She Was Made From Smoke And Fire

Chapter 3

Delaney's pov

"Julie not now please." I said quietly. She sighed before sitting on my bed.

"Delaney remember when you were little and you had all those panic attacks. Who helped you through that?" She asked gently.

"You." I mumbled.

"That's right. I'm sure if I helped you through that I can help you through this. Now what happened?" She asked putting a gentle hand on my shoulder. I sighed before knowing that she was right and I had to tell her.

"I found my mate." I said quietly. She sucked in a huge breath.

"Okay. Who is it?" She asked calmly knowing well why I didn't want a mate.

"Soon to be Alpha Ryland Paynes." I said finally looking at her. Her eyes held a gentle and sad but understanding look.

"Sweetie this is a huge deal. We both didn't expect it to be such a high ranking wolf but it's time Delaney. You must make your true decision. I know you want to leave with no strings attached but now that you found each other it's gonna be a lot harder when you want to reject him."

"Julie can't I just not reject him and he can mark someone else?" I asked almost pleading. I wasn't tough when we were alone and it was only around her when I showed true emotion.

"Unless he marks someone who has already lost their mate then no. That's not the right path though don't you think? Why else would he call you so much?"

"I don't know. Maybe he just wants to hump and dump." I said with a shakey breath. She gave me a sad smile.

"Sweetie no matter how arrogant men can be mates are something not even their egos can throw away. They know in their hearts what is right and so do you. You just need to figure out what your heart is telling you. " She said with a gentle smile.

"Julie I know you never talk about it but how did you meet your mate?" I asked curiously. Her eyes held more sadness but she still had a smile on her face.

"That is a story for another day. Now while you decide what to do about this situation I will make sure Emily has not burned down my kitchen. Everything will fall into place you just got to trust that everything will happen as its suppose to even if it seems not right or fair at the time." She said ending in a voice not above a whisper.

"Thank you Julie." I said with a small smile. She smiled at me before standing up and kissing me on the forehead.

"I will always take care of you Delaney." She said before leaving. I sighed before picking up my phone deciding weather to call him back or not. Julie has always pointed me in the right direction no matter how many times I tried to cut her out of my life. She knew the first day that she met me that I would be a troubled child but she never shied away from a challenge. In fact she welcomed it. Now that I am older I am thankful she never left me behind. Though I was sad when she didn't help me with this decision. It's like a riddle that she expects me to solve. Okay I guess I could call him but it doesn't mean I accept him just that I will talk to him. Pushing the call back button since he has been calling me non stop I put it to my ear. With every ring my palms start to sweat. Then I heard a small click and then a soft velvety voice.

"Delaney?" He also sounded rushed.

"Yes Payne its me." Oh god I almost sound like adele.

"Oh thank goddess. I was about to look for your address so I can make sure your okay. Why didn't you pick up?" He said sounding mad quickly.

"You don't get to be mad your lucky I called you back. Look I didn't call to fight. Do you want to meet tomorrow?" I asked with a sigh.

"Yes of course. Where do you want to meet?"

"That's up to you. School is the most ideal place." I said keeping a monotone.

"Alright meet in the conference room in the east wing of the school. We won't be bothered there."

"Okay. Tomorrow morning meet me there before 10 minutes before first. Deal?" I asked sternly.

"You got it Del." He said before hanging up. I sighed before putting my phone back on my bed. Running a hand shakely through my hair, I pick up my back pack and get my homework stuff out. I didn't want to do it but I can't fail school because Julie would kill me. But the only thing I could think of was how would I get through tomorrow.

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Tomorrow morning
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I hardly slept last night knowing I was gonna see him today.

"Delaney! Time to-oh you're already up. Something wrong?" Julie asked concerned. I smiled softly at her from my bed.

"No I just couldn't sleep real well. I will be okay Julie." I said gently. She gave me a skeptical look but didn't press the matter any further.

"Well get dressed then come downstairs for breakfast and one that you can actually sit down and eat this time." She said with a pointed look before leaving. I sighed before heading to my closet. Seeing as I was not in a dressy mood today I grabbed a simple tight fitting liliac purple tank top with a pair of skinny jeans. Putting it on I noticed that I looked like complete trash. I finally put on some make up to cover up my ugly ass face then put my hair into a french braid so I looked half way decent. Going back to my closet I pulled out a jean jacket with a pair of black knee high boots. Now to go downstairs and interact with the other humans of the house. Why must Julie push me to be an extrovert when I am clearly an introvert. Sighing I walked downstairs dreading the day already.

"Julie is breakfast ready?" I asked walking into the kitchen. Surprisingly it was just her and Emily. No one else.

"Yes and everyone else wanted to head out early so its just us three." She said putting a plate of eggs and bacon in front of an empty stool. I took that as a sign to sit down.

"Good Morning Delaney." Chirped little Emily. Emily was the youngest of us all. She was still in middle school.

"Morning Emily. How are you?" I asked before taking a bit of eggs which were amazing. I don't know what she does to them but they always are so good.

"I'm good. How are you?" She asked before finishing up her breakfast since she was here before me.

"I am bloody brilliant. Need a ride?" I asked her before finishing my eggs quickly so I have time to go meet Ryland.

"No I will be giving her a ride. You need to get to school to meet with that important person." Julie said trying to be stern but the sly smile slipped slightly. I nodded slightly before rushing upstairs to grab my bag and phone that were ready to go since I was bored this morning. Running downstairs I shouted my goodbyes before grabbing my keys and running to my jeep. For some reason my nerves were starting to get the best of me.

Maybe it's because we are meeting our mate. I sighed knowing she was right but I couldn't let him see me like this. It would ruin everything. I took a deep breath before starting the jeep and speeding to school. My heart beats faster as every second goes by with anticipation to see him. I was going to be early to meet him but I didn't care. It would give me time to prepare mentally. I parked sloppily in the parking lot not to worried about parking like an asshole. I rushed inside hurrying to the east wing of the school. Luckily no one was in sight. Suddenly I felt a stabbing pain in my chest as I was running. It almost made me collapse. I stopped curious but the pain got worse. I still ran forward trying to block out the pain. Once I made it to the conference room I felt electricity. It was the same feeling when your mate was close. The pain got worse with every step to the door of the conference room. That made me worried. What if he was hurt? I grabbed the handle of the door and my palms started to sweat. I opened the door only to find...