Chapter 4: Friends

I waited for him to come back. To sweep in and apologize to me and tell me that he wanted to make this work. That he'd get me real flowers, he's smother me in kisses. Sweet, innocent ones. He’d fix everything, he’d prove that he could be good..

Maybe I was just a child, though. My parents had been so happy; their love was short, but it was magical. Three years. They'd had three years together, and then he'd died. Three years, three children, a little house and too few memories. It could be that short, it could end before it'd had a chance to really begin. My mother would grow old and die without him by her side. She'd had us. She said we were the best parts of our father. I was as cautious as he was; Tyler was as social; Candy just as protective. I'd never even known him, still in my mother's womb.

I didn't want to think about that. About losing a mate. I didn't know Nicholas enough to love him, but I was programmed to want to love him. Despite every reason to the contrary, I wanted to be happy with him.

I crawled my way to the edge of the bed and slid off, the ground cold on my bare feet. I couldn't help my curiosity and found myself wandering around the room, looking at things, trying to get a feel for who he was. Everything smelled like him; I did my best to ignore the hint of other females here and there. Even his room, his very domain, was so... impersonal. His clothing was neatly folded away, everything in order, no pictures, no momentos. I stumbled across a box beneath his bed full of movies. I expected porn for half a second, but was instead met by a few dozen old action movies, and I smiled when I began to notice the pattern. They were in order by release date. He was particular, organized and ordered.

A knock on the door interrupted my snooping and I quickly shoved the box back under the bed, standing up and waiting for someone to open the door. A piece of me was half hoping it was Nicholas, coming to apologize, but I knew it wasn't. Instead, the door finally opened and a head appeared, grinning with the power of the sunshine.

"Hey there honey-bun. Busy?" Nicholas' sister inquired, and I gave an awkward smile. Natalie, I reminded myself. She was chipper for someone I'd been contemplating murdering hardly a half-hour ago.

I shook my head, clearing my throat. "No, no - come on in. I was just thinking how bored I was." I explained, a small laugh escaping my lips, trying to be friendly. I'd never had many friends; I was introverted, socially anxious. But apparently, she'd be my new sister-in-law. And in a place like this, I needed someone on my team.

She slipped all the way in, shutting the door behind her, and grinned at me. I realized, right then, exactly why I wanted to kill her when she touched Nicholas; she was gorgeous. Tall and thin, her body a series gentle sloping curves. Fair skin, long hair, grassy eyes. Even the way she dressed, with a style clearly intended to look effortless, radiated something easy and beautiful about her. It was right then that I realized I was still in my dirty clothes, and my confidence dropped.

"Good!" She hummed, acting completely unaware of the fact that I looked like I'd come out of a sewer. She flitted around the room, opening curtains and windows with clear delight. "Sorry, about earlier. I know I shouldn't have jumped on Nick like that. You're a protective mate, that's good. You guys ought to be able to understand each other." She wandered around, fixing things. I realized almost immediately that it was the things I'd messed up during my exploring. She seemed to sense that I realized this and chuckled. "Oh please, anyone would snoop. You're trying to get to know him. Good luck with that though - he raised me and I don't know squat about him."

She spoke so quickly, a whirlwind of words, and I found myself lagging ten seconds behind, trying to process everything she said. She reminded me of Candy, I realized, though my sister carried a bit more attitude in almost everything she said.

When there was a break in her speech, I took my opportunity, before we strayed too far from what I wanted to say. "It's not your fault." I said quickly, my hands folding in front of me and I gave her an apologetic smile. "I should have caught your scent sooner. All of this is just— happening so quickly, and I can’t figure out what to think of anything. I’m trying to hope for the best, to not let some preconceived ideas cloud my judgement, but it’s hard. I mean, I can't believe that he just kills for the hell of it." I find myself venting, taking a seat on the edge of the bed and staring at my hands, anxiety coming on once more.

She was quiet. After another minute, I glanced up at her and saw the worry painted on her features, saw her resisting the urge to say something. I bit my lip and she moved forward, sitting beside me and wrapping her arm around my shoulders.

"I don't want to... kill your dreams, but I think you should lower them, if you want to give him a shot." She said quietly, eyes tilting to my hands. She rested her free hand atop them, her fingers warm, and gave them a squeeze. "Nick is a good man who's done a lot of bad things in his life. He'll never tell you, but he regrets a lot of it. We got a shitty start in life, and he sacrificed a lot so that I didn't have to. He's good, he really is, but he isn't prince charming."

She loved him. I could tell in every word she spoke, what he meant to her. And I respected her for being honest with me, as I feared I'd deal with a lot of lies in the future.

I felt tears begin to brew, full of conflicting feelings at what my life had begun to become, and she immediately pulled me into a hug, lanky limbs squeezing me tightly in a way that made me miss my mother, though she couldn't be more than a year older than me.

