I am so out of here. This fight and more than likely make-up session is not something I want to be a part of. I head in through the patio door looking over my shoulder at them and smile. She is up in his face pointing a finger into his chest looking back to her normal Alpha self. I’ll hand it to my brother though, he’s taking her Alpha aura pretty well and gesturing just as wildly fighting her on whatever excuse she’s giving him.
I don’t make it two steps in the door when I run right into a hard chest. “Ompf. The hell?” I catch myself on the door frame.
“Is that what will happen to you, Smalls?”
I roll my eyes. I can’t help thinking ‘oh, now they care if something hurts me.’ I still don’t know if they are aware of what their parents think about me possibly being their mate. I can’t bring myself to ask though. don’t want to know right now. I’m still not done being angry with them and if they don’t know, I don’t want to put the idea in their head only for it to backfire later. I also want them to want to try and mend our friendship because they want to, not because they have to. I have at least gotten that far with how I feel about this whole damn thing.
“I hope not. We were only supposed to have our warrior brands until the end of this summer, like I said before. They are both over eighteen, which is my guess as to why the mate bond was able to override the partial brand. The brand was already weakening, they seem to itch like a montherf*cker, like a bad interaction with a wolfsbane plant. The mate bond probably speeds up the process. I will have a full almost ter months after my brand fades before I can even sense my mate. I should be fine.”
I go to move past Dakota and see Cameron standing not far behind him. “Why does she not want a mate?”
I take a deep breath and roll my eyes, then look behind me. They are still standing close, but they don’t seem to be shouting anymore. “This isn’t my story to tell, but I don’t think she really wants to tell it either. Come on.”
I lead them back to the Luna’s office and walk in to see Wyatt manning the controls. “I need the room for a few minutes. Don’t go far though.”
“Yes, boss.” I roll my eyes again.
“I’m not your boss, idiot.” He chuckles and pats me on the shoulder.
“You keep telling yourself that Midge, whatever makes you sleep at night.”I slam the door on his laughing face.
“Why not use our office, Smalls? You wouldn’t have to kick him out.”
This time I do let my anger show. “Are you f*cking kidding me?”
“Uh, no. What did we do this time? The list is getting kind of long and I’m losing track.” Dakota actually looks sad, not like he’s making a joke.
I close my eyes a laugh a bit to myself and then move to sit behind the desk, putting some space between us and fiddling with buttons to give my hands something productive to do. “I will probably never step foot in that office again in my life. You called me a traitor, accused me of betraying my pack, took Kaley’s side without even asking me for mine. The one person who literally wants me dead, but can’t seem to do the job correctly. I don’t owe either of you anything. It’s the last place I had a conversation with the only people who treated me like parents should and when real lines were drawn, even they chose to believe lies. That is all that office will be to me.”
“We’re sorry Tiny. That’s all I can say right now. That night is kind of a blur and the more we talk to Nathaniel and Wyatt and the rest of your team, the more we are beginning to understand why. We will be apologizing for the rest of our lives I’m pretty sure.” Cameron scrubs his face, then looks at me again. “At the risk of sounding like a d*ck once again though, can we talk about this after you tell us how to help Mateo and Jena? Our Beta needs his mate.”
I just nod, because this is how it has always been. I am never at the forefront of anyone’s mind except Oliver, who according to Lucas and Ava, is bound by the Moon Goddess to do so. My sadness and anger is growing again. Why can’t someone just want me for me? Not because I have a talent or skill that they need. I clear my throat and go into business mode.
“Alright, let’s make this quick. These are not my details to share, so I will only tell you what I think you need to know as the Alphas of this pack. Jena was r*ped repeatedly the whole time she was being held, I have told you this, but I don’t know if you have the mental capacity to remember. Yes, I had to witness her daily attacks while I was there. It’s not something either of us care to talk about. Please don’t ask.” I can feel their anger radiating, but they show no other signs of losing control. “She had an IUD in before she was taken and no one thought to look, even when she never got pregnant. Mike was very rough and did some damage to her internally. When Doc Sylvia removed the IUD, she said there might be a possibility that Jena can’t have kids. It’s why she didn’t want to be the Alpha of her pack or have a mate. It wouldn’t be right if she couldn’t produce an heir.”
I am proud of myself for making it through that.
“We are going to circle back to some of that story, Tiny. What can we do to help Mateo? He needs his mate and Jena is perfect for him. He needs her to accept him.”
“I don’t know. I was kind of hoping when she found her mate it would help her heal. There is nothing normal about any of us, so I couldn’t even begin to guess at what to do. She needs time. We both do. Patience from all of you would be helpful.”
They both look at each other and then nod their heads.
“I’m going to ask another question, and I know we don’t deserve an answer, but we really need and want to know. I’m sure you’ve already told Oliver,” He grumbles jealously, “but I want you to choose to talk to us too.” I raise an eyebrow in question. He takes a deep breath. I’m not sure if I’ve ever heard Cam ramble before, but I’m pretty sure I know what’s coming. “You seemed friendly with that Robbie guy. Like there was more with him and Tyler and Mike.” He runs his fingers through his raven black hair. “Did he… or Mike… Did any of them touch you? Were you with any of them as a part of your mission or when you were captured.” He’s vibrating with anger just at the thought, same as Oliver and Mateo.
