~Axel's POV
I watched as Erik quickly shut the door, feeling all of the anger slip out of my system as I looked down at my mate.
She laid comfortably in my arms, her body limp. Her eyelids shielded the beautiful and deep blue orbs from me. Walking back to the corner of the room, I set her gently onto the plush mattress, leaning down and brushing my lips across his forehead.
Honestly, I still didn't want a mate. I didn't. Or did I? Now that I thought about it, I think my thoughts are changing... I haven't talked to her much- but I knew enough already.
She was perfect.
I loved how she'd trusted me so much to help her during her first shift, how she was feisty, yet as sweet as they come. She was independent, yet reliant on me, which I liked. I was an Alpha, meaning I was quite dominant, especially of my mate. So, of course, I'd want to be the leader of the two and wanted to be the protector. I want her to rely on me, love me, and trust me.
As I reminded myself of her first shift, I wondered why it'd just happened when she saw me. I'd searched her up while she slept already, finding out that my her name was Ariel May, she was 19 (She'd be turning 20 in two weeks), she worked at The Blue Moon, she has no family since she's an orphan and never adopted, and she'd mysteriously disappeared four years ago from the orphanage.
I decided to go ask the pack doctor, Rick, about why she'd started her shift once she saw me, when she actually should've shifted at 16.
Without knocking, I burst through the door of Rick's office, plopping down onto one of his tacky orange chairs.
"Oh, uh, evening, Alpha. Did you need something?" He stuttered. I knew why he was scared- When I'd rushed in here with my mate after she'd went unconscious, he'd said I was overreacting and I flipped my shit.
Sure, I admit, I wasn't the nicest person, but I'd never gotten that mad so quickly over the words, 'You're overreacting'. But, in my defense, I'd just found my mate, she might've gotten hurt severely during her shift, which was pretty common with late shifters. They'd hurt themselves too badly because their body had became accustomed to being a weak human, so it'd be too much to handle for them.
Thankfully, that wasn't the case for Ariel, but she'd be extremely sore for the next few days and wouldn't get her full strength for around a week or so, give or take.
Either way, he had reason to be nervous around me at this point in time.
"Well, Rick, I just came down to ask why Ariel started her first shift the moment she saw me...?"
He gave me a timid smile, walking over and taking a seat in front of me. He ran a shaky hand through his greying hair, relaxing back into the chair.
"Well, Alpha Axel... I believe your mate, since she was an orphan, was never told that she was of our kind. She'd obviously had a hard life, sir, so I think her wolf was so depressed along with her, that she just didn't shift. We know she lived alone, probably meaning she was both lonely and sad, but once she and her wolf saw you, they realized they had something to live for, so... Her wolf took over."
By now, my eyes were wide and my jaw was slack. Wow. Talk about the power of the mate bond, eh?
Just as that thought entered my mind, I felt fear and panic rise within me, but the thing was, it wasn't my feelings.
"Thanks, doc. I have to go," I muttered, jumping up from my seat and bolting up the stairs, into my room.
Grabbing the key from my pocket, I pushed it into the lock to see my angel curled up into a ball on the bed, sobbing.
I think that that was the moment I realized that I did want a mate, and I wanted her forever. I wasn't letting go of Ariel. Ever.
"Hey, baby. Shh, shh. What's wrong?" I asked softly, making my way over to where she lay on the bed. Lifting her small frame into my arms, I softly stroked her hair, kissing her forehead. "Just tell me, I'll fix it. It'll be okay,"
Sniffling, she looked up at me, her body still shaking. I could see now that the tough act from earlier was exactly that- an act. I realized just how scared she was now.
"I'm going crazy!" She shouted, pushing away from me. "D-don't touch me. I'm insane," She finished, her voice barely a whisper.
Hurt pinged in my heart when she told me not to touch her, but I knew it wasn't personal. This was hard for her.
"Boo," I said quietly, reaching out and gently touching her knee. "I know what's going on.. Would you like me to tell you?"
Her dark blue eyes widened considerably, and her head shot around to face mine. "Y-you hear it too?" She gasped, grabbing my hand.
I frowned. She hears something? What the fu- Ohh. Her wolf. "Yes, baby. Our kind hears it."
