The Mating Rules

Lauren’s POV

I wake up in a determined mood, Tyler cannot be my only friend, the only person I would hang around with. Other wolves have greeted me and been friendly so I assume that some of them are also my friends.

What I need to do, is get my butt downstairs and find out who was in my circle, and start spending more time with them. Not only will that hopefully help with my memory loss, it will also show Tyler that he doesn’t need to worry about me and can concentrate on Ellie.

Sliding out of bed, I throw some clothes on and head down to the dining room, grabbing a plate of food, carefully to avoid the tomato this time before looking around the room and zeroing in on a table where half a dozen girls my age are sitting talking.

Taking a deep breath, I head over, forcing confidence as I step up to the table and smile widely at the surprised group.

‘Room for one more?’ I ask, nodding unnecessarily toward one of the empty chairs.Exclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

‘Oh, uh, sure Lauren’ a she wolf with mousy brown hair cut into a bob replies, the only one who seems to be able to talk to me.

Taking a seat, I turn to the women around me who are openly staring, ‘sorry’ I say with an embarrassed smile, ‘I don’t actually remember any of your names, I just assumed I knew you because you are my age?’

Another girl with bright red hair that is streaked with purple pipes up, ‘Oh! Yeah, I heard that you lost your memory! That must suck’ she sympathises as the rest of the girls nod, murmuring their agreement.

I shrug, smiling in what I hope is a welcoming manner, ‘it’s a bit weird as people keep talking to me and I have no idea who they are’ I admit. ‘So I’ve decided to act like I’m a new member to the pack and hoping that I wasn’t some stuck up b***h before that you all hated.’ I laugh lightly, though that is a very real fear of mine, that all these girls hated me and I’m now trying to befriend them like an i***t.

The she wolf next to me, turns to face me, smiling warmly, making me release a breath I hadn’t realised I was holding. ‘You weren’t a b***h’ she replies, brushing the thinly braided strands of her black hair over her shoulder, ‘we didn’t really run in your circle though.’

I look around at the other girls who nod slowly, and I get the feeling that they are worried I’ll be angry or upset.

‘My circle?’ I repeat, ‘I had a circle?’

The girl who first spoke to me nods quickly, ‘oh yes, you’re the old Beta’s daughter, your brother is the current Beta and your sister is the Luna, you had a circle’ she gushes. ‘You hung around with a lot of the children from the Elite warrior group, the Alpha’s sister was also close to you what with Bailee being her best friend and all, you . . . you had high ranking friends’ she finishes, her cheeks flushing as she looks down, suddenly shy.

I look around the group, as each one watches me nervously, ‘well’ I reply with a grin, ‘they can’t be that great a friends as no one has been to see me since I got out of the clinic.’

An African American girl of about twenty straightens up at my words, ‘what? not even Tyler?’ she blurts out before slamming a hand over her mouth and trying to hide behind the girl next to her.

I laugh, letting her know I’m not offended, ‘yeah, I’ve seen Tyler’ I admit, ‘but he’s got his own life outside of our friendship and . . ‘ I bite my l*p, nervous about how needy I’m going to sound, ‘I’m hoping to make some new friends, well new to me friends as everyone is a stranger right now.’

Another girl sits forward, her eyes wide as she studies me, ‘you . . want to be friends with us?’ she asks slowly, her voice disbelieving.

‘Umm, yeah? If you want to be’ I mutter, ‘though it’s totally cool if you don’t, I mean, don’t think you have to put up with me just because my memory is trashed or anything. . ‘ I chuckle self-consciously, silently chastising myself for what is now feeling like a really stupid idea.

‘No! I mean yes, we’d love to be friends’ the first girl cuts me off with more enthusiasm than I expected.

‘Well . . great!’ I reply weakly, ‘hi, I’m Lauren . . though you probably already know that’ I finish, wow, meeting people is hard!

The first girl giggles, ‘Hi Lauren, I’m Jessica, this is Inaya’ she waves a hand toward the red and purple haired girl who waves at me.

I nod, smiling widely, ‘It’s nice to meet you Jessica and Inaya’ I reply, repeating their names in the hope that my muddled mind will remember them.

The African American she wolf takes over the conversation, ‘I’m Arleth’ she introduces herself.

‘And I’m Taiga’ the last girl adds, giving me a small wave.

‘Arleth and Taiga’ I repeat quietly to myself before giving them all a small smile, ‘so you’ve all been friends for a while?’ I ask.

‘We’re besties’ Inaya informs me, waving a hand between herself and Jessica, ‘our mothers are besties, their mothers were besties, it’s like a tradition now, we had no choice.’

Jessica gives her a shove, ‘make it sound like you put up with me because you have to, why don’t you’ she growls.

