My Made‑Up Werewolf Mate Sent Me Gifts Chapter 01

My Made‑Up Werewolf Mate Sent Me Gifts Chapter 01: I Made Up a Mate
To avoid trouble, I always told people I had a mate.

When I went shopping with my coworker Jenna, I fell in love with a cashmere coat. Unfortunately, it was a little expensive.

Three thousand seven hundred dollars.

The sales associate was still pushing it hard, so I casually said, “Ugh, forget it. My mate would never allow it. Last time I bought a bag, he almost chewed it to pieces.”

Jenna laughed beside me.

“Vee, you make your mate sound so cheap.”

I forced a smile and said nothing.

The next day, a package arrived at the office.

When I opened it, I froze.

It was that coat.

Jenna’s eyes lit up. She picked up the card inside and read it aloud.

[My Mate: If you like it, you should have it. You deserve every good thing. — Your Mate.]

My mind went blank.

My mate was made up.

I had never even dated anyone.

Well, at least not in my memory.

Where the hell did this Mate come from?

I thought Jenna was playing a prank on me, so I quickly snatched the card from her hand.

But those words were really there.

“Vee, so you’ve been saying the opposite on purpose this whole time?” Jenna said. “You kept saying your mate doesn’t let you do this or buy that. He’s clearly generous. Three grand and change, and he bought it just like that.”

A few coworkers gathered around too.

“So your mate is loaded, Vee?”

I gave a stiff smile and could not say a word.

I had only been at the company for three months, but my “I have a mate” persona was rock solid.

Anything I did not want to do, I blamed on “my mate won’t let me.”

It worked every time.

But the truth was, I had never even held a man’s hand.

At least, not in the life I remembered.

So where did this mate come from?

I secretly checked the coat.

The size was exactly right.

Who sent it?

For one second, I flattered myself and wondered if someone had a crush on me.

But I had seen that coat while shopping with Jenna.

Only she knew about it.

I quietly watched Jenna’s expression.

Nothing seemed off.

For the rest of the day, I could not focus.

After work, I went home and called the store’s customer service.

But after a few seconds of silence, the representative said, “I’m sorry, ma’am. This order was placed anonymously. The customer selected privacy protection, so we cannot view their information.”

Anonymous?

That mysterious?

I stuffed the coat deep into my closet.

The next morning at work, Jenna asked, “Vee, why aren’t you wearing that coat? I wanted to see what a three-thousand-seven-hundred-dollar coat looks like on someone.”

I laughed it off awkwardly.

“Wearing something that expensive to work would be a waste.”

I did not dare wear something from an unknown source.

Jenna did not ask more.

I threw myself into work, but before long, the receptionist called out, “Vee, you’ve got a delivery!”

My whole body jolted.

I had a bad feeling.

Sure enough, when I opened the package, there was an entire limited-edition lipstick set inside.

Beside it was another card.

Still signed: Your Mate.

Jenna gasped.

“Isn’t this the new release? We talked about it last week. You said you liked several shades.”

Yes.

And I had casually said, “I’d love to buy the whole set, but my mate would never allow it. He keeps saying I already have enough lipstick.”

Jenna clicked her tongue and shook her head.

“Wouldn’t allow it? He just bought you the whole set. Vee, what kind of dream mate do you have?”

Dream?

Sure.

So dreamy I had no idea who he was.

My head spun as I shoved the lipstick into my drawer.

Jenna looked at me strangely.

“What’s wrong? Why don’t you look happy? Did you fight with your mate?”

I laughed awkwardly.

Jenna took that as confirmation.

“No wonder he’s been sending you gifts these past two days. Come on, if you have a mate this generous, what are you even fighting about?”

I said nothing.

I quietly wrote down the tracking number and contacted online customer support.

The reply was the same.

Anonymous order.

Then the receptionist called again.

“Vee, come get your flowers!”

Flowers?

What flowers?

I got up and walked over.

A courier was holding a huge bouquet of black roses.

“Are you Ms. Vee? These are from your Mate.”

I froze in place.

Only after the courier walked away did I snap back to myself and chase after him.

“Excuse me. Can I ask who placed the order?”

The courier looked at me strangely.

“Your mate.”

“I mean, can I see the buyer’s account?”

He did not understand, but he showed me anyway.

