Tasting 180

180–She Called Him Mate

Nora:

“Akira!” I yelled, even louder until realizing I didn’t have to shout to make her listen to me.

“Please calm down.” I started begging, running into the bathroom and turning on the shower. I stood

under the cold water without even taking off my clothes.

My white shirt got soaked, revealing my bra, and my white shorts became transparent. It was

getting chilly under the cold water, but I needed to cool her off in any way possible.

“I can’t hold it in. So much pain,” she grimaced. I wanted to fix the ring on my finger, but leaving her

like that would make her go through even more intense pain.

“But

you have to. There is no way they will leave us alive after they see you,” I was begging her to not

transition,

“I’m not doing it by choice, Nora!” she groaned in pain.

“You are not transitioning on me, Akira!” I almost cried out. That’s when I heard someone knock on

my door.

“Shit! Akira, please cool off,” now the weight of everything was on my shoulders. I was fighting for

my life, rubbing my palms together to

comfort her.

“Please,” I pleaded, dropping to my knees.

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I didn’t even remember locking the door until I heard the door click and somebody walk inside.

My heart began to pound loudly. Fixing my ring was not an option. I couldn’t risk giving Akira so

much pain.

“You can fix the ring, Nora. I’ll get you in trouble,” she insisted as the footsteps drew closer.

“What about you?” I asked, worried.

“I’m already suffering from the betrayal of my mates. It is my fate now,” I shut my eyes tightly,

hearing her mention how much she had dealt with all alone while being trapped inside me.

My fists clenched, and through gritted teeth, I muttered, “No! I won’t let you suffer alone anymore. If

anyone has to see me in this state, let them.”

I kept my eyes closed to fight the transition, but I promised not to trap her inside me by force

anymore.

“Nora! Are you okay?” The voice was recognizable.

I opened my eyes to see Nash standing in the doorway, looking at me with shocked eyes.

“I’m in pain,” I grimaced, still on my knees and under the cold shower.

“But what is happening to you? And why are you under the shower?” He ran to turn off the water,

and my eyes widened in worry.

“No! Don’t do that,” I yelled, raising my hand. He stopped himself from turning off the shower.

He then quickly knelt before me and held my arms.

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“What is happening to you?” The little hint of shock in his voice was a sign that he already figured

out what was happening. He just wanted to hear it from me or was probably confused about how it

was possible.

“Your wolf-,” his eyes widened some more, “your wolf is waking up?”

Even though I was in pain, his words sparked a suggestion in my head, and I nodded meekly.

“That’s good news,” he smiled, but then he noticed how much pain I

was in.

“But what is going on? Either you transition or you don’t. This mid- situation is odd,” he rubbed my

arms, pulling me closer to cup my face in his hands and observe my eyes.

“Nora! Are you resisting the transition?” He freed my face and asked, concem etched on his face.

“I am scared,” I admitted honestly. That part I didn’t lie about.

“You will be fine. The transition might sound scary in the beginning, but you will feel much better

after you have transitioned rather than resisting it.” Obviously, he had no clue what I was truly afraid

of.

I shook my head because I could use that excuse to hide my wolf.

“This pain is too much,” I groaned, my back slowly beginning to arch.

“But-” he reckoned I was in no shape or form ready to transition at the moment. So he decided to

help me out of it.

“I can give you some wolfsbane to calm you down,” he insisted, but something odd was happening

to my body that I couldn’t understand.

This weird mixture of suffering and excitement started after Nash

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180–She Called Him Mate

arrived. The more he stayed close to me, the more I felt this tingling sensation in my veins.

“Let’s get you out of here first, and then I’ll go get you wolfsbane.” He ran his arm under my body

and carried me, making me wrap my arms around his neck. He took me to my bed and sat me

down, wetting the entire mattress and bedsheet.

“Ugh,” Nash groaned as he attempted to get up, then sat down

abruptly. With a hand on his heart, he grimaced, his eyes downcast.

After a few seconds of not moving, he raised his head, and our eyes connected.

The night was upon us, and the little bit of light coming from the window had now vanished.

But I remembered Brody’s words.

It was a full moon night.

Nash’s eyes locked onto mine, and I realized we could no longer break

eye contact.

“What the heck!” I watched him mouth the words. He was as shocked

as I was.

My heart raced in my chest until it matched the rhythm of Nash’s. Fear engulfed me, but the feeling

of finding a mate was so empowering that I forgot about everything in the moment.

We just stared into each other’s eyes, hearing our hearts beating in sync before I heard my wolf cry

out softly, “Mate!”

“Ah!” he gasped, unable to pull away from me or break eye contact.

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Our hearts had now synced, and slowly, our bodies regained their strength. We were able to move

again. His eyes traveled down to my transparent shirt.

This time, he didn’t force his gaze away. I watched as a gulp ran down his throat.

“Nash!” I uttered his name. My wolf had now calmed down. Of course, she did. She got herself

another mate, another fated mate who was my stepbrother–or supposed to be.

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