My Mysterious Neighbor

The Request

Malik

I watch her run away from me, she runs to her car and drives off before I can even say anything, leaving me standing in utter shock. I let out a huff; this lady is weirder than I thought.

"That's her, isn't she?” Asks Avery. I turn, finally looking back at Avery, who is standing at the door. I simply nod; I don't know what else to say to her.

"Wow, she is beautiful. I am jealous of her dark, Auburn hair. Those long curls I would love to know how she is able to maintain that kind of hair." She gushes, and I already know where this conversation is leading.

"Would you introduce me to her?" She asks, looking at me with her big green eyes.

"Nope." I answer instantly.

"Who is he denying introducing you to?" Kelvin asks as he steps out of the house too.

"His mate!" Avery shouts.

I glare at her hard.

"Don't glare at my mate like that!" Kelvin snaps at me. He is so protective of her. I wonder if I will become like him too, but I don't see it happening.

"His mate was here." His eyes are wide, and he chokes. He begins to cough, and I smirk.

Avery looks wary at her mate and rushes over to his side. She begins to gently pat his back and rub his chest. I look away; they made an innocent action look so intimate that it moved my heart and made me envious of something I thought I didn't deserve.

I could hear her whisper sweet things to him, and now it is my turn to cough dramatically.

"Yes, she was, and she is very beautiful," Avery replies gently. She treats him like a baby most of the time, and he enjoys every second of it. My envious heart is beating wildly, and my mind goes back to the beauty whose name I still don't know. I can't believe she ran away like that. She is a walking temptation, and the beast in me is intoxicated. It went wild yesterday.

"Did he chase her away?"

"I think so because she ran out the moment I walked out."

They speak like I am not there; it is a habit of theirs.

I sigh; these two know how to get on my very last nerve.

"Are you seriously going to talk like I am not here?" It is my turn to snap.

A low growl leaves my lips. I am someone who is easily irritated, and it was hard to keep in my growls when my mate was around.

They both laugh out like I said the funniest thing ever. I begin to trek back into the house, and Kelvin blocks my path.

"Where do you think you are going?" Kelvin asks me. I glare at him and say, "In my house, where else can I go?" I ask with irritation in my voice.

"You are going to your mate’s house to talk to her. What is her name again?" He looks at me expectantly, gesturing with his hand as he waits for me to answer.

He asks a question that I don't have answers to.

"Uh. Her name?" I ask as if I didn't hear him the first time. I could just lie about her name or maybe try to guess. Who am I kidding?

Kelvin palms himself and pinches the bridge of his nose.

"He doesn't know it!" Avery states the obvious, and she scoffs.

"I didn't want to get close to her, not when I have wolves that want me dead. If they find out who she is, she will be the main target. I can't do that to her." I reason. I was saying those words mostly to myself rather than to them. I was convincing myself that maybe it was for the best. Keep my distance for now, and when the time comes, I will make her mine.

"Then why did you mark her?" Avery asks the question I dread hearing.

I hoped she wouldn't catch on to what I had done, but it's clear that she did.

"He has. Our king has marked someone already."

"I am not your king. Not anymore." Saying those words makes me a bit sad, but I recover quickly.

"You will always be our king, not that puppet they want to put in place." Avery defends fiercely.

I sigh; it's pointless arguing with them when they have already made up their minds.

"Why are you even here?" I inquire instead.

They both look offended by my question. I give them a bored look; I am not in the mood for chitchat today.

"We were visiting around and decided to pass through," Kelvin speaks casually.

Bullshit. Total and utter bullshit.

I move Kelvin away from the door forcefully before his mate can even react. I walk into my house and head straight to the living room. I sit on the very same couch that I marked my mate from. Her scent is still there, as fresh as ever. It stuck there, and I find it comforting. It has become my favorite spot in the house.

I take a deep breath and sigh once more. A ghost of a smile sits on my face as I remember how bold she was. She will make a great mate, and my beast will love her. She may be human, but she has a spirit that is tougher than most wolves.

"Is he smiling?" Avery asks. She is more observant and inquisitive than Kelvin.

My lips instantly drop; it felt weird anyway.

