The place I lived in was busy as usual. Humans and Werewolves coexisting with the other for two centuries. Carmel-by-the-Sea, or as it's also known as just Carmel, was considered a village in California that I couldn't ever dream of leaving. Sure, it wasn't as grand as Los Angeles or San Francisco with its glamour and attractions. But Carmel was a place to get away when you needed to, with the green scenery and the white sandy shoreline that I tended to spend my pastimes. It was home.

It was also one of the places that had been the last to accept that there were Supernatural creatures in the world after the United States President had announced many years ago that a law had been passed to give equal rights to the Weres just as much as humans. By the time my siblings and I were born, the humans treated us as an equal; never being a problem with who we were or, uh, what we were. Sure, you got some elderly who still lived in the past mentally but you can't please everyone, you know?

"Hey! Eden, that's my gummy!" Molly whined, her mouth half full as she was sitting up and leaning over me to swat at our best friend's hand. Eden shoved one of the gummy worms she stole from Molly's bag into her mouth.

I was seated between the pair, my legs outstretched and my arms behind me to rest back properly. My eyebrow raised watching the way Molly growled and snatched the tail of the gummy out of Eden's mouth. She was giving our friend the stink eye and took a savage bite out of the remaining piece of candy.

If you are thinking that it really shouldn't be that serious to be so aggressive over a piece of candy, you'd be wrong. At least in Molly's case anyway. The candy shop here in Carmel had the best collection of fudge, chocolates, British sweets, gummies, over fifty different types of licorices from all over the world, and a variety of novelty candies.

The Cottage of Sweets was located nearby which we had to stop by after I picked the girls up and Molly announced that she had a hankering for some gummies. Hence, why she had a huge bag filled with them and was now giving a blue-eyed glare towards a chuckling Eden.

After sitting herself down again, flipping her long blonde hair off her shoulder with her chin up in the air, Molly huffed that Eden's fingers were going to go missing the next attempt at her candies. I glanced at the girl on my right wearing a smirk as she kept purposely flicking her eyes down at Molly's candy bag. Seeing this, Molly's eyes widened under her furrowed brows and quickly snatched her bag up and hugged it to herself.

Eden and I laughed, me sitting up and reaching into my own bag to pick out three pieces of chocolate. I popped them all into my mouth, saying, "Ju really need to chill, Mully."

My blonde friend raised a perfect brow and wrinkled her nose at me. "And you need to learn to not speak with your mouth open, Gigi. No one can understand you when you speak."

"Ju did," I grinned, sticking another piece of chocolate in my mouth.

Rolling her eyes, Molly looked away at the guys playing football down the ways, after mumbling, "So gross."

I looked at Eden who rolled her eyes with a smile.

We were used to Molly's high and mighty persona since we were little.

It was never a surprise to us when she'd look at what we were wearing and worriedly question if that was what we were really going out in public in that day. We didn't really blame her since she came from a background with money. It was probably not like this for everyone who had money, but for Molly it was. It was just that she was given anything and everything she wanted growing up so I mean... yeah. Self explanatory.

"So... where to next after this?" Eden asked, placing the end of a black licorice into her mouth before biting it off. She looked between Molly and I a few times. Of course, Molly wanted to go shop at the cashmere store because apparently her blue one was faded and she needed to get a new one to replace it.

Eden's nose wrinkled, grumbling out, "So Gigi and I have to wander around the store aimlessly, longing for things that we can never purchase ever... while you buy yourself another sweater to add to the the thousands you have?! Ha!"

She looked at me with a frown and jabbed her thumb in Molly's direction, "You believe this girl?"

I smiled back, nodding since it was expected of Molly.

Eden and I were close even if it didn't seem like it. Whenever I needed to talk while we were growing up, she made time for me since she knew I couldn't go to my sister who ignored that she had a little sister to begin with.

Sure, we ended up talking about Molly after I vented, but that was just Eden's opportunity to vent, too. But we did think it was nice to receive a random, and expensive, gift from Molly every once in a while when she was feeling, as she liked to say, "the good vibes". Even if said gifts were re-gifted from something Molly no longer used or didn't want. Not that that was why I was friends with Molly. I liked to think that was just how Molly tried to prove she wasn't a selfish person... in her own... weird wealthy way.

