Mate Bond - Finished

Chapter Four - Mate Bond

LUKA'S POV

I was thankful my birthday was on a Saturday. I woke later than my weekday mornings. Hell, it was later than my regular weekend mornings. When I finally checked my clock, it was close to 10AM. Someone had turned off my alarm.

I scrambled out of bed and pulled on gym shorts and a t shirt. Dad was definitely going to make me run laps, birthday or not, for missing practice. I ran downstairs, trying to make something presentable out of my hair using just my fingers on the way down. The lights were all off.

Suddenly, the lights flicked on and I was met with a chorus of “SURPRISE!” and “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” All of the families – My mom, dad, my step mom, and siblings. Seth and Makayla and their crew. Dylan and Zoey and their kids. The house was full and I looked like... well, I'd just rolled out of bed. It was accurate.

“s**t, guys! Here I am ready to run laps for oversleeping through training!” I yelled, smiling and laughing. A early surprise party was much better than running the perimeter of the pack lands ten times as punishment for skipping training.

“I turned off your alarm in the night last night to make sure you got to rest. We've been waiting here for an hour. You don't turn seventeen every day, Luka.” My mom said, giving me a hug. I towered over her now. My dad hugged me as well, I got my height from him. Then I hugged Kya, my dad's other wife. He had two – my mom and Kya. I wasn't sure how he handled two partners, his mate and his wife, and I respected him a lot for it.

Serenity came from the back of the crowd. Her blonde hair was pulled into a ponytail and she wore a simple dress. She obviously came prepared for a special occasion. She looked beautiful. Her big blue eyes met mine.

“MATE.” I heard a deep voice in my head. My wolf. I was hearing the wolf I would shift into anytime after today in my head. I froze. A sweet scent filled my nose, honey and lemon, so strong I couldn't focus.

“Happy birthday!” Serenity's voice rang like a bell in my head. She snaked her arms around my waist, everything seemed to move in slow motion. I wrapped my arms around her small frame and laid my cheek against her head. It was her. Her shampoo, maybe? It was an overwhelming smell, but not unpleasant. I didn't want to let her go. My heart felt like it was swelling with love. I felt so many emotions at once. I loved her. I would do anything to protect her. I wanted to keep holding her here, away from the world. I wanted it to be just the two of us.

“Thank you. What did you use in your hair? It smells amazing.” I said to her quietly. The group had already split off into conversations of their own.

“What?” Serenity asked, swinging her hair around with a giggle. “Nothing new.” She shrugged and then walked over to talk to my little sister, Melanie. They were good friends despite the age difference.

I was the oldest of my siblings, and Mika was right after me by just about a year. We had the same mom, but different dads. Then Melanie was born, my only full sibling. My last sibling, Rio, my youngest brother, shared only my father with me.

I felt a firm grip on my shoulder. My dad pulled me around to face him. “I have a surprise for you upstairs, you can come up on your own.” He announced, a little too loudly to be to just me. We walked up to his office/personal space. He shut the door as soon as we were inside.

“What's going on?” I asked him.

“Serenity – she's your mate?” He asked.

“How'd you know?” I asked, perplexed.

“You mentioned the smell of her hair. Only you can smell that, your mate's scent stands out to you more than anyone else's and more than it stands out to anyone else. You heard your wolf?” He asked.

“I did. He said Mate. That's it.” I said. “I have to tell her, Dad. I've always felt this connection to her. I thought it was because Mika was both of our brother, you know, like we aren't really related but my mom had a kid with her dad and we lived next door. I thought we were just friends. I never even considered dating her but I've always wanted to be around her. It's a little weird, don't you think, we'd be mates, considering?” I was talking a mile a minute.

“Luka... slow down. First of all, yes, I think it'll be a little awkward because you guys have a half-brother in common, but you were never raised like siblings or anything, and you aren't at all related or even close. We kept you so distanced you two may not have known each other if you didn't live next door, we knew this could happen and never set you up for it to be weird. You were raised as friends, not family, and we have a small pack in comparison. I'm not surprised. There aren't a lot of girls your age in this pack to choose from and Alphas almost always get a mate within the pack. She's also a Beta's daughter, a perfect fit to be a Luna.” My dad said. “Maybe that was always meant to happen and why our lives all turned out the way they did. I don't know. Second of all, you absolutely can't tell her. You know the rules.”

“I know. I want to be with her, though, all the time. I want to be next to her, know she's safe, touch her. Twenty four seven. Out of no where.” I said.

“That's normal. She won't feel that way. She's only sixteen, well, in a few days. You absolutely can't say anything to her yet. She'll feel it on her own next year. There's no rules that say you can't date, though, so if you two get close and pursue a relationship without you telling her, that's fair game.” My dad said.

I had to convince her without telling her she was my mate. How was I going to get her away from Kale?

We went back downstairs with some lame excuse about the surprise being paperwork for school. I was a year behind, so I wouldn't graduate until next year even though I should be graduating in a month. My dad reminded me to keep my cool and not to tell Serenity.

I naturally gravitated toward her, though. I had heard about the mate-bond many times. There were many lessons about it and how it made someone feel. Parents loved to tell children their embarrassing stories about finding their mate. We'd heard all of our parents' stories several times. Nothing prepared you for experiencing it for the first time for yourself.

Seventeen was the age all wolves would feel their mate-bond when they saw their mate. It wasn't unusual for someone's mate to be a little younger, by a year or two. You would have to wait until they felt it. Telling them wasn't allowed because it was too easy for the older wolf to lie to manipulate the one who hadn't hit seventeen yet.

(Author's Note: I know the scenario may be a little weird. The supernatural world is different than the regular human parameters I usually write in. Read with the understanding that wolves are different entirely from humans so their ages and relationships are a lot different. <3 )