The Mate He Couldn’t Control (complete)

Chapter 37

Sebastian is taking care of Noah and I would rather him do that than get into a heartfelt long-lost family member conversation. Most of it was out of concern for Noah, but honestly not all of it. Dimitry said the truth is safe in the present, but I have no idea how to break it. I think my dad and uncle Ron deserve to know they have a half-brother, but I don’t know how they’ll react. Dimitry has been walking around with this for over seven hundred years. I feel he should say it. Ugh. . . okay fine, no he shouldn’t say it. I just have to wait till I can get them all three together.

Jaylon responded exactly how you’d think, but he surprisingly calmed himself. The fact that I wasn’t in danger helped, but it bothered him how I could be taken from his grip without him even realizing it. So, I came up with a plan. Jaylon hasn’t had a life outside of work and me in a minute, so I want to show him that he can live and that I will still be okay. A sane person might question my methods, considering his past, but he’s different now.

Tonight is one of the pack parties, so I took advantage of it. “Why are you making me come down here? You hate parties,” Jaylon complained.

“I didn’t say I hate them. . .”

“You hate them.”

“Oh my gosh! Look! Your friends are playing beer pong, you love that game,” I beamed overdramatically, trying to pull him into the next room.

“No, I love the game we play when you-”

“Jaylon, shh! No-no-no! Not that game. We are going to stay down here for at least an hour.”

“But baby, I don’t even like parties.”

“Yes, you do.”

“No, I only went to the other ones to check on you.”

“That is not true. You didn’t even realize I was at one of them until Nick kissed me.”

“Oh no trust me, I knew you were there.”

“And you still slept with the girl on the kitchen counter? Seriously?” I suddenly filled with rage while looking into his eyes. My jealousy has been peaking since the treaty ball, but so has his. It took us so long to get here that the thought of it getting messed up drives us insane. But as you can see, I still get irritated with why it took so long.

“You know what, I think I would love to play beer pong,” Jaylon reasoned with a slightly scared smile.

“Oh, I’m sure you would.” I followed behind him as we entered the room with Aiden and a few of his other friends. Dalton rarely comes to parties now that he doesn’t have to babysit Bridget and Jaylon. I’m trying to be nice to Jaylon’s friends since he does the same with mine. They acted like Jaylon before he started behaving, Aiden being the absolute worst. I’m not exactly sure because Jaylon was half asleep and mumbling, but they’re somehow related. I think through his mom’s side.

A girl offered to be on his side, but one look from me made her decide she was going to bed. Instead, I pushed a random person into her place before standing in the middle of the table to observe. One of my friends, Sophia, walked up to me holding a book with a giant smile on her face. “Oh, no. Don’t come over here with that.”

“But Ali, this one is really good!”

“No ma’am I cannot do it this time. It’s just- no.”

“I don’t get it. Why do you hate them so much? They’re really good books.”

“Look, I get that it’s your thing, but for me, it’s triggering. With all of the Jaylon issues, the last book made me want to drown him in the hot tub.”

Jaylon looked up from the table with wide eyes once he realized what I was talking about. “Oh please no. I had-”

“Had?” I raised my eyebrow.

“I got to hear about the night she met my parents for four hours the other night,” he corrected himself. See. . . he’s very well-behaved now.

“Ugh! Fine. I’ll find you a different book.” Sophia’s sweet. She reminds me of Autumn except she’s only fifteen. We were in the library talking about book suggestions a few weeks back and ever since she keeps trying to make recommendations. I get emotional too quickly for some of them, like the last one, but I used to love those types of books.

Before I ever moved here, I always had to meet every person in the room, and now that I will be Luna, I have an excuse for it. Thankfully, I did most of it before Jaylon and I “rekindled” since I’m never really alone anymore. Not even when I’m working. Some people might get annoyed, but I find it cute.

I let out a giggle as Jaylon tried to convince the guy behind him that he was “donating” his beer to him. Jaylon doesn’t drink now either. I didn’t put down that rule, he just doesn’t. Either it’s because I hate alcohol or he no longer sees the point in it. “So I take it, you finally let him hit?” Aiden smirked from beside me. Jaylon was now too far in concentration mode to notice. We’re both way too competitive.

