The Human Mate

A Gift

Mateo

My little mate has been going through so much since she has gotten here, so scared, and jumpy over everything and then the allergic reaction. That still didn’t make any sense to me but whatever. I bet she was wishing she was back at her old pack where she was sheltered by her overbearing father. I needed to let her know that she belongs here, and everything would get better for her, she just had to open up a little more. I was racking my brain for ideas on her to make her more comfortable while I sat in my office. I mind linked Derek and Carine to come to my office, I needed reinforcements. Within a few minutes the pair was at my door.

“Hey” I said to them as they walked in and in front of my desk.

“Alpha” they said in unison while giving questioning looks to each other.

“I need your help”I said with an exasperated sigh. I needed help from my friends right now not my pack members. So shrunk myself and turned off my alpha switch.

“With?.....”Derek trailed off sounding completely lost.

“With Emerald obviously.” Carine says as she flicks her brother’s ear. Derek trees to swat her hand away but she had already moved her hand away. I chuckled at their sibling bond; it was sweet to see.

“Okay but with what exactly? The mate bond should be more than enough. What could you possibly need help with?” Derek says as he stuck his tongue out at his younger sister.

“She’s not settling in …well….here in the pack. I think she’s having a hard time getting accustomed to the fact this will be her home. She’s just so so…”

“Jumpy, timid…for a wolf” Derek pipes in. Carine slaps the back of her brother’s head.

“How would you feel if you were taken from the only home you knew of and brought here with brand-new people you’ve never met and be expected to just jump right in? And she just might be a shy and quiet person. i***t.

“I guess you’re right Carine”, Derek replied in a low tone to his sister. “And from the looks of it and how her father behaved, it looked like she didn’t get out much.”

“I get that her personality might be on the shy side, but how do I get her to open to me, to be comfortable around me, us, and the pack? It’s like one roadblock after another, one I'm doing or saying something to her and I get a smile from her, but then all sudden she’s struck with sheer terror. And the allergy attack. Goddess. I'm afraid she won’t see any good here and will never feel at home.” At this point, I was pacing back and forth behind my desk. I probably looked pathetic and desperate. At this point, I was.

“Get her a gift” Carine said cheerfully. I stopped my pacing to look at her. “Get her something, a small gesture to let her know you think about her even when she isn’t around.”

“Something like what?” I spoke. I haven’t the first clue of what she wolves liked as gifts. I’ve never had to buy a gift for one. Usually, they were trying to persuade me because I was the alpha, and everyone wanted their shot. I'm not going to lie and say I didn’t use my title to its full benefits, and I never denied what the she wolves offered.

“That I don’t know. I don’t know much about her. All I know is that she has a beautiful voice,” Carine said with a shrug. I’ve only ever heard her hum that one time in her father’s barn but never sing.

“I’ve never heard her sing.” I said sounding a little sadder than I should’ve. I was showing myself to be a real p***y today, some alpha I was.

“I mean I’ve only heard her when I dropped clothes off in her room while she was in the shower. But it was beautiful, I can tell you that. Oh, I know! How about a piece of jewelry? I saw that she didn’t have any jewelry when she unpacked. Like not even a par of earrings.” Carine eyes widened with excitement at her idea. “It would be perfect, something simple and sweet.”

“That’s sounds like a great idea Carine. Thank you. You’ve been beyond helpful” I said as I sat back down at my desk. “Derek you not so much.” I said with a smirk. Carine stuck her tongue out at him, and he flicked her nose. I chuckled once again at their shenanigans.

“Well call me if you need help with actual important pack business. That I would be more of help with.” I gave him a nod.

After a half hour of searching on google I found a jeweler that had the perfect necklace. I couldn’t wait. Im hoping she will like it and it would be the first step to her feeling like she belongs.

