Primal

Chapter One - Meeting Her Mate

**In the media box above is the book trailer for Primal!**

Evelyn's P.O.V.

"Mom said if you tip the canoe she's giving you up for adoption!"

Vega and I turned to look at her younger brother who stood on the balcony above us.

"What?" She asked.

Brennan nodded, confirming she had heard him correctly.

"Can I have your room if that happens?"

"Sure," she said sarcastically. Vega turned to me and rolled her eyes before we continued our trek down the hill behind her family's cabin.

"He wasn't being serious was he?" I asked, narrowly avoiding stepping on a loose rock.

Vega laughed nervously. "He wasn't, but my mom might have been."

We reached the small dock which looked out over the half-frozen blue lake. Walking across the old wooden boards took courage.

"Are you sure we can't just talk in your room?" I asked.

She shook her head, causing tight black coils of hair to poke out from under her beanie. She readjusted it as she loosened the dock rope from the cleat.

"Not with those two brats running around, they've gotten on my nerves all day. Hop in," she said pointing to the canoe.

I sighed as I steadied myself and lowered my body down into the canoe. She threw the rope to me and got in a little less carefully than I was comfortable with.

"You're going to tip us over one of these days," I said, firmly grasping the sides.

Vega said nothing as she picked up the oars from under our feet and handed me one.

Once we had paddled out a few hundred feet, she seemed satisfied with our distance away from the dock and laid the oar across her lap. I did the same and looked at her expectantly.

"So?" I asked. "What did you want to tell me?"

She chewed on her bottom lip nervously.

"Well..." I said, prompting her along.

"I'm going to break up with Shawn!" She said suddenly.

I rolled my eyes and huffed. "This is what you brought me out here for? You've only been dating for three weeks. Why are you breaking up with him already?"

Vega shrugged. "I don't know."

I gave her a knowing look and she smiled.

"I know you think it's stupid," she said laughing as I rolled my eyes, "but I still believe there's a chance."

"Mates don't exist anymore," I said shaking my head.

Mates, a term used to refer to soulmates amongst Lycanthropes, were around hundreds of years ago before interbreeding happened. Lycans hooked up with humans and their children hooked up with other humans until the entire population was more human than wolf. The entire bloodline thinned out so much it was impossible to have a mate as a modern-day Lycanthrope.

"Don't be such a cynic," Vega said. "I think it could still happen. I heard it happened someplace in California last summer-"

"-between two teenagers in the same pack there," I finished for her. "I know, you've told me that a thousand times."

Vega shook her head and leaned back.

"I'm perfectly happy choosing the person I want to fall in love with, thank you," I said.