Noah!
1161 Words
Ariana
The scent grew stronger as people came closer to congratulate me. I tried to focus on who it could be by looking into the eyes of each person that shook my hand, but even though the scent was strong, I couldn’t figure out who the hell it was!
I couldn’t very well tell my parents I smelled my mate after what I had just put them through! I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to go through that again! Having a mate would make me vulnerable to the worst kind of pain! None of my thoughts touched my heart as my eyes kept searching the crowd.
I opened the event with a dance with my dad, who had a lot to say while we were dancing. About my future. He and my mother felt I used to have this plan and that I should not allow a male to derail my plans. I had trouble focusing on what he was saying since the scent still hung in the air around me. Breathing a huge sigh of relief when the song ended.
I danced the next song with my brother and the scent was stronger around him! I knew it couldn’t possibly be my brother, so it had to have been someone he had been in contact with in the past couple of minutes!
“Who have you been talking to?” I frowned. He looked amused and tilted his head to one side while we floated around the dance floor.
“That’s a bit random. I’ve been chatting to a lot of people. Why?” He smiled. “Ariana, I know that look. I’ve gone through that recently, remember? Can you smell him?” Dammit! Of course, he would notice it instantly. I sighed deeply and nodded. “And you haven’t found him yet?! You should have said something!” I nearly died when he stopped dancing and asked the DJ to stop playing.
I was ready to crawl into a hole in the ground the moment my amused brother turned to my now very confused parents!
“Sorry for the interruption, but I believe my sister here can smell her mate.” Silence fell for a moment while my damn brother was having the damn time of his life! My parents were the first to rush over and hug me! These people had all gone completely mad! I started to feel nauseous as my father instructed all the single males to line up in front of me!
“Darling, one’s eighteenth birthday has more to do with finding your mate than anything else.” My mother whispered beside me as she held my hand. The single males were lined up and I started greeting each of them. Looking into their eyes, I had no other choice but to shake my head. I have already spoken to some of them. Their parents were probably hopeful that they would be my mate.
When it came down to the last three and I still hadn’t found my mate, I was on the verge of having a full-blown heart attack! I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take!
“Hi there, little girl.” His voice behind me made me jump as I instantly knew! “Mate! NOAH!” I whipped around and he was standing there grinning from ear to ear as though he had just won the first prize, but his expression quickly changed as a deep frown formed on his brow. In the blink of an eye, I started to wonder if he would reject me!
I heard my father announcing that I had found my mate and it was Noah, and then the music started. My normally sharp brain and even sharper tongue stopped communicating and my brain turned to mush as Noah took me in his arms and we started to float over the dance floor. I opened my mouth a couple of times to say something and then closed it again. I could feel his body heat radiating through his clothes and being this close to him was driving me insane!
“Well, this makes things a little awkward, doesn’t it?” He was the first to speak.
“Yeah, kinda.” Was all I could muster. My body wanted him. I physically ached in places I shouldn’t be aching and I was convinced that everyone knew I was aroused! How could they not smell it?!!!
“So, are you going to say it, or should I?” He pulled away just far enough to look into my eyes while we danced.
“I don’t know what you mean?” I finally found my voice and my brain and mouth seemed to start working again. I wasn’t sure what he was talking about?! Everything he said about his future mate and how he had this plan for his future rushed to mind and I felt a stabbing feeling in my heart. “Do you want me to reject you?!” I couldn’t stop the tears from filling my eyes and I didn’t miss the look of confusion in his eyes. The music stopped and he gripped my hand.
“I think we need to talk.” He bowed at my parents and my brother before dragging me off the dance floor, over the grassy hill, and into the forest. We finally came to a standstill when we were well away from anyone who could listen in on our conversation. “I have a plan, Ariana. You are far too young for me and you are my best friend’s little sister.” He had taken a couple of steps away from me. His one hand was resting on his hip while the other pulled through his thick black hair. I was focusing on the way he looked and had to shake my head physically to focus on what he was saying.
“Do you want to reject me, Noah?” I needed to know what he wanted because I didn’t want a mate who didn’t want me! But this was also Noah! Just yesterday I was thinking how things wouldn’t work between us?! The rush of hormones from the mate bond was clouding my mind completely and I couldn’t think straight!
“I … I can’t make such a huge decision on a whim. I need time.” He nodded, but I could see he was going through a lot of the same I was going through internally. Being pulled together by a mystical bond nobody could really explain, but being pulled apart at the same time by all the things we didn’t want or planned for our lives.
We walked back to where everyone was still partying. Noah’s hand hadn’t left my lower back once and each time a single male so much as looked at me, I would hear him softly growl. That confused me even more! Did he want me or not?!
- Writer
