Page 35

Selene

C aelon does exactly what he said, dropping me off at my front door before turning to walk across the street to his own home. When I push open the front door, Mom’s coffee mug stops halfway to her mouth as she looks between me and the hallway towards our bedrooms.

“Well good morning, Moondrop, and happy birthday! I wasn’t expecting to see you coming in the house versus coming out of your room.” She laughs as she sets her coffee mug down on the kitchen island.

“Yeah, I wanted to go see Shadow today in case it was our last chance to see each other.”

I walk towards them, hoping I don’t have to elaborate much beyond that and maybe they won’t ask about the clothing.

Dad’s eyebrows wrinkle as he scans my body, seeing the jeans that I clearly have never worn before. Mom follows his line of sight before her eyes flick back to mine. I already can see the questions brewing and I might as well take care of them before they ask.

“Clearly, you can see I’m not wearing my clothes.” I sigh as I sit down at one of the bar stools opposite of where they are standing. “Shadow, aka Caelon, is my mate. Seems that he’s known all along, but he wanted to wait for me to find out when I came of age.”

“Awe, so this whole time he has been spending time with you as his wolf, bonding with you and patiently waiting for you. That’s so sweet,” Mom gushes.

Dad still looks skeptical as he glances between us. “Are you happy with it?”

“What do you mean Dad? Of course I’m happy with it. I just wish I would have known as long as he’s known. That’s it. I know that we wouldn’t have been mated before now, but he’s known for years. It feels like he’s further into the bond that I am even though I know that’s not fair to say.”

Mom walks around the island and wraps her arms around me. The warmth of her embrace along with her scent eases the turmoil inside me. Don’t get me wrong, I understand his hesitation, but I still can’t help but feel like I would have rather known.

She kisses the top of my head as she lays her head down on top of mine.

“I’m sure he had his reasons and it’s okay to be upset that you didn’t know.

All I can say is it’s best to communicate with your partner about those feelings.

Just because you are fated to each other doesn’t mean this relationship won’t be work like any other type of relationship.

In order to have a long, healthy, loving mateship, you first have to learn to communicate with each other.

Don’t leave things unsaid for fear of how they will react.

You are doing both of yourselves a disservice if you keep the feelings bottled up instead of taking the time to deal with the issue when it arises. ”

Dad smiles warmly at the both of us before he joins us on my other side, wrapping his arms around both of us.

“I have two of the most beautiful and intelligent women in my life. I just can’t believe that not only is my baby an adult today but she also found her mate. Can’t say I’m overjoyed about it.”

I lean back, looking into his eyes. His eyelashes are damp from the tears that are falling down his cheeks.

“Awe Dad,” I sniffle as my own eyes sting with tears.

“My baby has grown up and now I will have to watch you leave the nest as you go off to make your own way in life. I’m not ready.”

The tears are falling in earnest at his heartfelt words. I never considered how hard it would be for my parents to accept me leaving, I’ve only considered how terrified I was about it.

We are all a mess as we cry together, letting the emotions, thoughts, and feelings go. Dad’s the first one to clear his throat, wiping harshly at his eyes trying to stop the tears.

“Alright, that’s enough of the sadness. We have a birthday to celebrate today and I’m sure a certain young lady would love to tell her soul match all about what happened this morning.

Plus, I believe a certain mother has a cake to bake?

” He looks at Mom silently reminding her that we are losing time.

She wipes away her tears, sniffling as she tries to clear away her feelings. “You’re right.” She claps her hands together before shaking out her hands. “We have lots to do today. Will Caelon be joining us for dinner?”

“Yeah, if that’s alright. He said he would love to spend time with you guys.”

“Certainly, we would love to get to know the man who will be taking our baby from us.”

Dad plants a kiss on the top of my head before he gently taps my shoulder. “Go talk with Odessa. I’m sure she will be here soon anyways. Goddess knows that girl is glued to your hip.”

Pushing the stool back, I slide to my feet before heading off to my bedroom.

They’re right, I would love to tell Odes, but first I would love to shower off the damp soil and other things that are all over me.

Running into my room, I pull my phone off the nightstand and shoot off a text to her asking for her to come over while I shower.

She sends back a quick thumbs up emoji before I turn the screen off and drop it back onto the night stand.

