#werewolf!rooster

You didn't feel any regret leaving your pack. You honestly couldn't wait to get away from the try hard Betas and the egotistical Alphas that never treated you as their equal because of what you were.

So, when the time came for you to leave, you told your family that you didn't want a big send-off. No last run through the forest, no grand pack howl. Just a hug from your parents at the airport, and you were off.

.................

You were three weeks into your new job, and you'd made a few friends. Some shifters, some not. You were currently getting ready to meet a few of them at a local military bar they had told you about. The idea of a military bar didn't really appeal to you as much as it did to them, but who knows, maybe it could be fun. You slipped on a nice black dress and did some simple make-up before heading to your Uber.

You weren't really sure what you were expecting a bar called The Hard Deck to be like, but when your Uber pulled up to it, you certainly weren't expecting to be greeted by a bright neon sign and the sight of the beach just few steps away.

You thanked your drive and stepped out, texting your friends that you had arrived. You walked up the small sandy path and opened the door, and that's when it hit you.

The deep scent of whiskey, cinnamon, and warm tobacco. It filled your olfactory receptors and spread through you like fire. Warming you from the inside out. Your brain flooded with what felt like a thousand voices, and all of them were saying one thing:

Mate

You were frozen in place, eyes darting from side to side, frantically scanning for which of the men in the crowd that it might be. You took a few tentative steps in, hoping your instincts would lead you to him.

...............

Inside, across the bar, and gather round the pool tables, stood Top Guns finest, the Dagger Squadron. They were all talking, laughing, and blowing off steam after a long week at work.

Rooster had broken away from the group to grab another round of drinks. It was halfway to the bar when he felt it, deep inside him, knocking the air from his lungs like a punch to the gut. He stopped and tipped his chin higher, and that's when he caught it.

The most intoxicating, enthralling scent he'd ever experienced. It was sweet and fresh. Like lilies and honey and fresh squeezed citrus. He knew exactly what it meant before he heard it in his head.

Mate

You were there, somewhere in this bar. The one he'd been searching for. The one he'd almost given up one. He turned on his heels. The beers he meant to get long forgotten. Rooster pushed his way through the crowd, following, not sure where he was going or who he was going to. Blinding following some invisible string that would hopefully lead him to you.

...............

You don't remember making the conscious decision to start walking into the bar. It seemed like your feet had a mind of their own. You stepped quickly, not too quickly, to draw too much attention to yourself, your head on a swivl, scanning for your Mate. You inhaled sharply, ears perking up. The scent was getting stronger, which meant you were close. You were excited to meet him, but in the back of your mind, doubt crept it.

What if he didn't think you were pretty? What if he wasn't kind? What if he didn't like who you were—what you were? You know it's silly to think about, but it wasn't unheard of for mates to not like each other at first.

You weren't shallow like some of the other girls in your pack and concerned with how he would look. If he was handsome, that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. But more than anything, you hoped that he was kind, honest, and caring. Someone you were with because you wanted to be, not because your instincts told you that you had to be.

You sighed, shaking your thoughts from your head. You were hopeful that it would all work out. You took another step forward. Unfortunately, you weren't quite paying attention to where you were going, and you crashed into someone.

You lost your footing and a pair of stong arms wrapped around you, steadying you on your feet. You didn't mean for it to happen, but you found your face buried in his chest. You breathed in his scent deeply.

Whiskey, cinnamon, and warm tobacco.

It was him. Your Mate.

You stepped back and looked up at him. He was tall, so much taller than you, that you had to tip your chin to meet his gaze. He was big and broad, his frame dwarfing you as you stood there.

He was handsome, oh boy, was he handsome. He had the most perfect honey colored curls and golden eyes. His smile was soft and warm as it reached the corner of his eyes. The mustache that had would have been ridiculous on anyone else, but it was perfect for him. You weren't sure how much time had passed. It was like the world around you was frozen. You could have been standing there minutes or hours, just drinking him in. Who knows?