"It's alright, sweetie. He may be... imperfect, but just trust that he'll try if you give him a chance, if you show him you won't give up on him." She assured me, holding me in the hug until the sobs stopped. I pulled away and she wiped the tears away, watching me for a moment before standing, holding her hand out for me to take. "Come on, no more pity parties. We're going to find the light in this situation. We're going to get you out of these awful, stinky clothes. Fix this hair up, make you look like a person and not a gremlin."

I took her hand, figuring she wouldn't get me in trouble or let me get hurt. I didn't know her well, or at all, really, but I knew her better than anyone else in this pack, my mate included.

Trailing after her, out of the room, we moved down the hallway, covered in perhaps a dozen doors, and stopped at one near the end. She knocked but didn't wait for an answer this time, opening it right up and leading me in.

It was another bedroom, this one more... personal. Everything was cream and blue, bright and well lit. Pictures covered the walls of a man and a woman, clearly a couple. They were beautiful, blonde haired, blue eyed. They were affectionate in every photo, full of love and smiles. They held hands on the beach, they kissed with smiles, they stared at one another with emotion that was... timeless. There were even photos of two golden wolves beside each other. My gaze settled on a wedding photo and I smiled at that, at the cake the two wore on their faces.

That was what mates were supposed to be. Happy, in love, meant for one another. Why can’t Nicholas stop being so big and bad for five minutes and let me feel that? The thought surprises me, but I don’t dislike it. Maybe I could be happy with him, if he’d let me…...

"Minnie!" Natalie shouted as she entered the room, glancing around.

There was a clatter from a door in the corner before a woman appeared. I instantly recognized her from the photo's, short and blonde, ski sloped nose and circular blue eyes. The only thing that was different, really, was her massive stomach. That, I realised, was another reality of my situation: Nicholas was an Alpha, and he’d need an heir. I’d never even considered pregnancy of children, and all of a sudden I felt a panic over how quickly he’d want pups.

The woman's eyes widened further when they landed on me, and a high pitched squeal escaped her lips as she hurried over. "You brought her? Yay! Oh my gosh honey, look at you - our future Alpha female, in the flesh and blood! Hi - I'm Minnie!" She said happily, holding a hand out to shake, and I smiled at her, shaking it, finding myself partially flattered and partially embarrassed. Whenever our Alpha's came around, it was like a celebrity was in our presence. It hadn't occurred to me just yet that I was an Alpha female.

Well, future; I wasn't shit until Nicholas and I marked each other.

I smiled, but before I could respond properly, Natalie was already speaking. "Oh please, you never get flattered around me. I'm next in line. Or Nick, and he's already the Alpha." She said, her tone unhappy but her expression playful. She left my side to sit on the edge of the bed and I stood there, unsure exactly why we were in here and what to do.

"I know you and Nick. She's new - and pretty. Is that your natural skin?" She inquired, and I opened my jaw, no words coming out. There was... fake skin? But the time I realized that she meant makeup, she was already on another topic. It seemed I was the only one who didn't have a thousand things to say around here. "Okay, wow, no offence but you smell like death. Let's get you showered and changed, you look about the same size as me. Not many werewolves our size, eh? Fuck the tall people. I have a ton of clothes I'll never wear again, since I'm going to be too busy with the twins after delivery."

I found that Minnie spoke a lot. She showed me into the bathroom, showed me where she put her makeup and left clothes, a new toothbrush, and a towel to get dressed.

Once she closed the door, I cranked the hot water on in the shower, fully intending to burn the smell off of my skin. I should have showered this morning; clearly, smelling and looking awful did nothing. Stripping the clothing off of my body, I folded them neatly and sat them on the toilet lid, slipping into the shower.

The water felt good on my skin, and I scrubbed myself red. Minnie's shampoo was strawberry scented, and though it wasn't the coconut I'd used my entire life, it was good. Sweet, fruity. I finished washing myself and clambered out of the shower, wrapping the towel around my body and drying myself. I moved quickly, suddenly feeling the urge to find Nicholas. If he was giving me a month, then I was going to make the most out of the month.

I found myself appreciating Minnie's sensible style, and the fact that she was the same size as me. Though being five-foot-five was normal for many human women, it was short for a werewolf. Really short, the average being closer to six feet. I tugged the light wash, high waisted skinny jeans on and yanked the fitted white shirt over my head, glancing at myself in the mirror.

I looked like myself, and that was weird. I didn't feel like myself, like Darcy McGreggor. After the last few hours, it felt like my world had turned on it's head. I felt like this was some fucked up dream, like I'd wake up and I'd be home and it would be November seventeenth. Like I hadn't found my mate today, I'd gotten food poisoning from the double heated waffles this morning. But I hadn't eaten the waffles, and this was all real.

I opened the drawer to the left of the sink, and sure enough, there was a ton of makeup in it. I hurried up, a rush of excitement filling my body that I didn't entirely understand. Mascara, eyebrows, and I called it done. Setting the items back inside the draw and closing it, I picked up my dirty clothes and the dirty towel, turned to open the door—

And Nicholas stood on the other side.