First and Second chances

Elizabeth

This evening was supposed to be special, but instead of going all out, my true mate wanted to keep it small and intimate. I just couldn't imagine what he found intimate about this pub. Granted, it was the pub where we met and discovered we were each other's true mates, but it’s also the place where my best friend Cassy and her true mate – and also my good friend – Ethan work. So privacy wasn’t really an option. I sighed as I looked at my phone. Mike was late. That was unlike him. I glanced around the pub. Cassy gave me a wink as she walked by carrying a tray with three pints and a glass of champagne.

I chuckled for a moment—someone ordering champagne in this pub was unheard of—but when I saw her walking toward the corner where three men in suits and a woman in a dress fit for a gala were sitting, it suddenly didn’t seem so strange anymore. I had no idea what people like them were doing in this pub. I would expect that kind of crowd at an exclusive club, not here in the local bar. I looked at my phone again. No missed messages or calls, and Mike was now over an hour late. I sighed deeply as I bent forward and rested my forehead on the bar. Where could he be? Should I be worried?

If he had marked me, we would be more deeply connected and I could sense if he was nearby—or even ask through a mind link where he was. But Mike had insisted on waiting to mark me until we completed the official bonding ritual. Most wolves who had found their true mate skipped the ritual—the bond between true mates was already strong enough. The mating ritual was mainly for wolves who no longer had a chance of finding their true mate. Wolves could only find their mate until their 30th birthday; after that, the bond would be lost. Through the mating ritual, wolves who were not true mates could still bond with each other. Not as strongly as a true mate bond, but strong enough to read each other's thoughts and form a mind link. For true mates, the ritual was more like a formal wedding, just like with humans, since the bond was already there. Still, Mike had said he wanted to do the ritual because it was a family tradition—even though the last ones in his family to do it were his great-grandparents. I didn’t object. I trusted that my true mate wouldn’t wait long before proposing. But so far, no proposal in sight.

I had hoped he would ask me tonight—we’ve now been bonded through the mate link for exactly one year. Even if that connection is only noticeable when we’re close to each other now.

“Liz, you have to admit this is weird, right? He’s been acting off for months, but this is really something else. Not showing up on your special night? I’d never dare pull something like that on Cassy.”

Ethan, Cassy’s true mate, was now standing across from me behind the bar, polishing a glass with a towel.

“You wouldn’t even be able to get away with trying!” Cassy called from a distance as she served a few tables, then walked back to the corner table.

I saw the champagne lady waving her glass and rolling her eyes. “It’s outrageous that I have to wave to get your attention for a drink,” I heard her hiss between her teeth. “Maybe do your job instead of lazing around behind the bar.”

She sat with her back to the bar next to a man. I couldn’t see their faces, but they had to be just as good-looking as the two men sitting across from them. The man on the left had blonde hair and hazel-brown eyes. He was broad-shouldered and had extremely muscular arms. The man beside him had to be his brother—they had the same build and jawline, although this one had light brown hair and hazel eyes. The man whose back was to me looked even broader than the other two, with dark brown hair. All three had neatly short haircuts, but long enough to run a hand through.

The woman at their table had long, wavy red hair and, from what I could see, fine features and blue-green eyes. I guessed the men were around thirty, but I couldn’t say for sure. The woman gave Cassy an intense stare, and I could tell Cassy was about to put the champagne lady in her place. But before she could, the man next to the woman cleared his throat.

“Was that really necessary, Jes?”

His voice was deep, but not too deep—authoritative. I heard Luna, my wolf, chuckle. Even though Luna was worried about our true mate not showing up, it was comforting that she could still laugh.

Ethan looked toward the champagne lady with an irritated expression and shook his head. “You’d think they were spoon-fed manners growing up.”

I gave Ethan a smile and looked back at my phone.

Damn. Still nothing from Mike.

The past four months he had often gone more than 24 hours without contact, but that was always on days we were both busy. In recent weeks, he had been showing up late more often, but it was always because the council meetings ran longer than expected. That couldn’t be the reason today—every employee at the council building had been off work since the ceremony began.

Maybe he had to work anyway. The council often called him back in after hours.

The entire city center had been buzzing since this afternoon because of the ceremony celebrating the new head of the council. I hadn’t paid it much attention—I was too excited about our one-year mate anniversary. But now, my heart sank. It seemed like Mike wasn’t coming. But why?

Suddenly, it felt like a string inside me was plucked, followed by a sharp ringing in my ear and unbearable pain throughout my entire body. I hunched over on my stool but managed to grab the bar just in time to keep me from falling. I clenched my teeth and tried to breathe through the pain.