He was the first to break the silence that passed between the two of you. "Hi." He said in a deep voice that had just the right amount of timbre to it.

"H-hi." You replied to him. You were mentally kicking yourself at your lack of confidence and how heavy your tongue felt in your mouth.

"Hi." He repeated again with a soft chuckle. "I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Bradley." He told you with a tooth rotting grin.

"Bradley." You repeated his name softly. It was a good name. A name that fit him well. "What's your name?" Bradley asked you. You told him your name. He repeated it back to himself slowly. Like he was trying to savor the taste of each syllable on his tongue. You liked the way your name sounded coming from lips. At the same time, you were jealous of it. Your name had already had the chance to find out what his tongue tasted like, how it felt to be caressed by his smile. You wanted to know, oh, you wanted to know so badly.

"You're not from around here, are you?" Bradley asked you after another moment. "No. I just moved here from the East Coast for a job. This is my first time here. I'm supposed to be meeting some friends from work, but now—" you trailed off.

"Now you'd rather be anywhere but here?" He finished your thought. "Yeah." You breathed out, suddenly aware that neither of you had let the other one go.

"Well, how about this. You go see your friends, and I'll go back to my friends from work, and in an hour or two, I'll come find you and take you out for a meal where we can get to know each other. How does that sound?" Bradley asked you.

"Good. That sounds good." You tell him sheepishly.

"Good." He smiled before hugging you and letting you get to your friends. You watched him move through the crowd and to the bar. Once he got there, he spoke to the bar tender before turning and pointing to you. You looked away quickly, hoping he didn't catch you staring, but when you looked back, his eyes were still on you. You waved. He waved back and shot you a playful wink before walking towards the pool tables with a handful of beers.

Bradley tried to be as calm as possible as he walked back to the pool table, but he just couldn't wipe the smile off his face.

"Finally. Took you long enough, Rooster." Hangman teased as Bradley approached the group. "Was about to send out a search party for you."

"Sorry, just—got a little caught up." Bradley laughed before grabbing a pool cue and sauntered over to the side of the table to take hus next turn. Bradley leaned down over the table to line up his shot. Just as he took it, another whiff of your scent floated across the bar to him and distracted him, causing him to miss completely.

Instead of getting frustrated, he just laughed and shook his head before handing the cue off to Phoenix.

She took it from him, but didn't move from his path when he went to walk away.

"Bradshaw, you're awfully perky for someone who just lost a game of pool. How come?" Phoenix questioned him.

"No reason. Just in a good mood, I guess." Bradley shrugged.

"Well, that 'good mood' and the fact that you're grinning like an idiot wouldn't have anything to do with that new scent on you, would it?" Nat asked him.

"Well, um—" Bradley scratched the back of his neck, trying to come up with an answer.

"Bradley Bradshaw, in the time it took you to go get beers, did you find your mate?" Nat grins at him like a cat who got the canary. Heat floods Bradley's cheeks as he nods.

"Well, son of a bitch, isn't that the best." Coyote whoops out before giving him a congratulatory smack on the back before the others join in.

"Is she still here?" Bob asks from his perch in the corner.

"Yeah. She's over there with some friends from work. The one in the black dress." Bradley gestures over to you without trying to make it too obvious.

Jake lets out a long, low whistle. "Damn, she is good-looking." He says as he continues to stare.

Bradley turns on his heels and growls a low "Mine," from deep on his chest at Jake before snapping the beer bottle in his hand into a million pieces.

Jake's eyes go wide, but Bradley's go wider. "I'm sorry, Jake. I don't know what just came over me." Bradley says as he wipes himself off with a napkin.

"Instincts, man." Coyote chuckles. "Once you find your mate, your brain goes crazy. After I met Nat in flight school, I remember having to fight off the urge to rip her back seater's head off every time he got in the plane with her." Javy shakes his head and takes a long drink of his beer. "Don't worry, it gets a little easier, eventually."

