You're Not My Mate

Mate Hunting

Aurelia POV

“Good morning, gorgeous.” I blink my eyes open to see Liam walking back into the room, glistening with sweat. I sit up quickly. “Was I supposed to train today?” He shakes his head, laughing. “No, baby. I’ve arranged with Antonio though for a private training session tomorrow night, as you’re out with Marcus today after work.” I nod, suddenly remembering about how we were going ‘mate hunting.’

“Who am I training with?” “Me and Antonio.” I nod excitedly. Maybe if he sees me fight, he won’t think I’m so small and weak anymore. Granted, I hadn’t trained for a while.. At least not since I came here.. But the basics would still be there. At least I hope they would be.

“They will be.”

Crimson assures me. She’d been in a wonderful mood since seeing Theodore last night. When we’d shifted back it was dark. Her and Theodore had spent hours together. And that meant we were both exhausted. A quick stop off to the kitchen for some snacks, a long hot bath, and we were in bed. Not that I was complaining, Crimson was happy, which meant I was happy and even just being wrapped up in Liam’s arms to go to sleep in was enough to make my heart content.

“Aurelia?” I blink at Liam who was obviously waiting for some sort of answer. I blush. “Sorry. I was daydreaming.” He smirks, shaking his head and climbs over me on the bed. “About me?” My blush deepens even more and I can feel myself getting hot with it. “It’s always about you.” I huff, crossing my arms. He chuckles, grabs my arms and pulls me to him as he lays back down on the bed, with me laying on top of him. I lean my head against his chest which was sparkling with sweat. Liam only ever trains in a pair of shorts which showed off his muscly, toned upper body perfectly. I’d never quite seen anything like it. Even Caesar, my brother, who worked tirelessly to make sure he was one of the strongest Alpha’s around had nothing on Liam. Which made me wonder just how much of his time he’s spent working out and preparing to be Alpha.

“You need to wear a shirt tomorrow if you’re training with me.” I warn, tracing circles on his chest over his abs. His body shudders under my touch and I can feel the little fireworks shooting through my fingers with each other. The mate bond was amazing. Like nothing I could ever have imagined. It was so much more than my wildest dreams. “Why? Scared I’ll distract you.” I turn to narrow my eyes at him, then smile smugly. “Fine. If you’re not wearing a shirt, I won’t wear one either.” He pushes me upright and pulls me into his lap, wrapping his arms around me to keep me close to him. “Don’t you dare.” I grin at him. “So, that’s you wearing a shirt?” He scowls but nods. I kiss all of the frown lines on his forehead, trying to ease them, then his eyes, cheeks, nose and finally lips. “We better get moving or we’re going to be late.” His face is back to his gentle smile and he swoops me up and heads into the bathroom for us to shower together.

An hour and half later we’re eating our breakfast, courtesy of Jordan, in the car on the way to work. I was meeting Marcus back at the pack house after work before we head out to go mate hunting. We had been throwing ideas around for where best to go. In the end we decided on shopping at the mall, going for food and then to a bar just for one drink. At least one drink for him. If I had training tomorrow, I was refusing to touch anything. I wanted to be my best to prove a point to Liam. I am not weak. I am a fighter. I just have to show him. And I can’t risk alcohol affecting that. 

Liam POV

The work days at the office seemed to drag even more now that Aurelia was working in the office next to me. I had to fight my urge to go and see her every few minutes. And on top of that, I had to fight Theodore who wanted to constantly be going in there too. I groan and shake my head, silently telling myself to ‘man up’ and get focused on the work in front of me. The business pretty much ran itself these days, especially with Cruz and Marcus working on it with me as well. And now Aurelia was working as my assistant, it meant that my workload had decreased again. And I definitely wasn’t complaining. 