“What is this pain?” my wolf Luna squeaked.

I couldn’t even respond to her. But then, just as suddenly the pain came, the pain was gone. Cassy was beside me again, and Ethan looked pale, clearly unsure of what to do.

“Whoa, Lizzy, are you okay? You are white as a ghost”

“Yeah, I think I’m okay,” I managed to say, still out of breath. “Nothing’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong? Lizzy, you hunched over in pain out of nowhere—you even screamed.”

Cassy’s description of what everyone else in the pub must’ve seen made my cheeks burn with shame. Luckily, the pub was quiet tonight—just a few tables occupied and a couple of lonely wolves at the bar. I glanced around, afraid people were still staring, but thankfully everyone had gone back to their business. I wanted to tell Cassy I had suddenly felt pain but that it disappeared as quickly as it had come.

Before I could say anything, Mike walked into the pub. He looked around quickly and seemed relieved when he spotted us.

“Sorry, babe, I got held up by an emergency meeting.”

He gave me a quick kiss on the forehead.

“They announced who the new head of the council is, and it caused some disagreements among the members, which made the meeting run long.”

I heard the words but couldn’t process them. Even Luna was shocked.

“Is our true mate lying to us?” she asked.

As I tried to process it, Ethan raised an eyebrow at Mike.

“Everyone’s known since this afternoon that Jason Moon is the new head of the council. Why would they still call a meeting and make it this late in the evening? People have been out celebrating since the announcement this afternoon.”

Mike shot Ethan an irritated look and cleared his throat.

“That’s none of your business, Ethan. I’m there to document important matters, not question them.”

Ethan shrugged in frustration and went to help customers at the other end of the bar. Cassy squeezed my shoulder, eyeing Mike with annoyance. I swallowed. Part of me wanted to ask if he was telling the truth—but he had no reason to lie. He had never even told a little white lie before. Luna was pacing, clearly unsettled, but she also couldn’t believe Mike would lie. In fact, she was certain Jargon—Mike’s wolf—would never allow it.

I forced a smile onto my face. Clearly, it wasn’t his fault he was late. And of course, he couldn’t text during the meeting—phones weren’t allowed in the council chamber. I shook my head and smiled again.

“Happy anniversary,” I said, trying to kiss Mike, but he pulled back.

“Anniversary? That’s today?” he looked surprised, and I could only stare at him in disbelief. But after a few seconds, he recovered and relaxed his expression.

“You should’ve seen your face. Of course I knew today is our anniversary.”

Mike gave me a kiss and started rummaging through his coat. Eventually, he pulled out a small box from the inside pocket and placed it on the bar, sliding it toward me.

“He’s finally going to ask us, see? I knew it! We can start planning our mating ritual and finally be marked by our true mate!” Luna cheered,  her eyes wide with excitement.

I also stared at the box, wide-eyed.

“You didn’t…?” I stammered and carefully picked it up.

It was from the jeweler I often walked past, staring longingly at the engagement rings in the window. Not that I expected him to buy one of those—those rings were practically unaffordable.

I opened the box carefully, expecting to see a ring.

But instead… there was a silver bracelet.

My wolf growled softly, then withdrew into a corner. I could feel her embarrassment over the expectations she’d had and the disappointment she couldn’t hide.

Mike looked at me intensly and took the bracelet from the box, grabbing my left wrist with his other hand. He fastened the bracelet and then I saw it—engraved in elegant script: Property of Mike T.

My eyes widened in shock. I had a hundred questions, but Mike looked at me tenderly.

“Exactly what you wanted—clarity for the outside world that you belong to me.”

I inhaled sharply. How could he think this was what I wanted? He knows all I’ve ever wanted is to seal our true mate bond by marking each other.

“This wasn’t what I had in mind, Mike.” I couldn’t help it—my irritation was obvious in my voice.

For a moment, I saw Mike’s eyes darken, an intense flash of anger crossing his face. But he shook his head, and his expression turned to disappointment instead.

“I know you want me to mark you, but a mating ritual isn’t nothing, Liz. I do want to buy you a ring and plan the ritual with you. But I want to do it when I can afford it on my own—without my family’s help.”

Mike was right. He’d wanted to step out of his parents’ shadow for years. They were among the wealthiest families in the city. His father owned several major businesses and held a huge property portfolio rented out to the city’s residents. Mike wanted to prove he could succeed on his own.

I sighed quietly. I felt like a terrible, ungrateful mate for how I was acting. The bracelet might not have been what I expected, and it kind of made me feel like property, but surely he meant well.

