Shackled

When I wake up, I'm in my own bed alone. My finger hurts, that much I can tell, but one thing is confusing me to the ends of the earth. Where is Paul? He said he wouldn't leave, yet he's not even here. I'd be lying if I said that it only upset me slightly, because it makes me extremely uneasy. Why would he leave?

My door slowly opens, my heart racing. In my head, I'm screaming that it's Paul. It has to be him. He didn't actually leave, he just got up to get some water or talk to Astric or something. Maybe he needed to get up and walk around or go to the bathroom and didn't want to use mine since it's.. Well, I neglect picking up my clothes sometimes so I know there are panties and bras laying on the floor.

It's just mom. He enters my room then shuts the door behind him softly, his face showing that he's tired from a long day at the hospital. Silence hangs around the room as he sits on the bed next to me, pushing red hair out of his face. He's where I get my looks-blue eyes, pale skin, and red hair. How I ended up so lucky I'm not sure, because generally, with my father's genes being so dominant, I would have ended up with his dark hair and dark eyes. Instead, I'm a mini figure of my beautiful mother.

"Your father and Astric told me to talk to you," He tells me in his soft, kind voice. I look into his eyes, trying to read him.

"About what?" I ask, seeing a smile twitch onto his lips. He fails at hiding it, though, making me feel a bit uneasy.

"The sexy older man you were clinging so hard to earlier," He breaks out with a grin as my cheeks light up like a Christmas tree. I can't believe him!

"Mom!" I exclaim, making him laugh loudly. So not cool, he can't make me even more embarrassed when I'm weak!

"What? We can real talk, and I know that's what you were thinking about him. Do you want to bone him?" He asks before giggling, making me stare at him with an open mouth. Have I mentioned yet how unbelievable he is?

"Mom, stop it," I whine back while thought about Paul naked try to sneak into my head. Really?!

"Okay, okay. Paul, that's his name?” I nod, confirming his question and showing him to go on. “Well, Paul... You're old enough to be mated now, even though your dom's first instinct to mate won't kick in until they go through their special ceremony and-- Anyway, usually you don't get a mate until the end of this year through senior year. They think that Paul-”

“Is my mate,” I finish for him, finally believing it for myself. They say you can tell in an instant, and they weren't lying.

“Right. So, dad and Astric are arranging for you two to go on a date. Astric and Stell will be present a few, or 10, tables away from you two, just to keep an eye on things. They want it to happen after your finger is fully healed, so expect this to happen in about two days. Until then, you can NOT see him,” Mom explains, playing with my hair while he does.

I nod in understanding, my heart racing again. I'm going on a date with Paul? Like, an actual date where we sit down and talk and I'm expected to be a perfect fertile? I can feel the pressure start up on me already since, hello, I've never been on a date before! Sure, Mom has tried to teach me all he can about making a great first impression, but that time for me has already passed. Now, I have to erase everything he thinks he knows about me and start over again.

*Paul's POV*

“So I'm expected to be at your house in two days, dressed nice to take Iris, my fourteen year old mate, out at 6PM to go on a chaperoned date and get to know her?” I confirm with Astric who sits across from me in my living room.

“Yes. That is, if you if you want to.” He replies, looking me dead in the face with a blank expression.

“Of course I do.”

“Good, then show up and don't be late. I already have the reservations set for you and Iris under your name. You may be one of my best friends, but that's my baby you're fucking around with. Don't think we won't be watching, Paul.” Astric warns before standing up from my couch.

I stand with him, walking to the door after him. He lets himself out of my house, the irritation in his shoulders obvious as he stiffly walks out to his car. I shut the door once he's down my driveway, letting out a sigh of relief. They're letting me see Iris.

The second Astric kicked me out of their house, I expected him to never let me come back. He's right, I may be his friend, but that's his sister. His younger, innocent, sheltered sister who only knows what a penis is because they teach that to kids in school. How am I ever going to look at her now that I just thought that?

Sighing, I plop down on the couch where Astric was just sitting. I don't know how I'm going to do this. The only dates I ever went on were with these two girls throughout high school, and even then it was just for fun. Now I have to buckle down and finally build a relationship with my mate. There is just so much to tell, so much to learn. Honestly, I'm a bit scared.

How can I tell her that I fucked my adoptive mom's widowed fertile best friend when I was 17 and she was 32? I can't. But I also can't lie and say I'm a virgin. That wouldn't be right, but neither would telling her that I know exactly what I'm doing and how sex should feel, because when that time comes, she'll be so uncomfortable she won't want me to even touch her. I'm getting too far ahead of myself.

Sometimes I wish I would have made some better life choices.