Blaze's POV: (finally)

Everyone gasped. After Aaron announced that Garroth was my mate, it made the room go into a dead silence. This had never happened before and I knew it. All the girls looked at me with jealously is their eyes. I don't blame them. I would've done the same if I didn't get who I wanted as a mate. I looked over to Aaron who just motioned for me to go over to the blonde. With a sigh and shaking legs, I pushed myself forward towards Garroth.
All the werewolves and humans just stared at me as I went up to him. With their judging eyes and deep frowns, I could tell that nobody enjoyed the idea of Garroth and I being together.

He's the only Leo.

That what I repeated to myself as I walked towards him. His eyes read confusion and terror as I came closer. I was about a foot away when I let out my hand. I refused to make eye contact with him. I knew I would just see...disgust? Regret? Horror? I don't know. Nothing I would've wanted. After a while, I figured he never wanted to touch my hand so I just let it fall to my side.

"Look," I said under my breath. "I'll explain everything if we just leave."

I saw him nod, agreeing with me. We walked side by side out of that stuffy ballroom. I opened the large doors and let him walk out first before I followed. The door shut behind me soon after. I looked up for the first time to see Garroth staring back at me.

"Come on," I said. "I...I'll show you to where we'll be staying."

•••

Our town isn't that big. There's just one main street with little residential areas close by. The alpha's mansion was of course in the middle. It was perfect for our tribe. Small but, stable enough. My home isn't that far from the Alpha's home. It was a decent size. Nothing too bad. Garroth and I walk up to the front door and I opened it. I let him walk in first again after his hesitation. I shut the door behind me and saw him taking in his surroundings.

When you first walk in, you're greeted with my black couch, large bookshelf, and stairs. A coffee table sits in the middle with a red rug under it. Many things are scattered on the surface making me seem like a slob. I lead him away from that room and show him to another room which was the kitchen. It was small but, perfect for just one person. I guess I'm going to have to rethink my strategy in this. Leading out of the kitchen was a dining area with a table for six.

"Do you want to see the upstairs?"

"Sure," Garroth said. Going up the stairs there's a hallway with three doors. One was a bedroom, one a bathroom, and the last one lead to an empty room. I didn't see a need for that one really. I live here alone with guests that come by every once and a while.

"We'll be staying there," I say, pointing towards the bedroom door. "Any questions?"

"Many actually," He said, rolling his eyes.

I groaned and said;

"Well, first of all, congratulations you're my mate..."

"More like sorry for your lost."

I growled but, he didn't budge. I didn't know why Aaron thought this was a good idea.

"Garroth, I know this might be hard for your blonde, human brain to handle," I say, getting centimeters away from his face. "We need to get along. If not, we're both doomed by the end of this."

"You know what," He said through gritted teeth, looking right back at me. "I don't understand because no one is explaining anything to me!"

"Everything will be explained later," I answered him, trying to calm my nerves that had already snapped.

"Oh really? Right after you told me you'd explain everything to me?"

"That's it!"

I stormed off downstairs and collapsed on the couch. This man was going to drive me insane. If we didn't get along, I have no idea what to do. I sighed and decided to get some quiet time. I get up and go towards the door. I don't let Garroth know before I leave.

•••

Garroth's POV:

Did that imbecile just leave? Perfect! I'm alone in a house. Well, maybe I can get some things to finally process in my mind.

One, kidnapped by a bunch of dogs.

Two, your childhood best friend is still alive and well.

Three, you're forced to mate to only one of those dogs but, to one I hated since the beginning of this whole scenario.

I decided to take an actual tour of the house because Blaze just practically pushed me everywhere before I could get a good look everything. It was a nice house if I'm honest. Something I would see in O'Khasis. I went back upstairs after just snooping around for a while. I went into one door to see a bathroom. One door to an empty room. The last was the bedroom. It had grey colored walls like the rest of the house with one large window that overlooked the woods behind the house. There was a dresser, mirror above it, a king sized bed, and two bedside tables. It was shocking to say the least. A werewolf that actually keeps his house a bit organized. Nothing that I've heard before.

I was going to maybe grab one of the books that I saw in the living room before I heard a knock on the door. I was slow with my movements as I went towards it. I hoped Blaze was okay with letting someone into the house. I opened it just a crack and peeked through to see Aphmau there. She seemed put together assemble wise but, face wise, she looked like she was about to break down in tears. I open the door fully for her to almost collapse me in a hug.

"Garroth!" She exclaimed. "Oh my Irene! I missed you so much!"

I smiled wide and said; "I missed you too Aph!"

She pulled away and giggled.

"I can't believe you're here!" She clapped and spun around. "How's everyone at home? How's O'Khasis? Any cool articles or mysteries? Oh! Did you ever find Ms. Flora's cat?"

I chuckled at the inside joke from when we were kids and said;

"Well, everyone is fine, I guess. Nothing much has changed besides you not being there," I say, crossing my arms. "Now, what have you been doing? I come here and see you have a husband-"

"Mate."

"Right."

It went silent for a while. She knew that I was uncomfortable and asked if we could sit on the couch. I shrugged but, said it was probably okay. We sat next to each other. It was at this moment when I really noticed her ears and tail. They were there alright. Not fake like I hoped.

"So, explain."