“No.” What a rude way to say it. ‘Let him hit’. Three words just exposed his whole mindset. I don’t know, nor do I want to, how Jaylon was with other girls, but with me, he was fully invested. I wasn’t just his to sleep with, he loves me. Even though he can be rough, he always makes sure I can feel his love.

“You’re lying. There’s absolutely no way he just drops everything and becomes obsessed with you for no reason.”

“For no reason? For starters, there are a lot of things to be obsessed with me over. Second, I’m his mate.” No, he’s not drunk. Aiden acts like this all hours of the day.

“Yeah, like how Loverboy was obsessed with you? How did that end again? Oh yeah, you didn’t let him hit, so he turned his attention to your cousin. Now he’s following her around. You know how Nick loves his rebounds.” This week has been insane, but something good came from it. Bridget and Nick are making amends for whatever happened before I got here. At first, I didn’t see it, but then I began to catch on how they’d occasionally glance across the room at each other. When Jaylon and I got back Friday night, we stargazed on his balcony for a minute before going to bed. Below us, we could hear the two of them talking about whatever was going through their minds. I didn’t zone into the details of the conversation because it was none of my business, but the fact that they found comfort in each other brought a smile to my lips.

“Do not ever call my cousin a rebound again,” I growled as I felt irritation grow inside of me.

“Thought you two don’t even like each other?”

“I love my cousin, she’s just going through a difficult time and is very reserved about it.”

“Funny, she seemed just fine till you got here.” The evil smirk that came across his lips made me want to hurt him. He’s Jaylon’s family, do not give into the intrusive thoughts. . . “I recall you throwing her head first into a wall.” I had a reason for that, and even apologized for it, but of course, he has to bring it up. We all snap sometimes. It’s not an excuse, or maybe it is, but eventually, it happens.

“You know what, Aiden? You’re going places. Not good places, but you’re definitely going there.”

“I’m sorry that I offended you,” he lifted his hands in defense. “This wasn’t even what I wanted to talk about. I was trying to figure out if you used your woman power on Jaylon.” Woman power? This is why you can’t get mad at him half the time, he’s an i***t.

“Apology not approved. . .” I replied stubbornly. UGH…I would love to jump down his throat, but I need him. “unless. . .”

“Unless?”

“I need you to take Jaylon out tomorrow. Don’t take no for an answer. He needs a night out with the boys,” I explained with pleading eyes. I’m going way out of my comfort zone, but I’d do just about anything to ease his mind.

“Ooh, I’ve been needing a night in the club.”

“No! No clubs. Bowling or something. Or a sports game. Something non-playboy please.”

“Ugh, but that’s so boring.”

“Aiden, I swear if he consumes a single substance or touches another female, I will f**k your life up,” I warned slowly with cold eyes.

His eyes widened at my words as he finally took me seriously.

“Yes, Luna.” Very seriously.

“Babe!” My head shot over in Jaylon’s direction, worried that he’d just heard our conversation. He was irritated that he just won and I was too busy talking to Aiden. Aww, now I feel bad. “How are you gonna make me play and not even pay attention?”

“I was, I’m sorry. I promise my eyes will be on you through the next game.”

“I don’t want to play again. I guess you’ll never get to see my legendary final shot,” he sighed, stopping in front of me.

“I can always go back in time and watch it,” I smirked.

“How about I just recreate it in the future instead?”

“I’ll look forward to it.” A small smile came to his lips before he placed a kiss on my forehead and brought his head down to my shoulder. I couldn’t help but drop my eyes as his warm arms wrapped around me and I was filled with comfort. I know what he’s doing. He’s going to get me all calm and comfortable so I’ll want to go upstairs. I might be willing to bargain. . .

I kept my head on his chest but opened my eyes. I could see through the doorways, Julia, Seth, Jacob, Benny, and Ethan all having the time of their lives. Julia was standing still though, watching Jaylon and me with a smirk on her face. Someone was eavesdropping. I have plans for tomorrow now too.

I wanted it to look like a spur-of-the-moment thing, so I refused to let anyone say anything. Julia spent the whole day beaming about it through mind link. It hasn’t been two weeks yet and she already insists mate life is draining and boring. Trust me, she loves Seth, but Julia is like me and prefers to always be out doing something, whereas the boys would much rather stay at the pack house unless it's a group thing. Seth is too possessive to let her do anything without him, so she took this as her one-way ticket out. I was blessed in that department though, Jaylon will do anything as long as I’m with him. I think Seth just has FOMO.

