Fated Mate

The Sleepover

As we walk back up to the cottage I hear shouting coming from an open window.

"Maeve shut up you are the only one who likes that movie" Josie says followed by foot stomping.

"Josie, if you are going to sit there and tell me that Shark Tale is not a cinematic masterpiece then I am going to have to ask you to leave because I can not handle that kind of betrayal right now." Lee turns to face me and is blushing and smiling.

"I suppose this is where I leave you"

"Don't you live here too?" I ask confused.

"Normally yes but, the girls have kindly asked me to piss off tonight to Sean's" So they are close enough that they can have little manly sleepovers but not for Sean to call him Lee?

"Well I guess I will see you in the morning." I say.

"Could I have a kiss tonight Love?" He asks and I swear I could melt right there into a puddle.

"S-sure" I say nervous. I only ever kissed Conrad Johnson and that was on a dare at a boy/girl party that Samantha Johnson was forced to invite the whole class to or else her mother would not let her have a party at all. Lee brings his hand up to cup my face and tilts my head up toward him. Back then Conrad had no facial hair but, Lee's beard tickles in a way that alongside the sparks I am still feeling make me giggle into his kiss. He pulls away slightly.

"Should I take offense to that Love?" He grins still centimeters away from my mouth.

"Just tickled me was all" I take initiative on the next kiss and pull him back down to close the gap between us. He smiles into this kiss and rubs his thumb across my cheek and reaches with his other hand to pull me closer to him. I reciprocate by using my hand that's not touching the side of his face to lay a hand on his chest.

"EW!" I hear Josie shout and giggle running back inside. We laugh and pull apart he places a final kiss on my cheek and makes his way down a different path than we had walked down today. I smile at his back blushing tremendously before making my way inside the cottage. As I enter the thresh hold I am engulfed by the smell of popcorn. I see Josie on the couch looking at her phone.

"Have you heard about the dating app for werewolves they are trying to make?" She asks and gestures to some bean bags on the floor for me to sit. I huff and puff my way on to one as she explains.

"How much do you know about like mating logistics" Josie asks

"Josie, do not unload your special interest on her!" Maeve shouts from the kitchen.

"Ignore her she is just sick of me talking about it but, I would love a fresh ear." She says eagerly.

"Well, I know you have to meet eyes with your mate for you to realize that they are your mate, I know you have to be 18, I know you can have second chance mates and sometimes two mates I guess too" I say

"That two mate thing we are going to talk about later but, let's focus on the eye thing. Do you know it doesn't work on pictures?"

"No, that's weird. Does it work on video?"

"Actually so that's the thing these app developers are saying that it has not worked on video before because they have not had the right quality. So these guys over in California are swearing that using some kind of 4K video chat they can let wolves meet their mates no matter where they may be." She leans closer and talks faster towards the end of her speech.

"But, would the Moon Goddess really want to have mates so separate that they would need that?"

"I mean you tell me, she's punishing you for being a teenager."

"Josie, Oh My Goddess shut up!" Maeve says bringing in a big bowl of popcorn and sitting next to Josie on the couch.

"What it's true!" She says defensively.

"It is true I am being punished" I say.

"Sorry we mind linked Lee after we heard the word Mate from Sean. So you met the Moon Goddess?" Maeve asks before shoving a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

"Yes, I guess so. She like possessed our High Priestess."

"What's the other guy like?" Josie asks next and then takes some popcorn for herself.

"Xander he is like some moody bad boy type, but he seems sweet"

"How do you like Clover pack so far?" Maeve says next.

"Do you guys always interview people like this?" I ask in response. They look at each other and laugh the same laugh.

"We don't exactly get to meet our brother's mate everyday do we?" Josie laughs and makes her way on to the floor to get a bean bag and the Roku remote. Maeve follows behind and moves her bean bag to snuggle up next to her.

"We also don't have a lot of friends" Maeve admits quietly.

"Oh we could play 20 Questions the way Leah did at her Sweet 16!" Josie shouts all of a sudden and gets up to run to the other room. and returns with little index card sized whiteboards of various shapes that are clearly stolen from other board games. The one that she hands me proudly states that it is for pictionary.

"Okay so here are the rules; you can ask anyone in the room a question, but, you can only ask 20 questions in total, you mark a tally every time you ask a question and there are no turns." Josie explains proudly and uncaps her Expo marker and starts writing her name in cursive on her board.

"So what more interviewing her?" Maeve asks as she doodles on her board.

"Yes but, now it is a game!" Josie exclaims excitedly.

"Josie it is not a game if no one wins" Maeve complains.

"The knowledge we will learn is the real prize now let's start with Celeste." Maeve rolls her eyes but, they both turn to look at me.

"I don't know what to ask" I say quietly.

"Just any question you have been wanting to ask" Josie explains.

"Oh, I did try to have Lee tell me about Sean joining the pack" I say remembering the meadow.

