Page 18 of Silas

“Alright, alright. What do you know about her?”

I breathe out a heavy sigh, “Only thing that I know about her is that she is from New York City and that she took the teaching job at the Elementary School.”

He just stares at me expecting more, “That’s it??”

“I know I don’t know much, but it’s not like I have spent a lot of time getting to know her. I’m not sure what you are expecting from me.”

“I know more about her than you do, and I haven’t even spoken to her. The entire town is buzzing with information about her. Did you know she applied to teaching jobs all over the country but this is the only one that contacted her about the job?”

My eyebrows shoot up, because no, I didn’t know that. He continues on, “Seems that fate was determined to bring your mate to you.” He gives me that look to say I fucked up big time.

Shrugging my shoulders, “I obviously didn’t know that, but you have to agree that I do have a lot on my plate right now. I didn’t see the point in adding walking a human through pack life, regardless of what Fate has in mind.”

“Well, it does appear that Fate has had other things in mind because no matter how hard you try, she keeps putting Nova back into your path. So instead of rejecting the idea, maybe we, ya know, go with the idea,” he shrugs.

“Are you done lecturing me? I asked you here for advice on how to win her over, not a lecture about how I have been fucking up.” I glare at him as he chuckles.

“Yeah, man, I have some ideas. Just know that I am going to be the best man in the wedding. Since the only reason there will be one is because of me.”

We spend the next hour going over all the things that I can do to win her over. Apparently, I really am the only person in this town that hasn’t gotten to know her. For Warrick to be able to give me a list of ideas, yeah, I really have failed my mate. I have made a smaller list of items that I want to do tonight, a game plan on how to get it done before our date, and I can only hope that it’s enough.

“Alright man, I think you got it. Just remember to be your true self, not this asshole you have been acting as. I don’t think you need to buy her love, but it is always nice to give mating gifts. I know that telling her about the wolf stuff is intimidating but, she is your mate, she will come around to it.” He claps me on the shoulder a couple of times while giving me a warm smile. “I am going to head out. Don’t worry about pack stuff today, worry about winning over your mate. I will get with Gail to see how the Festival did for our debt.” He heads towards the front of my house.

“Thank you Warrick. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Hopefully, you never have to find out.” And with that, he leaves.

Alright, with my list in hand, I head out to town to purchase my mating gifts. Although she doesn’t know what they are, I can’t dismiss the need to buy her these things. As the mating heat rises with the full moon approaching, we have this deep - seated need to buy our mate gifts. If she was a wolf, she would need to build her nest.

In the wooing stage of mating, our gifts are designed to show her what we can provide for her as a mate. So think of things like jewelry to show the wealth we can provide. Food to show that she will never worry about hunger. A comfort item, such as a blanket, to show she will always find comfort in her mate. An item for her home, to show that you wish to build a home with her.

For her, she would be out buying comfort items for her home; blankets, pillows, candles, her favorite snacks/drinks. All thethings that would show that she was prepared for a long mating and ready for breeding.

“Can’t we just bite her and move to the mating portion of the night? I don’t want to wait any longer,”Storm grumbles.

No, we can’t just bite our human mate and assume that she would be completely okay with all of this.

All I am saying is that if I just bite her and turn her, then all you would have to worry about is teaching her how to be a wolf.

Absolutely not. Don’t even think about it. We will not be traumatizing our mate because of your impatience.

I wouldn’t be this impatient if you hadn’t fucked this up so badly. If you would have listened from the beginning, then we would have been beyond this stage and closer to the mating already.

Fair enough, regardless, we won’t be biting and turning her without her consent. That is final.

If you don’t have this in the bag by the time the full moon happens, you won’t have any say in what happens.

We are down to less than a week before the full moon. I have even more reason to ensure that I do this right because, if not, I don’t know what Storm will do. During the full moon, the wolf completely takes over, leaving the human side in the far recesses of our minds. Generally, it is like having a split personality. We both have our own but with similarities that allow for, usually, a peaceful co-existence. But once a month, we repress our human side and release our inner wolves. Think of it like the subconscious of your mind taking over and you are now thesubconscious of the mind. We are each aware of the other, but only one side is in control.

Orion’s one redeeming quality was he would take us to the other side of the mountain to allow us to run freely without concern for the citizens of Jasper. It’s something that I will continue because although I am in the far recesses, waking the next morning, I always feel my best. I don’t want to lose that now.

After I acquired all my mating gifts, I showered, shaved, and put on my best outfit. Looking at myself in the mirror, I straighten my deep navy and orange plaid shirt as I smooth my hand down the front, tucking it into my dark khaki pants that I paired with my leather loafers. I adjust my dark brown leather belt and spritz some cologne on my neck and chest. I move my head side to side to ensure that my gelled hair is still exactly where I put it. Glancing at my watch gives me a spike of adrenaline as my nerves rachet up. It’s time to go.

Grabbing all my mating gifts, I head out to my truck. It is an odd feeling to be driving since we generally never do with everything so close. But this is the date to win her over. I didn’t want to walk there. I have to show her I can provide for her every need.

I might have added wooing our mate to my overflowing plate, but it’s now or never.

Chapter 12

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