Mate
1040 Words
The restaurant shimmered like something out of a dream. Golden chandeliers spilled light across marble floors, and velvet curtains framed the tall glass windows where the city’s nightscape glittered beyond. Soft music floated in the air, accompanied by the faint clink of crystal glasses.
Valeria stopped just past the entrance, her eyes widening in awe. “Jennie… it’s beautiful,” she whispered, her voice hushed as though afraid she might shatter the elegance of the scene.
Jennie grinned, looping her arm through Valeria’s. “Told you. You deserve a place like this for your birthday. At least once.”
Valeria’s lips curved into a faint smile, but her chest tightened. “It feels too grand for me. Like I don’t belong here.”
“You belong everywhere, Val,” Jennie said softly, giving her arm a reassuring squeeze. Her brown eyes warmed with sincerity. “And tonight, you’re not going to think about the past or the nightmares. Tonight, you’re just nineteen, and you’re going to enjoy every second of it.”
Valeria swallowed the lump in her throat and nodded. She wanted to believe Jennie’s words, to let herself have just one night without the shadows of memory.
They were led to a small table near the corner, half-hidden beneath the glow of a chandelier. Valeria slipped into her seat, smoothing her blue dress nervously, while Jennie took the opposite side.
As soon as they were alone, Jennie leaned forward with a mischievous grin. “Happy birthday, again. Nineteen looks good on you.”
Valeria’s lips curved into a small smile, though her fingers twisted nervously around the stem of her glass. “You’ve said that three times already.”
“Because it’s true three times over,” Jennie teased, raising her brows dramatically before taking another sip of her drink.” Plus you know I’ll keep saying it until it annoys you.”
Valeria chuckled softly, shaking her head. That sound, her laughter, was rare, and Jennie treasured it.
“It’s already working.”
They ordered modestly, Jennie insisting it was a treat, her gift to Valeria. The evening began gently, laughter mingling with the soft music, and for the first time in years, Valeria allowed herself to relax.
The warmth of the moment wrapped around them like a blanket, but fate, as always, had its cruel way of unraveling joy.
Halfway through their meal, Jennie excused herself with a playful wag of her finger. “I’ll be back in five minutes,” Jennie said after a while, sliding her chair back. “Don’t run away while I’m gone. It’s your birthday, and you’re stuck with me.”
“Where would I even go?” Valeria murmured with a chuckle, but her chest tightened with a sudden unease she couldn’t name.
Jennie winked and disappeared into the crowd, weaving her way toward the restroom.
Valeria exhaled, tracing her finger along the rim of her glass, her gaze wandering idly over the polished restaurant floor. The clamor of voices seemed distant, muted, until the air around her shifted, charged, unfamiliar.
Her wolf for some reason began to pace restlessly.
She froze.
A tall figure slid into the chair opposite her, his movements unhurried, confident, as though the seat belonged to him. Valeria’s eyes snapped upward, and her heart stopped.
There he was…
Alpha Ethan Caesar.
She had never seen him in person, yet his face was unmistakable. The sharp, aristocratic lines of his jaw, the striking blue of his eyes, the sheer aura of dominance that surrounded him, he was a man every wolf knew, whether they wished to or not. The heir to the Rivermist pack.
The son of the Alpha who had led the annihilation of her family.
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
Ethan leaned back in his chair, studying her with quiet interest. A faint smirk tugged at his lips. “You’re early. I wasn’t expecting you for another ten minutes.”
Valeria blinked, her mind reeling. What?
‘What the hell was he talking about!’ She thought.
His tone was smooth, casual, but his gaze, there was an intensity in it, as if he were trying to place her, to understand something about her that didn’t quite fit.
“I…” She tried, her voice catching in her throat. She wanted to correct him, to tell him he had the wrong person, but the words refused to leave her. Instead, something strange ignited deep within her chest.
Heat.
It spread like fire under her skin, racing down her arms, curling into her stomach. Valeria’s breath hitched, her hands trembling as she gripped the edge of the table.
Her wolf stirred violently within her, restless, clawing, as if it recognized something her human self could not yet accept.
‘What is wrong with you Elsa.’ She asked her wolf but got no response.
She did not understand why her wolf had been acting up from the moment she walked into the restaurant.
Ethan stiffened across from her, his eyes narrowing slightly.
He felt it too.
The air between them grew unbearably heavy, charged with something primal and undeniable. His wolf surged to the surface, growling low, its voice echoing in his mind, raw and insistent.
Mate.
Ethan’s pulse hammered in his ears as his gaze locked on her. She was everything he hadn’t expected, fragile yet fierce, unfamiliar yet somehow known. He could feel it in the way his wolf clawed against his skin, desperate to reach her, to claim her.
Valeria’s breath came in shallow gasps. The connection was too strong, too consuming, as though invisible threads were pulling her closer, binding her to him in ways she did not want, in ways she could not allow.
Her eyes widened as it finally dawned on her.
“No…” She whispered, shaking her head slightly, though her voice barely carried over the hum of the restaurant. Her heart screamed in protest, her mind rejecting the cruel twist of fate.
Not him. Of all people… not him.
Ethan leaned forward slightly, his expression tightening, the playful arrogance replaced by something raw and unguarded.
His eyes glowed faintly, betraying the wolf within, as his voice dropped to a low, reverent whisper.
“Mate.”
- Writer
