THE MATE I NEVER CHOSE

Chapter 5

**Tobias’s POV**

“Mate!” I exclaimed as he collapsed against me. We both staggered and fell to the floor.

I dragged him up as best as I could. I had been drinking for a while and my balance wasn’t great.

“Tobias, where the f**k have you been?! Whaaaaaat— did you go and kidnap a man? A cute man?” Louis screamed in my ear.

“Shut the f**k up. I saw him getting harassed and helped him. He’s my mate,” I replied.

Silence filled the room for a few seconds before they all started bombarding me with questions.

“Your mate?!” Jim exclaimed.

“Mate? You’re joking. But he is kind of cute, right?” Louis asked, glancing at his own mate, Kim.

“You guys aren’t seeing the problem here. I’m straight. I’m not gay. How am I supposed to be with him?”

“He’s cuuute…” Kim slurred.

Louis looked offended. “Are you trying to be homophobic right now? You know my mate is a guy.”

I shook my head quickly. “No. I don’t have a problem with you being gay. In fact, I love you — you’re my friend. But I can’t be gay. All my life I’ve only had girlfriends. How do you expect me to suddenly start dating a boy?” I bit my lip.

The body clinging to me like a koala started roaming his hands over my chest.

“Hot… hot… so hot…” He tried to remove his clothes, but I stopped him.

“Stop,” I cautioned.

Instead, he took my hand and started licking it, then tried to pull at my shirt.

I grimaced in discomfort and wiped my hand on my clothes.

“Ohhh, what do we have here? He doesn’t seem okay,” my friends said, looking worried.

“He was drugged by some guys—” I was interrupted when he suddenly kissed me.

“Take him home or to the hospital,” they said, already escorting me outside. They arranged a cab and went back to continue their night.

His hands never left my body. He stayed clingy, tears blurring his eyes.

Once we were outside, I studied him carefully and pushed his hair aside. He looked beautiful.

I shook my head hard. I’m straight. Not gay.

The cab arrived. I struggled to get him inside. He couldn’t give me any information — he just kept muttering “hot” and flailing his hands.

The driver looked at us weirdly but drove to my place anyway.

I had to use my jacket to loosely restrain his hands so he wouldn’t keep grabbing at me. Soft whines escaped his mouth. With his flushed face and pouty lips, the sounds were… distracting.

I slapped myself mentally. What am I doing, calling a guy cute? Guys aren’t cute. Handsome, maybe. But he was an exception.

I was starting to understand people who let this soulmate biology control them. Part of me wanted nothing more than to pin him down.

But…

“We’re here.”

I looked around, then carefully carried him since he couldn’t stand on his own. He didn’t even have a phone on him.

We staggered inside. He was still roaming his hands over my body, and it was affecting me more than I wanted to admit.

I opened the door and set him down. He looked confused for a second, then tried to stand, only to fall and crawl toward me.

“Help me,” he begged, eyes glossy.

“I can’t help you. Even though we’re mates… I can’t love you. I’m sorry.” Guilt twisted in my chest.

“Is it because I’m skinny? Or because I’m not like Loka?” He started sobbing. “I’ve loved you since we were young and you’re still turning a blind eye to it.”

One-sided love. Jealousy bubbled in my throat at the thought of whoever he was talking about.

I stood up to get him some clothes. He suddenly gripped my shirt and kept sobbing.

“Please don’t leave me alone. They’re going to come back and my body doesn’t feel right,” he hiccupped.

I picked him up and took him to the bathroom. I turned on the cold water and started rinsing him off — maybe a little colder than necessary.

He struggled, brows knitted, wriggling against my grip. His body pressed against me and I had to bite back a reaction.

This mate bond is stupid, I cursed silently.

Eventually he went limp and fell asleep right there in the shower. He looked peaceful.

I turned off the water, carried him to my room, changed him into clean clothes, and draped a blanket over him.

When I tried to walk away, he gripped my finger and whimpered.

I stayed. I watched him fall into a deeper sleep. He looked… cute.

I mentally chided myself, quietly untangled our fingers, and left the room.

My body was still reacting. I went to the bathroom and took care of it, trying to think of any of the women I’d been with before. But a certain blue-eyed boy kept forcing his way into my mind. The release was stronger than anything I remembered.

I exhaled shakily, rinsed off, and stepped out.

Back in the room, my phone chimed. Three missed calls from my mom and two from my friends.

I already knew my parents would be calling soon. Louis had a big mouth, and I’d told him I’d found my mate.

I raked a hand through my hair and finally lay down beside him. His scent wrapped around me and felt strangely like home.

But did I want to get used to these feelings?

I shook my head and closed my eyes.

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**Mika’s POV**

I groaned and squeezed my eyes shut when light hit my face.

I pulled the blanket over my head. Where the f**k was everyone?

I was still questioning my life choices and trying to piece together last night when I felt movement beside me.

“What the f**k are you doing on my bed, Dave? Don’t you have a life? And why is your body so cold?”

I was still complaining when I finally looked around.

Why were we in a strange room? And where was everyone?

I was still talking from under the blanket when I saw him properly.

“Mate,” he said, voice hoarse.

I opened my mouth. No sound came out for a second.

Then I screamed like my life depended on it.

“HEEEEEEEEEELP!”

And I fainted.

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