"I don't mind helping you look for your blue sweater," I told Molly, reaching towards my candy bag again. I could hear Eden grumble that we'd be doing what Molly wanted. Again.

Molly squealed, clapping her hands repeatedly in front of her as she told me how dependent I was and then went on in detail of describing what the sweater looked like and what brand the tag had on it.

I nodded along to what she was explaining, but then started to fidget uncomfortably.

Scrunching my nose as I shifted around, I rolled my shoulder back to ease the tension. Didn't work. I took a deep breath and leaned my head to the side because of the discomfort I felt in my neck then glanced at Eden whose brown eyes were on me from the corners. She furrowed her brows as a way of wondering what was wrong with me.

Giving a weak grin to assure her that it was nothing, I turned back to Molly still going on about her sweater. I took a hard swallow, shifting once more.

What was wrong with me?

I've never felt this much discomfort before. Ever, actually. Argh! Why is this happening?!

Without being able to sit any longer, I jumped to my feet.

Eden looked up at me, frowning, "Gigi, are you alright?"

I swallowed, weakly smiling, "Uh... yeah. I just... just needed to stretch my legs." I made a show of rubbing my hands down my jean covered thighs.

Molly was now looking up at me too, eyeing me as I swallowed hard and winced, "Do—do either of you get antsy and uncomfortable in the heat? Or is it just me?"

I let out a breath of air, rolling my shoulders back again while stretching the collar of my shirt with a finger.

Eden's brows raised all of a sudden and a hint of a grin appeared as she leaned her head forward. "Oh, my God..." she gasped, her smile widening.

"What?! What is it?!" I panicked, frowning at her.

"I think you're sensing your mate, Gigi," she smiled, bouncing where she sat.

Raising a brow, I glanced at Molly whose blue eyes stared at me a moment before looking away.

Shaking my head, I scoffed out a breath. "Sorry... I don't understand."

Eden stood up, nodding happily as she began to give me a small refresh lesson on how mates worked. She explained that there was no precise age when a werewolf would be able to recognize their mate, with the exception that it occurred after puberty. Then there was the signs of mates being near one another once their wolves recognized each other first.

Eden started ticking off her fingers as she says, "You have the discomfort, the fidgeting, and... and I really think it's finally happening, girl!" Her eyes brightened, clearly excited for me.

I stared at her, swallowing hard.

My mate was near? It had been quite a while of taking the required course for Werewolf Freshman explaining the ins and outs of Mates. After all these years, it hadn't really popped up as the number one reason for my discomfort because seeking a mate wasn't exactly priority. I was hanging out with friends, family, and busy living my life to think about settling down any time soon. But now that I recall, it was rare that mates were in the same pack. Apparently, the Spirit World (our deity guides for Werewolves) thought spreading mates out to various places gives us Weres the opportunity to become unified through the pack connected through these paired off couples.

But if my mate was part of our pack then why hadn't my wolf recognized them before now?

When I asked Eden this, she frowned at the grass then hummed, "Hmm... I wonder if maybe they could be a tourist or something. You know, visiting Carmel and all? That's usually what we get every year around this time. Tourists. He might be from out of town."

That made sense, I thought to myself, nodding in agreement with her.

I looked to Molly who was staring off with a pinched face, and I asked her if she was alright. She broke from her trance and blinked at me. "I'm fine." was all she said, then frowned, "Let's get out of here. I want to go find my sweater." She stood up after grabbing her bag of gummies and said she'd be at the car, leading the way to the parking lot.

I frowned, questioning Eden if she noticed Molly's sudden change in mood.

Eden rolled her eyes, shaking her head that our best friend was bipolar and a diva mixed in one. "I can only put up with so much of her tude, Gigi. I don't understand how or why you cater to her so much."

We were walking to the parking lot as I shrugged a shoulder, "She's our best friend, Eden. And you know how others our age feel about her. They don't say it to her face but they only see her as someone stuck up because of her background. She's just misunderstood, you know?"

