FOUR - love story

Ande's pov

'Lia is Damien's mate,' Callie said through a group mindlink, causing Xander and I to stop moving through the halls. I looked at him with wide eyes, stopping my mouth from opening in disbelief. Lia was Damien's mate? Oh, now I feel bad for trying to set her and Donnie up.

"Xan, did you hear that?" I gasped and shook onto Xander's arm, a smile going to my face as it all hit me. Damien finally found his mate. Everything was going to be perfect now!

"Why did you stop walking? Didn't you say this was an emergency?" My gaze shot to Lia's brother Tristan, who we had been escorting to the parking lot to meet with Callie and Lia. The Alpha had shown up and the others warned us that he had shifted. We hadn't been told what happened, but my guess was that he had seen Lia in combat and his wolf took over.

"Yes, this is an emergency. I just remembered something in class from earlier-" I started to say, but he cut me off.

"Okay, well you can remember stuff later, let's just get out of here. I'm not going to pass up the opportunity to leave school early," Tristan said, with a wave of his hand before he kept walking down the hall.

Xander tensed up beside me and I rubbed his hand, shrugging him off. I knew that Tristan meant no harm, and my wolf and I didn't see him as a threat. "You're right."

'There is no freaking way! What are the odds that she's his mate?' I said happily through the mindlink as we continued to walk. Damien really needed something good in his life. Especially after what happened to his parents last year...

'Don't be too happy. His wolf was trying to mark her near the training grounds.' Deke said, and my smile dropped, turning into a wince. That doesn't sound like a good first impression at all. 'It really didn't help when he saw another guy all over her.'

I'm sure the expressions on my face matched how I felt with this information. 'Who did-'

'It's Deke's fault! He wouldn't let Callie be her partner,' Donnie finally grumbled through the chat and now it made sense. Once again, I felt bad for him.

'Okay, well now it's your fault because we have to keep a night guard on her.' Callie said to him with a certain tone that made it hard for anyone to say no. 'Donnie will do the first shift tonight and I will switch out with him. We will come up with a guard schedule later to decide who can guard her.'

I inwardly groaned at the thought of that. I knew that I wouldn't be on the shift, because I was definitely a runner not a fighter. No, I knew Xander would be on the schedule and I would hate for him to be gone for half of the night at some point this week. I held on tightly to Xander's arm at the thought and he grasped me back gently.

We finally walked out to the parking lot, and I looked around at the numerous cars. No one here drove, but we had to make it look realistic for the humans. My eyes went to Callie and Lia, who were already standing at her car, looking over to us expectantly.

Once I saw Lia, a smile flashed onto my face again. I can't believe she was going to join the pack! I mean, eventually of course. I was also excited to see how her and Damien's love story went. I know that the mate bond can turn things up to a thousand.

"Are you all okay? Did you see the wolf?" Lia said once we were close enough and she glanced at all of us before looking over Tristan. I looked to Callie, who had her arms crossed over her chest in irritation. It was clear that her and Lia didn't get on too well just yet.

"What? A wolf? No, nothing exciting like that happened. I did trip during track a few times," Tristan said to her, seeming to brush off what she was saying.

"Oh, well, it was kind of scary," she murmured and she looked to the ground, looking like she was thinking hard. I could only imagine that she was thinking about Damien. Xander had shifted a year before me and that was when we found out we were mates. It was amazing falling in love with him and feeling the bond.

"So, Lia," I said and that made her look at me suddenly, "I heard that you met Damien. How did that go?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her.

"What- how do you know that? It literally just happened," Lia said incredulously, her flushed face getting even more red.

"Oh, um, I- well, Donnie told me," I said after a moment of thought and nodded. "Come on, answer the question. He's a cutie, isn't he?"

"Woah, hold up, who the hell are we talking about?" Tristan said with furrowed eyebrows as he looked at each of us before his eyes landed on Lia.

"He apparently owns the whole town," Lia said to him, rolling her eyes. "He actually wants to meet you too and invited us to this banquet thing on Friday- will any of you be going?"

"Yeah. we're all going to be there!" I said to her, my smile brightening. Oh, I can't wait to see their love story in action.

"I don't know how I feel about going to some random party, Lia. You'll have to talk me into it. I'll also accept bribes as payment," Tristan said simply before he nodded to each of us. "Well, see y'all tomorrow." He then went and got into the car.

"Okay, well, I guess that's my cue." Lia said with a shrug before waving at each of us. "See ya," she said with a nod before hurriedly getting into her car.

"She didn't even answer my question about Damien," I said as they began to drive away. I'm sure I knew how she felt, but I still wanted to hear about it.

