Chapter 18 Mates
eighteen
Mates
*GWENDOLYN*
Idecide to take the risk and not change into my much more presentable, polished working clothes.
If this is truly happening, if what I hope is true, then I want him to see me the way I am.
I don’t want to pretend to be someone I am not.
And in the case it is a crazy stalker, I‘ll at least be wearing clothes that I can run in.
The scent of cedar and tangerines reaches me before he even opens the door.
My mouth goes dry, while my mind bombards me with worst-case scenarios of me ending up rejected and humiliated, and silly pictures like out of a picture book or fairytale…
images of a happy future. The guy who enters the room is him, the beautiful man on the beach.
Now, seeing him so close, he takes my breath away.
He is tall and strong, has blond hair and sun-kissed skin, but what draws me in the most is his smile.
It makes the blood in my veins rush, and my heart beat faster.
It’s like the sun shines out of him, drawing me into his warmth.
All kinds of thoughts run through my head, all at once, not giving me a moment to take a breath or to even think rationally.
This is happening!
Fuck! This is my mate!
I do have wolf senses if I can sense my mate!
Fuck Brandon for completely lying to me.
Even to me it’s obvious to tell who my mate is!
His whole stance about how he ‘feels something but can’t be sure because I am a human‘, was bullshit. It’s so obvious that I now wish I had punched him in his stupid face, instead of just emptying a drink over his head.
I am a hybrid… I am a hybrid, just a measly little hybrid.
He will be so disappointed.
What am I going to do if he doesn't want me? Fuck, what am I thinking?! How is he supposed to want a mate who is half human? I should expect the worst.
The blond-haired god shows me the brightest smile I’ve ever seen, even brighter than when he first came into the room.
I can’t help but return it, just beaming at him like a lunatic.
Goddess, he is going to think I am crazy, or turn around and leave.
He doesn’t leave, though, but reaches out his hand towards me.
An unknown power pushes me forward, and in the blink of an eye, I am suddenly standing close to him, one of my hands in his, the other on his chest. I don’t understand what’s going on with me, just that I want to run my hand through his hair, trace his face with my fingers down to his chest, and everything else of him I can.
Wow, the mate bond is something else!
I can’t believe I let Brandon, that asshole, lead me on the way he did. I actually believed him and everyone else that I would never experience this.
I look into blond-hair’s warm, brown eyes, wondering what I should do or say now. He beats me to it by rubbing his neck and smiling bashfully. “I am sorry,” he says. “I should probably introduce myself. I promise, I’m usually not this awkward. I have better manners than that.”
“Same for me,” I admit.
“I am Felix.”
Felix – what a fitting name for him!
I am going by an alias here, but I don’t want to lie to him and tell him a false name. “I am Gwen. Short for Gwendolyn.”
After our short introduction, we return to gazing at each other like two helpless teens, until I just can’t hold it in anymore. “You really came,” I finally say. “The guy from the beach!”
“So, you know who I am to you?” he beams. “I had a feeling you would! I just wasn’t sure because you live here, and I didn’t know your circumstances. Maybe you didn’t know what you are. You know, it can happen.”
“You could tell I am a hybrid?” I ask. “Not just a human.”
“No, you definitely smell like a wolf,” he verifies, making my mouth drop open.
Excuse me, what?! My whole life, pack members have told me I smell like nothing but a human! I would believe it to be a lie if Daniel did not say the same. He couldn’t smell my wolf either. “How can you tell?” I ask. “No one ever could.”
“Really?” he blinks. “It’s clear to me. My brother is traveling with me, and when I followed your scent to find you, and he spotted you too, he said the same.”
“I smell like a wolf…” I mutter in disbelief.
He laughs. “Why does that surprise you so much? You are at least half shifter, after all!”
“But I don’t have a wolf spirit,” I mutter.
He shrugs. “Still, half a shifter.”
“But why couldn’t my former pack members smell me?” I ask.
“You were in a wolf pack, were you?”
I nod.
“I am a lycan,” he says. “Maybe it makes a difference for us.”
Now that makes sense and explains why Daniel-
Wait, what?
“You are a lycan?!”
“Yes.”
“Why are you mated to a hybrid?” I gape. “Shouldn’t your mate be a fellow lycan, or at least a super-strong wolf?”
