Chapter 7 Fated Mate

Carol’s POV I’m too dumbfounded to respond. Aiden takes this moment to continue speaking slowly. I can tell he’s carefully watching my every reaction. “You were the person I was speaking about in the interview,” he confirms, “but I didn’t want to reveal too much. You’re human, which is incredibly rare enough as is… But if you’ve read the tabloids about me, you know how I feel already.” “I’ll only admit to an official relationship with my fated mate. You. And an official relationship with you is what I want,” he stated it almost word by word. My thoughts are too jumbled to properly sort through. “I don’t believe it,” I blurt without thinking. Aiden’s brow creases with clear distress. “I swear that it’s true,” he says. He takes a step closer. “No werewolf would lie about their fated mate.” I let out a dry laugh before I can stop myself. “I beg to differ,” I say. “Remember Zack, the other realtor at our meeting earlier? He’s a werewolf, too. Two years ago, he told me I was his fated mate. If it wasn’t clear enough already, I’m obviously not.” Aiden looks deeply troubled by my declaration. Part of me regrets saying so much so suddenly, but I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Aiden deserves to know why I’m struggling so hard to trust him. “He will live to regret that,” Aiden said, his tone so dark it almost makes me shiver. “Werewolves who lie about their fated mates will be cursed by the moon goddess.” It’s true that I don’t know the intricacies of werewolf culture, but I can’t help but feel skeptical. It was my foolish desire to trust that got me into so much misery in the first place. “I just can’t know for sure,” I sigh. “It’s impossible for me to prove the truth for myself. Werewolves can smell the special scent of their fated mates, sure, but humans can’t.” “Exactly,” Aiden insists. “I noticed it the first moment that I saw you. At first I wasn’t entirely certain. I needed to know the truth, so I made sure I would see you again. I only became completely positive when we were together in bed — the scent became even more powerful.” I can feel my face turn red as the details of last night flash through my mind. Stop thinking about it. You aren’t going to be able to make rational decisions, I scold myself. I clear my throat again and attempt to collect my thoughts. “It was… special,” I admit slowly, “I won’t deny that. But despite that, I just can’t be certain.” The expression on Aiden’s face makes my heart twist. It’s so hard to stay reasonable when he’s looking at me like that. Even as I say the words, something in the back of my mind truly believes Aiden is being sincere. For some reason, I can’t help but recall that strange pink aura I saw around Aiden last night. That was certainly special, I think, even though it was probably just my imagination. I want to trust Aiden. I want to believe in the possibility I could have a fated mate. I want to embrace the possibility of exploring these feelings for Aiden that only grow more and more. I want stability and love again. And yet… “I’m sorry,” I murmur, “but this is all so much at once.” Aiden’s expression falls. “I understand,” he says quietly. Before he can continue, I interrupt him. “— but I’m not saying no.” I pause when I see Aiden’s hopeful expression. “Not now, at least. I just… need some time to think.” I bite my lip and think for a long moment. “… Tomorrow. Can I tell you tomorrow?” Aiden’s eyes are so full of relief I almost give in then and there. He takes one of my hands gently in his, sending shockwaves up my arm. “Of course,” he whispers. “I’ve waited all of my life. What’s one more day?” Third Person POV Zack throws a glass against the wall of his kitchen. It shatters, joining the pile of broken glass that had already begun to form on the floor. “Damn that bitch!” He shouts. “She humiliated me! She took everything from me?” Sophia sits on the couch across the room, a tired expression on her face. She had just begun moving in last night — her bags are still half-unpacked and piled up in the corner of the room. She feels grateful that Zack hasn’t decided to throw her things, too. Zack storms across the room toward the table and picks up Aiden’s file for the umpteenth time. “How could he choose her over me?” He throws the file back down on the table. In his rage, he almost doesn’t notice the page that it’s opened to. When he does, he stops in his tracks. “Babe,” Sophia says, “maybe you just need to —” Zack shushes her and picks up the file again. He reads over the temporary address listed for Aiden once, and then twice. His eyes go wide. “Hold on,” he mutters, “I recognize this address. This can’t be right — his file says he lives right next to Carol! That bitch must have already met him and skewed the competition!” Sophia looks up. “Wait a minute,” she says, “they’re neighbors?” Zack raises an eyebrow at her. “Yeah, apparently. Why do you care?” Sophia’s face goes pale. She pulls out her phone and quickly begins typing something in. She brings her phone over to where Zack is standing and holds out her screen toward him. Her phone is open to the same news story Carol had stumbled upon earlier that day. Zack’s eyes grow wide as he scans the article. “Impossible,” he says, dumbfounded. He grabs Sophia’s phone out of her hand and begins skipping through the interview video. “No way,” he whispers to himself. “This can’t be possible. Carol’s a human, but he’s saying that she’s his fated mate? How could that be true?!” Sophia goes very still. She hesitates for a moment before responding. “You know,” she says slowly, “I’ve heard that there’s an experimental drug that makes a person smell special. When weak-willed werewolves smell it, it’s possible for them to think that person is their mate.” Zack turns to her in shock. “What? So she cheated? She actually cheated!” For a moment he looked triumphant, but his expression quickly crumbled. “But how do I prove it?” Sophia pauses again. “… Well, there is an antidote. But… did you smell anything strange on Carol?” Zack snorted in response. “Are you kidding me? I’m not weak-willed.” He winked at Sophia. “Besides, ever since I found my fated mate, no other scents affect me anymore.” Sophia lets out a strained laugh and takes back her phone. Zack pulls out his own phone and quickly starts doing some research. Soon enough, he develops a plan — he would purchase the antidote for himself. Once the contract signing comes, Zack would pressure Carol into taking the antidote. All he has to do is prove the truth to his boss. He grinned. Soon enough, everything will be how it was meant to be.