Seriously, I'm not Gay

Chapter 2: Jackson

I wake up to a knock at my door. I groan and put my head under my pillow in attempts to ignore them. They knock again, this time louder and angrier.

"Ughhhh" I groan from under my pillow.

"Jackson its 11:55, get up honey. You don't want to miss your mate." At that I jump up out of my bed, fully awake. I open the door to my mom with her hand raised, about to pound on the door again.

"Good boy" she says, patting my head.

"Yeah yeah." I say, rubbing the sleep from my eyes.

"Everyone is downstairs" she says, heading down the stairs while I head to my bathroom in the hallway to make sure I look presentable. I splash some water on my face and put some water in my hair in attempts to tame it. I then head downstairs to say hi to my guest.

"8 minutes to go" Matt meets me at the bottom stairs, smiling the biggest smile I think I've ever seen. "I wonder what our luna is going to be like"
" Yeah, me too!" I say back, smirking at him.

"Ugh the suspense is killing me and it's not even my mate!" He whines playfully, putting a hand on my back to comfort me.

"It's ok Matt, It's killing me too."

I look around the party, my eyes trained on the girls I don't know, wondering if it could be them. I nod goodbye to Matt and try to find my dad in the crowd. When I finally find him, I hug him hard, slapping his back a couple of times.

"Thank you so much dad for putting on this party!" I tell him sincerely, looking at him with admiration.

"Of course son! It's not every day your pup turns 18." He slaps my back too, his words making the tops of my ears turn red.

"Have you seen Dylan?" I ask him, looking around the room for my best friend.

"Yeah I think he's by the snack table." My dad smirks.

"of course he's by the snack table!" I laugh. "He eats so much I'm surprised he's not fat by now."

"A natural phenomenon."

I smile at my dad again and then work my way through the cheering crowd to find Dylan. I get a bunch of slaps on the back from the guys in my pack, as well as some smiles and cheers from the girls. I huff. It's a crapshoot. Any one of these girls could be my mate.

When I finally find Dylan, he's sitting on the snack table, feet dangling, mouth full of Cheeto puffs, and eyes completely blank of thought.

"I'm pretty sure chewing is a natural part of eating food. You should try it some time." I slap a Cheeto out of his hand and laugh at my own joke.

"Jackson!" Dylan says, jumping off the counter and into my arms, his eyes lighting up as soon as he sees me.

"How are you feeling bro?" he asks, his eyes worried.

"I feel like I'm about to puke up everything I've ever eaten. How about you?" My stomach flips as i try not to think about my mate.

"Me too! It's not everyday your best friend finds his mate." he says, giving me a huge smile.

Dylan's smile drops as he looks at me.

"What if I hate her, though? We would have to split our time with you-joint custody style." He looks at me, fake worry in his eyes.

"Bro you better not hate my mate. But if she's the perfect one for me, there is no way you guys wouldn't get along. You're my best friend dude." I tell him, looking into his eyes. I pull him in and we hug tightly, both of us trying to not show how emotional we are.

"What time is it?" I ask when we pull away.

"It's 12:03!" He says, looking at his watch.

"Oh my god! Two more minutes! I can't do this! What do I say to her? Hi, I'm your soulmate, lets go have sex upstairs in the new room I had made for us?" I freak out, jittering with pure terror.

"Yes, that is exactly what you should say! I think that would make an amazing impression, you oaf!" He says, laughing loudly. "calm down, dude. You have had plenty of girls, and there is no reason for you to be nervous! Any girl would be lucky to have you!" Dylan says, upbeat and slightly heartfelt.

"Thanks man! Holy shit I'm gonna pass out! Ok ok breath breath" i say to myself, trying to calm down. My breathing feels rough and labored.

"Hi everyone, can I have your attention" my dad states loudly, shutting off the music. "My son turns 18 in exactly 1 minute!" Cheers erupt. "Jackson, get up here." My dad calls me up to the top of the stairs to giving me a better vantage point to sniff out my mate.

I run to the stairs, leaving Dylan by the snacks. It takes me a second to try and maneuver myself to get through the crowd, but once i get to the bottom of the stairs, I bound up them with adrenaline and greet my dad at the top." Let's have a countdown." My dad shouts.

"10" my heart sinks.

"9" my mates here.

"8" I can feel her here

"7" shit, did I put on deodorant?

"6" does my breath stink?

"5" everyone is staring at me.

"4" what if its her over there with the blond hair

"3" what if I can't sniff her out.

"2" this kind of reminds me of New Years.

"1" SHIT

"0" They all cheer, clapping.

I sniff but smell nothing...She's not here.

I feel a deep depression take over my body, my chest physically hurting with the emotion. I almost collapse on myself, disappointment and heartache threatening to pull me under. My whole world feels like it's crashing down on me. I always thought I would find my mate immediately. What if I never find her... I feel so..empty.

All of the sudden I'm hit with the most delicious smell: fresh cinnamon rolls and the sky right before it rains. My head snaps up at the smell. Everyone is still staring at me, but I can't even feel it at this point. My only instinct is to find her. I run down the stairs, my nose in the air, pushing people out of my way as I search through the crowd.

After a minute of searching, I locate the scent directly behind me. I prepare myself, breathing in for a second. I turn around slowly, my eyes closed. I open them to find myself looking at a familiar face. The one I have seen every day since I was a child. I laugh a little and grab Dylan by the arms, pushing him out of the way to see who's standing behind him. Theres is nobody there. I look back at Dylan and push him hard.

"WHEN THE HELL DID YOU SLEEP WITH MY MATE! Her scent is all over you! Why would you do that to me!" I scream, looking at him straight in the eyes as he stumbles back.

"WHEN THE HELL DID YOU SLEEP WITH MINE!" He screams right back, pushing me with all of his might, glaring blades at me. I pause. What??

"I haven't slept with anyone in months waiting for my mate and you know that! I whisper, looking at him, never breaking eye contact.

"Me too." He says, his eyes full of hurt and betrayal. I grab his wrist and pull him towards me, hesitantly bringing my nose to his neck. As soon as I sniff, the most amazing scent enters my nose. My eyes fall closed and a territorial growl makes its way out of my mouth. My eyes snap open and I jerk my head back, looking at him in full now. A voice comes out of my mouth that is certainly not my own.

"Mate" It grumbles. There is no way. There HAS to have been a mistake. Dylan probably just got too close to my mate and her scent is still on him.

Dylan grabs me by my collar and buries his nose into my neck, inhaling deeply. I shudder at the feeling of his face so close to my body...shudder? Dylan pulls back, pauses, and then punches me square in the eye. I crashing to the floor with a bang. My mind fades out to nothing.