Loving A Quiet Werewolf

Chapter 3: Elder Cherish

Matthew's POV

Jack and I walked into the elder's office with our parents following. Isaac and Oliver came too because Jack told them what happened and he apparently cried to them and they were worried. Jack and I sat in the chairs in front of Elder Cherish's desk, our parents behind us.

"So you two want to know if you're mates or not?" He asked, cutting to the chase.

"Y-yes." Jack said before I could. I reached over, taking his hand, knowing that he's nervous.

"Okay, so here's how it works. I have to attach these wires to both of you, then you will be in each other's heads."

"How is this dangerous?" Isaac asked. I heard Jack sniffle and I saw that he was crying again. I know how he felt. I was nervous too. I pulled him into a standing position and pulled him onto my lap. I cradled him in my arms, letting him bury his face in my shoulder.

"When they're in each other's heads, their fears that haunt them are also in the way. They have to take the fears. It's not going to kill them, they just have to work past it. They know they're mates or not if they're wolves have connected spiritually. They'll know and we'll know if that happens."

Oliver placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "You sure you wanna do this?"

Jack looked up and nodded. "Y-yes, Dad."

"Okay, sit in separate chairs." Elder Cherish said. He walked over to us and attached wires to our skin on our arms and neck. I looked at Jack and gave him a soft smile. "Ready?"

We both nodded before he closed his eyes. Before we knew it, we blacked out. The darkness was replaced by a very bright white light. I shielded my eyes and then I looked down. I saw the ground, but it was very far away.

"s**t!" I yelled when I looked back up. I was on top of a building with my feet on the edge. "Jack, why do you have to be scared of heights?" I whispered to myself.

I looked down at the ground at the bright green grass, but it seemed so far away. I walked along the edge until it stopped. I looked over the edge at crystal clear water.

They have to take the fears. It's not going to kill them, they just have to work past it.

With that in mind, I jumped from the building, plunging into the water. He had a fear of water too. I broke the surface, looking at the people surrounding me. It was really loud.

Fear of crowds.

I went back into the water, swimming underwater. The people were suddenly gone and I felt someone grab me. This was my fear. Fear of drowning. I tried to scream, but the water got stuck in my throat.

I let my eyes close and I let the water take me where ever I was meant to go.

I woke up to feel someone's hands on my chest. I felt someone saying my name.

"Matthew!" My eyes shot open and I sat up. I felt Jack put his hands on my shoulders, trying to calm me down. I let the air fill my chest. I looked over at Jack who looked scared.

"It's going so fast." I whispered.

"I know. I don't know what to do now. What do we do, Matt?"

"Come on." I whispered, pulling him to his feet. I took his hand as we started walking. I had no idea where we were, but it looked like an abandoned building.

"Who's fear is this?" He whispered.

"Mine." Fear of abandoned places. When I was about 14, my friends and I snuck out and went to this abandoned house.

It really scared me when we just sat in the middle of the house and they just started saying random things. It's like they were talking to someone.

That's when a door slammed shut and the flashlight went out. I started asking where everyone had gone, then I realized that I was alone. They had thought it was funny, but it wasn't.

Once I got out of the house, my parents were there because I had texted them before my phone died. My dads had talked to the kids' parents and they haven't talked to me since.

"Matthew, what're we doing? We're mates. We don't need some stupid thing like this to tell us."

"We can't leave it now, Jack." I whispered, kissing the side of his head.

He tugged on my hand and I looked at him. He had a tear running down his face. He was scared. He didn't want to get hurt. I cupped his face in my hands.

"I'm not going to let anyone or anything touch you." I whispered.

He nodded, leaning up to kiss me. "Thank you."

He connected our lips and that's when I felt a shock through my entire body. That's when the scene changed from the abandoned house to my bedroom. Were we done?

"What's going on?" He whispered, looking at the bed.

That's when I saw me, crying. It was like deja vu as I saw my head on top of my knees. I froze. This isn't what I think it is, is it?

"I can't do this." The younger version of me said.

"Matthew, what's going on?" Jack asked me.

"I can't be in a relationship. I can't be so committed to someone."

Fear of commitment.

That's when I felt the tears sting my eyes. "Matthew?"

