Impossible Mates

I was surfing on a slice of pizza when I felt my body hit a hard surface. I open my eyes and soon discover that I'm laying on my bedroom floor with my best friend, Gabbier, laughing her head off on my bed. 

"What the heck?" I ask, dazed, looking around and rubbing my eyes. I thought I'd fallen asleep on the bed. 

"I tried waking you up, but you wouldn't; so, I decided to push you out of bed," she laughs, jumping down off my mattress. 

"You know, there are nicer ways to wake people up," I say, getting up off the floor and rubbing my arm. I look down to see it was red—fantastic! It's going to bruise a day before my birthday! 

I turn 16 tomorrow. Everyone is so happy for me, but I don't really know how to feel. When a werewolf turns 16, they shift for the first time—which means they're able to find their mate. 

"Now, hurry up and get ready. We have to leave soon," she tells me, walking out of my bedroom. I shake my head, annoyed. 

Why I chose her as a friend, I will never know. With that, I start getting ready for school, putting the thought of finding my mate in the back of my mind.

It takes me around half an hour to get ready. I make my way downstairs to see Gabbier talking with my parents. My father was eating his breakfast while my mother was cleaning. 

"Good morning, family," I said, smiling and throwing my bag on the floor.

"Morning, sweetheart," my dad says, while my mother just smiles at me but doesn't speak. Something is bothering her, but I don't know what; she could just be tired. 

"It's your birthday tomorrow!" Gabbier shouts, causing everyone to jump from her random outburst; she's a very loud person, which this family isn't used to. 

I just shake my hand, walking over to the fridge to find something quick for breakfast. I decide on yogurt and lean against the counter to eat it. 

"You're going to be able to find your mate!" she says happily, but my mom just tenses, looking like she was about to throw up. I thought I was meant to be the nervous one here. 

"Are you okay?" I ask. She just nods, saying she needs fresh air before walking outside, leaving me totally confused. "Is she okay?" I ask my father, who folds up his newspaper and rises to his feet, smiling.

"She's fine. She just doesn't want you to grow up. Have a nice day at school," he smiles, placing a kiss on my head before walking out after my mom, leaving Gabbier and me in the kitchen.

"Ready to go?" Gabbier asks, taking my yogurt and walking out. I pick my bag up, annoyed at her.

"Hey, my yogurt!" I shout, following her out the door. By the time I made it outside, she had already eaten it all. 

I walk home after school. Gabbier was going to come over, but her parents said she must finish her schoolwork if she wanted to hang with me on my birthday. My mom and dad were walking out the door as I walked through. 

"We're just popping out for a bit, sweetheart, to get some stuff. Someone's waiting inside for you," my dad smiles, while my mom just walks straight past me and towards the car. Is she trying to avoid me or something? 

I smile, walking through the door and dumping my bag on the floor. My stomach starts to rumble, so I make the short journey to the kitchen, my hunger making me forget what my dad said. I walk past the window when someone catches my eye. I look closer and realize it's my older brother, Ryan, who I haven't seen in nearly three years! He said he just wanted to get away for a while and hasn't come back since. 

I run to the back door but stop just before opening it. I mean, do I want to make it seem like I really missed him? He hasn't rung or anything for three whole years, and now he's turning up out of the blue. I decide to act like I didn't care because, hopefully, that would get to him. I open the door slowly to see that he is throwing rocks at the garden fence. He always did that if something was on his mind, but he hasn’t noticed me yet. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask, walking out with my arms crossed. This makes him jump and turn to look at me—mouth wide open, might I add. 

"Savannah," was all he said as I lean up against the wall, my arms still crossed. 

"Last time I checked, yes. But let's not forget the fact that you ran off," I say, still annoyed at him. I haven't had the chance to talk to him about it because he's been ignoring me for nearly three years! Wow. I didn't know it annoyed me that much. 

"I'm sorry, Savannah, but I just needed to get away," he says, finally forming a sentence. He walks towards me. I just continue to lean on the wall. 

