Liam

Liam stumbled through the hallway, intoxicated and bored as he let the newly formed mate bond lead him to his soulmate. He was really hoping that he wouldn't find his mate tonight but sadly, his mate was here. His head hurt from the loud music and the flashing lights did nothing to help. At first Liam wanted to just ignore the mate bond and leave but another part of him wouldn't let that happen. He wanted to know who his mate was. He needed to know who his mate was.

Your soulmate was supposed to be your perfect match, someone who brought out the best parts of yourself. But as Liam stumbled down the hallway he didn't think that was possible. In Liam's mind there's nobody on this earth who could change him. And he was good enough as he was. How special could one person be anyway?

"Why the fuck did my mate have to show up? This is ruining everything, I wish I got my soulmate at eighteen like almost everyone else. All my plans to fuck around before settling down are ruined!"  He stomped down the hallway, confused as to why his mates presence seemed to be everywhere. Either Liam was going crazy or his mate must be at the main pack house a lot.

It became harder to trace their scent once Liam realized this. The mate bond aided him in his search but it only helped so much. "Isn't the stupid mate bond supposed to work like a GPS? How the hell am I supposed to find them now?" He groaned and walked down the hallway, barely noticing how it seemed that his mate had strayed further and further from where the main party was. Where could they possibly be?

Liam could tell he was getting closer to his mate and the further he walked the more uncontrollably nervous he became. He tried to imagine what his mate would look like but nothing came to him. He heard from his parents that seeing your mate for the first time was like the reliving all of your best experiences into one.

"That's complete and utter bullshit. They were definitely lying." Liam shook his head and cleared his thoughts, trying to focus on his senses so he could get this stupid magical meet and greet over with. Everyone had been so excited for him and yet Liam just had a terrifying feeling in the pit of his stomach. Some people would say it's anticipation but in Liam's personal opinion it was dread.

Humans get to decide who they want to spend the rest of their life with, so why can't werewolves do the same thing? It wasn't fair that Liam didn't get to choose who he had to spend the rest of his life with. And what if they were ugly, that was one of Liam's most concerning thoughts.  If his mate was ugly then what was he supposed to do with his life?

At that moment all Liam could do is laugh when he realized how shallow he was. "Enesta would murder me if she could hear my thoughts." He shook his head and climbed up a set of winding stairs. He could feel the mate bond become stronger as he walked closer to his soulmate's location. Even the thoughts that had just preoccupied him seconds ago were fading into the background. Liam swore that the hallway had become brighter with a white glow drowning out the sources of light in the hallway.

Liam took a deep breath and realized that as soon as he turned the corner he would reach his soulmate. The person who he was going to spend eternity and beyond with. Liam nervously smiled and ran around the corner, his curiosity finally getting the best of him.

The only person he saw was Kane Zaveri who was walking down the hallway with a distressed expression on his face. Liam had even felt the urge to run into Kane's arms before he realized who it was.

