After that awkward first meet with Grayson, Alpha Aaron and Jason, I had run back home to tell Michael all about it. Michael's my best friend, we've lived together for the past ten years, we're practically siblings. Since I'm an only child and so is he, we're each other's honorary siblings.

"Michey!" I shouted, bursting into the house, "You will not believe who I just met!" Instead of Michael, I saw Margaret, Michael's mom, in the kitchen, cooking, and bent down to give her a quick peck on the cheek. She was the shortest - only five four - out of all of us, but she was the prettiest with her long, golden hair and almond-shaped, brown eyes that always twinkled when she was up to no good. She was also the girliest, Margaret was always trying to put me in a dress or apply make-up on me. I always managed to escape with my lame excuse that I was allergic to all the make-up products she tried to put on me.

"Hey, Mom." After the first three years of living with the Griffins, Margaret and John had allowed me to call them 'Mom' and 'Dad' since my father was never home and my mother had died right after I was born.

She smiled at me, revealing deep dimples, "I'm making fried chicken for lunch, wanna help?"

Rolling my eyes I answered, "Unless you mean help eat it then nah, I'm good."

Margaret gave me a playful smack on my head, which was quite hard for her considering I'm a foot taller, scolding, "You, Michael and John are all so lazy. You're a woman, Taylor-"

"I OBJECT!" I protested, slamming my hand on the kitchen counter. "I am, by no means, a lady. I'm anything but a woman!" Throwing my arms up for dramatic effect, I gave her a look of exasperation. Where the hell was Michael? This conversation is gonna get awkward soo-

Mom stared at me and raised a perfect, blond eyebrow, "You got a vagina?" Too late.

At that moment of embarrassment, Michael finally decided to show up. "Wow, Mom, are you giving Taylor the 'Woman Talk' again? The last time was because she got her first peri-"

"YOU SHUT UP, MISTER!" I cried, my cheeks flaming red. I turned to Margaret, "OF COURSE I DO, BUT THAT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH THE SUBJECT WE'RE DISCUSSING." Michael, sensing my distress and being the great guy he was, left me there to deal with his mom alone and went up to his room cackling. The twat.

She just chuckled, "Hey, don't put the blame on me! You were the one who said that you weren't a woman. If you weren't, like you say you are, then you wouldn't have a vagina."

Then, because Karma freaking loves me, John came into the kitchen. "Margaret, are you and Taylor having the 'Woman Talk' again? The last time was because she got her first peri-"

"DOES EVERYONE KNOW THAT?" Throwing my arms up again, I stomped out of the kitchen with Margaret and John snickering. "STOP IT, YOU GUYS!" As soon as I was out of the kitchen, I ran up the stairs to Michael's room, my face the color of a tomato.

Michael was already in there, organizing his CD case when I came in. "Mom and Dad embarrass you again?"

Glaring, I sharply replied, "Yes. But you did a lot to help. Oh, wait, no you didn't. WHAT THE HECK, MICHAEL? YOU LEFT ME FOR THE SHARKS!"

He rolled his aqua blue eyes, "Aw, shut up, Taylor. You know you can handle them, quit being such a sensitive wuss." I didn't answer, I was too busy pulling a face at him. He smacked the back of my head earning an 'Ouch!' from me. Michael then turned and continued cleaning his case before asking, "So what did you want to talk about?"

I stared at his broad back a bit longer, had he grown taller?

Yes, my wolf answered. He's taller than us now. We used to be the same height.

And where were you while I was getting picked on? I asked bitterly. She didn't answer so I just sighed and said, How is it possible that he grew four inches in the hour I was gone?

She answered, glad at the change of subject. Perhaps he has grown before our very eyes and we just haven't taken notice until now.

I was suddenly silent. Michael's been growing? Without me? What kind of brother is he?

"The funny, sexy, amazing kind," Michael said.

I looked up, startled. "Did I say that out loud?"

"Yep," he answered, popping the 'p'.

"Oh, well then let me tell you the truth cuz you've been in the dark too long: You're a horrible brother." Sitting on the edge of his bed, I crossed my arms, frowning.

"Aw, I love you too, Tay Tay," he gushed, pinching my cheeks. I slapped his hands away and when they came back, I threatened to bite him. Michael rolled his eyes again, "Whatever. What did you want to talk about?'

I stared at him with a blank expression, "What are you talking about?"

"God, you're such an airhead, Taylor!" He threw his arms up, exasperated. See where I get it from now? "Before I came into the house, I heard you shouting, 'Michey! You will not believe who I just met!' "

I smacked him on the head, "My voice is not that high, stupid."

"Yeah, it actually is," he smirked. I rolled my eyes and ruffled his long, golden hair, knowing it'll piss him off. "Not the hair, Taylor, not the hair!" He screeched, slapping my hands away and combing it with his fingers.

