Chapter 2

 

Aurora’s POV

No. This can’t be. Maybe I’m just being an idiot. Surely I can’t tell who’s my mate just from his scent?

“Good evening, everyone,” the man says, and his voice adds yet another layer of desire in my body. “I’m Mason Chase, the—”

“We know you!” Dad beams just when Mom comes out of the kitchen with my cake.

He gets up to shake his hand, and Mom just plops down my cake on the table without really caring just to greet this guy Mason. I try my best to smile, but the emotions whirling in my chest just won’t permit me to process anything but the pressing desire in the pit of my stomach. As they clamor over him, laughing and joking, I find myself taking note of everything about him.

His hair is brown, but not mousy. It’s this sleek chestnut color that shines under the lights. His eyes are hazel, almost green but not quite. He has a sweet smile, the kind that reaches his eyes. He looks kind and gentle and just everything that my abrasive sister isn’t.

Suddenly, I feel a wave of jealousy.

“Are you not going to come greet Mason?” Margot shoots at me.

I look up at them. Mason’s eyes meet mine and he smiles. My heart races. I look away, completely speechless.

“She doesn’t need to get up,” Mason says kindly. “It’s her birthday. Give her a break, Go.”

Margot rolls her eyes with fake affection, and I can’t help but feel my resentment towards her flaring up. How come she gets this guy? How come she gets… who seems to be my mate?

The misery of the situation starts to sink in. Everyone sits around the table, but my parents’ attention seems to be reserved for Mason now and no one else, so much so that they forget to sing me happy birthday and just go on serving him food. I want to feel annoyed but the only thing I can feel is also centered around Mason.

I get some chicken and spear it on my plate, not wanting to look at him.

Does he know? Does he feel it?

Because I feel it, and it seems to get stronger with every passing second.

I open my mouth to ask him out of instinct, but thankfully, my wolf Vega catches my stupidity.

‘What are you doing?’ she hisses. ‘I don’t think he felt the mate pull.’

‘So it is a mate pull?’ I whimper through our mind-link. ‘He really is my mate?’

‘Yes!’ Vega says. ‘Just act normal, and maybe by the end of the night, he would feel it too. After all, you are of age. You are supposed to meet your mate. And you did!’

‘I don’t know why you’re so happy when she’s also Margot’s boyfriend,’ I mutter.

She laughs. ‘It’s because it’s just that. Boyfriend and girlfriend. They didn’t say they were mates, did they?’

Vega is right. They’re not mates, at least not yet. Maybe I still have a chance?

The feeling of hope ripples through me and I can’t remember when I felt this way, but right now it feels great. I find myself stealing glances at Mason, wanting him to notice me but at the same time hoping to remain invisible to him.

“So, where did you two meet?” Dad suddenly says, breaking through my reverie. “I’m dying to hear this one!”

“We met at college, Dad.” Margot bats her eyes at Mason. “I was in the library studying, and I didn’t know that he was noticing me. He passed me a note through the book I was going to borrow. He told me to look left, and I did. And there he was, waving like a little puppy, smiling shyly.”

Mason chuckles. “I remember being very confident.”

“Too confident,” she snipes at him playfully. “Anyway, he asked me for a date, and it was… intense. He had roses and chauffeurs and this grand restaurant by the beach. I knew who he was, of course. But I never expected the Alpha Heir of my own pack catching my attention.”

Mom dabs at the corners of her eyes like this brings her tears of joy. “Oh, Margot!”

I want to roll my eyes, but I just eat my food silently.

“How could you not have known?” Mason asks her, reaching for her hand and kissing the back of it. “You’re gorgeous and smart. I knew it, from the first time I saw you in that class. I felt a pull from you. I knew you were my mate.”

His last words echo in my brain. I drop my knife and my fork, causing them to clatter on the plate. Everyone looks at me, their eyes wide as though they only realized now that I’m still there.

I swallow hard, trying to keep my composure. I smile at both of them, even though my cheeks are so stiff I feel like they’re going to rip. “So you’re mates! That’s… amazing.”

“It is,” Mason answers, but now he looks uncomfortable. “Thank you for that, Aubrey.”

“It’s Aurora,” I correct him, my face burning.

He also blushes. “Right. I’m very sorry.”

I want to disappear. Right now and right here. I want the ground to swallow me whole and never spit me back out.

But that doesn’t happen. They just continue to talk about all the wonderful and romantic things he has done for her, while I sit there completely stumped and humiliated. I excuse myself to go to my room, and none of them even notice.

‘I just need this day to end,’ I tell Vega as soon as I head out into the living room. ‘I hate this so much.’

‘Things might still get better,’ she assures me.

I want to tell her that there is no getting back from this, but then the home phone starts to ring. I make a dive for it, hoping it’s a friend.

I force a smile even though no one sees it and answer. “Hello?”

A husky deep voice comes up from the other line. “Hello, Aurora.”

“Who is this?” I swallow hard. My voice is barely audible. Why do I feel like I know this person even if I don’t.

The man just lets out a cool, light laugh. “I think you know. I sent you presents this morning. What are they doing in the trash, princess? I told you to use them, didn’t I?”