The Unexpected Mate

Part 11

As I see the trees and wild life fly by I can't help but be amazed at how fast we are. I'm glad my wolf was faster than I was in human form, running in human form was a type of torture for me. We start to slow as I get a whiff of the ocean, I can't believe we were almost there. The ocean was right at the edge of our border line and about thirty miles from my house. I don't even think we had been running very long, I would have to have Renee time me at some point to see how fast Nan really was.

"That was amazing! You are so fast!" I said once I reached our border line. I hear Nan growl at me slightly. "I mean we! We are so fast! Sorry, I will try to get better at the 'we' thing." I said correcting myself.

"I know you will, and I'll be here to remind you when you mess up." I could picture her smirking at me. My wolf would definitely keep me in line, that's for sure. We sat there in silence and stared out across the ocean, just enjoying being together finally.

"I love the smell of the ocean." Nan told me.

"Really? Why is that?" I asked her, I wanted to know more about her.

"I'm not sure honestly. I've just always felt drawn to the ocean, which is weird, I'm not much of a swimmer." She told me. "It's very calming though, the waves and the sound they make when they crash against the sand, and I love it. Just sit and listen." I closed my eyes and just listened, she was right, it was very calming and soothing. I would have to remember this sound tonight when I start to feel overwhelmed.

"Are you nervous about tonight?" Nan asked me, she must have felt that I was getting anxious.

"A little." I admitted. "There's just so much pressure you know?"

"I know Annie, your Dad has put a lot of pressure on you hasn't he?" I didn't have to answer her question, she already knew. I know my dad meant well, but sometimes it was overwhelming. I had been trained, drilled, and raised to be a strong leader for our pack- the perfect Luna. Part of the reason I wasn't very good in school was because of my Luna training. 'Going to school and getting a diploma will not make you a good Luna.' My father would say. If he had his way he would have pulled me out of school and taught me everything I needed to know from home. My mom had intervened on that one telling him that I needed to be comfortable around humans and to show the other pack members that I was smart. Except the Luna training didn't give me much time for my studies, when I did get a free moment I just wanted to stick my head in a book and escape the world for a little bit. I hoped my mate would be okay with me wanting to spend time reading, I know if Jeremy was my mate he wouldn't mind at all. I couldn't help but smile thinking of Jeremy, tonight I could finally be his and he mine.

"Do you know who our mate is?" I asked Nan, surely she knew who he was.

"I wish I knew for sure Annie, unfortunately the moon goddess doesn't tell us either about our mates. It's meant to be a surprise and only to be known at a specific time. I do however have a strange feeling whenever I think about our mate." She said the last part quietly.

"A strange feeling? What do you mean?" I asked her panicked.

"Well, I don't know how to explain it. I haven't been able to sense him at all, it's strange. But I feel.... Something if I concentrate really hard." She explained slowly like she was still trying to figure it out.

"What does that mean?" I was even more panicked now. Our wolves in most cases were able to sense our mates, they don't always know who our mate is exactly but they can feel them. Even if they are miles away, our wolves are still able to feel them. If Nan can't feel our mate I'm not sure what that means.

"Calm down, it doesn't necessarily mean something bad. It could just mean that maybe he's not in our pack. Or he's not 18 yet. Or he's human." She said trying to calm me down.

"HUMAN?" I shouted.

"Really, Annie." Nan scolded me "Being mated to a human is hardly a horrible thing. A little unconventional? Yes, but there are worse things."

"You're right..... I'm sorry." She is right, being mated to a human isn't necessarily a bad thing. But have you ever had to explain werewolves and mates to a human? Then if they haven't gone running yet you tell them that you have to bite them to mark them. If that doesn't get them you then have to tell them that said bite will turn them into a werewolf. Good luck not freaking them out with that last part. Werewolves do have the mate bond on their side, even humans can feel the pull towards their mate even though they don't know why. Thankfully though this is not a frequent issue since a werewolf being mated with a human is very rare. I pray to the moon goddess my mate is not a human, my father would have a fit. My next thought made my stomach drop. Jeremy had already turned eighteen, he was also in my pack. If Nan couldn't sense him did that mean Jeremy wasn't my mate? I could feel myself starting to panic again.

"Breath. It doesn't mean anything Annie, I shouldn't have even said anything." Nan said. "You know it's not always accurate. Maybe I just didn't try hard enough this morning, I was really excited to meet you! I was just ready for you to shift and for us to run and stretch our legs, I must not have concentrated hard enough. When we get back I'll try hard to feel him out." I could tell Nan was just trying to make me feel better and not so panicked which I appreciated.

"We have a little time still, do you want to run some more before we have to head back?" Nan asked perking up at the thought of running again.

I looked out at the ocean and took a deep breath, breathing it in. Then I stood stretching out our legs before taking off into the woods. Running with Nan had to be one of my new favorite things to do, but I couldn't get what she said out of my head. She said it didn't mean anything that she couldn't sense our mate, but I had a sinking feeling she was just saying that to make me, and her feel better. We may have just met this morning but we have special bonds with our wolves, and I could tell she was also feeling nervous about the whole thing.

"You're killing the running mood, quit thinking, clear your mind and let's pick up the pace." Nan said, and that's exactly what we did.