Mystery Mate

Chapter 18

My return home from the hospital a couple days later was well-received. My close friends and family threw me a 'welcome back from the dead, 15+ times' party—complete with fancy food, balloons, a couple of gifts, and a thick stack of missed homework.

While I enjoyed the festivities, I didn't really like being seen as weak after my injuries. That was the last thing the pack needed, especially right in the middle of a coordinated rogue attack that threatened a couple major provinces.

As always, Chantelle was able to read straight through me and call me out on my feelings.

"Stop stressing, it's bad for the soul," Chantelle scolded me. "I'll go over pack issues with your father. You need to rest and catch up on your schoolwork."

"You're not even a werewolf," I protested. "I should be the one doing the pack businesses, not you."

"No. Go spend time with your boyfriend. Be normal, for once. I can hold the fort for you while you recover."

Later that evening, after the party, Frankie and I watched the sunset from my personal balcony. We were curled up together on one of the outdoor sofas, relaxing in each other's warmth. The sight was so beautiful, I could almost pretend that we were just two, normal teenagers hanging out on the weekend.

"You know, Frankie, I never really asked you a lot of questions that mates should know about each other," I noted. "Now that I think about it, I don't even know your birthday."

"Maybe this will be a good opportunity to get to know each other a little bit better."

"Yeah, I say we play a game of Questions. We can ask each other any question we want, but we can choose to pass if we're not comfortable answering. Feel free to ask me literally anything."

Frankie nodded. "Okay, sounds good."

"I can start," I offered. "Unless you want to."

"No, it's fine. You can start."

"How old are you?' I asked him. It was kind of crazy that I didn't even know the age of my own mate. I had always assumed that he was around my own age, give or take a year, but I never officially confirmed it.

"I'm 17. My birthday's September 14th."

I frowned. "Huh. So if that's your birthday, then you should be in my year. Did you go to school back in your pack?"

"I was homeschooled."

"Oh. You know, if you're here, you should go to school."

"Yeah, I should, I suppose."

"Or we can hire you a tutor to keep homeschooling you. Or you can take online classes."

"School won't be too bad."

I grinned. "Sounds good. I'll see about enrolling you as soon as possible."

"My turn. When's your birthday?"

"April 10th."

"In a couple months," he nodded. "Noted."

"If you could go anywhere in the world, where would you go?"

"Maybe a Caribbean island. I think the blue water looks really cool. What's your favourite food?"

"Every and all types of BBQ meat, lathered in barbecue sauce. What's your last name?"

He smiled. "Yours, of course."

Damn. Not only was I impressed by how smooth that response was, I was also surprised that he was willing to change his name to mine.