Half of a Whole

The Pull

CARSON

Who was he kidding? He was 100% sure Nelofer was his mate. He didn't need to touch her to feel the pull towards her. Her scent alone was a dead giveaway. Sunshine and honey. Just like all of her, warm and sweet. Even just after meeting her, it was hard to leave her. He sighed remembering how he had to drag his feet away, the animal part of him warring, wanting to drag her away with him. He had never felt so terrified at the idea of losing someone until he realised she was his mate. The anxiety inside him was a brand new living and breathing beast, unfamiliar and daunting.

He couldn't help but keep an eye on her. He made excuses to himself to go the café she worked at. The plan was to just watch over her from afar. Deep down, he knew that watching her from a distance would never be enough for him. That's why Carson had hoped she'd never meet him. He wasn't sure he was strong enough to stay away from her forever. But he had to, for her sake.

He entered the café and there she was. Sunshine and honey. She was wearing a pair of skinny jeans, a full sleeved white blouse, a pair of white sneakers and a pastel blue headscarf. Her scarf looked made of a silken material, it shimmied around her shoulders when she moved, making her movements look more elegant. Carson just knew that she had no idea how captivating of a sight she was. Just seeing her, melted all his anxiety away.

He patiently waited at the till and watched her move between tables with food and drinks, helping other customers. 

When she finally turned towards him and met his eyes, a gorgeous smile lit up her face. It felt like in that moment his heart restarted again. He didn't know his heart could beat so loudly in his chest. He was unused to feeling such strong emotions altogether. She was unintentionally making him find new things about himself ever since he met her.

"Nelofer" he greeted her as she walked past him to get behind the till. A strong whiff of her scent travelled through his nose, flooding his lungs. He froze and stopped breathing. It was all he could do to not reach out and grab her wrist to stop her from taking another step away from him.

"Carson. You're here again, today" she grinned excessively, her eyes turning into pretty moon crescents.

"Yep, I cannot seem to get enough of this place" he replied with a matching grin on his face.

She laughed at his reply. "Is it the coffee or the 'great customer service'?" Nelofer used air quotes to quote what he said the last time he saw her.

It almost sounded like she was flirting, almost. He couldn't let go of the opportunity to tease her. "It's you. It's definitely you" he said with a lazy smile.

She laughed, throwing her head back, thinking he was joking "What can I say? People tell me I'm  charming like that. So, what can I get you today?"

He nodded "They aren't wrong, the people. I'll get 1 black coffee. Regular. Eat in" he said without taking his eyes off her.

He watched her break eye contact and blush before turning around to the coffee machine "One black coffee. Coming right up." 

Seeing that he had an effect on her made him happy because it wasn't all just in his head. On a subconscious level, did she feel this gravitational pull too, even though she was human?

Carson sat at the empty table opposite the bar's worktops so she was always in his view. He got his phone out and checked his emails while sipping his coffee. As he started writing out a report of the last couple of days to the HQ, he glanced up and caught her staring at him. She looked away immediately, seeming a little surprised at herself. She probably didn't even realise she was staring until he looked at her. Red tinged her cheeks as she started rearranging snacks on the countertop by the till. He smirked. Why was she so freaking alluring? Such a femme fatale.

Carson went to the café twice a week. Caffeine wasn't really something he enjoyed but it was a great excuse to see Nelofer. And he found himself writing up reports for the higher ups during the 15 minutes break. Killing two birds at once. 'Very time efficient' he thought smugly.

It was nice talking to his mate and confirming again that she was fine. The only issue was that the more he saw her, the stronger the mate bond became. The threads of destiny had a way of insinuating themselves through the cracks in his armour he wasn't aware he had, binding him evermore closer to her. He wasn't sure if the whole thing felt more exciting or more frightening.

The longer he pretended not to be interested, the more interesting she became.

He started noticing small things about her. When the café quietened down and she had nothing to do for a few minutes, she had the habit of looking out the window and playing with the hems of her sleeves, impassively looking in the distance, lost in her thoughts. He wondered what thoughts went through her pretty little mind. If he marked her and connected their souls, he'd be able to know her thoughts through the mindlink. He shook his head, that'll never happen.

He didn't need to be there for her just like she didn't need to be there for him. They had lived 19 years without each other just fine, they would be fine for another 19 years. He assumed she was the same age as him, most werewolf parings were.

"Why are you stalking a human?" asked a tall curly-haired, brunette woman sitting at his table, in the chair across from him. She raised her eyebrow studying his reaction.

"Zoya" Carson gritted his teeth "Why did you leave your post?"

Zoya crossed her arms, turning to watch Nelofer "You and your habit of answering a question with another question. As co-leader of this mission, I have as much authority as you do. What is wrong with you? You haven't been yourself lately. Is it because of that puny human over there? You haven't stopped staring at her since you walked in."

"Stop looking at her" Carson leaned forward on the table to get Zoya's attention "You shouldn't be here."

"Since you're not gonna tell me why you're being a creep, let me tell you my theories. One. She's got something to do with this mission. An ally? Or two. She's got a weapon we need."

"No" Carson scowled, annoyed "Get up, let's go."

"Let me finish. Or three. And my personal favourite. She's your mate, isn't she?" Zoya looked down at him with a smile of victory.

When Carson glared at her viciously. Her smiled turned into pity "I'm sorry man."

Zoya watched him get up and walk up to the bar "Thanks, Nelofer." He left her a tip on the countertop.

"Goodnight Carson" Nelofer smiled from two tables down where she was taking orders for a couple.

Carson tilted his chin towards the door and Zoya followed him out, rolling her eyes.

"Chill dude. I'm not the big, bad wolf who's gonna snack on her" Zoya smirked, satisfied at her own joke.

The joke didn't rub Carson the right way. He grabbed her neck and growled menacingly "Did you tell the others?"

"No, asshole" Zoya punched his wrist hard, disengaging from the chocking "You just seemed out of it. I was worried you got us in trouble. Turns out you were distracted by your mate, huh?"

He wasn't happy Zoya found out. He didn't want to bring supernatural creatures at Nelofer's doorsteps. He wanted her to live her normal, simple life without the dangers that people like him brought.

"You shouldn't have followed me" he told her, still aggravated by the turns of events "If you tell anyone. If anything happens to my mate, I'll rip your throat out myself."

"Oh, please" Zoya knit her eyebrows together "I don't give a shit about your human. Any other humans here. I just care that we burn that bitch of a witch and leave this shitty humid town asap. My hair's been awfully frizzy since we got here." 

Carson curled his lips in disgust as he shoved his hands in his pockets "Your way of thinking makes me think you're a sociopath, sometimes."

She scoffed, walking by his side "You've killed way more people than I have. If I'm a sociopath, what does that make you?"

He looked up to the dark sky, ignoring the implication in his teammate's sentence. He didn't need someone else to tell him he wasn't a hero, he knew that already.