-Oliver-
"You're supposed to be my mate."
"Your... what?" I asked.
"My mate," Jaden sighed.
I could only stare at him for a moment, before my brain started to work again. I knew what a mate was, of course, but... "We're both guys?"
"I know," he muttered. "The Moon Goddess points out our mates that way – and we clicked immediately."
"Even though we hadn't even talked? How can we click if we haven't even talked?" I asked in confusion. "And we are both guys."
"Yeah, well, it's possible I'm not entirely... straight..." he mumbled now so quietly that I had to step closer to him.
"Really?" I asked. "But does it mean that I...?" I pointed at myself, trailing off. "Well, you do look good in my opinion, so..."
"I do?" he asked, and peered up at me.
"Well, yeah..." I said and blushed. "But I'd like to let your Moon Goddess know I'd have appreciated it if she had asked for my opinion first."
"I know, right?" he said, and continued walking. "Like, I didn't even know your name! What on earth was I supposed to do?!"
"Yeah, now it all makes more sense," I nodded. "Ever since that day I've been... kind of like pulled towards you? And I knew when you were close by, even as a wolf. Now it's a hell of a lot stronger. I know exactly where you are when we're at school, and I can feel what you feel..."
He stopped again. I turned to look at him, and saw him biting his lower lip. "You uh... You can tell exactly where I am?" he asked carefully.
"Yes," I chuckled. "I knew you were hiding behind the corner today. I knew you were coming towards me long before that."
"Huh..." he breathed out. "Well, thank you for not making fun of me, I guess..."
"I would never do that," I told him with a smile.
"Yeah, I'm beginning to understand that," he spoke quietly, and for the first time ever, he gave me a small smile. "I was freaking out, yes. I really had no idea what to do when I found out what we are..."
"I understand that," I told him. "So I'm guessing you don't have human friends?"
"Nope – we're not supposed to socialize with humans," he explained.
"Why not?"
"It's my father's rule... He used to be a human, but he was turned, and he had to leave his family and friends behind..." he spoke quietly. "We are not allowed to bring humans in our territory since there are some who can't control their urges to kill or turn humans, especially during the full moon. It's not their fault, they just can't resist their natural instincts."
"Oh, I see..." I muttered, and suddenly realized I hadn't even thought about the reality of being a werewolf. "But you can?" I asked hesitantly.
"Yeah – I'm a born werewolf. Those who were once humans but were turned into werewolves are the dangerous ones. One of them being my father... He accidentally turned one of his human friends into a werewolf as well... He still bears the scars from the attack..." Jaden spoke with a sad voice. "It's one of the reasons why I didn't want you as my mate."
I nodded slowly. "So, I can't see your territory?" I asked.
"I don't think so," he sighed. "It's too dangerous for humans. They are not all the same. Ezra – the one my father turned – can be close to humans. My father can control himself as long as it's not full moon."
"I see," I said, feeling a bit more relieved. "But why can't you have human friends then?"
"Because it never works out," he said. "We will most likely stay in our territory and getting attached to humans will only cause pain. And we do have some trust issues – there's a lot of humans who want to kill us or use us or make money with us, so it's just easier to stay away."
"And I'm guessing that is why you didn't trust me? Or don't trust me?"
"I... I have the feeling I can trust you," he said hesitantly. "I can feel what you feel, just like you can feel what I feel. Although I can't do what you do. I can't feel you unless you're really close to me."
I was having a bit hard time keeping up with what he was saying. "So, you can feel what I feel, but you can't feel my presence?"
"Exactly. I can smell you from afar though," he said. "And hear you. And your heartbeat."
"That's handy," I chuckled.
I saw him looking at me for a long time, and I was glad to know he was getting quite relaxed around me. Oh, and he was curious. He was walking much closer to me – if I reached with my hand, I could touch him. I didn't though.
"Okay, about this mate thing..." I trailed off. "Is it, like... permanent? Can it be cancelled?"
"There's a way... I could reject you..." he spoke slowly.
"Why haven't you done it?" I asked, but he just shrugged. "Wait a minute – are we, like... supposed to... uhm..."
"Fall madly in love? Yes..." he spoke with a dark voice, but then he got spooked by his own words. "I mean! We don't have to! It's just that... since we clicked... we... technically..."
I had never seen him blush, so watching his cheeks turn red was absolutely adorable. "What do you mean, clicked?"
He let out a deep groan, and shook his head. "Like I said, it's our goddess' way of pointing out suitable partners. You are suitable for me, and since I am suitable for you, we clicked, and the bond was formed. If you hadn't seen me as a suitable partner, only I could've felt it while you wouldn't have any idea about it."
"Does that happen a lot?" I asked.
"Sometimes," he said, and sighed. "But this doesn't mean anything, you know. We can just act like nothing's going on and see what happens..."
