The Transfer

After an hour of driving and listening to the God awful Christmas songs that were playing, we arrived at the mall. Lila and I jumped out the car and breathed in the fresh air. They were so many new and different smells.

I could smell the humans, people walking past and the mall. I could smell the different plants that were covered by a thin layer of snow. I could smell delicious foods from the stalls and restaurants surrounding the place.

It was amazing.

"I don't need to remind you how to act like a human, right?" Darcy said as she got out the car. Lila came around the side of the car and we both shook our heads at her.

We all headed towards the entrance to the mall and I found myself walking alongside Kendall and Piper. They both shot me wide grins.

Cass was supposed to be coming, but she pulled out last minute as she apparently had issues with humans. I assumed they'd been trouble makers back in her old pack or previously in her life.

"You know, they've got a Victoria Secret in here. You could get Liam a gift," Kendall nudged my arm. Lila and Piper both giggled as my face got hot with embarrassment.

"I bet he'd love that since he's always all over you," Lila rolled her eyes. I crossed my arms awkwardly and shrugged at them.

"We'll see. We agreed on no gifts, remember?” I replied. Lila snorted at me and that was the reassurance that we would be going into the lingerie store and buying something. She was stubborn and firm when she wanted something.

And apparently she wanted me to surprise her brother with some sort of sexy lingerie piece.

The first store that we went into was an overpriced thrift store. Darcy claimed that I should stock up on some jeans and sweatpants for the winter, as they were apparently a girl's best friend for winter. "I love this place. They always have awesome stuff,” Piper said as she shifted through the jeans on the rack. I nodded slowly as I did the same. They did in fact have some nice jeans

"Lucas just got his ass handed to him by uncle Christian. It was awesome. You would've loved it," Liam's voice popped into my head. I grinned and shook my head.

"Lucas just got an ass beating by Christian,” I announced to the group of females that I was with. Lila giggled and Piper rolled her eyes.

"Gotta love Lucas," she said. I nodded in agreement and I looked back down at the jeans.

After looking around, we headed to the front of the store and bought the things that we had picked out. Then, we moved on to the next store. As we came up to another store, I caught a glance of the Victoria Secret store down the mall. I turned away from it quickly before any of the others noticed. I hoped that we weren't going that way.

"Grab some workout pants and stuff in here. Go crazy,” Hannah nudged me into the store. I nodded at her as Lila grabbed my arm and tugged me over to a rack on the other side of the store.

"So what did you and Liam talk about last night?" She asked me. We hadn't had any time to talk about what Liam and I had spoken about. I wanted to talk to her badly.

"He told me about him and Veronica. About how he really liked her before he cut her off," I told her. Lila nodded at me. I felt uneasy talking about Liam and Veronica being an item.

"I hope you do know that he only liked her because she flaunted herself to him constantly,” Lila said after she rolled her eyes. I nodded at her, still feeling uneasy. Had Liam and Veronica ever done anything more than kiss?

"Do they ever..." I trailed off, not wanting to say the words out loud. Lila shook her head at me. I sighed in relief.

"No. He used to tell me that his beast always got in the way before he could do anything like that," Lila explained. I nodded at her and felt a wave of relief over me.

Liam and Veronica hadn't had sex. Thank the lords.

"Well, he just told me that he realised he would never want to truly be with her, so he told her and cut her off. But obviously that bitch didn't get the memo,” I hissed out. Lila offered me a small smile and a nod.

"He said that his beast wanted him to be loyal to his true mate, even if it took him a long time to find them. But, here I am," I said, smiling at her. Lila grinned and nodded.

"Was he all cheesy? Did he tell you that you're the “most important’ thing in his life?" Lila giggled at me. I rolled my eyes at her.

Liam wasn't cheesy. He was being honest with me and it made my heart warm. He told me that he only wanted me and it made me feel better than ever. I felt powerful and wanted.

"He wasn't cheesy. He just told me how much he wanted me," I said honestly. Lila winked as we looked back to the workout leggings.

"Victoria Secret is a few shops away. How good is that?" Kendall and Piper came up to us and shot me giddy grins. I screwed up my nose.

"You have to do it! What else would he give him for Christmas? He'd love a good lingerie show for sure,” Piper whined. I rolled my eyes at her.

"I remember telling you about fifteen minutes ago that we'd agreed on a no gift policy,” I said with an arched brow.

I knew that I wasn't getting out of this that easy. But I had an idea that might just save me.

"Fine. We'll go in. But if I find nothing I like, then we leave the store," I said. They all grinned at me before I turned back to shopping.

When we finished in the store, we left with our shopping bags and headed down the mall.

"Well we're going to go grocery shopping. You girls can do what you want for a while and just come find us when you're done,” Darcy said with a small smile. I nodded at them and the girls grabbed my hands and arms and then yanked me towards the lingerie store.

My heart raced as we headed towards the lingerie store. I doubted that I would leave the store without something. Lila and the other girls were very convincing and they didn't even have to try hard. I didn't know how Liam would react to what the girls had in mind.

I was sure he'd like it. What guy wouldn't like his female prancing around in sexy lingerie?

But I was still nervous. I had never done anything like this before and I was still new to the whole relationship with Liam. Although, we were moving fast and we were getting more close and intimate with each other.