"Woah, Malik never smiles." Kelvin is always surprised.

"I know, right, but he was. You really need to visit her, and nothing like me is doing this to keep her safe." Avery banters.

She treats me like I am her young brother with her constant scolding. Most times I do what she tells me because I have a soft spot for her in my heart, and seeing her sad isn't something I want.

"She doesn't belong in our world; she is human after all. I can't just disrupt her life and drag her into mine, not when I have people that want me dead, Avery." I snap at her.

Her lips quiver, and I never snap at her. Kelvin is quick on his feet and hugs her. He glares and growls at me with a clear warning to protect his mate, even from me, his best friend.

"I am sorry, Avery. I didn't mean to." My voice is soft.

"You are forgiven." Her voice comes out tiny, and it is so cute that it makes my lips curve in a small smile.

She grins when she sees my reaction and leaps out of Kevin's arms from where they are sitting to mine and hugs me instead.

Kelvin growls, but she flips him off with her hand and nuzzles her face in my chest. I begin to pat her back gently. She finally pulls away.

"So you will visit her." She peers up at me. Her big silver eyes glow at me as she waits for me to answer. She knows I have a weak spot when it comes to her. I see her as my baby sister since I never got to have one. I was the only child of my kind, a pure breed.

"Anything for you." She cheerfully gets up and gives me her biggest smile, her set of teeth on full display.

I scoff; she is something, and I know she will get along very well with my mate. They both seem to have this fire in them.

Avery rushes back to her mate, who grabs her and begins to put his scent all over her. I may be his best friend, but having another male's scent all over your mate is disturbing, even if that male is someone close to you.

Again, I grow envious of the two. I didn't even get to scent my mate; what if some other male wants to be with her? Her having my mark on her isn't enough until I fully mate with her. The thought of another male wanting what is mine makes my blood boil. I won't let that happen.

"Tell me why you are really here, Kelvin," I demand, changing the subject.

"It's the council. I think they have finally found someone to replace you on the throne. They have succeeded in spreading those rumors that you are deadly because your beast can't be trusted. They have installed fear in most of the werewolf parks." His words made me grit my teeth, and a deep growl resonated from my lips. My fists clench tightly. The council can't keep doing this.

"What do you have in mind?" It was Avery who asked this time. She observes me closely.

"I don't know yet." And that is the truth.

"You can't let them take what belongs to you."

"I asked, is it worth fighting for?"

"That throne is your birthright; it's worth fighting for. And if the council gets a hold of that right from you, you don't know what they will do next; they will make sure you and your mate are dead. If you can't do it for you, do it for her to keep her safe. And don't say you won't associate yourself with her when she is already marked. You made that decision all on your own." Avery states the facts, and I purse my lips.

Marking my mate wasn't a decision that I made. I was so caught up in the moment, and when my beast went crazy, all he wanted was to mark his mate. I didn't even know it was happening until it had already happened. But I can't blame my beast; I initiated the kiss because that's what had always been on my mind since the first day I met her, and I fought hard those months without seeing her when every inch of my body was craving to have her and make her mine.

"You are right." is all I could say because, honestly, she is right. But this battle is big: fighting the council. I don't even know if I can take them. I am the most powerful person alive, yes, but fighting a whole kingdom on my own can't work, no matter how much power I have. I need an army to fight with me, and that's when an idea clicks.

"I need you two to do something for me." I look at them. They are cozied up on my couch, and Kelvin shamelessly plants kisses along Avery’s neck.

I clear my throat, and that is enough to grab their attention.

"What kind of help?" Kelvin asks.

He is no longer planting kisses along her neck but is playing with the lining of Avery’s tiny skirt. I bet he can't wait until they are alone.

"I want you to create me an army. I am sure some people will not agree with the person they choose. Those will support me; all I need is a secret uprising."

Their lips turn up into a bright smile. "Now that's more like it; consider it done as long as you make your mate fall in love with you. We will need a queen after all." Kelvin replies.

I smirk at his reply. He knows what he is playing. Such a clever man. I groan, "Geez, okay, I will do that too."

But I ain't promising.