"Misunderstood? You're fucking kidding, right? Ugh, come on, Gigi! She's a little princess and takes advantage of our friendship. Yours in particular."

"She does not!"

"Oh no? So what about that time that we were out celebrating your birthday and Molly suddenly felt sick and you ended up staying up all night taking care of her?"

"Eden... she got sick from the food."

"No. She got sick of you having the spotlight on the day you emerged from the womb!"

Eden shook her head, scoffing that if the attention wasn't on Molly then Molly Sinclair was not happy. My friend narrowed her eyes and frowned, "She wasn't even concerned about your discomfort a moment ago... or the fact that you could potentially find your mate today. Hell, I am more than willing to help you excavate this whole damn park to find him with you right now, but what does Molly do? She wants to go shopping."

With a sigh, Eden shrugged, "She's just jealous of you. You've always been the happy one, the one who is kind, and decent, and who knows what it is to be a good person. You know it, too, Gigi. You are just so determined to prove to everyone that Molly isn't this heinous bitch and is actually a saint underneath all that glamour."

I didn't know what to say, not realizing that Eden felt so strongly about Molly in such a negative way. When I questioned why she stayed friends with Molly then if she wasn't so fond of her, Eden didn't answer for a minute. She pursed her mouth to the side and shrugged a shoulder before looking at me.

"I stay for you, Gigi. Because I'm afraid of the day that Molly hurts you enough and you feel like you are alone. I don't want that for you. You've been my best friend since we were kids when no one else wanted to be. And this is my way of making sure to return the favor."

I didn't say anything to that. I just started to acknowledge the discomfort again when the guys across the way had started getting rowdy and cheering and shouting their greeting at someone. Eden and I looked over our shoulders and could see the group of guys huddled together; smiling and laughing.

"Well, well, well..." Eden smirked, "Looks like the prodigal son has returned from his three month trip abroad."

I squinted my eyes, tilting my head when the group parted down the middle to reveal our pack Alpha's son grinning and nodded to something that one of the other guys had said.

I'd be lying if I said I never had a crush on Ridge Beaumont but he was older than I was so our social circles in the pack and at school never crossed paths. Not really. I think the only times I've seen Ridge around was when he'd stop by my house with his father. My own was one of the few men the alpha could call a good friend.

My father and Mr. Beaumont grew up together though they were meant for different paths. The former was nothing close to an alpha bloodline but having warrior blood was just as respect-worthy as the former title.

Being of alpha blood, whether male or female, gave that Werewolf an advantage in society. That always consisted of rank, wealth and heirs. You know, the usual wealthy-class stuff.

As a warrior, however, you had the rank in society but whether you were wealthy or middle-class was a toss-up. As for heirs, not all offspring of warriors will carry on to live up to the title. That's not to say those children don't have the gene, it's just either dormant or not.

Those who have a dormant warrior gene still can live up to the attributes a warrior had: strength; both mentally and physically, strategy and tracking skills, agility and protective instincts.

Between a dormant warrior child and non-dormant, the dormant child would submit to their sibling whether they wanted to or not. That would be the only difference. Those who have the gene more profound are the ones who take over for protecting the alpha family and the pack.

For many, a Warrior's reputation around the pack was just as highly respected as an alpha family's. Fewer even believe the Warrior families deserved more respect as they were the ones doing all the work playing bodyguard. But I digress.

My point is that my father became the top Warrior for the pack and was in charge of the other warrior families. His mate happened to be a Warrior offspring on the dormant side but just having two parental lineages from the warrior bloodline made it possible for all of the Gomez children to have the profound gene.

The alpha and my father were good friends more so because of my father playing bodyguard. All the times growing up when the alpha would come to our home it was by himself but there was a time or two when I saw Ridge but was never close enough to actually talk to him. He was closer to my sister's age and I didn't think he'd actually pay attention to me anyway.

Okay, that's a lie. There was once that we actually talked to one another.

I remember I had been walking out of the kitchen with a big bowl of ice cream and shoved a number of spoonfuls into my mouth. It was totally ladylike.