"You're such a girl, Mich. Alright, lemme tell you who I met today. Wait, should I tell you why I met them first? I should start with my dad, right? He called for a meeting with me. Well, not my dad, Alpha James, it was John who told me." I had stopped calling my biological dad 'Dad' around the same time I started calling John and Margaret 'Dad' and Mom'. I only called him 'father' or 'dad' when I was actually speaking with him.

"He came while I was training saying that Alpha James wanted to talk to me. Of course, I didn't want to, but apparently, it was urgent and important. Hey, that kind of rhymes! I should become a songwriter! I bet I'll make millions! But, what kind of music would I make? Pop? Rock? I like Rock the best, I mean, FALL OUT BOY FOREVER! They're so good and their lead singer is hot - "

"Focus, Taylor!"

"Oh, yeah, sorry. Anyway, I came up to him and he was in his office doing his typical dark, but mysterious, but intriguing thing. Seriously? I mean, who does that anymore, but James Bonds? I think my old man's watched one-too-many 007 movi - "

"Taylor!"

"Alright! Keep your undies on, I'm getting to it! Well, he started lecturing me about our rival's-"

"The Midnight Woods pack?" He interrupted.

"Yes, now shut up, I'm trying to tell a story. Anyway, he then told me about how we should start an alliance and all the trust issues we have and blah, blah, blah, blah. Long story short: I'm getting married to Alpha Aaron's son; Grayson Collins," I ended, satisfied with my tale.

There was complete silence for minute before Michael exploded. "WHAT? YOU'RE GETTING MARRIED? BUT YOU HAVE A MATE! AND YOU'RE ONLY SEVENTEEN! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOUR FATHER? IS HE ON PSYCHO MEDS? DOES HE NOT CARE ABOUT HIS ONLY DAUGHTER-"

"We both know the answer to that question," I interrupted quietly, looking down at my hands.

He turned and saw my face and his anger quickly faded into regret. "Aw, Taylor." Michael scooped me up and I rested my head against his solid chest. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you."

Shaking my head, I plastered on a smile, "Don't worry about it, Michey. I know you mean well.

He hugged me some more before gently saying, "Okay, carry on. I know you're not done. You said you met someone, right?"

I nodded and continued, "Well, my reaction was pretty much exactly like yours except I stormed out all dramatically. Then, after thinking for a bit, my wolf and I agreed that we should meet this Grayson guy, right? I mean, he could've been a prostitute or something." Michael's grip on me tightened a bit at the mention of Grayson, but he laughed at my comment that an Alpha's son could be a man whore.

Encouraged, I went on, "So I went down and asked Alpha James if it was cool if I could pay them a visit. He agreed and I ran in wolf form to the Midnight Woods pack's territory. When I got th-"

"WHAT? YOU RAN TO OUR ENEMY PACKS TERRITORY ALONE? ARE YOU INSANE? YOU COULD'VE GOTTEN YOURSELF KILLED! OR WORSE, THEY COULD'VE TORTU-"

I huffed, "MICHAEL! QUIT INTERRUPTING! YOU KNOW I HATE INTERRUPTIONS! I'M TRYING TO TELL A MOTHERFUCKING STORY HERE!" He still looked mad, but he stopped talking. "Thank you. Now, as I was saying, I ran to their territory and when I got there, two guards were there. I didn't want to kill them so I just ordered them to take me to Alpha Aaron's. When I got there, I was greeted by Grayson. But, the thing was, I didn't know it was Grayson. I just thought he was some random guy who lived there. Then, I met this red-headed guy called Jason. He was cool, I think you'll like him, he reminds me of you. Just, with red hair, not blond, ya know? Oh, and he has green eyes, not blue. Anyways, I didn't know the shirtless guy who I first met was Grayson - "

"Hold up, HE WAS SHIRTLESS?"

I hissed at the interruption - guess I shouldn't tell him how Grayson pulled me into his bare chest then - but answered, "Yes, he was shirtless. And it's not like I was ogling him or anything."

Liar, my wolf said.

Oh, shut up, Ms. Purr, I shot back. When she didn't reply, I smirked.

"BUT, THAT'S NOT THE POINT SO SHUT UP AND LISTEN. The guy I first met was Grayson, but I didn't know until an older-looking version of him came down the stairs. It dawned on me that that was Alpha Aaron and the younger-looking version of him was Grayson. After I realized that, I tried asking Jason if he was Grayson cuz he would've been funner to be fake-married to - "

"Funner isn't a real word."

"WELL IT IS IN MY WORLD SO SHUT UP AND LEMME FINISH! OR DO YOU NOT WANNA KNOW WHAT HAPPENED NEXT?" I asked. He immediately clamped his mouth shut. I huffed, "Anyway, Grayson got pissed for some reason, I noticed that it was totally awkward in there and so I ran. Oh, and I told them that I slightly agree to the marriage. You know, seeing how I'm only doing it for the pack. Yep, that's about it."

