Nobody tells you when you meet your Destiny Mate how quickly your body reacts. An early morning breeze brought the scent of the ocean and something else. It chilled my bones while simultaneously burning a whole in my heart. As his scent coursed through my body, it felt old and sacred, like he was born for me and I was born for him.

I saw his nose twitch and I suddenly felt like one of Theo's rabbits. Without a second thought, I jumped off the rock wall and injured my ankle in the process. I knew that it be dangerous to stop to inspect the damage, so instead I shifted into my wolf form to try and gain more distance. My collar snapped off my neck and I gritted my teeth. If I got caught now, I was seriously screwed. The fire in my chest slowly started to crawl through my body, but fear and adrenaline forced me to keep moving. My body was going into heat and there was no way I could call Theo for help.

Turning my head over my shoulder was a big mistake. He was at least three times my size and gaining speed. I snarled as heat and unease took over my body. I should have never followed that damn cat. I should have just tried to go back to bed and-

My thoughts and vision were blocked by black tufts of fur. I let out a yelp as I hit the sandy ground. He pinned me easily, but I didn't stop kicking at him until he let out a threatening growl. I looked into his eyes and froze. They were the color of the ocean and it wasn't long before I was drowning in my nightmares again. I wished more than anything that this was a dream and Theo would be tackling me awake soon.

He could smell my fear. But I also knew he could smell I was about to go into heat. I thought when buried his muzzle into my neck, he'd force me to shift back into a human and my life would be over. Instead, the other wolf just inhaled my scent and rubbed my cheek with his own. I had no choice, but to take in his scent. And for a moment, I calmed down. He lifted his head and licked my muzzle playfully. The heat was making me confused and his shift in attitude wasn't helping. I didn't turn away when he licked me again. My body felt heavy and I could sense both of us were close to shifting back to our human forms. I almost dared to lick him back, but his head titled slightly upwards, just as he was thrashed off of me.

A brown Beta now stood between me and the Alpha. It was Theo. He was large for a Beta but didn't compare in size or strength to the Alpha wolf. Panic started to rise in my chest once more, but I was weaker now. I wanted to warn Theo that we were still in the other wolf's territory and he could attack him openly. The black wolf got up with ease and shook off his confusion before growling at Theo. It would be the only warning the Beta would get, but he doesn't back down. He pressed forward and within seconds both wolves were at each other's throats.

I tried to stand up and help Theo, who was severely outmatched, but I was on the cusp of a forced heat and I couldn't tell which Beta was the real one and which one was a hallucination. I growled as the heat rolled over me in waves. Three minutes barely went by and Theo was losing the fight badly. The black wolf had chewed him up and knocked him down several times, but my best friend wouldn't surrender. I whined as the Alpha gave him a hard blow to the chest.

My breath gets caught in my throat when Theo didn't recover. I looked over at three funny-looking black blobs digging their hind legs into the ground before springing into the air. My only clear thought was to save my best friend. I jumped over the Beta, just as the Alpha's jaw clamped onto my neck and his claws dug into my body. I crashed to the ground feeling a sudden release of pressure.

My first instinct was to shift. My bones screamed more than usual as they cracked back into their human form. The alpha was back in his human form as well. He knelt down beside with regret set on his face. I wanted to run, to scream, to tell him not to put his fingers gently on my cheek, but my vision was fading and I was too afraid to test my voice. My nose was the only thing that was still working. He reminded me of the ocean and nightmares, of my first breath of air and security.

He was mumbling something, but I couldn't hear him. I let a sigh out as he brushed a hand through my hair. My eyes could no longer stay open.

"Where have you been?" I asked just before my world was engulfed in darkness.

~****~

I woke up to the sound of a heart monitor relaying my vital signs. The pain was soon to follow the beeping. I groaned feeling the sharpest of my sores coming from my neck. When I didn't feel my collar, my eyes snapped open. What happened on the beach flooded my brain, like a dam that finally burst. My eyes locked onto the Alpha as he got up from his chair and walked over to my bed. Fear rose in my throat and this time there was nothing holding me back. I screamed.

Within minutes, two nurses and a doctor ran into the room. Once it was established there was no real threat, the doctor told the others to return to their station. The doctor turned to stare at me. He smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes and I knew something was off. I instantly thought of Theo.

"Is Theo okay?" I asked. The heart monitor started beeping extra fast, but I ignored it. The Alpha did not.

"Your friend is doing better, he's recovering in the main section of the hospital." The doctor said. I tried to nod, but it hurt too much. Most hospitals had a separate building for Omegas because patients in recovery might go into heat and then all hell might break loose. I sniffed the air. The doctor was also an Omega.

"My name is Doctor Wood." The doctor continued. "When you've settled down, I would like to hear your side of the story." The doctor turned away.

"I can tell you right now!" I said causing him to stop. "That guy attacked us!" I pointed to the Alpha.

