“So, what kind of music are you into?” he asked, a playful note in his tone.
“Metal, mostly,” I replied casually. I could almost hear his eyebrows rising in surprise.
“Metal, huh? I’m more of a classic rock guy myself,” he responded seemingly unfazed.
The conversation meandered through favourite foods, movies, and hobbies. I found myself divulging details I hadn’t expected to share, drawn in by the anonymity the door provided.
“Okay, so random question – are you a virgin?” he asked. His tone came across as if he were trying to deliver the question as a joke, but there was an unmistakable hint of curiosity in his voice.
I laughed, caught off guard. “That's a very forward question for a first date, don't you think?” I quipped, evading the question.
"So this is a date, huh?" he asked, and I could hear the smirk in his voice. I was grateful for the door between us as I felt my cheeks flushing with embarrassment at my blunder.
"Well... I mean... It sort of feels like one," I admitted as my cheeks burned bright pink.
He chuckled as he replied, "It does a little. Except for the fact that we're in a public restroom. I must admit, this is not the way I would have pictured it in my mind, but at least it's pretty clean in here, as far as public restrooms go."
With that, I heard a thud on the door and realised he had shifted positions and was now leaning against it.
Our conversation continued, and I learned about his love for nature, his passion for reading, which was something we seemed to have in common, and vague mentions of family expectations. In turn, I shared tales of Colorado, my interests in art and philosophy, and my mixed feelings about my sudden move to Oregon.
“What makes you think we’re mates?” I finally asked, my scepticism battling with the curiosity that his presence stirred in me.
“It’s that feeling... like an inexplicable pull,” he explained, his voice tinged with vulnerability.
I leaned against the door now too, processing his words. The idea of a mate bond was something I'd always brushed off as childish and naive – yet here I was, inexplicably drawn to the voice on the other side of the door.
The stranger gently probed about my recent breakup. I found myself opening up about Liam more than I had intended to, the pain still raw in my voice. “What about you? Do you have a girlfriend?” I asked, a sudden curiosity about his personal life taking hold.
There was a brief pause. “Yeah, I do,” he admitted hesitantly. “But we have an understanding that if either of us finds our mate, our relationship ends.”
His confession stirred a mix of emotions in me – surprise, a twinge of jealousy, and an overwhelming sense of relief.
We continued talking, sharing stories and snippets of our lives, the conversation ebbing and flowing naturally. As the minutes ticked by, the space between us, though still physically divided by the door, felt increasingly thin. It was then that I noticed we were holding hands in the open gap beneath the stall door. My heart clenched as I looked down, watching my fingers absentmindedly stroke his, as if they had a mind of their own.
“Don’t you want to open the door yet?” his voice held a new note of anticipation.
"I don't know... I'm nervous," I admitted sheepishly.
"Nervous about what?" he asked, likely already knowing the answer.
"What if I'm not what you expect?" I considered, anxiety gripping at me.
"What if I'm not what YOU expect?" he turned the question on me.
"I don't know... I don't really have any expectations," I replied. I liked his personality so far. That was a great start. You can overlook a lot of things if a person has a good personality, right?
"Neither do I. So I guess we have nothing to lose," he encouraged, obviously wanting to put a face to the anonymous voice he'd been talking to for the last couple of hours.
"I probably look terrible. I'm sure my eyes are all red and puffy from crying," I tried to dissuade him, but it didn't work.
"Well you're in luck, because I love red, puffy eyes," he jokingly replied.
I giggled and then took a deep breath before finally relenting. "Okay..." I murmured.
"Okay?" he repeated, excitement brimming in his voice as he stood up, releasing my hand. I felt instant and profound disappointment at the loss of contact.
I pulled myself to my feet and smoothed my t-shirt down. My hand hesitated on the latch. This was it. With a deep breath, I slowly turned the handle and opened the door, pulling it toward me.
I peeked my head around as it opened and our eyes met. An electric current seemed to pass between us. He was way hotter than I’d pictured, with a casual, dishevelled look that somehow suited him perfectly.
His hair was dark brown with a tousled, unstyled look that was both effortless and sexy. He had broad shoulders with a tall, lean but muscular build that hinted at strength and power in both human and wolf form. I was certain he must have been at least a foot taller than me. He wore well fitting jeans with a plain white t-shirt and a pair of Chucks, the same as the ones I was wearing. His most striking feature, though, was his amber eyes that were warm and captivating.
