Chapter 2

A/N: While I was writing this, Rhys addressed Riley by his name... Oh, boy, what a mistake that would've been on my part! After all, they did not introduce themselves yet. Anyhow, enjoy the chapter :)

*****

"Buckle up," I insisted, doing so myself. I was a careful driver and had yet to start the engine, but the thought of him getting hurt in a car accident - or in any other way for that matter - terrified me.

What was his name anyway?

I craved to find out what was the name of my mate, but I was afraid to ask. I was a stranger and he feared me; he'd only find me more intimidating if I made personal inquiries.

But was asking for something as basic as what he was called an inquiry?

After all, it was standard for people to introduce themselves to one another or to ask for each other's name when they first met.

Should I ask him?

I turned my head towards the boy and realized he was studying me. His beautiful brown eyes were fixated on my face, fluttering from one spot to another until they landed on the four shameful lines that started from my left cheek and made their way down my neck - the giveaway signs of my moment of weakness.

"Buckle up," I repeated and once he did so, I turned to the road, depriving him of the view of my scars. I brought the engine to life and drove the car out of the parking lot and onto the street.

"Where do you live?" I asked, trying to keep my voice low and emotion-free so that I wouldn't disturb him. I couldn't let him know how much I wanted to pull over, ask him for his name and then embrace him in my arms, kissing his mouth, his neck... Kissing wherever he'd allow me.

The boy murmured a reply and wrapped his arms around his torso, no doubt to comfort himself.

"Are you cold?" I desired with all my heart to hear a truthful "yes", to have that as a reason for his movements, but I knew I hoped in vain; it was my presence that made him act that way, not the warm summer weather.

Just as I expected, he gave a negative answer by shaking his head.

"So I still managed to frighten you," I muttered and his gaze - previously on the road - turned to me as the boy commenced another examination of my person.

There was a good chance he had noticed the disappointed note in my tone so I decided not to speak again until I had control over my composure and my inflection. For the most part, I made good on that decision, breaking the silence between us only once; when the quiet had gotten too much for me to handle, I'd offered him to turn on the radio on a station by his choosing. He said he didn't care about what station the radio was on, but to my great delight, he'd smiled - a small smile, but it was there and more than enough to make my heart skip a beat - when I turned the radio on to my favorite station and he admitted it was one he often listened to as well.

It made me happy to know that we had at least one thing in common; after all, I'd try as hard as I could and them some to make him fall in love with me and move into my house so having similar interest was a plus, it would make our life together that much better.

But I shouldn't get ahead of myself. I should go about this slowly, first show him that he could trust me and only then try to make him love me.

I stopped in front of a six-storey apartment building, on the opposite side of town that our pub was. It wasn't a striking edifice, just your average concrete lower-middle class premises. It was nothing like the homely houses in my neighborhood. Even the poorest of our pack members had given their dwellings some character with decorations and well-kept gardens; this place was devoid of any.

At least the foundations seemed sturdy so I wouldn't have to worry about the boy getting injured during an earthquake... Not that we had many of those in Woodbury.

The teen faltered before getting out of my vehicle, biting his lower lip - oh, that gorgeous lip; how I wished to taste it! - and playing with his keys. I noticed his keychain was in the shape of a cup and with the words Milk and Cream written on it and I made a mental note to search for a place by that name; perhaps it was a café or a teahouse he patronized. I could use that as an excuse to see him again; he should be less intimidated if we were in public.

"Drive home safely," he muttered as he got out and when he turned to close the door, he was greeted by my carefully contained smile.

I couldn't help but smile, but I didn't want to grin at him like a madman simply because he was courteous enough to wish me a safe drive. The boy couldn't even begin to imagine how that sentence had pulled at my heartstrings, how his desire for me to be well was a sign that perhaps I had not scared him as much as I thought I had, that maybe it would not take an eternity for us to get close.

I battled my desire to walk him to his apartment and settled for waiting for him to enter the building before I drove off. I tried to come up with a strategy, with some step-by-step plan how to make him more comfortable around me, how to earn his trust and how to make him fall in love with me, but my thoughts kept swirling in another direction.

I kept imagining us years from now, living together in my house after having turned it into our home. As it was now, the house I'd built with the help of my father, older brother and some other friends who worked in construction, was deprived of almost any furniture; the walls were bare, the tiles in one of the bathrooms were yet to be arranged and there were no carpets.

