I was kissing Frankie. The guy who could hardly tolerate me for longer than a couple minutes. The guy who barely spoke. The guy who drove me completely crazy with his stubbornness.

I was actually kissing him.

Soon after I leaned in, I braced myself for the punch that was soon to follow, or the scratch to my face. Frankie didn't strike me as the type of person to appreciate physical affection much. Yet nothing ever came.

I wouldn't say Frankie kissed me back with plenty of fervour, but to my surprise, he didn't pull away from my contact, either. If anything, he was just as nervous as I was about this whole mate discovery. His actions were shy and hesitant, with a touch of innocence to them.

We pulled back, breathless from our kiss. It had been short, inexperienced, and most definitely far from glamorous. But it was still our first kiss as mates, and a memory I would cherish forever.

"Mate," I said gleefully. "You're my mate, Frankie! We're mates! Isn't this incredible?"

"No, no," he murmured.

"Yes," I insisted. "This is wonderful! I knew it! The Moon Goddess wanted us to meet that day in the park. Destiny is doing its magic."

"Mates?" He asked me hollowly.

I took a step towards him, wanting to hold him in my arms and feel his body against mine. Frankie wrapped his hands around himself and looked away from me, which made my heart drop momentarily.

"Yeah, we are. We're mates, Frankie. You and I." My voice faltered a bit. "Frankie? Is everything alright?"

"Of all people..."

"What?" I grew concerned and defensive. "Is there something wrong about me? Did you not want me as your mate?"

He didn't give me an answer, and I wanted to rip out my hair in frustration. Now, I had humoured him in the past whenever he bottled up, but I refused to play the silent game right now. I needed him to communicate with me more than ever, especially during this emotional situation. "Please say something, Frankie. I know you don't talk much, but I really need you to talk to me right now."

"I wasn't expecting to meet my mate so soon, that's all," he murmured, and I was relieved that he didn't hate me. Maybe he found me annoying, or overly talkative, but at least we still had a chance.

"Neither was I. But hey! Everything worked out, you know? This is just the start of our relationship."

"Yeah, it is." Frankie didn't seem so happy about it for some reason.

"This means you can officially move in now! Oh, I'm so excited, my parents are going to-my parents! I have to tell them I found my mate! My family's going to be so supportive, and we're going to be best friends, and we're going to have a family, and we're going to-"

"That's a very rushed and detailed plan," Frankie mumbled.

"I know!" I beamed. "I've got everything planned out, exactly the way I want it to go. So, we're going to have our mating ceremony as soon as possible, maybe next week or something, and then you can move into my family home. After that, we're going to...is something wrong?"

"No, no, I'm good."

"Are you hungry? Is the temperature too cold or warm in here? I can always adjust the thermostat. Are you worried about the UV rays from outside? I can close the windows."

"I'm fine, Bennett."

"You don't have to call me Bennett all the time if you don't want to," I noted how formal it sounded. "My friends call me Ben, or Benny. Or you can call me a pet name, too. Like babe, or baby, or sweetie, or Your Majesty. Maybe I can start calling you a pet name."

He made a face. "Please don't."

"I will. Let's see...what pet name would suit you? You're cold, and unapproachable, and quiet." I scratched my head for a few moments. "Oh, I got it!"

"What is it?"

"Your nickname shall be hedgehog. Hedge for short."

"No."

"It's perfect for you! You're cute, but you're also kind of prickly, and you curl up in a ball when someone pokes you. So that shall be your name."

Frankie reddened, but my mind was made up.

"I should introduce you to all my friends," I realized. "They're going to be so happy! Chantelle and Mark will love you, I'm sure."

"Who are they?"

"Chantelle's my human cousin. She's a few years older than me. And Mark is one of the pack members. But first, we're going to tell my parents." I grabbed his wrist, causing him to make a small noise of protest, and yanked him out of the room. I guided him back to my father's study, and as I approached, I was aware of another person in the room.

"-suspicious rogue behaviour on the loose, especially in the north," I could hear from inside the room. I swung open the door to find my father and brother talking intently about something.

"I have great news," I announced, startling the new of them. "Frankie is my mate! We just found out a few minutes ago."

"Why, that's awesome, Ben!" My dad exclaimed happily.

"I'm glad you finally found your soulmate," Nic grinned. "Although, at a very young age. And before me."

"Don't be disappointed, big bro," I gloated. "You'll find yours soon."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "Oh, that's not my priority at the moment. Besides, we've been facing a little dilemma at the moment."

"A say what now?"

"The border changes were solidified only a week ago, but unfortunately, they've been giving rise to rogue attacks, apparently. Levis has been hit with a wave of rogues, for instance. So has Sherbrooke. In fact, there are some packs in Northern Ontario and around the Toronto area that reported recent rogue sightings."

"Oh, I've heard of those packs. The super wealthy ones, right?"

"Yes," Nic said. "I'm talking old family, multigenerational packs, who likely have an abundance of security measures."

I shuddered inside. "So if the rogues are willing to attack those types of packs, what does it mean for ours?"

Our pack was certainly quite powerful within Canada, but we did pale in comparison to some of the older ones. The biggest packs were either from big cities, such as Toronto or Vancouver, or from regions that were settled and capitalized early by werewolves. So if they were feeling threatened, our pack had every right to be concerned.

"We don't know," dad said grimly. "We'll have to up our defences, increase mandatory training days, and record all movement in and out of the pack. I understand that we're strong and capable, but I can't afford to be taking any chances."

"I'm sure we'll be fine," I said. I noticed how Frankie had gone all stiff next to me, so I squeezed his hand in reassurance. "We'll get through this as a pack."

"We're going to have to," Nic said darkly. "I won't accept any other outcome."