"Holy shit..."

~~~~<>~~~~

Kane

"No... this can't be happening! Out of all the people in the world it had to be you!" Liam stood in the hallway of the main pack house where his party was being held. Kane was a bit confused as to why Liam was standing there so angrily, shouldn't he be looking for his soulmate? Kane looked around seeing if there was anyone else behind him, there wasn't. So Kane stepped aside and gestured for Liam to keep walking. Kane had to keep walking before Sam and Hyejin caught up to him. He had noticed earlier that they were the ones following them.

"There was no reason to make such a big deal about me being in your way. You could've just moved around me." Kane rolled his eyes at Liam which only made him put his head in his hands, obviously in despair.

"You don't get it, do you?" Liam muttered under his breath as he looked up at Kane, disappointment evident in his expression.

Kane stared at him blankly, not really caring about what Liam had to say at the moment. He had more important things to worry about. He was about to start walking before he realized that Liam was supposed to be meeting his soulmate, instead he was here, looking like his dog had died or something.

"Wait a minute..." Kane glanced at Liam who was looking like he wanted to throw himself off of a building and put the pieces together.

"You've got to be kidding me. Is this a joke?" Kane couldn't believe that the Moon Goddess had decided that Kane was Liam's soulmate. Liam had almost never even payed attention to him, and if he did it was just straight up bullying. And Kane couldn't care less about this guy. So how the hell could this have happen?

"I thought my mate was a werewolf." Liam whispered to himself. "I don't even like you." Liam said, trying to ignore his conflicting feelings of punching Kane in the face or kissing him. All of a sudden Kane has become much more attractive. It was definitely the stupid mate bond.

Kane let out a humorless laugh. "Then why don't you just reject me? Please get it over with so I can go on about my night, I'm too busy right now to deal with this. Don't worry though, you won't be breaking my heart, I'll accept the rejection easily."

Liam glared at Kane, as if the idea of rejecting Kane offended him. "I'm not going to do that." He said, his voice quickly turning into a low growl as his eyes darkened to the color black. Kane rolled his eyes, not the least bit fazed by Liam's sudden change in demeanor.

"But I thought you didn't want me?"

"I don't."

Liam was suprised to see just how annoyed Kane was with the situation. The person that should be upset in Liam's mind was him, not Kane.

"My life is already complicated enough, so if you could sort out all your issues before you get me involved in all of your bullshit then I would be very grateful." Then Kane pushed past Liam, intent on continuing to lead Sam and Hyejin away from Nia.

"Don't walk away from me." Liam grabbed Kane's wrist and pulled him closer.

"I can do whatever the fuck I want bitc-"

Before Kane could finish his sentence he was pinned against the wall with Liam nuzzling his neck, leaving Kane to stand there in shock.

"You're mine." Kane cringed when he felt Liam whisper those two simple words in his ear. What the hell is going on, Kane thought to himself as he stood still paralyzed with shock.
Liam must have a spilt personality or something, those were the only thoughts Kane could form at the moment, especially when he felt Liam kiss his collarbone.

"W-what are you doing? What the hell is wrong with you?!" Kane whispered as he felt his voice go up octaves from Liam's lips on his neck.

"What do you mean?" He asked, as his canines became longer. Liam ignored Kane and started to move his hands under Kane's shirt. At that moment Kane seriously contemplated whether not he should just blow his cover and beat the shit out of Liam. Would he even be able to tell that Kane was abnormally strong? Probably not, he's drunk as hell.

It must be the stupid fucking mate bond. Kane felt as if hives had broken out all over his body when Liam touched him. Kane was grateful he hadn't ate anything or else he would've vomited all over the floor from how disgusted he was.

"Um... do you think you could let me go-" Kane's sentence was interrupted as Liam kissed him softly on the lips. Kane's eyes widened and he quickly shoved Liam away from him. He tried so hard to control himself and not reveal himself but Kane automatically drew the line at Liam trying to kiss him. He'd rather die.

Liam looked at Kane confused, obviously thinking that Kane shouldn't have been able to push him like that. Kane laughed nervously before he tried to skirt around Liam and make a run for it. But before he could successfully run away Liam grabbed him again and wrapped his arms around his waist, pulling Kane towards his chest. Kane turned around to see Liam looking hurt that Kane rejected his advances.

"Get away the fuck from me, you're crazy! What's wrong with you?! I swear to God you are the most insane person I've ever seen in my life! Did I not shove you hard enough?!"

Liam tilted his head to the side, as if he was a confused dog. "You... don't want me?" If it wasn't for the situation Kane would've laughed. Liam looked like a rejected dog, it's too bad that Kane really didn't give a damn about Liam's feelings.

"No, I don't want you. Now please snap out of whatever trance you're in so that I can go home. Stop touching me, ever heard of consent, dumbass?" This time Kane slapped him across the face, ignoring the whines from Liam that resulted from the loss of touch and the slight pain caused from where Kane had hit him. He shouldn't be sexually harassing people if he didn't wanna get hit, Kane thought to himself angrily.

The slap seemed to do the trick because a few seconds later that sad, puppy-like gaze disappeared, replaced by Liam's regular asshole demeanor.

"What the fuck happened? What did you do?!" Liam said as he stood in the hallway running his hands through his hair.

Kane scoffed and crossed his arms, trying to stop himself . "You mean what the hell did you do." He said emphasizing how this situation was Liam's fault.

