::CHAPTER 19::

Danyel’s POV

“Thirty more!”

I grit my teeth and continued the pull-ups. The insides of my shorts were clinging to my body, my white shirt was probably transparent by now, my skin was dripping wet with sweat and my abdominals tight with the idea of thirty more of these. Asher, the lying bastard, had promised me that I would only have thirty more twice already. I swore if I finished these and he said ‘thirty more’ again, I’d claw him.

My arms trembled with the effort and I knew I would fall off soon enough. As if reading my mind I felt his presence close in on and around me. His wolf touched my bare skin. “Don’t you dare let go, Maynard! Twenty nine more. Come on.” My teeth bared with the effort of finishing these exercises. To think, once upon a time I had thought he couldn’t have been worse. Who was I kidding?

“I’m pretty sure,” I panted, “that this is child abuse.”

“Twenty four again to go,” he barked, “Sixteen years old is hardly a child. You can drink, have sex and drive legally. And even if it was child abuse, who’d you call? I am the authorites.”

“No. You…are…a mean son of a bitch. That’s what you are.”

“Twenty more to go,” he laughed shaking his head at me.

“I hate you, Ash!” I bit out as I dragged my body up despite how much gravity fought at me.

“Don’t lie to your Packmates, buddy,” he winked, “You worship me.”

“I—! Argh!”

Asher watched me thump onto the floor. I winced and tried to turn but didn’t have the energy for it. Hands on his knees, he leaned over to look down at me. “Help,” I moaned and rolled onto my belly. I felt a hand pat my head before sensing Asher leaving me. “Oh come on,” I raised my head and spotted him walking away.

“Hurry up and get ready so I can drop you off at school,” he called over his shoulder.

“Mean son of a bitch,” I mumbled.

He shot me a grin and left the training room. I hauled myself from the floor and guzzled half a bottle of water before heading to the showers. It was steaming hot and hardly did anything for my aching muscles.

I can’t believe I’d had a crush on him. It'd been a small crush and it hadn’t lasted very long. Having a thing for Asher was pretty much a rite of passage for most people. It could be the Alpha-level dominance thing he had going on.

For an older guy who was more than going a little grey in the hair, Orion’s dad was pretty damn hot. Not many people would judge anyone for saying it. He was like those older actors that you drooled over but would never admit to your parents that he’s in his thirties or forties. And Ahmose Asher was working forty to death.

He had a ruggedly handsome face, fair skin with hair and eyes as pale as his son’s and a body that really was pretty impressive for a guy his age. There was no doubt that he helped to make Orion White.

When I was dressed for school, I got out of the den and saw Orion himself standing outside with a towel in hand. He was still trying to dry his hair even as we got into the car.

“Did he try to kill you today too?” I asked folding my feet under me.

“You’re asking answers,” Orion scoffed, “Of course he did. Can’t believe we have another training session later.”

“Ungrateful little shits,” Asher grumbled from the driver’s seat, “I could very well leave both of you to get ravaged by your wolves if you like. Or have you forgotten that they’re stronger than you and have the discipline of children?”

“Shhh. He didn’t mean it,” Orion said in a soothing tone that I knew was aimed at the animal showing up in his eyes.

“He was joking,” I said to my own.

I’d felt him getting up as if to start something. He shot me a most displeased glance before focusing on his Alpha and calming down. He was still getting used to his status. My wolf saw himself as Alpha too and he tended to butt heads with Asher’s wolf sometimes. A Pack couldn’t have two Alphas and he was taking time to adjust to the idea of not being the Head yet. He really did need discipline.

The work out today had tired him out and taken all the fight from him. It reiterated that he had a long way to go physically before he was fit to protect or rule anyone. The day had sobered him and taught him to trust in his Alpha.

It had been a couple of months since my first shift and the growth spurts came every once in a while. Only this morning I’d sprouted again. The training was finally catching up to me and my physical build was changing rapidly. Already I was nearing Orion’s size. Without a doubt I’d outstrip him with time. Heh. Can’t wait. The smug punk liked to rub it in my face that he was ‘bigger than the next Alpha’. I’ll show him.

