Viva

Part 1.2

Unedited

***

"So, enlighten me. How does this work exactly?" Magnolia inquired as we sat outside on mental patio chairs, which were in front of an ice cream shop we had been to moments before.

"How does what work?" I asked as the sun beat down on us, making us hasty in finishing our cones.

"The whole shindig. You're well aware that I'm a little behind on reading these werewolf romance stories. So, when it comes to this mate thing, how does it work?" Magnolia took a lick of her vanilla ice cream, acting as if she was interested in how the mating process worked. I knew her better, she wanted to know just how far my delusion, in her eyes, ran.

I decided to give her what she wanted. "Well, it really varies from story to story. We don't have — what did you call it — scholarly journals or scientific evidence. But, typically if they're both werewolves, they know instantly. It's described as a pull, a bond of sorts. You feel dedicated and possessive over your mate, you'd do anything for each other," I paused for a brief second, as I pushed down the heavy yearn for the moment when I was to meet my mate.

"As for when the two werewolves know 'instantly', depends on the story," I told her. "Some say, they know when they first meet, at almost any age. While others say the pair of werewolves won't know until they turn for the first time. I even read a few stories where they find out when they're eighteen, or around that age."

"You're not a werewolf though, Viv. How exactly is that suppose to work?"

"Ummm, it's a little more complicated and tricky with humans and werewolves," I confessed, saddened by the fact because I didn't know exactly how it all worked. There were hundreds of thousands of stories that talked about humans and werewolves mating but most of them that I had read contained striking differences. It was hard to tell what really happens or not. "Sometimes the human knows and sometimes they don't."

Magnolia released a short laugh, "We drove all the way to Cedar Falls for a situation where if you met this mate of yours' you might not even know. Great."

"Maggie, there are billions of people out there. A portion of them have their heads in romance novels and wishing they could have a love like some of the characters have. Excuse me for going for it."

"Or, they read because they enjoy reading," Magnolia snapped back. "Fictional books, like the ones you speak of, can also help people escape their reality, which is clearly something you don't need a book for. Your mind does it all on its own," Magnolia quipped with a grin on her face.

I stood up, having enough of Maggie teasing.

"Oh, Viv, come on. I was just joking," Magnolia called out as I walked away from her.

Instead of verbally replying to her, I lifted my hand up in the air and gave my sister the middle finger. I heard her loudly chuckle as I entered a nearby store that was open.

Unknowingly, I had stepped into a plant shop of some sort, which was my guess after I looked around and noticed different shape and size pots covering all surfaces of the room. The floor was even littered with planting pots, however, there seemed to be designated paths for customers that led to different sections of the store.

As I started to walk around, I saw that each pot had a tag stuck in the soil. My eyes gazed over the names to find that many were familiar, like chamomile, marigold, and lavender. Yet, there was a handful I had never heard before.

I glanced over at the front counter to see a teenager was solely focused on a magazine in her hands.

"Excuse me," my voice had broken the air, causing the girl's bright green eyes to shift from the magazine to me. "What are these plants for?"