POV OF MAEVE
I stood there staring into the woods, watching as the last of the werewolves disappeared deeper into the forest. Grayson tugged my hand again, staring at my face with an odd look as he waited for me to follow him.
I'm guessing my mum saw my internal battle with my self, because she made her way over to me, smiling brightly. "Honey, I want to introduce you to someone." She looked from me to Grayson, then to our tangled hands.
"Oh! Oh my, honey is he your mate?!" Mum bounced up and down, just as Grayson and I shouted "No," At the same time. She immediately stopped, got her self together and apologized. Grayson laughed it off, dropping my hand from his and mum took the opportunity to grab my arm.
"See you later, Maeve." Grayson nodded, tearing off his clothes and turning into an auburn wolf. I waved gently back at him, before following my impatient mother to a group of men and my father. She plopped down on my dad's lap, and pointing to the male sitting next to my father.
"Do you remember him? Adrian?" Mum smiled at the man, but her smile was a bit uneasy. Her eyes flickered back up to me as she waited for my response. As quickly as possible, I rummaged through my brain. Adrian. Adrian.
"Your a good friend of Uncle Cam's?" I guessed, hoping my good memory was right.
"Yep," Adrian smiled, "This is my son, he's two years older then you. His name is Brad," Adrian spoke, wrapping his arm around the blonde woman that had walked over, who was obviously his mate- by the way he was looking at her.
I looked over at Brad, he was an exact younger replica of his father, except that Brad's hair was a tad longer. Mum smiled up at me, "He's a looker, isn't he? He's a guard." Her words almost sounded teased; and I could tell she approved of him. The smile dad gave me told me he approved of him too, and I looked at Brad, who was staring at me just strangely with that intense look.
"Hey," I tried to break the awkwardly silence, reaching out my hand for Brad to shake. Instead, he grabbed my hand, smiling slightly and pulling me onto his lap. I let out a short, feminine scream as I landed uncomfortably on his muscled lap.
Every one around here was now looking at us strangely, and I couldn't stop the bright blush that covered my cheeks. I was REALLY making an impression at this BBQ. What the hell was Brad doing?
"She's my mate." His voice sounded strained, and I gave him a 'What-the-hell-are-you-saying' look. Mum jumped up from my dad, a huge grin on both of their faces. Every one cheered, and I furrowed my eye brows as I stared up at Adrian.
I didn't feel the sparks as he touched me like mum said I would. Sure, he was attractive, but I don't think he was my mate. I stayed silent, I think enough drama has happened during this BBQ; I'll say something later.
What if maybe Brad was my mate? What if I was just being an idiot and not realizing it?
I caught Adrian in the corner of my eye smirking, and gave Brad a sinister nod. I looked up at Brad, who had me squashed into his chest. He smiled down at me, but it was easy to tell the smile was forced.
"Oh, I want a picture!" Mum squealed, pulling out her iphone 4G and snapping a photo of us. In the picture, it seemed as if I was looking up at Brad with a small smile, as he grinned down at me. To human eyes, it seemed as if we were in complete love.
"That's going on Facebook!" Mum shouted, and everyone laughed at her excitement. Brad stayed quiet, he seemed self reserved, something that a guard should be.
Mate. I tested the word out on my tongue quietly, and Brad looked down at me, an amused expression on his face. It didn't seem right.
We all ate, and I was forced to stick by Brad's side the whole night. I was more then sure the whole pack had heard by now, and finally, the night had ended.
"Good night," I smiled at Brad, before going to walk up to my room. The rest of the pack had went to bed already, it was two in the morning, and I was literally exhausted. The only one's down stairs were Mum, Dad and Uncle Zander.
"No, no, no!" Mum interrupted, grabbing my arm as I had begun walking up the stairs- and she pulled me down, shoving me into Brads arms. "You two are mates, you'll be sharing a bedroom."
I looked at her like she was insane. Sharing a room? I just met him tonight!
"But I don't want any funny business." Dad glared down Brad, who simply nodded, looking back down at me. He put on another strained smile and silently led me upstairs, to the bedroom.
Awkwardly, I shuffled on my feet, before Brad pulled out a pair of his boxers and a loose shirt of his.
"You can wear this tonight," He told me, and I smiled.