When we got to the school I pouted. “Do I have to?” I sighed. Asher gave me a smile and then aimed another at his son. He knew how I felt about school and he knew that his son would have to deal with that. Orion and I both allowed our wolves to nip at him affectionately before waving goodbye. We stood outside the school for a little bit, staring up at the building before heading inside.

“Nap?”

“Hell yeah,” I gave a yawn.

Heading into the school’s medic’s office, we asked her if we could crash there for a while. She knew the kind of training Asher gave us before classes. A little while back, we’d tag teamed and talked her into letting us take naps in her office before class and she agreed. Most mornings we just came in and asked if we could before taking a half an hour or so to rest.

We usually had to share a bed because there was always a need for one in the medic’s office. Hundreds of wild, Chosen kids horsing around in one building meant a full medic’s office nearly all the time. I ran my hand over the shadow of hair on my head. Short hair made things easier but I kind of missed my hair being longer.

“That haircut makes you look older,” Orion stared at me, “It suits you.” I made a non-committal noise in the back of my throat and plopped onto the bed. It was an effort for us both to fit, but we managed with our backs toward each other.

When the bell rang, we got up with groggy eyes and Orion’s arm around my waist. The medic was nowhere to be found. She usually was there to wake us up before the bell rang so we could get to class in time. Orion sat up and got his shoes back on while I stretched. “Can we ditch?” I turned to him already knowing the answer. He didn’t even both to say anything. He just shot me a look. “You’re getting so old, Ri,” I huffed, “It’s sucking all the fun outta you.” He chuckled and grabbed our bags, tossing mine to me.

The medic’s office was on an entirely different side of the school so naturally, I took advantage of that fact and strolled to class. Orion griped all the way trying to get me to move faster but I just moved slower whenever he did. In the end he just accepted our pace and went along with it. He knew if he went on to class ahead of me, I’d never make it there.

When we walked through the already opened door, every single head in the room turned. I could feel the tension in the air like smog. I tried my hardest to put up a block between my animal’s power and them, but it didn’t do much.

Asher had taught me that it took energy to keep the barrier up. That to do that was like using a mental muscle. I had to practice to make that muscle stronger. I wasn’t very good at it yet, but it did work a little.

It bugged me that everyone was so on edge about me. No one dared to move. It was as if their bodies were frozen all but for their eyes that followed behind me. The absurd strength of my animal put even the teachers on high alert. I’d suggested private tutoring but apparently I ‘needed to allow the people to get used to me’. Asher would not let me hide.

Asher’s barrier trick made it possible that my power was hidden from others. I’d been told that, without the barrier, other people felt as though a twenty foot, ravenous wolf was in the room when I walked in. Instinct told them to run and the danger of me was blatant. I was overwhelming and I rubbed them wrong. It was like sitting next to constant fear and anxiety for them and I activated their fight or flight response. The barrier dimmed that feeling. Only a little so far. With time it would be strong like Asher’s and I would be able to walk around and people would feel comfortable in my presence.

I didn’t make eye contact with any of them. It bothered people when I did. It was too much attention for them. The fact that the wolf never left my eyes didn’t help apparently. My irises were never the plain brown it was meant to be. It was forever pulsing shards of beaten gold in topaz irises. Apparently, it was normal to have really powerful kids and toddlers who constantly had the wolf in their eyes. It was not normal for sixteen year olds.

At sixteen that raw strength should have been in better control but it wasn’t. Not close. I was a time bomb with no countdown. No one knew what or who would trigger my animal. No one knew when or how I could snap. No one knew if or why I would. They simply waited with bated breath. And here I was, in a closed classroom with them, barely controlled yet. Their fear of me made sense. The tension made sense. I couldn’t fault them.

“It’s okay,” Orion clapped me on the back. He followed me to the empty seat that I’d been assigned next to the window. School psychologists believed that the outdoors would help me to stay balanced. I turned to Orion who offered a weak smile.