"Our... Our kind?"
Sighing, I pulled her back into my lap, content when she didn't yank away from me. "First, I want you to promise me that you'll listen to me, and not interrupt. Also, I want you to believe me, okay? I'll never lie to you, and I'm not now, okay? Swear to me that you'll listen. Swear to me that you'll hear me out and believe me."
Gulping, she gave a small nod, waiting eagerly for me to continue.
***
"You're joking," She whispered, small frame shaking as I cradled her in my muscular arms.
Sending her a look of pity, I slowly shook my head. "No, baby. I'm telling you the truth."
"You can't be!" She cried. Her small hands came up to cover her beautiful face, thumbs rubbing her own temples. "W-Why didn't anyone tell me! I-I'm a frigging werewolf and I didn't even know!" Her breaths were shallow, her chest falling and rising rapidly. "Wait... So, I'm not the only one, though? Didn't y-you say something about.. packs?"
Giving her a small nod, I watched and waited for her reaction. She carefully brought her hands away from her face, laying her head against my chest.
"At least I'm not alone... Or crazy..." She muttered.
"Yeah," I mumbled, pressing a kiss to her forehead.
Her body stilled, staring at the wall in front of us. "Why does my... wolf... Always shout at me, when, um, you're around me?"
Now it was my turn to freeze. I wanted, so, so, badly, to tell her the truth, but what if she completely freaked out? I just found her and came to terms with the fact that I need her, I don't want her to leave!
"U-Um," I stuttered. Shit, I never stutter. "Promise you won't, uh, leave me?" I asked finally, my body rigid as she shifted in my arms.
Biting her lip, she gave me a small nod. "I promise,"
"Uh, well, a mate, um, is a werewolf's soul mate.. It's the person they'll spend the rest of their life with, who will love you through thick and thin... They're meant to be together forever, and once they meet, it's like everything stops. It physically hurts to be away from them. Especially, um, after they, well.. After they mate. In other words, make love."
Her eyes were like saucers, blinking rapidly before returning to the wide-eyed state she was currently stuck in.
Suddenly, it was like someone had hit her in the stomach, a pained look crossing her features. Before I could ask what was wrong, she beat me to it.
"Um... D-Did you find her...? Your mate, I mean." Her voice was small, a tad shaky. Her gaze was set on the wall once more, refusing to meet my eyes.
Biting the inside of my cheek to stop from laughing then and there, I nodded. "Yeah, I did. She's perfect."
Her eyes flashed up to mine for a second, hurt and jealousy raging through the waters called her eyes. "Oh. What's she like?"
"Hmm.. Well, first of all, she's the most beautiful woman I've ever seen in my entire life. She's strong, sweet, smart. She likes flowers, I believe, and lots of colour. She keeps her guards up because she's scared of being hurt on the inside, while on the outside she acts like everything's fine and she's unstoppable. She has this long, beautiful blonde hair that's sort of curly, but not so much as to be frizzy. And her eyes.. They're like your own personal ocean every time you look into them, and you find yourself getting lost in their depths. Now, I've only known her for a few days, maybe, but I already know I want to spend the rest of my life with her."
She took her plump pink lip between her teeth roughly, pushing herself off of my lap before I could stop her.
"Want to know who she is?" I asked gently, reaching out and grabbing her hips once more.
"No." She said angrily, but I could still hear the hurt and heartbreak through her voice.
"She's you," I whispered, pulling her flush against me as I softly kissed her neck, nibbling lightly.
"M-me? Really?" She choked.
"Yes, sweetheart. You're my mate."
"Oh, thank God... I thought I was even crazier than before," She mumbled, finally relaxing against my chest.
"You're perfect," I murmured, leaning in closer with my gaze on her lips.
A/N: HA CLIFFIE I'm sorry (:) <-- A sad face AND a smiley face. Friggen bam.
So. It wasn't too long since I last updated, but it was actually too long. I'm sorry I left you guys with that! But I actually like this chapter. Puts a lot of needed information in there, eh?:)
THANK YOU FOR ALL THE READS. AND VOTES. AND COMMENTS. AND AWESOMENESS GODDAMN I LOVE YOU GUYS K.
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