Chapter 10

[Amelia POV]

I can’t say I love him! It is way too soon! Wait I don’t love him, I barely know him! Why am I thinking that?!

I shook the idea away and went back to eating my food. There were so many questions piling up about this whole mates thing, and I needed to understand. So I took a deep breath and tried to put into words what I wanted to know.

“Can I ask you something about mates?” I ask not looking away from my food.

“Uh, yeah of course!” Owen answers turning to me again.

“Why do I feel like we are so close already? I mean we just met but I feel like I have known you a long time and I feel like I can totally trust you. It seems a little odd to me.” I say.

He smiles, I think because I just told him I feel close to him and completely trust him. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. He seemed to try and move on from those comments and answer me.

“Of course, I only know what the stories tell us. The stories say that the moon goddess blessed us with mates because she wanted us to know what true love is with someone who completes us in everyway so we as her children could be happy. I think she wanted mates to know from the beginning what real love was and that is why when we see our mates we just know they are meant for us and would never hurt us.” He says.

Wow, that is a beautiful explanation if I ever heard one. It still seemed surreal, but I believed every word and actual realized how special having a mate is. To have someone you have doubt loves you unconditionally. But was it unconditional? Would he always feel that way about me? Humans seemed to find it hard keeping their feelings for their partners for long and divorce rates are staggeringly high. Was that the same for werewolves?

“Do mates always feel that strong bond to each other or does it fade over time?” I ask him trying to not sound worried.

“I think it depends on the people involved. But the moon goddess does not agree with hurting the one person you are mean to love and cherish.” He says.

“What do you mean?” I ask a little confused.

“Well if one mate leaves or rejects the other, it is painful. Some have even died from the heartbreak. The goddess gives us our mate to cherish and love, and when one or both mates do not accept the gift she gives us it hurts us emotionally and physically.” He says seriously.

WHAT?! People have died from rejecting their mate? What kind of twisted thing is this?!

“That seems a little harsh.” I admit.

He nods. “Maybe, but according to the story the moon goddess had loved a man with all her heart. He told her that he would always love her and be faithful to her, but he had lied. He had been with many other women and the moon goddess was heartbroken. She turned him into a wolf and said that he and the others like him would all have the same fate, but not only would they turn into wolves but they would have one mate and if they ever tried to hurt or reject that mate they would suffer deeply.” He paused for a moment. “Of course, that’s just one version of the story, but in our world mates are sacred and are not to be taken lightly.”

Wow, this story made the whole mates thing sound more like a curse. I think Owen say that I felt uncomfortable and tried to reassure me.

“This story may sound like the mate bond was a punishment, but this was the story my father told me. He…” He stopped for a moment.

I noticed he seemed to be getting uncomfortable about talking about his father. This was a subject I am interested in hearing more about, but maybe when he was ready to tell me.

“You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.” I assured him.

He smiled at me and nodded. “I know, but you are my mate and I don’t want to have secrets from you.” He says reaching his hand to my face and brushing it softly with his thumb.

It was such a sweet moment and it sent chills down my arm. He moved his hand away and let out a sigh.

“My father is a good leader, but he feels like family and mates can be a weakness. He has never been a harsh leader to our pack but he didn’t want a mate. He thought if he had a mate that it would be a distraction to him and he couldn’t build a strong pack if he was worrying about some girl all the time. So he didn’t go looking, but by chance he visited a pack and met my mother. She was a romantic and was beyond excited she found her mate, but my father told her he didn’t want her. She was heartbroken and was ready to be rejected by him, but he knew the cost of rejecting a mate. So he kept her anyway, but told her that he would never love her or care for her. He kept his word. He didn’t care for her, and he still doesn’t. I was born because he knew he needed an heir to become the next alpha, but he was distant and cold to me. I only saw him when it was time for me to begin training.” He said letting out another sigh.

“I’m so sorry Owen.” I said sympathetically.

“I accepted how things were a long time ago, and although my father taught me everything I needed to know to be a great Alpha my mother taught me how important it was to be a good mate. She told me honestly from the begging that I needed to love and cherish my mate because she was a blessing and not a weakness. She always told me that with a mate I would be complete and be a better alpha then my father. Not because of the strength of my army but because of the strength of their trust. Our pack respects my father for keeping us strong, but they don’t trust him completely because of how he treats us. I will not be like him.” Owens says firmly, his hand forming into a fist.

I felt strangely proud of him because of him wanting to be better than his father.

“That’s why I want to show the pack that I found you and will cherish you, because I don’t think you are a weakness to me. Since I met you I feel complete and I have lost any doubts I had about becoming Alpha.” He added looking at me and his serious face melted into a sweet smile.