Aside from his father, he was the only one who wasn’t highly affected by me. Even Kenny struggled with my wolf whenever we hung out. Orion, it seemed, was always meant to be my second in command. His strength was nowhere near mine but it was close enough to make it easier for him than most. My power didn’t unbalance him the way it did with others.

Things had truly played out for the best as far as Orion was concerned. He wasn’t an Alpha to be but he had the training necessary to be in control of his animal and therefore was strong enough to deal with me. He was born and raised to work at my side it would seem. He knew what I’d gone through. He’d gone through the same thing. Because I was stronger than any born Chosen teenager that anyone’s ever seen, I needed a second who was extremely strong. Nearly Alpha strong. Fate would have it that it was Orion.

He always reminded me that people once treated him the same way they reacted to me. He would tell me that lots of them still got caught on edge by his presence even now. But now they trusted him not to harm them. I had no idea how I was going to get an entire village to trust me, but I had to believe that they would with time. They had to. I couldn’t be a proper Alpha if they didn’t.

The wind caught my hair and ruffled it. The animal closed its eyes and urged me to lean my head into the breeze. It was still odd how calm he was compared to before. Being able to move about, be in control of his own self, meet his own friends and play with his family had really changed his disposition. We were happier.

I made sure to steer clear of thinking of anything or anyone who could or would change that. There was enough on my plate without finding time for sulking and pouting after what didn’t matter. Or at least what I couldn’t afford to let matter to me. My jaw clenched as I wiped the name from my mind before I could think it.

Asher was right. An Alpha needed to be able to stand on his own two feet and lead. A co-dependent relationship with someone I’d shadowed and trailed behind like a lost pup could not factor into this. I needed to be my own person. I needed to find myself and become someone worth respecting and looking to in times of crisis.

Asher had said it himself: “That babysitter of yours has too much of a hold on you. This was meant to happen. You needed this separation to be what you need to become.”

My wolf nudged me. He was trying to get me to pay attention. He sometimes did that in class so I didn’t think anything of it. The teacher wasn’t saying anything. She was only writing on the board.

Mating. That was what she wrote. I frowned. I didn’t know a whole lot about mating so I found myself a bit curious. Orion and I shared a look before turning back to the teacher. We were two of the only kids in the class who lived in a home with mated wolves. It was that rare to come across a mated pair.

My gaze slid over to someone sitting in the corner. I hadn’t even noticed her until now. I frowned. She was Chosen but I’d never seen her before. She was an elderly lady; all wrinkles and walking stick and eyes gone misty with age.

“Class I’d like you all to welcome a very important member of the Chosen Pack. Many of you may not have ever seen her before, but she is as revered a member as Asher White himself,” our teacher said. This got the attention of everyone. She must be seriously protected then. I knew from simply looking at her that she was no dominant wolf. I had recently honed my ability to tell a person’s rank and gauge their power.

“She goes by the name Ramla and she is the oldest and strongest Ahmosian prophetess in the world thus far. Like an Alpha, she is the chosen of the Chosen by Ahmose himself. She understands and knows things most of us may never truly understand and can tell the fate of anyone who she decides should know. I ask that you give her your full attention and listen up. She has offered to take over the lesson on mating today. This never happens for any class so I also ask you to take advantage of the occasion.”

Prophetess Ramla held onto her cane with a shaky hand and slowly made her way to the teacher’s desk. She took a seat there and breathed as if that alone had winded her. She looked at each face, smiling at some and frowning at others. Suddenly she looked at Orion and me and smiled dotingly. Patting at her perfectly combed hair, she shook her head.

“You two,” she said in a voice much stronger than I’d expected for all its gentleness, “You share a friendship that is fated.”

“We do?” Orion glanced back at me.

“Yes, little one. A strong friendship it will become in time. You will wonder how you ever existed without the other. It will last into adulthood, says Ahmose. It will last and thrive for all to see. He says you will lean on each other in the hardest of times, for you were chosen for each other. Chosen to be Alpha and to be the Alpha’s Second. Fate has made it so that you two have lived lives designed to make this Pack stronger.”

“Wow,” Orion and I murmured at the same time.

“You are destined to be friends, Packmates and leaders,” she turned to Orion, “Nothing more than that. You are both meant to be with others in the end and you will find happiness with these people.”