I manage to work through the morning without going to check on Aurelia. If she needed me, I’d hear her. Sense her. I’d managed to power through all the paperwork and contracts that needed signing, my emails and forwarded all upcoming meetings for Aurelia to schedule and be a part of. I wanted her to be involved, I wanted to share everything with her. I chuckled inwardly, thinking about how whipped I really was. I’d taken the piss out of Cruz and Marcus for so many years with their mates, and now here I am, not being able to spend a few hours without my own mate. 

“Coffee? Or tea?” I look up to see my beautiful mate standing in the doorway of our offices smiling. I’d been so busy in my own thoughts I hadn’t even noticed her come in. “Coffee, please.” She nods and heads off to the kitchen area to make our drinks before returning back. I open my knees and she grins, walking over to put our drinks on my desk and then sitting down on my right thigh and leaning against my body. This is another one of those times I’m grateful for the years of working out. Her body balances perfectly on my thigh. I wrap an arm around her back and twirl my fingers through her long blonde hair. She’d waved it and left it down today ready for her mate hunting. And each time the light fell on it, I swear parts of it glittered. I lean closer and take a deep sniff, breathing in her beautiful strawberry scent. 

I can hear her sigh gently and relax further into me. “What’s up, baby?” She shakes her head. “Nothing. I’m just so happy. I wish I’d found you years ago.” I smile, pulling her closer if it was possible and kissing her forehead. “Me too.” I whisper into her ear. It was the truth. I realised I never knew true happiness until I found Aurelia. And I spent so many nights since then kicking myself for not visiting her pack sooner. Usually when high pack member’s children turned 18 all of the packs around would be invited. But we never were. And I wish I had been. Not just for my happiness, but for Aurelia’s. If I had met her when she was 18, I could have taken her away from her father earlier. Saved her from some of the hurt. 

Her warm hand on my cheek pulls me back to reality and I lean forward to kiss her gently on the lips. “I’m going to miss you later.” She chuckles back at me. “Don’t pout. You’ll be outside waiting in the car, right?” I nod at her rubbing her back gently, she had been a lot more nervous after her father. My mother thinks it’s grief tied in with trying to process that he was finally gone, as well as processing the way he had treated her over the years. I was just glad he was gone. 

Aurelia scurries back to her office shortly after to finish her work so that we could spend lunch together. We’d ordered burgers from the canteen. Another thing I loved about her, she wasn’t one of those crazy girls who just nibbled on salad. She ate whatever the f**k she wanted. She was slim but still had amazing curves that fit my hands perfectly. I close my eyes and try to refocus on my monthly update from the accountants instead of my mate’s body.

Aurelia POV

“But, do I wear the green shirt or the blue shirt? AURELIA?!??!” I pull the phone away from my ear and let out a sigh. This was the 4th phone call from Marcus in the last hour. I look over at the clock, it was almost time to leave. “AURELIA I NEED HELP!” I let out a small growl and he goes quiet. “Marcus, enough. We’ll be leaving in 30 minutes. When we get back I’ll help you pick out a shirt. Ok? I don’t know why you’re stressing so much, you always look great.” I can hear him stampeding around, what I’m guessing is, his closet in the background and huffing. Deep down, I know why he’s stressing. This is a big deal. He thought he had found his mate in Talula. He had his whole life ahead of him planned, and then it was ripped away from him and he’s back to the beginning, trying to find his mate.

“Marcus, relax, take a deep breath. Go outside and have a run, when we get home I’ll help you pick out an outfit. I promise, it’ll all be fine. Now, go and have a run, ok?” I hear a bang on the other side of the phone and a defeated sigh. “Ok.” I smile at how young he sounds. “We’ll find her, Marcy. I promise.” “Thanks, Aurelia. I don’t know what I’d do without you. You’re an amazing Luna. But an even better friend.” I grin through the phone, it wasn’t often that Marcus let his vulnerable side out. “I’m your sister, not your friend.” He chuckles on the other side of the phone, we quickly say our goodbyes and I finish up working on the calendar for the rest of the month with our appointments before we head home.