“Why shouldn’t I be mated to you?” he blinks. “As far as I can tell, you are pretty amazing.”
“I am not amazing.” I shake my head. “I am a hybrid, barely a real wolf, and I work in this shady club.”
“So, what? I am currently a visitor in this shady club. That makes me even shadier!”
His logic makes my mouth drop open again.
“Besides, being a hybrid is so fascinating! One of my brothers is mated to a hybrid, too, although she is half siren. Oh, and one of my best friends is a hybrid as well. Half vampire.”
“But that’s different,” I argue. “Obviously, sirens and vampires are still some sort of shifters.”
“What’s bad about being half human?” he asks.
“Nothing, I don’t mind it,” I admit.
“See?” He smiles like he just had a gotcha moment. “Why should I mind it then?”
I am not sure if it works that way, but at the same time, I don’t have any arguments to prove him otherwise. A gentle knock against the window startles me.
“Oh!” Felix smiles. “That must be my brother. He said he would check on us in case I don’t link him back.” He looks flustered. “I was so engulfed in our talk that I forgot to reach out to him.”
“Say, this reminds me… where is the bouncer?” I ask.
“Oh, I might have bribed him to leave us alone,” Felix admits.
“I know this sounds creepy now. Does it?” he groans.
“Goddess, I just realized I am coming off like such a creep! But I swear this is the first time I have been in such a club. I just wanted to have a chance to talk to you, without following you around, like a creepy stalker would.”
His panic makes me chuckle. “You are not creepy at all,” I reassure him.
He smiles in relief, just to startle when there is a more insistent knock against the window.
We are on the second floor, but I guess his brother climbed up the emergency staircase.
Felix opens the window, and I can see a tall, dark-haired guy.
He looks to be Felix’s age. “Sorry, Dario! We are fine.”
“Goddess,” Dario sighs. “You had me worried.”
Felix hasn’t let go of my hand and now tugs me closer. “Meet Gwen! She is my mate.”
Dario smiles at me. It’s a gentle, warm smile that makes my anxiety lessen even more. If he hated me or didn’t think I was worthy of being his brother’s mate, he wouldn’t smile like that. “I am Dario,” he says. “Felix’s twin brother.”
His words make my eyes widen. “You are twins?”
“Oh, right, I forgot to tell you.” Felix slaps his forehead. “Yes, we are twins. Fraternal twins, obviously. The youngest of our family,” he grins. “Though I am older than Dario.”
“Yeah, he keeps saying that,” Dario says. “It’s just a couple of minutes, but I guess time enough to give him a big head.”
Felix chuckles. “Dario is also my best friend.”
It’s mind-boggling that they are twins. They look exactly the opposite of each other.
Felix is tall, blonde with dark eyes, and apparently has a very outgoing personality, while Dario seems to be much quieter with dark hair and bright blue eyes.
He seems to be very kind, though, which instantly sets my mind at ease.
“Is everything alright?” Another voice can be heard. It’s a woman’s voice.
“Oh, that’s Charlie,” Felix explains to me. “She is Dario’s and my best friend.”
I lean out of the window to look at her, my eyes falling on a tall, young woman with shoulder-length, pink hair. She waves at me excitedly. “We combed the whole town for you yesterday,” she says with a grin. “And Felix was right, you have fabulous hair!”
“Right?” Felix says proudly.
Having curly hair has been part of my insecurities ever since I was a child.
Part of me was always proud of it and loved it, but the other part hated it for being another thing to get bullied for.
It’s one thing to have wavy, luscious hair, but my wild locks are different.
They are hard to maintain and hard to keep under control.
Looking back at it now, I doubt anyone had any issues with my hair; it was just another reason they found to hate me.
If I had straight hair, they would have hated that instead.
“We’ll leave you to it,” Dario says to us. “Maybe we can all meet tomorrow to chat. I’d love to get to know you, Gwen.” He smiles at me. “You got a good catch with Felix.”
“Goddess,” Felix groans. “You sound like Mom. Please leave and don’t embarrass me further.”
I laugh at his mortified expression and the way Dario smiles at him. Before he can say any more, Felix closes the window again. He looks at me, moving his fingers through some of my locks. “Gwen,” he says softly, his voice making my heart melt. “I am so happy I found you.”