In my head, the house was finished from top to bottom, sentimental decorations on the shelves in the living room included. The garden was in tip-top shape mostly due to my mother - did my mate enjoy gardening? - and filled with her favorite daffodils, dad was barbecuing and Everett's children - the ones he so desperately wanted to have with Lisa - were playing tag along with those my mate and I had adopted. It shouldn't be difficult to do that; same gender couples were allowed to adopt in this state and mom was a social worker. If we raised them from babies, they would have no problem adapting to life in the pack even if they were human.

Another picture flashed through my mind. I was sitting on a soft carpet in front of the fireplace, my back against the couch, my legs outstretched and with my mate between them. There was nothing indecent about that scene; we were both fully clothed, with a blanked draped over us, watching the flicker of the flames and enjoying each other's company.

My thoughts carried me back in time to the fantasy of us picking the furniture for our house then forward to mom parking her car in front of our home and opening the back door for a tiny five, maybe six year old, who my mate and I were to call ours from then on.

I hoped my mate wanted children. Having three brothers and growing up in a close-knit community, I wanted a large family of my own. Maybe five kids?

Yes, why not five?

We could always add more rooms to the house.

I stopped my car in front of my parent's home - the residence I was currently residing in - and I walked inside, my dreams having morphed my lips into a permanent smile; I just couldn't get them back to their usual form.

My family was waiting for me in the living room. All were there - my parents, my two younger brothers - Carter and Kennedy, and my older one - Everett, along with the beautiful Lisa, who he was lucky enough to call his wife and mate.

"I found him," I murmured. "I found my mate."

My mom gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, Kennedy shouted 'Yes!' and fist pumped the air and even Carter lifted his eyes from his phone to smile at me. Before I knew it, my father was embracing me, whispering 'I'm happy for you, son' before stepping back so Lisa could give me a kiss on each cheek; Everett was next, patting my back when he hugged me and mom, with tears in her eyes, wasted no time wrapping her arms around my torso. I kissed the top of her head and heard her sniff, my own eyes beginning to sting.

They had waited along with me. For eight years, they had supported me and patiently waited for me to recognize my mate.

"So," she released me and wiped her face with her hands, "what is the name of my new soon-to-be-son?"

"I don't know," I admitted and all their faces froze into a confused expression.

"W-what do you mean, you don't know?" Everett stuttered.

"I didn't ask him."

"Oh, man!" Kennedy facepalmed himself. "Bro, seriously?"

"He was scared; I didn't want him to think I was prying," I justified myself and my youngest brother swiped both his hands down his face, repeating 'oh, man, oh, man, oh, man' while shaking his head.

Looking around the room I realized all of my relatives shared his opinion and thought I should've asked the boy what to call him - something other than mate - but they were still hesitating how to politely bring up how much of an idiot I'd been not to do that.

Kennedy of course was too blunt for politeness.

"You are an idiot," he said aloud. "You live under the same roof as me and you can't even ask your mate for their name. I'm thirteen and I ask girls out. You can't even..."

"That is enough." I was grateful for our mother interrupting him; I might be Kennedy's older brother and the Beta of the Silver Bullets, but he was more likely to obey her than me. Sadly, that did not happen.

"But, mom, Rhys waits for eight frickin'..."

"Language!" Our female parent reprimanded.

"... years and he doesn't even ask for the boy's name. Did you at least introduce yourself?" He turned to me.

If I had not felt like a fool before, I sure did now. How could I forget to do that?

It was the reasonable thing to do and it would've given him a chance to tell me his name in turn.

Hi, I'm Rhys!

Nice to meet you, Rhys. I am...

It would've been so easy!

"It is times like these that I wonder how you were elected as Beta."

I swirled around at the sound of his voice.

Alec was leaning on the door across the hall - the one that led to the kitchen - with a small plastic ice cream container in his left hand, a spoon in his right.

"Maybe that is where the problem lies: you were elected." He licked the cold treat off the spoon, staring straight into my eyes. "This democratic community of yours is such an annoyance."

At first, I was too surprised to see Alec in my parents' home to respond. I had not heard him come in; how long had he been in here?

It did not matter; I wanted to talk to him anyway.

I was going to make sure he'd stay away from my mate.

*****

A/N: What do you think of Rhys' behavior? Is he making too big of a deal of meeting his mate? Was he an idiot not to ask for Riley's name?

Do you think Alec will cause trouble for those two?

Please support this chapter with a VOTE if you enjoyed it!

PS: I'm so excited for Saturday and the Story Fair! You are coming, right?

Link to the event in the comments :)