When I stepped out of the kitchen, I froze, eyes wide and with my cheeks puffed out and my spoon sticking out of my mouth. The alpha and my father stopped mid-conversation to see me standing there and I glanced next to the alpha where I now realized his son was.

Ridge's green eyes squinted at me, his eyebrows dipped and his head tilted a little.

I slowly pulled the spoon out of my mouth, gulping down the ice cream in my mouth. It hurt a bit.

Weakly grinning, I glanced at my father who grinned back at me. He shook his head as I turned back to the visitors and squeaked out a weak, "Alpha..." and gave a small nod. I did the same to his son but greeted him as "Beta".

Alpha Beaumont had a warm smile, eyes filled with mirth as he chuckled, "My, my, Gigi. That's quite an appetite you have there."

I looked down at my huge bowl of ice cream in my arms. When I looked up at the tall man, I didn't know what else to do other than nod and hold out the bowl, asking if he wanted some.

My alpha laughed, thanking me but shook his head. He turned to his son, asking if he'd like some ice cream.

Ridge glanced up at him, lowering a brow as he asked if that would be okay. He glanced my way this time.

I only smiled, my face warm and nodded.

"Button," my father got my attention. "Would you get a bowl of ice cream for Ridge too, please? Darren and I are almost done with our meeting."

I nodded, smiling at my father who I adored. I gestured for the Beta to follow me and he did. At a distance.

Once inside the kitchen, Ridge looked around, eyeing the Country decor my mother went crazy with.

We didn't talk much other than my asking what flavor of ice cream he wanted. He wanted vanilla and chocolate. But we did head back out to the dining area to sit down at the table and eat our ice cream while our fathers finished their discussion.

It was the only time I'd sat so close to Ridge and would sneak glances his way. I remembered turning away when I would glance at him and he was already looking at me. We turned it into a game and then I stuck my finger into my ice cream to playfully put onto Ridge's nose. He was stunned, going cross eyed at the melting creamy goodness, then Ridge did the same to me. We giggled at one another, more when there was a puddle of melted ice cream from my bowl on the table and I used a finger to draw pictures with it. I made silly faces that had us laughing together until the alpha and my father came in to see us.

I was nine when my crush on Ridge Beaumont blossomed.

After that day, whenever the alpha would stop by to meet with his Head Warrior, Ridge was there and he'd grin at me, waiting for his father to give the OK before he took off with me outside. We'd spend quite a bit of time playing hopscotch, writing on the sidewalk with chalk, making flower crowns that I'd place on Ridge's head, even playing games that he liked like kicking or throwing a ball back and forth, pretending we were in battle or even hide and seek.

The times I spent with Ridge made that crush deeper and I thought maybe it was the same for him since he'd always ask to come and play at my house, and then there were times when he'd wave at me during the Alpha's meetings for the pack. He'd try to be discreet so his father wouldn't scold him.

A year later when Ridge turned twelve, I remember we were sitting outside behind my house and he was watching me make a flower crown. He was quieter than usual and I asked if he was okay. He seemed nervous for some reason. Ridge bit his lip, those green eyes looking into mine when he asked if it was okay to kiss me.

I stared at him, eyes widening and feeling my face go hot. My gaze dropped to the crown in my lap, seeing my fingers shaking. He was patient, I remember, because he waited until I could look at him again to ask with his head tilting slightly, "Can I?"

Because I couldn't speak, I smiled and gave a nod, setting aside the crown. I scooted closer while Ridge did the same. Licking my lips, I asked if he'd ever done this before and Ridge shook his head.

"Is... Is that okay?" he asked, his eyes turning worried.

I giggled, "Of course, it's okay! I never kissed anyone either."

Ridge smiled, leaning closer and I met him halfway. He closed his eyes when he was close enough to my lips so I followed his lead. It was simple but honeyed. My heart went into overdrive.

When he pulled back, Ridge's cheeks were flushed and he chuckled, wondering if that felt nice to me as it did to him. I nodded, feeling just as flushed and giggled behind my hands. I'd asked Ridge after if him kissing me meant that he liked me more than a friend. He nodded, asking the same of me and I replied that I really him too. And then Ridge kissed me again.

