Zeke

Everyone was staring at me. I told them about Valerie, how we met, how she now lives in my bedroom, our friendship. They all took a moment to process it; but they were interrupted when Piper squealed, practically breaking eardrums. "You two are so gonna be mates!" she exclaimed, wrapping her arms around me.

I groaned. "We've been saying the same thing!" Caroline informed her, gesturing to herself, Nick, and Thalia. I rolled my eyes at her. "Don't act like you're not even considering the possibility! You're buying her a freaking birthday present and the girl is sharing a room with you!" she pointed out.

Everyone else nodded in agreement, including the guys. "It's called 'being nice'. I don't think you guys have heard of it" I snapped.

"See! Her sass is even rubbing off on you!" Nick chuckled. I narrowed my eyes at him. "I bet ten bucks that Valerie is your mate" he challenged. I didn't respond. Honestly, I have considered the possibility. But there are a lot of possibilities. It would be such a coincidence if she is my mate. I would find my mate the day she turns 16. It would be too convenient. Liam and Sam haven't even found their mates yet. "You're hesitating 'cause you know it's true" he stated.

I glared at him before looking at Liam and Sam. "You guys should come back to my pack. Maybe you'll find your mates" I suggested. They looked at each other, shrugged, and nodded in agreement. Caroline and Piper began muttering about me changing the subject. "Fine. It is possible that she's my mate. But it's also possible that she's Liam's mate or Sam's mate. We won't know until next week, so just drop it for now" I said softly. They sighed, nodding their heads.

They actually looked a bit sad that I didn't want to talk about it. I felt bad. "Go get ready. That gift isn't gonna buy itself" I stated. They snapped out of their glum thoughts as smiles appeared on their faces. "Anyone else wanna go?" I asked. Some of them nodded their heads.

It would be Nick, Caroline, Piper, Kat, Amanda, Caleb, and I going- which means we need more than one car. Nick volunteered to drive as well as Piper. She's still taking advantage of every opportunity to drive her car. Thalia decided against going because she was still talking about food with Grams. We said goodbye to them before walking out the packhouse.

I rode with Nick and Caroline in his car. While he followed Piper's car to the mall, I told him about my phone call with Valerie. "I knew Roger wasn't fond of you" Nick muttered. "I wasn't expecting him to actually try to get intel on you, though. What was he even gonna do with it?" he wondered.

I shrugged. Maybe he would challenge me, or find someone who could. Or he was getting information for someone else. Or maybe it was just harmless and he wanted to know more about me. "I don't think he would physically hurt someone. But he might hire someone to do it" Caroline chimed in.

There are a lot of possibilities and a lot of reasons. "We won't know for sure until we look into it" I stated, putting an end to the conversation as we parked at the mall. We walked over to Piper, Caleb, Kat, and Amanda. "Don't make me broke" I said sternly.

The girls rolled their eyes at me. I was already regretting inviting them. "So what are you looking to give her? Tops? A bracelet? A necklace? A hat? A-"

"I'm not sure" I cut off Piper's many suggestions. Her list would've gone on forever. "Let's just look around and you guys can point some stuff out" They nodded in agreement as we entered the mall. Us guys followed the girls as they immediately went into a clothing store and sifted through shirts.

They walked back and forth from the racks to me as they showed me different shirts. The shirts weren't bad. But none of them felt right. "I don't think I should get her a shirt" I stated. The girls nodded and we walked out of the store.

Piper suddenly stopped. "Guys. I have to pee" she announced. I made a disgusted face, causing her to stick her tongue out at me. She grabbed her mate and dragged him towards the bathroom. "Keep looking. We'll find you guys later" Piper said over her shoulder.

Nick and I started following the remaining girls to a shoe store. "Heels or sneakers?" Amanda questioned. I shrugged in response. I never seen Valerie wear heels. But she might on special occasions. "Maybe you shouldn't get her shoes either" she suggested as we walked out of that store. "Perfume?"

I shook my head as Nick chuckled. "That's practically telling the girl that she stinks" he stated. I laughed, nodding in agreement. "Look, jewelry. Basic gift. Perfect. Let's go in there" Nick demanded, pointing at the store.

We all walked inside, getting curious looks from the worker. She was staring at us like we were gonna steal something. "You're not getting her a ring this soon. So necklace, earrings, bracelet, or anklet?" Caroline questioned. I shrugged, telling them to see what stands out.

I looked around at all the accessories. Everything was so shiny. Diamonds are a girl's best friend, right? "Charm bracelet?" Kat suggested. I shook my head. It would be too much work to decide on charms to buy. I'm too lazy for that.

"What do you think of that?" I asked, pointing at a necklace inside of the glass box. There was a simple circle outline with a letter in the middle. It didn't have diamonds, it was gold, and it had a thin chain. It was simple, but cute- at least in my opinion.

Kat waved over the others and pointed at the necklace. They all nodded their heads and Caroline waved the worker over. "Can I have that one with a 'V'?" I asked.

The worker looked where I was pointing. "That is real gold" she informed me.

I nodded in understanding, refraining from rolling my eyes at her. Humans always judge the young. "Can you make it with a 'V'?" I questioned. She nodded her head and opened her mouth to say something. "I'll take one" I put my card on the counter.

She opened her mouth again before deciding against what she was about to say. "It's $99.99. I.D. please" she muttered, pulling a machine out from under the counter. She slid my card as I showed her my I.D. "Sign here" she handed me a receipt. I signed, smiling at her shock. "That'll be ready in an hour" she told me, handing my card back.

