Strangers to Mates

Chapter 14: Late night

I ran up to the couple and was engulfed in a hug by Sadie and Chris. I hadn't seen them for a month and I've missed them like crazy. After a few minutes we pulled away and I asked amazed,

"How did you guys?" I didn't have to say anything more for them to understand.

"It was Raymond." Sadie said with a huge smile, probably not different from the one on my own face.

I turned and gave him a thankful smile, I was defiantly going to have to thank him more later but I'd missed my two best friends. I turned back around and hugged them again.

"I missed you guys so much you don't even now." I said finally expressing what I kept thinking having pulled away.

"Yes we do because we missed you just as much." Chris said.

"Why don't you guys go into the living room, I'll be upstairs." Raymond interrupted kindly.

"Ya you guys go in, we'll be there in a second." I said and they went off smiling.

I came and stood in front of Raymond and took his hands in mine.

"You don't want to join us?" I asked gently.

"It's not that, I just thought you'd want to catch up with them." He said caressing my knuckles with his thumbs.

"I do, but your my mate and I want you there." I replied smiling, "C'mon."

We left the kitchen to join Sadie and Chris. They were sitting on the couch and there was plenty of space but I sat down on Raymond's lap after he had taken a seat in the arm chair. Sadie gave me a look that said, 'oh, so now who doesn't want their mate.' I rolled my eyes and asked them,

"So how have you guys been, how are mum and dad?"

"Your parents are great except that they miss you." Sadie answered my second question.

"Anything new happen or happening?" I asked

"I convinced Sadie that chocolate milkshakes are are better than vanilla milkshakes." Chris says proudly.

I can't help but laugh. I remember that this was the one thing Chris had been trying to do for the pass four months.

"Good job." I complimented, unable to think of anything else to say that would be suitable.

We went on like that for, I don't know, it must have been at least two hours. Just talking like we used to. We'd talk about random little things, having nothing better to talk about, but of course none of us minded. I even got Raymond to participate in our conversations. I knew he did this for me, but he was part of me now so I wanted him to part of this. I could feel through the bond that he was really happy and it made me happy, not that I wasn't already, but it was almost like a different kind of happy. Sadie happily said that her parents finally agreed to let her and Chris move in together after they graduated, which totally reminded me that I still had to graduate grade twelve. Sadie assured me that my mum had already figured it all out so that I could do it online from my new home. Mum would email me the details when it got closer to September.

We talked about random people from the old pack and basically it was all the gossip Sadie had heard, even about people we didn't know. Well that's not completely true, we were a small pack so everyone knew everyone, but I didn't personally know any of them.

But of course Sadie wouldn't let me ask much about them and my old pack because she kept asking questions about me and my 'new life' as she put it. Of course there wasn't much to tell except the one other date we'd had since coming here and me joining the pack. I told her about my time with Charlotte, learning about the Luna role, and Sadie being the slow person she is just realized that I would be Luna when Raymond became Alpha. She freaked out saying something about how one day we'll both be Luna's and that our packs had Alliances and something else about how that was a good thing that I didn't catch. Raymond and Chris both complained about Alpha training. Since Chris was Sadie's mate he'll be Alpha one day and he was behind on training. Chris said he thought that Sadie's dad was giving him a tough time because he was Sadie's mate. It was like a warning not hurt his daughter, which of course Chris could never even think about doing. They'd loved each since they were fourteen and it was a good thing they were mates, but it was kind of obvious. I remember that they didn't get actually get together until they knew they were mates, but I think it was still obvious that they were. The fates were nice to them and didn't pair them with someone else which probably would have caused a lot of trouble.

Suddenly Sadie cried,

"Oh my god, your marked." I could here the excitement in her voice.

"Little slow there Sad?" Chris teased her while nudging her gently.

"Hey, you know that she wolfs can't tell as easily as male wolves." She defended before turning her attention back to me.

"Um, ya." I said not knowing how else to respond.

"Oh that's so cute. When did it happen." Sadie always gushed over things like this, lovey dovey things.

I guess I could too sometimes but I wasn't as bad as her.

"I don't know, the second week I was here?" I guessed looking to Raymond for confirmation.

He simply nodded smiling happily.

"Aw." I heard Sadie, bringing my attention back to her. "You know from the time of her sixteenth birthday she kept going on and on about how she wished her seventeenth would never come. She'd say how she didn't want to find her mate, that she didn't want anything to change and that she didn't need a guy. She was so stubborn I almost believed her for a period of time. But look at her now, all marked and what not." Sadie said to Raymond making me blush.