Liam huffed, fighting the urge to kiss Kane again. "Excuse me? How is this my fault?"

"You kissed me, and on top of that you ended up giving me a hickey!"Kane exclaimed as he pointed to his neck where a large, fresh lovebite had made itself known. He saw Liam's expression change from looking distressed to pleased when he saw the hickey. As if he was marking his territory. At that point Kane had fight the urge to hit him again. He really is like a fucking dog, Kane thought thoroughly disgusted by Liam's presence.

"Stop looking so happy! Especially when I could've have sworn that you didn't even like me." Kane said in a mocking tone as thought what Liam had said a few minutes prior to him trying to stick his tongue down Kane's throat.

"I don't! That was just the mate bond. It's not my fault I can't control it around you!" Liam yelled, looking like he was about to pull his hair out. This was not how the night was supposed to go. He wasn't that excited to meet his mate but he never imagined this.

"Well then you need to get that shit fixed!" Kane retorted, happy that the party downstairs was so loud that no one would be able to hear them screaming at each other.

"What the hell do you think I am? I'm not just some light switch that flicks on and off! I've never even been through something like this before!" He growled out as he glared at Kane.

"That is not my fucking problem! I don't have time to entertain your stupidity. I don't have time for this so please do me a favor and leave me alone." Kane snapped, while running a hand through his hair.

"But we're mates." Liam said, feeling a bit indignant. In Liam's mind Kane didn't have a right to object to this, the only who should be upset was him. In Liam's mind Kane was lucky to be mates with him.

"I don't care if some deity in the sky says we're soulmates. Even they can make mistakes." Kane shrugged and fought the urge to laugh at Liam's shocked expression, apparently his ego just couldn't take rejection.

"Obviously we're mates, don't you feel the bond? It's so obvious."

Kane's expression deadpanned as he looked Liam up and down, like he was studying him. Then he paused to purposefully emphasize his next sentence for dramatic effect.

"I don't feel shit."

Liam felt his heart clench, as he wondered why Kane saying that hurt his feelings . Probably because he knew Kane wasn't lying because of his heartbeat. "You don't feel anything at all?"

"Nope. I feel the same way I did before I found out we were mates. I hate you." Liam felt a bit hurt by Kane's words but he just shrugged them off, scoffing at Kane's irritated expression.

"You're not the one who should be upset here. You think I'm happy about this? I don't want to be with you either."

Kane gave him a sarcastic smile that made Liam's heart do a flip. All of a sudden everything Kane did was so much more attractive. How is it possible that Kane can't feel the bond, Liam thought to himself, it was so clear to him. He could barely contain himself around Kane but Liam realized once Kane had hit him that he had crossed a line. Even his egotistical self knew that.

"I'm glad we both agree that we don't want to be mates with each other. Now could you please do that whole rejection ritual or whatever it's called? I'm in a hurry."

Liam furrowed his eyebrows, still confused as to why Kane was protesting this development more than him. "You want me... to sever the mate bond?"

Kane nodded as if he had just agreed on receiving a billion dollars. "Yes, now can you hurry up please?"He then impatiently looked at his surroundings, trying to make sure that Sam and Hyejin hadn't caught up to him yet.

"Why though?" Liam blurted out unconsciously, insulted by how much Kane didn't want to be his mate. A human being mated to a wolf is a privilege. And yet, Kane didn't seem to care. "Why don't you want to be mates with me?"

Kane laughed while pinching the bridge of his nose, obviously annoyed by this conversation. "Here's a better question, why would I want to be mates with you?" Kane started pacing back and forth while counting off reasons on his fingers.

"You're a terrible person, your personality is atrocious, and in your spare time you harass me and other humans for fun. You literally have the emotional maturity of a newborn baby that just lost their fucking pacifier." Kane stopped pacing and sent a murderous glare Liam's way.

"So why the hell would I want to be with you in the first place? You're a raging asshole."

Liam could only stare at Kane, astonished by what he had just said. In all of the time Liam has known him, Kane was usually so quiet. He had never heard him speak so much, and if Liam was being honest he preferred it when Kane kept his mouth shut.

"You should be grateful that you're mates with me." That was the only rebuttal Liam could spit out in order to soothe his somewhat bruised ego.

Kane just silently glared at him, as if he was trying to burn holes into his head. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence Kane just sighed, as if he was tired of Liam's existence.

"Yeah I'm gonna leave now. Goodbye." Then he pushed past Liam speed-walking down the hallway to get away from him. All while Liam just stood there drunk, angry, and a bit heartbroken.

Once Kane had made sure he was far enough away from Liam he immediately leaned onto a wall, tired and stressed out. "I can't believed that just happened. I couldn't imagine this happening to me in my worst nightmares. After all the shit I already have to deal with? Now this?" Kane groaned and pulled his phone out of his pocket, realizing that he needed to call Nia. It took a few seconds but after a few rings she answered.

"Nia where are you? Are you okay?" Kane could tell that Nia sounded a bit shaken up on the phone and it immediately made him regret splitting up in order for her to not be followed.

"I-I'm fine now Kane. I'm near the main stairs. I'll come to you. There's something I have to tell you."

"No! I'll be right there. I'm on my way now." Kane definitely did not want Nia to come to him and risk running into Liam. That would be terrible.