**

When we get home, Marcus is sat in the middle of his bed just staring blankly at his closet. This was the first time I’d ever been in his room, and I was surprised to see the way it was decorated. A part of me wondered if it still looks the same as it did when Talula was here. Did she decorate it? Does it remind him of her? The walls were white, with one black wall. There was a huge white bed, with perfectly white sheets and white and grey cushions on it. At the bottom was a wooden bench that had different carvings on it, it fascinated me. It was like something you’d see at a market. The room was decorated with wooden furniture and some grey decor. It looked so cosy it was hard to believe that it was only him here. “Marcus, your room is so cosy, I love it!” He nods but keeps his eyes trained on the closet.

“Talula decorated it.”

Liam’s voice pops into my head and I immediately cringe at what I’d said, but Marcus remains seated and staring. I gesture to Liam to head over to Marcus while I head into his closet. It had a lot more choice than Liam’s, but I’d expected that. Marcus was always trendy, and looking like he’d walked out of a magazine shoot. I scan through the different clothes trying to put together an outfit that was casual, yet smart and would have any girl swooning. It was hard to picture though, because my mind kept drifting to when I first met Liam. I could barely remember anything but his eyes. Those beautiful brown eyes. Even now when I look at them I get lost in them, like someone has melted thousands of kilograms of chocolate and poured it into an empty swimming pool and I’m just swirling around in it. 

I try to remember the reason I’m in the closet and start pulling out different items to put together an outfit. In the end I go for grey chinos, a blue, red and white checked shirt, brown boots, and a navy jacket to finish off the look. I nod at myself, happy with the selection and walk back into the room. Liam looks like I’ve saved him from being eaten by a shark, while Marcus still just sits, staring. I cough and he looks up, smiling. “Put these on. I’m gonna go get changed and then we’ll go. Yes?” He nods, taking the clothes off me and I walk to Liam, sliding my hand in his. “And Marcus.. Go wash your face and snap out of it.” I try to put on my best Luna voice and his head snaps to mine, while he tries to fight a small smile from spreading. “Yes, Luna.” Liam chuckles and pulls me out of the room for us to go back to out floor and get changed.

I wasn’t too bothered about dressing up, so I quickly change into a pair of skinny high-waisted jeans and a burgundy layered top that showed off just an inch of skin above my jeans. I know Liam enough now that an inch is ok - any more and he’d be demanding I change. And I couldn’t be bothered to argue about clothing today. Not when I had a mission to find Marcus’s mate. 

I head back into the bedroom and see Liam stood by the bed, already changed into white shorts and a light blue polo shirt. I walk over to him, climbing up to stand on the bed and wrap my arms around his neck. “I love when you wear polo shirts.” And I run my hands around the top of his biceps where the polo shirt sleeves are hugging his tight muscles. “I know you do. That’s why I wear them.” He gloats, smiling smugly at me and flashing me a quick wink. A smile escapes from me and spreads across my face. My thoughts quickly turn back to Marcus and I absentmindedly bite my lip. The feeling of it being pulled out of my teeth makes me look to Liam who’s trying to look between my eyes. Before he can ask, I fill him in on my worries. “I’m just worried that.. What if we don’t find his mate? What if something’s happened to her. What if the spell that Talulua did...” Liam cups my cheek stopping me from saying anymore. “Baby, that’s a lot of what if’s. Come on, Marcus needs you to be the calm one.” I nod my head, promising myself to be calm and confident as he picks me up and twirls me around, before placing me on my feet. “Come on, let’s go so I can get you back all to myself.” I chuckle at him as we swing our hands between us heading outside to the car where Marcus was waiting. 