“Can you tell us who?” Orion asked.

“You are not meant to know,” she said to Orion, “You are to find out on your own. And you will know in time when you do.”

“Figures,” I muttered.

“As for you…I believe it won’t be too difficult to figure out who when it is time,” she nodded to me, “Ahmose says that you are blessed with a gift greater than Alphaship. He says you will find a mate. This mate is yours to keep and you will find happiness with this person beyond anything.

The class was dead quiet. Orion was frowning to himself as if trying to work out something. I on the other hand, did not think about any of it. I simply closed my eyes and felt the warm cheek of my wolf pressed to my own. I was not going to spend the rest of my day trying to figure out some prophecy of a person that I may or may not have met before.

If it was one thing I and everyone knew about mating, it happened between two Chosen people. Usually one male and one female. It’s been speculated that it may be possible that a homosexual mating could take place, but it had to be between Chosen.

Prophetess Ramla began the lesson.

“Mating is the joining of two souls that are fated to be. It is seen as a predominantly Chosen occurrence where the souls of the animals find each other and are joined forever. You will find that mated pairs sometimes get married but there is no need for it. Marriages may end, but once mated there is no going back.

Many people think that once you find your mate, you have no choice but to be with them. This is false. Mating is a decision. It is not a sentence. One can choose to accept their mate and consummate the mating or one can choose to reject their mate and either live a single life or be with another.

You all seem confused by this. Let me explain. Mating is linked exclusively with love. You cannot be forced to love another. There is no force in the world that can force true love and mating is the truest love you can find once it is accepted. It isn’t shallow affection. It has nothing to do with looks or money or fame. It is soul deep because the mating is, as I’ve said before, the joining of two souls.

The feelings are entirely about what’s on the inside. That isn’t to say that there isn’t going to be a physical attraction, but that’s mainly the human side of the mating. That part may enjoy financial stability or dark hair and blue eyes.

Some people believe that mating is an ‘at first sight’ sort of thing. It isn’t. You’ve heard the saying that someone has ‘an old soul’? Well that’s often what it’s like while mating. Sometimes the soul needs to mature before it is ready to be eternally joined to another. Otherwise we’d have mated three year olds running about. Often the soul needs to feel things and go through its own experiences to be mature enough to handle a union as absolute as mating.

A mate is not someone that you necessarily have to be with. It is a person who’s personality, life and experiences have been designed specifically to fit with another’s. Kindred spirits. When you come across your mate, it seems as if that person was made especially for you. You cannot help but get along with them and feel as if you want to be with them. While it is possible to reject such a person as yours, persons don’t usually do so. Finding another person that fits you better would be impossible. Therefore ignoring your mate for another person would tend to not feel right.

Now one would ask, why would anyone reject a mate? Sometimes a person gets married or has children before they ever meet their mate. Perhaps the mate is not of age as yet. Sometimes the circumstances of that person’s life may make mating an unwise thing. There can be any number of factors that can hinder a person from wanting to accept the mating.

To accept a mating both parties must know that the mating exists, acknowledge each other as mates so that the animals get a solid confirmation and then the two must consummate it.

Now there are also situations where mating is one sided. That is to say, only one party is aware of it. This is always the case in the beginning. One always notices the presence of a mate before the other. When this happens, there is a change in the person. It all depends on the age of course.

When mates meet as children,” Ramla said with a glance at me, “The children may be too young to recognize it, but if it is fated it will show up. It may not be a blatant attraction or anything sexual, but it will show up.

There’s a sense of dedication that goes beyond mere friendship. Devotion beyond anything. A need to be there for the other person. Protectiveness. Possessiveness in some cases. An inability to share the person’s affection or attention with others. It’s the animal’s innate way of trying to prevent it’s mate-to-be from finding another. That is the animal attempting to keep its mate from becoming loyal to another person so that the mate person won’t find themselves married or committed to another. In other words, it is a way to protect the relationship.

