You're Not My Mate

Returning Home

Aurelia POV

Friday morning is here and the excitement is almost exploding out of me. I wake up at 8 and there’s blueberry muffins in the room ready. I grin, he knows me too well. “I’ve packed almost everything for you too sweetheart.” “Have you packed your costume?” I ask sweetly. He scowls at me and I can’t help but snicker. “Yes, I’ve packed it. Would I ever let you down?”

I lean up and stroke his face. I know he wouldn’t And I can’t wait to see what he looks like dressed up as a T-Bird. I giggle to myself at the thought. He scowls again and walks into the bathroom to finish getting ready. I eat my muffins, have a quick wash and brush my teeth then head into the walk-in closet. I brush my hair and leave it naturally straight today. There’s no point in me styling it just to sit on a plane for 5 hours.

I decide to go for something comfortable to travel in, so I pull out a yellow flowery maxi dress, a bra and some sandals. I grab some extra bits of clothes and shoes and put them into my small suitcase along with my make-up and toiletries. There’s no need for my curlers, Lucia is styling me tomorrow for the party.

“You ready baby?” I hear him call from the bedroom. I grab my case and walk in. He’s in tight black Armani joggers, and another tight black t-shirt. “You look delicious.” I praise, taking in every last detail of the way the t-shirt hugs his muscly figure. He laughs and hugs me, wrapping his arms around my back and lifting me slightly off the floor. “Let’s go.”

When we get downstairs, everyone is waiting for us. “Morning, Cruz. All set?” Liam asks. Cruz nods. Then a man and woman walk towards us. The man is huge, towering at least half a foot over Liam, even. He has curly short blonde hair with deep brown eyes, and very tanned skin. He obviously spends a lot of time in the sun. The woman is tall too, not quite as tall as Liam, but definitely tall. She’s slim but curvy and has the most beautiful olive skin tone with deep green eyes. “These are your parents?” I ask. Liam turns to me nodding as the woman approaches me.

“Oh Aurelia darling, it’s delightful to meet you. I’m Isabella, and this is Alexander. It’s an honour to meet the lady who’s stolen Liam’s heart.” I can’t help but beam at how lovely they both are. She pulls me into a hug, and Liam’s father kisses my cheek, introducing himself. “It’s so lovely to meet you both. I hear you both love to travel?” They nod at me. “We will have to talk all about it when you’re home, or you’re going to be late sweetheart. Have a wonderful birthday.” They both kiss my cheek and then Liam pulls me close to him. “Come on, we have to go.” We say our goodbyes and head into the Range Rovers waiting. In our car is me, Liam, Cruz and Clara-Jane. The others are in the Range Rover behind us. 

It’s a quick drive to the airport, and we get to go straight through as we have a private jet. Me and Liam sit facing each other at the back of the jet. And within a few minutes, I black out and fall asleep again. My dreams are all of Liam. So when I get woken up by turbulence, I have a major pout on. “What’s wrong, sweet baby?” Liam asks, noticing my frown and trying to look between my eyes to work out what’s upset me.

“I was dreaming of you.”

I mind link to him, and pull a playful pout on my face, sticking my bottom lip out.

“Oh, do tell.”

“I can do better than that.”

I grin, taking my seatbelt off and leaning over to him, resting my hands on his knees, I rest my forehead against his and pull back my dream. My dream where he was f*****g me on his office desk. And I woke up just before I could reach that o****m. Damn turbulence. He kisses me and then licks my lips. Then, leans down to lick his mark on my neck. I grin, and sit back down. “We’re landing now, baby. You’ll be at the house soon.” I nod, and sit back, taking in the descent.

The rest of the travel is pretty straight forward. Cruz and Marcus busy themselves getting everybody’s luggage and loading it up into a limousine when we land, and then it’s straight to my old home. When we get to about 10 miles away I can start to hear noises from the pack and chuckle to myself. Everyone turns to look at me. “Can’t you hear them?” I ask. Everyone now looks at me like I have 6 heads. “Hear who, baby?” I look at him blank. “You can’t hear my old pack? All getting ready for our arrival? I can hear my mother barking orders at everyone to make sure they look presentable.” They all look at me like I’m crazy and shake their heads. Huh, strange. Liam looks at me curiously but doesn’t say anything else.

Then I get a mind link come through. “Hey Boo, how far away are you?” I grin.  “About 8 miles away. Be there soon.” “Can’t wait to see you, Boo.” “Me too. You better be ready for a massive hug!” We cut the mind link and now Liam is looking real curious. “Who did you mind link with?” “Uhh.. Junus, why?” I ask, blushing. “You two can mind link this far apart?” I shrug. “Yeah, I mean, I’ve never tested how far away but, I think I can mind link quite far away with him, my family and Lucia, why?” Cruz leans forward to look at me closer. “Can you do that with us?” I shrug, I’ve never needed to try. “Fair play Alpha, you managed to grab yourself a women of great surprises here.” I blink, confused.