Inaya laughs, wrapping an arm around her neck and side hugging her, ‘I think it’s more the case of you putting up with me’ she replies before turning back to me. ‘Our parents live next door to each other, we’ve literally been best friends since the womb.’

‘I’ve known Jess and Inaya since Kindergarten’ Arleth adds, ‘I wanted to play with the dumper truck that Jess had and tried to take it, Inaya pushed me in the mud and got my dress dirty.’ She glares at the girl beside her who sticks her tongue out playfully.

‘Shouldn’t have tried to take my bestie’s truck then should ya’ she taunts.

‘Anyway, Jess decided that I needed a friend and brought me into their twosome’ Arleth concluded.

‘What about you?’ I ask Taiga, ‘are you also a friend from birth?’

The she wolf laughs as she shakes her head, ‘no’ she replies, ‘I came to Diamond Star about ten years ago with my mom. My dad passed away when I was three and she kind of went through the motions after that, his death almost destroyed her. When I was seven, she met one of the warriors from this pack when he came for a claiming at our old pack. They hit it off and he kept coming back to visit her until three years later, he asked if she would be his chosen. Aiden is his name and he’s really nice, he was thirty when they Mated and had already decided that it was unlikely he was going to find his fated at that age. He likes to tell people that my mom is his fated mate, he says that my dad didn’t want my mom to be alone and led him to her so he could love her as she was supposed to be loved.

I met these three on my first day of school, I was scared and shy, Jess took me under her wing, and I’ve been with them ever since.’

I feel a warmth in my chest at her story, loving that a member of our pack helped a grieving widow but also these girls welcomed a new member into their friendship group without a second thought.

‘Well I’m really glad that you came to Diamond Star and found such great friends’ I reply earnestly.

Taiga smiles brightly, ‘me too’ she agrees, glancing at the other girls affectionately.

‘So do you have any memories?’ Inaya asks bluntly.

‘Ina!’ Jessica admonishes in horror, ‘you can’t just ask that!’

Inaya shrugs, ‘what?’ she questions, ‘I’m interested, like how does the whole memory loss work, did you even know your name when you woke up?’

I giggle, weirdly finding the she wolf’s direct questioning relaxing, ‘I remembered my name, my parents and I remembered Gamma Hadley’ I reply. ‘My sister Jamie-Lee was a stranger as was the Alpha, but when he touched my arm and spoke to my wolf, she knew he was her Alpha. I also remember Laila, my wolf, and that I am a werewolf which is good because if I didn’t, having her talking in my head would have freaked me out.’

The girls laugh around me, relaxing me further, ‘that must have been so weird’ Arleth comments, ‘especially not remembering your siblings. Do you remember Beta Isaac and Female Beta Raelyn? What about Warrior Philip?’

I frown, shaking my head, ‘no’ I reply sadly, ‘not yet. They all came to see me in the hospital along with Philip’s Mate and I don’t remember any of them. I’m told I also have a sister called Bailee but I haven’t met her yet, my mum said she’s pregnant and her Mate is overprotective of her.’

I brighten up, pushing aside the dark cloud that washes over me, as I lift my arm to show the bracelet I’m wearing, ‘but I do remember the Alpha and Luna now’ I add, still excited by the breakthrough. ‘This is a bracelet Jamie-Lee gave me when she moved to the packhouse, I found it in a jewelry box yesterday and the memory of her giving it to me just popped into my head.’

Taiga squeals as she claps her hands excitedly, ‘that’s so exciting’ she gushes, ‘maybe you just need to find things that have a connection to your brothers and Bailee, and the memories will return?’

I nod, ‘I hope so’ I agree, ‘I have rummaged through my room, but so far nothing has sparked any memories.’

The group nods, ‘well if you want any information on anyone, we’ll help fill you in’ Jessica announces. ‘We know pretty much everyone in the pack so we can tell you their names and how you know them when they come up to you.’

I smile at the girls who all nod enthusiastically at the brunette’s words, feeling a rush of appreciation for these four girls who have so readily accepted me into their fold.

‘I . . ‘ I swallow through the emotions, as tears prick my eyes, ‘I really appreciate you helping me’ I whisper, ‘and just accepting me as someone to hang out with.’

Jessica shrugs, grinning over at me as everyone starts to eat their food again, ‘why wouldn’t we?’ she asks sincerely, ‘you were always a nice girl, you were never mean to us or anyone else in the pack.’

I nod slowly, a weight lifting off me at the she wolf’s words, I wasn’t a horrible person, I didn’t treat people badly or flaunt my rank around. The knowledge does more to settle me than anything else has since I awoke with a blank sheet for a mind. I know I can trust the girl who is now talking to her best friend about a film they want to see, I could see the truth on her face, she really did think I was a nice person.