I watched with disapproval as Amelia chewed on her bottom lip, her brows furrowing as she quickly turned away back to her friends, continuing to dance.

Jared sighed next to me, gazing at Amelia longingly for a few seconds before shaking his head, cursing under his breath and wheeling back out of the front door, Gia and Matthew quickly following him.

"Wait here," I growled to my mate, strolling over to Amelia and her group of friends, tapping her on the shoulder, keeping my face stern as a tipsy Amelia turned around, raising her eyebrows at me expectedly.

"What was that?" I asked coldly, shaking my head.

"What was what?" Amelia questioned, pursing her lips as she crossed her arms across her large chest.

"You know what I'm talking about."

Amelia sighed, turning to her friends quickly and holding up a finger to them, before she grabbed my hand, pulling me into a nearby closet, slamming the door behind us.

"Look Clara, I get that you're Dylan's mate and my future Luna, and I don't want to disrespect you, but you're making it pretty difficult," huffed Amelia, pushing a few loose hangers away from her face.

"Is he your mate?" I asked, wanting to just get to the point.

"Who?"

"Don't play dumb, just tell me if he's your mate or not," I growled, beginning to grow impatient.

Amelia pushed her curled blonde hair out of her face, crossing her arms yet again and turning to face the wall, shaking her head. "Okay, yes, I think so. Not that I care. Is that what you wanted? What is it to you anyway?"

"He's my brother," I stated, causing Amelia to spin around with raised eyebrows.

"Is that why you brought him here? To try and set us up? Alpha Dylan never has parties, I should have known," said Amelia, rolling her eyes, glaring at me. " Tell me the truth Clara. Is that why he had this party? So you could set us up?"

"My brother, Jared, smelled you when I came home wearing your sweatshirt, so yes, Dylan organised this party to confirm if you were mates."

"Wow, no pressure," scoffed Amelia.

"Amelia, there isn't any pressure to-"

"Yes, there is Clara!" she interrupted, her voice slightly raised, causing me to growl warningly at her. "If I don't accept him then I'm the heartless bitch who broke his heart, so yeah, there is a little bit of pressure!

I sighed, pinching the bridge of my nose, concerned why Amelia had brought up the subject of not accepting Jared, causing my heart to skip a beat.

"Why would you not accept him?" I pressed, gaining a huff from Amelia.

"You want the truth? I don't like being told what to do."

"Shocker," I joked, rolling my eyes.

Amelia sighed, shaking her head. "You don't get it Clara, I don't want to love someone because I'm told it's the right thing to do or the right way to feel. I want to have a genuine connection with someone, and slowly fall in love, not just rush into a relationship with a guy I barely know because the universe tells me we should be together. I'm eighteen. I'm not looking for something right now. I don't want to settle down. I'm very happy being able to do what I want whenever I want."

"What did you feel when you saw him?" I questioned, watching as Amelia closed her eyes, tilting her head back, breathing slowly.

"I felt...odd. I have no idea who he is but a part of me feels like I know him, but, I don't, and the truth is, I wouldn't have given him a second glance if he wasn't my mate, it's just the bond that's telling me I feel something, and I recognise that, unlike a lot of other people. I'm not interested in having a mate right now."

My heart broke for Jared, knowing he had been through so much, and now he finally had a mate, yet, she didn't want him. I didn't want to be the one to break the news to him, because I know it would crush him, and it was the only thing that was keeping him going- the thought that someone out there was going to love him unconditionally for eternity.

"I'm not saying I won't accept him, Clara, but I don't rush into relationships, and I'll talk to Jared when I'm ready. If I'm going to get to know him, it will be on my terms, and I want to genuinely get to know him before I let those intimate feelings in, but as I said, I'm not ready for something right now. I'm young and need to live out my best life doing what I want and who I want, if you know what I mean," said Amelia, smirking, reaching for the door handle, but she stopped after I let out a small growl, shaking my head at her.

"We aren't finished yet Amelia," I warned, causing her to sigh, shoving her hands into her pocket. "I'm not trying to attack you, and you have the right to do what you want. Nobody is forcing you to be with anyone, all I'm asking is you please at least speak to Jared tonight and see what happens. You can explain everything to him in person, and let him know how you feel."

