Voodoo Doll

Chapter 17

°○~Luke~○°

Life is a crazy thing.

One day, I was just living my teenage life, not really thinking a whole lot about my future aside from becoming the Alpha. Sure, I knew I'd find my mate at some point, but I was more focused on enjoying my last years of irresponsibility – or at least, as much irresponsibility as I could get away with – before I would have to pull on my big boy pants and become an adult with a few hundred people relying on me to make the best decisions for their wellbeing.

No pressure.

But then, an unexpected turn of events flipped my world upside down in the form of Ashton. When I first met him, I never imagined he would turn out to be my mate.

That's the funny thing about fate, isn't it? The things you expect to happen fall through more often than not, and the unexpected becomes reality. Not that I'm complaining! I'm happy with how things are coming together. Thrilled, even. So is Echo, who has been in a near constant state of bliss since I finally came to the realization that our mate was right in front of me for months, but I was too dense to notice.

You're not dense, Luke. How were you supposed to know that you'd be able to sense your mate early? Either myself or someone else should've told you so you knew it was a possibility, Echo says sadly. Well, as sadly as he can manage; he's never really sad anymore, which is more than okay with me.

I still feel like I should've known, I counter and he sighs in response.

I look over at Ashton and smile, loving the way his hair has formed a sort of halo around his head. He fell asleep while we were watching a movie, and I haven't had the heart to wake him up yet. He looks so peaceful and angelic with his lips slightly parted, soft puffs of air escaping them rhythmically. I really should wake him up so I can take him home, but I just can't. Not yet. I need more time.

Speaking of time... I check the time on my phone and chew on my lip as I glance over at him once more. Eleven fifty-six at night on July sixth. Ashton turns eighteen in four minutes. I don't know why I'm so anxious about it – we already know we're mates. For some reason, it just makes it seem more... I don't know, official I guess.

"Ashton?" I whisper, running my fingers through his hair. He shifts a bit and sighs, his lips twitching into a small smile briefly before he settles once more. "Baby, wake up," I try again, pressing a soft kiss to his forehead this time. He groans and shifts so he can bury his face in my neck, awake now but definitely not wanting to be.

"Sleep," he mumbles, his voice deeper than usual from just waking up. I chuckle and hold him close to me, rubbing his back softly.

"Why would we sleep when we have someone turning eighteen in a couple minutes?" I muse and he hums quietly as he snuggles closer. I wait for my words to process, and I'm definitely not disappointed.

"Holy shit!" he gasps as he sits up, staring down at me. "What time is it?" I check my phone once more and then show him the time, telling us we have less than a minute left. "What do you think is going to happen?" he whispers, looking between me and the phone.

"Honestly? I don't know if anything will happen. We already know, right? What more could there be?"

He shrugs and opens his mouth to reply before it snaps shut. His eyes widen as he stares at me and his breathing becomes a bit erratic. I can hear his heart beating wildly, and I'm a little concerned to be quite honest. His hazel eyes start glowing the brilliant emerald green of Wynter and he parts his lips on a soft gasp. His canines poke out a bit, clearly having elongated, and his gaze shifts to the junction of my neck and shoulder, his nostrils flaring a bit.