Chapter 1 - Mates

Teegan's P.O.V.

           Most people probably think it would be cool to be a werewolf. Well, I'm not most people. I was abandoned as a baby and adopted by a human couple who knew nothing about werewolves. I had no idea about them either until my wolf Mia started talking in my head when I turned five.

Apparently, whoever my werewolf parents were didn't want me. Who wants to be unwanted? At least my adoptive parents wanted me until they got a divorce when I was twelve. Then, they only wanted me to see what they could get from each other. When I turned eighteen, I told them peace out. It's been seven years, and neither has made any attempts to reach me.

           Mia did help me on the days I was alone and felt like no one cared. I never told my adoptive parents about her. She said it was best not to because they wouldn't understand. After turning eighteen, Mia had gotten so obsessed with finding our mate she began getting on my nerves. I couldn't care less about finding a mate. In my head, I'm a human with an annoying wolf who, most of the time, I pretend isn't there. So, right now, as I walk to work, I have to keep up my mantra.

            Walking down the street. Walking down the street. It may seem strange for me to be so focused on walking, but my wolf has gotten in the habit of shifting whenever she damn well pleases. Just yesterday, I was talking to a nice man I met at the coffee shop. He asked me out to dinner, and when I said yes, she started growling and shifted. Now, there are news reports of an enormous wolf in town. Luckily, I don't go to that coffee shop often, and even though I literally shifted in front of people's eyes, no one believed what they saw. There have been no reports of a woman with long blonde hair and blue eyes suddenly becoming a large pale grey and white wolf. So that's one positive.

            "He wasn't our mate. Why do you even want to talk to someone who isn't our mate? The Moon Goddess should have given me a better human because you don't know what it means to be a werewolf. You're obviously defective. I wonder if I can send you in to be repaired."  I groan as I continue walking. It's the same argument we have every day. I'm a twenty-five-year-old virgin, thanks to Mia. 

            "You may be right, but I'm not going to sit around and wait for this so-called mate. I want to be happy, and if I find a man that makes me happy, so be it." I mindlink her, making her growl in my head. 

            "I swear if you try to get with another man that's not our mate, then I will shift and never let you shift back. I'll terrorize the whole town until you submit to me and help me find our mate." I start humming while I pretend I can't hear her. She wants a new human. Well, I want a new wolf or, better yet, no wolf at all.  

           

           As we walk into the restaurant where I work on the weekends as a hostess, I catch a whiff of something. It's not the food from the restaurant; it's refreshing like the outdoors. Mia starts jumping with excitement in my head.

            "Our mate is here. Go find him now, or I will." Oh, please help me. I can feel her wanting to shift.

            "I swear, Mia, if you shift and start humping his leg, I'm going to shoot you myself." Mia scuffs, but I'm serious. I try to ignore the way my heart is racing as I look around the restaurant.

            "Bitch, please. I am civilized. THERE HE IS. GO NOW." She's screaming in my head, making me desperately wish I was deaf. Would I still be able to hear her if I was deaf? When I look up, I see a tall, handsome man with wavy brown hair and green eyes walking toward me. When he gets to me, he puts his nose in my neck, taking a deep breath, and I want to shove him off. What's he doing? Is he going to start humping my leg? He looks into my eyes and smiles.

           "Mate."

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Joel's P.O.V.

           Being a thirty-year-old lycan prince who doesn't have a mate is getting embarrassing. Some have said I need to go ahead and mark one of the many females who want to mate with me. I have considered it, but the thought of someone who isn't fated to me turns my stomach. Besides, my wolf, Romeo, won't let me near another woman. Even when I've attempted to go on dates or kiss a woman, he always messes it up. He said that we should only be with our Juliet. I think he takes his name a little too seriously. So not only am I thirty without a mate, but I'm also a virgin. When I find my mate, she'll probably laugh me out of the bedroom because I have no experience.

           I just finished a meeting with the alpha of a pack who's having issues with their pups being kidnapped. I'm having several royal guards and a few trackers go to the pack to see if they can help get to the bottom of it. On the way home, I decide to stop and get something to eat in a small town I was driving through. I may be a prince, but I prefer to drive myself. My brother is the crown prince, so I have a little more freedom than he does. 

           As I sit down at a small table, I smell something that makes Romeo howl in my head. What is that? I stand up to find the source and see a beautiful woman with long blonde hair in a braid looking around. It's her. I've found her. I've found my mate. Without thinking, I walk over and bury my nose in her neck to breathe in her intoxicating scent. I look into her startled blue eyes and say the word I've wanted to say for so long.

           "Mate." Instead of smiling or saying it back, she groans. 

           "Let's go outside." She says. My heart is already breaking. I can tell she's a wolf and not human, so she shouldn't have this reaction. Is she going to reject me? Please don't let her reject me; I need her. 

            "Get out of your head and let the woman talk. Stop being all doom and gloom." Romeo mindlinks me. He's right. I need to hear what she has to say. We get outside and walk away from the entrance to speak privately. She turns to me and leans against the building.

           "So you're my mate. I'm going to be honest with you. I don't really understand all this mate or werewolf stuff. I was raised by humans after being abandoned as a baby, so I've never been around other werewolves." Well, at least she hasn't rejected me yet; she's like a human with a wolf.

           "Has your wolf told you about werewolves and mates?" I ask. My hands are aching to touch her, but I don't think she'd appreciate that right now.

           "She's told me some. Honestly, I tuned her out most of the time. What's your name?" Despite how flippant she's acting, I can tell she's having a response to me. I hold my hand out to her.

           "I'm Joel." I leave off the whole lycan prince thing for right now. I'm not sure how she'll take it knowing if she accepts me, she'll be a princess. She takes my hand, and I almost moan in pleasure from the sparks that travel up my arm. I always heard it was incredible. She gasps and almost pulls away, but I don't let her.

           "I'm Teegan. What the hell is that?" She stops trying to release my hand and relaxes some.

           "That's from the mate bond. Mates can feel the connection in multiple ways when they find each other. Scent, touch, and feeling, to name a few. Do you think we can go somewhere to talk?" Please say yes. I need to be near her.

           "I'm actually getting ready to start work. I'm a hostess at the restaurant. This is my weekend job. During the week, I'm an administrative assistant at a local law office." Well, she didn't say no. If she agrees to accept me, she'll never have to work again.

           "Okay, can you call off, or I can meet you when you're done working," She doesn't answer right away, and I can tell she's arguing with her wolf. It's funny; it reminds me of how I argue with Romeo. 

           "I was going to suggest we meet tomorrow. However, my damn wolf is threatening to shift if I don't go with you now. Give me just a minute while I tell them I can't work." Teegan goes into the restaurant, and it's taking everything in me not to start jumping around with joy. When she comes back out, I can't stop smiling. 

           "Okay, I'm all yours." She says. I know what she means, but I can't help thinking she will be mine for the rest of her life. Now that I've found her, I never plan on letting her go.