After that day, I saw less of Ridge. I don't know what happened, to be honest, because whenever his father came to the house and I asked for him, the alpha would clear his throat and say that Ridge was learning to run a pack and that meant he needed to keep up with his studies and other responsibilities that the alpha gave to him. Alpha Beaumont said it wouldn't be often that I'd be seeing Ridge from then on. Unless it was regarding pack duty.

It hurt, obviously, because my time with Ridge was taken and even though our parents didn't know about what happened between us, I really thought that Ridge and I would be able to be together.

I did see him at school but it was only in passing—well, not really—because Ridge was two years older so his peers kept him preoccupied and rarely got to interact with my age group. When he'd see me, he'd try to pull away to come over—a spur of hope in those moments—until someone would pull his attention away again. This happened constantly throughout middle school. When we were both in high school, Ridge was sixteen and a Junior, I was a freshman at fourteen. But by that time, Ridge had been groomed for his role as future alpha. He was so focused on his studies and sports and shadowing his father that I felt like I didn't know him anymore. And maybe I didn't.

There wasn't much interaction with us but I always have those savored memories with the ice cream and the kiss we shared in my backyard. Even if that crush should have been left behind with my childhood, it couldn't. Admiring him from afar even when he was so close by during pack gatherings was as good enough as it was going to be for us.

Standing there in the park, I noticed that Ridge looked... different after being gone for three months. It was to visit a European pack leader that Alpha Beaumont had been friends with for years. Something about giving Ridge the opportunity to explore how other alphas elsewhere ran their packs. Before he left, Ridge was handsome with his piercing emerald colored eyes, dark hair, and lean build. But now that he was back, even from this distance, I could see how grown up he looked. He'd gotten a bit taller and filled out from the lean boy I remembered; his body more sculpted and chiseled that I get why females around the park were already eyeballing him.

The crush I had on Ridge Beaumont had turned from childlike to adult in that split moment. I began to shift uncomfortably, unable to keep my eyes off him. My discomfort was escalating the longer I stared at him, wondering if it was maybe my hormones as a female seeking to recognize her mate among the males that was blurring with my long-time crush on Ridge.

But when the Alpha's son bent to pick up up the football, his gaze lifted then did a double take our way. Ridge froze, still bent over and his green gaze widened as they found mine. The others around him were oblivious to his odd behavior as he straightened, his brows furrowed more as he stared.

My heartbeat quickened, feeling the butterflies in my stomach at the way he was looking at me until there was a distant honk that drew my attention back to Eden. She groaned, whining that Molly was getting impatient and we should get going. I slowly nodded, unsure why I was hesitant to share that my wolf recognized Ridge Beaumont as my True Mate. It was why my discomfort disappeared instantly. The wolf in me felt content with the mate chosen for her.

I did think it a little strange that Ridge hadn't exactly experienced the same discomfort as I had before my recognition. It was obvious after though that he knew what I was to him even if he did look so confused by it.

My eyes widened when realizing that this meant when Ridge officially became Alpha so would I. I'd be known as the Alpha Female helping him make sure no harm came to the Weres—or humans—in Carmel.

Eden took my arm, muttering if we could take really slow steps back to the car just to piss Molly off a bit more. As I followed her, I didn't answer. A small breath escaped me, turning my head to look over my shoulder to see Ridge was still standing there with the group of guys getting ready to play another football game. His brows still furrowed as he stared after us. It wasn't until one of the guys came up to him with a hand on his shoulder that Ridge broke out of his stupor.

"Gigi! Come on!" Molly shouted from the passenger seat of the car. "The boutique will close soon!"

I picked up the pace, apologizing to a miffed Molly while Eden grumbled that it was only two-thirty and the boutique didn't close for another three hours so there was nothing to worry about. She climbed into the backseat as Molly turned in the passenger seat to start arguing with Eden.

"Alright, you guys! Quit it! We're going!" I broke the tension, buckling myself in then started up the car.

Molly huffed at Eden, shooting her a look that the the other girl returned then Molly smiled at me that I was the best for thinking of her unlike other people. She reached to mess with my radio.

Smiling at her, I shrugged and pulled out of the parking spot and headed further into downtown.