I looked back into Mike’s eyes and gave him a smile.

“Oh Mike, it’s perfect. Thank you.”

I wanted to throw my arms around him, but Mike stepped back.

“I have to go again, Liz. The entire meeting still needs to be documented.”

I looked at him, shocked.

“But you just got here, and we were supposed to make this night special,” I managed to say, barely holding back tears.

Mike now looked irritated—angry even.

“Liz, you know the council is meeting tomorrow for the first time with their new head. That documentation needs to be in the archive by then, and you know how important this job is to me. It’s my first step toward eventually joining the Alpha Council!”

I swallowed the lump in my throat.

“Of course I know that, Mike. But lately, you’ve been so unreachable. Sometimes you go an entire day without a single word. I miss you. Luna misses you.”

Mike rolled his eyes.

“I know you miss us. Jargon and I miss you too. But you know how important it is that I do this job well if I want to become part of the council.”

He gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and hurried out of the pub.

Luna and I watched him leave.

“It’s like he doesn’t even care,” I whispered through a sob. "You know our true mate is doing this to make his dreams come true,” Luna replied, trying to sound confident. But I could hear the doubt in her voice. “Do you really think that, Luna? I get that we need to support his dreams, but it’s coming at the cost of our relationship. He didn’t even let us tell him we’ve been hired as the personal hostess to the new head of the council,” I sighed.

A job I only applied for to be closer to him.

Luna gave me a sharp look, clearly about to lecture me. But suddenly, we heard a man clear his throat beside us.

I looked up, startled. I’d been so wrapped up in talking with Luna that I hadn’t even noticed someone had joined me at the bar. He held up a black credit card, waiting for Ethan, who was still busy with other customers. Ethan saw him and gave a nod, signaling he’d be right there.

I didn’t want to stare at this man, but I couldn’t look away.

It was the man who had been sitting next to the champagne lady. From behind, I could tell he was handsome—but now that I saw his face, he was even more attractive than I could have imagined.

Dark brown hair, shaved short on the sides and longer on top, styled with a bit of gel or wax. Slightly tousled, like someone had run their fingers through it—probably the champagne lady.

He had a sharp jawline, a two day stobbled beard and the most stunning deep ocean-blue eyes I’d ever seen. He radiated authority.

“An Alpha,” Luna whispered, eyes wide.

She was clearly impressed, which was odd, considering she hadn’t looked at another man that way since meeting our true mate.

“Josh, are you coming, babe?” the champagne lady called out.

Of course he was taken. I should’ve figured. Still, I felt a sting of jealousy that i didn't understand.

I was so lost in my own thoughts and the strange feelings this man—Josh—was stirring in me, I hadn’t even noticed Ethan had already helped him.

Now, he leaned casually against the bar and looked me straight in the eyes.

My cheeks flushed bright red from the shock.

“So—sorry,” I stammered.

“And what is this beautiful lady apologizing for?” Josh asked with a grin.

“For staring at you. It was rude,” I squeaked, eyes downcast. At least I didn’t stutter that time.

Josh chuckled, prompting me to look up at him again.

“No need to apologize, my lady” he said as he pushed himself off the bar with his hip.

I expected him to walk toward the exit, but instead, he grabbed my wrist.

He quickly—but gently—lifted my arm so the bracelet around my wrist came into his view.

“Subtle,” he growled, lips pressed into a tight line.

I looked at his hand on my wrist. It felt oddly warm and tingling.

Then I looked into his eyes, but I couldn’t read the expression there.

Was he angry? Offended? But why would he care what my bracelet said?

He was still holding my wrist. Was he feeling that warm, tingling sensation too?

I realized I was still staring straight into his eyes. I quickly looked down, avoiding his gaze. He growled softly and lifted my chin with a finger, brushing a lock of hair from my face with his knuckles.

He gave me a wink before releasing me and walking back to the champagne lady, who now glared at me furiously.

I saw Cassy hurrying toward me with a worried expression. She probably wanted to know why Mike had left again—and what that handsome man wanted from me.

But before she reached me, I felt the string again—this time snapping—followed by a deafening, piercing ring and the sensation of burning-hot knives slicing through my skin, my insides felt like being on fire and ripped from my body.

“The mate bond!?” Luna screamed, tears in her eyes from the pain.

I cried out as I collapsed and fell from my barstool. I braced for the hard impact with the floor—but instead, I felt myself being caught.

A warm energy spread through my body, dulling the pain just a little. I curled into the source of that warmth, hoping the pain would go away. 

I wanted to look up to see who had caught me— but as i tried everything went dark.