Chapter One:

"God, you make me so weak in the knees. Just take me, make my heat go away!" She moaned as he ran his tongue down her neck, slow and enticing. He growled at the sound, scraping his canines against her heated skin.

"I'll make you more than weak in the knees, mate," he hissed, his lower half now rubbing up against hers.

"Mark me, do it!" She screamed, her body shaking at the contact of his skin on hers. He started rubbing himself on her, and suddenly —

"Erin, get off your phone and come help me carry up the groceries!" I jump, my phone rocketing out of my hands and onto the floor.

"Holy hell," I mutter, cheeks inflamed. I had been so engrossed by the Wattpad story that I completely forgot about my surroundings. I hear ragged breathing down the stairs, and a loud rattle following it.

"Get your ass down here and help!" I roll my eyes, picking up my phone and placing it on the couch. I wasn't going to risk it getting stepped on, as that thing is my lifeline.

"I'm coming!" I yell and then snort as my younger sister shouts from her room,

"That's what he said!"

Heading down the stairs, I help my mom with taking all the bags of groceries into the kitchen. We talk for a bit about our day—of course, I kept what I was reading a secret. My personal library would make a stout Christian lady faint.

...

"Mine!" The Alpha growled, startling her. She looked up into Ryan's eyes, afraid for both of them. She wasn't sure she was ever going to get a mate, let alone an alpha. She didn't want to wait her whole life for some guy who might not even have existed.

But she was wrong to do so. It was obvious in the way her mate looked at Ryan. He was the father of her child, and even though she felt connected to her new mate, logic told her to stay with her husband.

"I'm sorry..." she mumbled, standing in front of Ryan protectively,

"But I'm with him..."

I turn the tap off with my foot, sliding further into the hot water of the tub. This was my favourite place to read, as the running water helped me focus. It was peaceful, and a place no one would bother me. Aside from my mom and sister who would barge in to use the toilet.

I read the words again, looking at the words "mine" and "Alpha." This was my preferred choice of reading—werewolf stories that is. I always felt so...what was it? Turned on by the prospect of driving a man wild, especially one who would become so livid that his physical appearance would change. I mean, a man who becomes so aroused his eyes turn black and teeth that turn into fangs? Maybe it meant my life was sad, and I was a waste of space for a human; but damn, I would love that. Even the soulmate part intrigues me. Who wouldn't want someone specifically made for you, and to love you unconditionally?

My phone vibrated in my hands, so I closed the Wattpad application to look at a new text in the message folder. It better be important...

Hey girl! Do you want to go shopping tomorrow?

-Poop Face

I snicker at my best friend's name on the screen, sitting up to lean back on the titled wall behind me.

Sure, Poop Face. What time you picking me up?

Her reply was instant,

Like 2? I'll prob get up at 1 sooo

I didn't bother texting back and instead went back to reading the werewolf story. I shipped the main character and her husband; probably because I'd want the Alpha if I were in the story.

"Like hell you are!" He roared, back shaking as if he were about to lose control and shift...

...

"Hey, do you mind if we stop in here? I really need to get my eyebrows done," Lana, or Poop Face, drove into a complex of little shops. I only nodded, not really caring since I had my phone to keep me company. Once parked, she hopped outside; but looked at me weirdly when I didn't follow her.

"I'll stay here," I mouthed, shooing her away with my hand. She rolled her eyes and headed into the salon a few feet away. In front of the car was a little Mexican restaurant, but I didn't pay much attention to it. The food smelled good though, and it made my stomach growl in protest of not eating since hours before.

It wasn't even five minutes before Lana returned, her eyebrows looking like perfection; unlike the uni-brow she had going on earlier.

"That hurt, but it was worth it. I'm sure you would have started calling me Sasquatch if I left it for another week," she chuckled, opening up the car door. However, she gasped when she saw the restaurant in front of us.

"I've always wanted to go to a place like that! Let's go!"

"You had Mexican food last week, Poop Face," I frown, smiling once again at her nickname. It was because she constantly has bad gas. Poop Face just seemed very fitting after she accidentally farted in front of her boyfriend's parents. I never let her live that one down, and neither did her boyfriend, Miles.

"Mexican? Girl, what the hell are you smoking? I know you're into this stuff, so I'm confused why you're not excited about it," she slammed the door shut, waving for me to follow her.

I get out of the car and then stare at the now totally different shop. It wasn't a Mexican restaurant anymore, but now a shop that was illuminated by gold lighting. The contents on display at the window were gorgeous stones and beautiful candles.

"I swear this wasn't here before! I can still smell the Mexican food," I mumble, my nostrils flaring.

"Actually, I farted," Lana laughed, blushing. She moved towards the door, and the smell of lavender overpowered the sick scent of what my friend labelled as her gassy ass saying hello.

"I swear though, this wasn't here before..." I didn't laugh, although a slight smile was present on my face.

"You need to stay off your phone for a while, you're starting to hallucinate from the eye strain," Lana replies, stepping into the shop.

"Hello, ladies! Welcome, welcome. What can I do for you? Anything in particular that you're looking for?" A bald man behind the counter smiles at us, his blue eyes striking against the gold lighting on the ceiling. He appears to be wearing a grey suit with a baby blue tie, and a white undershirt. It looks a little unnatural for someone wearing a suit to be in a shop like this. From what I can tell, it's one of those metaphysical stores. I look at a section to my right and see a bookshelf labeled "Spell Books," with tons of antique books placed on the shelves.