Amelia rolled her eyes, sighing. "I might speak to him at some point tonight, but right now, I need another drink, so if you'll excuse me."

Amelia reached for the door handle again, but after noticing my dissatisfaction, she huffed, furrowing her brows in anger. "Look, Jared could have walked in here and ticked every box of mine, and I still wouldn't have leapt into his arms, because like I said, I don't want to be told who to love."

"So you've never had a relationship before?"

Amelia shrugged, shaking her head. "No, not a real one, sexual ones yeah, and I'm not afraid to admit that, but I've never actually been in a real relationship with a guy. So you let Jared know, that my standards are very high and if he doesn't compute, then he can enjoy being alone," said Amelia, yanking the closet door open and stepping outside, quickly making her way back to her friends.

I closed the closet door behind me, rolling my eyes as Dylan made his way over to me, his face masked with concern.

"Are you okay? What was all that about?"

"Why does she have to be like this?" I muttered, shaking my head.

"Like what?" questioned my mate, furrowing his brows. "What did she say?"

"Long story short, she doesn't want to love someone just because of the mate bond, so she'll speak to Jared tonight, but right now she wants to get to know him when she's ready. She doesn't want a relationship right now and was mentioning something about 'doing' whoever she wanted. I get her point, but I'm just so worried for Jared."

"God, that's going to crush him," mumbled Dylan, running his hands though his hair.

"Where is he?"

"Outside, Gia and Matthew tried to talk to him, but he wanted to be left alone."

I rushed past my mate, giving his hand a quick squeeze before making my way across towards the front door, softly closing it behind me after noticing Jared slumped over in his wheelchair by the side of the house.

"You're missing all the fun," I muttered as I made my over towards my brother, who had his head resting against his hands.

"What fun?" he responded solemnly, sighing.

"I know you're not really a party guy, but maybe a beer would help?" I joked, my face falling when I got no reaction from Jared.

"Did you see the look on her face? Her eyes didn't even hold a glimpse of happiness, just disappointment."

"I think she was just shocked Jared, finding your mate is a lot," I responded, unsure of how to let him know about what Amelia had said.

"Yeah, but it's supposed to be the best moment of your life, and it was for me, but clearly she doesn't feel the same way. She didn't even come over to see me."

"I spoke to her, and she said she will, but she also said-"

"She also said what, Clara?!" bellowed Jared, turning his wheelchair to face me, his face red with anger. "She said that she doesn't want me and she has no interest in having a mate?! Did she say that she'd rather not have someone in a wheelchair?! Did she say I'm not what she wants?!"

I took a step back, my eyes wide at Jared's sudden outburst. "Jared, you need to calm down!"

"Calm down?! Calm down?! How the hell can I calm down when my life is pointless?! Nobody wants me, I'm useless!" growled my brother, running his hands through his hair, his eyes turning a dusty yellow colour as he glared at me, his fangs starting to come through.

I yelped, shaking my head as I took a few more steps back. "Jared, you're shifting!"

"Jared!" yelled Dylan as he sprinted out of the house, rounding the corner to stand in front of me, gently nudging me back. "Jared, man, you need to calm down!"

"Dylan, I've never seen him this angry before, I think he's going to shift!"

"Jared, I don't want to hurt you, so I need you to calm down or I'm going to have to remove you from my land," warned Dylan, his breathing rate increasing as he took a step towards my brother, showing him he was taller and stronger than him, attempting to force his wolf to back down.

After a couple of minutes filled with rapid breathing, Jared returned to his normal state, burying his face in his hands. "I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me. I was just so angry, I guess I allowed my wolf to take control."

Dylan nodded, sighing. "I understand, everything must be hard to process right now, but I can't have people shifting uncontrollably on my land. It's not safe, despite the fact that your wolf is..."

"Paralysed?" asked Jared, raising his eyebrows. "Dylan, it's okay, you can say it. It's what I am, and it will never change. I don't want people feeling like they can't say it. I've accepted that I'm weaker than others."

Dylan smiled softly, nodding. "Well, do you know what the best thing you can do right now is?"

"What?" questioned Jared.

"Get in there and show Amelia what she's missing."

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