"Why come back now then?" I question as he comes to a stop in front of me. This makes him smile, nudging my arm.

"Why do you think? It's your birthday tomorrow. I couldn't miss that." He smiles, making a little smile form on my lips; I never stay mad at people for very long. I'm a lover, not a hater! 

He opens his arms for a hug; I laugh a little before accepting it. He holds me tightly, sounding like he was taking deep breaths like he was taking in what I smelt like. I didn't think much about it and just hugged back, finally giving in to the fact that I missed him. 

 We talk for a few hours about what's been happening. I was so concentrated on Ryan being back that I didn't even realize my parents were out the whole night.

"So, where did you go?" I ask, sitting next to him on the sofa after we finished a dinner left in the oven from Mom. 

"Just with friends for a while, but I missed home so much," he says, smiling, as he looks around for the remote. It’s like he was trying to avoid questions about where he was or what he was doing. 

"Why didn't you come back before then if you missed it so much?" I ask. He freezes like he was quickly trying to think of an answer on the spot. 

"I just wanted an adventure, I guess—to break out of this boring town and see the world," he says, making me smile. It was getting late. He finally finds the remote, turning the TV to a random channel. "You should get some sleep," he says, catching how many times I've yawned. I mean, I had school today, and that's mentally draining as it is. 

"But I'm not tired," I say, laying my head on his shoulder, feeling my eyes close. He wraps his arm around my shoulders. 

"Goodnight, Savannah," he says as I drift to sleep. 

I wake up in my bed, where I lay there smiling. Ryan must have carried me upstairs. Then, I realize it's my 16th birthday; I can find my mate today! I sit up straight, looking around and rubbing my eyes before I start hearing a voice. 

"Okay, what is that?" I say out loud, looking around, trying to find the source of the voice. 

"It's me, your wolf," the voice says. It takes me a second to register, but I soon smile. 

"I forgot I'd be able to talk to you today. What's your name?" I ask in my head this time.

"Sky," she says, which makes me smile again. At least I know I'm not going mad. 

I get up and start getting ready before Sky starts going crazy in my head, telling me to hurry downstairs. I finish my hair and quickly make my way downstairs as an amazing smell fills my nose. 

"Hurry!" Sky says in my head again as I get to the bottom of the stairs, and I make my way to the kitchen. I don't know why she's doing this. Maybe it's her first time seeing a kitchen. 

I stand outside the door looking in, but the only person in the kitchen is Ryan. Why's she getting so excited about Ryan? 

"Mate. That's mate," my wolf said happily, making me just stand there in a state of shock. This dude is my brother! I can't physically be mated to him. 

"Dude, that's my brother. That isn't my mate. You've made a mistake," I say, still staring into the kitchen. He hasn't noticed me yet, luckily.

"I have not made any mistake. That is definitely mate," she says, with a hint of anger towards me. 

Before I can think anymore, my feet do their own thing and walk into the kitchen, making Ryan turn to look at me. 

"Morning," he smiles, his voice sending shivers down my spine. Okay, this is weird! 

"It's happening because you're mates like I've been telling you," Sky says smugly in my head. 

Instantly, my eyes go to his, and we both just freeze. Our parents walk in a few moments later, but it feels like hours have passed.

"Savannah, we can explain," my father says, making me finally look away from Ryan, who was now pacing a little. Did he know about this and never told me? 

"I know this must be so confusing, but, um," my father says, but stops, looking at my mom for help. She takes my hand in hers and sighs. 

"You're adopted," she says, which makes me stare at her in disbelief. No way. This can't be real; this is some sick joke they're playing, which isn't funny. I start taking steps back slowly, inching my way out of the kitchen as they continued talking. 

"We've wanted to tell you for years, but we didn't know when the right time would be. Then, Ryan found out you two were mates, so we had to tell him," my father says, putting his hand on Ryan's shoulder. 

"You knew," I say, looking up at Ryan, who was following me slowly out the kitchen. I had a feeling he's known all along, but I didn't want to believe that he kept this huge secret from me. 