I thought about it for a short moment, and then nodded. "I like that plan. I'm curious to see what makes you suitable for me."
His blush turned a little more red.
"You know – I'm surprised that you talk so much," I continued, trying to change the subject since there was so much more I wanted to say and ask, and I had no idea how long he would tolerate me.
"It's your fault," he muttered, and when I looked at him, he growled, keeping his head down. "You told Arch you don't have anyone to turn to, and I don't want you to think you're crazy, so..."
"That's so sweet of you," I said quietly.
"Whatever..." he mumbled, but he was secretly pleased. "Stop reading my feelings!"
"I don't know how to stop it!" I protested. "You and your feelings are in my head every second of the day!"
He squinted his eyes at me once again. "What else did you want to know?" he asked with an annoyed tone.
"Uhh... Well..." I trailed off, trying to think of a new topic. "Okay! You said your father made the rule about us humans. Is he some kind of leader or something?"
"He's the leader. He's our Alpha," Jaden said.
"Oh, that explains.... So are you the next leader?"
For some reason, he didn't like that question. "Yeah..."
"Oh – I have another one – our new vice principal. Is he one of you?" I asked.
"Yes, he's Beta in our pack. Ezra is the other Beta," he explained. "There's usually two of them, like Tilly and Arch will be my Betas when I become the Alpha."
"I see. And... Jack?" I spoke his name carefully, but my stomach started twisting unpleasantly.
"He's from the other pack that lives outside the town," Jaden said. "An utter asshole if you ask me. Stay away from him."
Yeah, he didn't need to tell me that.
"What was that thought?" he asked, looking at me carefully.
"Nothing," I shook my head. I really didn't want to talk about Jack.
"You're getting scared," Jaden spoke. "Did Jack do something to you?"
I shook my head, and tried to give him a smile. "He just freaks me out, that's all."
I wasn't sure if he believed me, since he still kept his eyes on me, so I had to come up with something new to ask.
"There's something else... I think one of my caretakers knows about supernatural things. I once overheard a conversation she had over the phone. And I'm pretty sure she was in my dream last night..."
"You mean someone in the orphanage?" Jaden asked. "That would explain one thing... I once had a talk with Beta Ryder – Vice Principal Hanson I mean – and it seemed like he knows someone at the orphanage. But I haven't sensed any other beings than humans in there."
"So what does it mean?" I asked – I was getting beyond curious.
"My dad has his eyes and ears everywhere – a lot of humans around here know about us," Jaden explained with a shrug. "Tilly found out that the principal is one of them, for example."
"Oh..." I muttered and thought about Mrs. Bundt. If there was someone at the orphanage who knew about supernatural beings, it was her. "I'll just ask her the next time I see her, but she took a week off..."
"You might want to be careful what you tell her, in case she has no clue," Jaden said with a warning tone. "I have to protect my pack – humans can't find out about us."
"I won't say anything about you guys, I promise," I told him.
I guess he could feel that I was being sincere, since he nodded and turned to look away. "This is enough for one day – I'll walk you home."
"O-Okay," I said, feeling so ridiculously disappointed.
He took a short glimpse of me, and sighed. "I can't hang out with you at school, because people think we're the mafia or something. It would make your life worse if they think you have something to do with us."
"I get it," I muttered, but it didn't help. How much worse could my life get anyway?
Jaden let out a silent growl. "You're killing me, human."
"Sorry," I said, and hesitated for a moment, but I had to ask. "Why do you care about me?"
"Honestly? I don't know," he said.
For some reason, the fact that he didn't deny it made me feel really happy.
"Oh – did you get your chocolate by the way?" I asked. "I gave it to Arch."
"Yeah, I got it," he said. "I'm saving it for later. Chocolate is... well..."
"You all seem to love chocolate. Is that a werewolf thing?" I asked.
"Nope, but we don't have much money, so we try to save it for emergencies and things we can't get on our own," he explained. "Most of us don't have jobs outside our territory you see."
"Can I ask, how do you live? Do you have like houses and stuff?" I asked.
As we made our way to the orphanage, Jaden told me a lot about their territory, their village and how they lived. I was impressed to hear about their living arrangements, and how well they had hidden their existence from humans.
But too soon, we arrived at my home, and we had to say goodbye.
"I get it that you can't hang out with me at school, but..." I hesitated for a moment, before I continued, "I really liked our evening walks..."
He let out a deep breath. "I'll see if I can drop by tomorrow, after school. As a wolf."
"I'd like that," I said quietly, and he nodded.
"Well, bye," he said, and left me by the gate with a wave of his hand.
"Bye," I said quietly, knowing he could still hear me, feeling really happy that we finally had the chance to talk.
And I really wished we could do it again tomorrow.