I leaned forward and grabbed my glass, taking a drink of my water that I'd brought out for everyone an hour ago.

"So have you guys mated yet?" Sadie asked bluntly.

I almost spit my water everywhere, choking on it, and I swear my face heated up so much that I probably looked at like a tomato. Raymond smirked and I playfully slapped his arm.

"No. No we haven't." I said before they could get the wrong idea from his smirk.

Everyone had smiles on their faces but I was trying to cover my read cheeks so badly.

"Good, cause I would have been so mad if you had and didn't e-mail me." She said before yawning which of course made me yawn.

"C'mon, we should get back to the hotel." Chris said pulling Sadie up.

"Are you guys going back tomorrow?" I asked.

"Ya, I think Alpha Crossly would have my hind if I was alone with his daughter for more than one night out of town" he said causing me to laugh a little.

"Alright, I'll show you out." I say starting to get up.

"Nah it's fine we know how to find the front door. But we'll talk soon okay." He said probably not wanting to be a problem.

It was very him, he never wanted to bother anyone.

"Okay." I gave in, hiding the sadness and gave them each a hug.

I heard the front door close behind them and wrapped my arm around Raymond's neck, still sitting in his lap.

"Thank you." I said sincerely.

He pulled me closer to him and said, "It was no big deal."

"No, let me thank you. You are so amazing to me. You planned the perfect day and then you brought my two best friends, my only friends, to see me. No one has ever been so thoughtful for me. Thank you." I said seriously, every word true.

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for you." He whispered.

I watched his eyes flick down to my lips then back up to my eyes. I leaned forward and gently kissed him. I brought my other hand up and cupped his cheek as he kissed back. He licked my bottom lip, asking for entrance which, I gladly gave to him. I quietly moaned as the kiss deepened and only pulled away when I needed to breath. I pulled back and covered my yawn.

"Let's go up to bed." he said.

"But I'm so happy with where I am now." I said getting a smile from him that matched my own small one.

"I know, but if we don't go up now we never will." He said softly.

"I'm alright with that." I said snuggling into him with my eyes closed to better convince him.

I heard him chuckle and stand up, carrying me. My eyes were still closed but I knew that he was walking up the stairs and we were soon in our room. He set me down gently on the bed and I instantly cuddled into the pillow.

"C'mon Erin, you need to change." He said and I heard some shuffling, probably him taking off his jeans and tee shirt.

When I didn't move he said, "I can hear your breathing I know your not asleep yet."

I grumbled something he couldn't understand then said, "Fine, hand me your shirt."

He tossed it and it landed beside me. I crawled under the blankets and took off my jeans and shirt, sliding his on, making sure I was still under the blankets the whole time. I threw my clothes out of the bed and on the ground before turning away from the light that was on in the bathroom.

"Now you're just being lazy." he pointed out.

"Fine" I said and got out of the comfy bed, grabbing my clothes from the ground and throwing them into the bathroom.

I crawled back in bed and heard him putting my clothes in the basket in the closet. Well at least that's what it sounded like. I felt the bed dip slightly as he sat on the edge.

"Are you always like this at two am?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" I said not turning around.

"The last time you went to bed at two was your birthday, and you were like this than to." He answered.

"No, I'm not." I said answering his question and turning around, "We just did a lot today and I was drunk last time."

I looked over at his lap with an evil smile and crawled into it, sighing with happiness. In the past month being in his arms and on his lap had become my favorite place, especially when I'm tired. I always felt warm and safe there. It was the most natural thing ever making me feel more at home than I could be anywhere else, even in this house.

"You should tell me a story." I hinted with a yawn.

"Why?" He ask with curiosity.

"Because my mum used to do it some times when I was younger." I blatantly replied with closed eyes.

"So now I'm your mum." he asked jokingly.

"No, but I miss hearing stories." I said.

"Alright sweetheart, anything for you" he said making me smile and began again, "Once there lived a wolf, a very, very stubborn wolf and her name was Erin"

"Hey!" I cried playfully hitting his arm.

"Shh, your not allowed to talk" he commanded, the smile clear in his voice. "This wolf was loved by so many wolves, everyone cared about her so very much even though she was stubborn. But one day she found a wolf that cared for her even more than anyone else. This wolf couldn't help but do anything for her, it was in their fate.."

I dozed off as he continued the story. I didn't know how much time had passed when I woke up partly as Raymond moved to lay me down and join me as he pulled the blankets over us.

"Thank you." I mumbled.

"Of course." I heard him whisper before I fell back asleep.