"I'm sorry, Savannah. I was told I couldn't tell you. That's why I left," he says, still following me out of the kitchen. Wow, so everyone knew before me, the person who should have been told first!

"But just because you're adopted doesn't mean we love you any less," my mom says, walking out the kitchen quickly, trying to take my hands. I bolt up the stairs, leaving them all in the kitchen. I lock my bedroom door and start pacing, tears rolling down my cheeks. I've been lied to my whole life. My brother is really my mate; he found out three years ago and has never told me. 

I stay in my room alone for hours before someone knocks on my door. I put the blanket over my head, going into the fetal position.

"It's me," Gabbier’s voice comes through the other side. I sigh, pulling the blankets tighter around myself. I’m not in the talking mood. "I'm not leaving until you let me in, so you might as well just open the door." 

I stand up, slowly walking over and opening the door, pulling her inside with me before locking it. 

"What's going on? Your parents told me you're upset and won't come out of your room," she says, which just makes me cry again from hearing her call them my parents. They're not. My actual parents didn't want or care about me enough to even want to keep me. 

"I'm adopted," I say, crying. She stands there shocked, taking in the information I just gave her, while I fall on my bed crying. She finally moves, pulling me to sit up, where she wraps me in a hug, telling me it is all going to be okay. 

After I calm down a little, she walks me over to the bedside table, taking a bag off it before joining me on the bed again.

"Why have they only just told you, especially on your birthday," she says, sounding annoyed at them. I mean, they could have told me before, not break the news to me when they had no choice. 

"I just found out Ryan's my mate," I say, which makes her mouth hang open in shock. "Yeah, tell me about it," I say, looking down at the floor. What a great birthday I'm having. 

"Is that way he left a few years ago?" she asks. I shrug my shoulders. I didn't know for sure, but I guess that was the reason. 

We don't talk for a few minutes; I think she is trying to take in everything I told her. 

"Come on; I got you a present," she smiles, picking up the bag that was on the floor and handing it to me. I open it to see a bracelet with my name on it; it was beautiful.

"Thank you," I smile, wrapping her in a hug tightly. 

"Now, are you going to sit there on your birthday all sad or show them that they haven't gotten to you," she says, smiling, standing up with her hands on her hips. 

"But Ryan's going to be there," I say. I don't know if I'm going to be able to face him right now; he's lied to me for three years! 

"So what? Show him that he can't keep things like this from you. Make him jealous to prove your point," she says, smiling, walking towards my wardrobe while placing her hand on her chin, thinking. 

"How am I meant to make him jealous?" I ask as she starts pulling clothes out, throwing them on the floor. Great, I'm just going to have to pick them up! 

"I'm going to make you look drop-dead gorgeous; all the guys at the party won't be able to resist looking at you, which is going to make Ryan so jealous," she says, pulling out a short Frey dress which makes my wolf let out a little growl in my mind. 

"We shouldn't make mate jealous," she growls, but I ignore her and look at Gabbier. 

"I can't wear that; I think you're forgetting who's going to be there," I say, standing up taking the dress from her. 

"The more guys there, the better, now come on," she says, pulling me over to my dressing table to do my hair and makeup. 

It's been around three hours, and Gabbier finally said I'm ready. My butt has gone numb from the amount of time I sat on that chair. I walk over to my full-length mirror, where I stand, shocked. I don't recognize myself; I’m wearing the short Frey dress with a jean jacket over the top, hair curled so that it hangs just above my shoulders, and makeup done beautifully. 

"The outfit won't be complete without these," Gabbier says, holding a pair of white dolly shoes. "I was going to make you wear heels, but I don't want you breaking your neck on your birthday," she smiles, handing them to me.

"Thank you," I say, wrapping her in a hug before sliding the shoes on. She wore kind of the same dress as me, but in white with a black leather jacket. 

"Let's go and make your mate jealous, shall we," she laughs, linking arms with me before we both walk out and down to the party, where some people had already arrived.

Here goes nothing!