Emerald

I’ve slept more these past couple days more than I have been awake. Apparently, that’s a side effect of the epinephrine shot the doctor gave me that saved my life. He’s checked on me once more after Mateo left me and told me I should be fine to continue my day as normal. I haven’t seen Mateo since he left my room but then again, I have been asleep for the entire night so I wouldn’t know if he did stop to check on me. I figured I would start my day with a shower because I know I needed one. I turn on the water in the shower giving it a few minutes to warm up. I step in and the first thing I do is put my face in the running water. I stand there for a few moments before I turn and let the water run through my hair. My hair was knotted and tangled from the constant bed rest, perks of having curly hair that tangles too easily. I put way more than the suggested dime size amount of conditioner in my hair and worked through the knots with my fingers so that they were easier to comb when I got out. I began to hum as raked my fingers through my hair, I hummed a melody to a song my mom used to sing to me when I was a little girl. I thought about my mom and Thomas, I wondered how he was treating her, if he used her as a punching bag since I was gone. Maybe he wasn’t hitting her because I wasn’t there as a constant reminder of her “betrayal.” No matter what I couldn’t understand why he didn’t just leave my mother alone after learning she mated with someone else. Wouldn’t it have been easier to just reject her? that led me to think about Mateo rejecting me and it sent a pang of pain right through my heart. Well, I got my answer right there. Even the thought of rejection hurts so I could only imagine the real thing. I referred to my thoughts last night before I fell asleep, I had to tell him about me before this got any further. I’ve done my best at keeping to myself and staying quiet so I wouldn’t slip up, but the shrimp incident almost gave it away. I needed to keep my distance emotionally and physically so I wouldn’t end up hurt by time I told him the truth, but it was so hard, so hard, he was so caring and sweet toward me. It would be a matter of weeks or days before he found out I had no wolf, and I couldn’t shift then he would reject me. All I was doing was prolonging the pain I knew that was coming. After everything I’ve been through this would be the thing that finally breaks me; I just know it would. My wallowing was interrupted by a knock on the door.

“One second!” I yelled through the water and closed door. I turned of the water and scrambled to dry myself off some with a towel. I rung out my long curls in the sink to get the excess water out. I opened the bathroom door and when I step out, I see the large muscular back of my mate. Goddess, even looking at his back was sexy, his shirt was clinging to his body with sweat, and I could see the outline if every ripped muscle. I felt a throb and a pool of wetness between my legs, and it wasn’t the water on my body from the shower. My n*****s tightened underneath the towel. My mate was making me feel things I have never felt before. I bit the bottom of my lip as I continued to stare. Mateo lifted his head and began to sniff the air. What the heck was he doing? Then before I knew it, he was stalking towards me with pitch black eyes. His chest was heaving up and down, and his fist were curled into a tight fist.

I began to back away and straight into a wall, scared beyond belief. I racked my brain for what I could’ve done wrong to make him angry but then again anything I did could’ve been wrong, I should be used to this by now.

“I- uh-I- Alpha” I stuttered. He was right in front of me, his pitch-black eyes staring directly into mine. He pointed his nose to the ceiling again and inhaled deeply. Before I knew it his head was in the crook of my neck as he held the sides of my head. He took another deep breath and held it for a few seconds before letting it go. It was like he was in a trance. “Alpha….you’re scaring me” I whispered to him hoping he would hear me. He shook his head like he was knocking some sense back into it. He took a couple steps back and ran his hands through his hair. He took a couple of calming breaths.

“I’m so sorry. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to- I wasn’t trying to- I didn’t mean to scare you. It’s just that you…” He was sitting on the edge of the bed at this point with his elbows on his knees and his hands cradling his head.

“I don’t know what I did but im sorry. I won’t ever do it again.” I really couldn’t think of a reason why he would be upset but it was safer to apologize first before asking questions if it even made it that far. His head snapped up and his eyes made contact with mine.

“What? No. No. You did nothing wrong Emerald.” He made it back to standing in front of my and held my hands. “You did nothing bad, in fact you did the opposite.” He said with an awkward smile.

“What do you mean?”

“Uhm… I could smell…I could smell your uh….arousal.” he said with a small wince.

“My arousal?” I looked up at his face with a confused look on my own.

“Yeah, you know…when wolves can sense when their mate is uhm…turned on or ….horny?” his statement ended in more like a question. What the heck was he talking about? Then it hit me. Oh, my goddess he could smell MY arousal. When I was eye f*****g his sexy ass back. I didn’t know they could scent that. Of course, they could smell that. There isn’t a damned thing they can’t scent from miles away nonetheless right in front of them. I was an i***t, and I was beyond embarrassed.