After a long, luxurious shower, I wrap my hair in a towel before heading back into my bedroom. Odes is sitting on my bed with her feet crossed underneath her, scrolling on her phone when I walk in. When she looks up, she squeals and jumps off the bed coming to wrap her arms around me.

“I hear that not only are we celebrating your birthday, but that you found your mate!” She practically busts my eardrums with the sounds coming from her.

I glare over my shoulder towards where my mother surely is in the kitchen baking.

“Don’t do that!” She swats my shoulder.

“What?”

“Don’t be mad that she told me you found your mate. She didn’t tell me who or how. So spill the tea! I want to know everything! Was I right? Is it Caelon?”

“Yes, it’s him.”

She squeals, dancing around in a circle while jumping up and down. I hold my hands up in front of me, not sure what to do with that.

“I knew it! I freaking knew it! How did you find out? Was it magical? Melt in a puddle? Steamy? Did you feel the pull?”

“Damn, one question at a time.” I laugh as I walk over to my bed and plop down on top of it with a sigh.

“I wanted to see Shadow one last time because I was worried I might find my mate and never get to see him again. But, as I was walking that way, I felt the pull. It was pulling me right to our not so secret anymore field. I practically ran, Odes.”

“Oh emmm geee,” she gushes as she rushes over to the bed, plopping down next to me.

“I came into the clearing and there was Shadow sitting in our normal spot. I was so confused at first because I knew that the mate bond was pulling me there, but it was Shadow and not a person. That is until they transformed into Caelon. Odes, the second our eyes met, it clicked. Everything made sense, I felt as though the lost piece of me was found. It was everything that I would have dreamed of when it came to finding my mate.”

She sighs as she props her hands up under her head, watching me as I recount the story. We spend the next thirty minutes going over everything else that happened all the way up to the point of coming home.

“Damn, possessive Caelon is kinda hot. Who knew the quiet math nerd had a possessive streak about him.” She fans herself.

I swat her with one of my stuffed animals before she busts out laughing. She calms down before she rolls back onto her side facing me.

“What’s bothering you?”

“Nothing,” I say as I pick at the fuzz on my teddy bear.

She reaches over and rubs my arm. “Something,” she says quietly.

“Why didn’t he tell me before now?”

“Oh sweetie, I’m sure he had his reasons. One probably being that you were underage. I’m sure he will tell you if you ask him.”

“Yeah.” I sigh as I roll over looking at the ceiling.

Odessa sits up and pats my thigh. “Come on, let’s get all dolled up for dinner and the party! It’s your big day, so no more moping about questions that we can’t answer right now anyways.”

She bounds off the bed, running out of the room and into the bathroom to gather supplies. Goddess save me from whatever she’s about to do. I love her more than anything, but she knows I love my hair and make up done about as much as I love a stubbed toe.

We spend hours getting ready, between laughing, singing our favorite songs like we are the main acts, to actually doing the hair and makeup, so it takes us the rest of the day to get ready.

Not that I mind that part. It was everything I didn’t know I needed.

Time with Odes always seems to make the world shine a little brighter.

Something about being with your best friend, aka your soul match, really does seem to reset the world for you.

Mom calls from the kitchen, letting us know that dinner is ready, although we’ve been dying in the bedroom for the last twenty minutes smelling the herbs coming down the hall.

Arm in arm, Odes and I make our way down the hallway towards the kitchen right as there’s a knock at the door. Dad seemingly puffs out his chest before making his way towards the door. We all giggle and shake our heads watching him.

“I’ll get the door,” he says in a far deeper voice than he normally talks with.

He sucks in a deep breath, pushing his chest even further out as he swings open the front door.

Caelon, bless his heart, is standing there with a beautiful bouquet of deep red roses with large, bright yellow sunflowers bound together with brown paper and twine.

His hair is gelled back and he looks like he freshly shaved his face.

His sage green collared shirt, free of wrinkles, hangs just above his leather belt and dark, khaki pants.

Dad continues to stand there, staring at Caelon. Caelon smiles at him before holding his hand out for a handshake.

“It’s nice to officially meet you, Mr. Calloway. I hope you don’t mind me dropping in uninvited to Selene’s birthday dinner.” His hand hovers between them, waiting for my dad to shake it.