He is really good with words that’s for sure.

“Once we are fully mated and I can officially introduce you as the Luna of our pack, they will feel what I do. They will adore you!” He said taking my hand.

He really makes it hard to object when he talks like that. Wait? Fully mated, what does that mean?

“What do you mean fully mated? Are we not mates yet?” I ask confused.

He began shifting in his seat a little, like he felt uncomfortable by my question.

“What?” I ask curious more than before.

“Well finding your mate is the first step, but more has to happen before its official.” He says a little awkwardly.

“What has to happen?” I ask.

I can see he is struggling to find the right words but I wasn’t going to let this go.

“Well, first you accept your mate. Then you have to…well…consummate the relationship. Then during the consummation, I have to mark you to complete the bond.” He says.

Consummate? Does he mean…? Oh….

I start to blush more intensely now, and I have to look away. This was defiantly a twist, but was I ready for that kind of bonding time? I was pretty inexperienced when it came to boys and never had more than two dates with one, so I have never gone that far with anyone. And what does he mean by mark me? I need to say something I don’t want him to think I am a prude.

“What do you mean that you need to mark me?” I ask.

His eyes turned to me and trailed down to my neck before looking up again. He reached out and brushed the side of my neck with his finger, and again I felt chills all over me.

“I would have to bite you right here.” He says looking back down at the park of my neck I assume is where the mark would be given.

My eyes widened. “You would have to bite me? Wont that hurt?” I ask shyly.

“For a few moments it does but hen the pain is gone, and you will feel good after. After we have finished the mating bond will grow stronger. I will even be able to mind link with you.” He says still looking at my neck.

“Mind link?” I ask.

“Mhm. We could speak telepathically, and when you are an official member of the pack you can also mind link with the pack members as well.” He says calmly.

He had not removed his had from my neck and he had kept gazing at it as well. Something inside me loved the feeling and as much as my brain was trying to tell me maybe I should move away, I couldn’t. Any time we touched I never seemed to be able to move away, I felt too drawn to him. I wanted to be close to him, and the more I was with him the more I wanted him to stay.

“Can I ask you something else?” I ask.

“Anything.” He says in a way too seductive sounding way.

“Why do I feel this pull to you already? It seems to feel stronger every time we are together. Isn’t it kind of fast for that kind of connection?” I ask.

“The more time we spend together the stronger I bond will be. After we complete the bond, it will grow even more.” He admits. “I will never want to eb away from you.”

I felt my breath hitch in my throat. His voice sounds do deep now and he has slowly moved closer to me and I hadn’t even realized. I looked at him with slight confusion and noticed he was looking at my lips now. Does he want to kiss me or something?

‘DUH! Of course he has wanted to kiss you since he saw you!’ That damn wolf sure shows up at the worst moments.

“Owen?” I ask.

“Hm?” he says.

“Do you want to kiss me?” I ask shyly.

“More than anything.” He says honestly with a smirk.

“Ok.” I say almost whispering.

He looks up at me surprised. I guess he didn’t expect me to agree but honestly I had only been kissed once before and it was pretty bad. I was curious how a kiss from my destined mate would compare. Plus, he is insanely attractive and it is hard not to think about kissing him but I wont admit that.

“Are you sure?” He asks me skeptically.

“Yes, you can kiss me. I mean if you even want to! I am not saying you do or wh-“ I was cut off from my awkward rant when he leaned forward and gentle placed his lips on mine.

I felt this instant rush and tingling all over me and I couldn’t help but lean into the kiss in return. He smiled against my lips before cupping my face with his hand and deepening the kiss. I had never had a kiss like that before, and I am pretty sure no one could kiss as good as Owen does. We couldn’t seem to be able to pull away and it felt like we had been kissing for too long but I didn’t care. We stopped when the lights behind us coming from the restaurant turned off and everything got really dark. Owen pulled away and cleared his throat.

“I guess I should get you home. It’s late.” He said with a huge smile on his face that he kept tying to hide.

I was a blushing mess and I had tuned toward the window trying to hide it. Well that just happened! I kissed him, and it was amazing! How am I supposed to sleep now?

‘With him.’ Anaya purred in my head.

“Oh my goddess wolf keep it in your pants! It was just one kiss!’ I say feeling my face blush harder.

The car ride back to my apartment was silent but not in a bad way. More like us being in a daze after having the most amazing kiss ever. When we arrived at the café my smile fell. I didn’t want the night to end after what just happened, and without thinking I said something I would have never said if I wasn’t in this situation.

“I don’t want to be alone. Will you stay with me?”