“So, you really do want me?” I ask, stunned.
“Why would you think I wouldn’t?” he blinks.
“I don’t have the best track record with shifters,” I admit.
He squeezes my hand and pulls me to the table with the small sofa. “Why don’t you tell me about it?” he offers. “Only if you want to, of course.”
I don’t really want to, but I think he should know. “Okay,” I say. “Can you tell me about you, first?” I ask.
He doesn’t ask me why, instead he nods, and starts telling me about his family, his siblings and his life. He just exudes so much warmth when he talks that it takes all my tension away.
It gives me the strength I need to talk about myself.
I spend the next hour telling him everything about me and how I ended up in this town.
I even tell him about Brandon and Josie, so he knows how much of a problem it was to my pack that I was half human.
I also make sure to explain Marina and Faye to him.
I don’t want there to be any misunderstandings about Faye being my daughter.
I don’t mind if people think that, but Faye has a mom, and she sees her as her mom.
I want everyone to know and respect that.
“Unbelievable,” Felix says once I am finished. “Fucking unbelievable! Your old pack sucks!”
His simple yet very clear response to my story and my pack makes me smile tentatively.
“I just can’t believe it. You were a pack member, and they treated you so badly.
And all the lies they told you! What kind of alpha is that?
! It’s utterly pathetic. Not to mention your ex-boyfriend, that loser.
” He continues his rant, emphasizing how pathetic he finds anyone from my pack.
“And the alpha actually told you you would not have a mate bond?” he finally asks.
“Yes. Granted, everyone thought the same, and those close to me truly didn’t have any comparison. They didn’t know.”
“Your alpha definitely knew,” Felix says.
I stare at him. “Really?”
“Yes, it’s common knowledge that shifters can be fated to everyone, also humans.
It’s also common knowledge that humans can feel the mate bond, maybe not exactly the same way a shifter does, but they feel it.
As for you, you are a hybrid; there is no way you wouldn’t have been able to feel a mate bond. And the alpha definitely knew!”
It takes a while for his words to sink in. “He really sucks, huh?”
“More than a little,” Felix says, annoyed. “Plus, you have proof now, don’t you?”
“I do,” I admit.
“And you obviously don’t need to worry about finding a pack anymore,” he tells me. “I am not going to leave you here. I would love for you to come with me to Silverlake pack – that’s where I am from, and I promise you they will welcome you with open arms!”
“Really?” I ask skeptically.
He nods.
It sounds too good to be true, but there seems to be no lie in Felix’s eyes.
Of course, he could just be playing with me, like Brandon did, but nothing about him indicates that he isn’t genuine.
His brother and friend’s reactions tell me the same.
“And you really want me?” I ask, still completely dumbfounded.
“I am just as surprised that you want me,” he says.
“Why?!”
He looks flustered. “I probably shouldn’t tell you that before you aren’t head over heels for me, but better to get it over with now.”
I hold my breath, expecting the worst revelation.
“I am dyslexic,” he says. “And also have ADHD. I am not a severe case; I managed to get through high school with Dario’s help, but I am really not good with studying. I can’t easily remember things, unless my hyperfocus kicks in.”
I look at him, waiting for where the story is heading. When he doesn’t say any more, I just feel confused. “Is that all?”
“Huh?”
“Your so-called ‘bad side‘ is being neurodivergent?” I push. “Nothing else?”
He blinks. “You don’t mind? Gwen, I… I am not the most intelligent person, you know?”
“I don’t care at all about any of that.” Who told him he wasn't intelligent? He seems pretty bright to me, and he definitely shows a lot of emotional intelligence. “As for me…” I pause. “Sorry, I just have difficulties trusting others.”
“I get why,” Felix says. “How about I prove my intentions to you by accepting you as my mate?” he offers.
“You would do that?” I ask breathlessly.
“What’s your full name?”
“Gwendolyn Lambert.”
He takes my hand, looking into my eyes. “I, Felix Alcott, accept you, Gwendolyn Lambert, as my mate.”
Something in me seems to stir, as if there is a new presence inside me. His scent is suddenly so much stronger, and so are the many feelings I have swirling around.
I can’t believe any of this is truly happening.