then asked if his was the same. I asked if his wolf was black and he said it was.
I sat down and he began sucking on my mark making me wet again. He pulled off my dress and pulled me into his lap.
"I want you on top this time. Show me how much you want me," he said.
Nick and I made love on and off all night until we finally got some sleep around five in the morning. We spent the next three days like that.
On day four I said, "I want to see your wolf. And I want to let my wolf out."
"Okay. We can't really run around here," he said.
"We can go to the Palace so I can get some clothes and my school things. I still have two and a half months left," I said.
"Right. I completely forgot you were still in school. I suppose I could drive you back and forth to keep you here. Let's go get your things.
He gave me a change of clothes so I didn't have to wear my dress again. We've been completely naked the past few days so wearing clothes felt weird.
We made our way to the Palace where I packed a bag full of clothes and packed my book bag full of all my school supplies and books. I packed it away in his car and then we went to the North gate for a run.
We took off all our clothes and then shifted, me for the first time and felt amazing. His wolf was indeed black with Amber eyes. He was almost as beautiful as my wolf.
I checked out his wolf and then nuzzled him.
Me: Do you want to run to the river?
He took a long hard look at me before answering.
Nick: I think we should stick to the forest.
Me: If that's what you want.
I took off and he came running after me. He quickly caught up to me then passed me. He brought us to a clearing and then stopped. My wolf kept teasing him by caressing his face with her tail and rolling on the ground in front of him. He was alert like he heard something and ignored my wolf until he pounced on her.
My wolf: Nice to meet you Addison. My name is Desiree. I'm your wolf.
Me: It's nice to finally meet you Desiree.
Desiree: It's time for you to go to sleep now. I need some time with my mate.
Me: Wait. I want to spend time with him too.
Desiree: I'm afraid you're not ready for this conversation. I need you to trust me and go to sleep. I will wake you when it's time.
Before I could say another word, I was out. I woke up to the sound of my wolf whimpering though she didn't sound hurt. I still had no control and figured I had woken up early. They were arguing but I could only make out my wolf's words.
Desiree: She deserves to know. You can't keep something like that a secret forever. I think she's waking up.
Desiree: Addison. Glad to see you're awake.
Me: Keep what a secret?
Desiree: It's not for me to say. I promise to help you once you know.
Me: Who's secret are we talking about? Nick or his wolf.
Desiree: They are one and the same.
Me: Great. Now I can't trust my mate or his wolf.
Desiree: That is entirely your choice. Breaking that part of the bond could be detrimental. Choose wisely.
Me: Nick, I want to go home now.
Nick: We just got out here. Wait. Is this because you want to know my secret?
Me: Yes. Did she tell you that?
Nick: She told my wolf you overheard. It's not a big deal. It's about my wolf. This is only one form he can assume. She wanted to see the other ones.
Me: Why is that a secret then?
Nick: Let's go back. I'll explain in person.
We quickly made our way back and got dressed. Nick looked extremely tense. I grabbed him by the arm and hugged him.
"It's ok if you don't want to tell me. I trust you," I said.
He gave me a weak smile and said, "it's not that I don't want to tell you. I want to tell you everything. It just has to be at the right time."
"We have the rest of our lives," I said.
"I'm just trying to ensure we're together for that time," he said. "Let's make it to my pack and I will tell you everything there. Deal?"
"Deal," I said.
We got in his car and I called my mother. Her phone went straight to voicemail.
"Hi Mom. I just wanted to let you know that I will be staying with Nicholas for the rest of the school year. After that, we will travel to his own pack in New York. He's not far from Ezra so I'm sure I will see everyone there," I said.
I hung up the phone not knowing what else to say. I suppose I could have said bye. Just as I could have told her in person. I just didn't want to tell my dad. I thought I would be disappointing him.
"Everything okay?" He asked.
"Yes. I'm just regretting not telling her to her face. I know my mom would be supportive. It's my dad I worry about," I said.
"Why not just give him a call too," he said. "Get it over with."
I pressed the button to call my dad. He picked up on the second ring.
"Addison. What's this you're not coming home? What about Sunday dinners? Don't you think you guys could join us for those?" He asked.
"Yes Dad. We can come for Sunday dinner," I said looking at Nick who nodded his head.
"Well good. Say hello to Nicholas for me," he said before hanging up on me.
"That went better than I thought," I said.
My phone rang again and this time it was Oscar. I wasn't in the mood to talk so I let it go to voicemail. He never leaves a message. Instead I got a text message.
Oscar: Stop ignoring me.
Me: I'm not ignoring you. I've just been in a bubble.
Oscar: And missing school. Missing me. What's next?
Me: I'm going back to school tomorrow.
Oscar: Then I am picking you up from school. I don't want to hear anything else about it.
Me: Fine. You win. See you tomorrow.
I put my phone away and turned my attention back to Nick. He looked so handsome right now. I just wanted to jump him.