Michael was noiseless for a few minutes. I didn't say anything either, not wanting to be the first to break the silence. Instead, I pressed my head closer against his chest, listening to his heart beat. He rested his head on top of mine before he spoke, "Taylor, I'm sorry if I come off as overbearing sometimes. It's just, I don't want my baby sister to get hurt, ya know? I mean, you're younger than me-"

"Only by two days."

"Every second counts," he pointed out like he always did when this argument was repeated. "What I'm saying is, I just want you to be safe. You've always been like the little sister I never had so of cou-"

" - Course you'll be the cliché, over-protective older brother," I finished, sighing.

"Exactly."

"It's alright, Michey, I know you'll always be there for me as I will be for you, I'll protect you at any cost. I'm fine with you being 'overbearing'," I made air quotes at the word 'overbearing'. "It's instinct."

"I'm glad you understand, Tay," he sighed, stroking my hair. We stayed like that for a while longer before both our noses went up into the air, sniffing.

"Mmmmm, chicken," we said in unison.

"Race ya!" I hopped off his lap and ran down the stairs, laughing. When we arrived in the kitchen, John and Margaret were already there, sitting down at the table.

"Will you two bumble heads just sit down already? Some of us are hungry," Margaret accused.

Her 'insult'-note: I put air quotes around insult- didn't affect us. Instead, we laughed, asking in unison, "Bumble heads? Really, Mom?"

John shook his head, a grin on his aged, but handsome face, "I swear you two could be twins."

"What are you talking about? We are twins," we said at the same time.

Margaret looked at the both of us, her chocolate eyes wide, "Okay, stop that. It's getting freaky."

I turned to Michael who was looking back at me with a mischievous grin. I knew that I was wearing the same expression. We turned our heads to the both of them asking, "What's getting freaky?"

John and Margaret turned to each other, their expressions one of horror before a stern John scolded, "Quit it, the both of you. That's not funny. Using the pack mind link is for serious things."

"We're not using the mind link," I said, truthfully.

"We're not using the mind link," Michael replied at the same moment.

"You," Margaret pointed at me then to Michael. "and you. Don't talk. Just don't. I'm too old for this. I am not going to die of a heart attack because my children decided to become fraternal twins."

"Alright, alright, fine," I surrendered, laughing. Beside me, Michael was bending over laughing, with actual tears in his eyes.

John rolled his eyes. "Just sit down, would ya?" We took our seats and dug in to Margaret's heavenly meal, food flying everywhere.

"Gee, ever heard of manners?" Margaret said sarcastically.

"Nope," Michael mumbled through some chicken.

I quickly swallowed before cheerfully saying, "What Michael means to say is 'Yes. Yes, we have heard of manners, we just choose not to use them in front of our loved ones.' "

"When did you become such a smart ass?" John questioned.

"June eighth, nineteen ninety-six. Seven 'o three a.m. to be exact," Michael howled with laughter, spitting chicken on the table.

"Oh, shut up," John said, but there was a glint in his eye telling me he was just joking. He cleared his throat and then became serious Beta John, not John. "Taylor, I almost forgot to tell you, there's a meeting next week regarding news about the rogues."

Both me and Michael stiffened, me because it reminded me of the embarrassing encounter with Grayson, Michael, well, I don't know why he was so tense. I looked up at Beta John and said, my voice hard and business like, "Alright. When and where?"

"Well, it was planned by Alpha Aaron so all the other Alphas thought he should host it. It's at his house, I, unfortunately, will be gone with Alpha James on a business trip." I rolled my eyes at the word 'business trip', but remained quiet. "Now, since both Alpha James an I will be gone, you will be the representative for the Silver Moon pack."

I widened my eyes, choking on the salad, "Y-y-you mean by myself?" I had done some Alpha related things for my father in the past, but never something this important.

Beta John chewed slowly, contemplating his words, "Well, you could bring Michael. He is the soon-to-be Beta."

"Yeah, if it'll make you more comfortable, Michael should come," Margaret put in.

"Michael, will y-"

"Obviously," he scoffed.

"Thanks, bro," I smiled.

He smiled broadly, ruffling my hair. "No prob, sis."

"Now," I turned back to Beta John. "Exactly what do you say in these business meetings? Other than 'I OBJECT!' "

Michael slapped his forehead and muttered, "We're screwed."

~Author's Note~

 First of all; WEREWOLF #544!!!! Page 37. WOOHOOO! Please keep voting!

 I know, I know, it's basically just a re-cap of everything. But, you do get to meet some important characters like Michael and the bond between the two, right? Yeah, that's important! Comment please! Thanks for reading! Oh, and picture to the side is who I think should play Michael. He's hot...AND PLEASE COMMENT! I love comments! And you guys!

 By the way, I'm thinking of changing this story's title to 'Dominating Alphas', comment and say yes or no, please!

 DedIcated to mia0698 cuz I saw she put my story on her reading list and now I'm literally crying tears of joy. ;D

-4everAloneAnAwkward <3