“Katelyn,” I said softly, with a shy, awkward wave. "Or Kate," I went on, giving him the more commonly used, shortened version of my name.
“Tyler,” he replied with a small smile.
"Ty?" I asked, wanting to know what his friends might call him.
"Usually Tyler. But Ty is okay," he murmured.
The pull between us was undeniable as I watched his eyes raking over me. I was glad that I had decided to wear actual clothes today rather than leggings and a gigantic hoodie. Instead, I wore a pair of ripped black skinny jeans with a black t-shirt and my Chucks. My hair was tied up in a high ponytail, but it was probably a little messy now after all the crying.
"And?" I asked hesitantly.
"Your hair is purple…” he murmured, staring at the loose wisps that hung over my shoulders.
“Wow… can’t get anything past you,” I replied sarcastically.
He chuckled, then went on, “I didn't expect you to be so... cool," he admitted.
I giggled awkwardly and felt my cheeks turning pink.
"And am I everything you ever hoped and dreamed of?" he teased.
I could feel my cheeks reddening even more. I probably looked like a tomato as I nodded wordlessly, looking down and fidgeting with the hem of my shirt. I could see him beaming with pride as I stole a glance, looking up at him through my eyelashes.
We stood there, the space between us charged with unspoken emotions. The pull of the mate bond was overwhelming. It drew me a step closer to him, my heart racing. He mirrored my movement, closing the gap further. His eyes searched mine, and for a moment, the rest of the world faded away. It was just him and me.
He leaned in, his eyes flickering down to my lips, then back up to meet my gaze. The closeness, the intensity of the moment, it was all too much and not enough at the same time. My breath hitched, and I found myself leaning in too, drawn by a force I couldn't resist.
But just before our lips met, a sudden flash of reality hit me. “Wait,” I breathed out, placing a hand on his chest, stopping him. “You... you have a girlfriend.”
Tyler's expression shifted, the spell momentarily broken. “Right,” he murmured, taking a step back.
The connection still hummed between us, but the reminder of his current relationship hung in the air, an unspoken barrier. “I should probably end that first before we...” his voice trailed off.
My phone suddenly rang, cutting through the charged atmosphere and snapping us both back to reality. Tyler cleared his throat while I patted myself down, finally finding my phone in my back pocket. I checked the screen before answering. There was no chance I was taking a call from that moron, Liam, now. Fortunately, it was my aunt Mara."Hi Aunt Mara," I answered brightly, giving Tyler an apologetic look. He gave me an understanding smile and gestured for me to carry on, but he never took his eyes off me for a moment, as if my presence was somehow captivating.Aunt Mara was calling to find out whether I'd stayed for the Mating Celebration after all. When I'd left for the library this morning, I'd assured her in no uncertain terms that there was no way I'd be attending the celebrations. So, I guess she had every right to be worried that I wasn't home yet. The library had closed hours ago and for all she knew I could have been kidnapped by a wily pack of rogues. I ended the conversatio
I don't know how I eventually managed to fall asleep, but I did. Opening one sleepy eye, I gazed at my phone. I'd fallen asleep with it in my hand, clutching it like it was some kind of lifeline, and I saw now there was a light blinking to indicate I had a message.With absolute urgency I sat up and wiped the sleep from my eyes as muted daylight streamed through a crack in my curtains. My fingers worked as if they had a mind of their own, opening the text message, desperate to see who it was from. I was certain it was Tyler and beamed with excitement when I saw his name come up on my screen.The message was simple, but still managed to make my heart race and my breath hitch.Tyler:Morning 🌞 Hope you slept well.My entire body felt tingly as I read the words, thinking about our unexpected meeting the day before.I'd spent a good chunk of the night trying to justify the feelings I'd felt with him and reconcile these with my denial of the 'mate bond', but I'd come up short. There was s
"I guess it makes sense why he was so evasive now," I mumbled, thinking back to our conversation the night before.Aunt Mara watched me, her expression a mixture of curiosity and concern. "Are you okay with this?" she asked gently."I mean... I don't know. I guess it doesn't really change the way I feel about him," I explained, trying to make sense of my feelings.Aunt Mara nodded understandingly. "It's a big deal, being mated to the Alpha's son. It comes with a lot of expectations and responsibilities."I groaned, feeling a weight settle over me. "I just wanted to get away from all the drama back home. Now it feels like I'm stepping into a whole new kind of drama here.""I'm sorry, hun," Aunt Mara said softly, giving my shoulder a reassuring rub."Maybe you're wrong. Maybe it's a different Tyler," I reasoned hopefully. "I mean, there were like 4 packs here last night. He could have been from any of them.""You're absolutely right," Aunt Mara said with a smile. "Now how about some bre
