"What's up, Gorgeous?" Cortez's voice rang playfully through the phone.

Sophie snorted a laugh and shook her head. "Didn't we just talk last night?"

Sophie glanced at the clock. It was two in the afternoon on a Saturday and Cortez was already calling again. Just like he asked, Sophie had called him every night before bed. She had to call him later than she originally thought, seeing as the only phones in the house were in the kitchen and in her grandfathers room.

So Sophie stayed up and hid quietly in the kitchen to catch up with Cortez. She didn't mind. It was kind of fun to sneakily chat with him as she curled up on one of the kitchen chairs in her pajamas. They didn't usually talk for long since Sophie always rushed to say goodbye, claiming she had finals so she couldn't be up really late.

Still, Cortez treasured the couple minutes she gave him every night.

"And almost an entire day has passed since. Don't you miss me at all?" Cortez audibly whined. He was good at dramatizing everything he said like he was in a stage play. Sophie enjoyed it.

"Of course, I miss you." Sophie lowered her voice and trapped her bottom lip between her teeth. Admitting something like that made her insides flood with wild butterflies.

"Can I get you out of that house today? What's it gonna take?" Cortez

"It would take the whole world." Sophie teased. "I'm currently studying, Cortez. This upcoming week is gonna be finals torture."

"I'd give you the whole world to get you out of that house." Sophie scoffed. "You should be relaxing before a whole week of finals, Peaches." Peaches. That's a new one. "Let me take you out somewhere."

"I really can't, Cortez." Sophie sighed and wedged the phone between her ear and her shoulder so she could use one hand to hold down her notebook and the other to erase her mistake. "Can't we do something after finals, when everything is done and I'm free?"

Cortez didn't reply. He was busy cupping his hand over his eyes with slight frustration and leaning sickly over his desk. He was trying to sound light and happy, playful and carefree. But on the inside...

On the inside, Cortez was dying.

"I haven't gotten to see you, actually see you, in days. Do you realize what this mate bond is doing to me? I'm about to start pulling my hair out." Sophie's pencil stopped at the sound of his voice filled with so much distress and sorrow. She gulped as she listened to him breathe. She wasn't aware of how serious this was. "Please, Sophie.. I have to see you."

It was Sophie's turn to not reply. She stared at her notebook and slowly lifted her pencil, as if to see, or just to test, if she could even stop studying.

After so many years without friends or hobbies, Sophie studied. That's what she did. She was good at it. She liked the satisfaction of good grades, she didn't mind learning, textbooks made more sense than people. So she kept to this.

But yet again, Cortez made sense. Sometimes. She enjoyed Cortez. She liked the way he looked at her. Like she was all he could see and still, that wasn't enough for him. He wanted to see through her, to the deepest depths of her mind. He looked at her as if every expression that slipped across her face was a new one that he had never seen before.

Not only that, but it had been awhile since she last felt his touch. Those tingles. Those tingles that still murmured faintly under her skin whenever she thought about the places he had touched. Her arms, her hands, her face, and then even the places he hadn't touched. The mere thought of all the places his hands had yet to explore always made her squirm.

Every time.

On the other end, Cortez was convinced that Sophie was fine without him. She probably had other things on her mind and he just didn't fit aboard her train of thought. And yeah, he knew she had to study and do finals and take care of her grandfather. It might've been selfish of him to wish she thought about him all day. He didn't know.

He didn't know that she did miss him either. While sitting silently in the living room with her grandfather or staring at a question on her finals sheet and suddenly her mind was remembering Cortez's talk about marking. That's exactly why Sophie had to study twice as much as normal. He was taking up too much space in her brain. She had to stop thinking about how much she wanted to run to him and actually get some work done.

The mate bond, Sophie was reminded.

That's what had been pulling her towards him more and more each day. Sometimes, she forgot. Occasionally, she even forgot that she was turning or that there were werewolves somewhere out there. When she thought about Cortez, that was it. She just thought about him. She didn't think about him shifting into a wolf animal or the fact that he was some kind of Alpha. He was just Cortez. And that's what she liked most about him.

"Will Dixie's Square do?" Sophie finally asked. Her voice was soft, sweet, smooth like butter.

Cortez felt his muscles loosen as a smile crept on to his lips. He shook his head first, knowing she couldn't see him but taking the time to form a coherent though through his happiness. "No, Gorgeous. Let me take you somewhere where you can actually relax."

Sophie was just as confused as she was intrigued. After agreeing to meet at the edge of the woods in ten minutes, in swimsuits, Cortez abruptly added, they hung up. Sophie collected her things off the kitchen table and shoved everything in her bag. She dropped it at the bottom of the stairs like she always did and peered into the living room.