“Oh, my goddess, oh no” I said as I covered my face with my hands. Im sure I was beet red from the neck up. “I’m so sorry.”

“Hey, don’t be sorry” he said as he peeled my hands from my face. I kept lowered, couldn’t look him in the eyes right now. “This is perfectly normal. Im your mate, your supposed to feel for me in that way. The real problem would be if you didn’t feel that way about me.” he said as he took my chin between his fingers and brought my face up to his. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about. And I overreacted, I was just caught a little off guard. I’ll control myself better.”

“I’ve never felt…I didn’t know I wasn’t even doing it” I blurted out before I even knew what I was saying.

“You never?” he back away and let out a small cough as if he was choking on his own saliva. “You never felt uh…aroused before?” I shook my head no.

“Uh wow…Uh okay, well..there’s nothing wrong with that.” He was finally able to say. He shot me a small smile as he brought his arm up to run his hands through his hair again. his shirt raised a little and I caught a glimpse of hair that trailed from his stomach down to the waistband of his sweats. Instantly I was getting that feeling again between my legs. Mateo sniffed the air again. Crap he was smelling my arousal again. What the heck was wrong with me? Mateo let out a strangled cough snapping me out of my yet again embarrassing state.

“I think you should get dress. I don’t think this is helping either of us right now.” He said as he pointed to my towel.

“Holy. I-I…sorry” I said as I held the towel tighter against my body and ran into the closet. I completely forgot that I was wearing nothing but a towel to cover my naked body. This day couldn’t start off any worse. I was making a complete fool of myself today.

I quickly got dressed into a tank top and jeans and made my way out of the closet to see Mateo sitting patiently on the foot of the bed. I was sure he could see how embarrassed I was. It was written all over my face. I walked to the vanity and sat down on the chair. I completely forgot that he came in here with something on his mind.

“I came to see how you were doing. Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, way better. Thank you for asking.” I know I was being short with him, but this way was better.

“That’s good. I know you aren’t having the easiest time adjusting here in the pack.” Oh goddess, here we go. “I know moving from your home must be difficult and you miss your parents.” Just my mom I thought to myself. He walked over to me and pulled me from my seat at the vanity and back to the bed to sit beside him. “But I want you to know that im happy you’re here. The pack is happy you’re here and I want you to be happy here.” He said as he pulled a white rectangular box from out his pockets. I didn’t even notice that was in his pockets, maybe that because I was busy getting hot and bothered just from looking at his back. He opened the box revealing a dainty gold chain that had a small emerald stone surrounded by even smaller diamonds. It was beautiful, it was perfect, he was perfect.

“Its beautiful Matty.” I said as I caressed the stone with my fingertips and completely not realzing I called him by his nickname.

“Im happy you like it and I hope one day you’ll be happy here.” I couldn’t accept this not without telling him. He deserved better.

“I cant- I cant accept this. I don’t deserve th-” he cut me off.

“You deserve more than just this necklace, but this is just the beginning. I promise things will get easier for you, for us. Just give it a chance” he says as he walks behind me bringing the necklace around my neck. I move my hair around to give him more access and he clasp the beautiful piece around my neck.

“I- uh”

“Just say okay, that’s all I need.”

“Okay.” He planted a soft kiss to the top of my head.

“I need to shower and change; I came straight here after training was done. But I would like to have breakfast with you.”

“I would like that too.”

“Okay. Ill meet you downstairs in a few” he says as he walks to the bedroom door that leads tto the hallway. “And little one?”

“Hmm?”

“Let’s stay away from shrimp today” he said with a sly grin” I just chuckled and shook my head. “You look even more beautiful when you smile. I intend to make you do that often.” I blushed at his words. “I’ll see you in a bit little one.”

“Okay” and with that he walked out the door closing it behind him. I walked over to the vanity mirror and sat down. I stared at myself as I played with the emerald stone between my fingers. An emerald to match my name and my eyes. I’ve never owned anything as nice as this, hell I didn’t own anything nice at all. I was provided with the basic and nothing more. I was digging myself deeper and deeper into this hole. I was finding it difficult to find my way out. I knew what I was wrong by holding out this long on telling Mateo my secret. But everyday this man made it difficult to tell him and I wasn’t sure if I could ever find the courage to tell him at this point.