"Hi, we're just looking for nothing in particular," Lana smiles at him, turning to look at a necklace stand.

I didn't reply as I thought she answered fairly well for me. The Spell Book area seems interesting, so I head in that direction.

A lady comes out of a back room, her expression blank. Her eyes turn towards Lana and me, a shocked expressing replacing the previous blank stare. She has short red hair in a bob cut style, and dull brown eyes. Her appearance is pretty in an earthy way.

"Would you like your fortunes read?" The man asks us, his eyes bright with some odd emotion I can't read.

"Oh, let's do it!" Lana glides over to me excitedly, hands grabbing my shoulders to guide me toward the counter.

"I don't really believe in that stuff. And besides, how much is it anyway?" My mom once paid almost three hundred dollars for a medium, which I found absolutely stupid. But she seemed to believe whatever the lady told her—according to the medium, the first guy I date will be my one and only for life. The thought of that sounds awfully beautiful and romantic; but that stuff just doesn't exist. If you haven't realized by that comment, I've never dated anyone. Hell, I haven't even had my first kiss yet.

"It will be free for you ladies, on one condition," the man raises his index finger up. The lady, at first startled by his offer, moves her lips as if struggling to speak. She appears worried, but soon her expression goes back to being blank.

"Really, that's so nice of you!" Lana smiles, forgetting about his one condition.

"ah ah ah," he smirks, shaking his head and moving his finger side to side,

"I haven't told you what I want from you ladies," he moved to grab a very large massive book. When he opened it, every page was blank. He flipped through to the middle of it and then turned it towards us.

"You must write what you want most on here. No specifics though. If you want to find love, write that. No names or places."

Lana nods, and I watch as she grabs a pen and scribbles down her greatest desires. I decide to look away for some reason, to give her a sense of privacy I guess.

"Your turn," the man flips the page over and pushes the book towards me. My instincts were sending me warning signals, telling me to turn around and leave; but my hand reached out anyway, and write what I want most.

1. Love

2. Happiness

3. Success

4. Wealth

I really didn't know what to write, honestly. I just wrote what I remember from horoscope readings. Shrugging, as it didn't really matter anyway, I put the pen down and let the man look over my list.

"Amanda will take you into the back one at a time for your readings. I'm Roger, by the way," he looks over at the woman and nods towards the back.

"You go first," I mumble, stepping over to the stone section of the store. There was a counter with items on display inside of it, locked against potential thieves most likely.

I hear Lana laughing nervously as Amanda guides her to the mysterious back room. Oh god, the poor lady is going to suffocate. That gassy ass of hers won't hold out for long, especially when nervous. I chuckle, fighting the urge to laugh hysterically.

My heart nearly stops at seeing a wood wring with a beautiful, yet simple white opal on it. The wood has intricate patterns of tiny flowers carved into the sides, with holes drilled into the middle of each floret. What held the main opal together was a woven piece of twine-like material, linked through these tiny holes around the ring. Although it was beautiful, it wasn't the ring that had my heart fluttering. It was the card in front of it with a meaningful title.

The Love of a Werewolf.

"A ring that will always bring soulmates together."

Roger moves from behind the counter, slowly making his way towards me. He eyes the card and a twist of the lips shows he's smirking at me.

"It's a beautiful ring, is it not?"

"I-It's lovely, especially the name and meaning behind it."

"Yes, but the reason why it looks like this is because it is meant to represent the moon. The vine is what links the soulmates together. They each view the same moon, and the vine pulls them towards each other. It's the only one in existence, actually. Made by someone who loved a woman so dearly, he gave up everything to keep her safe."

I frown, staring at the ring with interest. I wonder if what he's telling me about the creator is true, or a story to sell it. I don't bother responding and instead look behind the counter to stare at the closed door.

"She won't be out for a bit. Try the ring on if you want," Roger opened up the glass display with a key and grabbed the ring, handing me it.

It looked almost too small for my fingers, but somehow it slipped on perfectly. Almost like it was meant for me.

I feel a jolt go through me, probably from the excitement. Roger doesn't seem to notice, or chooses to ignore it. But he looks down at the ring and sighs, sounding relieved.

"You have no idea how long I've waited to give that to someone."

I feel bad for teasing myself into wearing the beautiful ring, so I take it off. There is no way I'd be able to afford it, so it was best to focus on something else. I went to hand it back to him, but he backed away as if insulted.

"That belongs to you now," he moves away from me towards the front counter, and his eyes suddenly choose to avoid mine.

"What?"

Before I can get any explanation, Lana comes out of the backroom looking startled. She doesn't even notice me, walking to the front door like a zombie. I go to follow, but forget about the ring on my finger. I try taking it off but it seems like it's stuck on there, so the only option is to just take it with me.

"Wait!" Roger yells, making me flinch at how loud he sounded in the shop. Amanda walks out and stares blankly at me, but her eyebrow raises after seeing the ring on my finger.

Lana stops as well, her back facing me. I look at Roger, but regret it when I see how angry he is. There is a moment of silence before I find myself being guided to the back room,

"You wrote in the book and therefore agreed to the conditions. You need to do the reading, it's the least you could do for getting a free ring from my selection."

I'm not sure if I wish there was a moment where I turned and left, or never even entered that shop in the first place.

But it's something I think about often...

END OF CHAPTER 1