You Have Always Been Mine

Chapter 13 ~ Make me part 2

“I missed you. Didn't you miss me at all!?”

The admission and the question seem to stun her into silence and she stares at him with those gorgeous wide eyes for several seconds, her mouth hanging open.

“Oh…” she finally says, breaking eye contact and staring at her hands instead.

Oh? That’s all she has to say!? He scoffs, utterly disappointed, and leans back on his seat, staring ahead as he tries to pull himself together. Not for the first time he wonders if choosing her is the right decision. Maybe waiting for a fated mate would be less painful than this.

His wolf huffs. ‘She is young still, and fated mates do not guarantee happiness ever after. Love is never easy. It is choosing someone, every day, for the rest of our life. Well, you chose her and we will stand by that choice and wait for her to accept us… or stand back should she decide to choose another.’

“You said you have your wolf now…” Ginny murmurs, her tone uncertain.

He glances at her but says nothing, not daring to move for fear of snapping again and losing control.

“Max? Does that mean you know for sure who your mate is?”

He takes a deep breath and waits for a few seconds before answering. “I have always known who my mate is. I told you. I made my choice a long time ago.”

“Yes… a chosen mate.” She seems to consider that and then she clears her throat before asking again. “Who is she?”

He sighs and gives her a long-suffering look, but says nothing. She blushes.

“I-I need to be sure, you know. I don’t want you to think I’m conceited,” she tells him in a defensive tone. “It could be someone else, how should I know? And really, this idea of you choosing a mate instead of waiting for the fated one is baffling to me.”

“Baffling!?”

“Yes!” She exclaims. “We’re not exactly given that choice, are we? I mean, we all need to bow to the Moon Goddess’s will and she is the one who decides who we get to be with. Mom said the Moon Goddess knows best and she always chooses the perfect person for us, like puzzle pieces that fit exactly right.”

“Not all fated mates are good for each other, you know. My mother is proof of that. Her fated mate left her when things… didn’t go as they were supposed to.”

She sighs. “But you see, aside from Lettie, everyone I know are fated mates and they all seem to have turned out great! My own parents are fated mates and look how perfect their union is and how much they still love each other after all these years!”

Is she rejecting him? He feels cold all of a sudden. Even swallowing feels painful as his muscles are all tense, terrified as he is of what she is going to say next.

She turns to look at him. “And you say you have chosen your mate a long time ago, but what will happen when you turn eighteen and suddenly you find out you have a fated mate? What happens then, Max?” She sighs again and looks away. “They say meeting your fated mate for the first time is something magical, something… out of this world that you will never forget for the rest of your life. Do you not want to experience that too?”

He says nothing because, really, what is he supposed to say to that? Also, he is bracing for the moment of rejection and it is taking everything in him not to cry. He’s almost an adult, for goodness’s sake, and he doubts breaking down into tears would impress Ginny.

“Won’t you say something?” She asks, probably frustrated by the uncomfortable silence.

“I made a choice long ago and I stand by that choice. My wolf has accepted that. It is now up to our chosen mate if she’s going to choose us back.” He takes another deep breath for courage and turns to face her. “You ask me if I want magic, Ginny? I don’t need to wait for that magical first meeting to know what it feels like. I feel it every time I---everytime you're...” He reaches out to gently touch her face and she gasps, an erratic sound that sends delicious shivers down his spine—and somewhere else. “Every time you’re near me, I am happy. Life makes sense. Even just thinking of you makes me smile and I am consumed by the thoughts of a future with you, which is why I study hard so I can provide for our family when the time comes. Is that not magical enough? Do you need literal sparks? I can buy some fireworks if you want something more visual, or—” he sucks in his breath and pulls away as he feels his control slipping.

“O-Or what?”

“Or I could kiss you and see if that works.”

Ginny gasps and Max nearly bites his tongue.

‘Damn it! What did you do!?’ His wolf had taken over and spoken with his voice. ‘I can’t believe you—'

‘You were taking too damn long and getting nowhere with her!’ his wolf snaps back. ‘I had to do something before you screw it all up!'

‘Oh, I’m the one who’s screwing it up!?’ he snaps, still incredulous about his wolf’s audacity.

‘Well, I’m not the buffoon who’s about to be rejected for being boring!’

‘What!? She’s not going to—’

His wolf growls. ‘Oh please! The girl wants sparks and magic. And you were being a stick-in-the-mud talking about working hard and needing to prove yourself. Of course she’s gonna reject you! Who would want to be with a big dull dud!?'

He resents that, so he growls right back. ‘Someone smart who cares about her well-being in the future!’

'Oh sure,' His wolf laughs sarcastically. ‘Well, guess what, Mr. Dependable!? She’s fifteen. She doesn’t care about all that. She might, in the future, but right now, you’re sounding more like her father than her mate. Wake up and smell the glue on that rejection letter coming our way!’

The damn wolf might have a point and Max grits his teeth. ‘I’m not dull. I can be exciting too—I’m just… responsible.’

'You’re seventeen. You’re entitled to some excitement every once in a while. Now kiss the girl before she actually rejects us!'

Max sighs. “Ginny, I—”

“Kiss me, then.”

His breath catches as his heart pounds wildly inside his chest. “W-What…?”

“If I… if I’m your chosen mate… do I not get a choice in the matter too?” Ginny raises her chin defiantly. “Make me choose you back, Max. Give me a reason and make it a good one.”