As much as I knew he needed to go, I would miss him during the brief absence. Aiden didn’t tell me what time he would be coming, so I took advantage of every minute. “Is there something you’re not telling me?” Jaylon asked with a bright smile. Many. . . many things.

“Why would you think that?”

“Because usually, I’m the one going for you. You’ve been attacking my mouth every chance you get today.”

“Hmm, sounds like you're slacking and don’t want me anymore,” I teased, pushing him onto the bed and climbing over him.

His eyes darkened as they ran over my body and met mine. “Don’t ever lie like that again.”

“I’m not lying.” The second the last word left my lips, he flipped me over and began quickly ripping my skirt down my legs. I love this game. I watched with a smirk on my face as he undressed and went for my top. Unless we’re in a public place, he hates my clothes. Apparently, it’s not “the full experience” unless he has a view. His lips came up to mine for a second before traveling down.

“I’ve missed these,” he breathed out against my skin.

“You saw them this morning,” I giggled. Usually, they love the attention, but today they didn’t want it. At all. At first, it felt uncomfortable, but then it hurt. “Oww.”

Jaylon’s mouth immediately let go and he looked up at me with concern. “What do you mean “oww”? What hurt?”

“That did.”

“Me?”

“You.” His face was full of confusion. I didn’t get hurt very easily, but for some reason that did. I have my guesses. . . but I’m waiting to hear his. I could see the thoughts swirling around in his mind through his eyes. Maybe now was the moment. Maybe this is how he finds out.

A smile crept up to my lips as I watched his mind scrambled for a reason. Just as I saw things start to slow down, the yelling began outside and the sound of loud hitting came from the balcony. Jaylon immediately shot up with concern but I dropped back with a grunt. I closed my eyes and placed a frustrated hand on my forehead. “Idiots.” Now, of all times? I could cry.

“What?” Jaylon asked quickly, opening the balcony doors confused.

“Not you,” I growled in frustration. Yes, it’s my fault, I know.

“What the hell is going on?”

I quickly jumped up from the bed and buttoned his shirt over me. My top was way too short to cover everything and I didn’t have time to fully dress. Suddenly, the source of the noise was revealed to Jaylon as Jacob jumped up to the edge of the balcony with a big smirk. Jaylon let out an annoyed groan and came back toward me to grab his pants. “Ooh, was I interrupting a royal mating?” Jacob smirked, wiggling his eyebrows.

“Wouldn’t be the first time you’ve done it,” Jaylon complained.

“Guess it’s not meant to be.”

Suddenly he dropped down and the yelling started again. “Jaylon, come on!” I heard Aiden yell. Great. The whole packhouse can hear. Again, idiots.

We walked out on the balcony and Jaylon refused to let me near the ledge seeing as though they were looking up. “What do you want?” he questioned.

“Come out with the boys!” Seth tempted.

“I’m busy at the moment.”

“Come on Jaylon, you don’t have to be a lady’s man every night of the week,” Aiden complained.

Suddenly Ethan jumped up on the balcony, holding on for dear life as Jaylon hid me behind them. “Ooh, I see Ali’s got you whipped,” he smirked, making me gasp before he jumped off. I did not tell them to collect him in these conditions.

Jaylon turned around and gave me pleading eyes as if begging me to save him. “They’re determined to spend time with you.”

“But what about you?”

“I’ll be fine. Go out and have fun.”

“Come with us.”

“I can be “one of the boys” another night. Tonight they wanna spend time with you. You can’t do that with me distracting you.”

“If you’re not going, then neither am I,” he replied stubbornly.

“Please? One day you're going to regret not having this night with them.”

He rolled his eyes before reluctantly walking inside to get dressed. The next to attack the balcony was Aiden. “Oh, my Luna, this is the best you’ve ever looked,” he smirked, running his eyes over me. “Too bad I didn’t jump up here sooner.”

“Alison! Get in here!” Jaylon demanded from his closet and I squinted my eyes at Aiden before obeying.

“Yes?”

“Why would you stand there and let them see you like that?” he questioned with dark eyes.