It was just then that Henry was getting up from his chair in the living room and grabbing his glasses and his book off the side table beside it.

"Finished studying?" Henry asked as he limped through the living room. His legs were slightly weak from sitting for so long. He knew they'd wake up as he made his way up the stairs.

"For now." Sophie answered and watched as her grandfather took his first couple steps up the stairs, her hand hovering protectively behind him. As he continued up the stairs, Sophie followed close behind him.

"I'm gonna take my afternoon nap, darlin'."

"Okay. Do you mind if I head out for a bit?"

"With Delilah again?"

"Yeah.." Sophie's weak but convincible lie made her nibble nervously on her bottom lip.

"That's fine. As long as you come home before sunset. You ended up staying over at her house the last time I let you out with her."

"I'll be back before dinner. Don't worry, Chief."

Henry nodded and disappeared into his room. Sophie dipped into her own and was quick to change out of her casual, lounge-around-the-house outfit. She found her white swimsuit that had a ruffled top and bows on the hips of the bottoms to throw on.

Over that, she wore a pink shirt with a small surfboard patch on her left breast. The fabric was long, stopping mid thigh. It was what she usually wore when she went out swimming and don't want to completely strip of too many clothes.

Sophie grabbed her backpack, that was almost tenth the size of her actual backpack, and shoved a couple things inside. Sunscreen, just in case, chapstick, hair ties and pins, sunglasses, and the notebook that Cortez wrote for her. She still hadn't opened it but figured she could when she was with Cortez. She wanted to ask him a couple questions, but only if she got the courage to.

Sophie stepped out, into the hot summer air, and started towards the tree line behind her house. She hadn't dared to turn her eyes on since the incident at school and currently, she was a little worried the bright sun would trigger them somehow. She didn't know how it worked yet. As long as she got to shade that the woods provided, she figured she'd be alright.

Cortez watched fondly as his beautiful mate sauntered through the green grass in front of him. He watched her almost clumsy steps in her white vans, admired the loose shirt that disguised just how small her waist was. Her green eyes were even softer than usual in the sunlight and her pearly white teeth reflected that light.

Overall, he was swooning. As always.

"Is there a watering hole in these woods that I don't know about?" Sophie grinned as she stepped into the woods. "Will I turn into a mermaid if I swim in the moonlight?"

Cortez reached out for Sophie's hand with a smirk as they started through the trees. "You're not even a full werewolf yet and you're looking to become a mermaid?"

Sophie reached her other hand to Cortez's bicep and giggled. They continued through the woods, passed the big fence that surrounded the pack house, and even further. Until finally, the two did in fact stumble across a small lake. It wasn't a pond but not at big as a lake should be to count as one. Definitely a watering hole.

The trees surrounded the water but gave enough room for the sun to shine in the still water. Sophie wondered how the water was so clear. It looked like there was sand at the bottom and it was all incredibly flat. Big rocks stood half in and half out of the watering hole and presented themselves as possible diving boards and sunbathing spots. It was all so beautiful and grand.

"This watering hole is unreasonably clean." Sophie stated as she stood on a one of the big rocks.

"We try to keep it clean so we can swim in it and enjoy it." Cortez answered her underlying question.

Sophie glanced back at Cortez. "Your pack?" He nodded. "Isn't this a lot of work to keep clean? Why not just get a pool?"

"This is natures little gift to our pack. Why let it sit unappreciated and swim in something artificial? This place has character and unique memories."

Sophie felt herself soften at his words. That did sound nice. She could see the beauty in that. It must've been fun to have a family as big as a wolf pack just lounging around and having fun together. She could see it, couples sunbathing on the rocks or swimming together, friends play wrestling, and kids jumping excitedly off the rocks and into the water.

Maybe she did want to meet the pack. It might be fun to break the ice via a nice summer swim.

Sophie turned to Cortez to voice those exact thoughts before she noticed what he was doing. Grabbing the back of his shirt, Cortez effortlessly pulled the fabric over his head. From her perspective up on the rock, his shoulders came into view first. She could tell he had layers with toned muscles down his arms. And in throwing the shirt aside, Sophie caught sight of his abs.

Cortez had been shirtless in her presence before but something about this was different. Was it because they were alone, about to be half naked together? Was it the mate bond that had strengthened and made her desire him more now than ever before? How was it that he looked so intimidating but desirable?

She was scared, but not of him. She was scared of the thoughts that led her to wonder what he could do to her with a body like that. His thighs were muscular, abs impossibly defined, arms thick, shoulders broad. He was a machine of muscle. She was so tiny. She wondered how, whoever put them together, the Moon Goddess as Cortez would claim, would think they could fit to make one.

