Questions

Jay chuckled at her dodge but followed her into the woods before they parted to move behind separate trees. They emerged once more as their wolves and each carrying a little bag on their back. Nova's tail gave a small wag before she dashed off into the woods and left the embarrassing morning behind.

Nova let Jay catch up with her before she took off faster in the direction of the waterfall. They ran almost side by side as Nova led the way toward her special spot. When they finally slowed and emerged from the trees, they were welcomed by the sun glittering off the lake below and throwing little rainbows across the falls. The forest sat before them and they found themselves just looking out over it.

The view before them was beautiful, but Nova couldn't help but look up at the large black wolf beside her only to see him staring back at her. She gave him a smile before head-butting his shoulder and retreating back into the woods. Jay followed her lead and they both shifted back and got dressed before reemerging onto the cliff's edge.

"It is beautiful here." Jay softly commented after a few minutes of silence.

Nova gave a small nod and smiled up at him as she explained, "I found this place at the end of last school year. Ever since I have come back here whenever I needed to think." He nodded and they looked back out over the view. After a few minutes, Nova looked up at him with a mischievous grin and went to step closer to the edge.

Jay's hand shot out and stopped her before he asked, "What are you doing?"

"Relax, Jay. It's ok." Nova responded with the grin still planted on her face. Jay's eyebrow lifted and he looked unsure, but his grip on her softened enough for her to pull out of his grasp and dove. She knew her dress would be soaked, but she couldn't help herself. The refreshing cold water welcomed her into its depths before she curved her dive and swam back to the surface. Nova looked up and laughed at Jay who was staring at her in shock with his mouth hanging open.

"Well, are you coming?" Nova shouted up at him and Jay's smile turned mischievous as well as he leaped and dove into the water. He didn't surface immediately and Nova felt a sinking feeling in her gut which caused her to try to swim for shore. She barely made it two feet before a hand grabbed her ankle and tugged her under.

The second the hand let go, she struck out for the surface and her eyes narrowed on Jay's retreating form. She swam quickly and pushed her self a bit upward before letting herself fall on top of his shoulders and dunked his head. Nova pushed off of him and swam toward shore. She was able to make it but was barely able to make it three steps before Jay's strong arms wrapped around her and lifted her up.

Nova let out a little squeal as she tried to escape his grasp and Jay turned back to the water. He threw her into the deeper area, before laughing at her as she resurfaced. Nova shot her foot out and pulled his out from under him, stopping his laugh as he fell into the water with wide eyes. This time she was laughing at him, but it quickly turned into a playful scream as she fought to quickly escape the water.

She made it out, but once again Jay caught up to her. This time though, he started to tickle her instead of grabbing her which only caused her the giggle and run toward the grass. Her foot caught onto something and Nova started to fall, but Jay's arms wrapped around her before she could hit the ground.

Their momentum brought them toward the ground, but Jay managed to twist them so that he landed on the bottom and took most of the impact. They looked in each other's eyes in shock for a few seconds before bursting out in laughter and Nova rolled off of Jay. When their laughter calmed, Nova looked over to Jay to see him already looking intently back at her. Both had grins written clearly on their faces. Nova couldn't even remember a time she had smiled this much, other than in cheer competitions or at football games.

Nova looked back up at the sky and smiled at the puffy white clouds that floated over their heads for a bit before sitting up and looking a Jay. He sat up and looked at her curiously before commenting, "You look like you have something you want to ask."

With a nod, Nova affirmed, "Yeah. Although, I have a feeling that I have an unending amount of questions."

Jay shrugged and told her, "Well, I can do my best to answer them if you want."

Nova gave him a sweet smile before voicing her first question, "So you said that werewolves live in packs, are they similar to natural wolves where they have an alpha male and female?"

With a nod, he answered, "Yeah, we have an Alpha Male and Female, although the alpha female has a special title: Luna." Nova nodded in understanding, but Jay continued speaking before she could ask another question. "We also have a second in command, a Beta, and a third in command, or a Gamma. Both of their mates are equal leaders with them as the Luna is an equal leader to the Alpha."

"What is a mate? Is it like a husband or wife?" Nova quickly asked once he fell silent.

"A mate is the werewolf equivalent of a husband or wife, but the connection between mates is a bit deeper. We use the term mate, as in a soulmate, to describe their bond," Jay explained.

Nova nodded and continued asking, "Soulmate as in one is made for the other. They complete each other and will help each other fulfill their true potential?"

A wide smile spread across Jay's face as he commented, "Yeah, that's exactly it. Our human sides may feel drawn to our mate, but it would feel similar to a crush that any human could have. However, our wolves recognize our mates quite quickly. Normally, mates recognize and acknowledge each other on sight because the wolves tell them."

At this point, Nova's eyes were wide as she inhaled all that Jay was telling her. "Do you think I have a mate? Even though I wasn't born as a werewolf." Jay's smile turned into a grin which had a slight air of mischief to it as he simply nodded in answer. Nova furrowed her brows at how he reacted but brushed it off as she continued, "Can a werewolf only be mates with a werewolf?"

Jay shook his head and explain, "No, a werewolf can be mates with anyone. Werewolf, Human, Witch, or any other humanoid really. If a werewolf is paired with a human, the human will feel the attraction, but they won't immediately recognize the person as their mate, mostly because they won't realize what a mate is. Other supernaturals may recognize their mates immediately, but it depends on their abilities."

"How does one recognize their mate?" Nova questioned.

For some reason, the slightly mischievous grin spread across Jay's face as he answered, "Well, for one they will feel very drawn to their mate. It will pretty much feel like a very strong desire to be near the other. Second, they will notice a very strong smell which will typically smell like that person's favorite things. Third, when they are together it just feels right and when they are apart it feels wrong. Lastly, when mates are very sensitive to each other's touch. For example, my parents told me they feel warmth and sparks whenever they touch."

Nova's eyes narrowed as her mind started to make some connections. The smell which she had felt so drawn to, the howl she had wanted to respond to. Had that been her mate? She had followed the smell and she had found the boys. Her eyes widened as she remembered that the scent had been in the woods those two nights, and in the cafeteria, and even right now.

Her eyes shifted back to meet Jay's blue eyes who was staring intently at her. Ever since she had met him, both she and Dawn had felt inexplicably drawn to him. We had even caught a bolt out of the air to protect him! Every time Nova had been with Jay, the moments had just seemed so right and whenever they parted, things just seemed... cold.

Jay's hand slowly reached out and cupped her cheek. Warmth spread through her at the contact. As he stared into her eyes, Nova recognized the sparks that were also there. She had ignored them before, just thinking they were simply because she was so excited to meet other werewolves. It hadn't even occurred to her that she only felt the sparks when Jay and her touched.

A soft smile was on Jay's face as Nova's mouth dropped open slightly. Inside her mind, Dawn had become more and more excited throughout the conversation with Jay. Now she froze just like Nova as they met Jay's eyes, 'Mate.'