A/N: My internet is back on!!! I'm so happy and yes, that deserved three exclamation marks.

Anyway, need some help: a rotating schedule or a rotational schedule? Thanks!

*****

"So you wanted to embarrass him about being poor or about his body shape?"

I swirled the steering wheel and took a left turn.

"Neither," I replied to my youngest sibling. "I felt the need to make sure he had money... Even though I can't give him that much each time I go to the café."

"And that's probably a good thing."

My eyes glanced at him just for a brief moment before returning to the road. Kennedy was sitting in his favorite position when in the passenger seat - leaning back, his left ankle atop of his right knee. He looked cool and cocky at the same time; if it wasn't for the sparkle of interest in his eyes, I'd add bored to the list.

"If you give him a large tip each time, he'll think one of these." He began enlisting, a finger springing up from his loose fist with each example. "You want to change his body, you think he is poor and pity him, you are some asshole who thinks he's a big deal and tries to prove it with large tips or - if he realizes you want him - he'll think you are trying to buy him."

"It's neither of those." I shook my head and turned the car right this time. "I just want to help him out financially."

"I know that, you know that, but as far as Riley is concerned, you are just a shady stranger who gives him suspiciously large tips for a mug of coffee."

"One time, one tip," I corrected.

"But you are planning on stopping by the mall after you drop me off at school, right?" He smirked. "I doubt it's for a new pair of jeans, although you could use one or two, bro."

"I'm not buying anything from that place," I stressed. "Everything is expensive and ugly. And what's with the skinny jeans fashion? It's probably a challenge to breathe in those things, let alone move."

My brother shrugged.

"I agree about the expensive part, but they got awesome t-shirts. As for skinny jeans - you said Riley is skinny so he'd probably look good in them."

"That doesn't count," I insisted, thinking of my gorgeous, albeit too slim mate. "Riley would look good in anything."

Or without anything.

I shook my head to get rid of the inappropriate thoughts that always seemed to make their way into my mind.

The two of us alone in our bedroom, him standing in front of our window with the moonlight shining at his back while he slowly unbuttoned his white shirt, keeping eye contact, his eyes burning with desire for me...

I shook my head harder and felt my cheeks heating as I realized my brother had been watching me.

"What?" I asked in a low tone, attempting to hide my embarrassment.

"Nothing." He grinned. "I can just tell what you were thinking about. Well, not the details, but I can make out the gist of it... And it includes making out..."

"None of your business, Kennedy," I reprimanded, entering the parking lot.

"Yeah, it's between you and Riley... Rhys and Riley..."

"Has a ring to it, doesn't it?" I smiled as I stopped the car in an empty spot and turned to him just in time to see him wink when he replied:

"Maybe one day he'll wear your ring."

I blushed again and he laughed.

"Mind your tip," he advised as he opened the door and got out of the car. "Hey, Ivan!" He greeted a member of our pack who walked nearby; the older boy raised his arm in greeting, the tattoo of our sacred tree in a circular frame visible on his biceps due to his no-sleeve shirt.

"Man, I hate going to school in the summer." My youngest brother turned back to me.

"It's not for the whole summer, Kennedy." I noted, although I remembered I'd felt the same when I'd been in high school. "Besides, you like some of the classed."

"True, but it still sucks that I have to come here five days a week."

"Kennedy!" Two voices called as one and I saw Jizelle and Mira waving at us. Mostly at my baby brother, to be honest; the girls were slightly older than him, yet - like many of the female teens in our pack who were not mated yet - had a slight crush on Kennedy.

"Gotta go." My sibling grinned at them and closed the door, leaning through the open window. "Just don't forget: no big tips."

*****

I had just dropped Kennedy off; wasn't it too early for the mall to be this crowded?

It was mostly young and middle-aged women who were sauntering about - perhaps the latter had come here after a trip to the school too - but on my previous visit the female shoppers had been a majority as well so perhaps this was normal. Some were too busy staring at various items through the windows and didn't notice me, some rounded their eyes when they saw me and moved away, others - again wide-eyed - checked me out and I didn't know which was worse: the horrified how-did-they-let-a-guy-like-him-in-here expressions or the pointless attempts at flirting with a smile while looking like a scared owl.

Was my simple attire to blame for the former reaction or was it the fact that I was a Bullet?

Many people in town feared us as we kept to ourselves; we were too private for their liking and in their minds that meant that we were up to no good.

At least the seductive-ish looks were few; yes, several women checked me out, but only a couple were brave enough to try and flirt with me through body language.

I guess fear did come in handy... Or maybe it was the scars on my face that put them off.

Would my mate be turned off by them?

They were ugly and he was beautiful, but did I want a mate who was that shallow?

No.

But I had no choice.

Riley was my mate and no matter what he'd do or say, I'd always feel the connection between us and desire him even if we fought, even if he insulted me, even if he rejected me.

I sighed.

The mate bond was powerful; it could be the most amazing and rewarding thing, but it could also ruin you.

Who or what paired us?

How?

Why was it that some never found a mate?

And why did some bond with people who only brought them suffering?

Those two occasions were rare, but they'd been known to happen...

No.

I shouldn't be pondering on this now. I should try to appear cheerful and pleasant; I was on my way to see my mate after all.

I looked through the window of the Milk & Cream, my gaze aimed straight at the bar. The large African-American guy was behind it, serving drinks.

Alone.

My eyes searched about to see if Riley wasn't working as a waiter today. If his colleague had two jobs in the café, then maybe my mate did as well; they could be on a rotational schedule.

I felt no pull, no tiny electric tingles, but I was still outside; perhaps I was too far away from my mate.

One last sweep of the place with my gaze and I concluded, saddened, that my mate wasn't at work so I turned around and walked towards the mall exit with my head down.

I'd come back this afternoon, I decided. I'd sit by the bar, chat him up and ask him about his work hours.

I shook my head.

No.

Kennedy was right: to Riley I was just a stranger and this would appear odd. It was better to come on different days and different times and see for myself. Once I figured out his schedule, I could come whenever he was behind the bar and we could talk. We'd talked last time and it hadn't gone as bad as I'd worried it would have.

I smiled and bit my lips.

I couldn't wait to get to know him.

*****

A/N: This chapter is a bit short, but I hope you enjoyed it; please VOTE if you did!

What do you think about Kennedy's advice about the tips?

And what about the werewolves' helplessness against the mate bond?

Any ideas why would anyone/anything pair people together in a potentially harmful relationship?

Maybe that's just life?

A bit of trivia: Keri (the Silver Bullets' Alpha) know who her mate is, but tells people she hasn't recognized him because she thinks he's no good for her pack. If you want more on Keri and her story, click on the external link (also given in the first comment) and you can read the blurb and a sneak peek from her book Sentiments & Reason. Since it is my NaNoWriMo project, I might post more sneak peeks from it later on.