Bradley shakes his head, embarrassed at what he has done. He's known you for five minutes and already made a fool of himself over you.

..............

"Took you long enough to get here!" Shayla, one of your friends from work loudly exclaims as you make your way over to the table she and the rest are sitting at. "We thought maybe you go lost." Jazz laughs before pushing a margarita in your had.

"Sorry. I got a little—caught up." You say as you glance over to where Bradley and his friends are. "Caught up?" Shayla says as she raises her eyebrow before coming to right next to you.

"Okay, Shay, ever heard of personal space?" You ask her.

"I'm not buying it. You never get 'caught up' with anything, and you're never late. It should be criminal how you are always early to everything." Shayla says as she examines your face.

"Shay, chill and give her some room to breathe," Nia, the fourth and final member of your friend group, finally pipes up. Shayla shushes her with a wave of her hand before leaning closer to you.

Finally, it seems the light bulb goes off for her. "Well, I'll be damned." Shayla chuckles before giving you a pat on the shoulder. Nia and Jazz look at her, confused, waiting for her to say something. Shayla laughs again. "Sorry Nia, sorry Jazz, I forget sometimes that you two aren't like us," she gestures between the two of you, "but it smells like someone has found her mate." Shayla grins as she takes a sip of her drink.

"Mate?" Nia asks. "It's like life partner. Someone that you're destined to be with. It's a wolf thing. It's hard to explain." You tell them. "And you can tell by scent?" Jazz asks. "Yeah, it's instincts. You never know when it's going to happen, but when it does, your brain kinda goes crazy." You tell her.

"Aww, that's so cool. Ugh, you two have it so much easier than the rest of us who are out here fighting for our lives on dating apps." Jazz rolls her eyes.

"So, who is it?" Shayla prys as she looks around the bar. "Him." You say as you point to Bradley and his friends.

"The one in the Hawaiian shirt and the mustache." You say. "Oh, he is fine." Nia says. Without thinking, you growl at her. A low warning. It shocks you. Nia looks back at you with wide eyes. "I'm sorry, Nia. Instincts. Once you meet your mate, your brain hardwires itself to protect your mate from any perceived threats." You try to explain to her.

"Note to self," Nia begins. "Don't tell anyone you think their man is fine." Nia laughs before patting your hand and reassuring you that you're okay.

"So why aren't you over there with him?" Jazz asks you after a moment. "We are both here with friends. We both decided we needed a minute to breathe and wrap our heads around the whole thing. He is going to take me to dinner in an hour so we can get to know each other." You tell them.

"Well, I'm sure you two will click, just like Ian and I did." Shayla says. You knew she was mated since you met her. You saw the barely there scar of a mating mark on the left side of her neck the first time the two of you met.

You raised your hand to rub over your own neck wondering if Bradley would be one of those that instantly wanted to bond, or would he be okay with the fact that you wanted to wait.

"Don't worry." Shayla says as she places her hand on your shoulder. "He is going to love you." She tells you with a reassuring smile.

................

An hour later, Bradley comes and politely steals you away from your friends. Your hand feels so small in his as he holds it to escort you out of the bar and to the parking lot.

"Did you drive here?" He asks you. "No, I took an Uber." You tell him. "Well, I drove. We can take my car to get something to eat, and I can drop you off at your place later, or I can call an Uber if you aren't comfortable riding with me?" Bradley looks down at his feet.

"I'd like to ride with you. Gives us more time to talk. I trust you." You tell him. And you mean it. "Okay." Bradley smiles at you as he leads you across the parking lot to a beautiful vintage blue Bronco. He opens the door and offers you his hand to help you up before he reaches across the seat and buckles you in. He shoots you a wink before shutting the door and running across to the drivers side. You giggle at him.

"So, do you like pancakes? Because I know this diner that has the best pancakes in all of San Diego, that's not too far from here. Or if you don't like pancakes, I know a great taco place, or burgers, or—" Bradley rambles nervously.

