CHAPTER 17: TATTOO

Eva's POV

It was Friday and Casey decided that it was finally the day to shop for our dresses. I internally groaned. I hated shopping with a passion.

I blame it on my mother.

Wherever we went to the mall, she would take the longest time to decide what to buy. We would spend 4 hours just looking at a outfit before she decided if she wanted it or not.

A sudden pang hit my chest when I remembered that my dad and me would ditch her and hide in the food court. We hid there all day, eating free samples or just laughing.

"Eva?" Asked a concern Gabriel. We stopped by his car and I blinked up at him."Is everything alright?" He asked again and I nodded my head.

"Yeah" I said quietly. He looked at me hesitantly but decided to drop the subject.

"So, are you going dress shopping with Casey?" He asked with a smirk and I begrudgingly nodded my head.

"Sadly, yes. She won't stop bugging me"I said and he chuckled.

"Yep, that's Casey for you. That girl can shop for hours. I swear, Sebastian had to literally drag her out of the mall when he went shopping with her. Long story short, she wouldn't talk to him for a month" he said and I laughed.

"How would you feel if you had to hold 60 bags for over 5 hours?" Grumbled a voice. I turned around and came face-to-face with a scowling Sebastian. I was about to say something when a loud voice caught my attention.

"EVA!" Screamed Casey. My eyes widen and I hid behind Gabriel's tall frame.

"Hide me!" I whispered and he chuckled.

"EVA COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE!" She screamed. Her voice getting closer. I pressed my face into Gabriel's back and sighed. He shivered.

"BABE! SHE'S OVER HERE!" Yelled Sebastian. I cursed at him and he just laughed.

Casey was next to him in less than a minute.

"There you are Eva! Come on let's go!" She said while tugging my arm. I dug me feet into the ground and grabbed Gabriel's arm.

"Casey, I don't think we can shop today...um... I have lots of homework!" I said and mentally cheered at myself. She raised an eyebrow.

"It's Friday" she said


"So?" I asked

"You have the whole entire weekend to do stupid school work. All I'm asking is for a couple hours" she said and my eyes widen. I shot Gabriel a panicked look.

"Case, why don't you go shopping on Monday?" He asked and she shot him a mean glare. He raised his hands in surrender.

"Sorry, Love. You're on your own" he said and I rolled my eyes before muttering 'wimp' underneath my breath. She tugged me to her car and gave Sebastian a kiss. As I passed him, I huffed and whispered 'Rat' loud enough for him to hear it. He laughed.

"I know" he replied and I stuck my tongue out at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Real Mature for an 18 year old" he said and I smirked.

"Joke's on you, I don't turn 18 for a couple of days" I said and everyone gasped.

"Your birthday's coming up" Gabriel asked with wide eyes and I nodded my head.

"Yeah, it's actually the night of the Ball" I said and Casey looked like she was going to faint.

"Why didn't you tell me?" He asked and I shrugged. He shot me a look before grabbing my arm gently and pulling me aside.

"Eva, this is important! I can't believe you didn't tell me!" He said while running his left hand through his hair.

As soon as he did, I saw something black going up his arm.

A Tattoo?

I grabbed his arm and pushed up the sleeve of his shirt

"What the Hell is This?" I asked, pointing to his intricate Tattoo. His eyes widen before a blush broke out on his cheeks. He mumbled something I couldn't understand.

"Gabriel, I don't have super hearing. You're gonna have to speak up" I said. He looked into my eyes and smiled a small smile before grabbing my hand and pulling me to his car. I looked at him in confusion. Where were we going? As if reading my mind, Gabriel answered me.

"We're going somewhere we can talk in private" he said and I nodded. He turned to Casey. "Case, meet me at my house in a hour. Eva will be ready by then" he yelled and she was going to say something when Sebastian shook his head and walked her to her car.

Gabriel led me to his red Jeep and opened the passenger door. I thanked him and climbed in. He shut the door and jogged over to his side before starting up the car and driving away.

10 minutes later we pulled up in front of this old looking Ice Cream parlor on the outskirts of town. He ushered me inside and I instantly fell in love with it.



It had checkered floors with wooden tables and light pink walls with different signs from all different eras. The smell in here was amazing.

Gabriel walked me to the counter and my eyes widen with all the assortment of flavors.

"Hi y'all, what can I get you?" Asked an elderly lady. Her smiled softened when she saw Gabriel. "Gabriel Green is that you?" She asked and he laughed.

