Chapter 2 My Mate

• "Mate," Jack said, breaking me from my thoughts as I placed a bowl of pasta in front of me. "What's Mate?"
• "She might be thinking about one of the many books she reads all the time," Peter said, changing the subject, and I nodded and took a deep breath of relief. I was grateful that Peter had redirected the conversation.
• "Oh, I see, Regina and her books; sh*t, I forgot my juice on the counter," Jack said, leaving Peter and me alone.
• As Jack left to retrieve his juice, Peter and I exchanged a knowing glance. It was clear that Peter had picked up on my discomfort and had stepped in to save me from further questioning about my thoughts. "Be careful what you say here," Peter said, and I nodded.
• "I’m sorry," I said, stopping myself from speaking further after seeing Jack come back.
• How foolish of me to forget that Jack is human, unlike me and Peter.
• And he is our friend, but some secrets are hard to share, like my being a werewolf.
• Both Peter and I are werewolves, and, unlike humans, we live in groups, or what wolves will call packs.
• Many things differentiate us from humans, like our status, which is defined by birth. I am a year younger than Peter, but status-wise, I am far superior to him or anyone in my pack except my brother, who is the alpha of our pack and always scolds me in class.
• And in just a few months, I will find my mate, and how much I wish it to be Peter, even if he is a normal warrior of our pack. I don’t care. All I ever wished for in my life was to find someone who loved me as much as my dad does my mom, or more than that, if possible. I've always admired the love and bond my parents share, and I long for a similar connection with my future mate. Despite Peter's status as a normal warrior, I believe he has the potential to fulfill my deepest desires for love and companionship.
• "Why the hell are you smiling?" Jack interrupts, breaking all my sweet future predictions.
• I turn to Jack, slightly annoyed by his interruption. "Can't a girl daydream in peace?" I retort, hoping to regain my train of thought.
• "Not when the girl is Regina," Jack said, laughing at his own words. I roll my eyes at Jack's comment, feeling a mix of frustration and amusement.
• "Well, lucky for you, I don't need your approval or validation," I reply with a smirk, determined to hold onto my belief in Peter's potential. "Shut up, or do you want me to kick your ass? Like I used to in the past?" I replied, smirking deviously. Jack's laughter dies down as he raises an eyebrow at my challenge, realizing that I'm not backing down.
• "No, thank you," he said, running away from me and Peter.
• "Shit, how can I forget? I have to meet Sam in his office." I sighed, running fast with my bag in hand.
• And just as I was close to Sam’s office, something hit my body like a wall, making me lose my balance. I closed my eyes tight, waiting to fall on my ass, but the fall never came. Instead, strong arms wrapped around me, preventing me from hitting the ground.
• I cracked my eyes to check on the owner of my hands, and the first thing my eyes could see were two brown, almost black eyes staring at my face. A warm smile spread across the stranger's face as he steadied me. I also wanted to thank the person for helping me get out of his arms, but everything seemed to have stopped and my body seemed paralyzed. As I struggled to regain control of my body, a rush of gratitude washed over me. With my throat dry and my heart pounding in my chest, nothing seemed to come out of my mouth until I faintly heard a word from the stranger’s mouth.
• "Mate..." I heard him mumble before I could feel my consciousness slipping away, as if being pulled into a deep abyss. Panic surged through me, but I was powerless to fight it. In that fleeting moment before everything went black, I wondered who this stranger was and why he had called me "mate."