"Thanks," I took the clothes, and tried pulling down the zipper in the back of my pencil skirt. When I couldn't reach it, I felt Brad's warm hand wrap around my hand.
"What are you doing?" His voice sounded rough as it rang into my ear.
"Getting changed," I simply responded, looking at him oddly. We were mates for god sakes, is it that weird to get changed in front of him? He had to be, even though I didn't feel anything, maybe it was because I was tired. Who would of lied to the alpha and beta and the whole damn pack about something like that?
Brad came into realization, and unzipped the zipper himself. I felt the skirt slowly ride down my legs, landing in a puddle on the bedroom floor. His room wasn't exactly dirty- but it wasn't the cleanest either.
I slipped on the boxers, before tugging off my shirt. I watched as Brad's eyes grew wide with lust as he stared at my chest. A blush smeared across my face as I quickly pulled on his large t-shirt.
I jumped into his bed, snuggling into the blankets as he pulled off his shirt and dropped his pants, pulling on a pair of sweats over his boxers.
He crawled into bed next to me, and I watched as he looked at me deeply.
"Brad, what do you feel when you touch me?" I asked him, biting my lip once the words slipped out of my mouth. But honestly, I wanted to know.
"Er.. I feel, umm... It's like sparks.." He spoke, sounding nervous and his deep voice almost cracked.
"Are you normally this quiet?" I asked, unconsciously moving closer to him. We were centimeters away from each other now, and he nodded and smiled at me.
"Are we really mates?" I asked him, "Because I don't feel sparks." I knew I was being harsh, but the guy was freaking me out, would someone really lie about that.
"Yes." He answered, this time not hesitating but it didn't seem like a confident yes. So, nervously I pressed my lips to his cheek.
"Alright, good night." I told him, closing my eyes before I fell into a dreamless sleep.
The next morning, I woke up and Brad was gone. Slowly, I crawled out of bed, suspicions of him really being my mate floating around my head. My feet hit the carpeted floor, making a creak noise as I tossed my self up.
"Hey," Brad said, popping out of the bathroom before I had chance to leave.
"Hey," I awkwardly responded, looking him over silently. He looked well dressed, but he was in uniform, wearing his tucked in black polo and a pair of black jeans and black trainers.
"Where are you going?" I questioned him, not really caring about invasion of business, I still had my doubts on him actually being my mate. I was wasn't well educated when it came to mates, but I was pretty sure I looked at Brad the same way I looked at Grayson..Nothing special.
"Luna Summer wants to go shopping. I'm heading out." He gave me a genuine smile, before wrapping his arms around me. It felt awkward, being smushed into his chest like this. I forced my self to hug him back, touching his warm skin with my own, and- no sparks. I'd have to go ask my mom what you felt when you found your mate..
"Bye," I simply said, as he exited the room, leaving me all alone.
I sat on the floor, placing my head in my hands, taking deep breaths.
Was Brad my mate or not?
A soft sound of pitter-patter caught my attention, and it took me a minute to realize someone was knocking on the door.
I stood up, pulled my self together, caught the metal doorknob in my hand and swung open the door. Mum stood their, a huge smile plastered onto her petite face. She sniffed the air and glared up at me, "You guys didn't mate yet?!"
I shook my head no, "Mum, we just met yesterday. Why would we mate in one night?"
Mum widened her hazel eyes, before rubbing her temples, "I forgot to have the mate talk with you, didn't I?"
I let out a forced laugh, "I assume so. I barely know anything about it,"
Her small hand wrapped around my thin wrist, tugging me forcefully down the hallway until we reached her bedroom. I was tossed to the floor, where I landed with a thud; brushing my red hair that had fallen in my face out of my eyes, I waited for my mum to explain everything about mates.
"First of all, you'll feel sparks when they touch you. Everytime you look at him, it's like he's the most perfect person in the world, no one can compare. Most males are extremely possessive, and it only gets worse after you mate. Plus, you'll have this desire to touch him, and I'm surprised you guys didn't mate last night. You can't resist your mate. You'll always be thinking about him, he's yours, and your his. He must of had to put a lot of control over himself to restrain himself from mating you. You know, your father and I-"
"That's enough details mum!" I covered my ears like a child, but do you understand how disgusting parent $ex is?!
