Jolene woke up in a much better mood at 1:00 PM the next day. She took a shower, made some coffee and had cereal for breakfast. According to her cellphone the weather should be nice and warmer the whole day, so she decided to go out for a run in her human form.
When she opened the door she found two flowers in small glass vases; one was yellow and the other was purple. She picked up and read a small rectangular note.
‘These are Hyacinths. Meet me at the waterfall today at five?’
Jolene decided to look up what the flowers meant. She smiled and shook her head when she read the meaning of the yellow hyacinth. “My poor little Alpha. I have been unfair with you. Haven’t I?” She sighed and returned to her apartment, taking the flowers with her. Jolene changed her clothes and grabbed her car keys. She drove to town to do some errands. By the time she was done it was 3:30 PM.
Instead of running all the way to the south limit like last time, Jolene drove there; She arrived at 4:30 PM. She parked near the waterfall and thanked the sky for the good weather. She walked to the meeting spot and found Lancelot in his wolf form laying down beside the river. Hopefully he is here early. She kept her hands behind her back.
Lancelot stood up and looked at her curiously while wiggling his tail. She petted his head with one hand and he barked excitedely before jumping behind a bush. I think it is safe to assume that he is glad to see me, Jolene thought. When Lancelot returned to his human form, Jolene was sitting by the river, her back turned to him.
“I am so happy you came,” he said as he kissed her head and sat by her side.
Jolene picked up the bouquet of flowers she had been hiding and Lancelot’s eyes widened. She offered him the flowers.
“Really? For me?”
Jolene nodded and lowered her head to hide her blushing cheeks. She rarely felt embarrassed but she had never gifted flowers to anyone.
He smiled widely as he took the bouquet.”Pink and White tulips.” Lancelot was in awe. He knew that pink tulips mean caring, attachment, happiness and confidence; and white tulips represent forgiveness.
“I am sorry I made you jealous; Also, I forgive you. I should have accepted your apologies before.” Jolene smiled as she ran her hand through his hair.
“So you finally fall for my charms.” Lancelot grinned and winked at her.
Jolene removed her hand from his hair and stood up. “I am leaving,” she said as she shook off the dirt from her jeans.
“No, no, no. I was kidding!” Lancelot quickly stood up and rushed to her side. Her whole body was shaking and he thought she was crying but when he peeked at her face he noticed she was trying to suppress laughter instead.
“Jolene…” he said in a low serious tone.
She could not hold her laugh back any longer. She started laughing, first quietly and then out loud. She clutched her stomach and bent down.
“That is not fair. I was worried,” said a pouting Lancelot.
“I know. You should have seen your face.” Jolene bit her lip and took deep breaths, somehow calming down.
“Not funny.” Lancelot voice was serious.
“Are you upset?” Jolene reached to his cheek but he looked away.
She put her hands around his neck and placed a kiss on his cheek. He was still sulking.
“So cute,” she said.
“We already had this talk,” he said trying to keep a straight face, but his lip twitched. He chuckled and looked into her eyes. “What made you change your mind?” he asked as he tucked her hair behind her ear. Jolene sighed. “You kind of grew on me?”
He flashed her a sly smile. “That is what-”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence.”
He shrugged and slowly slid his arms around her back and hugged her. He took in her scent. He was amazed as he could faintly feel the bond now. Whenever he touched her he felt as if waves of warmness flowed through him. She felt like home to him and he honestly could not wait the day he would look at her again after his birthday. He could only think about how good would feel finally belonging to each other. He laughed and hugged her tighter.
“Why are you laughing?” asked Jolene. He slightly pulled away to look into her eyes.
“Because I have never been as happy as I am right now.” He trailed kisses from her forehead to her cheek.
She kissed his cheek and placed feather-like kisses on his cheek and down his neck. He moaned and pulled her closer when she kissed and nibbled the spot where she is supposed to mark him. He could feel his body responding to her touch. The need for her kept increasing and he knew that if he did not stop her, it would be him the one who would be begging her to mark him.
Lancelot groaned and sighed heavily. He let go of her, took a step back and cupped her cheeks. He peeked at her eyes which were flickering between dark brown and golden.
“Jolene,” he said softly.
Him calling her name brought her back from her daze. She stared at him and covered her mouth with her hands as she took several steps back.
“Oh my Gosh. Lancelot, I am so sorry. I almost…”
He shook his head grinning. “I know you want me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Obviously.”
“And at last, she admits it. I was wondering how long it would take you.” Lancelot slowly clapped.
“Now, I am leaving for real.” Jolene began walking away.
“Shit. Sorry, sorry.” Lancelot grabbed her hand.
She chuckled. “This never gets old.”
“So funny…” Lancelot rolled his eyes. He sighed. “Now, I regret preventing you from marking me, but I made you a promise I intend to keep. If you marked me, I would never be able to take my hands off you.”