"My dad says hi and Oscar is picking me up from school tomorrow," I said. "And you are looking scrumptious I might add.
"Okay and ditto," he said.
We got home and before I could unpack, he was on me. We made love in the bedroom and then he helped me unpack. He gave me two drawers and space in the closet.
When we were done, I kissed him. A long, sensuous kiss. I put my hand down his pants and he pulled it out.
"We should probably eat. Do you want me to heat up some pizza for you?" He asked.
"I would rather have a sandwich," I said.
"You want me to order you one or make it," he asked.
"Make me a BLT and two ham and cheese all with extra mayo," I said.
"Coming right up," he said, throwing some pizza in the oven for himself.
He cooked the bacon, shredded the lettuce and sliced the tomato. Everything looked delicious. He put my sandwiches together just as his pizza got done. He had excellent timing.
"Do you want your bread toasted," he asked.
"Yes please," I said.
We ate lunch then I spent the rest of the day catching up with my school work.
The next day, I got up early to get ready for school. It took me about forty five minutes to complete my look then I woke up Nick for a ride. He was ready in five minutes and looked unbelievably handsome. Took all my strength not to jump him.
The ride was pretty uneventful. He stopped to get us coffee and then dropped me off. Everyone was looking at me and then I realized I was wearing a shirt that showed off my insane mark. I tried covering it to no avail. This was going to be a long day.
People kept whispering all through my classes. They knew what my mark meant. Everybody knew that normal marks don't come with colors and they rarely had pictures. My mark was screaming to the world that I am special and my classmates did not like that.
My friend Bethany pulled me to the side at lunch.
"You should go to the nurse's office and get that thing covered up," she said.
"Why? It's my mark and I'm proud of it," I said.
"But it's like you're gloating to everybody else. I mean I don't feel that way but that's the way they're taking it," she said.
"Let them think that. It's no skin off my teeth," I said.
"You say the strangest things," she said.
"Too much time with my grandma I think," I said sheepishly.
"Well now that you are marked and mated, you really have to eat more," she said.
"How do you know that I'm mated?" I asked.
"Please, you spent four days out of school after that scene at your party. It's obvious what you were leaving to do. Everybody saw that. I believe Katrina was the one who told everybody who wasn't there," she said.
"How did she even know? She wasn't invited to my party," I said.
"I think she went as someone's date," she said.
"Great, now I have to deal with more drama," I said.
"It doesn't have to be drama, just know that everybody knows," she said. "And with a mate like that, I wouldn't be surprised if you took off the rest of the year."
The rest of the day was easy with only gym class after lunch. It was a double period, first training and then sports. I always chose to play volleyball.
Oscar picked me up after school. I missed him so much. I gave him a hug before anything else.
"I missed you too," he said, getting back into the car.
"I missed our time together," I said. "Nick drove me to school and it felt off."
"Well I am here now. Once you show me where you live, I can take care of your school transportation," he said.
"I just realized no one knows where Nick lives," I said. "I wonder if he likes it that way."
"What do you want me to drop you off blocks away?" He asked.
"No but let me just check with him," I said.
Me: Nick? Do you mind if Oscar knows where you live?
Nick: Of course not. Invite him in for all I care.
Me: Okay. Love you. See you soon.
Nick: Actually I'm not home right now. I'll see you in a bit.
Me: Where are you?
Nick: Grocery shopping. I'm almost done
"He says he doesn't care," I said.
"Good because I just would have followed you home anyway," he said.
"He said you can come up if you want. He's not home right now. I think he wants me to have the company," I said.
"I can keep you company until he gets home," he said. "How is he treating you?"
"Very well. Thank you for asking. He's my dream come true. I never expected to feel this way about my mate," I said.
"I wish I could say the same. Sara and Lara get so jealous of Kara because of all the time we spend together. To tell you the truth it's because she's pleasant company. The other two are so materialistic, I can't stand it. Though I do my mate duties I don't enjoy their company at all," he said.
"You are just going to have to spend time with them individually and get to know them. You know I don't care for Sara but Lara is okay. You're right though, Kara is the special one and that's why she seeks her independence so much," I said. "Can't you reject the other two without rejecting Kara?"
"I don't know how that would work exactly, that's why I haven't done it. Plus they seem to want me. This mate bond is something else because even though I don't care for their company, I can't be without them either. If I don't see them, let me just say, I don't feel well," he said.
"That sounds ominous. I thank the Goddess every day for giving me somebody I can stand and want to be around all the time," I said.
"Is he still working at that diner?" He asked.
"No. He quit. I guess he has family money or something because he never needed that job. He just used it to find me," I said.
"That's good. He can definitely support you then," he said.
"If he were poor, we could live off my money," I said.
"But it's good you don't have to," he said. "Now you won't have to go to your parents for anything. I wish I had that level of independence."
"You'll get there Oscar," I said.