Wolf Like Me

Fatin POV (Age 13)

They’re thirteen when it happens. And honestly; Fatin should have expected it. 

Until now Leah had no close friends. Sure, there were friends of Fatin’s that she shared but no one she was really open with or truly excited about bar Fatin and sue her for liking that fact. Fatin was an alpha, and her soulmate’s choice to let only her in close was comforting. It said out of anyone she would always pick her. 

This meant that she was completely knocked off her axis by Leah dropping the new friend bomb during their Sunday taco evening. 

“You have guac on your mouth.” Fatin grinned, swiping it away from her mate’s chin. 

Leah blushed, ducking her head in a way that made her hair curtain her cheeks. 

This was also new. Ever since Fatin had kissed her last week, crimson would rise to Leah’s cheeks any time she touched her, her lip pulled between her teeth as she cleared her throat. 

It was meant to be a joke; they had been watching a film and as Bella and Edward kissed Fatin found herself saying, “Sometimes I wonder what kissing is like.” Leah had promptly choked on her popcorn until Fatin asked her with a cocky smile, “Do you think about it too?”

Her chin dropped but subtly Leah nodded. With shaking palms, Fatin rested her hands on her mate’s cheeks and leaned in so that their lips were touching. It was butterflies flapping ferociously in her stomach as they often did around Leah, but also this new feeling of something settling into place; like Leah was finally where she belonged as more than a friend. It was tingling lips and gold eyes that lasted almost ten seconds before Rana cleared her throat. 

“Fatin,” she chided.

Unfortunately, her mother had sent her mate home before giving her quite the uncomfortable talk about ‘getting older.’ (It still gave Fatin this gross feel anytime she remembered it, hives raising on her arms.)

So now as Leah sat blushing all she could think about was that kiss. Accidentally tuning Leah out for a while as she babbled about something as she often did, until the words, “Ian told Miss Cameron that it was Peter that threw the ball at the back of her head, not me. He’s such an awesome friend." Came out of her mouth.

Almost choking on her food, Fatin carefully placed her fork down and willed the gold not to tint her eyes. “Who is Ian?” 

“Oh, a friend, he’s in most of my classes.” 

“Your friend?” 

“Yeah,” Leah mumbled around a mouth of corn, worryingly Fatin found it adorable as scraps dropped from her mouth to the table as she spoke. 

“You have a friend?” 

“Yeah, he’s really sweet. You would like him.” 

Fatin tensed in her seat, jaw working. “What’s he like?” 

“Intellectual, super cool taste in music and books. He even likes The XX and no one listens to them.” 

Stomach twisting in discomfort, Fatin attempted to slow her breathing. Whilst Leah was her soulmate, it always left Fatin feeling like she wasn’t enough when it came to Leah. The fact she wasn’t interested in all the things she loved. Leah loved indie music and Fatin loved pop, she adored books and Fatin did not. Leah was smart at every subject and Fatin had to work seriously hard to get the grades she needed. Sure, she was great at cello but she worked hard at that, driven by the fact her playing would always make Leah grin and hug her for ten minutes after she finished performing. 

It meant that hearing Leah had found someone who could offer her what Fatin could not really set her on edge. 

“Isn’t he boring?” Fatin deflected. 

“No,” Leah said, “just because he isn’t ‘cool’ like your friends. I’ll let you in on a secret, neither am I.”

“Yeah, well he sounds like a douche.” 

Leah flinched. “You don’t even know anything about him.” 

“I don’t need to,” Fatin said with a tensed jaw. “He’s obvi a douche.” 

“Fatin,” Rana spoke tersely as she walked into the room. “Firstly, language. Secondly, who is the word you just spoke?” 

“I’m gonna go home.” Leah pushed her plate forward. “Thank you for the food, Rana.” 

Rana raised a brow at her daughter, following a very upset Leah out of the room.

Leah was both an omega and socially anxious, so it was hardly a rare occasion that saw her daughter's mate growing overly emotional. Especially with perhaps the loudest alpha at their school for a mate. What was unusual was that Leah wanted to leave so abruptly.

Twenty minutes later Rana was standing in front of Fatin with a face like thunder, steam practically pouring out of her ears. 

“You called Leah’s friend that?” 

“Maybe he is?” 

“She said you’ve never met him.” 

“I don’t have to in order to know that he is. I haven’t jumped off a cliff recently, but I still know it sounds like a bad idea.”

“Don’t backchat,” Rana chided. “What’s going on? Because Leah may be your mate and you may be an alpha, but I did not raise you to be one of the arrogant ones. You as a girl should know how horrible a look that is.” 

“Leah doesn’t do friends,” Fatin growled out, “and she’s fine.”

“She was crying when Maryann picked her up.” 

That made her swallow the sudden lump in her throat, her wolf inside chastising her. She hated when Leah cried; it made emotion swirl within her like a raging tide during the eye of a storm, crashing waves of hurt down upon her until she cheered her up. 

“She was crying?” 

“Yes.” 

“Shit.” Fatin dropped her head, gnawing on her lip. It hurt even more when she was the root of Leah’s upset, Fatin should always be the one to make her smile and laugh not bring her anguish. “I didn’t mean to. Why did you let her go home? I could have helped her.” 

“You were in no position to help her after you hurt her, Fatin. You can apologise tomorrow, but you know your mate. She needs her space.” 

