My Second Chance Mate

8

That’s impossible. This is not happening. My response to my bewildered Wolf was barely a whisper.

Her excitement surged as he crossed the threshold. She was hardly able to contain herself. Mate! Mate! Mate! That’s our Mate! she yipped.

I watched him, shocked and unmoving. He was tall, with a muscular build. Broad shoulders, and big, strong arms that strained against the sleeves of his rain-soaked windbreaker. He pushed his hood back to reveal a full head of curly black hair that I instantly longed to run my fingers through. He shrugged out of his dripping jacket and went to sit at a table on the opposite side of the room from me. Another man was already seated there, but I hardly noticed him. My second chance Mate’s scent was all around me, enveloping me, and I resisted the urge to throw myself at him.

Why hasn’t he noticed us yet?! my Wolf demanded, as if I knew. She carried on with her crazed barking and yipping and jumping about, when it dawned on me.

Our scent is masked, I murmured. I was sure that spending years among humans would weaken my werewolf scent, even for my Mate.

I was entranced with him. I watched him unabashedly, unable to tear my gaze away. He leaned on his elbows on the table in front of him, staring at the man he was sitting with. They were speaking in hushed voices, but it didn’t matter how loudly or quietly they spoke, because blood was rushing in my ears and I couldn’t hear a thing. His massive biceps appeared to barely fit through the sleeves of his T-shirt. I couldn’t resist. I leaned back slightly in my chair to get a better look at his face. He had a strong nose and plump lips. There was stubble on his face, and my fingers itched to trace his chiseled jaw. He was looking down at his large hands, through his long black lashes.

I was taken aback when he looked back up. His left eye was a rich, deep brown, and his right eye was an icy blue that reminded me of a frozen-over stream. I had never seen anything like it. Every molecule in my body was screaming to get closer to him.

I could pinpoint the exact second that he detected my scent, finally. His strange eyes flicked up to meet mine, and I jolted back in my seat. His thick brows knit together and he c****d his head to the side slightly. He stared at me in confusion for some time, and I stared back, breathing heavy, like a deer in the headlights.

Then, a look of cognizance flitted across his perfect features. His eyes flashed silver in color, and his jaw dropped, as I imagine mine did the same—it was the Mate-bond being recognized for the first time.

I panicked. All of the memories of Callum, of my rejection, that I’d either suppressed or healed from over the years, came crashing down on me, and the very last thing I wanted was to relive that awful experience. Being rejected once hadn’t killed me, but I knew, without a shred of doubt, that it would finish the job this time around. I didn’t want to die.

I wrenched my gaze away from my Mate as my vision quickly clouded with hot tears, and I shoved my hand in my purse. I rummaged around desperately for my wallet, found it, and clumsily pulled out my debit card, spilling coins and dropping a few store credit cards in the process. My Mate was on his feet now. I slammed my Visa down on the table, grabbed my jacket, and darted towards the door as the tears spilled over. I squeezed my eyes shut as I hurried past him, and he didn’t make any moves to stop me. My Wolf was snarling and hurling threats and insults at me, but I didn’t care.

I burst out of the café and hurried down the sidewalk. A heavy sob wracked my body. I yanked on my jacket and clutched my purse tightly. I didn’t hold back my pitiful, ugly cries. I didn’t care that people were staring.

Natalie, you goddamn coward! What the hell do you think you’re doing?! my Wolf roared.

This isn’t happening!

Go back! Go back now! she ordered.

I struggled to keep her from taking over, as she snapped her jaws and howled in blind rage, and tried with all her might to claw her way to the front of my mind.

The Moon Goddess has blessed us with a second chance and you are ruining it! she shrieked.

Another sob shook me, and I glanced over my shoulder, half-hoping he was following me.

He wasn’t.

I cried all the way home. At last, I trudged up the stairs to my apartment, dragged myself dejectedly inside, and shut the door weakly behind me. I crumbled into a weepy, emotional heap on the floor, right there in the entryway, while my Wolf lamented over the presumed loss of our second chance Mate.

•••

MARCH 2018

​“Jesse and I are going to move in together.”

​Kate and I had lunch at our favorite spot in town, and we were on our way to the training grounds. She wouldn’t be training, but I would be, sort of. Finnian and my dad had asked me to assist with the assessment of a group of wolves that had come to us just a few days earlier. The Black Summit pack had absorbed the Crescent Moon pack, thus claiming the entire state of New Hampshire as their territory. This happened sometimes, when other packs were overtaken. Sometimes their members would choose to disassociate, and they would be left to either find someone else to take them in, or become rogues. Disassociation happened for various reasons. In this case, I assumed it was because the Black Summit pack was…well, the Black Summit pack.

​Upon these wolves’ arrival on our territory, our border patrols captured and detained them. They were questioned, they were deemed innocent and unthreatening, and my father, being the merciful Alpha that he was, offered to let them join the White Mountain pack.

​New members had to be assessed, of course, to determine whether they could be an asset to our military.