But yet again, Sophie found herself thanking the Moon Goddess. She always wondered what kind of guy he would end up with in a dull, shapeless town like this. Nobody ever really held her interest for too long. But now, she was supposedly destined to be with Cortez. What a blessing. He was the most handsome man she had ever seen and not only that, but he had a great personality.

Cortez rolled his shoulders as he took a deep breath, his eyes landing on Sophie. Through that deep breath, he could smell her. It was a torturous scent that made his wolf unbearably anxious. And looking into her eyes, he could see it just as much as he could smell it. Lust, desire, arousal. What a curse to be fated to a woman he couldn't touch, especially, when she smelt that good and was looking at him the way she was.

Cortez reached for Sophie's waist and picked her up just enough to remove her from the rock and place her on the ground. Sophie's hands gripped Cortez's hard shoulders for support. Her eyes were glued to his chest once she was shorter than him again. His shoulders were so broad, pecks prominent, and skin glistening and glowing with a beautiful shade of melanin that Sophie lacked.

"Careful, Gorgeous." Cortez spoke lowly, a hint of a growl or a moan maybe. Sophie's eyes flickered up to meet his. "You're going to get yourself in trouble."

"How?" Sophie's voice came out so breathy that it was near a whisper. Her eyes were glued to his, searching somewhere within the blackness to find her answer.

Cortez leant forward until his lips grazed her ear, his hot breath grazing her neck causing her to slightly shutter. "I can smell you. You're aroused."

Sophie instantly shivered from his words. What strange words. What simple words. Two sentences hardly filled with any detail but still, they held so much. He could smell her? Her pheromones, Sophie assumed. Just how much did it give away?

It didn't at all help that his words fueled that very fire within her. Cortez was so blunt about it, shameless, even. The knowing grin conveyed through his tone as he whispered. She wanted to be embarrassed and push Cortez away but she couldn't. She like to hear those words fall off his tongue and she liked him this close. Apart of her wondered if she had lost her mind as she found herself wishing for his lips on hers.

Trouble, Sophie thought.

In the beginning, she was the first to think about how inappropriate their relationship could be but now, she hadn't been thinking about it. How was it that they had swapped roles? The mate bond? Did the mate bond control everything? Could she never get her hormones and pheromones in check after this whole mate bond thing? If so, she was doomed for trouble.

Before Sophie could say or do anything, Cortez had pulled away and was stepping into the water. Better to get away from trouble before it taunted him any further. He was already on edge. He couldn't take much else. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea that he invited her swimming. Dixie's Square wouldn't do, though. He didn't want to be around people, in the public eye.

Did that mean he was asking for trouble, himself? His own precaution was about to doom him? Ironic.

Sophie dropped her purse beside Cortez's shirt and shoes. Without a second thought, Sophie grabbed the hem of the soft pink fabric and lifted it up her body. Cortez cursed himself for even catching a glance of her because a glance turned into a stare. He watched her reveal herself. First, her pelvis wrapped in white bikini bottoms, then her flat stomach and slightly visible ribcage, and finally, the white ruffles covering her small breasts.

Sophie let the fabric pool atop of their things before turning towards Cortez, who stood idly in shallow water. Sophie skipped excitedly through the small patch of grass where their stuff laid and towards the water. Surprisingly, the water wasn't all that cold. Not like other lakes she had been in. But it was still refreshing and it hugged around her legs just right, relaxing her muscles and cooling her skin.

"You are absolute torture, Sophie." Cortez muttered as he watched Sophie shuffle through the water, her arms hovering even though they weren't even close to the water.

Sophie stole a glance at Cortez and cocked an eyebrow. "Am I?"

"Truly." He answered simply. She could hear him inching closer through the water but she didn't look.

"You desire a high schooler? A girl as small and weak and insignificant as me? I'm convinced the mate bond messed up somewhere with us. There is nothing desirable about me but the moon goddess has put a spell on you to convince you otherwise. How cruel of her to trick you like this.."

Sophie's rambling was cut off in the most shocking way she could imagine. With an arm around her waist and a hand caressing her face, Sophie was pulled into a kiss. The contact of lips against lips and skin against skin was like an explosion of fireworks. They weren't even nice, gentle, fun fireworks. They were the ones you could feel stutter in your chest when they popped.

All of Sophie's air supply was knocked out of her lungs as Cortez kissed her so fluidly. He kissed her with so much hunger, not aggressively but as if he was savoring as much as he could. Sophie, being an untouched virgin, had no idea what she was doing.