I raced out of the house, hurrying to meet Tyler, who was in all likelihood already waiting for me. If it hadn't been frowned upon to shift in the streets, I would have done it, desperate to get to him before he could think that I'd ditched him. Fortunately, one of the perks of turning 18 and shifting was enhanced abilities. One of those being extended endurance. And thank God for that, because running definitely hadn't been my strong suit before. It still wasn't now, at least not in my human form, but there definitely had been some improvement. I approached the park, clueless as to the time and how late I was as I jogged towards the restroom we'd met in the evening before. He was already there, impossible to miss with his tall frame and tousled brown hair. He saw me and smiled broadly. Then he started heading towards me, so I slowed my pace and tried to walk casually in his direction so that we could meet somewhere in the middle. "Hey," he said, still smiling. "I thought for a se
Tyler gave an understanding nod, then continued deeper into the forest with me close in tow. "You haven't asked me anything about being the future Alpha," he remarked after we'd been walking in silence for a bit. "I figured you'd tell me when you're ready," I replied with a shrug, having already made my decision in that regard. "Well... I guess there's a lot, and I know we need to talk about it. But can we just have this day not to think about it?" he asked, his tone almost pleading. "Sure," I replied, giving him a reassuring smile. "Whenever you're ready." He sighed, clearly relieved. "Thank you," he murmured with gratitude. As we continued deeper into the forest, the sounds from the park became a distant memory as they were replaced by wild birdsong and the buzz of bugs. The forest floor was carpeted with fallen leaves that crunched under our feet, adding to the symphony of nature. "Tell me about Colorado," Tyler suggested, as we meandered through an area with a nasty thorn b
The pond was calm and peaceful and the smell of rain lingered in the air, though I couldn’t see a cloud in the sky above us. Time passed and we sat in quiet content. When we spoke, the conversations ranged from favorite books to most useless skills, which was an interesting topic to say the least. The minutes seemed to slip by unnoticed when Tyler checked his phone and grumbled to himself, "Shit... I missed a briefing." "Oh shit... You gonna be in trouble?" I grimaced. "Hopefully not. Worth it if I am though," he replied with a mischievous smirk. I gave him a shy smile, a little flattered by the implication that I was worth getting in trouble for. "But we should probably start heading back. I'm supposed to be meeting up with Jess soon," he explained pulling himself to his feet and offering me his hand. I took it, eager to feel the warm buzz between us. He never let it go as we headed back toward the park, chatting about everything and nothing. When we finally made it back to
Tyler: I did it 😁 What do you want to do later? I woke up to 2 messages from Tyler. I'd texted him the night before, just letting him know that I was thinking of him and I hoped things were going okay. He hadn't replied by the time I went to sleep, but in all fairness, he was busy with something pretty serious. To see his messages this morning filled me with a sense of relief, especially when he confirmed that he'd broken up with his girlfriend. I saw that message had come through last night, but I must have fallen asleep just before. Me: Hope it went ok. It's rainy today 😞 Maybe we could watch a movie or something? The weather did put a bit of a damper on the day. Don't get me wrong, I loved the rain, but I was a bit stumped for ideas on what to do here. Seconds later I heard my message tone. Tyler: Great idea. I'll come pick you up in an hour. We can watch movies and chill at my place. Me: Perfect. See you soon. I hit panic stations. 1 HOUR?! I had over committed and
I stalked out the front door, my prior embarrassment dissipating to make way for irritation and annoyance. I saw his car parked just outside the garden gate and huffed, stomping my way toward it just as the first tiny raindrops began to fall from the sky. "Wait!" Tyler called, hurrying after me. I halted, my jaw clenched as I waited for him, the drizzle becoming more persistent. "I'm sorry," he apologized, taking my hand in his as he stopped in front of me. "I know you're mad. I'm sorry I was early. I didn't mean to embarrass you or anything, I was just excited to see you. I kinda hoped you might be ready," he explained, his self awareness taking me by surprise. He was excited to see me? How could I be mad about that? I sighed and rolled my eyes, not wanting to let him off the hook completely just yet, but in my heart, I'd already forgiven him ten times over. "I'm sorry," he repeated sincerely. "I'll make it up to you," he assured me. "How? Will you be watching movies in a towe