"Oh My Goddess that is literally my favorite story, Okay so, I was like 6 right? And My mom was training me to do the rounds you know Luna stuff and I hear this whimpering. I follow it and my mom is like no, don't it is a trap but, like I did anyway. I followed it to this basket. It was like a big basket for like laundry and inside was this little toddler sleeping but, like obviously cold and whimpering. We brought him back to like check for marks of another pack and we found nothing. We could not even smell a rank or anything on him." She is animated and talking with her hands. "And then while we were all talking about him I am sitting by the basket with Lee and Sean wakes up and looks at me. I swear I thought I just found my mate when we locked eyes it was crazy but, I knew I had to protect this pup. The Gamma and the Beta wanted to turn him over to the Lycans but, I heard this voice in my head telling me to flip him over and I did and guess what?" I blink not knowing what she could have possibly found. "I found a letter from his mom that was just stuck on his back. It said 'Rogue. No Home. Take Care'" Maeve is scrolling on her phone as she listens to her sister. "I showed my parents and they said they would keep him and be responsible for him."

"The Beta and the Gamma were so mad" Maeve says.

"Maeve you weren't even alive yet" Josie says.

"Yeah but, you always tell this story. I have it like memorized" Maeve says and then sticks out her tongue. Watching them interact is like looking through a window into a reality where Diane and I could have been so close. Before she caused this rift.

Not her fault.

CiCi is full of surprises today I resist the urge to argue with my wolf as Josie finishes her story.

"Anyway, we grew up with him like a brother and when it came time for Lee to be the Alpha we knew who our Beta would be. They are like serious besties"

"My turn!" Maeve shouts.

"No turns only questions." Josie corrects.

"Okay Josie why are you so lame?" Maeve asks.

"Okay first of all hate crime, second of all because yo mamma" Josie retorts.

"Dude same mom"

"Debatable"

"Celeste, what was it like to grow up an Omega" Maeve asks me next.

"I don't know I imagine we had similar lives" I say shrugging my shoulders.

"Yeah no not even close I mean you were an Omega of the Suburbia pack that is no where close to the Alpha family" Maeve says confidently.

"Suburbia pack?" I ask.

"That counts as a question, and yes the Suburbia pack. You know how you guys live in blue suburbans and drive little minivans instead of like living in nature." She answers.

"Maeve you are being rude." Josie says swatting at her.

"I am being honest they hardly ever shift over there. Their wolves are totally subdued. They might as well be humans at this point." Maeve finishes.

"Maeve can you please quit insulting our guest's pack?" Josie pleads.

"Ugh! fine but, that counts at a question too." Josie grumbles as she marks the tally on her board.

"Celeste do you have more questions? Maeve I am marking it shut up" I think about this for a minute.

“Why does Sean call Lee, Rourke?” I ask. I see their faces drop and I regret asking.

“It’s a long story” Josie says and she sets her board down to pick up the remote. Maeve follows suit and before I know it we are watching the movie for the night. Blushing like crazy I set my board down as well embarrassed beyond belief that I got too personal with my question. After awhile Maeve speaks first.

“Look sorry we got all weird it’s just not our place to tell you” Josie nods in response to her sister.

“Yeah, Sean should really be the one to tell you. Do you want to make friendship bracelets?” I blink a little at the whiplash her question gives me and I nod slowly as Josie shoots up and runs upstairs. The Question game is long forgotten as we spend the rest of the night watching early 2000’s animated movies that Maeve insists are pure perfection. We thread fat beads on thin pieces of string and they tell me embarrassing stories of Lee as a baby and how he would only go to the bathroom outside until he was 12, how he fought anyone who bullied Josie in school for being a lesbian, and how more than once he has threatened Liam to keep room for Jesus between him and Maeve.

“He doesn’t even really believe in Jesus, I swear he just likes the aesthetics of Catholicism.” Josie adds after the story. I don’t even realizing but, I am having the time of my life with them. I tell them about my art and show them so pictures.

“Your parents must be so proud!” Josie exclaims. A quick frown followed by a cover-up smile is what follows that comment.

They love you.

Who?

Your parents, Josie and Maeve, Xander and Lee, Your sister and Derek. You are loved.

I suck in a breath at hearing all this. I hope what she says is true. As the night winds down as we start yawning at 2 AM, Josie goes upstairs to get sleeping bags for us. I help Maeve move the beanbags on to the couch so that we have more room on the floor. Josie returns barely visible behind the stack of sleeping bags. She hands me one and whispers to me.

“This is my brother’s it still smells like him” She winks and throws a bright pink one right at Maeve’s face. She falls back on to the teetering bean bag stack on the couch. We settle in to our spots on the floor and as I lay down facing away from the girls I take a minute to inhale the scent I am wrapped in. The smell of fresh cut grass and the smell right before rains fills my nose and makes it feel like I am curled up with Lee now. I let a small smile come across my face and drift off dreaming of the meadow.