Linked By Fate

Chapter 4

I've not spoken much since we left the registration office. The officer gave me a book about beast-humans after finding out that I knew nothing about my species due to being orphaned as a baby. Being so engrossed in the book, I had completed it by the time we reached campus, which was a five-hour drive. Some of the things I read pissed me off.

I'm tired of omegas being stereo-typed as weak beings. There is nothing weak about me, no matter what my past may be. Folding under pressure or crying at the drop of a hat all the time, that just isn't me. But today, I've teared up a lot. My omega traits have been working overtime today.

We've finished our class and are on the way to the rink for Riley's practice. Eyes were on me as we walked. The majority of students here have congratulated us on being mates and me on my transition. There are some that don't really know how to approach me in regards to my ears and tail, not that I minded much because I'm still dealing with them myself.

"Sweetheart, are you coming with me to practice today or did you want to head home to rest up before dinner? Alex and Xander wish to take us out for dinner tonight to celebrate. They promised to keep it low key. Or maybe you don't want to go out tonight." Riely asks me as we make our way to the exit. The pet name still takes me by surprise when he calls me that.

"Honestly, I don't want to deal with a crowd tonight. I could head home and cook dinner for us instead. Maybe make sphegatti or lasagna with a salad and garlic bread. That way we can all relax and chill. Having more eyes staring at me today is not on my list of things to do. I'm still trying to process being a beast-human and how it will further affect my life and yours in a direct or indirect way." I said without looking at him. It's been hard to look him in the eye today and that's not normal.

Linking our fingers together, Riley pulls me along to where his truck was parked. My back was against the driver's door and Riley pinned me with his body. "Look at me, Cooper," he demanded in a tone that I'd never heard before. Snapping my head up, my eyes took in his facial expression and it suddenly felt like I had swallowed a ton of lead.

"You've not looked me in the eyes since this morning and I don't like it. I said that we would take our time moving forward, but that doesn't mean that I will sit by while you begin to pull away from me. We are still us, Cooper. We are still best friends. The difference is that our relationship has leveled up. Don't distance yourself from me. I won't allow that. If you'd like to make dinner tonight, then that's fine with me. You're cooking is the bomb anyway. But get used to my touches, Cooper. Fated mates need to touch, to be near, one another. The mate bond, don't you feel it, too?" His forehead rested on mine as we stared into each others eyes.

Breathlessly, I whispered, "Yes, I feel it, Riley. It's so strong that it's fearful. Things are happening so suddenly that I'm afraid I won't be able to catch up. Are things not moving too fast?"

"When you think about how long we've known each other and how much time we already spend together, no. I'd say things are going at a steady pace. What you need to decide is if this is really what you want. Think it over. Ask yourself if you can accept the fact that the Fates chose me as your fated mate. That's the only way that things will even begin to work. You know my feelings on the matter." I did not fail to see or hear that tinge of pain he was giving off. The last thing I wanted was to cause him any type of pain due to my uncertainty.

If I'm honest with myself, I've always felt drawn to Riley. No once have I ever felt anxious or uneasy in regards to him unless we were apart for long periods of time. From what I've read, that is something that fated mates experience in their relationship. Could it be that the Fates have been working behind the scenes from the very beginning?

Raising my hands, I cup his handsome face between my hands. "Riley, I'm sorry if I'm hurting you in any type of way. I know that the Fates make no mistakes, but it is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that they felt that I was worthy of you. You're my best friend. Someone who's always been by my side no matter what happens. It's going to take some time for me to grasp you going from being Julie's boyfriend to my mate in less than twenty-four hours. I want you to be sure that what you're feeling is for me is for me, and not residual feelings left over from her. Does that make sense?"

Kissing the palm of my hands, he leans down, pulling me into a hug. "Yeah, it makes sense. I get it. If you'd like to head home and prepare dinner tonight, then you can. We should be done around six-thirty or so. I'm sure mom is gonna call you to check up on how you're doing. She's worried about you. Maybe calling her will help with any anxiety that you're feeling if you don't feel that you can share things with me right now."

Alex called out across the lot. "Hey lovebirds, cut that out. Come on Riley or we'll be late for practice. Are we still on for dinner?'

"Yeah, but Cooper decided she wanted to cook for us." I answered, to which I received a "sweet" as his reply. Looking down at my mate and best friends, I kissed her forehead softly. "I'll see you at home." Though she's a caramel-colored black girl, I can still see whenever she blushes. It makes my heart flutter in my chest knowing that I was the cause of it. "Drive safely, sweetheart."

"I will. Make sure to stretch properly before practice and try not to over do it. Remember that it's only practice. Your first game is in a few days and the team needs you." Standing on my tiptoes, I quickly placed a chaste kiss on his lips and then hopped in the truck. Waving goodbyes, I cracked up the truck and drove off. It wasn't until I saw him in the rearview mirror touching his lips that I realized what I had done.

I had kissed Riley. It was a small, innocent kiss, yet it was still a kiss. "Way to go Cooper. Way to go." I said as I licked my lips that were tingling still.

