The Wolf That Saved Me

Chapter 14: Lost

NATALIE KANE

I turned around to face Cody and smiled up at him, innocently. I was still upset about last night, but all the hurt and anger seemed to wash away as soon as I felt his touch. I had planned on giving him the cold shoulder if and when he decided to show up, but that plan went right out the window the minute I felt his presence. Instead, I wrapped my arms around him, tightly and buried my face into his chest, inhaling the scent of his cologne. "I was worried you were going to stand me up," I admitted, still resting my head on him.

He placed a finger under my chin and brought my face to his, his icy blue eyes boring into mine. "I would never." He gently kissed me on the forehead, causing my smile to grow wider. "Can you take a break?" he asked, sweetly.

I nodded, looking over at the cash register. "Sandra, I'm going on my break." She gave me a thumbs up as I turned my attention back to Cody.

"Let's go outside." He took me by the hand and led me towards the doors, tingles radiating stronger than ever before.

Once outside, he led us around to the back of the diner. He looked nervous, his eyes darting in every direction. "I wanted to talk in private."

A knot formed in the pit of my stomach as I worried what Cody was about to say. What if he came here to tell me that things just weren't working out? I took a step closer, cupping his face in my hands. "What's going on? Why are you acting so strange?"

He placed his hands over mine, removing them from his face, but still keeping hold of them. "I'm not sure how you're going to take this..."

My heart sank as soon as I heard those dreaded words. I bit down on the inside of my cheeks to keep myself from crying, bracing myself for rejection.

Cody's eyes were so serious as he stared deeply into my mine. "Natalie." A single tear rolled down my cheek as he said my name. "You're my mate."

My jaw instantly dropped as I was rendered speechless. I was definitely not expecting him to say that. So many questions reeled through my mind, it was making my head hurt. How was this even possible? I scrunched my face in confusion. "I'm not a wolf, Cody. How can I be your mate?"

"I don't know." He intertwined his fingers with mine, taking a step closer towards me, leaving little space between our bodies. "I don't really fully understand it myself, but my wolf told me-"

"Your wolf talks to you?" I stared at him in disbelief.

Cody looked startled by my sudden outburst. "Yes. He's a part of me, but he has a mind of his own."

It felt like everything around me was spinning and it suddenly became hard to breathe. I released my hands from Cody's grasp, and sat down on the ground with my back leaning against the building wall. I closed my eyes in attempt to somehow process everything that had happened in the past several weeks. How was I supposed to respond to this? I didn't even know where to begin. My bottom lip started to quiver, causing me to bury my face into my knees, not wanting him to see me cry. "This is all too much." Cody sat down beside me, but I didn't look up at him, I didn't move a muscle. "Two weeks ago, you told me you're a werewolf. That was a hard pill to swallow considering I didn't even know supernatural creatures really existed. But I accepted it, our friendship, and whatever this is that was growing between us. And then you spring this on me, that I'm your mate, and that your wolf can talk. I barely know anything about wolves and mates, it's all so overwhelming."