There are mates, and then there are mates ;) by JH (i am malala young readers edition .txt) 📕

after tomorrow and before you ask anything I have told Oz everything about my little investigation, he would never purposefully hurt me, he couldn’t actually. Freddie and George had also been quite supportive but I was beginning to accept that Damien may actually be the only one who’d be able to clear things up for me. He was always a little cautious around me and it occurred to me that his mixed heritage may mean he was also able to adopt more then one power.
I’ve never been a religious person, I mean I’ve always had faith in pack blessing. I suppose it’s hard to deny a higher being when you yourself are a ’mythical creature’ and are capable of changing the world if you so wished.
I clambered out of bed as I was becoming more and more aware that I should stop thinking about my plans and perhaps actually do something. Like get ready for this mystery date with Oz. Both him and the guys had been avoiding me in case I sneaked a look into their minds. I dressed simply in some shorts and a pretty top, it was a little more low cut then I’d usually wear but was floaty around the bottom and I thought it was cute. I paired it up with some dainty flats. It doesn’t really matter what I was wearing as I can easily shift them into more dressy or practical things, I’d rather not though. I shift objects from memory or imagination and if I tried to shift it back into the original outfit I would never be able to get the details right. I had a couple of minutes until Oz showed up so I decided to curl my hair, again pointless but I was able to act like a girl occasionally, I mean this was my first real date. That’s how it works when you’re a werewolf, unless you’re with your mate, ever other date or intimate act is merely practice. Sounds sad I know, but that’s the way it is.

Chapter 8 -SO…THIS IS MY FIRST DATE.

A moment later and Oz was at the door with a bunch of flowers and an overly eager yet flattering. I blushed and took the flowers, lillies my favourite. “So…You going to tell me where we’re going yet?”
“Nope.” he said, still smiling, popping the P. I laughed at that and felt completely safe with him there. He led me out of the house and in fact we walked for quite some while, It was getting dark by the time that we reached our destination.
The destination was a sand dune behind it was a small picnic and a pile of logs. “I never did tell you my power did I?” he looked at me before continuing, “When I was younger the house was burned, I was inside, its reconstructed now nobody would be able to tell the whole fire was covered up. I wasn’t burnt at all, it wasn’t until my first change that we realised that that it was me who started the fire…People I didn’t like would get burnt…I wasn’t allowed friends. My parents got a witch to enchant them so I wouldn’t burn them. You are special, an omega, my mate I wouldn’t be able to burn you either- I looked forward to meeting you for so long, for having a friend who wouldn’t be afraid, of being loved. You protected Freddie and George that day on the playground, they were the first people you protected and that marked them. My parents found them when they found you and realised your bond ran deep, you’d protect them even when they were far from you, you loved them. So they bought them to me and were my first friends. I used to love the summers.” He was crying and I was stunned, fire. A werewolf who could control fire. I wasn’t afraid, why would I be? I stepped towards him and cupped his face once again “you can control it now can’t you?”… “Yes.” “Then why are you so afraid of yourself? Why do you never use your power? It could bring so much good.”
He smiled and flicked his hand towards the pile of dry wood, fire shot from his hands in the shape of a wolf and ignited it in a warm gust.
We didn’t make it to the wedding day. We mated right there, seems I have a thing for beaches. This time when I woke up my neck stung with the bite mark of the mating ritual. We’d shared blood, he’d entered me and now I could feel him. All of him, wherever he would be, at any time. He was smiling, my marks on his neck. On impulse I leant across and kissed that mark, he groaned and returned the sensation upon my neck.
A few hours later and we decided that our first date should end there, I morphed our clothes around our bodies and we set back towards the house smiles broad and marks proudly displayed.

The next day we spent mostly in the bedroom, its like that with most new mates but for me I knew that mine was going away in the space of a few short hours.
The parting was sweet and I wept. His lips tasted of us and I clutched onto his hand until the moment the car drove my mate cruelly away. My two friends travelled back to our old pack to take the place of Damien who was going to arrive here soon and somebody had to care for their father who was beginning to feel the effects of age.
I said my goodbyes to them as well. They stroked my neck giggling as they did so “I still can’t believe you guys mated!” “Yeah…Well I guess I never was going to do that whole not until marriage thing anyway.” They didn’t have a car but stretched their legs and with my blessing shifted and took off like a bullet using energy that I provided so that they’d get their in a matter of hours.

