Chapter 20 - My Mate
I sat myself down at the dinner table and my belly rumbled as I stared at the large bowl of cheesy pasta sitting in front of me. I practically drooled as I picked up my fork and began eating. I was starved despite having eaten all afternoon back at Lila's cabin.
Nothing beat Jenny's cooking. She was better than Ezra and I combined.
"Good, sweetheart?" Jenny asked me as she began eating too. I nodded my head eagerly at her as continued shovelling food into my mouth like an absolute animal.
I was part wolf after all
I ate quickly with Jenny. Ezra wasn't here. He apparently had some patrolling business to do with other wolves, which left Jenny and I together whilst he was gone.
"Who's Veronica?" I asked through a mouthful of mouth. I was curious to find out who this female was. All I found out today from Lila and Liam was that they were potential bond mates before I came along
I wanted to know more about her. I wanted to know if I could kick her ass. I wanted her to stay the hell away from my male.
As much as I hated to admit it, I was starting to feel incredibly pulled towards Liam already.
Jenny looked up at me and smirked. She put down her fork and stared at me intensely before sighing. "I'm assuming you've heard about her then.”
I nodded at her and she sighed yet again. Clearly she didn't like this girl either. Good. I didn't want anyone liking her.
"She's Henry's daughter. Absolute snob. Not many like her. But, before you came along, she was Liam's potential bond mate," Jenny explained to me. She paused as I clenched my fists in jealousy. I hated the already.
A potential bond mate was always like a plan B for those wolves that never found their true mates. Some wolves would spend most their lives looking for their mates and never find anything. So they'd settle down with a potential bond mate instead.
Potential bond mates always had a pull just like true mates did. But it wasn't nearly as strong. My brother had one a while ago, and he told me about how real it felt. It was almost as if you had met your true mate.
"She's been quite obsessed with Liam for years now. But he's always remained loyal to the mate that he hadn't met yet. Now, he's got you and I'm sure that Veronica is absolutely pissed,” Jenny said as she began to eat again. I curled my toes underneath the table and breathed in deeply.
My wolf growled at the thought of this female being obsessed with our male. We barely knew him but we were already jealous of any girl that spoke to him. He was ours. We didn't want to share.
I felt shocked by the way I was thinking.
I was acting as if there were something huge between Liam and I. Like there was an honest need for me to put up a defensive wall in order to keep people away from Liam. Why? Why did I feel like that?
"It's okay to be jealous, sweetheart. But Liam is good. He'll always be loyal to you and only you,” Jenny told me gently. She seemed to sense my confusion.
I was damn right out of my mind. Why in the hell was I obsessing over my own male like I wasn't scared shitless of the relationship in itself? I was so scared of the bond. It was so strong already and I made me feel so powerful yet so weak at the same time.
I felt a pushing in my mind and I looked down at my food as I cautiously let it in.
"Are you okay, sugar?" It was Liam. Hearing his voice in my head sent a relieving sensation over me. I wanted to sigh in relief.
"Just jolly. Why do you ask?" I replied quickly. It was one of the less awkward conversations that him and I had had with each other, for sure.
I ate slowly. Jenny and I continued in silence. I had a feeling that she knew I was linking with someone.
"I can feel your worry and panic. It's a bond thing," Liam told me. I raised my eyebrows at this and then frowned. That was oddly cool.
I couldn't feel anything from him right now. But maybe his emotions weren't all over the place like mine were.
"Right. Well I'm fine," I told him softly. I heard his chuckles in my mind.
"You can't lie to me. Just tell me what's bothering you, sugar,” Liam told me. The nickname sent shivers up my spine and made me anxious about what we were.
We weren't anything offical. We were mates. We were working things out slowly.
Liam seemed so patient. He looked like the type to get frustrated too quickly with things that weren't working out. He seemed like the type that got angry too fast and too overwhelmed much too quickly. Honestly, he seemed like a hot head.
"I'm eating dinner now... do you maybe want to go for a walk after?" I suggested to him. I felt my beast yip. She was over the moon that I had said something to him and was glad that I was taking the step to see him.
Plus, she craved his touch and she wanted to see him so badly. He looked so good all the damn time and I missed his face.
Damnit, Alison. Dammit.
"Sounds great, sugar. I'll meet you outside in ten,” Liam told me softly. We closed the link and smiled warmly to myself.
"What you smiling about?" Jenny asked me. I giggled lightly and ate some more of my pasta. I'm sure she already knew that I must've been smiling about Liam. What else could I be smiling about? "I'm going to go for a walk with Liam afterwards. Is that okay?" I asked her softly. Her eyes lit up as she grinned at me and nodded.
"Of course it's okay! Do I have to give you the safe sex talk? Because I really don't feel—"
"No! No! You don't have to give me the damn safe sex talk!" I hissed before she could finish speaking. A goofy grin appeared on her face as my cheeks flushed red and I continued eating my food.
She knew exactly how to make me feel embarrassed.
After dinner, I slipped on shoes and left the house. Liam was waiting outside for me when I opened the door and made my way down the steps. He smiled at me and then frowned as he looked me up and down.