Jolene beamed at him. As she spent more time with him, he became more irresistible to her. She had a constant struggle with herself to not mark him. “Thank you, Lancelot. My little Alpha is so sweet.”
“Little Alpha?” asked Lancelot signaling to himself.
“Yes,” she said grinning. “That is how I call you.”
“Why are all the nicknames you give me so…”
“Cute?” She batted her eyelashes to him.
“Yes, cute.” He could feel his face heating up, so he turned away from her and went sit by the river.
She sat beside him and ruffled his hair. “Adorable…”
“Stop it,” he said averting his gaze.
Jolene looked at the waterfall. The gushing sound relaxed her almost like the boy sitting at her right. “I did not know you were shy. That is kind of surprising.”
He stared up at her. “Why is it? I only needed to look hot before. I have zero dating experience other than our date.”
“I guessed that much.”
“Ouch. That hurt my pride.” He put his hand on his chest and made a pained expression.
“Oh your poor pride.” Jolene rolled her eyes. “So. How was your night out?” asked Lancelot trying to sound casual.
Jolene shot him a knowing look. “Kathe already told you. Didn’t she?”
Lancelot looked away and nodded.
“I had never felt so humiliated in my life,” Jolene covered her face with one hand and remembered something. “Well, that is not true, but it has been the most embarrassment I have felt in the last three years.”
“What happened three years ago?”
Her eyebrows raised and her jaw dropped. “You do not know.”
“How would I?”
Jolene held back a smile. The boys were not lying when they said they were her allies. “Nevermind. Promise you will not judge me?”
“I would never.”
Jolene sighed. “Three years ago… I cheated on my fiance.”
“Oh your fiance… That guy.” Lancelot frowned.
Jolene stared at him. “You do not care that…?”
“It surprises me, yes. But you changed didn’t you?”
“Yes…”
“What kind of hypocrite would I be if I judge you? Plus you just forgave me, I do not want to mess this up, and…”
He looked at Jolene, a crooked smile on his face.
“And?” Jolene asked.
“And if you had not cheated you would probably be married to another man now and I would most likely have never met my mate.”
Jolene laughed clapping her hands. “Are you even seventeen?”
He chuckled. “I am just going with the flow. My mother said I had to try my best and be patient.”
“Your mother knows?” asked Jolene.
“Not exactly. I told her I thought I found my mate but she hated being my mate.”
“Lancelot, that is not-”
“But it was. You almost rejected me that night. I feel even more guilty when I think about how upset you should have been to almost reject your mate. Can I give you another apology flower?”
Jolene laughed. “I have enough of those ones.”
“So I will give you different kinds of flowers.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
Jolene extended her legs and patted at thighs. “Come here.”
Lancelot laid down, resting his head on her thighs. Jolene ran her hand through his hair and stared at his face.
“My mate is so handsome,” said Jolene, kissing his forehead and each of his cheeks. She stopped and stared at his eyes.
He caressed her cheek smiling widely. “Do not kiss me because I would not let you stop if you do it.”
Jolene pulled herself back. “It must be so nice having self control.”
Lancelot chuckled. “I try, but you do not make it easy.”
Lancelot took Jolene’s hand and laced his fingers with hers. She kept her other hand in his hair.
“Jolene, thank you for being patient. I will be patient for us too, but promise me you will always be here for me even if we must keep our distance for a while.”
“I promise.” Jolene sighed. “That is it. I am quitting teaching after this semester is over.”
Lancelot’s eyes widened. “But this job is important to you. I have seen how much you enjoy it.”
“Many things in life are important. However, unless you learn how to prioritize, you are bound to lose things you care about the most for wasting time chasing things that are not worth it. Right now, you are my priority.”
Lancelot tried to look away but Jolene cupped his cheeks and made him face her.
“How could you ever be a player if you blush so often?” she asked.
Lancelot chuckled nervously. “You keep making these kind of comments and I have no idea what answer to give you without making you angry again.” He sighed. “I never got all lovey dovey with anyone.”
Jolene laughed. “Oh, so we are lovey dovey now?”
“Hopefully,” he said, drawing small circles in the back of her hand with his thumb.
“If that is the case there is only one thing I have to say, but you must listen and remember. Ready?”
“Of course I will remember.”
Jolene smirked. “Mi vida, mi niño, mi corazón bello y precioso, no tienes idea de cuanto te quiero. Quédate conmigo para siempre.”
Lancelot eyebrows shot up. “Wait, what?”
“It means that you will be taking Spanish classes next semester.”
“It really means that?”
“Nope.” Jolene stuck out her tongue at him.
“You are evil.”
“Did you finish the book?” Jolene smirked.
“No…”
“Want to see real evil?”
“No!”
“Good.”
Lancelot went silent and stroked his chin for a moment, seemingly lost in thought.
“Jolene… Tell me about yourself…” he said.
Jolene sighed. “The thinks you do not know about me are not really happy things.”
“I am your mate.”
“Yes you are. Let me tell you a secret then,” she whispered.