Chapter Ten

Before I knew what was happening, my arms instinctively wrapped themselves around Marks back. I sobbed into this chest. Sabrina came closer to us, rubbing my back, Mark resting his chin on the top of my head. He kissed it gently, roaming his hand through my hair. The back door flew open, Celestial and my dad both rushing outside towards us. I turned my head towards Sabrina, who was giving my parents a grave look. I flicked my eyes towards them, analyzing their faces. They knew what I was crying about.

"Morgan, honey, I'm so sorry." Celestial's voice was soothing, she placed her hand on the small of my back. Mark released his hold on me, I felt lost as the safe and secure feeling I felt when he was holding me like that, left in an instant the moment he stepped away. I turned towards Celestial and hugged her tightly.

"When's the date?" I heard Marks voice.

"Tomorrow." My dad mumbled, pain dripping off his voice. My whole body went rigid in Celestial's hold, causing her to flinch. *"Tomorrow?"*

"I'm going." I stated strongly, pulling myself away from Celestial's hold. They all looked at me, bewilderment showing in their eyes.

"You will do no such thing!" My fathers voice boomed out. No wonder where I got my temper from.

"I'm not going to watch you die!" I screamed at him. Everything around us went silent. My father and I stared each other down for what seemed like forever. He threw his hands up in the air in defeat.

"Fine. You are so much like your mother, I don't know what to do sometimes." He shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. A victory smile formed on my face.

"We will all go." Sabrina's voice dominant, grabbing my hand in hers, she gave me a reassuring look. We were going to stand behind my parents, no matter the consequences.

"No, Sabrina, your father-"

"My father will be there too." She was not backing down. "Everyone will know of this. If we have to fight the Council, your friends will have your back." I admired her strength. I could only wish to be as strong as her. She squeezed my hand.

"Dad, you're not doing this alone. Not anymore." I stood as tall as Sabrina. There was no backing down.

My dad shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. He walked over, wrapping his arms around both of us. "What am I going to do with the two of you?" He sighed. A single tear fell from his eye. He was proud. Proud of us for standing up for what was right. The Rules needed to be reevaluated. And we damn sure were going to make sure they were.

"Alright, since the two of you are here already, why don't we all go in and have some dinner?" Celestial laughed at the sight of all of us standing there. "Mark, Sabrina, would you two care to stay the night? Keep Morgan some company?" Celestial motioned her hand at us to come, asking as we all walked in a line through the door behind her.

"I'm down! Let me call my dad. I have to tell him the news anyways." Sabrina ran past us to head to my room so she can talk to her dad in private.

"If you don't mind it, Chris?" Mark said, concerned my father would not approve of the idea.

"Of course he doesn't mind." Celestial tapped my father on the back, giving him a look I couldn't discern.

"No, of course not. But you will all sleep in the living room." He cleared his throat. Celestial rolled her eyes, throwing her hands up. I looked at Mark, a wide grin showing on his face. I smiled softly, my heart jumping at the thought that Mark was staying the night.

"Come on, I'll show you where we'll be sleeping at." I started walking out of the kitchen. Mark followed close behind me, but before he could say anything, I covered his mouth with my hand and pulled him towards the wall. "Ssshhhhh" I whispered.

"Celestial, are you crazy?!" My dad groaned. I could see him hitting his head with his hand. Celestial would be looking at him with that look, her hands on her hips. That's how she always stood with conversations like these.

"It's not nice to evesdrop." Mark's lips brushed against my ear. I shrugged my one shoulder up to my ear to settle the intense chill that shot down my spine. God was his voice amazing.

"SSSSSSSHHHHHHH!" I turned my face towards his, not exactly realizing how close he actually was to me. Our lips just barely grazed each other's. An electricifying feeling shot through my whole body, my heart rate increasing by the second. My eyes flickered to how he was standing. His hand was placed on the wall next to my head, holding himself in a position to be as close as possible.

"Christopher, she's his mate." Celestial's voice broke through. "He told me the night of our wedding. You know that Mark is a-" Celestial's voice was cut off by the feeling of Mark's other hand grazing the side of my face. I was straining to hear the rest of the conversation, my eyes never leaving his. My face was boiling at this point.

*"Oh God. Oh God. Please just kiss me already!"* My subconscious was screaming. As if he could read my mind, Marks hand cupped my face, just barely holding my chin, and gently placed his lips on mine. My mind exploded, electricity was flowing through my body. *"My first kiss. My first kiss with a man I had been falling for for months now."*

My shoulders relaxed, my body instinctively moved closer to his, our lips moving and parting in perfect rhythm. We were made for each other. What did Celestial call it? *Mates?* All the questions and buzzing in my head quieted down. Time stood still. Everything around us seemed to disappear, leaving the two of us in bliss. The feeling soon ended as Mark slowly pulled his lips from mine, just barely nipping my bottom lip. I opened my eyes to look at him, sadness radiating from them. His eyes still closed, he rested his forehead on mine.

"I have been waiting so long to do that." He whispered. He pulled back from me, his warmth leaving with him. A lump started forming in my throat. I couldn't think, let alone breathe. He leaned back against the wall looking at me, a smirk forming on his face. I blinked, finally catching my breath and swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat.

"Wow." I breathed

Mark looked at me in amusement. "Wow?"

"That was my first kiss, Mark." My voice barely above a whisper. He smiled even bigger.

"Well, I'm sure there will be more where that came from." He grabbed my hand. "Show me where the living room is."

We walked in silence towards the living room. My mind going a million miles a minute. I guess Mark could sense my curiousity.

"What's on your mind?" He stopped, pulling me back into his arms. I shot him an amused look.

"I was thinking back on what Celestial said. What is a 'mate'? How do you know I'm your 'mate'? What are you?" All the questions blurted from my mouth before I could hesitate to think on which one's would be appropriate in this instance. Mark laughed.

"Okay, okay. First, I'm a werewolf." My jaw dropped. Of course he is. He's too damn gorgeous to be human. "Second, a 'mate' is basically like a soulmate. Someone you are destined to spend the rest of your life with." He stroked my hair, his longing gaze meeting my curiousity. He looked lost in thought. His beautiful cobalt blue eyes poured into my soul, making me feel refreshed and lustful. "When I bumped into you at that wedding store, my whole body went ablaze. Your scent filled my nostrils, making my innerwolf howl in excitement." He paused, trying to find the right words to describe the moment we first met. "As soon as I made contact with you, my whole world became complete. If we weren't out in public or complete strangers, I would have taken you right then and there. Your scent," he pulled on a strand of my hair, lifting it up to his nose, breathing my scent in deeply, "sent me over the edge. I knew in my heart that you were destined to be mine. I've wanted you ever since that moment. Since you're human, I didn't want to frighten you. I wanted to be by your side, to become your friend first. I wanted to tell you myself that you are my 'mate', but I never could figure out how to tell you." His cobalt blue eyes held fear and excitement as he stared into mine. My mind was trying to process all of it.

Before he could say anything else, I grabbed both sides of his face and pulled his lips to mine. The electrifying feeling enhanced my body once more, igniting the inner parts of my soul that had laid dormant all these years. I pulled away from him, a soft growl leaving his lips. I smiled.

"You're mine." I whispered happily.

He wrapped his arms around my waist tighter, leaning down to kiss me. "And you're mine."