Claiming My Wolf

6 - Study Session

~~Aaron’s PoV~~

“Did something happen at school today?”

My mom corners me and Ava as soon as Sadie goes upstairs after school. Sadie told us she was tired and wanted to be alone for a while, and I took that at face value, but my mom seems to think there’s some kind of hidden meaning behind it.

“I think she’s honestly just tired,” I tell my mom. “It’s kind of draining meeting new people.”

It is for me at least, but I don’t think my mom and Ava understand. They’re both extroverts who thrive on being around other people.

“I don’t think anything happened,” Ava adds, grabbing a freshly-baked cookie off the tray our mom has just pulled out of the oven. “But there were a few times when people almost blew it. You better tell Sadie the truth soon or she’s going to find out all on her own.”

Our mom frowns. “I know. I just don’t want to overwhelm her, she’s already going through so much. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day for her.”

Personally I don’t think it’s going to make much difference which day she gets told, it’s going to be a shock to her no matter what.

“Aaron, can you stick around for a while?” Mom asks. “Ava and I need to go run some errands, but I don’t want to leave the house empty in case Sadie comes down.”

That’s fine with me. “Laurel was just going to come over and do some studying anyway. Is that okay?”

My mom’s kind of old-fashioned about me and Laurel hanging out alone together even though we’ve been dating for so long.

“That’s fine, just stay downstairs.”

The message is loud and clear. No hanging out in my bedroom.

My mom really doesn’t need to worry though. Laurel and I might make out, but we rarely go any farther. We definitely haven’t slept together. Laurel wants to wait until we both have our wolves and we know we're mates. She figures that will make it even more special.

And it's only a few days away now. My birthday is Saturday and Laurel already has her wolf, so as soon as we see each other at my party, we’ll know for sure. I really don’t have any doubts though. I’d loved Laurel since pretty much the first day we met, and I know she's my mate.

I've asked her if her wolf acts any differently around me, but she says it's too early, that we won’t know for sure until her wolf calls to mine, once I have him.

I really can’t wait.

Laurel arrives just as Mom and Ava are heading out and soon we settle at the kitchen table to go over our History homework together.

“Did you know that Logan walked Sadie to class this afternoon?” she asks out of the blue as we’re reading about the last great werewolf war.

“Where did you hear that?”

“I saw it,” she explains. “They came into Chemistry together. Everyone was shocked.”

I can imagine. It’s been a long time since Logan paid attention to anybody. He's been in his own world for a long time now.

“He’s probably being nice because she’s new.”

“Maybe.” Laurel doesn’t sound convinced. “But we had that other new boy earlier this year and he didn't pay any attention.”

That's true. “Maybe he can relate to her losing her parents,” I suggest instead.

Laurel nods. “Yeah, that makes sense. It would be good if they could be friends. Maybe he'll be more like himself. I miss Logan.”

I do too. We all do. He used to be the most popular guy in school, the one everyone wanted to be around, and one of my best friends. Now he's just completely closed off and no one knows how to break through.

“So have you decided what you're wearing to my party?” I ask her, changing the subject. I've been fantasizing about what Laurel will look like the moment we know we're mates.

She gives me a teasing grin, totally on to me. “You're going to have to wait and see.”

Then her smile fades a bit and she looks down at her hands.

“Aaron, have you thought about what will happen if we're not mates?”

My heart skips a beat. “Don't even say that, Laurel. You know we are.”

“I hope we are,” she says, which isn't at all the same thing as knowing it.

“Laurel.” I say her name firmly, making her look up at me. “You're my mate. Don't ever doubt it.”

“I don't want to doubt,” she says, her eyes still looking unsure. “But my wolf is being weird when I try to ask her about it.”

That makes my stomach sink. “Weird how?”

“I can't really explain. It's like she's talking in riddles.”

For the first time, I really let myself imagine that Laurel's not my mate, but I can't do it for long. It feels so wrong, I have to shut it down.

“My wolf will set her straight,” I say firmly, even though I haven't even met him yet.

That makes Laurel smile, at least. “If he's as persuasive as you, you might be right.”

She leans forward to kiss me, but before our lips connect, I notice someone standing at the door.

“Sadie?”

Fuck. How much of that did she just hear?