My room smelt of his and my heart did a little shudder, who knew that having a mate would make you feel so differently. Gradually as the hours passed I began to feel more like myself, I could still feel Oz at the edge of my consciousness and occasionally he would peek into mine to tell me that he missed me and I would do the same. But when it came down to it, although I loved Oz I was still an omega and I could function without him.
I could here the screech of a hawk and I realised that hawks weren’t exactly indigenous to this area and that it must be Damien. I missed him, weird I know, it’s just I realised my head had been feeling a little empty without him in it.
The hawk flew into the now open window and shifted into a naked Damien. He laughed when he realised his mistake and gestured for me to manufacture him some clothes, which I did with my eyes firmly shut.
“Sorry about that, I’d shifted straight from wolf for the first time, wasn’t sure if the clothes would survive a double shift.”
“S’alright. How are you Damien?” I smiled at him, he looked more comfortable here he could embrace his shifter side more freely now he was away from the pack.
“I’m good Tara, you?”
“I’m good.” I don’t know why but I really was enjoying him being here, not that he wouldn’t get gradually annoying as his visit progressed.
“You’ve mated him I see…” His voice trailed off as he pointed to the mark on my neck.
“Yeah I figured he’s my mate so why not…nothing wrong with that.”
He gave a brisk nod in response. “So, you called me here for information…what exactly do you want to know?”
I opened my mouth to tell him about my inquiries but before I could I was interrupted by his stomach growling.
“Lunch first, me later. You sound starving.”

Chapter 9--THE PLAN
He didn’t object, but nodded again and followed me through the winding staircases and halls that eventually led me to the kitchen.
“We may have to repeat that route a few times, I doubt I’ll remember that after one trip.”
“I know this place is pretty huge, eventually I made little markers around this place which told me where I needed to go. I camouflaged them though, no one can see them but me I didn’t want to get fined for putting graffiti the place.”
He laughed, a deep throaty laugh “So you’re cheating then!”
“Shh, don’t tell anyone. Rupe was impressed when I made it in time for dinner without directions!” I shot him a playful glare.
“Rupe?” his face confused.
“King Rupert, I call him Rupe.”
“Seriously.”
“Yep… oh and I’ll sort it so you can see the markers. I guess you can’t sniff stuff out so well either so it’ll put you on even playing grounds.”
He stopped for a moment and touched my arm, I turned to look at him “Thanks Tara.” I suppose I never really took into consideration before that he might need a little bit of compromising for his half wolf half shifter status. I doubt anyone would, which is stupid because he can do a lot of things we can’t do either!
“No problem.” I started rummaging through cupboards and grabbed onto what ingredients I needed to make the lasagne. It’s the one thing I can really cook, everything else is microwaved, but its my favourite meal (if you don’t count marshmellows).
A half hour later and Damien was eating happily, moaning in approval of my cooking. I was glad he liked it, I was never allowed to cook for the pack at home, people were afraid that I’d poison it with my powers.
We chatted for a while about silly things like the school football team and who was mating who back home but eventually it was down to business.
“Something not right Damien. I have way too many powers, I can’t even remember half of them. It’s impossible for a wolf to have so many powers!” I tried to stay calm and play with a loose hem on my skirt but my voice still had a harsh twang to it.
“Maybe you’re not just a wolf…It’s not necessarily a bad thing though”
“I never thought there was anything wrong with it I just…I don’t know what I am, who I am. Why do I have all this stuff going on in my life?”
“Seriously you called me here to ask about your purpose in life? Why would I know?”
I paused before continuing, trying to figure out how to phrase it exactly. “I’ve been doing some reading up on supernatural history, there’s mention of this key thing…It says about the separation of gods powers and into the races. For some reason I just thought of you, how you always carried around that big book of yours and how you always seemed to know so much…”
“The 7 keys of the 7 races. Vampire, Witch, Shifter, Wolf, Pixie, Mer and the fallen. When brought together they unite us with god and save us from evil, redeeming us if you will. I always did like the story…”
“Why did you enjoy it so much, I always thought the idea of having to be saved from evil a little to hopeless?”
“I’m not a Wolf and I’m not a shifter, being a bit of both made me feel as though it didn’t matter I wasn’t one thing or another. The idea of a key, of all the races fitting together perfectly in gods image…it just made me think it was