"Yes, Ms. May it is" he said as she hugged him. When she pulled back, she looked at me before smiling and engulfing me in a hug.

"Eva, this is Ms. May, She owns this fine establishment" he said.

"It's nice to me you Ms. May" I said kindly and her smiled widened.

"She's a keeper Gabriel" was all she said before going behind the counter and scooping some ice cream into a bowl. My mouth dropped and Gabriel winked at me before slowly capturing my chin and closing it.

He gently pushed me to a booth in the back corner before saying something to Ms. May. She nodded her head and waved him off. He sat down across for me and smiled.

"What are we doing here Gabriel?" I asked and he smiled.

"Can't a guy enjoy a banana split with his mate?" He asked and I raised an eyebrow. He sighed. "Fine, we're here because I have a few things I want to explain to you about our bond" he said and I nodded.

Ms. May delivered our ice cream to the table before kissing our cheeks and leaving to do inventory. We thanked her and I was surprised when I looked down and saw my favorite ice cream sitting in front of me.

"You remembered my favorite Ice Cream?" I asked in shock and he nodded his head at me before talking a bite of his banana split.

"How could you forget Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream? It's a very unique flavor" he said and I smiled.

"Thank you" I said before taking a bite if the delicious Ice Cream.

I nearly died.

This was Heaven.

"So are you gonna explain to me why you have a Tattoo? I'm pretty sure you didn't have that when I met you?" I asked and he sighed before putting his spoon down.

"Yeah, about that" he began before scratching his neck nervously. "You promise not to freak out?" He asked and I gave him a 'are you stupid' look.

"Well, let's see. In the past month, I found out that the guy I like and his whole family are a bunch of wolves because a crazy delusional witch cursed his family. Then I find out that I am his soul mate/ bonder and we are destined to be together for the rest of our lives. Gabriel, if I didn't run for the hills before, I'm definitely not going anywhere now" I said and he gave me a goofy grin.



"You like me?" He asked and I laughed before punching his shoulder.

"Yes, you goofball. Now tell me why you have a tattoo!" I said and he raised his hands in surrender.

"Okay jeez" he said while grinning.

Suddenly his face got serious.

"Eva, remember the dream you had the day before we met?" He asked and I nodded. "Well, I had the same one. Only it was from my wolf's point of view. This was the day that my wolf marked you as his, is the day when our bond officially formed. When my wolf bit you, it awakened our connection so that when we did find each other, we would have a easier time getting to know each other and adjusting as mates. The mark was to let my wolf form a spiritual connection to you, To inform other wolves(werewolf or not) that you are mine." He said and I nodded for him to continue.

"This" he said while pulling his sleeve up and showing me the most beautiful tattoo ever. It had beautiful spirals that curled around his whole arm. The details were so intricate that I couldn't help but stare in awe. It started at his ring finger and I think it went all the way up. "This is my mark, so to speak. Since you carry my mark, I must carry yours. This mark starts at my ring finger and once it's finished, it will rest around my heart. It let's people know that I have found my mate and a very dominant Wolf. The tattoo begins as soon as we come into contact with our mate, so it didn't start filling in until a couple of days after I met you. That's why you didn't notice it until today. It's almost done and the lines are filling in" he finished and I looked at him in awe.

"So you father has it and one day, your brothers will too?" I asked and he nodded.

"Dad has one, but his is totally different than mine. Every Green has a different mark. There is never the same mark twice. Even the twins will have different marks one day" he said and I nodded.

"So then that means that your cousin has one too? How can that be? I never saw a Mark on him?" I asked and he shook his head.

"Kaden doesn't have a mark. His father's family had a different curse than mine did. Every curse has special requirements. My family curse requires a Mark whereas Kaden's family curse does not. I don't know the specifics of his curse but I do know that he doesn't have to have a mark, so far. It could change in the future but as of right now, he doesn't have one" he said and I sat quietly while trying to process all the information.

"So there are different curses?" I asked and he smiled.

"Yes, every werewolf in the history of werewolves was the result of a curse. Not all of them were bad curses though. Some were actually placed to protect people. It was a honor to protect and be turned into the mighty warrior wolf"

"Wow" was all I said. He chuckled and stood up.

"Come on, love. Let's get going before Casey has a fit" he said and I groaned.

He chuckled before putting his arms around my waist and pulling me to his car. Before I got in he kissed my forehead. I looked up at him in shock.

"Thank you for not freaking out, Love. I really appreciate it" he said softly and I smiled.

"What are mates for" I said before jumping in his car.