“Baby, I think you have more special abilities than you realise.”

“Why?”

“You shouldn’t be able to mind link this far away from anyone except direct family and your mate. Who else can you do it with?”

“Lucia..”

“Hmm. That’s interesting.”

“I’ll speak to the Elders. Maybe they can figure stuff out for me.”

“Sure, baby. Don’t let it get in the way of your birthday though. We have all the time in the world to do that. You only turn 19 once. And you only get me to dress up in a Grease costume once.”

“Hmm. I can’t wait to see you dressed up.”

“Only for you sweet baby, only for you.”

I smile sweetly at him and sit back, watching my old home getting closer and closer. When we pull up, we get allowed instant access over the threshold, probably because I’m in the car. When we pull up outside the house, everyone is stood outside ready to welcome us. I look around briefly and notice everyone - except my father. Typical. A lump forms in my throat, but I shake it off. The limousine driver comes to the back and opens the door for me to climb out first, and ready to greet everyone. 

Liam POV

Watching her look around to check for her father was heartbreaking. Why wouldn’t this bastard even come to welcome her? I wish I could punch the realisation into him what a wonderful daughter he has. But he’s her father. So I’ll have to leave it. For now. But one day, I will be having words with him. How dare he treat her the way he has.

The limousine driver opens the door and she climbs out first. Obviously she shoots out which makes me shake my head in defeat. Call me old fashioned, but I wanted to help her out. As I climb out she’s already running closer to the house and there’s a lot of screaming. From at least 3 female wolves. And then she jumps straight into his arms. The Juno boy. A lump forms in my throat, and I have to hold back the growl trying to escape my chest. He holds her around her waist and spins her around in circles as she giggles away. Then he passes her to a bunch of other female wolves. One I recognise to be Lucia. 

“Hey man. Nice to see you again.” Caesar, the one who’s to take over as Alpha greets me and offers me his hand. I take it and introduce him to everyone with me. My little sister looks around with huge, frightened eyes. This is a first for her. “Come on sis, let’s go catch up with my girl.” She nods excitedly as we follow behind, greeting everyone we pass. 

Aurelia is up ahead walking hand in hand with her friend Lucia, and Juno. And I admit, I’m seething with jealousy. But, she’s marked. She’s my mate. I love her, and she loves me. I just have to trust her, and the Moon Goddess. And I don’t think I have to worry about the Juno boy. At least, not too much anyway. But I can’t shake the feeling that something just doesn’t sit right with all of this.

As we step inside, Alpha Regulus offers me his hand. “Where’s the runaway got to this time?” He asks. I try my best to fake a smile on my face. “With her friends. I’m sure they have some catching up to do. This is my sister, Lola.” He nods and shakes her hand, and then leaves. “Well, isn’t he charming?” Lola turns to me, sarcastically. I laugh and nod in agreement. I follow the smell of strawberries out to the back garden when Aurelia comes bounding over to me with a massive grin on her face. My heart skips a beat when I see how happy she is. “There you are! I was wondering where you got to. Come ONNNN.” And she tries to pull my hand. I laugh and follow along.

She takes us through a forest by a lake where I can see a group of wolves. “Hey guys, this is my Liam, and his little sister Lola.” I can’t help but smile at the sound of her calling me hers. And then she takes us around the group. “Obviously, you know Juno and Lucia. This is Caesar, my oldest brother, and his lovely Arabella. This is my older brother Felix.” “And her favourite brother.” He winks at us. She punches his arm playfully and moves on. This is Lucia, she’s the daughter of our - their - Beta. And this is her mate, Dominik, he is the oldest son of the Gamma, and Juno’s brother.” Everyone nods and greets each other. 

There’s a campfire going and everyone takes a seat around it. Lola flutters off to go and play cards with Felix, who she finds hysterical. Caesar disappears shortly after, leaving his mate behind. And Aurelia tugs me to follow her where she goes to sit next to Junus. I follow behind her and sit next to her. “OK, who’s ready for toasting marshmallows?” Lucia appears with marshmallows on a stick. I’ve never been so grateful. It was getting a bit awkward with her sat between us. Aurelia jumps up at the sound of marshmallows, and Junus bursts out laughing. “You’ll never beat her to food. Ever.” I look at him and chuckle. If I wasn’t so jealous of him, I’d probably really like him. Lola flits over to grab two spears and some marshmallows for her and Felix and then looks over at me.

“She loves you bro, just think of him as her brother. She only has eyes for you, trust me.” 

