Wolf Like Me

Fatin POV (Age 15)

Fatin is fifteen when she is forced to sit through her first health class.

“If you find your mate, the bond will be a strong and emotionally tied natural state of attraction. It will be stronger than any love that one could ever come close to experiencing and may leave you overly emotional, depending on the age at which you find your mate. In your late teens to early twenties there’s more of a, should we say, physical bond there that needs to be acted on. Your wolf puberty normally kicks in around the age of eighteen to your mid-twenties so expect yet another surge in hormones and emotions.” 

“What happens if you find your mate now?” Samara asked. 

“Well, that’s very unlikely. The probability of that happening is so slim that-” 

“Fatin has a mate!” Colby yelled. 

She narrowed her eyes at him as she rolled a pen in her fingers. 

“Well…” The teacher was clearly flustered as he straightened his papers. “The bond is different at this age; younger bonds are more caring and a need for closeness. Before they mature there’s perhaps a curiosity around about now, as there always is with people of your age, but there is no wolf needs present… sexually. It’s more a want for support and unity, mates when they find each other young often grow to have the strongest bonds as they experience all stages of its growth. Though the protective bonds are still present as those instincts aren’t tied to your wolf puberty.” 

“Fatin isn’t going to like, have twenty pups this year?” 

“Colby that’s quite enough. And no, that’s not how it works. You are young, enjoy your youth. The wolf bond kicks in for some in their late teens, and for others in their early twenties but with mates the change of bond is always synced. Omegas may become much more emotional to the point they require their mate to take time away from work until it settles. Which is why we have what?” 

“Mating bond holiday.” Samara smiled. 

“Exactly. Similarly, omegas get holidays for their first heats around your age. They can be extremely uncomfortable for them. How would one help an omega in their first heat?” 

“Medication, hot baths, food, warm drinks, and proximity to their mate if they have one,” Fatin stated. 

“Exactly Miss Jadmani!” 

Fatin knew that one, she had the unfortunate experience of seeing Leah go through it the month prior. 

“When do mates become romantic then?” Colby asked. “Aren’t they just friends before?” 

“No, mates are always joined emotionally so are technically bonded from the get-go romantically. But yes, bonds in younger wolves do appear as very close friendships, you find they grow romantic as the years pass in their teens just the same for those of you with no bonds. All wolves experiment be that with their mate or not, but wolves with a bond just do so with their partners. First kisses, everything else will come naturally as it does with most. Saying that- this is just natural curiosity and hormones from reaching your standard human puberty. The wolf one is far more intense, so whilst wolves may have sexual relations before that- it’s not the same. It is not sex with the underlying needs and wants wolves have, it’s simply for enjoyment. Anyway, let's now move on to protection!” 

“Do I need to be here for this?” Fatin groaned. “My mate is a girl, I’m a girl.” 

“Yes Miss Jadmani, and once your fangs come through you will still need to know how to use forms of protection. Queer wolves are not free from the perils of STDs. They don’t discriminate.”

Fatin shivered at the idea. “I’m mated, I literally can’t sleep with anyone else.” 

“But you could still impregnate your mate when your wolf puberty hits with your fangs, so please stop complaining and listen because as an alpha it’s your duty to know how to protect your mate from her own wants to breed.”

Fatin groaned and dropped her head, taking a condom that she would obviously never fucking use. 

“They make pretty rad balloons,” Colby said. 

Begrudgingly she placed it on the banana and then sat through the video as everyone snorted away at the idea of wolf puberty. 

Though Fatin’s throat grew dry with unease at one part.

'Wolves that meet early on often feel the need to breed sooner than those who mate later in life, we often see wolves who mate in their teens starting families around the age of twenty because the need is much more prominent, as the bond only strengthens over time. It can cause omegas, especially, a great deal of pain when they reach puberty if their bond has been present for more than a few years because the instinct is far more in tune with their mate. This has been known to cause sickness and other serious issues.'