"I love pancakes." You blurt out, interrupting his nervous spiral. "Great. Pancakes it is." He smiles at you before driving away from the Hard Deck.

The drive was more— quiet than you thought it would be. Not because you didn't want to talk to Bradley, because god, you really did. But you were afraid to get too close to him before you told him what you were. What if he rejected you because of it? It wasn't unheard of, and you knew it would be easier if you weren't already attached to him. But you could already feel the connection building with him. Between the stolen glances and how he was holding your hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze every so often, you already felt yourself yearning for him.

You were broken from your thoughts when Bradley parked in front of a retro looking diner. He hopped out and quickly helped you out of his car. He linked your hands together before walking in.

The two of you were tucked away in a corner booth. Before you could speak, a waitress quickly came and took your order. Chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs with cheese and hot sauce, bacon, and toast. Bradley ordered the same thing, claiming that yours sounded good.

"So," Bradley began as you took a sip of the coffee in front of you. He began to open his mouth to say something, but you stopped him before he could.

"I'm a half-ling!" You blurted before looking down at your hands and fiddling with your napkin.

Bradley was silent for a minute before responding, "Okay."

You glanced up at him, wondering how he could be so nonchalant about it. "Okay?" You question him. He looked at you confused. "Were you expecting me to say something else, Honey?" He asked. The pet name dropping smoothly from his lips like the golden liquid itself.

"Um, maybe. I don't know. I just—I just wanted you to know before we went any further, in case you weren't okay with it. I just wanted to give you the chance to—" you look back down at your hands again. The poor paper napkin shredded to bits now.

"To what? Reject you?" Bradley asks. You nod your head, too scared to meet his eyes. Bradley reaches across the table and takes your hand in his. "Honey," god, why did it sound so good when he called you that? "Half-ling or full wolf. I don't care. And I'm certainly not going to reject you over it. You're my mate. And I know it sounds so cliché but I am not going anywhere. I want to be with you. Do you want to be with me?" Bradley asks you with a sincere smile.

"Yeah. I think I do." You smile back at him. Bradley runs his thumb over your knuckles as the two of you sit there, not speaking, but still, so much passing between the two of you.

Your peace is broken by the arrival of your food. You quickly tucked into it, not realizing how hungry you were.

"So, you're a half-ling. That's cool. Which parent is a wolf?" Bradley asks you after a few minutes.

"My mom." You say while spearing an egg. "One of those rare cases where her mate was a human. But we did some genealogy on my dad's family, and it turns out his like great-great-great-great- grandparents were wolves, so he just had the gene passed down. Not enough where he could ever transform or anything, but it's there." You explain.

"Can you transform?" Bradley asks with a mouthful of bacon. "Yes, I can. I'm just smaller than someone who is full wolf. And not as strong. Some of the boys from my pack would try to take advantage of me and some of the other half-ling girls. They were hot head alphas who thought they could have whatever and whoever they wanted. There was this one in my pack, Marco, he cornerned me in the woods near my house once. Had me up against a tree. I know I wasn't the first girl he'd done it to because he told me that none of the others fought back like me. I sunk my claws into his eyebrow and nearly ripped off his face. He never tried anything like that again, and he was kicked out of the pack." You say taking a bite of your pancakes then pausing.

"I don't know why I just told you all of that." You shake your head.

"It's okay. I want to know everything about you." Bradley assures you.

"Well, just so you know, I've never done anything like that. My scars are from when I was a young, hot-headed alpha mad at the world after I lost my mom. I got into my fair share of fights back then.

"Of course you're an alpha, Bradley. How could you be anything else?" You chuckled. "Technically, I'm an alpha, too. So was my mom. But no one takes a half-ling as an alpha seriously." You scoff.

"I do." Bradley says without missing a beat.

The two of you sit in that diner for another two hours, talking, getting to know each other, and eating way too many pancakes.

