Mate
923 Words
Lara POV
The place is already getting crowded, warm bodies moving under neon lights. Music thumps through the walls, through my bones. Roxy, Steven and I grab a table in the corner — my favorite place. Far from the center. Far from eyes.
They know I hate being the center of attention.
They also know I somehow attract it.
I don’t know why guys always hit on me. Maybe it’s my hair. Or my eyes. Or… the other thing.
The thing I’ve never told anyone.
The auras.
I can feel people. Animals. Their emotions. Their pain. Their intent. Not as physical pain, but like a pressure, a whisper inside my chest. It’s the reason I became a vet — animals speak to me without speaking.
Tonight, the club pulses with color.
Big bulky guys glow with muddy brown auras.
Steven is deep purple — warm, mischievous, vibrant.
Roxy is a soft light brown threaded with pink — all love and chaos.
I feel safe with them. Seen. Accepted.
But telling them?
No.
Because saying it aloud makes it real. And I’m not ready to face what that means.
Only fifteen minutes in, I’ve already had two guys approach. Steven is a lifesaver — he flirts back so aggressively they flee in under thirty seconds.
“How can you not love this man?” I laugh.
He leans close to my ear, voice low. “Do you want me to pretend to be your boyfriend tonight? You look extra delicious — the sharks can smell it.”
I snort. “No, but stay close. If it gets bad, I’ll kick someone in the nuts. And what if you meet your dream guy and he thinks you’re straight? Can’t sabotage your own love life like that.”
Steven throws his head back laughing. “Baby, have you seen this body? No one is mistaking me for straight. I am too gorgeous for heterosexuality.”
“And yet you’re offering to be my boyfriend?” I tease loudly over the music.
Before he can answer, Roxy suddenly shrieks — somehow louder than the speakers.
“ARE WE GOING TO DANCE OR TALK ALL NIGHT?!”
She grabs our hands and drags us toward the dance floor.
I laugh as the music wraps around me.
God, I love dancing — the rhythm, the energy, the freedom.
For a moment, the world feels right.
Lucas POV
I’m here.
Upstairs. In my glass room. Away from everyone. But present — which is what I promised my siblings.
There’s a scent in the air tonight.
I noticed it the moment I walked in.
I can smell it even up here.
I shouldn’t be able to pick out one scent in a room full of wolves and humans. But this one cuts through everything — warm, sweet, familiar.
It’s driving Lex insane.
“Relax,” I mutter. “Humans are down there.”
“Don’t care,” he snarls. “Smell good.”
I look down at the dance floor. Wolves and humans mixing, dancing, laughing. Peaceful. I haven’t been here in so long I forgot what it feels like to just… watch.
Then I see her.
A flash of blue-black hair.
A body flowing with the music like it’s made for it.
And Lex roars.
“MATE!”
The force of it almost knocks me backward.
My breath stops. My heart slams. Every instinct I have sharpens to a dangerous point.
She’s breathtaking.
A f*****g goddess.
She moves like she’s water, like she’s light, like she’s meant to be seen.
I’m already walking.
Already descending the stairs.
Eyes locked on her like nothing else exists.
Wolves notice me instantly.
They part.
They always part.
I growl at Lex, “Control yourself. We don’t even know—”
“She is ours!” he snaps, pushing at my skin, trying to force the shift.
My eyes glow gold as we get closer. People — humans included — step aside, sensing danger without knowing why.
And then I feel her.
Her aura.
Not human.
Not wolf.
Something else.
Something powerful.
I move faster.
And then it happens—
A lone wolf gets too close to her.
He dances up against her.
She freezes.
Mine.
Before I even register the movement, I have him slammed against the wall. My hand around his throat. My wolf clawing at my insides, demanding blood.
It takes everything in me not to kill him in front of everyone.
She’ll see.
She’ll hate me.
I can’t lose her before I even have her.
I release a fraction of my Alpha power. It hits him like a punch.
He drops to his knees. “I—I’m sorry, my King. I didn’t know she was yours.”
Too soon.
Too f*****g soon.
I don’t even know what she is yet. If she knows about mates. What danger she’s in because of me.
“No. She is not mine,” I force out, jaw locked so tight it hurts.
The words feel like knives.
“I saw the lady didn’t want you touching her. Leave. Do not come back. Ever.”
“Yes, my King…” he stammers, scrambling away.
I stand still.
Silent.
Terrified to turn around.
Terrified to see her eyes.
Those blue eyes I’ve dreamed of for years.
Finally, I turn.
Slowly.
Carefully.
But—
She’s gone.
My heart drops.
My wolf snarls.
The scent of daisies fades, slipping away into the crowd.
She ran.
She can try.
But she’s mine.
And I will always find her.
- Writer