It only takes twenty minutes to make it home. I was glad that we were gone from home for longer than three days. None of the food in the fridge had a chance of going bad. Pulling out the ground beef, I placed it in the microwave to defrost enough for me to use it. Then I went about making the sauce. Sphegatti would go a lot further than lasagna with the way the three of them ate, so that is what I decided to fix. Once I had the sauce simmering in a boiler, I went about cooking the meat so I could add it to the sauce. The sauce and meat would need to be cooked together for at least forty minutes to my liking so the spices and flavors could develop.

Picking up my phone, I called Mama Bear on the way to my room so I could unpack my suitcase. With my hand on the zipper, I stopped when I realized that, as mates, Riley and I would share a room at some point. Suddenly, my body started to grow hot. Being lost in thought, I did not hear when Rita had answered the phone. "Sorry, Mama Bear, I was lost in thought and did not hear your pick up the call. I wanted to check in. It was brought to my attention that I was acting strangely when we left this morning."

A small chuckle came from her. "That's putting it mildly, but I'm glad you called. I know that everything could feel like it's happening too fast with you and Riley being fated mates. Papa Bear and I wanted you to know that it is normal to worry or feel anxious at first. But, you should also trust the Fates. They knew who would be the perfect partner for you."

"It's funny that you'd say that. A little while ago, the thought crossed my mind that the Fates may have been working in the background from the beginning of our friendship. Since the day that I met him, I've always felt a pull towards him. Not sure of what it could be, I never mentioned it to him. It bothered me a lot whenever we could not spend time together. Like now, I told him I would come home and cook dinner since Alex and Xander wanted to celebrate our pairing. Coming into the apartment without him had me feeling like I had forgotten something important." It felt good to have someone to talk to about these things.

"Fated pairs have such a strong bond that it can be hard being apart from one another no matter what stage you're in during your relationship. Once you guys claim each other, it's only going to intensify your mate bond and one another's presence. I meant it when I said that I'm over the moon that you are the one that was chosen for Riley. Everyone could see the chemistry between the two of you while you guys were totally oblivious to it." She paused for a moment, before continuing. "Cooper, don't overthink things or it could cause a discord in your relationship. Take things as they come and be confident in the fact that YOU are his fated mate. The one that was made to be by his side is you. It doesn't matter if you're a beast-human or not. Speaking of which, I placed an order for some clothes that compliment your tail. They should arrive at your place in the next few hours. I ordered them from a few shops in a town over from you guys. I'm going to let you go finish cooking, but we are here if you need us and Papa Bear sends his love. We'll talk soon. Love you."

"I love you guys, too, and thank you for the advice. It does help me a lot. Talk to you later, Mama Bear." Blowing her a kiss through the phone, I ended the call. Looking at the clothes in my luggage, I decided to go ahead and move Riley's things to my room, since it is the bigger of the two and my bed was king size. The timer I had set for the meat sauce went off.

Heading to the kitchen, I lowered the heat even more as I stirred the sauce. Boiling the pasta took no longer than nine minutes. More than enough time to chop some tomatoes and cucumbers for the salad. Once the pasta was to my liking, I strained it in the strainer, then tossed it in with the meat sauce. Pulling the Texas Toast from the freezer, I placed it in the preheated oven and went back to moving more of Riley's things. At seven o'clock, I heard the lock on the front door click, announcing their arrival.

"Dude, it smells so freaking good in here. I'm glad we showered beforehand. My stomach is about to eat itself." Xander joked.

Coming around the corner, I laughed. "Man, that is not something I'd wish to see. Go ahead and wash your hands so we can sit down to eat." I said to him, but my eyes were locked on Riley.

Walking over to me, he kissed my cheek. I inhaled his scent and his cologne. My body suddenly flushed warm. Has he always smelt this freaking good? "I hope it was okay, but I moved your things to the master bedroom. It's not like we've not shared a bed before or anything like that."

He looks down at me with a shocked, yet pleased expression. His smile eased that small ball of tension that was sitting in my chest. I was afraid that he would not like the fact that I moved his things without asking him. "Thank you for feeling comfortable enough with things to do that on your own. I'm going to place my bag inside, then come back out to eat." When he walked away, I found myself staring at his butt in his track pants and the flex of his muscles when he walked. Reaching the door, he turned and caught me staring at him. I quickly turned away as my face instantly began to burn with embarrassment. What is going on with me?

Needing to get a hold of myself, I went into the kitchen, washed my hands, and proceeded to make Riley a plate of food. I was in the process of bowling up some salad for him when a shiver ran down the back of my neck. For some reason, I knew that he was behind me. Caging me in with his arms on either side of me as he gripped the counter, he leaned next to my ear. "You can watch me anytime you want to. It felt good having your eyes on me like that."

Crap, I just blew my top. Swallowing so I could wet my dry throat, I replied. "How could I not? Have you not seen how hot you are? It's hard to believe that I've never really allowed myself to look at you that way before."

"I understand. However, I've looked at you that way plenty of times and I must admit that I love everything I've seen. Your curvy shape gets me hot." He flirted with me.

"Could you take the plates of sphegatti to the table and I'll bring the bowls of salad for us? I need a minute to cool off. It suddenly got hot in here." Pressing his hard body against my back, he replied, "Yeah, I can do that. Take your time, sweetheart."

Once he backed away from me and did as I asked, I grabbed a rag from the drawer, ran it under some cold water, and placed it on my face. My hands were shaking. His scent still filled the air around me. A moan fights to come from my lips but I swallowed it down.

Dang it, when did we get like this?