I smile and nod slightly at her so nobody else would notice our silent conversation. Everyone scoots their logs closer to the fire to start toasting marshmallows. I move the log I was sat on closer and sit back down. Aurelia comes back with 3 spears, one each for me, her and Junus. She passes us marshmallows and then sits on the floor between my legs. I pull them in closer around her, securing her to me and she leans her head against my right leg. She manages to toast her way through 6 marshmallows without even flinching. After a catch up, and sharing crazy childhood stories, everyone starts to crash and burn and turn in for the night. Lucia takes Lola with her to show her to her room for the weekend, and promises to find Cruz, Marcus and their partners too. I suddenly wonder where they’ve been all night.

“You’re going to have to carry her up I think. She crashes like this all the time. It’s usually excitement tied with marshmallows.” Junus says to me. I nod, and smile at him. “I’m guessing we’re staying in her old bedroom?” He nods. “Do you know the way?” “Yeah, thanks. Hey is her father going to actually show up for her party tomorrow?” He bites his lip. “We all know her father can be a prick to her. But, he’s the Alpha. He won’t listen to anyone. I’m gonna turn in for the night. I’ll see you both tomorrow.” He nods at me and walks away.

Then, Felix pops his head around. “Hey Alpha Kustoff, can I have a word?” I look at him, surprised. “Uh, sure. Call me Liam. Can I put her to bed first? She’s beat.” He nods. “I’ll see you back here in 10.” I nod and pick her up carefully, carrying her bridal style through the house and up to her old bedroom. The room is untouched, exactly how she left it. I pull back the duvet and lay her in bed. I pull the quilt over her and kiss her forehead. “Sweet dreams, baby.” And I close the door quietly behind me. I head back over to the campfire. I wonder what Felix could possibly have to say to me. Probably some speech about looking after her. I walk through the clearing and see him sat on one of the logs.

“Hey, what’s up?” I ask, he turns and stands to shake my hand. “Hey. Look..” He looks uncomfortable and shifts between his feet. “I don’t wanna step out of line, I just wanted to help you out a bit. I saw you looking at Aurelia and Junus earlier. Look, you have nothing to worry about. But, you’re gonna have to accept them being friends.” I nod, my jealousy must have been evident earlier. “They’re close, huh?” He nods and looks glum. 

“Honestly, Liam, if she didn’t have Junus growing up. I don’t think she’d be here today. She had a s**t upbringing. Our father treats her like an outcast. Junus was her guardian angel. He’ll always be part of her life. I know her, and if you make her choose, she’ll choose you and leave him behind. But, if that happens, she’ll lose a part of herself. And so will he. Don’t take them away from each other. Please. She’ll never tell you herself. So I just.. I had to tell you, on her behalf. I’m sorry if I overstepped.” I nod, taking it all in.

“Growing up was tough for her, huh?” He nods. “I tried to protect her as much as I could, but.. Look he’s my father. But he’s an asshole. The way he treats her is disgusting. He’s Alpha. You can’t disobey him. But Junus.... Junus was always there. Picking up the pieces. Putting her back together. Distracting her. Cheering her up.” “Do you think they’re mates, Felix?” He shakes his head. “Nah. I think a part of her loves him.. Always has. But you... She’s freaking obsessed with you.” We both burst out laughing. “Thanks, Felix. I appreciate it. I’m going to get back to her now. See you tomorrow, mate.” Felix nods and slaps my arm. I walk back up to her bedroom. That was unexpected. I had always assumed it would be Caesar to be the most protective of her, considering he’s the oldest and next in line to be Alpha. But the bond she has with Felix is different.. And very strong.

Aurelia POV

I reach out for Liam and can’t feel him. I sit up dazed and look around. Where is he? How am I in my bedroom? For a second I panic that the last week has been a dream. What if none of it had happened? I’m still stuck in this house. I can feel my heart rate quicken as panic sets in. 

“What’s wrong baby? I’m just coming upstairs now.”

Liam’s mind link rushes through my head and I can feel my heart rate start to steady. Oh thank the Goddess above. I flop back down on the bed as he rushes in through the door to scoop me into his arms. “What’s wrong? Why are you scared?” He holds me tight to his chest while looking around. I snuggle into his chest. “I’m OK. I just couldn’t find you.” He pulls me tight to his chest. “I’m here, baby. I’m here.” He hushes me and rocks me back and fore. I relax and we lay back on the bed. I take a few minutes to calm my breathing and then pull back slightly to look at his face. “I panicked thinking the last week was a dream and I was stuck back here again.” I whine, trying to hold in the tears that had been threatening to escape.

He nuzzles his nose into my neck and his warm breath sets my body into a calm and dreamlike state. “Why didn’t you just look at my mark on your neck?” I suddenly sit upright and blush, stroking my mark on his neck and watching him shiver. I hadn’t even thought about that. I pull his t-shirt off over his head. “Will you come to bed with me now please?” He smiles. “Always, baby. Every night for the rest of my life.” He pulls off the rest of his clothes and climbs into bed next to me, hugging me close. I fall asleep breathing in his sweet smell. The perfect ending to the day.