​“That’s awesome,” I said, as Kate and I walked leisurely down the sidewalk. There was dirty black snow piled up on the ground, and there was a sharp, cold chill in the air. “When are you moving? I can help.”

​She smiled at me. “Not till August-ish. I want one of the new constructions on the north side of town.”

​I smiled back as we turned the corner. I gave a pleasant nod of acknowledgement to a woman and her small child, as she excitedly told her son who I was. “I’m happy for you, Kate,” I said. “You’ll have the cutest little house. I bet you already have all the furniture picked out.”

​“You’re damn right. I already ordered a few things.”

​We prattled on like teenage girls do, about Kate’s plans for her first home of her own, and about how dreamy her Mate is, and about my most recent romantic venture. We passed by the packhouse, and continued on up the block to the training grounds. It was a big, open field, partially shaded by trees. There were sparring mats on the dead, frosty grass, and the entire left half of the field was arranged as an intense, rather challenging obstacle course. In the dead of winter, when it was far too cold and snowy outside to use the training grounds, we utilized the gym at the packhouse for sparring and basic training, but we would brave the weather to continue to use the obstacle course.

​War didn’t wait for snow to melt.

​Finnian considered mid-March to be warmed up enough to use the training grounds. The way he saw it, if you were really giving it your all, you’d work up a sweat anyway; you’d keep warm. Kate and I crossed the field to where Finnian stood near the sparring mats, observing the newcomers from a distance as they navigated the obstacle course. A light breeze rustled the bare tree branches overhead, and I caught a whiff of something that stopped me in my tracks. Citrus, with a hint of something else—sweat, probably, but it was still like nothing I’d ever smelled before. Kate regarding me with a knowing look, slowing her pace, just a few steps ahead of me.

​But, just as soon as I smelled it, it was gone when the gentle wind died down. I shook my head and caught up with Kate.

​Finnian turned to us and greeted us with a friendly smile as we approached. “Good afternoon, Natalie, Kate,” he said. “I appreciate you for taking the time out of your day to assist me.”

​Kate snorted. “I’m not assisting, Finnian.”

​His eyes glinted with amusement. “I’m aware. I don’t need your assistance, Kate.”

​Kate scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest, and left us to go sit on a bench on the perimeter of the field.

​Finnian watched her go, before turning his attention back to me. He continued, “Alpha Angus is out on the obstacle course with the newcomers, as are two of our finest warriors—”

​“Oliver and R.J., I presume?” I interrupted.

​“That’s right,” Finnian confirmed, with a nod. “Alpha Angus, Oliver, and R.J. are out there now. There are six newcomers, all of whom disassociated when their pack was overtaken by Black Summit. Four males, two females. Crescent Moon was not a strong pack. They didn’t have strength in numbers or otherwise. Two of the males seem to be able to hold their own fairly well, but the rest of them will need intensive training if they’re to become useful to us.

​“We let the newcomers decide whether they wanted to spar or try the obstacle course first. As you can see, they chose the course. It isn’t going well. I’m thinking we’ll start pulling them over to spar, now that you’re here, Nat.” He clapped his hand down on my shoulder and smirked. “Don’t go easy on ‘em.”

​I held my head high and pushed my shoulders back. “You know I won’t.”

​Finnian gave me a nod of approval, and then his eyes glazed over, and I knew he was mind-linking someone. Not a moment later, I heard my dad shouting an order from somewhere within the obstacle course, and then a tall, lanky female came bounding over to us, stumbling and falling over a short, wooden structure on her way out of the course. She scrambled to her feet, and as she neared us, I noticed her shin was bleeding. She was looking expectantly at Finnian, panting with her hands on her hips.

​Finnian didn’t say a word. “Would you like to make a quick visit to the clinic for your shin?” I asked her.

​She had a good half a foot on me. She looked down at me and her eyebrows rose in surprise. She hesitated. “N-no, I’m okay.”

​“Excellent,” I said, and clapped my hands together. “Are you ready to spar?”

​“Right now?”

​“Yes,” I replied. “We will spar in human form. Wolf-inflicted injuries are much more severe, and you aren’t ready for such advanced training.”

​“The objective is to pin. I’ll tell you when to stop,” Finnian cut in. “By the way, this is Natalie, daughter of Alpha Angus.”

​The female blinked at me, and then bowed her head respectfully.

​I smiled at her briefly, and then I turned on my heel and headed for the nearest sparring mat, and waited. She took a few deep breaths, jogged over to the benches and took a swig of water from a plastic bottle that sat atop a bench a few down from Kate’s, and then she came to join me.

​Finnian came to stand near our mat. “On my mark,” he said. I studied my opponent during the seconds that dragged on. Her dull red hair was pulled into a tight bun at the base of her neck. She had dark circles under her eyes, and she was visibly nervous.

​But still, I wouldn’t go easy on her.

​“Begin!” Finnian barked.