She frowned, they had never talked about this shit. They hadn’t had sex or, well, done much bar heavy make-out sessions that were normally interrupted by a parent telling them to leave the door open. 

Fatin up until that point hadn’t really paid attention to their bond; it had just been there so long that Leah was just Leah. Part of her. She hadn’t really realised at some point they would marry, that they would have kids, and have a place together with just the two of them. 

The idea made her smile as her stomach fluttered. 

She liked that idea very much. 

Yet part of her feared them nearing their wolf puberty. It was far more painful for mated wolves to go through than unmated wolves as they also had to deal with breeding instincts and the need for closeness to their mate that unmated omegas didn’t experience. 

Fatin feared Leah going through that. She feared it a lot. 

She hated seeing her mate in any form of pain, and as she watched an omega crying on the screen she wanted to eject the fucking video and run. 

There was a pull there, telling her to comfort Leah even though she didn’t need it yet. As such Fatin found herself that week stuck at her side, constantly. 

Between lessons she was there, after school she was there, as they ate, she was there. 

When her mother came to pick her up each night she would grit her teeth, feeling a need to sleep beside Leah that wasn’t there before unless she got sick. 

“Honey, want to tell me why you’ve skipped cello practice to go over to Leah’s every night this week?” 

Fatin sipped her tea, hand clasped tightly around the handle. “No.” 

“Let me rephrase that; you had better have a damn good reason for skipping all your needed lessons that I paid for to watch Netflix.” 

With a huff she shuffled awkwardly on the couch, folding her arms. “We had health class this week.” 

“And?” 

“And they showed us what wolf puberty would be like.” 

“That’s years away. Most wolves hit it at the earliest when they’re eighteen but for many, it's far older. Mine was when I was twenty-two.” 

“Yes, but they said it’s painful for bonded omegas. And even worse the longer you’ve known each other.” 

“You don’t want to leave her side because you’re scared that she will go into a rough state,” Rana noted. 

“It looked so painful,” she cried. “I don’t want Leah facing that.” 

“Then you be careful but you’re too young to worry about that anyway. What you can do is when the time comes, and you’re older, you just make sure that you are never that far from your mate. As a careful alpha, you would never think to stray far from Leah anyway. The ones in that state of pain are normally omegas stuck with cocky alphas who go far away on business, then when puberty hits and they’re in another country.” 

“I don’t want to leave her.” 

“And you shouldn’t, but you also do not need to worry about that at all yet.” Rana laughed. “You are far too young to have to worry about wolf puberty. Far too young. Enjoy life now and don’t worry about it. Also, it’s a gift, it’s not meant to be something to fear. After all, it gave me you all.” 

“Were you in pain?” 

“Briefly, but I was unmated at the time, it wasn’t bad at all. Worse when I met your father but still not bad as our bond was new.” 

Fatin swallowed. 

“Stop worrying, Leah will be fine.”    

It took Fatin another week before the worry died down, but something new blossomed under the surface. When she looked at Leah now; she no longer saw her best friend and mate, she saw her girlfriend and future wife. She saw the mother of her future children and the girl who she would do anything for. 

“Why are you looking at me like that?” Leah asked one day after school as they sat on her bed. 

“I just love the fact you’re my mate. I have the best girlfriend in the fucking world.” 

“Girlfriend?” Leah asked. 

“You’re my mate, Leah.” 

“Yeah, I just guess we never really had to think about this.” 

“Did you not want to be my girlfriend?” 

“I think it’s pretty clear I do you idiot.” Leah grinned. “It’s more that I- I never thought about us like that.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“It’s always been us. You’ve always been my mate as far as I can remember, so I never really paid thought to having to label things. Or the fact that we were… you know.” 

“A couple?” 

“Yeah.” 

“Same.” Fatin brushed the hair behind her ear, kissing her. “You’re okay with me calling you that?” 

“Yes. I prefer mate but I love both.” 

Fatin swallowed back the smile. “Okay.”