She sighed and started by saying;

"I was kidnapped like you, of course. I went through the same process, came here and got placed with Aaron as my mate. It was a big deal since he was to be the next alpha by the time the next mating season came along, which is now," She said it so calmly like she explaining what she did for work. I asked; "You're not bothered by this?"

"Why would I?"

I widened my eyes at her. What did she mean by that?

"Um, your whole life at home has been taken from you? You are forced to love someone else? I mean, Aph! There's nothing worrisome about that to you?"

I inhaled and looked at me. I could tell she was sorry for me. I just didn't know how to respond to all of this.

"I know this must be overwhelming for you," She said, placing a hand on my arm. "Trust me when I say this will be the best thing to ever happen to you."

"You sound like you're from a cult trying to advertise something to me," I say, honestly. She giggled slightly and smiled at me.

"I guess I do."

We continued to talk about things even though I had so many questions for her. I know her answer would be that she loved her new life so, I decided to come back to it later. Then, she started asking questions about me.

"Are you excited-wait, that's a stupid question. Do you like Blaze at all? In fact where is he?"

"Don't know, don't care."

She narrowed her eyes at me and said;

"Well, this was actually supposed to be when mates would start to form a relationship. I guess you two are going to move at a slower pace."

I groaned and bent my head back in frustration.

"I don't want to have a "relationship" with him, Aph. First of all, he's so aggressive and always angry," I say, pointing out the obvious. She nodded and said; "That's Blaze."

"Second of all, he's another male. Isn't the whole point of mating is to have pups or whatever? How are suppose to do that?"

She shrugged; "It's something Aaron is trying. He also had this Lucinda girl get paired up with his sister."

"Lucinda! Oh my-Where is she?"

"She's with Melissa, Aaron's sister, actually bonding," Aphmau said, placing her hands on her hips. "You need to accept this Garroth or you'll always be stuck here."

"But, Aph-" I stopped myself before it went any further. "I'm just-this wasn't how I planned this."

"Isn't that's how life works Gar?"

I looked to her to see her smile softly at me. She understood my worry but, wanted me to see the positive in this. Yet, I couldn't. I really couldn't. Maybe the only positive side to this was that Aphmau was happy with her life. I just hope something good comes out of it.

•••

Blaze's POV:

I needed to discuss my concern with Aaron. That's the only way I can get enough strength to try and communicate reasonably with that blonde. I entered his manor for the second time that day and went to his office. He seemed to be working on stuff from the recent mating introduction. Once he saw me, he stopped what he was doing and smiled.

"Blaze!" He exclaimed, looking over to me. "What do I owe the pleasure of?"

"Why did you put me with that man?"

Aaron sighed and looked down, already tired of the conversation. He went over to his files and opened up Garroth and I's that he already put together.

"It says here that Garroth Ro'Meave was the only Leo," He said. "Also, he seemed like a good match for you just introduction wise."

"You sure there weren't any better Aries or Aquariuses? I'll take a freaking Virgo!"

"Blaze, we've known each other since we were pups," Aaron said, smirking. "I know when someone's the right match for you. Besides, Sagittarius and Leo's are suppose to be matched right?"

"When there isn't a Aries or Aquarius involved," I say, remembering my research unlike him. "There were five of those."

"There were five that matched those perfectly Blaze."

I groaned and sat in a chair that was across his desk. "Also, you do realize Garroth is a guy right? He is whiny like a girl but, he has the voice for a male."

Aaron laughed a bit and said;

"I'm trying something new."

"That is?"

"I want to see if we could have both two male and female relationships in our pack. You and my sister I chose for this experiment."

"Why me?"

"You're the only one who fits into that category." I rolled my eyes. I regret coming out to him of all people. I'm just glad that he was okay with me being gay even though it's a new concept nowadays. Now I'm worried if Garroth is interested in males. He and Lucinda seemed to be getting along great when we were traveling here. "Just go make the best of it Blaze."

"I would if he wouldn't yell at me or asked me a question every five seconds."

He sighed and nodded; "You'll get along. I know you will."

•••

It was dark when I got back to my house. I assumed Garroth was in bed but, I jumped back a bit to see him asleep on the couch. Great, I had to deal with this now. I walked over to the sleeping blonde human and knelt down. I was about to wake him up to tell him to follow me but, I noticed the freckles that were scattered across his cheeks. How every time he breathed out the hair in the front of his face with blow out just a bit. I got distracted by this and didn't notice him stirring. When he sat up, I backed up a bit and felt myself blush in embarrassment. After rubbing his eyes, he noticed me. He didn't smile but said;

"Hi Blaze."

I frowned. I saw a couple that just got paired this afternoon as well with Garroth and I acting like they've been friends for years. How come this is so difficult?

"Hey," I say, deciding to sit down next to him. "What are you doing sleeping on the couch?"

"There was only one bed and," He stopped before he said; "I didn't know if we were to both be in it or if one. So, I decided to just stay down here."

I mean, at least he had some house manners.

"Okay, Garroth," I say, getting his attention. "I know this is looking bad...really bad right now. I know that what you're going through is hard but, if we are going to get through this, we need to at least be friends."

"I know. Aphmau told me."

I nodded. Aphmau is a person who would do that.

"So, do you want to start over?" I asked. He looked up at me and, I couldn't it but, he softly smiled.

"Sure."

"Well," I said, letting out my hand, with a soft smile myself. "Hi. I'm Blaze."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Garroth," He says back, taking my hand and shaking it.

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