My mate and my gift

Chapter two: Matthew

Roxy leaned against me, whispering in my ear “Do you think there are a lot of new girls coming from the Luna pack?”

She tried to sound hopeful, but I could tell she was worried. She had always been the most popular girl in our pack, mostly from her good looks, and although she tried the best she could to be kind to others, to keep her image intact, she was still afraid that someone would someday steal her spot.

I shrugged and straightened my back. Roxy wasn’t short, but she wasn’t what I would call tall either. However, when we were seated like this, she barely reached my shoulders. I had to bend down quite a bit so she could whisper in my ear. If I didn’t, she would poke me until I did.

There it was again! That scent that I caught in the afternoon, when the wolves from the Luna pack arrived.

It was sweet and fresh, like strawberries and newly cut grass. I took three small intakes of air, to check if it might just be something I’d imagined, like I had assumed earlier. It wasn’t! The smell was still there. My mouth went dry and I took a sip of my water.

I looked up in time to see Colin walk in with the missing member of the Luna pack. Now the banquet could finally begin. It was a tall she-wolf, with long, wavy, auburn colored hair. She didn’t look too comfortable with the situation, and I couldn’t help but chuckle.

Colin pointed to her seat and she walked towards it. After she sat down, Alpha Adal started his speech.

Roxy poked me with her elbow, and I bent down to hear what she wanted to say. I tried to focus on her words but failed. She placed her hand on my thigh and I looked down at it. “… get out of here” I finally managed to get from Roxy’s whispering. I smiled, knowing very well what Roxy had been saying.

I felt a tingle, as if someone was looking at me. I looked up. The she-wolf was looking straight at me. When she noticed I was staring back at her, she looked away. I got a strange sense of Deja-vu, when it hit me that this was the same girl from earlier, who had been looking at me outside the mansion. I got slightly annoyed; this was the second time that she pretended as if I hadn’t caught her staring. My anger lasted for about 10 seconds, when I saw a red hue starting to show on her cheeks. I couldn’t help but laugh a bit as I straightened my back again.

A couple of hours later my back was aching from bending down every time Roxy had something on her mind – which was every 5 minutes or so. Alpha Adal got up from his seat and clapped his hands once to get everyone’s attention. “The feast is over!” he declared.

On cue, the waiters cleared the tables and others started to pull the tables to the walls to make room for a dancefloor.

Roxy squealed and pulled me towards the middle of the floor. I groaned. I wasn’t a fan of dancing.

I glanced around the room, searching for nothing in particular – or so I thought until my eyes found the she-wolf. She was talking to a girl from the Night pack. She made a gesture towards her clothes, and I noticed now that she was wearing a long-sleeved shirt and jeans, both hanging loosely on her frame. She looked fragile with her clothes looking like that; she could certainly do with a little more weight on her body.

Even though she was smiling, she looked like she was straining herself. Again, I couldn’t help but laugh. I felt the exact same way. I was only waiting for the socially acceptable time to leave, preferably with Roxy.

The hours passed and Roxy did not give me much time to myself. I was starting to get tired of her clinginess and constant need for attention, but I couldn’t help but enjoy the looks the guys from the Luna pack was giving me. I was being monopolized by the most beautiful girl in the room.

Still, my eyes kept wandering, not resting until they found the she-wolf again. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something about her made me want to keep looking at her.

I noticed that I kept leading Roxy and I towards her while we were dancing.

She seemed to get more comfortable as the night passed, and I felt my body relax a bit.

I kept looking for the she-wolf whenever she was out of my sight and Roxy had to keep asking me if I was listening to her. It was probably the 16th time she asked, pouting her lips, and crossing her arms.

“I’m sorry” I said. I actually wasn’t sorry, but I knew she wouldn’t let it go if I didn’t apologize.

“What, or who, is more interesting than me?” She said, evidently not at all pleased that I wasn’t giving her my full attention.

I struggled for an answer that wouldn’t upset her further. Past experience had taught me that it was best to keep her in a good mood.

“The thought of what we’re going to do after this party is over” I said fast, not able to come up with something better.

Her sour expression softened and she wrapped her arms around my neck, rising on tip-toes to whisper in my ear “Why don’t we get out of here then? This party seems pretty over anyways” she purred.

I smiled and replied, “If you insist”.

We headed for the door, and I stole one last glance around the room, but the she-wolf was nowhere to be seen. I felt a sudden worry now that she was out of sight, but I didn’t have time to ponder for too long as Roxy took my hand and pulled me towards the exit.

We made our way to Roxy’s room, which took longer than usual with her pushing me against a wall every other second, to press her lips against mine or kiss my neck.

I kept looking at the pieces of paper on the doors, pondering over the numbers. This was something that was set up to make it easier for the newcomers to find their room. Some of the doors didn’t have a paper. Maybe they had been taken off by a newcomer who had been assigned the room. The she-wolf’s face popped up in my head. I wondered for a second which room she was in.

When we reached Roxy’s room, I noticed she didn’t have a paper on her door. Of course, this was also an option. My door didn’t have a paper either.

Once inside, we fell on the bed and Roxy climbed on top of me while taking her clothes off. Once she’d stripped off all her clothes, she started on mine. I just surrendered to whatever she decided to do with me.

I woke up early, still tired and my head felt heavy. I had been tossing and turning most of the night.

Roxy was next to me, clutching my arm. I didn’t mind ending up in bed with Roxy – that was usually what happened anyways - but she had not been the girl in my dreams last night. No girl had ever been before tonight. In my dream, I was spinning around on the dancefloor from last night, with the she-wolf in my arms, holding her tight.

I wiggled my way out of Roxy’s bed and gathered my clothes from the floor. A few moments later I was fully dressed. I grabbed my shoes and headed for the door.

I opened the door, careful not to disturb Roxy. I didn’t want her to wake up. If she did, I would be incarcerated for hours, listening to her complain that I was leaving and demand I stay, probably for another round - and I had no energy for that.

I backed out the door, closing it as I went.

Even though I was sleep-deprived, it still only took me a second to pick up that sweet scent. I turned around, but no one was in the hall except for me.