Venus | ✔

17. Mates

"Gray" I whisper and feel the place where he almost marked me without consent with a clogged up throat.

When I bring my fingers to my gaze, a gasp leaves my lips. Blood is smeared onto my two fingers. He almost marked me. When I look up at him, his eyes have returned to their original blue color.

"Wha... what were you doing?" I croak. Taking a step forward, he whines and I'm almost tempted to walk up to him and assure him that it is okay.

But it isn't. He almost marked me. Without my consent. He knows he that I have to be ready for that step yet he just completely forgot about that.

I know I can't really blame him. He lost control to his wolf so there wasn't much he could do. He still has to master controlling his wolf and he hasn't even began training that far yet.

"Excuse me, Arden" I tell Arden politely. "I just... need some alone time right now. I'll be in my room if you need me" After saying that, I glare at Gray one last time before walking back to the pack house.

The look on Arden face said every thing. He now understood why Gray was able to trust me so easily. Why Gray is always by my side, protecting me

On my way to my room, I bump into Chris and Jenni. I sigh, knowing I won't be able to get rid of them.

They quietly follow me to my room. Chris shuts the door after him then takes a seat on the bed with me and Jenni.

"What happened? Why are you so sad?" Jenni asks, concern laced with her voice.

"Gray tried to mark me"

Jenni gasps while Chris sits there confused.

"For real?! I knew something was fishy between the two of you but I just didn't know what" Jenni giggles.

"Your Grayson's mate?" Chris asks, making me tense.

There it is. That word.

Mate. Mr. James said it. My subconscious said it. Jenni mentioned it as a joke. And now Chris.

It should not make me tense this much but it does. I don't know how I feel about being Gray's mate. One part of me is excited but the other part is fearful.

I'm more fearful because leading beside Gray is a huge responsibility. People are going to expect me to live up to Gray's reputation but I'm only human.

It really is a big deal but I guess I need to accept it sooner than later. The reality of it is scary.

"V, are you still here?" Chris remarks, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Shaking me head, I answer. "Yeah. Kinda zoned out for a bit"

"We know" Jenni snorts, rolling her eyes.

"You didn't answer my question" Chris states.

I sigh. "I geuss so. He did try to mark me and it was quite unusual how he warmed up to me so fast. He is always sniffing me or burying his head in my neck but maybe I'm thinking too hard about this" Shrugging, I lay on my back and relax.

Well try to.

"Your not actually, V. All that you have just said are part of the signs of finding your mate. I mean, Jenni and I only truly realised we were mates the night we hooked up" Chris explains.

I smirk at his revelation. I knew it! "Mates huh?"

"Oh shut up" Jenni says and slaps my thigh, making me laugh.

"I'm happy for you guys. Really I am and I wish you guys more happiness and love. You both deserve the best and I strongly believe that you'll find it with each other" I grin, genuinely happy for my friends.

They deserve each other. I've never seen anyone as in love as these two. At first I was envious but I soon realised that Chris wasn't the one and I should move on.

They grin and tackle me in a group hug. Laughter fills the room and it makes me feel more relaxed.

It helped me forget for a while. But all good things must come to an end.

A knock on the door, destroys all happiness in the room. The couple look at me expectantly, silently asking if I was expecting any one.

I shake my head.

"Venus" I tense as butterflies go crazy in my stomach.

He... he shifted?

"G.. gray?"

Chris and Jenni's eyes snap to mine so fast I grow slightly concerned.

"I just want to apologise. I didn't mean to. My wolf, he wanted to mark you so bad I lost control of him. I am so sorry, Venus. Please forgive me" He says, his voice sounding so heartbroken and regretful.

I spare my friends a glance then climb out the bed and slowly open the door.

There he is, standing before me in a pair of sweatpants and a white t-shirt. He is barefoot yet he manages to make the whole look so sexy.

Fuck he is drool worthy.

"Gray... it's okay. I understand, you lost control so there wasn't much you could do" I reassure him before giving him a huge grin.

"I know but I still feel guilty about it. Maybe if I had more control, then maybe I could have prevented it from happening"

My gaze softens. He shouldn't be beating himself up for something like this. I know I may have added to his regret when I walked away but I just wanted to clear my head.

And honestly I did. Well, Chris and Jenni helped too.

"I forgive you, Gray"

"Really" He smiles, almost making me faint. Damnit, not the dimples.

"Yeah. Really"

Before I can even comprehend what just happened, Jenni rips the door open and gasps.

"Oh. My. Gosh. Now I know why Venus acts all weird when we talk about the human you because-" She whistles. "Damn your fine"

"Jenni" I giggle.

"What? My mate is hot but I am allowed to look at other guys too"

"And why don't I know of this rule?" Chris intervenes then faces Gray. "It's nice to see you again, Grayson"

"Uh... you too" Gray stutters. He looks at me for help but I just grin like some weirdo.

I guess I will be seeing human Gray more often than I thought.