Seeing Gabe struggling with being asked about mates rings true to me too. He is not the only one. Our family is so big, and with that means there is a lot of support and love, but also it can mean there is a lot of family members to interrogate you, harass you about if you found your mate yet. Give you tips on how to find them.
It gets irritating after a while. I am the quieter of the two of us, so I sit there and don’t say much about it, not out loud anyway, just inside my head I am going crazy, getting frustrated, Sick to death of being asked if I found my mate yet. They think if I had I wouldn’t have been telling the entire world by now?!
I swear each time they ask I wonder just how stupid my family actually are. Or if they actually have any thought for my feelings. Though they have their mates so they won’t even consider that part of it.
Gabe generally says what he is feeling and I don’t blame him. he has never been one for holding back. Sometimes I wish I was more like him. But I am too worried what people will think. But I know the fact he hasn’t found his mate is hurting him as much as it is hurting me. He is approaching 24 now, and I am 23, we would normally be expected to have our mates and be settled down with at least one pup by now.
So to be our age and not have met them is rare, but not impossible, obviously. If she is from a different pack and the paths of the packs don’t cross often then meeting her would be less simple. Though you’d like to think fate would give you a helping hand. Though the more time goes along, the harder it is not to start to wonder if she has already passed on.
My uncles and some of my cousins have suggested taking a chosen mate, but I don’t know if I want to do that. Seeing what Indie and Dan have and what Knox and Lilah have as fated mates, and hearing the tales my family tell of their fated mates, makes me want to wait in the hopes of meeting my fated mate. I just have to hope that she is still out there somewhere, and she will come along soon. Hopefully Selene, the moon goddess will give the paths a nudge so they cross sooner rather than later; because I am really starting to struggle.
“Gets boring doesn’t it” I mutter.
“What does?” Gabe looks to me.
“Waiting. Being Alone.” I say with a shrug.
“Too right. Abuela is probably right. My mate probably ran for the hills!” he smiles.
I shake my head at him, hoping he is joking and knowing our grandmother will have been winding him up when she said it with him winding her up, it being a regular occurrence between the two. Gabe is a lot like his Dad, my Uncle, in that regard, forever making jokes and forever teasing his Mum.
We sit and watch some of our younger cousins fighting as they play football.
“Well least with no mates, we don’t have to put up with our own screaming kids” Gabe grins at me.
“No, just everyone else’s” I laugh.
“True that”
“Yo, Manny, come give me a hand at the grill son” My Dad shouts me over.
“I have been summoned” I say.
“Yeah, I am guessing I will not be needed” Gabe grins at me, his skills at the BBQ are renowned for being terrible at our family BBQs, and despite our grandfather, and our fathers and Uncles alike trying to teach him he was still terrible. So he just supplied the beers instead.
“Just keep the beers in good supply and they will be happy” I laugh.
I love our family. It is a massive family, originally from Mexico, when traced back to our great great grandfathers, but we ended up at Midnight Forest Pack when they moved here as Warriors way back when, and the rest as they say is history. I have to say we couldn’t wish for a better family, more loving or caring, nosey as hell at times, and at times you wish they would leave you the hell alone, but they were always there when you needed someone. At the same time I am glad it was this pack our family ended up at too, as it meant I ended up with the friends that I did. And again, while they were a crazy mismatch of a bunch, they were the best friends I could ask for. Recently added to by the addition of two mates, Lilah and Indie, but they had become as much of the group of friends as the rest of us. And I could not imagine them not being there now either.
That was another reason I was desperate to find my mate, to add further to our friend circle, and I know Jake and Gabe were the same. Unlike Gabe, I was also desperate to have kids, I loved Knox and Lilah’s little one Kai, and Indie and Dan’s little boy Finn. They were so sweet, and I could not wait for kids of my own one day. Having grown up in such a big family, it was something I had always assumed would happen, I just didn’t realised fate would make me wait quite this long for my mate……
After spending a few hours at the family BBQ I had headed home, and now was I wandering from my home, over to Knox and Lilah’s. We spent as much time there as we did in our own homes now. I had my own home built on the lake alongside the family homes of Knox and Dan in the last year, it was finally finished a month ago. And while I may not have a family to put it in as yet, I am so glad I did it. Gabe and Jake had done the same thing despite them too not having met their mate or having a family, but having their own homes built alongside the lake near our friends. So we had our own little community for our group of friends within the packlands of Midnight Forest Pack, that were still close enough to the pack house for us to get to quickly when needed. The evening was warm, so I would guess it could well be another BBQ in their garden, which likely meant I would be roped into cooking. Not that I minded. Seeing Lilah smile like she did was worth it. She had become one of my cl
I can hear the chattering in the house before I get to the door. Another of our weekly get togethers. I am happier to be here than I was at the family BBQ earlier, getting sick of being harassed in the end….. It works out so well having the houses nearby, as we literally pop in and out of one another’s homes, or gardens. A little community of our own which is what we had wanted with us all being so close. So as we have kids they grow up together. Not that there is kids on my horizon anytime soon. Jeez, the noise and smells that come from Indie and Dan’s and Knox and Lilah’s kids, they can keep them! They are cute, don’t get me wrong but fucking hell they are noisy! And sometimes there is no pleasing them. You feed them, they still cry. You change them, they still cry. It’s like well what else can I do for you? If I do find my mate and have kids, I hope some paternal instinct will appear as right now I am more a fun uncle type that they can have a laugh with and I get dist
