Warmth ✔

Chapter 31

"So, which movie are we going to watch?" Alarick asks.

"The Nun."

Alarick stops and questions, "What kind of date is this?"

"A movie date," I reply.

"I know that but why are we watching a horror movie?"

"Why? Are you scared?" I tease him. He shakes his head and resumes walking.

"No, I just didn't expect it," he answers.

"Then, what did you expect?" I ask as I open the door of my car and we both get in.

"I don't know. Maybe a romantic movie?"

"You want to watch a romantic movie?" I am amused.

"I'm fine with the horror movie. It's just that I thought that girls preferred romantic movies over horror movies."

"Well, I'm that girl who loves to watch more horror movies than romantic movies," I tell him as we drive away.

"I hope you won't get scared," Alarick pokes fun at me.

"Do you think that I would want to watch a horror movie if I got scared easily?" I question.

"Chriselda, you don't have to put a brave facade in front of me. I'm your mate. You can be open with me," he continues to pull my leg.

"Let's see who gets scared," I say with a challenging tone.

*

"Did you like the movie?" Alarick asks once we are out of the theatre hall.

"It was okay," I reply.

"You weren't kidding when you said that you don't get scared."

"I told you. By the way, I could feel the fear radiating from your body while you were watching the movie," I tell him teasingly.

He's quick to deny it, "No, I wasn't."

"Alarick, you're my mate. You don't need to lie. You can be frank with me."

"Okay, I admit I found a few scenes scary. But tell me one thing, how weren't you scared by those scenes? While everyone jumped with fright in those scenes, you continued to sit so motionless throughout the movie."

I chuckle. After getting in the car, I tell him, "I did that on purpose just to scare you."

"Well, congratulations. It worked. I was scared. Sitting next to you felt like sitting next to the Annabelle doll," Alarick says.

When I look at him, he has a glint of playfulness in his eyes. I laugh at his words as I start the car.

*

"So, how was your date?" Lucy questions me on the video conference while Selena excitingly waits for my answer.

"It was great," I tell them. "Alarick even held my hand to help him go through the movie," I joke. Lucy and Selena laugh. I look at Lucy and ask, "So, how are things going on with you and Alpha Brent?"

"Things are nice between us," Lucy replies.

"It must be difficult being so far from your mate. How are you managing it?"

"Well, sometimes he comes to visit me and sometimes I go to visit him. And then, there's the phone. We video call each other and talk."

"For a long time," Selena adds playfully.

Lucy laughs. "Selena, that's how things are when you are in a long distance relationship with your mate."

"You guys are so lucky to have found out your mate. When will I find my mate?" Selena wonders.

"Don't ask that question," I tell her while pretending to be serious.

"Why?" She has become serious too.

"Legend has it that when people ask that question, they don't find their mate."

"What nonsense!"

"No, it's true!" I try to convince her. Lucy's serious expression tells me that she's in on the joke with me. "My friend, Ciara, she asked that same question and she hasn't found her mate yet."

"You're kidding," Selena says. Lucy and I see her wheels churning and thinking about the possibility of not having a mate. She looks genuinely scared.

At seeing Selena's worried expression, Lucy and I lock gazes and we burst into laughter. Between our laughter, Selena says, "Just because I'm the youngest, you pull my leg."

After our laughter subsides, Lucy says while wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, "It was so much fun. We should do this again."

"Next time, I won't fall for your pranks," Selena says confidently.

"We'll see that."

"You are so eager to find your mate," I comment.

"Who isn't?" Selena says.

"I wasn't."

"Really?"

I nod. "I did want to find my mate but I wasn't eager."

"Same," Lucy says. "I think that we found our mate because we weren't eager. You should try being patient, Selena."

We talk for a few more minutes before ending the call. I shut my laptop and pick up my phone to call Ciara. It's been a while since I've talk to her and met her.

"So, you've finally remembered your friend," Ciara says in a sarcastic tone.

"You're exaggerating. It's only been a few days since we last talked or met," I tell him.

"But it feels like years."

I chuckle.

"Stop chuckling and why didn't you tell me that you had a date with Alarick?"

"Because it was suddenly planned. I just woke up one day and felt like going on a date. What are you doing?"

"I'm preparing dinner. So, how did your date go? Tell me the details," she says with excitement.

"Let's have a sleepover and I'll tell you everything."

*

After getting my bag ready with all the essentials and informing Matt and Darius about my plan, I head out of the pack house towards Ciara's house.

On the way, I stop abruptly when I find two women talking in hush voices just outside Ciara's house. When I look closer, I realize that one of the women happens to be Ciara's Mom.

I move a little closer to them, hiding behind a tree. They might've noticed my presence if they weren't involved in a heated argument.

"She deserves to know the truth," the woman says.

"She's not ready," Ciara's Mom pleads as she's trying to stop the woman from going inside the house.

"She needs to know the truth. You've been holding me back since last year. I can't take this burden anymore," the woman says with tears welling up in her eyes.

When the woman is close to releasing herself from Ciara's Mom's grip, I take a step forward to find out what is going on.

"You can't keep her in the dark forever. She needs to know that her mate is dead," the woman declares.