The Aberrant She-Wolf

Chapter 006 - Prospects

“You are lucky, you are my friend,” I say, glaring at him.

“Before you get angry, she’s my mother. She won’t tell a soul about it. And besides, if I am going to invite you to live with me, I need her permission.”

“I can’t believe you asked her for that! You saw what happened, there’s no way we can stay at Sierra Madre!”

“That’s not what I suggested to her, okay? I asked if we can live in the city after this school year. I can transfer to a university here. If I graduate from a known university, that would give me more chance to get hired in the future.”

“But?”

“We still need to ask permission from the alpha. And me, being an omega, it’s hard to meet with him.” He pauses, “The five of us, we can live together, that is, unless you don’t want it?”

“Nathan, you know you can’t do that. It’s too much trouble for you and your mother.” I lean closer to him and whisper, “You do realize that my brother has primordial blood, right? And he can’t control it. It will endanger the two of you. I can’t do that.”

“Has it never entered your mind that maybe, I—”

“Here’s your order.”

Two plates are placed between us. I back away from Nathan and look at the owner of the deep voice–Alli. As I expected, he leaves the kitchen to do this.

“Are you going to introduce me to your friend?” Alli asks.

I grumble. “Nathan, this is Alli. He’s the chef for this shift.” I massage my head and continues, “Alli, this is Nathan, my—”

“Soon to be boyfriend,” Nathan cuts in and offers to shake Alli’s hand.

Alli raises his brow but still accepts and shakes Nathan’s outstretched hand. “So he’s the reason why you are evading my advances? Why not become his girlfriend now? You seem close already.”

“My mother’s not allowing me to have a boyfriend until I graduate,” I lie. Of course, my mother does not care about that. Rather, she’d be happy if I find my mate, even if she suffered from my father.

“And if you don’t graduate? You will be a spinster. That’s a sure path towards loneliness.”

I glare at him. This sad excuse of a person. “You don’t have to worry about my state of mind. I am too busy to feel lonely.”

“Besides, I am here,” Nathan adds.

Alli shifts his attention to him. Then in an angry tone, he says, “I am not talking to you.”

“Alli, you should go. We can’t enjoy our meal if you are hovering over us,” I say, hoping that he did not poison our food.

Alli snorts before leaving and Cami comes forward. “Don’t worry about the food. It’s safe, I watch him make it. And besides,” she looks over at Nathan. “You have a handsome suitor. Say yes to him already or I might try to steal him.” After saying that, she leaves, following after Alli.

I turn my attention back to Nathan. In reality, he is good-looking–straight hair, fair skin, and a nice, lean build–thanks to his werewolf genes. In Sierra Madre, girls can only see that he is an omega, the lowest of the low. She-wolves don’t like him unless they are just playing with him.

He’s not the type to play with girls though. He adores his mother, so he hates the guys who don’t know how to treat girls fairly. And since we don’t associate with humans–being werewolves and all–he doesn’t have a chance to build a relationship with them. Too bad though. Only she-humans can look past his omega status.

Now, out of earshot, I whisper to him, “Cami seems to like you.”

“You know that I don’t like city girls.”

“Ha! You said that a million times already.”

“Your brother and mother, how are they?” he asks, changing the topic.

“My brother’s continuing his study. But my mother is, well, what she’s always been.”

“When can I visit?”

“After this. Besides, you’re staying for the weekend, right?” I sample the food. It’s delicious. No matter what Alli is, he really knows how to prepare a meal.

“How was it?” he asks.

“You are also afraid you’d get poisoned?” I grin. “It’s delicious.”

Nathan puts a spoonful of rice and meat. “Hmmm, it is.”

“I hope my mate excels at cooking,” I blurt out.

“Why? You can cook.”

“I learn how to cook out of necessity, but I never enjoyed it.”

Nathan snorts and continues to eat. “Eat fast now. I want to see your mom and brother soon.”

********************************

It’s early lunch when Nathan and I arrive at the apartment. We bought ingredients for adobo, thinking that cooking is cheaper for the weekends. Since Nathan will be staying over the weekend, I told Mrs. Flores that I won’t be working on Saturday night.

“That smells good,” Nathan comments. He’s sitting beside my mother who is talking to him about menial things.

“I hope it also tastes good,” I say, turning the stove off and sitting beside Nathan. We are waiting for Gerald. His classes are done so any moment now he’ll arrive.

“What are you watching?” I ask, looking over at the screen of his phone.

“Just some American series.”

“I hope it’s not the same series we are planning to watch over the weekend?”

“Definitely, no.”

“I heard he visited your work area?” my mother cuts in.

“Yes, and we acted like a couple again,” I answer. “He’s a good actor.”

“Why don’t you become a real couple instead? In that way, you don’t need to act.”

I laugh. People around us have been expecting it, but Nathan and I are not like that. We are not best friends who would later fall in love with each other.

“Ma, you know it doesn’t work that way with werewolves. We have our destined mates. And if Nathan is my mate, the bond should have already activated when we both became eighteen.”

“Who knows? It’s only a year of delay.”

I hit Nathan. “It’s about time you oppose my Ma’s suggestions,” I jest. When Nathan just shrug his shoulders, I add, “And besides, we’ve always been together. If Nathan is my destined mate, I could have felt it, right?” I repeat.

“That’s correct,” Nathan agrees.

“What’s correct?”

We both look at the source of the voice and see Gerald taking off his shoes before he comes into the house. After dropping his bag on the floor, he approaches to kiss our mother on her cheeks and greets Nathan. “It’s been a while,” he says.

“It is.”

I roll my eyes. “It’s only been a few weeks. Certainly, you didn’t miss each other that much?”

Gerald grins, but instead of answering me, he asks. “I’ve seen a basketball court close to this apartment. Wanna play later? Or tomorrow morning? Besides, if you allow my sister, you two will just coop up in this tiny apartment.”

Gerald leans closer to Nathan and whispers, “It will be boring, I assure you.”

“What we are going to watch later is not pure romance. It’s mixed with action and the supernatural. It’s not boring!”

“See? What did I tell you?” Gerald looks around and asks, “Did you buy any soda and ice?”

“None for you,” I answer.

Gerald and Nathan look at each other and grin. Then Gerald says, “I’m gonna steal you to play basketball with me then.”