Vow of a Mate

ROSE

I kept glancing at the door. He hadn’t shown up at the diner yet.

“Expecting someone?” Alice’s voice startled me, and I spun around to face her.

“No, not at all,” I quickly denied, distracting myself with the cash register.

Alice chuckled and moved off to serve the tables. I sighed, feeling a pang of disappointment, and went back to my work. He didn’t show up all day.

After saying goodnight to Alice and Diana, I stepped outside to find him waiting in the same spot as yesterday.

When he saw me scanning the area for him, he crossed the street to meet me.

“Hi,” I greeted, unsure of how to kick off the conversation.

“Hi.”

“There’s a park nearby. Can we go there to talk?” I suggested. He nodded, and we walked together to the park. We sat on a bench in silence, surrounded by people and children playing.

“So…have you made up your mind?” he asked, turning to face me.

I nodded. Clearing my throat, I said, “I’ve thought about what you proposed. Even though I’m scared of getting my heart broken again, I can’t spend my life wondering what if.”

I took a deep breath before continuing. “Yes, I accept your offer. Let’s be friends. But…”

His smile faltered a bit.

“But what?”

“How long?”

“Excuse me?”

“How long are we going to be friends?”

He took a moment to consider my question.

“How about a month?”

A month? Could I handle that? Did I even have a choice?

“Okay.” I smiled at him.

He extended his hand, grinning.

“Hi, I’m Drake Mason.”

I laughed and shook his hand.

“Dr. Rose Nooman.”

We spent some time talking about ourselves, getting to know each other better. I learned that he was a warrior. His brother was an alpha, and they were very close. He had lost his parents at a young age in a rogue attack.

But when I asked about his pack name, he didn’t answer. I was a bit disappointed but decided to let it go. I also told him about myself, my parents, and why I wanted to become a doctor.

We chatted for a while, and when I looked around, the park was nearly empty.

“Wow, look at the time. We’ve been talking for almost an hour,” I said, glancing at my watch.

“Yeah.” He looked just as surprised.

“Rose, can I meet you at the diner tomorrow?”

“Why do you ask?”

“I just want to make sure you’re okay with us meeting in public.”

“Are you?” I asked him. Was he embarrassed to be seen with me?

“I’m more than okay with it. We’re friends, remember? I just want to know how you feel.”

“Friends, remember?” I echoed his words, and we both chuckled.

“I don’t have any problems. I’ll see you at the diner tomorrow.”

When he offered to walk me home this time, I didn’t refuse. We walked in silence until we reached my doorstep.

“Um…this is it. Welcome to my humble abode.”

“Are you inviting me in?” he asked, surprised.

“No! I mean, not no.” I stopped my rambling when he laughed.

“I get it. See you tomorrow,” he said, smiling.

I smiled back, feeling a bit embarrassed.

“Good night,” I told him.

“Good night.” He waited until I was inside before leaving. I watched from the window as he disappeared around the corner.

***

Two weeks had passed since our meeting in the park, and Drake had been visiting me at the diner every day. He would show up just before closing time and wait for me.

We would either have dinner at the diner or just wander around town. Afterwards, Drake would walk me home.

Alice was surprised when I told her that Drake and I were friends. She couldn’t figure out how that had happened.

Diana didn’t say anything for a few days, but at the end of the first week, she insisted on talking to Drake in person.

I didn’t know what they discussed, but from that day on, Drake was allowed to stay in the diner as long as he wanted, and he even got a special seat in the corner.

Diana seemed friendlier towards him and smiled at me more often.

I couldn’t make sense of her behavior, but I didn’t want to risk asking her about it.

Every day, we tried to understand each other better, discussing our likes and dislikes.

Surprisingly, we liked the same kinds of books and music. I never would have guessed he was a bookworm, but you can’t judge a book by its cover.

He surprised me more and more each day as I got to know him better.

I was amazed by his stories about traveling across the country, living undercover with rogues, learning about them, and devising a strategy to counterattack them.

He didn’t just eliminate the violent ones—he also helped the innocent rogues join nearby packs, which was no easy task given the general opinion of rogues.

I fell more in love with him every day. I sighed, unsure of what the future held for us. Sometimes I would panic, wondering if I had made a mistake by giving this relationship a chance.

But we weren’t in a relationship yet, were we? My mind was a mess of confusion and tangled thoughts.

I was brought back to reality when Alice shook me.

“Earth to Rosie. Where’d you go?”

I jumped, pushing her away in surprise, and started giggling when she fell over. I quickly raised my hands in surrender when she got up and glared at me.

“Sorry, you scared me,” I said, smiling.

She nodded but couldn’t hide her own smile.

“Your man’s here.” She nodded towards the corner booth.

“He’s not my man. Just a friend,” I corrected her.

“Tell that to your glowing eyes and flushed cheeks.” I rubbed my cheeks at her comment, and she burst out laughing.

“Gotcha…” she said, heading off to serve the tables.

I’d deal with her later. For now, I headed over to his booth.

“Hi, Drake.”

He looked up from his phone and gave me a bright smile.

“Hi, Rose. Busy?”

“Nah, it’s the usual. We won’t see a rush for another few hours.” That’s when I spotted the bruise on his cheek.

“What happened?” I asked, reaching out to touch it. He winced.

“Sorry,” I said, pulling my hand back.

“It’s nothing.”

“Drake, it doesn’t look like nothing. But if you don’t want to talk about it, that’s okay.” I couldn’t keep the worry out of my voice.

“No, it’s not that. I just don’t want you to worry.”

“I can decide that for myself,” I said gently.

“Today, Aubrey came to see my brother. We chatted a bit, and she gave me a friendly hug before she left.”

I couldn’t help but growl at the mention of her hugging him. Drake paused, looking at me with a grin.

“Sorry,” I said, giving him a sheepish smile. He chuckled and continued his story.

“Her mate, Leon, showed up at the same time. He’s still wary of me, given our history. I get it. He lost control of his wolf when he saw us together and punched me.

“Alpha Reol stepped in and calmed him down. Leon realized what had happened, apologized, and they left for his pack.”

“Are you okay?” I asked, concerned. I knew how he felt about Aubrey and I couldn’t figure out what was going through his mind.

“I’m fine. But…”

“But what?”

“Even though I came here because of Aubrey, the main reason was to discuss an alliance between Alpha Reol’s pack and mine.

“The negotiations aren’t finished, and I can tell Alpha Reol isn’t comfortable with me staying so close to his sister.

“Even though they don’t live here, she visits often. I can’t leave until the talks are done.”

I felt a pang of disappointment when he said his visit was only about the pack alliance.

“And…” He trailed off, looking at me.

“And…?” I prompted.

“The issue now is that I need somewhere to stay that’s close to the pack, but far enough away not to bother Aubrey and her mate.”

I thought for a moment, then looked at him.

“I have an idea.”

He looked at me, curiosity in his eyes.

“I live alone, and I have an extra bedroom. You could stay with me.”

“What? No, I don’t want to impose,” he said gently.

“We’re friends, remember?” I said, smiling. He returned the smile.

“I don’t mind. When do you want to move in?” I blushed as soon as the words left my mouth. “I mean… What I meant was…”

He laughed at my flustered state, earning him a glare from me.

“Sorry. I understand what you’re saying. How about tomorrow? I’ll talk to Alpha Reol and bring my stuff over then.”

I nodded, smiling. That’s when we realized our hands were still intertwined. I pulled mine away quickly and left, my face burning.