Xavier headed to the bathroom not long after Noah left, clearing avoiding talking about what Noah had just spilled. I don't know why he's so embarrassed- I'm the one that has to explain that I've probably slept with half his pack. Don't get me wrong, I don't regret my sexual partners, but it's just awkward knowing Xavier's their leader.

I collapsed on the sofa, staring up at the high ceiling. You'd think that because we have this supernatural bond, that everything is just perfect and easy, but it's not. Sure, everything feels amazing, but it's still awkward. Neither of us are properly relaxed, because we don't really know each other. Hell, I'd only just found out who is best friend is; I'm pretty sure he only knows who mine is because he stalked me.

I felt quite a lot of pressure to accept everything quickly, since he had a lot of other stuff on his plate. The truth of the matter is that now I'm alone, I was beginning to freak out. Not just about the fact that he's a werewolf, but by the expectation that I'm going to step up to some kind of leadership role, working alongside Xavier.

A week ago I couldn't even decide what I wanted for breakfast, let alone what to do with my life. Now it seemed as if my life was planned out for me and as much as I liked Xavier, that freaks me out. 

My phone ringing dragged me out of my thoughts.

"Hello?" I answered it, still staring up at the ceiling.

"Oh, so you are alive then?" My mum asked rhetorically, her voice dripping with bitter sarcasm, "Imagine when I check in on my son before I leave for work and find he's long gone."

"I locked my door..." I mumbled, "Stop breaking into my room."

"What if you'd collapsed again!" Mum shrieked, making the guilt hit me.

"Sorry. I'll be back tonight." I replied sheepishly.

Obviously I couldn't blame her for being mad- I could imagine what she must be thinking right now. Finding me in that kind of state with no explanation would make anyone paranoid. 

"Don't bother. If you want to stay out all night, doing drugs and god knows what else, then stay out." She spat, hanging up on me.

I let my phone drop to the floor, flinging my arm across my eyes. Great. Now I was homeless until my mum decides to forgive me. I can't believe I've been kicked out of the house for doing drugs that I didn't even do. I guess it's not like I can explain to her that I was put in the hospital because I was mad at Xavier.

"Everything okay?" Xavier asked, entering the room while towel drying his shaved head.

My heart stopped, my eyes dragging down him hungrily. There's no denying that he's one hot specimen. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of black jogging bottoms, slung so low you could see his perfectly sculpted v-line. I certainly didn't have one of those hiding underneath my shirt.

"My mum just kicked me out. She accused me of staying out all night doing drugs." I explained, feeling a tad embarrassed about revealing my domestic issues.

"She kicked you out?" He frowned, "Are you okay? I'm really sorry, that's completely my fault. I shouldn't have let you stay last night."

"I'm not a child. I can stay out at night." I protested defensively.

"I know." He shushed, giving me a hug, "You can stay here if you like."

I nodded slightly, thanking him for his offer. It was either here or the twins' house and all I can say is that there's a reason they go out every night. That place is a nightmare. I couldn't stay at Heather's either, since her mum still hates me. Looks like I'm crashing here.

"Are you sure it's not a burden? It won't be for long." I double checked, feeling bad that he had to be loaded with this.

"Of course it's not a burden. Cameron, I have a wolf. That means that I feel the mate bond for two, so whatever you feel for me, double it. I love having you around." Xavier reassured me, pulling me to his chest as he laid against the pillows.

I rested my head against his bare chest, letting the tingles soothe my anxieties. My relationship with Mum had always been rocky, so this wasn't the first time that she'd kicked me out, but this was certainly the first time I was feeling guilty about it. However, I couldn't exactly tell her the truth.

"Were you waiting for your mate?" I asked quietly, not wanting to avoid the Noah-mishap topic any longer.

"I was. Not everybody does it, but I thought it would be special." Xavier sighed, hugging me tighter, "My grandparents both waited and I thought it was romantic."

He couldn't see, but my face was a look of 'oh shit'. He waited because of his grandparents? That's adorable. I didn't have the heart to tell him that I'd had a healthy, hearty sex life before I met him. Maybe I shouldn't phrase it like that...

"Cameron, it's okay. I know that you're not a virgin and I don't care. I can't tell you how many female pack members have come up to me to apologise for sleeping with my mate." He chuckled lightly, tilting my head up towards him, "It would be ridiculous to expect you to wait for something that you didn't know even existed... I hear you're quite good in the sack, though."

"Oh my god." I groaned, turning bright red, "They told you about how I performed?"

That's mortifying. At least they didn't say I was bad, I guess- it could be worse. It was just so painfully awkward talking about this sort of thing with a partner, since I had never done it before. My lack of experience was painfully obvious to me and it was making me self-conscious of every little thing I did. It was good to get the truth off of my chest and be open about it, but I was just embarrassed since they were part of his pack.

"One said you didn't even kiss her; I think that was supposed to make me feel better." Xavier laughed, enjoying seeing me turned red.

"It's because I didn't have romantic feelings for any of them." I grimaced, "I didn't think they would notice."

"Must have been memorable." He waggled his eyebrows at me, grinning.