When you both finally leave, he offers to take you back to your friends at the Hard Deck. But you turn him down, instead asking him to take you home.

Bradley is a perfect gentleman and walks you to your door. The two of you stand in the glow of the light, illuminating your small porch.

"So." He says. "So." You parrot back to him. "I'm having a really good time, and I'm really not tired. Would you like to come in?" You ask him. He raises an eyebrow at you.

"Not for sex." You clarify, quickly. Bradley busts out a laugh. "I mean, it's not that I don't ever want to have sex with you. Just not right now. I thought maybe we could watch a movie or something?" You try to hide the flush of embarrassment in your cheeks.

"That sounds great." Bradley smiles at you. You quickly unlock your door, and he follows you into the entryway. Both of you toe off your shoes, and you toss your keys into the bowl in the hall.

"Do you want something to drink?" You ask him. "Water is fine." He says as he makes his way into your living room. It's small but homey and decorated in a style that is uniquely you.

He sits down on your couch and looks at some of the pictures that you have up. He assumes that they are of your family and friends.

"Here you go, Bubs." You say to him as you hand him a glass of water. "Bubs?" He asks you, taking the glass.

"I just thought it fit. If you don't like it, I—" you trail off.

"No, I like it. Bubs and Honey. Sounds like quite the pair." Bradley says as you sit down on the couch. It's small, so the two of you are pressed close together. You can feel the warmth radiating off of Bradley. He causally lifts an arm up and drapes it over your shoulder. You lean in even closer to him until your cheek is pressed against his torso. You can hear his heart beating in his chest. You wonder if yours sounds just the same. Bradley wraps his arm around you. Pulling you closer.

By the time the movie that you hadn't been paying attention to is almost over, Bradley is sprawled out across your couch, feet hanging off on side because of how small it is, and how broad he is. You draped over him with a blanket over the two of you. Bradley gentle strokes your hair, and you hum contently.

"You have to go home, don't you?" You say as you prop your chin up on his chest. He sighs and sits both of you up.

"Unfortunately, I think I do." Bradley says. He cups your face and strokes your cheek. "Before I go, I was hoping—if you want—could I kiss you? I've been thinking it about it all night if I'm being honest." Bradley nervously rubs the back of his neck.

"Please." You say so fast that it surprises both of you. He flashes you another smile and tilts your chin up towards his face. His lips just millimeters from yours.

"C'mon, Bubs. Are you going to kiss me or just look at me?" You tease him. "Maybe I want to do both, Honey." He says before connecting his lips with yours.

Electric is the only way you can describe it. His lips are soft and plush and sweet against yours. His tongue traces along the seem of your mouth, and you gladly grant him access, deepening the kiss. Your hands tangle in his hair as Bradley pulls you into his lap. You plant your knees on either side of his waist as the two of you get lost in each other. His hands roam along your body, keeping you close to him.

He pulls away from your mouth and trails his along your chin and neck. His mustache tickles your skin. You feel his lips grazed over your pulse point on the left side of your neck, and you pull away quickly.

Bradley looks at you with lust filled eyes, silently asking you if he's done something wrong.

"I—I know we are mates, but I want to wait on the whole marking thing. Just for a little while, if that's okay with you." You say, worried he'll be mad.

"I'll wait as long as you want, Honey. We have nothing but time." You smile at him and surge forward, kissing him with fervor. You can't get enough of him. You never want to stop kissing him.

"Stay just a little bit longer, please, Bubs?" It comes out more of a beg than a demand. Bradley looks up at you. Your eyes are so sweet, and your lips are swollen and glossy from where you have been kissing him. How can he tell you, no?

"Yeah, Honey. A little longer, anything you want." He agrees, happily, eagerly. You smile brightly at him, and it warms him from the inside out.

Bradley has only known you for a few hours, but he knows that he would do anything in his power to keep that smile on your face.

.............