His Human Mate

Amber waved goodbye at Erick and Hamish, who waved back from inside the car. The two of them had sent her home everyday from school. Or more like, Erick had sent her home, Hamish just followed from behind.

Ever since they always returned home late from school, Erick was adamant in sending her home. He did not want her to walk home, saying that it was dangerous to walk alone at night.

There were times that Hamish would leave them alone and times where he joined them. That day, Hamish told Erick that he was too tired to speed that he wanted to join them in the car instead.

Amber was a bit confused by what Hamish meant by 'speed'. But what she didn't know was that he meant by using his shifter speed to run back home.

After she watched the car drive off, she went inside her house. Inside, it was a bit quiet. Her mother was probably in the living room, knitting some clothes for her online store and Remi was probably in his bedroom, playing games.

"I'm home!" she called out.

Just then, she heard some rustling noise from the living room and soon after, she saw her mother walking out of the room, her unfinished knitted clothes in her hands.

She smiled at her daughter and went over to give her a hug. "Welcome back, sweetie," she greeted.

Amber grinned back as she returned her hug. "Hey there, mom."

"I've left some food on the table for your dinner."

Amber nodded. "I'll go and freshen up first," she said.

A few minutes later, she returned back to the front hall and went inside the living room. She then saw her mother, sitting in front of the television, knitting a cloth. Apparently, she was knitting some handkerchiefs to be sold in her online shop.

"Hey mom?" Amber called out questionly. "Where's dad?"

She saw her mother stop knitting before answering, without turning her head. "He won't be coming home tonight, sweetie. He got called out for work."

Amber frowned. "Okay," she said slowly before heading into the kitchen.

She was about to be done with her dinner when her mother walked in sans her knitted cloth. She watched as her mother joined her at the dining table.

She slurped on her mushroom soup as her mother watched her with her chin propped on her hand. "So, how was school?" she asked.

Amber shrugged. "The usual," she answered nonchalantly.

"Have you been settling in just fine?" Her mother asked again.

Amber nodded as she finished off her mushroom soup. "Yes. I've made lots of friends," she reassured her.

She knew her mother was a bit worried about her. They have been moving a lot for the past few years.

There were times that Amber had been alone, too scared to make friends. That was because she did not want to lose her friends anymore. Every time her family moved town because of her father's work, she would lose contact with her previous friends. She did not want to go through that anymore.

Fortunately, this year was different. She was planning to stay low profile, not wanting to make friends. But it seems that she felt at home in this town, more so than the other towns she had lived before. The people were too friendly. When she first introduced herself in class, she expected scorn and mockery from her classmates. To her surprise, there wasn't any. Instead, it seems like they like her carefree and amusing attitude that she can't help but lower her guard down.

Her mother smiled gently. "That's good," she said, looking a bit relieved. She knew how hard it was for Amber to move in when it was the middle of the school year.

She then leaned closer to her daughter with a sly smile and asked cheekily, "So, which one is your boyfriend?"

It was fortunate that Amber wasn't drinking anything or she could have spurted the whole drink out. Though, she nearly dropped her dirty plate and bowl in surprise as she was about to carry them to the dishwasher.

"W-what? Boyfriend? What are you talking about?" she squeaked, staring at her mother in disbelief.

Her mother smiled cheekily. "Don't act innocent with me, young lady! Isn't one of them your boyfriend?" she asked. She then narrowed her eyes in suspicion. "Don't tell me those two…"

"NO!"

Amber quickly placed her dirty dishes in the dishwasher and washed her hands. She then turned to her mother with wide eyes. "Just no, mother!"

Her mother shrugged. "I don't mind, though."

"But I do!" Amber protested, placing a hand against her forehead and sighed.

"So, which one?"

Amber suddenly feels embarrassed. She was quiet for a while before she answered in a soft voice. "It's Erick…"

Her mother leaned closer, cupping her hand over her ear. "What? I can't hear you, sweetie."

"His name is Erick. He's my boyfriend and the one who drives me home," Amber answered, her face turning red from embarrassment.

Her mother grinned. "I see. Why don't you invite him home for dinner? On a Tuesday, perhaps? Your father should be home early on that day."

With that, she got up from the table and returned to the living room before Amber could say anything.

A couple of hours later, Amber was in her room. She had just left her brother's room and had spent time with him.

She talked about what had happened in school and about how excited she was about the school's Open Day. She then told him that she will definitely bring him over to her school and have fun with him. Remi grinned as he nodded excitedly.

Inside her room, she quickly changed into her nightwear and began to apply her facial cream. Once done, she slid underneath her blanket and sighed.

'Invite Erick to dinner?' she thought, staring up at the ceiling. She let out another sigh. This would be the first time she invited someone over to her house. And it would be her boyfriend too.

She doesn't know what to feel. Excited? Nervous? Happy? Probably all.

She shook her head and thought that she shouldn't think too much and just sleep.

She did just that.

-----

Amber looked around her in confusion. She wasn't sure where she was and all she could see was trees, trees and more trees. It seems like she was surrounded by them.

She scratched her head, still feeling confused. She could have sworn that she was in her room, sleeping.

Looking around her, although she was in a foreign place, she doesn't feel uncomfortable. Instead, she felt like it was home. She took a step forward, being cautious. She did not want to invite any trouble. Who knows, there's probably some ferocious beasts lurking around, waiting to pounce on her.

As she became more brave, she took a few more steps forward before she walked around, studying those around her.

She wasn't sure but she felt like she was alone in this dense forest. There was only a small gap between the leaves up in the trees, casting sunlight onto the ground.

She thought that she would walk non-stop without any purpose until she heard a small howl.

She jumped in surprise, whirling around to see where the howling came from. She quickly ran to where the howling sound was stronger.

The closer she went, the more confused she became. It was because she could have sworn that she heard her name being called out. How could that be?

Moments later, she arrived at a large clearing, surrounded by trees. She walked forward, mesmerised by the howling sound and the calling of her name.

She then stopped in front of a beautiful lake. The water in the lake was crystal clear, shining as the sunlight shone on it. Looking down, she could see her reflection.

She bent down on her knees and touched the surface of the lake. The water felt cold under her fingertips.

She then looked up and was surprised to see a white wolf staring at her.

The two looked at each other, holding each other's gaze. Again, Amber was enraptured by the beautiful white wolf in front of her. The mane looked soft, silky and white as snow. The eyes that stared into Amber's eyes were strangely attractive with those copper hues.

Just as she stood up, she could hear the word.

"Mate."