She did. Whenever Leah got truly upset she often closed herself off for a good few hours and would nestle under a blanket with a book, eyes stricken with tears until she eventually fell asleep. It didn’t make it any easier for Fatin, and she didn’t get why in the past year Leah had taken to it. Before she would let her wipe her tears and now, she blushed and hid away- not wanting Fatin to see or talk to her. 

“I’m her mate, I should be there.” 

“Fatin, you’re at an age where your emotions are all over the place. For you, as an alpha, it’s anger and being perhaps far too cocky or protective on occasion. Loud, prone to angry bursts, and sometimes overbearing. For omegas it’s the reverse, I can tell you that because I’ve been there,” Rana said, “I was confident and outgoing and even I still struggled during that time with crying under a comforter for hours on end. Leah is naturally much more delicate than me, and that’s not a bad thing. It will be why you two balance each other out so well, but whilst she’s going through these changes it’s going to be extremely hard on her.” 

“I didn’t mean to be rude. I-” Fatin said, sighing. “She never mentioned having a friend before and now this guy is what, hanging around her? I don’t know a single thing about him, he could be a murderer for all I know hiding behind a closet with a chainsaw.” 

“I’m never letting your uncle babysit you again after letting you watch that.” 

“But he could be! Or he could be some guy trying to date Leah,” Fatin yelled. 

“Honey, breathe and calm down. Your eyes are gold.” 

Fatin panted, eventually taking in several jagged breaths she loudly released through her nose. 

“There you go. Dare I remind you that you’re Leah’s soulmate.” 

“I know.” 

“Then you should also know there is no one else on this Earth made for you like she is. The same as you are for her.” 

“I know, but Ian could-”

“No, Ian could not. Mates are inseparable. When we meet them that is it, they’re our everything.”

“She likes him though. He had good taste in music, and likes books like her.” 

“Honey, friends normally like similar things.”

“But I don’t,” Fatin admitted. 

Rana sat beside her, pushing her hair behind her ear and out of the stream of tears. “Your father hates most of what I do. He doesn’t get my taste in music, and he doesn’t enjoy my hobbies, but he loves me,” Rana said, “and we have our things that no one else can understand like our movie nights even if we bicker over what’s on, and our dates that make me smile so much. We have things together like ballroom nights and days at the races watching the horses. You can’t share every interest Fatin, in fact, mates often don’t. It’s about balance. You bring out the best in Leah and her, the best in you. You encourage each other’s hobbies because you don’t need to compete. And I know for a fact that even if you think Leah’s books are a joke you have still read some of them so many times that the spines are creased beyond belief.” 

“I like The Hunger Games.” 

“I know. So, you do have things in common. However, Leah doesn’t let many people in, and it must get awfully lonely for her. You’re not together for all your classes now, this isn’t your younger years. She needs friends and unlike you, Leah doesn’t have any. You should feel happy if anything, that there is someone there to protect your mate when you cannot. He is no challenge to you. If you were not soulmates, perhaps, but you are. There is no one in this world for either of you but each other. It’s how the fates work child.”

“I was such a douche to her.” 

“Don’t use that word,” Rana scorned, “but yes, you were rude. However, it’s also your instinct at this age to lash out and to find a challenge where there often isn’t one. It’s part of the issue of finding your mate so young. Going through puberty whilst dealing with-”

“Ew, gross,” Fatin groaned, “please stop.” 

“The point is these things will happen -arguments will happen- but you will need to learn to show Leah you mean your apology, not simply just make it.”

That was how Fatin ended up on Leah’s doorstep the next morning with a box of chocolates and some flowers, her mate blushing but still clearly tense as Fatin apologised.

“I figured you could introduce me to Ian today,” Fatin said as she slumped down on Leah’s bed, her mate busy searching for her hoodie. 

“What?” 

“I would like to meet your friend.” 

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Leah mumbled, pulling her hoodie on. 

“I’ll be on my best behavior,” Fatin promised, “and if he’s going to be a part of your life it would probably help if I got on with him, right?” 

“I guess.” Leah frowned. 

“Okay. Now let’s go. We’re five minutes away from being late.” 

“Fatin, this is Ian.” Leah smiled, pointing at the scrawny boy that had just walked up to Leah on the green during lunch. 

And Fatin? 

Fatin swallowed her pride and reigned in the snarl. “Nice to meet you, I’m Fatin.” Leah smiled and sighed in relief. “Leah’s mate.” Subtle.

Leah shot her a look filled with mirth, but also one that was followed by a blush that secretly said she liked it whenever Fatin claimed her as such. 

“Hi, I’m Ian. Rad shoes. You know, I’m modelling a D&D character right now and boots like that would look great on him.” 

She smiled and didn’t even have to force the airy laugh that came out. “Cool, Leah said you have good music taste too.” Fatin doesn’t know why she feared Ian when he makes Leah smile so much that the girl was hiding her grin in her arm the entire conversation. 

No. She thinks she can learn to put up with him. 

“Thank you for trying.” Leah beamed after school as once again the pair sat in the living room watching a film. 

What Fatin didn’t see coming was the kiss that was placed on her lips, albeit briefly but so perfectly that heat rose to her face. Her jaw hung open in shock when Leah pulled back.

“I-” Fatin paused, eyes wide at Leah who grinned down at her because of course she had to be slightly taller. “Okay.” She finished, mind blanking over whatever she was meant to be replying to in the first place. 

“See,” Rana said later after Leah had left. “Not being rude pays off.” 

Oh god, did that mean she had seen them again? 

“Yes,” Rana answered as if knowing exactly where Fatin’s mind was going. “Bear in mind this is an open-door policy house, Fatin.”

Shit.