“Aiden is so unserious,” I defended. “And he’s like your family or something right?”

Jaylon let out an annoyed sigh before yanking a pair of sweats off the hanger. “Or something.”

“Jaylon, you’re going out, why are you grabbing sweats?”

“It’s not like I’m taking you out for steak and lobster tail now am I?”

“I’m not saying you have to wear a suit, I just don’t want you hiding in sweats all night. It’s supposed to be a fun night for you.”

His eyes narrowed at me as his mind pieced it together. “You planned this.”

“Oh, hold on, I think one of my friends is calling,” I lied and ran into his room to look for my phone.

“There’s nothing ringing,” Jaylon complained from the closet as I heard him rip something off the hanger quickly.

“Psychic things.” Jaylon came out of the closet wearing the same thing except for a v-neck in place of a hoodie. Well, it's better.

He stopped in front of me with a less-than-pleased expression before his eyes filled with worry. “Why do you want me to leave? Am I not giving you any space? Do you feel smothered?”

“Of course, I don’t feel smothered. I love being by your side, but I don’t want you to worry when we’re apart. I want you to go out and have fun. I want you to trust that you can have a life outside of me and I will be perfectly fine. We will be perfectly fine.” Most people would be annoyed, but most people aren’t mates and they definitely aren’t us.

“But I don’t need a life outside of you. You are my life. I don’t want to go. I would have much more fun going out with you or even staying here and doing homework.” Wow. Jaylon White loves me enough that he’s happy doing homework? What kind of witchcraft have I used on him? Whatever it is. . . his grades have never looked better.

A small smile came to my lips as I gently grabbed his face with both hands. “Try to have fun with your friends for one night. Please?” Jaylon stood staring down at me reluctantly before pulling me up into a tight hug. He gives the best hugs. I placed a quick kiss on his neck before bringing my lips to his ear. “I love you.”

“I love you too.” I was placed back on the ground gently and he kissed my lips before slowly walking to the balcony. Before he stepped out, he turned back to look at me. His eyes scanned over me for one final check and then he disappeared. He’s going to have fun.

I went to Jaylon’s closet to get the clothes out of the floor which maybe was a minute before someone barged in. I quickly made my way down the hallway slightly confused because no one comes on this floor or in this room without a very good reason. It’s not my rule, it’s Jaylon's. My room is fair game if the girls are coming, but Jaylon doesn’t like people anywhere near his. He says it’s out of respect for me, which I understand, but I also think it’s his destressing method. It’s like his one place where he can find peace that doesn’t smell like a thousand people. He’s also like me and hates a mess, which people tend to make. “Alison! I’m supposed to go out tonight. Seth left our room thirty minutes ago so maybe you can tell me why they’re still outside yelling like id-” Julia started as I came around the corner but stopped in her tracks when her eyes moved from the clothes on the floor to me in Jaylon’s shirt. “You w***e! I knew you two were being sneaky! Why haven’t you told me?”

I felt my face turn red and my tongue slide across my teeth as I stood awkwardly with my hands held together behind my back. “Well. . . I was avoiding the awkward “I lost my virginity” talk, but I now feel this is worse.”

“Why would it be awkward? It’s not like I’m your mom,” she reasoned, sitting on the bed.

“I really wouldn’t sit there.” She immediately shot up, trying to hold a laugh back. “I haven’t had time to change the sheets today.” It’s a process. . . She started for the couch but I stopped her. “I wouldn’t sit there either.”

“The chairs?”

“Nope.”

“Well hell, I guess I’ll wait on the rug.”

“You know, why don’t you come to help me pick out clothes instead.”

Her eyebrows raised as she finally let out a laugh. “What has Jaylon done to Alison the virgin?”

“We don’t talk about that,” I bit my lips together into a smirk before spinning on my heels to go to the closet. Julia followed and spent ten minutes lecturing me about what I should wear. My girls are hurting and she wants me to wear a push-up... Eventually, I just gave up and grabbed what she wanted me to wear before we went to my room. I had to get her out of there quickly, ten minutes was long enough. It's not like she smells bad but as I said, Jaylon’s weird about it and now he’ll know she was here.

Right before we reached my doors, Julia and I’s mouths dropped as Penelope walked up the stairs. “What are you wearing?” Julia questioned.