Marcus lets out a groan and throws himself into the booth of the pub we’d walked to outside of the mall. We’d walked around the entire shopping mall, been in almost every shop, and - nothing. Even in the restaurant, Marcus was still feeling hopeful - but again, nothing. Now, we were sat in a bar and Marcus was looking miserable and defeated. I’d already mind linked Liam to ask him to come in and sit with us - I was still traumatised after Marcus’s public s*x act after Talula and I was not ready to face that again - especially not on my own. So he was parking the car, and he’d be here shortly. I could feel my body flutter, it was hard being away from Liam, even just for a few hours. And knowing he was so close.. But not with me.. That was even harder.

We take our seats in a booth and a waitress hurries over, fluttering her eyes at Marcus while trying to take our orders. Marcus barely spares her a glance while ordering two pints - for himself - and I go for an orange juice. When she disappears Marcus rests his face onto one of his arms on the table and sighs. “This is hopeless. I’m never going to find my mate. What’s the point?” He asks, gesturing around him, and that’s when I finally snap. He’d been moaning all day about not finding his mate, and I had been as sweet as I could be all day. But now, he needed something to snap him out of it. 

The waitress returns, putting our drinks down before disappearing again and I clear my throat, ready for my speech. Marcus looks up at me and I take a deep breath, here goes nothing. “Look. What you’ve been through is awful. There’s no denying. But in this life, I always feel like what’s meant to happen, does. Maybe everything that happened with Talula was something you needed to go through in life. It’s part of your journey. You can’t give up so soon on finding your mate. Maybe it’s just not the right time yet. But, it will be. One day. And you’ll find each other, and everything will be made clear on the journey you both had to find each other.”

He continues to stare at me so I shrug and carry on. “Everything I’ve been through with my father.. Growing up.. I always dreamed of waiting for my 18th birthday, Junus becoming my mate..” I instinctively flinch while saying it. “And then everything being perfect.. Me being in love.. And everything is done with and that’s my life..” “Do you wish it had been Junus? Do you have any regrets?” Marcus asks, interrupting me. I think about it briefly. Did I wish that it was Junus? Was I sad that I had Liam and not Junus? I shake my head and smile. “Liam is everything I could ever dream of and more. Liam is my stars.. Moon.. The night.. Everything in between. Junus was a very important part of my life, of course. And I’ll always love and care for him. I don’t think I’d be here today if it wasn’t for him. But Liam is my soul mate. My other half, created perfectly for me.” I blush, thinking of me and Liam and the time we’ve spent together until Marcus coughs.

“Sorry.” I chuckle. “Anyway, what I was trying to say is.. I was so disappointed on my 18th. And I remember everyday after my birthday being angry, sad, upset, stressed.. You name a negative emotion and I felt it. I thought that the Moon Goddess was punishing me. Or that my father had done something so I’d never find my mate and I’d be stuck there forever. I don’t think you know this. But on the day... I had arranged plans to run away. To leave. I had everything ready to go. My plan was to run away while everyone was outside occupied with a pack event. Nobody would notice me go. I wrote letters to everyone.. And I was actually relieved at the thought of leaving. It was like it was the right time.”

I try to hold back the tears of why I was wanting to leave, and try to change my thoughts to the happy memories instead. “I remember my mother snapping at me to make an effort that day... And I actually did. I made a real effort in the hopes that that is how everyone would remember me. I walked downstairs.. And just like that. Everything became clear for me.” A grin spreads across my face at the memory of meeting Liam. “The day you met Liam?” I nod at Marcus across the booth from me. “Yes. I was so happy to finally have my mate.” Marcus nods, smiling at me this time and then looks thoughtful. “Do you ever feel.. I don’t know.. Angry or sad that you two didn’t meet sooner? That he couldn’t take you away earlier?”