I nodded before walking out of the store with everyone behind me. "Stupid human" I muttered. We continued walking around for a while. I spotted Piper and Caleb walking into some lingerie store. I made a grossed out face. "She's already pregnant" I groaned.

"Maybe you should buy Valerie some lingerie" Amanda teased, bumping her shoulder to mine. I rolled my eyes at her and was about to remind her that Valerie might not be my mate, but she knew what I was going to say before I had the chance to say it. "You're in denial" she waved me off, walking into some kid store.

There were board games and stuffed animals surrounding us. "Hey! You should buy me this!" Kat came up to me, holding up a stuffed cat with huge eyes. She gave me the puppy dog face. "Please. I forgot my wallet at home" she pleaded.

I sighed and nodded my head, making her squeal like a child. "If she's getting something, can I get something too?" Amanda asked, jutting out her bottom lip and making her eyes super big. Nodding, I motioned for her to go pick something out.

She came back to me with a panda. "Manda Panda" I chirped. She narrowed her eyes, but there was a smile on her face.

The three of us walked to the counter and I handed the guy my card. The girls started talking, but I tuned them out. "Are they your sisters?" the guy asked. I shook my head at him. "Good job, man" he said, handing me the receipt and the bag.

Chuckling, I pulled the girls away from the cash register. He thinks that I'm with both of them. And he congratulated me on it. This generation has some major issues. We met up with everyone else- including Caleb and Piper. "Your necklace is probably done now" Caroline informed me, checking the time on her phone.

I nodded and we walked back to the jewelry store. The lady looked up at us and her eyes widened in recognition. She grabbed a small rectangular box from under the counter. "Mr. Kingsley" she said professionally. I resisted the urge to laugh. She opened the box for me to see the necklace. "Does this suffice?"

Piper looked over my shoulder and smiled at the necklace. "It's pretty" she told me. I nodded in agreement, telling the worker to put it in a bag. The lady quickly put the nice box into what looked like an extremely small shoebox before putting it into a small paper bag. "What's got her acting like that?" Piper questioned as we walked out the store.

"She's a human" I answered simply.

***

Back at Caleb's packhouse, I told Nick not to say anything to Roger. Valerie came to me because it's her father. As much as I hate to admit it, the guy doesn't deserve bad karma. He just wants to look after his daughters. "Are you sure about this?" Nick asked as Caroline and Thalia were saying goodbye to everyone. They were about to leave, but against everyone's wishes, I wanted to stay a few days.

I nodded in confirmation. "I won't talk to him. But I can still ask around if you'd like" Nick offered. I shook my head, telling him that I would deal with it. "Alright. Call me if you need a ride back" he said before waving a last goodbye and walking out the house.

Caroline gave me a hug. "Don't forget to wrap that gift" she reminded me. I nodded my head as I pulled away.

Thalia also pulled me into a hug. "Have someone else do it. I don't trust you to make it look nice" she said honestly. I rolled my eyes at her as they walked out.

They have such faith in me. It's amazing. "Zeke. Can you pass me the chips?" Piper asked from the couch. I raised an eyebrow at her. The chips were on the coffee table which was located right in front of her. "I'm pregnant, though" she jutted out her bottom lip.

I rolled my eyes, but grabbed the chips. "You're like a week along or something" I pointed out, handing her the bag. She ignored me and began munching on her food. I plopped on the couch, squishing between Piper and Caleb. "Do you guys want a boy or a girl?" I asked.

"Boy" they said in unison. They grinned at each other, making me regret sitting in the middle.

Cringing, I stood up and walked to the kitchen. Sam and Liam smirked at me once I walked in. Nope. Not dealing with them at the moment. I turned back around, but Sam quickly grabbed me by the shoulders and steered me to the kitchen island. I groaned and sat down on a bar stool. "So this Valerie chick" Sam started.

"Do you guys just sleep together or do you sleep together?" Liam questioned. I'm worried about how everyone is so interested in my non-existent love life. "Come on, man. We're just curious" he said, bumping our shoulders together.

They stared at me, waiting for an answer. "We sleep. No cuddling. No kissing. None of that. We sleep" I clarified. They frowned, no longer interested. "You guys are coming back with me, right?" I asked.

They nodded their heads. "Is she hot?" Sam asked, still wondering about Valerie. Liam slapped the back of his head. "I'm trying to get a visual! Who knows, she could be my mate!" Sam defended, rubbing his head.

I nodded. "She could be anyone's mate" I stated. Liam scrunched his face up. Obviously, he's on the same boat as the girls, convinced that Valerie is my mate. "Is the interrogation over?" Liam rolled his eyes, nodded, and waved me away. I should've never told them about Valerie. My phone started buzzing in my pocket as I walked up the stairs.

Speaking of the little devil.

_______________

"Be yourself. You're okay. And it really doesn't matter what other people think"

-Taylor Schilling

A rare life lesson from A.J.! At some point in our lives- even if it was for a split second- we wished that we weren't ourselves. We've all wanted to be something else- don't even deny it. And it's actually normal for humans. But this is me telling you guys to push away those thoughts. Embrace yourself. You might not think you're good enough; but there is someone out there that will adore you. You're someone's moon. You shine bright at the darkest hours.

I hope someone actually read this.

Kayyyzzz Byeeezz

~A.J.