Not that I minded. Liam's company and his touch was everything to me and I would rather die than lose that.

"Do we have to do this?" I asked them in a whiny voice. The girls giggled and all nodded eagerly. We passed a group of people and they all shot looks at the girls dragging me down the mall.

"Yes. You don't have a choice,” Kendall said as she looked back at me. I opened my mouth to reply but realised that I didn't have anything to say. I hadn't thought about getting presents for anyone. I didn't expect them to get gifts for me either.

"Maybe I could find a flashy key chain around here somewhere if you guys really want me to get him a gift!" I suggested. The girls all frowned at me and gave me doubtful looks.

Lila snorted and shook her head as she laughed. "You're such a loser."

I rolled my eyes at her as we walked into the store. The girls released me and Piper walked off to look for things to buy herself. I didn't think she was old enough to hear about my adult love life anyway.

Kendall was twenty one and Lila was twenty two. They were both old enough to be involved in a conversation about my love life.

"Are we thinking a night gown or a matching set?" Lila questioned, looking straight at Kendall. I rolled my eyes at her. Neither of them were going to ask my opinion in this. They both knew I was skeptical about all of it.

"Matching set. They're much sexier,” Kendall replied as she began to shift through the matching sets of lingerie. I sat back and watched the two girls work before I rolled my eyes at them both and walked over to Piper.

"I wish I had a mate," Piper sighed as I walked over. I smiled weakly at her and nodded my head. "Your time will come before you know it, Piper. It'll be perfect and worth the wait," I told her. She nodded at me and smiled up at me.

"How did you come across Liam?" She asked me. My mind drifted to the day I first met Liam. I chuckled a little at the thought. I remembered how frightened I was.

"He got back from his big trip. I'd been staying in Takiani for a few weeks at that point. I went outside and fell down the stairs of my cabin. His scent knocked me off my feet. I wasn't ready for him, and I was frightened. Petrified even. I ran away from him," I explained to her. Piper's eyes widened dramatically as she gaped at me.

"You ran away from him?" She gasped. I nodded at her and giggled a little. She looked genuinely shocked at what I had said.

I knew it was strange. Mates never ran away from each other, especially when they first met. Usually the first time mates meet, they mark each other and seal the bond straight away. But I wasn't ready for that. I still wasn't.

"As I said, I was scared. I wasn't ready for a mate. But Liam was careful and he let me take my time. Although, we did have an argument or two before we finally got closer," I told her. Piper shook her head in disbelief and I chuckled. She was so young and had a lot coming to her.

"That's insane. You two are so close now, and he hasn't even marked you yet," Piper said, shaking her head some more. I shrugged at her.

The idea of having Liam's teeth on my neck made my beast incredibly giddy and aroused. But we both weren't ready for that yet. We had a lot of time before we could give ourselves to Liam like that.

"Ali, come on. You have to go and try these on,” I heard Lila. I looked up and saw her motioning for me to follow her to the changing rooms at the back of the store. I sighed and smiled at Piper before following.

I tried on the pieces that Lila and Kendall had picked out before deciding on the matching lace green set that Lila had supposedly chosen. We paid for the lingerie and then left the store.

"Can we go to the bathroom? I'm busting!" Kendall asked as we walked. We all nodded and headed in the direction of the bathroom.

Whilst Kendall went inside with Piper, Lila and I stood outside. We leant against the wall and giggled at each other.

"You have to show him on Christmas Day. There's two days left. You think you can wait that long?" Lila asked me. She cocked her head at me and smirked. She was being cheeky.

"I can wait. Trust me on that one,” I rolled my eyes at her. She giggled some more and opened her mouth to speak, but the words didn't come out as a foul smell came under our noses.

Rogues.

I knew the scent too well and it made me sick to my stomach every time. I looked up and glanced around.

Why in the hell were there rogues in a mall? Where were they?

"What the hell?" Lila muttered to me. She had smelt it too. It was disgusting and probably the worst out of all the rogues I had smelt in my entire life.

"Why would rogues be hanging around a shopping centre?" I growled to Lila. Her eyes darted around the room the same as mine did. My beast growled in my mind. She hated rogues.

"Do you think they're following us?" Lila asked me. I glanced around, still not catching a sight of any rogues. My beast was on edge.

"They better not be. They'd regret it immediately,” I hissed back. Lila nodded her head at me as Piper and Kendall came out the bathroom. They both looked alert. They had smelt the rogues too. "It's time for us to leave," I said to them. The three girls nodded and Kendall protectively grabbed Piper's arm and we hurriedly headed back down the mall. I could tell Lila was linking with the other adults as she looked a little distracted while she walked.

We met with them right at the exit of the mall. They looked us up and down worriedly and then looked relieved when they noticed we weren't injured. I was still angry about the rogues.

"Did you see them?" Hallie asked as soon as we got close enough to talk without anyone else hearing. I shook my head at them.

"They were close though. Real close. They still are,” I replied lowly. I glanced back at Lila and noticed the uncomfortable look on her face. She hated rogues just as much as I did. Her parents had been killed by rogues, I didn't blame her.

"Alright. Let's just get the hell out of here and head home. You girls got everything, yes?" Darcy asked. We all nodded at her and headed straight to the car.