​I lunged for her without hesitation. She let out a small, strangled-sounding gasp, before she spun to her left and out of my way. I missed her by mere inches, but I didn’t waste time giving her a chance to recover. I coiled myself into a low crouch and sprung at her, but she dodged me gain.

​She was definitely fast. I had to give her credit, as I expected this to hardly require any effort on my part.

​I noticed her eyes following my every move. I sank into a low crouch once more, and she mirrored me. We circled each other warily for a moment, before she came at me, and attempted to swing a punch at my right side. I dodged her, and countered with a flurry of blows to her stomach. Only two or three made contact, before she managed to break away, gasping, and tried to gain an advantage. She turned, and with a grunt of effort, swung a roundhouse kick aimed at my head.

​The second she shifted her weight, I knew it was coming. I ducked, and she missed, her foot whizzing over me. She didn’t have a chance to regain her balance before I threw an undercut at her left side. My blow connected solidly and the wind was knocked out of her. She doubled over as she absorbed the impact, and I swung a right hook at her face, knocking her off her feet. She fell flat on her back and cried out, but I didn’t let up.

I leapt on top of her, pinned her wrists to the ground on either side of her head, and straddled her midsection. She didn’t struggle or flail. She gave up, essentially waving a white flag in defeat. She turned her head to the side and exposed her neck to me.

I looked up at Finnian expectantly, but he appeared to be just as confused as I was. She put up some kind of fight in the beginning. I expected to at least go back and forth for a few rounds.

Finnian and I exchanged puzzled glances before he boomed, “Pinned!”

I released my opponent, got to my feet, and dusted off my jeans. I extended a hand to her, but she ignored it and pushed herself up off the ground on her own. She refused to make eye contact with me, and my brow furrowed at the blatant disrespect.

“Do you have any combat experience, April?” Finnian asked her.

She shook her head. “Not really. I’ve had very little training.” Her hazel eyes briefly flicked up to meet Finnian’s, before her gaze fell back to her shoes on the training mat, almost sheepishly. “I’ve never sparred before.”

“Not bad at all for your first time,” I said genuinely.

She glanced at me and gave me the tiniest of smiles in response.

“April, you’re dismissed. Go rest up for a moment before you get back onto the obstacle course,” Finnian instructed, with a nod towards the benches at the edge of the field.

We both watched April go. She made a beeline for her bottled water, and chugged it as she collapsed on the bench. Kate watched her, too, with amusement written plain all over her face.

“Would you like a challenge?” Finnian asked me.

I snorted, and he laughed, but his eyes glazed over anyway. I heard my father barking orders once again as a slight breeze gently shook the tree branches over our heads. Just like before, with the wind came that scent. But this time, it was getting stronger. The wind died down, but it was still all around me. It was dizzying.

A male was trudging toward us. He was tall and lanky like April. For a male wolf, he had very little muscle mass. He looked downtrodden and tired. His unkempt blond hair fell across his forehead flatly. His shoulders were slumped and his posture was poor.

My Wolf was enamored with him. Mate! she cried. That’s our Mate!

The closer he came, the stronger that scent was. I stared at him, watching the lithe way he moved. I could see past that dark cloud hanging over his head easily. He was beautiful. My fingers itched to brush his hair out of his face. I didn’t want to spar with him—I wanted to run to him and throw myself into his arms.

He stopped a few feet away and looked up at me. His eyes flashed silver and my heart skipped a beat. I held my breath in anticipation. Finnian clearly knew what was happening, but I’d all but forgotten he was even there. I was vaguely aware that Kate had come to stand by my side.

My Mate sighed heavily and narrowed his eyes at me. “I could smell you the second you set foot on this field,” he said, “but you are not my Mate.”

My heart shattered. “W-what do you mean?”

“This is the very last thing I need right now.” He paused to chuckle, but he didn’t sound amused. He shook his head. “This must be some cruel joke. The Moon Goddess has a sense of humor.”

I was trembling. I couldn’t find my voice.

“It’s Natalie, right?”

I nodded, my heart pounding erratically against my rib cage.

“I thought so. I know who you are. Natalie Novak, daughter of the Alpha of this pack.” He was looking at me with pure disgust. “I came here with April, and I’m staying with April.”

The female I’d sparred with was his chosen Mate. It felt like I couldn’t breathe. I didn’t understand how he could want nothing to do with his Goddess-given Mate.

I should’ve ripped her throat out, my Wolf snarled. She was frantic, but I barely noticed.

“I, Callum Gold, reject you, Natalie Novak, as my Mate.”

I gasped and clutched my chest, tears immediately springing up in my eyes. At this point, the entire field was silent. My father, the warriors, and the newcomers all stood at the edge of the obstacle course. Nobody moved. Nobody spoke. My cheeks stung in embarrassment, the heat so intense it was like I’d been lit aflame. Rage simmered in the pit of my belly, directed at the female, and at my heartless, terrible Mate.

I spoke without thinking, but I was determined to not make this easy. “I do not accept your rejection.”