11.Hope You Are My Mate

*Jade's POV*
I close my eyes for a few seconds and say, “Because I was.” I open my eyes to continue, “Levi, I really do like you, but as you know I am going to turn 18 next Sunday and my mate might be waiting for me out there. I don’t even know what is going to happen when I do find him. It would be very unfair to you if I dragged you along.”

He sighs, “I know, that is why I wanted to wait till you turned 18 to get close to you, in case your mate was part of pack. I thought that if your mate was not part of our pack, I might have a chance with you.”

I nod my head. “I know, the only issue with that, is that I had made a promise to myself long ago that I would travel around different packs to find my mate if he was not part of our pack. I have what they now call, ‘old school’ belief of the mate bond being sacred.”

I notice his face falls a little after I say that. I try to explain my point of view to him. “Levi, packs don’t even teach the true meaning of the mate bond anymore. Everyone goes from one relationship to another, until they find ‘the one’. Most don’t have the patience to wait or the care to look for their mate. Our kind is practically doing what humans do to find their partners, but the Moon Goddess gave us an easy way to find our other half. ”

After my short rant, I see that Levi has a smile on his face. He says, “Wow, I guess I never looked at it that way. Most of our kind just take a chosen mate. It has become such a normal thing to do.” I nod in agreement and say, “I know, but do you know something important that they don’t teach of mate bond anymore?”

He shakes his head. “No, what?” I sigh, “When we are brought into this world our soul separates in two. Your mate is that second part of your soul. When you reject or take a chosen mate your human side nor your wolf side will ever reach its full potential in every aspect of life.”

Levi looks very interested in what I am saying, so I continue. “Only when you complete the marking and mating process with your fated mate will you be at your full potential. You know one of the reason second chance mates are almost non-existent is because there is hardly ever another half of a soul that will match as perfect as the original one.”

He looks at me in wonder and asks, “How do you know all of this?” I smile and respond, “Emilio, apparently the royal pack members are still true believers of the mate bond.” He then chuckles, “Well, you have really enlightened me on the subject of mates.” His face then turns more serious and continues. “I wonder why they don’t teach us these things about the mate bond anymore?”

I scoff, “Because those in charge of teaching us these things don’t believe in the mate bond anymore. This is a problem that has been going on for many years already, way before you and I were born. But enough on that topic. Now you know where I stand with all of that.”

He squeezes my hand and tells me, “I understand and respect that, but you don’t have to worry about me getting hurt. I promise that if you ever find your mate and it works out between you two, I will step aside.” My respect for Levi has grown more. He has really shown me that he is a good person and is an even a good listener.

I suddenly remember Liam’s behavior during the dinner and ask, “So, care to explain my brother’s creepy behavior earlier?” He laughs and asks, “Remember the other day in your kitchen?” I nod in response and he continues.

“Well, your brother started questioning me because he heard when I asked if you wanted to hang out. I just told him the truth.” I question, “The truth?” He answers, “Yes, I told him I liked you and I made him aware of my intentions with you.”

I ask, “And he didn’t get upset with you?” He says, “At first he was. Then he warned me of what would happen to me if I hurt you, but other than that he was glad that I was honest with him.” I raised my eyebrows in surprise, then say, “Wow, that is so different from how he reacted with Ava and Julian.”

Levi shrugs his shoulders, “You know, that is because Julian was never honest with him about Ava, even when Liam would ask him about it. He told me he felt that Julian didn't show Ava the respect she deserved by keeping her a secret for so long.”

I nod in understanding, I guess that makes sense I thought to myself. I then clear my throat and say, “For all its worth, I hope you are my mate.” I blush and look away from him feeling shy after my admission. Sighing he says, “I hope so too. For some reason I feel a connection with you. Even my wolf feels protective over you.”

I give him a confused look, “I haven't heard of such thing before, wolves are only protective of blood relatives and mates. He nods his head and says with a smile, “I know, that is why I am holding on to the hope that you might be my mate.”

I smile in acknowledgement. Levi then stands up and stretches out his arm so I could grab his hand. I take his hand and he pull me up. I start brushing off the grass on my legs then make my way up. When my hands are brushing against my back side, I notice that Levi’s eyes linger on my ass.

I stop and his gaze starts making its way up taking me in, when he reaches my eyes, he realizes he has been caught. I raise an eyebrow at him. He starts chuckling nervously, while rubbing the back of his head. I smirk when I decide it would be fun to mess with him a little.

I take a few steps forward to get closer to him and say seductively, “Do you like what you see?” I notice that he gulped by the movement of his Adam’s apple. But before he can respond I start walking away from him with a chuckle and sway my hips to one side to another.

I hear a playful growl behind me. Before I know it, my arm gets pulled and I end up bumping on to Levi’s chest. He pulls me in by the waist and our bodies are pressed against each other. I get the courage to slowly look up and when I do, I see Levi's eyes are full of lust.

He smirks and says in a husky voice, “Don't tease me Jade, I won't be able to control myself. I've decided I will pursue you until you find your mate, unless I am your mate.” I swallow hard at the determination I hear in voice.

He suddenly presses his lips hard against mine. I freeze for a moment shocked at the sudden action, before I start responding to his kiss. This kiss is completely different from the first kiss we shared. This one is full of hunger and need.

I feel his hands roaming down my body, making their way to my ass. He firmly squeezes my ass with both hand causing me to moan in to the kiss. He takes advantage of this and sticks his tongue into my mouth.

He then lifts me up and I automatically wrap my arms tighter around his neck and my legs around his waist. Without breaking out kiss I feel him starting to walk somewhere and he suddenly has me pressed against a tree.

I can feel his erection against my core. Using the tree to help him support me up he is able to keep one hand on my ass while the other one is busy getting tangled around my hair. He angles my face to deepen the kiss.

Once he has thoroughly explored my mouth, he starts nipping and sucking my bottom lip. I suddenly feel him bite my lip a little harder causing me to gasp. I start feeling myself get wet. Levi groans, as the smell of my arousal is evident in the air.

Levi stops the kiss and starts to inhale the air, shamelessly taking in the smell of my arousal. He growls and places his nose at the crook of my neck dragging it down to my cleavage. Once he reaches my cleavage, he sticks out his tongue and drags it making its way back up to my neck.

He presses his forehead against mine, and this action pulls me out of the lustful daze I was in. I sigh and say “Levi, I...” He interrupts me and says, “I know beautiful, I wouldn’t take it any further than this out here. If I am ever lucky enough to be with you intimately, I will make sure our first time together would be special.”

I blush, but smile at his words. He smiles back at me and leans in to peck my lips before putting me down. We then make our way back to my home.