“Clothes? What’s the problem?” Whatever mysterious force has taken over Penelope, has not left. Normally she didn’t have the attitude.

“Is that my dress?” I asked, squinting my eyes at her. I love P as if she were my sister, but I’m just confused about when she got it.

“P what is up with you? You don’t even look like yourself. You look like Alison.” I looked at Julia confused before looking back at P and seeing hints of myself. She looks so out of herself. I mean I’m all for trying something new, but she doesn’t look comfortable.

“Is everything okay?” My friend Anna back at home goes through weird phases after breakups where she’ll act like a completely different person. It was always the person her boyfriend would go after next. Yes I know, it was creepy, but I’d always slowly lean her out of it. I don’t know what happened to P, but I know that no one can make you question your image more than a man. “Did one of the boys do something?”

“Can I not try something new without you two questioning me?” That’s when I caught it. Her accent was different. It sounded like a terrible impression of a Brooklyn accent. The same impression she makes every time she jokingly repeats me. I mean I am from the city, but I’m not from wherever that came from. Hell, I guess I can’t even say I’m “from the city”. I lived in one of the gated communities outside of it. My accent is not as strong as everyone here thinks, they’re just all used to sharing one. “Where is Jaylon? Aren’t we going out with the boys?”

“It’s a girl's night,” Julia explained, sighing off her confusion.

“Ugh, as if,” P complained before walking back down the stairs and trying not to fall over her heels.

Julia’s mouth was wide open as she turned to face me. “Is it just me, or does she have a stick up her a**?”

“A very uncomfortable stick apparently.”

I smiled up at our waitress and gave her my menu before turning back to Julia. Julia’s never played golf before, so we spent our time at the country club a town over. She missed a few hits before deciding she hates golf and racing the carts was more entertaining. Either way, it was something off of her bucket list. We would have eaten there, but we knew once we ate, we’d be tired so we drove back to the forest to eat at the diner.

For some reason, I felt so sentimental today. Over everything. I was sentimental about riding to school with Jaylon and going to the country club, and now I’m sentimental about the diner. It’s just my mind flashing back through the past. My first “date” with Jaylon was when he brought me here and I saw my friends for the first time. Who gets sentimental about a diner?

I glanced down at my phone to check the time. He lasted a whole four hours without a single text or call. See, he’s having the time of his life.

“So. . . tell me how things have been. Clearly, you have a few secrets up your sleeve.”

My lips parted as I was about to say something, but then I considered whether I should say it or not. I don’t know how private Jaylon would want this to be, but at the same time, I trusted Julia not to tell this to anyone. My eyes met hers as a big smile grew on my face. “I want to mate with him. Tonight.”

She sat back in her booth, choking on her drink since she really wasn’t expecting that. “Tonight? You two mating? But I thought you were still traumatized from the whole demon-Jaylon situation?”

“I think I’m over that. He’s done so much to heal me and every day the worry fades. Every night when I go to sleep, he holds me close and reassures me that I’m okay. He volunteers with me at the hospital and spends an hour helping me tell my nephews and nieces goodnight over facetime. He built his schedule around me and does everything in his power to make me feel safe. He’s so kind and loving and I know he isn’t perfect, but he’s perfect for me. He had his moments, but that wasn’t the real him and I realize that now. I’m in love with him.”

Julia’s face looked as if her heart just melted as she reached for my hands across the table. “You bring out the best qualities in him. I haven’t seen him this happy in years. I haven’t seen him this kind in- ever,” she giggled. “I can’t believe my Luna is getting mated tonight.”

“I’m not Luna yet. . .”

“Oh don’t even start. Ingrid and your mother already have you running around with Luna responsibilities and the second a bump pops out on your stomach they’re going to step down to babysit.”

“Yeah. . . Ingrid’s been growing impatient,” I replied with slightly wide eyes. Ironically, the day I realized my situation, Ingrid called me down for breakfast to try to persuade me to seduce Jaylon. He wasn’t the one that needed seducing though. . . Jaylon’s been dying to mate with me, but my reasoning for restricting him was obvious. I wasn’t there and I had trust issues from our past and the mental prison. But he kept the promise he made in the hospital. He hasn’t forced me or even pestered me with the question.

*Chapter had to be broken in half due to word limit*