Old Crushes

Marvel Hala

I shrugged in response to Kiara’s question. I didn’t think I felt any different. I certainly hadn’t sensed my mate yet. Everything was about the same as it’d always been.

“Well, your scent is different. It’s stronger, like it’s trying to beckon someone. Same thing that happened to Aida’s,” Kiara offered, sniffing at the air around me.

“Either that or you really need to take a shower,” Aida interjected, wrinkling her nose as though my scent was repulsive.

I gaped at her in mock offense. While they both began laughing so hard that they rolled onto their sides, clutching their stomachs as though desperate for air.

Ridiculous, I thought with a roll of my eyes, though I couldn’t help laughing right along with them.

“Hey, no one told you guys to come into my room and climb into bed with me,” I retorted haughtily.

“We had to come wake your lazy ass up. Come on! We need to go for our morning run.”

“Alright,” I replied with a sigh as I stretched out my limbs. “Let me throw on one of Enzo’s old shirts.”

I pushed myself up from the mass of limbs that had become my bed, shoving my friends aside, before reaching into an overstuffed dresser drawer and yanking out a ratty t-shirt.

I always elected to wear something old and baggy when I went to shift; that way I wouldn’t overdress just to get nude again. This was a common practice for females in the pack. Just as it was common for the males to wear nothing but shorts.

“Speaking of Enzo…” Kiara cooed, practically singing as she spoke. “Do you think there’s any chance he could be your mate?”

I should’ve known she’d ask this. Should’ve known they wouldn’t hesitate to question me about Enzo. He was my not-so-secret shame.

“Wouldn’t that be perfect!” Aida squealed in excitement. “Then you’d be the luna, and I’d be your beta! You wouldn’t even have to move out of the packhouse! Plus, you’ve been in love with that boy forever. It’d only make sense.”

She wasn’t wrong; I’d been crushing on Enzo for as long as I could remember. Even after he’d hurt me in the past, I still couldn’t let it go. But I doubted that anyone would blame me for that. After all, he was the most handsome male that I’d ever seen with his soft chestnut hair, enticing green eyes, square jaw, and golden skin.

He had a body that would make a Greek God envious – chiseled to perfection. Not too bulky, but definitely not thin or wiry. Moreover, he was set to be the next alpha of Crescent Moon, which was every she-wolf’s dream.

Honestly, if it wasn’t for his notorious reputation as a womanizer and our complicated past, then he would make a great mate for any she-wolf. Certainly a mate worth showing off and bragging about.

“Yeah right, Enzo barely even knows I exist anymore. If it wasn’t for the fact that we live in the same house, I don’t think that he would even know my name anymore. As it is, he never refers to me by my first name; he always calls me Hala.”

When we were young, Enzo and I were very close. It was easy to be best friends because we were the only two children who lived permanently in the packhouse.

It was common for alphas and their betas to only have one pup, as it was necessary for them to focus their time on the pack as a whole. They produced an heir, then stopped, while other families in the pack tended to be much larger.

As we grew older, our relationship changed. He was my first love, and I thought he’d be my only one. But as we continued to grow, we slowly went our separate ways. We were into different things, but the love was still there.

Then one day, we stopped spending any time together at all. He started to avoid me, and on the occasions that he couldn’t, he barely acknowledged me. It was as though I’d never meant anything to him. Like we hadn’t grown up together and been nearly inseparable for years.

I had no idea what I’d done wrong to cause him to become so distant. He never offered an explanation, even though our relationship had been quite intense right before that. Never explained his sudden distaste for me. Yet, sadly and stupidly, no matter how cold he became, my feelings for him never changed. I knew it was ridiculous and I hated myself for it, but I couldn’t help it.

No matter what I did. No matter how hard I tried. I couldn’t get over this silly little crush of mine. Could never completely move on. I was a glutton for punishment.

“She wouldn’t want to be mated to that prick anyway,” Kiara scoffed, ignorant to my inner turmoil. “He’s so full of himself. He thinks that he’s the Goddess’s gift to she-wolves. Gag!”

I giggled along with Kiara even though I knew she was wrong. I did want to be mated to Enzo. I despised myself for it. But it was the ugly truth.

***

The three of us finally made our way downstairs. My parents were sitting in the kitchen that was private to our family. My father sat at the round, wooden table sipping on coffee while he looked over paperwork, a frown permanently etched across his face. He was a very serious man, but he adored me, and I never doubted that.

My mother worked away behind him, likely baking something sweet for my birthday dinner that night. She hummed to herself while she worked, as she often did. She was definitely the softer side of their mate pairing.

“Good morning,” I chirped.

“Happy birthday, Marvel!” my mother cheered as she wiped her hands free of flour before embracing me in a tight hug.

“Happy birthday, baby girl!” my father offered, glancing up from his work momentarily.

“Thank you,” I replied, leaning down and giving him a quick peck on the cheek.

“You girls off for a run?” my mother questioned as she quickly returned to her baking – always keeping busy.

“Yeah. Thought we’d get a quick one in before Aida and I have to head to the Wolf’s Den to get everything ready for the party,” Kiara explained.

“Sounds like fun! Marvel, make sure that you keep that nose of yours to the wind. You never know when you may catch the scent of your mate,” my mother instructed.