Two

Inside the pantry, I tucked myself behind the bags of cereals, hoping to have a quiet moment with my snacks. Silently, I opened the packaging of my favorite banana juice, careful not to make any noise. The taste was delightful, a little comfort to myself as I savored each bite of my snack. But before I could finish, I heard footsteps approaching.

“Hey, what are you up to in there?”

Startled, I looked up to see my mother’s face peeking around the corner, a knowing smile on her lips. My little brothers and father were just behind her.

“You’re caught red-handed,” she teased, pulling me into a warm embrace.

Her scent, like Jasmine, brought back memories of being comforted as a child. My father, however, shook his head, mockingly stern as he took the juice from my hand.

“You know you shouldn’t be eating so much sugar,” he chided gently.

I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. “Dad, I’m 20. I can make my own choices.”

He laughed, and I knew his concern came from a good place, even if I wasn’t in the mood for another lecture. My mother squeezed me once more before releasing me.

“Your father told me you were the first to finish the miles today. Good job!”

“Yeah,” I shrugged, trying to act casual. My stomach grumbled again, reminding me that I still hadn’t had a proper meal.

My younger brother Collins chimed in with a smirk. “Maybe next time you’ll break the five-second mark.”

“Don’t start, Collins,” I shot back, not in the mood for his jokes.

“He’s been annoying all day,” Clinton, my other younger brother, agreed. Clinton was always the more introverted one, the balance to Collins’ extroversion.

Collins was an extreme extrovert, and was my dad’s favorite. He is the most youngest of us all, just a ten years old boy. While Clinton, a fifteen years old boy, was mother’s favorite,

Well, I not actually the only girl in the house. My older sister was studying abroad. She was just my complete opposite. Nothing similar between the both of us.

The oven timer began ringing loudly, pulling my attention away from my thoughts. I went towards it and turned it off, before taking out the pizza with a hand mitt, and placed it on the counter.

“Sweet pizza”, Collins said as he reached out and dragged one cut slice of it.

 I gave him an annoying look, and I felt like giving him a knock on his head.

 “Clinton dear, do you want some”, I asked my brother politely.

“Yes please”, he said giving me a wide tooth smile that looks just like my dad’s.

 As I was about taking another bite of the pizza I took to eat, my wolf began to screech. I groaned, squinting my eyes in pain. She let out yet another howl, and I grabbed my temples, while the pizza slice fell off my hand and landed to the floor.

“Esme, are you alright?” My mother’s voice was full of concern.

“Are you okay?”, This time it was my dad asking.

I clutched my head, trying to focus.

“I… I’m okay. It’s just Alaric. She’s been acting up lately, howling at odd times.”

My parents exchanged looks, but they didn’t seem too alarmed. I closed my eyes, trying to communicate with my wolf again.

“For the last time, Alaric, What’s going on?”

“Mate is near,” she whispered.

My heart skipped a beat. *Mate?* After all these years? I couldn’t believe it.

“Mate is near?” I repeated, my voice barely a whisper. My pulse quickened at the thought.

For sixteen years, I had watched friends and family find their mates while I waited. I had been mateless all this time, wondering if it would ever happen.

Most of my friends had already found their mate when we were in school, and I was one of the few wolves left mateless. Usually one would meet their mate between the ages of 16-20, typically a year or two after your first shift, where there body is fully matured, and can adapt to shifting.

But on a second thought, the sudden appearance of my mate means that he has been in the pack all this while, and I had no knowledge of who he was.

“But who could this be?”, I asked myself.

Hearing this finally took my worries away. The most scary part of all this is that wolves at times take time to mature. They could spend 30- 40 years without a mate. Most times some do not have mates at all, although it is highly uncommon.

I believed that everyone deserves a mate, at least someone they can love and share their ideas with. I had always waited anxiously, hoping, anticipating, looking up to the stars and wishing that a day like this would come.

“Are you sure about this Alaric?”, I asked in excitement.

 “Of course, why would I say it if it wasn’t true”, she snarled back.

 A smile crept on to my face in anticipation. I was finally going to meet my mate.

“What’s going on, why is your face like that”, came the voice of my little brother Collins, and yet again interrupting by thoughts.