Beauty and Beast

Chapter 8

Madilyn's POV

*DING DONG*

I wonder who that could be. Amy took Rory out to get some stuff for the party tonight and Max went on a run. I rushed downstairs and when I opened the door I was hit by a foul smell.

"Hey babe," Jackson said as he walked in and placed a kiss on my head.

I completely forgot he was coming over today. I have to get rid of him. I can't have him anywhere near here when I shift and he also just smells horrible.

"Hey baby, I completely forgot you were coming over today..." I said nervously.

"I wouldn't miss your birthday, plus I was kinda hoping you'd be alone. I wanted to give you something for your birthday." He said, moving closer to me with a weird look in his eyes.

"Get him out of here. I am going to puke if he gets any closer to us!"

Before I had time to react, he was holding a box of condoms and he was about to kiss me again. I move just in time and he turns around with a look of pure dumbfoundness.

"I thought this is what we both wanted." He said, sounding confused.

"Look, Jackson. These past two months have been great, but I am going off to college soon and I want to go single. You have been a lot of firsts for me, but I want my virginity to go to my mate." I said, not acknowledging what I said.

"Mate? What are you talking about? You said you were falling for me?" He said with tears welling up in his eyes.

"Soulmate, sorry. I just don't see us working out. I would never want to waste your time and lead you on. I hope you can understand." I said, hoping he would feel the sincerity in my voice.

He dropped his head and started to leave. Before he made his way to the door, he says, "I thought we were soulmates." Then, just like that, he's gone. I get this overwhelming sadness and I just start crying.

"Madilyn, remember he isn't our mate."

("How do you know?")

"Trust me, our mate won't smell like that. I still can't even believe that you ever touched him."

("Hold on a second. Has that been you all along? Every time I get close to a guy I find attractive, I get sick. Was that you?")

"I won't lie. It was. I couldn't bare the thought of you being anyone else's besides our mates."

("What if we never met him Eden? I will not die a virgin!")

"Fine, I will make you a deal. If we haven't found them by 30, you can sleep with whoever you want. Deal?"

("No deal. 25?")

"Fine."

Ha, I won Eden. I laughed to myself. All of this has me thinking about Jayden. I should call her.

*RING* *RING* *RING* *RING*

If I was her, I wouldn't have answered the phone either. Just as I was about to hang up, I heard,

"Hello?"

It was her voice. I have missed her voice.

"Jayden?" I said, holding back my tears.

"Madi?" She said in tears.

We cried for a solid 5 minutes. Then, finally, I break up the tears and say,

"Can you come to my aunt's tonight for my birthday party?"

"I will be there in two hours." She responded and hung up the phone.

I was so excited. I missed my best friend very much.

"I missed her too. You did the right thing."

A few moments later, Max walks in covered in dirt. I listened for him to go get a shower. I waited patiently. Who knew men could shower this long? As he came downstairs, I started bombarding him with more questions.

"So what kind of wolf are you?" I said, now the one with a smile on my face.

"If you must know, I am the Alpha of our pack. But if you mean what my wolf looks like, he is bright auburn. His eyes are like mine, hazel." Max said, trying to inhale as much water as he could.

"So do you have a mate yet? Also, I thought you were going to the University of Portland, that is literally the only reason I applied there." I said now, sounding a little salty.

"Look, I am sorry about that. But there is a really great wolf school in Nighthawk. They have a better education anyway. And no, I have not found my mate yet, but one day I will." He said, sounding hopeful.

"So I am going to assume that our pack is called Nighthawk. What are the other packs called?" I asked.

"Well, there are packs all over the world but the ones in other countries have all been driven out by fear. The few that remain may as well be rouges. In the US, however, there are four packs. One for South, North, East, and West. We have territory extending from Washington all the way down to New Mexico. We are the pack that represents the East. The Blue Moon Pack runs from Florida all the way through Maine. They represent the West. The Crest Moon runs from Montana through Michigan, representing the North. And lastly, the Bloodstone pack runs from Colorado to Mississippi. They represent the South." Max explained.

"Okay, and..." before I could finish my sentence, Max interrupted me and said,

"You will learn everything soon. You can only process so much information at once."

He was right. I just wanted to know everything there was to know about my new life. I was excited about starting this journey and being the queen I was meant to be. I want to know my people.