➳

Madeline froze in place, her eyes wide, as Matthew gently moved his lips against hers. Her headache disappeared right away, replaced by euphoric sensations all across her mind. Her entire body tingled with the intensity of the feeling. She wasn't kissing back at all; her senses had gone numb, she couldn't even breathe.

He could hear her heart thundering in her chest, and realized she had stopped breathing. Although he didn't want to, he finally pulled away from the kiss, letting her get some air.

A myriad of emotions soared through her head; joy, love, shock, fear, confusion, and... Resentment.

"Stop messing with me like this!" She tried to push him away, but her strength could not even budge him. His brows furrowed in bemusement when he saw tears welling up in her eyes.

"Why are you upset? I thought you liked me."

"You keep being so romantic, it's only making my feelings stronger even though you'll never like me back. It's so mean. And you just stole my first kiss."

"Your first? Well, I'm glad I took my mate's first kiss." His words only heightened her confusion.

...

"Your... Mate?"

"Yes. My mate."

It took a moment for her to understand.

"But... How can I be your mate?" She whispered, lowering her head. "I'm a human. Humans and werewolves can't be mates." Slowly, he reached for her face and tipped her chin up, forcing their eyes to meet. Though his expression was inscrutable, there was a perceptible fondness in his eyes whenever he looked at her.

"Who said I was a werewolf?"

"... Huh? You're really confusing me."

He sighed, taking his hand away from her face. "I'm a direwolf. We're different from werewolves; we have human mates, and you are mine."

They stared at each other for what felt like eternity, before Madeline crossed her arms and looked to side, seemingly angry.

"Why didn't you tell me that sooner? I felt so embarrassed for liking you, I thought you were going to think I was weird and never speak to me again."

Matthew chuckled, amused by her dramatic ways. He took both of her hands in his, pulling her closer.

"I apologize. Not many people know you are my mate, or that I'm not a werewolf. But, I guess I can't keep these things a secret anymore. Anyway, I should get going now." He tried to get up, but Madeline did not let go of his hands.

"Really? You're always so busy, can we please spend a day together?"

He thought about her request for a second. It was true that during their many weeks living together, he hadn't yet spent a proper day with her. One day off of work wouldn't do any harm.

"Alright, you can come with me today."

——————————

"Where are we going?" Madeline asked, holding onto his arm. The two were walking through a dense forest, not far from his house. She looked up at the trees, admiring the beautiful red and orange hues of the leaves. Autumn had always been the prettiest season, in her opinion.

Her eyes fixated on the trees above, she did not see the large dead log right at her feet. With a squeal, she almost went crashing down, if it weren't for Matthew's strong arms catching her.

"Careful, doll." He sat her down on the log, before answering her question. "I haven't shifted in a while, so I thought I'd let you come see my wolf."

"Really? I can't wait!" She tried to imagine what a direwolf would look like. She had never even heard of such creatures, and was dying to find out more about them.

On the other hand, he felt a bit worried. Everyone who had seen his wolf had been absolutely terrified by it. He would not be surprised if she was too, but he wanted his mate to love him, in all forms; he needed to get her used to his wolf form.

"Just to let you know, my wolf may not have the most... friendly appearance. But there's no need for you to be scared of it, remember that it's just me." Madeline nodded understandably. She was not scared of wolves, she used to play with them all the time, especially her brother's wolf.

Without warning, Matthew began undressing. His mate gazed at him, stunned, while he removed his shirt, before quickly covering her eyes with her hands, slightly ashamed that she watched him for that long. He mentally smiled at her innocent reaction, before removing the rest of his clothing and shifting.

Madeline felt soft fur brush over her legs, then a wet snout pressing against her hands. She peeped at him through her fingers, and her heart leaped into her throat.

In her mind, she had envisioned a normal-sized wolf, but he was huge. She had to look up to see his face, and that terrified her even more. He had bright, piercing red eyes; a stark contrast to his pitch black fur. The smell of her fear became thick in the air as her skin visibly paled.

Jumping behind the log, she slowly began backing away from the beast before her, her legs shaking with every step. "S-sorry, I know you said I shouldn't be scared... But you're... C-Can I just... stand really far from you?" She moved further away, his red eyes staying on her the entire time.

Sadness swept over Matthew, seeing how afraid she was of him. Normally, he took pride in how threatening his wolf was, but the fright in his mate's eyes pained him. He decided to not approach her, laying down to seem less intimidating.

Madeline felt less afraid now that the wolf was on the ground. After taking a moment to calm down, she slowly advanced towards him. He could hear her footsteps, but stayed still. His words came back to her mind. "Remember that it's just me." She walked around the log, stopping near his head.

"Okay, I-I think I'm fine now... Can I pet you?"

He flattened his ears down, which she took as a 'yes'. With a slightly trembling hand, she reached down and touched his fur. A low purr emitted from his chest as his mate caressed him.

"This isn't so bad. I don't know why I reacted like that, I'm sorry." She smiled, running her fingers through his coat. He closed his eyes, enjoying the blissful sensation. He had never been pet before; nobody had ever been brave enough to come touch him.

In the corner of her eye, Madeline saw something move near the trees. She looked closer, and the smile on her lips widened. It was a . She left the large wolf and wandered towards it, softly whistling to get its attention. The kitty ran over to her, and she picked it up in her arms, snuggling it affectionately.

Matthew curiously watched the scene. Feeling slightly jealous that his mate just left him for a cat, he got up and approached them. The cat's vibrant green eyes met his red ones.

With a loud growl, it went running away.

"Matthew! You scared it," Madeline pouted, rushing to follow the small animal. "Here, kitty-kitty, come back!"

She ran after it, while he went after her, growling to scare off the cat. Madeline realized what he was doing and suddenly turned, undoubtedly irritated.

"Can you stop that please? You're being a very bad dog." Matthew was taken aback by her reprimand. He had never been scolded like that before. Instead of getting angry, he found it was quite hilarious.

Returning to the log, he shifted to his human form and slipped back on his clothes, since Madeline seemed to have lost interest in his wolf. He followed her scent to find her standing in a clearing, holding the cat in her arms.

"Look how cute he is!" She admired, petting the feline's head.

Matthew glared at the creature with disgust. "Put it down."

A pout formed on her lips. "No. Can I take him back with us please?"

"Absolutely not."

"Please?"

"No."

She looked up at him with those adorable, doe-like eyes. "If you really liked me, you would say yes."

He found it hard to refuse her, but there was no way he could allow her to keep it. "Wolves and cats do not get along. I can't have that thing in my house."

"Hmm... What if I lived in a different house then?"

"You would rather live with a cat than live with me?" By now, he was quite envious of the feline. He wanted to shift and kill it instantly, but Madeline would probably hate him for that.

"No, but I really want a pet. Plus, look how much he likes me! It's like we were made for each other." As if to prove her point, the cat rubbed its head against her arm, purring affectionately.

"You were made for me. Not for that."

The young girl sighed; it was clear that he was not going to agree. "Fine." She crouched down and placed the cat on the ground.

"I will come back for you," She thought, petting it one more time before Matthew took her back home.