The entire next day, Mel was distracted, cold and wouldn't talk to me. That night she didn't return to her bedroom. When I woke up the next morning, she still wasn't there.
After getting ready quickly, I decided to go search for her and confront her about what was going on.
I was so distracted I didn't see Mike until I bumped into his chest.
"Oh, hey Liz. Maybe you should watch where you're going." Mike joked.
After looking at my face, he became serious and said, "What's going on? Is Mel acting weird with you as well?"
"Huh? Mel is acting weird with you?"
"Yeah. I decided to come find you and ask if everything is okay with her."
"Oh. I was looking for Mel. She hasn't acted normal lately and she didn't sleep in her room last night…"
"Then it is really important that you find her and talk to her. She found me early this morning and was very upset. Mel yelled at me to stay away from you and that she is your mate, and I am not."
"Why would she say that? Where would she get that idea from?"
Suddenly, I remembered how I showed Mike my tulip-shaped birth mark. Had Mel seen that and gotten the wrong idea?
"Oh." I said slowly. "I think I may know. Mike, I think Mel must have seen when I showed you the birthmark, or else someone else saw and told her about it."
"Yes, that makes sense. I hope you find her soon and get things figured out!"
Mike started to walk away and continued my search for Mel.
It was late morning when I finally found Mel sitting by herself in the forest. She was in her wolf form and was panting like she had ran for a very long time. Chances were that she had.
"Mel! There you are! I need to talk to you."
She frowned at me.
I decided to talk to her using mind-link.
'Did you warn Mike to stay away from me? You're upset at me, aren't you? I think there was a misunderstanding…'
'A misunderstanding?! That's what you call it?!' She looked really angry. 'My brother told me what he saw. Don't tell me he was mistaken! How could you do such a thing? I am your mate, not him! I can't believe I had to hear about this from my brother.'
'Well,' I thought, 'at least now I know how this happened.'
'Mel. The situation is not like it seems. I have no idea what your brother told you, but I do know what really happened. Just give me a chance to explain.'
Mel looked daggers at me.
'It is true that I pulled my sweater up in front of Mike. He was upset at first and tried to pull my sweater back down. But once I explained to him, I was going to show him I had the royal birthmark…'
'Oh, that's great! You don't need to tell me the truth. Just make up some brazen lie about a fairy-tale royal birthmark!'
Mel turned away from me and began to stomp her paws back towards home.
'I am not making this up! It is the truth. I do have the royal birthmark of the missing daughter from the royal shifter family. I knew Mike wouldn't believe me unless he saw the birthmark himself. Maybe it sounds unprobeable, but it is the truth!'
'I thought I would give you a chance, but it seems like I shouldn't have even done that! I don't believe the yarn you are spinning. I think we should have some space from each other for a while. I need some time away from you.'
I stopped walking. I didn't expect those words she said to hurt as much as they did. It was true, I didn't love her; at least I didn't think I did.
But I was used to having her around and her company. I was used to her habits, her companionship, her friendship and what I had thought was her unconditional love for me. I liked her. I was fond of her. I would miss her.
I felt a deep sadness that I had unintentionally hurt her so much. Sad that she was angry at me. Sad that she needed space from me. Sad that she didn't believe me. That she wasn't at least going to try and verify if what I said was true or not.
I felt confused. If she was really my mate, should she give up so easily? She was just taking a step back, not walking away forever, right?
I felt angry at myself. Why had I not ever gone on any dates or dated anyone before Mel? Maybe if I had and had some kind of previous experience to go off of, I wouldn't feel so confused right now?
I felt annoyed at my own helplessness. How could I be so clueless about dating? Had I done this wrong? Should I have said things differently?
I let out a big sigh, but it didn't help. I was so lost in my thoughts that I hadn't noticed Mel walk away. I stared at the empty forest in front of me and felt the weight of the world on my shoulders.