His Breath of Fire

Chapter Four

    The next day at school was pretty boring, going by quickly enough that I didn’t want to shoot myself, figuratively of course. The halls were buzzing, all the were-students excited about the fact their future Alpha was coming back tonight and will be attending school again with them tomorrow.

    “I can’t believe Easton’s coming back,” a girl in one of my classes whispered to her friend and her friend immediately shushed her.

    “Stacy, there's humans!” came her whispered reply.

    “Calm down, Darlene, they can’t hear me,” I had to hold in my laughter. If only they knew. “I heard he got even hotter than when he left.”

    “I can see it, that man’s built like a god,” the girls giggled. “He turned eighteen last week, didn’t he?”

    “Yeah, he hasn’t found his mate yet though,” a second of silence, “Oh, my god! What if it’s one of us?”  Werewolves will sense their mates the moment they turn eighteen.  However, with dragons there isn’t a time limit on when to know when you’ve found your mate.  There were instances where childhood friends realized they were mates when they were old enough to understand the concept, but they were rare.  However, being seventeen, I haven't felt the pull of the mate bond yet besides the weird feeling I got when I looked at Easton’s photo.

    “Oh, please, Stacy, the Moon Goddess would really have to love us if that were the case,” Darlene responded.

    “You never know,” Stacy pouted. “A girl can hope.”

    The rest of the day went by pretty normally with students whispering about the return of the future Alpha. From what I’ve gathered, he had been seeing one of the girls in the pack which caused Blaidd to whimper. Dating someone when you know you have a mate to find is dangerous. I mean, what if it wasn’t the person you’re dating? Then what happens when one of you finds your mate? It just causes more problems than if you just waited to find your mate. Plus if he’s already of age, he’d already know she wasn’t his mate. Why are they still dating then?

    I pull my car into the driveway, eyebrows furrowed in confusion when I see a third car sitting there. Were we expecting company today?

    Anticipation rising, I gathered my belongings and headed into the house. I could hear and smell my mother in the kitchen, so I kicked off my shoes and placed my pack on the ground before hesitantly walking into the kitchen.

    “Bren, is that you?” my mother called.

    “Yeah,” I answer, walking in. I glanced at my mother who turned to face me but saw a man standing behind her by the refrigerator. “Who’s this?”

    My mother nervously wrung her hands together, shooting a look at the man behind her who gave her a small smile. I knew this man is her second-chance mate, but since we’re pretending to be humans I have to play the part. “Bren, sweetie, have a seat. We have a lot to discuss.”

    Furrowing my brows, I hesitantly take a seat at the dining room table and my mother brings a tray of some light snacks. I grab a water bottle from the tray, opening it up and taking a drink, eyes darting between the two of them. Oh, please, just hurry up.

    The man cleared his throat, causing me to look at him. He’s tall, about six foot two, with a muscular build. His hair is dark brown, with dark brown eyes that smile warmly down at me. He’s like my mother’s polar opposite, and it’s wildly romantic if you’re into sappy things like that. “Hi, Bren, my name is Paul,” he started, holding out his hand for me to shake.

    Tentatively I reached out and grasped his hand, not missing the slight twitch my mother made when our hands connected. Holding in a laugh, I respond, “Nice to meet you,” before looking at my mother. She’s already so possessive.

    “Well, there’s no real way to sugarcoat this so I’m just going to come out front and say it,” Paul says, staring right into my eyes. “I’m a werewolf.”

    I scoff, playing the part of an unsuspecting human. “Really, like full moons, silver bullets, and the like?”

    “Yes,” Paul answers, blunt and to the point. “Except we don’t need a full moon to shift, we can shift whenever. Silver does affect us, but we can die easily by any other bullet if you hit us right. We heal faster than humans, with faster speed, better hearing, and better eyesight as well.”

    “Mom,” I say, slowly like I’m trying to keep it together for her sake, “Do you buy this?”

    “Please, honey,” my mother pleads, trying to keep it together as well, “Let him explain.”

    “It might be easier if I showed you,” Paul commented, holding out his arm for everyone to see. He partially shifted, causing the forearm he held out to become hairier, claws replacing his fingers, and a paw instead of his hand. I leaned back in “shock,” but what really shook me was his control. It’s hard to control a partial shift, seeing that our wolves really want to have control and run around. So he has to have very good control over his wolf in order to keep the partial shift but have control over his mind as well. He really is a Beta.

    I gulp, looking between Paul and my mother. “Okay,” I say quietly, taking care to make my voice shake.  “What does this mean, and why are you telling me?”

    “Well, I’m telling you now because I’ve already informed your mother of all this,” Paul looks at my mother, to which she gives him a small smile in return.  “But, the thing is, your mother and I are mates.”

    “Mates?”

    “Mates are,” Paul hesitated, trying to find the words to describe a mate to me.  Oh, little did he know.  “Mates are partners given to us by the Moon Goddess, the supreme being who created werewolves.” He paused to make sure I was following along.  I nodded and motioned for him to continue.  “We’re given a bond, one that helps us stay connected physically, mentally, and emotionally.  When we touch sparks fly, and we’re able to calm each other down with our touch.  After we...mate...we’ll be able to communicate to each other in our minds and be able to feel the other’s emotions.”

    “So,” I drawl, making the encounter awkward.  “You two have to be together in order to survive?”

    “Yes,” Paul answered.  “I’m informing you of everything because I would like to be a family, albeit a combined one, and I don’t want to hide anything from you both.”

    My mother and I made eye contact and I saw a flash of black in her aura, meaning she’s slightly afraid.  I know she’s terrified of Paul reacting the same way to her and I like my father did, however, I don’t get the feeling Paul will react that way.  Paul’s aura is red and pink, meaning he’s already feeling some type of s****l and loving feelings towards my mother, but his aura is also a royal blue, meaning that he is trustworthy.  I don’t think Paul will abuse the power that comes from knowing my mother and I.

    “Okay,” I nod, accepting his words.

    “Great!” he smiles, his aura flashing yellow due to his enthusiasm.  “There’s a party later on tonight to welcome you both into the pack.”

    “The pack already knows about us?” I ask, nervous about meeting everyone.

    “Well, the party isn’t entirely for us,” Paul says, rubbing his neck nervously.  “The future Alpha is coming back tonight and the party is to welcome him home.  But it’s also to welcome you two into the pack, and to introduce your mother as my mate.”

    I tense at the mention that Easton will be at the party tonight, and I force myself to relax.  Just because I think he’s my mate doesn’t mean he is, and if we’re joining their pack I’ll need to face him at some point. “What’s the dress code for this party?”

    “Kind of like a ball,” Paul answers, gazing at my mother lovingly.  “Not anything terribly fancy but don’t go in every day wear.”

    “Looks like we’ll have to go shopping, Bren,” my mother announced, and I sighed heavily.  I hate shopping.