C2 Chapter Two

James Pov

The wooden stairs creaked under my weight as I descended, the aroma of burnt toast clinging to the air. There, in the living room, stood Drake, a smirk plastered across his face as he addressed my father. Mom, on the couch beside him, beamed, oblivious to the tension.

"Finally!" boomed Drake. "The future Alpha graces us with his presence after his beauty sleep, I presume?"

I stifled an eye roll. It was a daily ritual, Drake's thinly veiled jabs and Dad's mock outrage. Birthdays were supposed to be celebrations, not endurance tests.

"Come on, Drake," Mom cooed, her voice laced with honey that couldn't quite mask the underlying tension. "Don't be so harsh on James. It's his birthday!"

Dad scoffed, the newspaper crinkling loudly in his hands. "Beautiful? The boy's practically a walking pincushion with all those piercings. And what's this?" He pointed a finger at my nose with an exaggerated grimace. "Did you get another one? What were you thinking?"

I shrugged, shoving my thumbs deeper into my jeans pockets. This was another predictable scene in the birthday play – Dad, the bewildered director, and me, the rebellious protagonist. It used to sting, but years of repetition had dulled the impact.

Mom shot him a withering look that could curdle milk. "Honey, it's his day. Let him be."

Dad cleared his throat, forcing a smile that looked like it belonged on a used car salesman. I couldn't help but smirk – a small victory in the seemingly endless battle for individuality.

Mom's voice turned hopeful, a stark contrast to the tense air. "James," she began, "I just have this feeling… it'll be Hailey today. You'll find your mate, and you'll bring her home."

A tight smile stretched across my face. It was a pre-programmed response, a birthday wish that felt more like a burden than a blessing. Finding your fated mate was a cornerstone of our society, and for eighteen years, Hailey had been the name etched into my future.

"Absolutely," Dad chimed in, his smile this time genuine. The prospect of a daughter-in-law seemed to soften his usual disapproval. "Go get 'em, son."

Impatience gnawed at me, a familiar feeling on birthdays. "I'm gonna be late for school," I announced, the words a welcome escape. Grabbing my backpack, I scanned the room for Drake.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbled, stuffing the last of his breakfast into his mouth.

A mischievous glint entered his eyes. "First one to school wins!" he declared, a challenge I couldn't resist.

"Nice try," I smirked. "But you'll lose."

The crisp morning air whipped through my hair as we raced through the familiar woods, a tradition as ingrained as the birthday debate. The leaves crunched under our feet, a comforting rhythm that momentarily pushed aside the anxieties swirling within me.

Drake stumbled through the school doors, chest heaving like a bellows. "How the hell did you get here before me?" he wheezed, collapsing onto a bench.

I chuckled, patting his back. "Just a little faster, I guess."

"Right," he mumbled, catching his breath. "Hey, James," he started hesitantly, "what if… what if you find your mate today, and it's not Hailey?"

I stopped at my locker, a sigh escaping my lips that echoed the weight of the question. "That's the thing, Drake. I don't even know what I want anymore. Hailey's all I've ever thought about, but…"

"But what?" he prompted, a hint of worry in his voice that mirrored my own confusion.

"I don't know if I can accept someone else," the words tasted bitter on my tongue, a truth I wasn't sure I was ready to face. The idea of a soulmate had been spoon-fed to me since birth, but for the first time, the prospect felt less comforting and more like a cage.

"James, you're taking this whole thing way too lightly!" Drake exploded, his voice echoing in the crowded hallway. "This isn't some game. What if your soulmate is out there somewhere, pining away while you're stuck reliving this… this fabricated dream?"

I flinched, my gaze flickering away from the lock on my locker. "Come on, Drake, you know I'm not ready to just-"

"I know how much you miss her, how much you care," Drake interrupted, his voice softening slightly. "But trust me, James, clinging to the past won't bring her back. You'll only regret it later."

I mumbled a reply, forcing a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes. "Maybe," I conceded. "But I can't just abandon this… this chance, not until I know for sure."

Drake sighed, the sound heavy in the tense silence. "Just… don't throw this away, alright? This potential for something real, something new. Don't let fear hold you back."

I, unable to meet Drake's gaze, looked back at the locker. "You haven't found yours either," I said quietly, trying to lighten the mood.

A flicker of sadness, brief but deep, crossed Drake's face. "She's probably lost somewhere out there," he said wistfully. "But I know one thing for sure – she's real, and somewhere, she's waiting too."

The weight of Drake's words settled on me like a physical thing, a cold stone in the pit of my stomach. Maybe, just maybe, Drake was right. Maybe I was clinging to a fantasy, a ghost, while my true connection, my other half, waited for me somewhere in the halls of our school. The thought was terrifying, exhilarating, and deeply unsettling all at once.