The love that mated children have is the purest, strongest sort. It isn’t tainted by the need for sex. Mated children seek to make and keep their partners happy in whatever way they can. It doesn’t matter the age difference. They will find a way to relate to each other. If one is lucky enough to find their mate early enough, a bond can be formed that is perfect in every way to cater for every need. No one can miss the connection between the two even in childish friendship. A chemistry is built together as opposed to simply being found later in life.

During the maturing of the soul, there is also a change occurring in the physical bodies. Mates find themselves drawn to the other. It is the strongest pull you will ever know. It is the wolf forcing you to realize what it wants.

Now if children find their mates early, they must not be separated. It will distress the wolf and, by extension, the Chosen mates. The wolf will become a frenzied wreck trying its hardest to seek out its mate. It needs to know that its mate is safe and happy. It also needs to know that its mate belongs to them and isn’t seeking out others for affection. The wolf cannot handle the stress of being parted from its own. It is akin to splitting it up from its Pack but far worse.”

The class gasped collectively. There could be nothing worse than being separated from your Pack. That was madness. You would survive longer separated from your heart or lungs. Kidneys even. Not your Pack. There could be nothing worse at all.

But there could be. I knew. And Ramla knew that I did. She had looked at me when she’d said that. I knew what it was like to have the person you were meant for separated from you. I’d tried so hard to forget him but he was a constant ache inside. A need I couldn’t really get over. The reason that I needed to be medicated to get through the day.

It seemed so obvious now. This entire lesson seemed to be made just for me. It spoke about everything I was going through. It laid everything out so simply. I couldn’t look up at Ramla. Her eyes were too knowing. Too understanding.

“It takes a truly strong person to survive the separation," her voice grew sympathetic, "It would drive most clinically insane to be put into that situation. The Chosen know how violent and volatile the animal can get when it wants something as simple as a run. Now imagine how it would get when it longs after the person more important to it than Pack. It will wage war against its human if it is denied its mate.

Often, the wolf itself falls into clinical depression and it leaks into the human. It would take great distractions or a higher purpose to take the wolf’s mind off of it for even a moment. Mating is not something to toy with. It is a dangerous thing if it is strong. It would take a truly resilient and disciplined animal to get through that sort of emotional torment.

Now you might wonder how a person can deny a mating if the wolves cannot be separated. It is simple. Rejection. Once both parties reject the mating, it will not solidify or come to be officially. The romantic feelings will not go away but it will be possible to move on with another person. Of course, it cannot simply be words. The pair must truly not want to be together for it to work. After all, mating is soul deep.”

The rest of the class was a blur. I’d heard enough. More than enough really. I hadn’t bothered to take notes. What’s the point? I can just write my life story in the exams for an easy A. What is mating? Richard Crowley and me. What is needed for a mating to be legitimate? Richard Crowley and me. Questions three to fifteen: Richard Crowley and me.

Great. Just freaking great. This was just what I needed. Of all the crappy things to happen so far, this took the cake. How on earth was I supposed to do this? I couldn’t be mated. The man was in a completely different country in college. I wasn’t even nearly finished with Upper School yet. I still had training to go through. I was going to be dubbed as an official Pack Soldier in just a few days if I got through the exams. This was the worse timing possible.

And to add to all of that, now I knew for sure that what was going on with me was not something I’d grow out of. I had to reject the mating and get Richie to do it too. This is just awesome. I scowled to myself.

After class, I hung back and went up to the elderly prophetess. The teacher tried to tell me not to, but Ramla held up a hand to quiet her. For an old lady, she was oddly intimidating.

“Let the young Alpha speak, Agatha,” she said.

“I was wondering,” I began, “If it were possible for a human and a Chosen to mate.”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” my teacher exclaimed, “Chosen and humans cannot be involved romantically in the eyes of Ahmose. Being mated would be even more abominable.”

“Agatha, quiet yourself. The Chosen can mate because of their animal souls being joined, but humans also have souls. It may be possible for the soul of the animal to be fond of the soul of the human. Soulmates if you will. Of course, the human would have to go through certain changes for any sort of compatibility to take place.”

“Changes? What kind of changes?”