Luckily, she didn't really have to try. Cortez's tilted his head from one side to the other and Sophie followed the natural flow of the kiss, mimicking the way Cortez moved his lips over hers.

It wasn't long before Cortez slipped his tongue between her lips and explored her mouth. Sophie took in a deep breath and continued to struggle to follow his movements. It felt so good, so right. Her whole body was numb and all she could feel was his tongue and his lips.

It was intimidating how good he was at this particular activity. When he wanted a better angle, he simply tilted her head a certain way and there it was. When his tongue tangled with hers, there was no fumbling on his end. When his lips melded with hers, he was both as gentle as he was assertive. He knew what he was doing, which meant drowning Sophie in more bliss than she understood.

Sophie couldn't tell you how long they had made out in the water. She had no idea. Her mind went completely blank. She wished for air but managed to breathe when she could, not wanting, for even a second, to separate from Cortez. The same mouth that called her special and beautiful and important, was now showing her with just as much certainty.

Slowly, Cortez began to pull back, little by little. He removed his tongue from Sophie's mouth and simply let their lips mold over and over again. The kiss grew slower and slower, shifting from hungry to sweet. The more it died down, the faster Sophie came back to earth. Her hands lowered from the awkwardly hovered position in the air and landed gently on Cortez's shoulders.

There was a couple last slow and tentative movements before Cortez pulled away completely. Both him and Sophie were still trapped in bliss as their eyes closed as foreheads met. Sophie softly panted and bathed in the tingling sensation taking over her body from head to toe. Cortez tightened his jaw and ground his teeth together with frustration. He wanted to kiss her all day and all night.

"It might be the mate bond pulling me towards you, but that's not why I love you." Cortez finally spoke, his voice a soft whisper.

Sophie let her eyes flutter open to stare at Cortez. His eyes were as dark as usual but had a recognizable glint in them. A swirl of lust and love battled for first billing as he stared at her, admired her, cherished her.

"I don't even remember what we were talking about and didn't hear a word you just said." Sophie blinked.

A smirk pulled across Cortez's lips as he chuckled. Sophie softly laughed as well and wrapped her arms around Cortez's shoulders and her legs around his waist in an excited jump. Cortez caught her with his arms wrapped around her petite figure. As their lips collided again, Cortez stumbled to the side one step and back one step. It wasn't long before he tipped over and brought Sophie into the water with him.

Sophie squealed as she went falling and Cortez chuckled.

~

"Explain this to me." Sophie said, rolling towards Cortez and resting her leg over his. "A female werewolf goes into heat after she's bitten, or marked, I guess would be the correct term. What does that mean?"

"That's as far you got?" Cortez frowned, his fingers tracing invisible patterns on Sophie's bare back.

"Well, you started talking about suppessors and condoms and I got anxious so I stopped reading."

"Anxious? A good anxious?" Cortez smirked, his other hand reaching to block the sun from his eyes so he could properly check Sophie's reaction.

Sophie simply rolled her eyes and pushed Cortez's head away from her. He chuckled and returned even closer than before, his arm on her back pulling her closer so he could place a kiss on her collarbone.

"No need to be anxious, Gorgeous. I'll take care of you." Cortez reassured sweetly. Sophie tried to ignore his attempt at seduction as she stared at the book.

"What's the point of a female going into heat instead of getting her period? What's the difference? Is it less painful?"

Cortez frowned and bobbed his head from side to side, as if seriously debating her question. "It's arguably worse, some would say."

Sophie whined and fell back into the grass on her back. Cortez chuckled at her pout and now it was his turn to lean against her, his leg caressing hers. He brushed hair out of her face as he admired her.

"It's only bad the first couple times and then it gets easier. And it will stop as soon as soon as we have sex, it's not gonna last forever."

"What?" Sophie's eyes widened.

"Sex. Your heat is your body demanding you to get pregnant. That's where I would come in. Quite literally, actually." Cortez smirked.

Sophie's heart raced violently in her chest as she suddenly got the urge to stand as far away from Cortez as possible. Cortez groaned as she did exactly that. Squirming out from under Cortez, Sophie stood and ran her hands through her hair.

Touching Cortez was enough to get her all flustered. Kissing Cortez brought her to other realm of pleasure and confusion. She couldn't imagine what sex would be like. She didn't even want to. She tried not to, at least. Sophie was a virgin. She hadn't even familiarized herself with normal sex and now Cortez was talking about suppressors and heats and getting pregnant.