"I was told you were in his territory." He looked at me and then the other man in the room. "Is this incorrect?"

"No, but those laws are outdated. My best friend could have been killed!" I tried to speak over the beeping, but it seemed to get louder and louder. Doctor Wood looked uncomfortable.

"I know you're frustrated and confused right now. Maybe we should start again, what is your name?" Doctor Wood quickly changed the subject.

"Jonah, Jonah Stone," I growled. I wasn't about to let this guy try and distract me. "He shouldn't even be in this ward! This place is for Omegas only! Why does he get to stay? Why are you not even arresting him?" I was pissed. I hated he was in here. I hated that I had to smell his scent. I hated that it calmed me down. I did my best not to look at him and to hold onto whatever anger I had.

Doctor Wood only began to speak when my breathing calmed. "Mr. Stone. I believe you and your mate have a lot to talk about.

"He's not my mate." I cut him off.

"Please feel free to contact a nurse or me if you start feeling uneasy." Doctor Wood ignored me. I knew this mess wasn't his fault, but I was mad and I was hurt. When the Doctor left the room, the Alpha cleared his throat to speak, but I stopped him.

"No," I said turning to face him. Guilt plastered his face and his eyes managed to waver my confidence for a beat. Even though it hurt to do so, I sat up straighter. "You don't get to speak."

The room was quiet except for the beeping of machines, reminding me I was very much awake and not dreaming. I didn't want to be here. I wanted to know if Theo was really okay. The thought of his limp body popped in my head and I wanted to shiver in disgust. This was supposed to be our last hurrah before our lives were going to be changed forever, but this Alpha ruined it. I took a deep breath. I was in this situation now and I just had to deal with it, like I always deal with everything.

"Why are you here?" I said out loud, but it wasn't what I meant. I really wanted to say, "where have you been?" But it hurt too much to say it.

To say that I didn't know this Alpha in front of me would be a lie. I've dreamed about him almost every night since I was eight years old, but I stopped believing he was real a long time ago. After he rescued me and took me home, he told me he would be right back. So I waited. I sat by my door and waited. When he didn't come back that day. I sat by the beach stairs and waited. I waited for hours, days, and even years, but he never came back. It was around my junior year of high school that I stopped believing I'd see him again. I knew what he was to me, but at that point, I had discovered I was an Omega and my life was never going to be normal.

"I'm sorry," His first words to me in almost fifteen years and I knew what he meant, but it didn't make the pain any better. My heart ached even more than before and I wanted to cry. He tried to reach for me, but I shifted away from him.

"No," I whispered and he listened. The pain in my neck burned and my lips pressed into a firm line. This wasn't just a battle wound. I knew that and so did he. I pressed my fingers along the bandage where I was marked. I didn't understand. All he did was bite me, yet my life now supposedly belonged to him.

"I didn't mean for this to happen." He said after a long silence.

"You didn't mean for me to see you, or you didn't mean to mark me?" I asked bitterly.

"Look, I am here now, aren't I?" He sighed. I didn't have to be mated with him to know he was getting frustrated, but I couldn't help myself.

"You are only here because you have to be." I spat back my eyes staring hard into his. I watched as anger washed over him.

"Grow up, you're acting like a child." He growled.

"I'm sorry," I said with attitude. "Do you not like this side of me? Guess you'll just have to deal with it for the rest of your life."

He didn't say anything after that. He just snarled and let out a growl from the back of his throat. I didn't back down when he got angrier, but my wrists felt like they were going to snap off with how tightly I was gripping my sheets. I had hoped when he looked down to see them, he had assumed my nearly white knuckles were caused by anger. But we both knew that was a lie.

He took a step back realizing how close he had gotten to me and brushed one large hand through his hair. From this angle, I could see his hair was still as jet black as I remembered it to be, but his face had lost its softer features. As he loomed over me, I noticed his muscles were more defined than in my dreams and they made his shirt sleeves look small. He was obviously no longer looked like a teenager, but I never imagined he could look like a grown man. I only realized what I was doing when his sharp chin tilted to the side and his dark brows furrowed together. Horror mixed with embarrassment now took over my emotions. My eyes widened and I could feel heat climb up my neck and sit on my cheeks.

"Don't be a punk, it doesn't look cute on you," He said turning his heel and heading toward the door. Panic rose in my chest and it caused the heart monitor to beep at twice its normal rate. He was leaving again and I couldn't think straight.

"Asher, wait!" The words stumbled out of my mouth before I could even figure out what I was doing. The other man turned his head over his shoulder. For a moment, I felt like a fish out of water and my mouth kept opening and closing, trying to grasp words like it was air.

"I'm... I'm still mad at you." I finally said. I gave myself an assuring head nod while clutching my sheets once more.

"I know." He said, then left.

That's when I realized I was screwed.