"You must be insane,” Liam said as he yanked off his hoodie. He gave it to me and I shook my head at him. Liam didn't pull away and I assumed that I wasn't going to be getting away with this.
I sighed and took the hoodie. It was a deep blue hoodie, and it was soft. It was warm from the body heat that had just come from Liam. It smelled like him too. His scent covered it entirely and I wanted to bury my face in it
"You're a pain in the ass,” I told him playfully. Liam shrugged at me as I tugged on the hoodie. My wolf purred.
"But I'm your pain in the ass now, sugar. You're stuck with me," Liam said as he motioned for me to follow him. I trotted forwards him and followed him across the pack and to a trail. It was a trail I had only taken once before.
Maybe this was one that Liam liked taking.
"Uh..." Liam looked back at me and extended his hand to me. We stopped for a moment and I stared at his hand. He wanted me to hold it.
I hesitated, but I took a bold step and I grabbed his hand. The bond simmered and sent pleasurable shocks up my arm. I wanted to moan and drop to the ground in a hot puddle.
I linked my fingers with his and he pulled me close. He smiled at me and we continued to walk again. The trail was narrow and it forced Liam and I to stay close to each other. But I didn't mind The air around us was hot. I felt the sparks and the bond pulling us closer. It begged for us to rip each other's clothes off.
"You still scared of me?" Liam asked me softly as we walked. I turned to him and frowned. He kept a straight face, but I could see the worry in his eyes. He feared that I was scared of him.
"I'm not scared of you, Liam. It's the bond that I'm scared of," I told him. I saw him looked relaxed, but then he sighed and I figured that I must be reading the signals wrong.
Liam tightened his grip on my hand. It felt comforting to have his hand touching mine. I almost felt like 1 could tell him anything right now. The pull between us was strong and acted like a giant blanket over the both of us.
"But you don't have to be. It's going to work itself out. You've got m—me now," Liam stuttered over his last sentence which sent a feeling of confusion over me. What was he stuttering about?
"What was that?" I ask him as I frowned. Liam frowned back at me. He clearly didn't want to speak about his little stutter. It was obviously that he was unsure about something
"What was what?" Liam asked me. I narrowed my eyes at him and he sighed. He knew exactly what I was talking about.
"I just don't feel like I'm... good enough for you, okay?" He blurted out. He tore his hand away from me and span around, kicking at the dirt and plants. He was frustrated. But I think he was mad at himself more than anything.
Poor guy.
My wolf whined. She hated this. He felt like he wasn't good enough for us? What kind of crap is that? He was the best of the best. I already knew that and I had only known him for a few days.
If anything, I wasn't good enough for him. I probably looked weak in his eyes and his wolf probably hated that he was paired with such a baby wolf.
"You shouldn't think like that! It's not true,” I told him quickly. Liam's temper seemed to snap so quickly. He punched the tree next to him and the whole thing shook. Leaves fell and landed around me.
I walked up to him quickly and grabbed his arm. I didn't want him going on a rampage and hurting himself.
"Liam," I said his name softly. He avoided my eyes as I held onto his arm. His warmth caressed my fingertips and I felt incredibly warm and safe with him around.
I leant forwards and I kissed the corner of his mouth softly. He seemed to calm right down after that. He relaxed almost immediately and exhaled softly. My lips tingled from our touch and I craved more.
The pull was going crazy. It begged for us to get closer. It wanted us together. Us and only us. "Liam? What are you doing out here? It's freezing!" I heard from behind me. I stilled and felt my wolf tense. She growled lowly and I held her back.
I turned around, making eye contact with a girl I didn't know. I immediately figured that she was Veronica, judging by the way she completely ignored me and looked right to Liam.
"I made a really nice hot potato and leak soup if you want to come inside and have some. You must be freezing your hide off out here," the girl said. She walked towards us, rubbing her arms
I hated to admit that this girl was pretty. She was a tall and slim blonde. She had gorgeous long tanned legs which she showed off with a pair of shorts.
If she was so cold, why was she wearing damn shorts?
"Uh, Veronica, this is Alison," Liam introduced us. I hated how awkward he was being. It made me feel anxious too.
Veronica looked back to me and I felt incredibly jealous of her. I had to compete with this literally flawless person? I was already eliminated from the damn game.
"Hello," Veronica said bluntly. She didn't seem at all interested to be meeting me right now and I could only say that the feeling was mutual.
"So are you coming for soup?" Veronica asked Liam again. She turned away from me and looked to my mate with a hint of something in her eye that I didn't like.
Lust.
"Well no... I was kind in the middle of something with Alison,” Liam replied slowly. His voice was low. He seemed cautious.
Veronica looked hurt as she glanced towards me. It the look disappeared quickly and she looked like she was about to kill me.
"Of course. You enjoy the rest of your night, Liam," Veronica said nothing else as she turned on her heel and walked away.
My wolf stared at her. We wanted a bite out of her was so badly that we could taste her blood already. She was dead if she thought she could try and take my mate from me.