Alpha wolves could sense their mate's presence a few days before their 18th birthday. This was to help facilitate the process of handing over the alpha position quickly. A little head start was always better, no? Mason had yet to turn 18, but boy couldn't he wait to grow up! (please note the sarcasm)

Mason considered himself quite fortunate, his mate was a year younger, 17 years old, so he wouldn't be able to sense him as his mate. Werewolves feel the mate pull after they turn 17. It's very light at first, but it starts growing if the wolf has their mate within their vicinity. Humans don't feel the pull unless touched even once after they reach 17. They can only feel the slight pull after they become 18 years of age. At the very least, he got a whole year to think about his problems and decide whether he would accept or reject his mate.

His mate was a human. A silent rejection won't hurt him. But his self and wolf would be devastated. Maybe his wolf would forever shut him out, never speaking to him again. His wolf was the naive part of himself that only cared for their mate and wanted to be happy with him.

His wolf hoped, begged or rather demanded from Mason to not reject their mate. Mason tried to appease his wolf and explained the shortcomings and insecurities in his heart to his animal counterpart. His problems weren't big like world hunger, terrorism, or rogue attacks, but for the young him who had recently reached adulthood, they defined his life, and even a tiniest mistake would change his future and he would have to deal with the consequences. Heck, he even had the stress of inheriting the Alpha position.

All of this posed a threat to his laziness, for he found it too troublesome to explain about his origins. Human mates were even more troublesome. He had heard instances of human mates running away with their heads bobbing like chickens when they learned about their significant other's secret identity. Some took time to digest it, but in the end they would come around after some resistance. Who would dare to resist the mate bond and Moon Goddess' wishes?

His condition wasn't much better as well, as an alpha getting a human mate was rare, not to mention he was a male.

Alphas were the leaders of the pack. They were meant to leave behind heirs, the ones who would guide the pack further when they had ripened. Having a male mate was difficult enough, being a human more so.

Male wolves on the submissive side were given some drugs for several months after mating to ensure womb formation, and the delivery was done by c-section. The wolf counterpart of male submissive would ensure the protection and growth of their pups in the womb. This wasn't a safe procedure, and most cases were unsuccessful. Some led to miscarriages and tears. As it didn't harm the carriers, the dominant wolves would agree to this method. Hypocrites. Mason would scoff while listening to the stories. If this procedure had even 0.1% chance of hurting their mate, they wouldn't have agreed to it. Mates were very important to wolves, more than their progeny. But that's a story for another time.