"That's because you made it awkward. Now, come on, let's go. There's a mandatory meeting at the pack house and I'm sure you know what that's about." Callie said in a grumble before she turned and started walking in the direction of the pack house.

*

Lia's pov

"Hey Tristan! Have you seen Tommy?" I called out from the laundry room, which had been where Tommy had taken residence since we moved here. He was my munchkin cat, with fluffy black and white fur surrounding his body. Normally, he would greet me when I came to do laundry, but I couldn't see him anywhere.

"I saw him in the living room when we got home," I heard Tristan's muffled voice through the wall.

I furrowed my eyebrows, but guessed that maybe Tommy was starting to feel comfortable and wanted to explore the house. I threw my clothes from the washing machine into the dryer and cut it on before I left the laundry room.

I was making a bee-line to the living room to check for Tommy, but Tristan had popped his head out from his room as I started to pass by. He had half of his head-set on and I could see the control in his hand.

"Do I really have to go to that party thing on Friday?" He asked me, a slight whine in his voice.

"Yes, you do. I want you to be there in case anything happens," I tell him, not wanting to mention it was also to keep me from putting my hands on Damien.

"If anything happens-" he gave me an incredulous look, "Lia, you know if anything goes down at this party, I'm going to be the first to high-tail it and run. I can't promise that I'll remember to take you with me." He had a point.

"Okay, it's not a party, it's a banquet," I tell him with a pointed look. "Nothing bad happens at banquets. I would just like you there for support-"

"Well, I'm sorry, but I can't. I actually have plans on Friday," he said and I raised an eyebrow at him.

"What kind of plans do you have?" I asked.

"I will be doing homework."

"Tristan."

"Okay, fine, I will be playing my game. But, it is also important work!" He says, giving me a small glare. "The point is, I have plans and can't come-"

"Please, Tris? I would really like you to be there with me. You're the only one I trust here," I said to him, being honest. I didn't want to go without him.

He gave me a wary look before letting out a dramatic sigh. "Fine! I guess if you're begging I will. But know that you'll owe me for this." He grumbled, looking like he just lost one of the rounds in his game. After a moment of him silently sulking, he raised his controller to me. "Do you want to watch me play? I'm playing Skyrim and I'm doing the Thieves guild-"

"Maybe in a bit, I just wanted to check on Tommy," I say to him, not really wanting to. However, if he really wants me to then I will, as a thank you for accepting to go to the banquet.

"Yeah, whatever," he rolled his eyes before he ducked back into his room and closed the door.

I walked down the hall and into the living room, glancing around for Tommy. "Tommy?" I called out a few times and looked under the big furniture but couldn't see him. I was about to leave to check the kitchen, but something caught my eye.

My heart dropped at the sight of one of the windows cracked open slightly, looking like barely just enough room for him to squeeze through. I also thought about the large wolf from earlier today and I raced to throw on my jacket. I also grabbed the can of bear mace that I picked up from the store on the way home. I figured this would help if I ever saw the wolf with no one else around.

After I pulled on my slippers I was out of the house calling out for Tommy. I didn't even notice how cold it was. I darted into the wooded area by the house, hoping he was close by. I didn't even want to think if he had made it out to the road.

"Tommy!" Each time I called out his name it sounded more desperate than the last. As I ventured further into the woods, I tried my best to look out for him but it was dark outside. I cursed myself for forgetting to bring a flashlight.

"Mwrar," I almost jumped in glee at the sound of his little meow. I ran towards it and found him stooped by a tree, looking like he was taking a nice nap. His yellow eyes looked up to me with no interest and he let out another meow.

I reached over and picked him up, cuddling him into my chest and kissing his forehead. "Oh, you naughty boy, you know you're not allowed outside," I told him sternly even though he couldn't understand me. "You do not want the big bad wolf to find you out here, trust me-"

Tommy tensed in my arms and let out a hiss. I furrowed my eyebrows and looked down at him, seeing him looking at something behind suspiciously. My stomach dropped and I could hear the breathing of a being behind me. It's the wolf- it has to be!

My grip tightened on Tommy with one hand and the other I held on firmly to the bear mace. 'Okay, one... two... three!' I counted down in my head before I turned around, letting out the loudest scream I could before spraying at the 'wolf' that was behind me.

"Ahh! What the hell Lia?!" Donnie stumbled backwards in pain at my sudden assault and took a few steps back.

"Donnie! I'm so sorry! I thought you were the wolf!" I gasp out, feeling horrified at what I had done. I was so caught up in the moment, I didn't think what was behind me could be anything but the wolf. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know you would be... wait, why are you out here?"