She easily chuckled, "Now, Summer and I bought some lingerie for you and Placed it in your closet.. There's this really cute red one that would look amazing on you.. I bet Brad would love it!"
It seemed wrong thinking about having $ex with Brad. It just didn't seem right.. The things mum had said we were supposed to feel for our mates; I certainly didn't feel for Brad. So, Brad must of lied. I didn't want to tell mum that right now, but I most definetly was going to interogate him for that later.
"Let's head down stairs, it's almost noon!" Mum finally caught my attention, and slowly I got up. I pulled myself together and decided to jump in the shower before I ran into the pack once again.
"Mum, I'm heading to the bathroom to bath," I nodded at her, and she winked.
"Get something cute on for Brad!" She sang, almost tauntingly before she skipped down the hallway, humming a tune.
I grabbed a towel and turned on the shower water, letting it run down my body & sink into my hair. I washed my hair with shampoo and conditioner, before scrubbing my body with a soap bar.
I wrapped the towel around my body, and opened the door, sprinting across the hall into my huge bedroom. I made my way to the closet as I brushed down my hair, knowing it would dry in ten minutes max.
Dropping the towel, I pulled open the white door, finding a pair of dark jeans and a fitting black corset top; and sparkled, bedazzled multi colored wedged heels. My hair was finally dry, and I put on a bit of mascara and a bunch of eyeliner.
Thinking I looked cute, but fashionable, I made my way down stairs to where I found the pack. Of course, Aunt Summer wasn't there, so Uncle Zander stood alone in the corner as he stared longingly at the front door; as if he was praying she would walk through it anytime now.
"So, I heard you found your mate." Grayson whispered into my ear, and I turned quickly, immediately noticing he was standing too close for comfort. I looked into his brown eyes as I took a deep breath.
"Yeah, I did." I countered him, stepping backwards as he took a step forward. I felt someone staring at my back, and quickly I turned my head, before looking back at Grayson.
Why the hell was Adrian staring at me?
Maybe because I was his son's mate, and it seemed as if the pack's playboy was making a move on me.
"That's a shame," Grayson spoke, twirling a piece of my red hair with his fingers, "I had such good plans for us."
I raised my eye brow, letting out a quiet giggle, "And what would those plans be?" I asked, grabbing his hand and pushing it away from me. I took in a huge sniff, before something amazing filled my nose.
It was a foresty scent, mixed with ambercrombie and fitch cologne and a little bit of cinnamin. My taste buds tingled at the scent, and my body was sent over the edge with lust. I knew my brown eyes were probably turning golden- something that happened when a wolf was horny.
I didn't care, all I knew was that scent was not Graysons.
"What's that smell?" I asked Grayson, sniffing his shirt, only to find the scent was strong there.
"I don't know," Grayson looked at me strangely, furrowing his eyebrows as he took a step away from me. I planted my hands on his shoulders tugging him closer to me, pressing my face into his chest again. The scent filled my nose, and I let out a short whimper as I felt my wolf literally scream, 'MATE!'
A quiet silence passed between me and Grayson, and I knew this must of looked wierd to others, me digging my face into his chest, and him standing there awkwardly.
I was so preoccupaied with the scent, I didn't even realize Aunt Summer walk in home, Brad travelling behind her.
His eyes landed on us, but I didn't notice. I didn't notice until I felt strong arms wrap around my waist, pulling me away from Grayson.
"Whats going on?" Brad asked, "Why are you taking in his scent, Maeve?"
I wanted to smell the scent on Grayson's shirt again, "Grayson," I whimpered, "Who's scent is on your shirt?"
I didn't have time to listen to his reply, because Adrian had stepped in between of Grayson and I.
"Boys, we don't want a fight here. Brad, take Maeve upstairs. Grayson, go play." His voice was ruthless, and I had a bad feeling about him.
I sent a drastic look over at Mum, who was watching observantly, Brad and I, a glint of something in her eye. She was having doubts, she was my mum- I knew that look. She was having a difficult time believing, as I too.
I didn't understand why I didn't feel the sparks in Brad's touch. He brought me upstairs, and I knew it was time. I was going to find out, Brad, I'm going to see if your my mate or not.
I sent him a taunting smirk as I dragged him towards the mate, mum's words haunting my head.
You can't resist your mate.
Well Brad, let's see if you can resist me.