"This is why we need to get back on the topic of condoms." Sophie nervously gestured as she stared down at Cortez. He could tell she was stressed by the way she was flailing her arm, her near hyperventilating, and rapid breathing. "I don't want to pregnant yet, Cortez. Not any time soon actually. Babies, pups, or whatever you call them, are not on my to do list. I'm still taking care of my own grandfather, Cortez. I can't.."

Cortez stood up and pulled Sophie into him, holding her head against his chest as he rested his head on hers. He could feel her heart beating against his own.

Maybe he should've explained it differently. It wasn't like he intended on getting her pregnant any time soon. She was still young, still so small and weak. She was in high school as well. Plus, she wasn't even done turning yet. It would be absolutely ridiculous to expect pups already. It wasn't on Cortez's priority list either. He should've voiced that in the beginning.

"Don't freak out, Gorgeous. I have no plans to get you pregnant any time soon. We don't have to think about that for a couple more years. I'm not going to rush anything. Having you is enough." Cortez confessed.

"How long are you going to wait before you mark me?" Sophie asked.

Cortez let out a soft sigh and shrugged. "I wanted to mark you from the very moment I saw you but I'll hold out as long as I can."

Sophie nuzzled against Cortez's warm chest and felt her eyes prick with tears as guilt filled her from head to toe. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry you got such a difficult mate. I'll try to be better so you don't have to wait so long."

"Don't say that." Cortez pulled back just enough to cup Sophie's face in the big, warm palms of his hands. He could see Sophie's emerald eyes glisten with pooled tears. "Don't be sorry. You're not difficult, I promise you. You can't get any better than you are right now. I'd wait a century for you if I had to. I'm not going to rush you or push your boundaries. I don't care how much it hurts to wait."

"I don't want it to hurt you." Sophie pouted.

"As long as you stay by me, it won't."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm positive."

Sophie continued to pout as she blinked away tears. She couldn't help the guilt. "Would it be easier if I was born a werewolf and knew all of this already?" She asked.

"You don't want me to answer that." Cortez chuckled.

"Cortez..." Sophie whined, letting her head fall against his chest.

Cortez laughed and hugged her against him. This was truly all he needed. Her. It didn't matter whether she was a werewolf or a human. As long as he could have her for the rest of his life, that's all he needed. Sure, it would be less hard for Sophie if she was a werewolf but there were also benefits of her being human. Neither side was perfect. It didn't really matter anyways. She was already on her way to the werewolf side of things.

"I should probably ask for your permission before I kiss you again, right? Like I promised?" Cortez asked.

Sophie looked up with a cheeky smirk. "I've already decided not to believe in your promises anymore."

Cortez groaned, feeling a piece of his heart crack just a little. "Don't say that, Sophie. That hurts."

"Remember when you almost killed me?" Sophie pushed playfully. Somehow, it wasn't such a bad memory anymore. Getting bitten was a bad memory but it's not like she remembered being unconscious.

Cortez's eyes fell shut as he pressed his forehead against hers. He hated that memory. It physically hurt him to think about. He could feel the pain in his chest, gripping tightly around his heart, as if threatening him to ever hurt her again.

"I truly am forever sorry, Sophie. I will feel sorry for it and try to make it up to you everyday until I die. Still, I don't ever want you to forgive me for it."

Sophie placed her hands on Cortez's warm chest and let them glide up his shoulders. She didn't really plan on forgiving him for it, if she was being honest. But it also wasn't something she planned to hold over his head. Yes, she would joke about it but she wouldn't torture him over it. He was bound to get her into some kind of trouble at some point. She wasn't surprised if there would be more trouble down the road.

"You don't have to ask for permission." Sophie whispered as she admired the broad shoulders under her finger tips. She was hinting at what she wanted and Cortez could hear it loud and clear.

Cortez pulled Sophie closer and let their lips molded as one. It was easier for Sophie this time, seeing as she had sort of done it once already. The hot, lustful, hungry, anxious feeling didn't get any less intense, though. Sophie still felt like she was floating on air and being swallowed in a cloud of bliss. It was fantastic. She wanted to kiss Cortez forever to hold on to this feeling forever.

{ That picture up top is the best representation of the watering hole that I could find. EXCEPT, the water is deeper and there is no fancy staircase. It's all natural. Also, it's in the pack territory, which is surrounded by Private Property signs and warning signs that probably threaten trespassers that they can be arrested and/or jailed for trespassing and whatnot so it's not like random people would ever show up and start swimming in that watering hole.

Anyways..... THANKS FOR LIKING THIS BOOK SO MUCH GUYS!! I've had a couple people tell me they like it so far and IT WARMS MY HEART!! WOW IM SOFT!! Please continue to read and vote and comment because it makes me the happiest little bean when you do!💞 }