~~~~<>~~~~
Nia

When the phone cut off, Nia sighed in relief that Kane was coming. This whole situation had become to scary to her and it would be nice to have Kane's comforting presence near her.

"Is Kane on his way?" Hyejin gave Nia a concerned look, still worried about her injured hand, Hyejin had helped her wrap it for her after the disaster in the archives. Hyejin tried to talk to Nia but she kept quiet, stuck in her own thoughts. She had been so tired and scared that had forgotten to call Kane. She was so relieved to hear his voice.

"Yeah, he's coming. He'll be here soon." Hyejin nodded, sitting on the floor across from where Nia was standing trying not to overwhelm her too much. After a few minutes of waiting Hyejin and Nia saw Kane running down the stairs, looking extremely stressed out.

"There are you are!" Kane stopped in front of Nia, who immediately enveloped him in a hug, seeking comfort. Kane looked at bit confused but hugged her back, becoming increasingly worried as he did so.

Kane opened his mouth to ask questions but Nia quickly interrupted him, not wanting to talk about it here. "Can we go now, please? I don't really want to talk about it here." Nia pulled away from him to face Hyejin.

"Thank you, Hyejin. I'm sorry we didn't get to talk, I'm just not in the right head-space right now. I promise that we'll talk later." Hyejin just gave Nia an understanding smile, not wanting to pressure her into something she doesn't want to do. "It's okay, after what happened to you, I totally understand. Just don't become a stranger again after this, please." Then she got up from her sitting position on the floor to put her hand on Nia's shoulder. "I'll leave you guys alone now, I gotta go find my mate. Bye Kane, bye Nia." Hyejin gave one last wave with a serene smile on her face and then she walked down the hallway, turning a corner and disappearing out of sight.

"Wait a minute. What happened? And why is your arm bandaged? Did someone hurt you?" Kane gingerly brought Nia's bandaged arm up to his face, as if to confirm that he wasn't seeing things. Nia quickly shook her head, trying to curb Kane's worry. "No, no one hurt me. I can't explain the whole situation here, we should leave. I'm gonna call my parents and ask them if I can spend the night at your place."

"Okay, I'm just glad you're safe." Kane wrapped his arm around Nia's shoulders, not intending on letting her go, as they starting walking towards the main exit of the pack house. Kane had been through a lot of stressful moments in his life but this day was definitely in the top ten.

As they walked towards the entryway Kane saw Liam in the corner of his eye. He was slowly descending down the stairs, looking very upset. He was alone and there was no one else near him to see his expression. Kane quickly glanced away before Liam would notice and exited the party, hellbent on forgetting what had happened a few minutes ago.

End.

Another chapter completed! They finally know that their mates now! This is probably the 10th draft of this chapter. It took me so long to write the scene where they find out but I think I did it justice. Now from now on they will be interacting more, I promise it will become more interesting from now on!