The account profile was blank.

“This bouquet was one thousand nine hundred ninety-nine. After the delivery fee, your mate tipped me another thousand for the trouble.” The courier grinned so hard his eyes disappeared. “Ms. Vee, your Mate treats you really well.”

I forced out a stiff smile.

When I returned to the office, everyone gathered around.

There was a card tucked into the flowers.

[My Mate, don’t be angry anymore.]

The moment I saw those words, my hand shook so hard I almost dropped the bouquet.

Several coworkers teased me.

“With a mate this good, how can you still fight with him?”

“He’s apologizing so sincerely. Just forgive him already.”

The chorus of voices meant nothing to me.

After receiving three mysterious deliveries in a row, I noticed something.

Every time I looked at those cards, every time I read “My Mate,” the back of my neck burned.

As if something there was heating up.

What the hell was going on?

I glanced at Jenna.

The coat, the lipstick, the flowers.

The only person who knew I had said those “my mate won’t allow it” lines was Jenna.

And I had just told her I fought with my “mate,” then a bouquet immediately arrived telling me not to be angry.

Did she realize I did not actually have a mate and decide to prank me?

But these things were not cheap.

Who would spend that much on a prank?

It made no sense.

My thoughts were a mess.

After work, I went to stay with my grandfather for a while.

My grandfather’s name was Gunnar, but we all called him Nonno.

He cooked a whole table of food for me, and I affectionately linked my arm through his while acting spoiled.

Then I suddenly noticed he was not wearing his hearing aid.

“Nonno, where’s your hearing aid?”

Nonno was hard of hearing, so it took him a while to understand me.

“Oh, that thing? I accidentally dropped it in the river while fishing yesterday. It’s fine. No big deal.”

How could it be fine?

I immediately searched online for hearing aids and studied which one was best.

“Just buy a cheap one,” Nonno said beside me. “Don’t waste money.”

I did not go home that night.

I slept there.

Early the next morning, knocking woke me from sleep.

Still drowsy, I walked out of the room and saw Nonno open the door.

A delivery person stood outside.

“Hello. Please sign for this.”

Nonno looked at the package and froze.

“Oh, my sweet girl, where did you buy it? It got here so fast!”

I instantly woke up and hurried over.

The package in the delivery person’s hand was a hearing aid.

But I had not placed the order yet.

Goose bumps rose all over me.

“Hello, who will be signing for this?” the delivery person asked again.

Nonno was about to sign, but I quickly said, “Um, I think I ordered the wrong thing. Sorry, I’ll refuse delivery.”

This was something meant for Nonno.

I did not dare accept it casually.

As I refused the package, I caught sight of another familiar card on the box.

[Of course Grandpa deserves the best. Your Mate.]

My hand trembled.

After sending the delivery person away, I requested half a day off and took Nonno to a physical store to buy a hearing aid.

Then I drilled it into his head again and again.

“Nonno, if you receive any packages during this time, you have to ask me first.”

He did not really understand, but he listened.

That afternoon at work, I was completely stressed out.

Who was this person?

How did they even know Nonno’s address?

More importantly, only Nonno and I knew I planned to buy a hearing aid.

I had only searched for it online the night before.

By early morning, it was delivered to the door.

No matter how I thought about it, it was ridiculous.

Unless—

Someone had put spyware on my phone.

After thinking it over, that seemed like the only possibility.

So the moment I got off work, I bought a new phone, factory-reset the old one, and sold it secondhand.

Two big expenses in one day made my wallet cry.

But what comforted me was that, for the next few days, I did not receive any more gifts.

I had just breathed a sigh of relief.

Then one night, I had a strange dream.

In the dream, an unfamiliar man looked at me with hurt eyes and said, “Sweetie, you won’t wear the coat I sent, you won’t use the lipstick, and you even refused Grandpa’s hearing aid. Do you dislike me now? Your birthday is here, so I’ll give you money instead, okay? Buy whatever you want.”

I woke with a start, pressing a hand to the burning mark on the back of my neck, my heart nearly jumping out of my chest.

Today really was my birthday.

But what the hell was that dream?

Just then, my alarm rang.

I patted my head, forced myself to forget it, and got up for work.

At my desk, I was chewing bread while rushing a proposal when my phone suddenly vibrated.

I opened it and froze.