“For one, strength. The human would never be as strong as any Chosen, but the bones must be bigger and stronger to withstand the natural strength of the Chosen mate. The human would appear taller and larger than he or she would usually. Also the sex drive will increase tenfold for a human body can never withstand the stamina and power of a Chosen body during sex. Changes like that.”

“Essentially the human will change in every way that will help him to handle his mate?”

“Essentially, yes. A human body would never be able to meet the Chosen mate’s demand. Even sexual tastes may become more Chosen.”

“How will he be able to get through a change like that?” I asked knowing that Ramla knew who my mate was. She knew Richie didn’t know he had a mate.

“It is difficult. He may hate himself for what his body needs and refusing will hurt him, but in the end it is for the best. The happiness he will find is all that he deserves and more.”

I left the class to see Orion standing outside. His eyes questioned me but I couldn’t tell him. It would make it too real.

“Danyel, are you alright?” he asked grabbing onto my hand as I walked past him. I didn’t know how to react even now. As of a few weeks ago, I’d agreed to go out with him. We’d been on a few dates and I’d kissed him more than a few times. We’d been friends for even longer than that. And still I couldn’t tell him this. How did you tell your boyfriend that the guy you were actually in love with was your mate?

“Danyel?” his hands cupped my face, “Talk. What’s up with you?”

“It’s nothing. I’m fine,” I smiled and landed a kiss on his mouth. He accepted it without complaint.

“You sure?”

“Yup,” I nodded and stepped away.

Kenny stood behind him with a disapproving look on her face. She didn’t support my decision to be with Orion. She thought it wouldn’t last very long and when it ended, it would hurt him. I didn’t want to hurt my friend. I’d do my darnedest not to.

Orion pressed one last kiss on my lips before promising to meet me at lunch later as he went off to the library. He knew how much that place gave me the creeps so he didn’t ask me to come along.

“This isn’t fair to him and you know it,” Kenny said once he was out of earshot.

“I’m not going to do anything. I told you already. The man is living his own life in college. We are not going to happen. Get over it.”

“It’s not about that,” she rolled her eyes, “You’re using Orion. He doesn’t deserve that.”

“I’m not using him. I happen to like Ri.”

“I know you do. But not the way you should if you’re going to be dating him. Look I get it. Richard hurt you. Destroy a bedroom without moving a muscle kind of hurt. I saw you that day so I get that much. And Orion lent a shoulder at the right time and I’m glad for that. You seem a lot better now. But he’s not a rebound crutch for you to hold on to until you get over Richard.”

“I am over him.”

“Really? Then say his name.”

“Why?”

“Because you haven’t since that day. Because you can’t. It’s tearing you apart to just have me talking about him and it’s clear as day on your face. You think Orion doesn’t notice it too? He wants this too much to let you end it but it isn’t fair to him, Danyel. Not to either of you.”

“Look I care about him and the attraction is there. Orion and I are…we’re good together,” I said, “Can’t that be enough?” She didn’t say anything but her face said “no” loud and clear.

“I hate nagging you like this but I’ve been his friend longer than you have. As his friend I’m worried that he’s going to get his heart broken, that’s all.”

“It won’t happen. Orion and I will work. It has to.”

“Otherwise you’ll get sucked back into loving Richard, is that right?”

I didn’t answer her. We went to the school gym for our free period and things got lighter there. I found that even now I couldn’t tell Kenny about being mated. I wanted to tell her, but I knew her. That news would be more fuel for her to want me to break up with Orion.

I needed Orion and me to work. I'd do what I had to to make sure that we did. I took him out and surprised him with gifts all the time. We hardly ever fought and things were going well enough. I knew that Orion could tell that something was off between us, but I avoided confronting that.

Sex was not an issue between us. Orion was nice enough to be understanding when I told him that I wasn't ready yet. I'd never told him about Preston. That was a mistake that I was happier trying to forget. As far as Orion knew, I was a virgin and I just wasn't ready to lose that. It wasn't that I wasn't attracted to him like that. My body responded just fine to him. Except I couldn't have sex with him.