"While we're on the topic, I have to tell you that my best friend, Heather, and I slept together once. There weren't any feelings other than platonic, so we never did it again. We moved past it and we both agree that it was awkward and sucked massively. I just want to get it out there, so that I'm totally honest. She means everything to me, but only in a platonic way."

I pulled away from Xavier a bit, trying to gauge his reaction. He just blinked, seemingly trying to process what I said. I bit my lip, feeling nervous. There was no shadow of a doubt in my mind that I would choose friendship with Heather over a relationship with a stranger: mate bond or no mate bond, but I was hoping it wouldn't come to that.

"I mean, if I'm being totally honest, I'm a tad jealous. I'll get over it quickly, though. I know she's your best friend and I trust you." He finally murmured, pulling me back into a hug.

I breathed a sigh of relief, satisfied with that answer. I guess if it were the other way round, I would be slightly jealous too. It's only natural, but it's good that he recognises that he'll need to work on it. It was certainly a more mature response than any I'd gotten in the past.

"Do you want to go for a walk? You don't have to meet anyone, I just thought it would be nice to look around the pack land while it's not dark and raining." Xavier beamed, kissing the top of my forehead.

"Could we also pop home today, so that I could get some clothes?" I requested, knowing none of his clothes would fit me without looking ridiculous.

"Of course. We can do that first thing, if you like?"

"I don't really feel like walking through all of those woods again." I winced, remembering how long the walk here was.

"I'll drive us." Xavier shrugged, getting off of the sofa with me.

"You drive?" I quizzed, surprised that I didn't know that already.

"Of course. I love my car." Xavier grinned, "Are you okay to go in those clothes?"

"Could I borrow some socks?" I requested.

He headed to his room to retrieve some socks for me and a shirt for himself- since he'd been strutting around with only jogging bottoms on. I pulled on the hoodie I'd worn last night, bundling up since it seemed a little windy outside. Xavier returned, but was sadly covered up now. I slipped on the socks and my muddy shoes, feeling a bit bad about trampling dry mud into his carpet.

"The garage is through here." He led me through a side door, flipping a switch.

The lights flickered on slowly, revealing just one car and one motorbike in the garage. My jaw dropped open, admiring the view. Xavier's car was a Tesla- I didn't know much about cars, but I knew that it was sleek, white and beautiful.

"It's a Tesla Roadster." He grinned, patting the bonnet, "Get in."

The doors opened sideways, making me take a slight step back in surprise. My family weren't poor, but I certainly hadn't seen this kind of wealth before. Usually I would disapprove of flashy displays of wealth, but Xavier wasn't showing off. He was a humble guy, he was just excited to share things with his mate. 

I climbed into the passenger seat, Xavier to the right of me in the drivers seat. He pulled up the music app, letting me choose what tunes we had on the drive to my house. I typed in 'System of a Down', surprising Xavier.

"You like metal?" He asked, pulling out of the garage as the door crept open.

"I like all sorts of music." I shrugged, "What do you like?"

"I'm more into rock and punk than metal, but I like the political messages in 'SOAD' songs."

"They're my favourite band." I told him, playing with my fingers.

"My favourite band is 'Descendants'." Xavier took my hand while he drove.

"I've never heard their music."

At that, he clicked on one of their songs, letting the sound of punk-sounding guitars fill the car. I nodded along, giggling as Xavier dramatically screamed the lyrics, banging his head. We were travelling pretty slowly along the dirt road, so I wasn't worried about him losing control.

The road was very narrow and it was lined with trees on either side, but the woods weren't so dense that you couldn't see. The trees were pretty sparse around the roads, allowing you to see little neighbourhoods dotted around in the distance as you drove past them. It was very scenic here; the whole place looked like it was straight out of a photography shoot.

"The pack house is in the other direction. I'll take you there some time." Xavier noticed me looking, pausing his dramatic rendition of the song playing through the speakers.

As we headed further down the winding road, the trees became closer together and I gathered that we were nearing the outskirts of the pack land. Looking at the forest in the daylight, I was surprised by how thick it was- I couldn't believe I had stumbled through it with Xavier last night. No wonder I fell on my ass.

Xavier came to a stop in front of a large gate- much bigger than the one we had entered through last night. I guess they must have multiple gates around the outskirts, which would make sense considering how large the perimeter is. The gate crept open, allowing Xavier to drive us off of pack land and back into the real world.

We weren't driving for much longer before we were on a real road, leaving the forest and heading through town. Xavier drove pretty calmly, which was a relief. I couldn't stand reckless or competitive drivers- speeding scares me.

I secretly found it hilarious that I didn't have to give Xavier directions to my house; he just knew what roads to take from when he used to stalk me. He hadn't let go of my hand the entire drive, our fingers linked together. Doing relationship stuff was weird to me, but in a good way. It's new and exciting- the tingles something I'd never felt before.

It certainly felt odd to pull up to my house in Xavier's car. Before last night, I had been constantly running away from him, confused by the hyper intense emotions he made me feel. The latter was still apparent, but I wasn't running away anymore.

"My mum should be at work; do you want to come in?" I offered, feeling it only polite to do so.

I hope to god he doesn't want to see my room.