I had found University such a drain on my brain today, but one I was eternally grateful for. Anything was better than being back at our pack. Five years into my medical degree now, and two years left before I was fully fledged Dr, then all the pain and suffering and long days would finally be worth it.The fact that after my training shift at the hospital I was collecting my cousin was just a stark reminder of the realities of the hells that remained at our pack on a daily basis. But I was not going to complain about seeing my little Lola. My best friend since we were pups, her visits were one of the highlights of my months when her Mum and Dad managed to sneak them in. It was a true shame she did not live closer. Both of us 24 this year, and as close as sisters rather than cousins. Lola and I had been the best of friends from being tiny, and I know she found it so difficult me being away at University. But then at the same time she was so supportive of me, and she loved her
I sit surrounded by our friends, Knox by my side, where he has been since we became mates, well probably before that really. He was just more discreet in it. Now he is openly there, affectionate and sweet as ever, the big bad Alpha he likes to call himself, though that may have initially been my wording he now chooses to use as joke, yet to me he is the sweetest and kindest guy. And the best Daddy to our little guy. Kai had been an unexpected surprise, but one now I cannot imagine life without. We had not planned a baby, not even spoken about one, but when we found out we were pregnant we both got swept away in the excitement of it all. It distracted me from the other stuff going on too, all the difficult stuff we had to face. It gave me a positive to focus on. Anya, had been trialled at my former pack, River Ash Pack, for the torture, bullying and abuse she had put me through for the year or so after she found she was mates with our then up and coming Alpha, my then boyf
We are all lazed around the lounge, eating pizza, Kai and Finn now fast asleep, curled up together on one of the recliners, bless them. There may be 18 month between them but they are already pretty close, though Finn is a little devil in disguise, so I can see him teaching Kai how to get up to stuff he shouldn’t as he gets older, goddess help us! But hard to believe the chances are that in front of us, curled up on the recliner is Midnight Forest Packs future Gamma and Alpha bless them. Makes me smile to think of them like that. I see Lilah watching them, smiling, I wonder if she is thinking the same as me. She looks tired, though Kai was up early again, She swears her son is a vampire as well as a werewolf pup, he sure seems to prefer the night hours! I will definitely be trying to get rid of our friends early so she can have a bath and get to bed early, she deserves a rest. I hope Knox can see to Kai tonight so she can sleep too. So much for the promises of him starting t
I always find it so weird staying in Esme’s room, but love visiting my cousin. She is so lucky to be able to come to university, not many she-wolves from our pack are allowed to leave pack unless it is for going to be with their mates, so for Esme to be allowed to go to university was pretty rare. Our pack was The Crimson Night Pack and was down near the southern borders, quite the distance away from the university Esme was studying at. I do wonder if that was part of the reason she chose this university, for it being the furthest one away possible she got accepted to. This was her fifth year there and she loved it. She was doing amazingly, and had really had to fight our Alpha to allow her to come and study, so she was truly making the most of her place here and doing so well. I was so proud to be able to call her my cousin. My Uncle, had helped argue the fight for her, to help her get permission to go and study so she would be able to go and study, and in the end the Alph
We have all got sorted and piled ourselves into three cars, getting a couple of our pack warriors to drive us into town to drop us off at the club/bar, like we usually do. They would be called back later to collect us too so we didn’t have to drive back after a few too many drinks. “Ah the Black Star club, where it all began…..” Dan says grabbing Indie round her slowly expanding waist as we approached the door. This is something he would say each time we came here now, with it being the place we first met both Indie and Lilah. It was sheer luck we both happened to be here that night, and our paths had crossed, but I imagine both of my friends are glad that they did. I don’t think either of them were ever unhappy before, but I definitely don’t think they were ever as happy as they are with Indie and Lilah by their side.Dan is maybe a little deaf now, as jeez was Indie loud at times! I think I was starting to get used to it, but she has whole levels of loudness I didn’t even kn
I can’t get over just how busy it is in here tonight. The queue at the bar is crazy as ever, I could be waiting forever, and that is just waiting to get served. And if one more person knocks into me, I swear I will karate chop someone in the head! I had already been elbowed in the ribs by some muscly guy pushing his way to the bar, and some other dude stood on my foot, though I should be grateful I haven’t got dainty shoes on tonight or it would have likely hurt a lot more. Esme told me to make a note of what he looked like and if I saw him again to accidentally on purpose stomp on his toe, I don’t think I would dare, but she made me laugh all the same. She probably would do that, she has that fieriness in her. And I bet if she did it with the heel of her stiletto it would hurt like a bastard too! “Lola, Chica, I just got to take this call, it’s about shifts next week, you stay in line, we got to be served soon. I will be back as soon as I can” Esme says to me, an apologeti