Bad News
1118 Words
I groan as I open my eyes. My whole body feels extremely sore and the first thing I see is Lion's face right above me.
I scoot back on the couch and gasp when I realize I'm naked. Fully naked. I grab a blanket from the couch to cover myself, trying not to lose my mind.
"Are you feeling okay?" Lion asks looking concerned. I have a scary few seconds where I think... is it possible he did something to me? Why the hell don't I have any clothes on? Why does everything hurt? But for some reason I know that's not possible. Lion couldn't hurt me, I know that deep in my bones, “Mid, you had your first shift. It wasn't easy, you must be in pain.”
What the hell?
"Oh. I am,” I blurt out, frowning while trying to remember what happened, but I have no idea, "I-I turned into a wolf?"
"Uh... sort of," he mumbles and scratches his head, "Your wolf is seriously malnourished. It's small, weak and ugly, hardly has any fur. It was kind of traumatizing to see, honestly."
Oh, no. That’s horrible. Even as a wolf im lackluster, what a fücking nightmare.
"Hey, hey, don't feel bad. I'm sorry I said that," he stops me as my lip starts to quiver, putting his hands on my shoulders, "It's understandable. You don't eat meat and you don't exercise, you're not even fully wolf. You need to eat right and become strong, then your wolf will be normal. I swear. This was just the first time."
"I'm going to be a pretty wolf if I eat meat?" I ask and Lion nods several times to make me feel better, "Okay. I will start then."
"One other thing. Uh..." he takes a breath and sits on the floor on his knees in front of me, "I was going to wait for you to read before I blurted this out on you, but I'm forced to tell you now. Um, you see... there are times when our wolves fall in love with someone. Usually your wolf and that person's wolf fall in love with each other, as Alpha and Omega. They're considered fated mates."
"Really? That's something real?" I ask, genuinely surprised. I've read books where they talk about that kind of thing but I always considered it fantasy, "What does that mean? Why are you telling me?"
"Well, because it looks like your wolf fell in love with Gray," he blurts out, making my heart stop, "That would be an amazing and beautiful thing... if he felt the same way. But I don't think he does."
"What? W-why not? I mean...obviously, we just met. There's time. He could fall in love with me later."
"That's not how wolves work, Mid," he explains, lifting his hands to rub his face. "I've only met one fated mates couple in my entire life. It's not something that happens all the time, okay? It's a rare thing, a gift of nature. When two adult wolves meet, they realize this. Both their wolves fall in love instantly, they create an immediate and unbreakable bond. Grayson doesn't feel this for you, I know because it would be obvious and strong if he did, especially if this is Grayson we’re talking about, he's a volatile and intense guy. And he definitely couldn't leave you to be with someone else, he'd be forced by his wolf to want only you."
Holy crap. I'm in shock, unable to comprehend what he's explaining to me.
"What happens usually when two wolves fall in love? How do they act towards each other?" I ask, rewinding all the interactions I've had with Gray since I saw him in the coffee shop and thought he was deformed.
"Well I've never seen it firsthand, but it's supposed to be an incredibly intense thing. Their wolves push them together and they can't be separated from that point on. Think of the most toxic couple absolutely obsessed with each other. It’s like that."
"Obviously, that's not our case," I mutter and Lion nods.
"That's why I said your wolf is the one in love. That thing you felt earlier, that need to go to him and stop him from being with Gemma is what fated mates feel all the time. Urgency and need to be with each other. As soon as your wolf got out she tried to go after Gray, but she couldn't take more than two steps before she collapsed and you went back to your human form."
"Damn, how embarrassing," I mumble and Lion nods with a mocking smile that he tries to hide as I narrow my eyes at him, "But... to be honest, I don't feel like I'm in love with him either. It might have been a one time thing?"
"Really?" he asks, looking at me confused, "Uh, then I have no idea what could be going on. You don't feel uh, like you're in... heat?"
"No," I answer confidently. I know what he means and it's been two years since that's happened to me, but I know exactly when it happens. It's not time yet.
"In that case, I guess it was just something weird," he says and I can see he's as lost as I am, "Go and get dressed, I'll take you to the library."
I do that and only half an hour later I'm in my room again with twenty wolf history books that I'm devouring like my life depends on it.
I read all about fated mates and everything Lion said is correct. Mother Nature is their ‘God’, supposedly, this entity merged this two souls together and they are destined to find each other. Once they do, the bond they create is unbreakable. Fated mates are devoted and in love for the rest of their lives and if one of them dies the other one follows.
That’s a lot. Too much. I definitely don’t feel like that.
I try to connect with my wolf to see if she wants to say something else to me, but she’s nowhere to be found. That’s good, I guess. I don’t want Grayson to be my fated mate.
I have nothing against him, I actually like him a lot, but I want to explore and have fun with a lot of guys. Finding a fated mate and getting obsessed with only one guy would be very, very sad.
That’s why I decide that was a fluke and I ask Lion to pretend that didn’t happen. He asks me to never fall in love with Grayson, ‘for my own good’.
“Don’t worry. I definitely won’t,” I promise.
- Writer