I backed up into the wall, feeling my heart speed up. That's when Jack stood in front of me and cupped my face. I pushed him away and that's when the younger me looked up and saw us. He got off the bed and I saw that his eyes were dark gray.

He charged towards me and I pushed him away. He charged again and I twisted his arm behind his back, making him scream.

"D-" He tried to scream, but I covered his mouth with my hand.

"Shut up." I whispered.

"W-what do we do?" Jack whispered.

I wiped one of my tear away and placed my fingers on the pressure point on his neck. He was out like a light. I set him on the bed, carefully. Not wanting to hurt myself.

"Matthew?" Jack whispered.

"I've never told anyone this, but I have a fear of commitment. That's why I didn't want you to see this."

"Why do you have a fear?"

"Well, my own biological parents couldn't care enough to be committed to me. At the first sight of trouble, they gave me away. I just have trust issues and relationships are hard enough."

"But if we're mates, which I'm 99% sure that we are, then I'm never going to leave you. We were meant to be and I've kinda liked you for a long time, so I don't want to mess this up."

"You never think someone's going to hurt you, but then they just do."

"Do you think I'm going to hurt you, Matt?" He whispered.

"How do I know? I know you would never intentionally do it, but I gave a sensitive mental state and I hate commitment."

"Do you realize that my parents, whoever they are, gave me up too?"

That's when it hit me. We were both adopted. He probably had the same fears as I do. He probably has trust issues and fears of commitment. We both had f****d up biological parents.

As I looked into his eyes, I felt my whole body becoming one with his. Our scents mixed and we became closer than ever. The wind picked up and we were no longer in my bedroom. We were in a swirling tunnel of air.

My eyes never left his and his never left mine. This is it. We're mates.

I shot up in my chair, my breath coming in gasps. Jack sat up too and looked over at me. Once we locked eyes, we smiled. We stood up, pulling each other into our arms.

That's when I was able to let my emotions go. To just be free because this wasn't just a boy in front of me. This was a man. A man that was my best friend, my love, my mate.

"You guys okay?" Elder Cherish asked.

We nodded, not letting each other go. Dad placed his hand on my shoulder and we finally let go. We let the elder take the wires off of our skin, seeing little spots of where they were.

"Let's go back to our house. We gotta talk all together." Father said and Oliver and Isaac nodded.

Here comes the rules.

We got into the car that we had all driven in. Dad and Father were in the driver and passenger's seat. Oliver and Isaac were in the middle seats and Jack and I occupied the back.

Once we sat down, we scooted closer to each other and took each other's hand. He looked at me and let our lips meet. It was like a jolt as our bodies got even closer. It's like we mated, but didn't actually mate.

It feels so weird to be connected to someone like this. It's like everything I am is also him. We make up each other and I suddenly couldn't imagine a future without him.

Once we got to my house, we all went inside. We sat on the couches as couples and the adults looked at us.

"We planned what we would do if you two were mates, so we have some rules." Dad said. I groaned, face palming myself. Everyone chuckled at my state.

"Rule number one," Oliver started. "we want you to be as comfortable as you want, so if you don't want the pack knowing, you can wait until it's time for Matthew to take up the alpha position."

"Rule number two," Dad started. "we all know what it's like to be confused and/or scared, so we want you to come to any of us if you have questions, concerns, or a problem."

"Rule number three," Isaac started. "we will allow you two to have sleepovers, but your schoolwork and safety is top priority. If your grades drop too much, no more sleepovers until you get it up."

"Rule number four," Father started. "we know what happens when you're mates. You're gonna have s*x. We're gonna smell it and we'll congratulate you both, but we want you to be smart about what you're doing. Condoms must be worn at all time and-"

"We don't need a safe s*x talk!" I yelled.

"I don't care. This is what you have to do to be able to see each other," I groaned, but let my father continue anyways. "so condoms aren't an option. They're a demand. We also don't want to know when you're doing it, so please mate when we are not home. At least for the first time."

We nodded. Jack spoke for us. "Okay, we can do that."

"Now, we just want to congratulate you both for finding your mate even if it was a bad way to find out. We're here for anything, but for right now, we'll leave you alone." Dad said and they went to Oliver and Isaac's house.

I looked at Jack. "Well, that was.."

"Uncomfortable?"

"Uncomfortable."