Betraying my mate once had been bad enough, even when I hadn't even known that I had one. I didn't want to look at Orion the way I looked at Preston now. I didn't want to feel guilty and ashamed and resentful every time I saw him.

Finding out about the mating was just as bad as it was good. It was great to finally understand what was going on with me. I finally had a name to put to the way I'd been feeling. My poor wolf. Being separated from his mate for three years must have been the worst. I could empathize with him better now. Unfortunately, I knew what needed to happen to get this to stop. I was not ready to have that talk or make that decision.

Later that evening, Orion and I found ourselves back at the den with Asher.

He had us training against each other in wolf form. I was content to take the backseat in the wolf's mind while he fought and practiced with the steady guidance of his Alpha. No matter how often they butted heads, my wolf had a supreme level of respect and admiration for the older wolf.

Orion put up one hell of a fight pinning me more times that I cared to admit. My wolf was stronger but Orion's had been training for years before mine had even really existed. I had a lot of catching up to do.

"Have you been taking care of your at-home meditation?" Asher asked.

"When I need it," I shrugged, "Athletic yoga isn't really my thing."

"It's good for stretching the muscles, Maynard. Your body is changing right now as we speak. Not to mention the constant shifts from human to wolf. Your shifting time is still too slow. Do the exercises."

"But Ash," I pouted, "They're so long and boring. How come Ri doesn't have to do 'em?"

"He did. And now you do. Now stop being such a brat," he smiled and pat my cheek, "I'm telling you to do this because I know it helps. It will stop the pain when you shift too."

"So you keep telling me," I made a face.

"I pity the person you marry," he said.

"If you want me to propose, all you have to do is ask. I'll be the best son-in-law you could ever have."

"You over that Richard boy then?"

"I'm sorry?" I turned to see that Orion had already gone to the showers.

"No. Not yet I see," he frowned.

"What are you doing? Get out of my head."

"I'm not in your head right now. I can sense it all over you. Just the same as the day when we figured out your true rank."

"Well I feel violated," I gave a shudder, "Can't you turn it off?"

"I can. Can you?"

"I..." there was no response for that, "I care about Orion."

"Duh," he smacked my shoulder, "I can tell that much. Look, I'm not mad at you."

"You're not?"

"These things happen. It's life. You're only sixteen. And I always figured that you might see Richard differently with time. But it didn't work out and Orion was there for you when he wasn't."

"Don't..."

I can't believe this. I was actually getting defensive over him. I hadn't even thought about it. It had just flared up and died. Even when he let me down, I couldn't sit by and listen to anyone badmouth him. Mate. I had a mate. Just like my aunt and uncle.

I don't know why, but when I'd gotten home I wanted my aunt more than anything. She was in the main bedroom dozing away. I smiled at the sleeping submissive and crawled under the sheets to lie beside her. She opened an eye and pulled me into a hug. Her wolf licked at mine. Submissive or not, hers had more power over him than many. He loved her unconditionally. He pressed to my skin so that they could be closer. This was his family.

When things were easy or when it got hard, she and uncle were always there. They might not know everything that was going on, they mightn't understand what was happening half the time and they sure as hell didn't get what went on in my life, but they were there. And it counted for everything.

I could come home with broken knuckles and bruises all over and they'd just sit with me until it disappeared and the pain faded. They wouldn't question it or pester me. Aunty would just shove hot chocolate into my hands and Uncle would lend the stability of his animal to my own.

No matter how difficult the day, they helped. Without question, without wanting anything in return, they were there. I felt the kiss on the top of my head and curled into her more. I smiled to myself.

*************************************** 

Merry Belated Christmas, humans :) You finally got your confirmation for what's been going on so tah-dahhh! I've actually sort of started pieces of Part 3 to get a feel of it and wow. Nye...is...bitter. 

PS.  There's one more chapter to go until Part 3.

PPS. If you're a Nye/Richie shipper, be prepared to begin worshipping the ground Tommy Ackles walks on because he's like the main guy behind that ship becoming canon. I swear to Ahmose, without him, those two idiots would walk away from each other and back to their old bitter, lonesome lives. Tommy is King in Part 3 basically.