Weres

14. Mine only

"You know, I would never approve of Eden for you, if he wasn't your mate," Sanjay said, shoving handful of fries into his mouth.

Sanjay and Marley were at a local diner, munching on fries, burgers and shakes. Marley dreaded to even think about her 'supposed mate', but the elephant in the room was hard to ignore.

"Okay, dad," Marley deadpanned, earning a small chuckle from Sanjay.

"So, whatcha gonna do?" He asked, his voice coming out muffled as he chewed on the large bite of his burger.

"I don't know." Marley let out a long sigh. "Sanjay did you ever wonder that they could be lying to us about this whole mate stuff?" She asked wearily. 

She wanted to consider all the possibilities and not just blindly driven by what a bunch of strangers said to her. Sure, they were werewolves, but that fact only stressed her to be more cautious of them.

"You think too much. Don't you?" Sanjay side-eyed her. He huffed. "No, they are not lying. If you are his mate, you must be feeling something—something weird for him."

Marley frowned as her friend's words rang true.

Sanjay smiled as though reminiscing something pleasant. "When I first saw Oliver, I felt this strange pull toward him. And like a mature adult I am, I got scared of that feeling and decided to avoid him at all cost, but that resilient bastard didn't back down and kept nagging me."

"Just a week ago, you were glaring daggers at him. Now look at you, switching teams already. No pun intended." She threw a non-serious glare at him, to which he just laughed. Sanjay was right she felt that strange pull towards Eden too, but she was also intimidated by him.

"Mate or no mate I just like him. But being his mate assures me that he won't be leaving me. We are bonded for life." A small smile tugged at his lips. 

To Marley, her friend looked like a lovesick puppy, but she decided against commenting on it.

"Doesn't that scare you? 'Bonded for life' stuff. We are too young for that kind of thing." Marley frowned. It didn't sit well with her that at just eighteen, she would be in a lifetime relationship, let alone with someone like Eden.

"Nope. Oliver's nice. He is so cool."

"Seriously, what did he do to you in just a week?"

"I am scared for you though," Sanjay began, ignoring Marley's remark. "Eden is too much for you to handle. He's a violent son of a bitch, he's loud, and most importantly, being an alpha makes him a dominant asshole." 

Marley frowned but nodded anyways. Sanjay was right, she had witnessed it firsthand.

"So nice of you to put in a good words for our alpha." A voice startled them both. 

They turned around to find Oliver standing at the door and wearing a smug smile on his face. He was carrying a backpack with him which Marley recognized as hers. He sat next to Sanjay once he reached their booth.

"There you go," Oliver said, handing Marley her bag. "Don't forget it again." Then he focused his attention on Sanjay and winked at him. To this, Sanjay's face turned a bright shade of pink.

"What are you doing here?" Sanjay scowled at his mate. He was trying hard to look nonchalant while blushing profusely.

"I came to check on you guys and to return her bag," Oliver replied. A small smirk once again curved on his lips as he looked at Marley. "Seriously, a pepper spray and a kitchen knife. That's the best you could come up with to fight us." He was already liking his alpha's mate.