I rest my chin onto my hand on the table and bite my lower lip while I think about the question. Did I ever feel like that? Did I wish that I had met Liam sooner? Did I wish that I could have gotten away from my father sooner.. I sigh and look into Marcus’s deep brown eyes. “No. I mean.. Obviously I wish I had met Liam years ago because I just want to be with him all the time. But I don’t feel angry or sad. I feel like.. It was the plan. The Moon Goddess needed all of those things to happen to me in order for me to become the person I am today. My father has hurt me in many ways, but it also brought me and Felix closer together. It brought me and Junus together. Lucia’s parents took me as their own and showered me with love. And I feel like I had lessons to learn from all of those things and it’s made me who I am.. And hopefully all of those things will help me become a good Luna. And I’m just so thankful to have found Liam. Liam understands me, accepts me for my flaws where sometimes I struggle to open up.. But most of all... He just loves me, unconditionally.” I can feel my eyes glitter with happiness thinking about Liam.

“But also to have you as well Marcus. You’re like a brother to me. And I know the Moon Goddess has a plan for you too. I just know it.”

Marcus smiles at me and then I smell that beautiful hot cross bun scent. My head snaps to my left and Liam is stood like the handsome God that he is, smiling at me and instantly I blush. “How much of that did you hear?” He grins, scooting into the booth next to me and kissing my cheek. “From when you talked about writing letters to leave. I love you.” I smile and lean up slightly to kiss his nose. “I love you too.” “Ok, enough. You’re making me feel even worse.” Marcus interrupts us, making us both snap our attention back to him. I apologise but Liam just shrugs and laughs, which earns him an elbow in the ribs from me. “Ow.” He complains while Marcus goes to order another drink.

Marcus POV

Watching Aurelia and Liam together made me feel everything at once. I had been friends with Liam for years, so naturally I was happy he had found Aurelia. And Aurelia is perfect for him, and our pack. She’s an amazing Luna and has become someone very important to me. It’s natural for us to be protective of our Luna, especially when I’m in the position of Gamma. But with Aurelia, it’s different. She’s like a sister to me. 

I watched them both for the next hour while we chatted and drank. How Liam would whisper compliments in her ear.. Things I could hear thanks to my wolf hearing.. And watch her blush. How they were always touching each other.. The way their eyes would light up for each other.. And just their pure love. I wonder if this is what me and Talula looked like. Did people think we were in love? Did we behave like this? I couldn’t remember any of it anymore. The Elders said the spell and the connection it had between us died when she did. And that meant taking away all of my feelings and any emotional connection we had. I had nothing but empty memories. I could remember things.. But I couldn’t feel them. And at this point, I don’t know if that’s better or worse.

I had been angry at her for so long. Angry that she had tricked me, put a spell on me, kept me away from my mate.. But Aurelia’s earlier words were now playing in my mind. I kept thinking them over while my body went on auto-pilot, going back to the car, back to our house and back to my bedroom. I looked around at the room and remember how excited Talula was when I asked her to move in here with me. How she spent hours online looking for interior design ideas, and insisting we decorate it together. At first, I kept the room the way it was because I couldn’t be bothered to redecorate. Then, I kept it because it served as a reminder not to be so trusting. But now.. Now I look around and think of Aurelia. Think about how this is part of my journey.. And the Moon Goddess has a plan. I have to trust that.

I head out onto my small balcony and look out across the forest before looking up at the sky. When I was younger, my mother would always tell us, when we were feeling lost, to look to the sky. “The Moon Goddess watches over all of her wolves.” My mother would always say to me growing up. I smile at the thought of my mother and look up at the sky, opening myself up and saying a silent prayer to the Moon Goddess. Please. Just let me find her. Let me have my mate. Let me continue my journey. I don’t want to do this alone. I want someone to share my life with. The highs, the lows, and everything in between. Show me a sign that you’re listening. That my mate is out there. And I’ll be patient. I’ll wait. No more stressing, nagging or pouting. I’ll wait for that perfect moment when we meet. 

I sigh looking up at the sky before a small breeze flutters around me, brushing through my hair. Marcus, you’re going crazy I think to myself, shaking my head and walking back in to the bedroom.