The Mate He Couldn’t Control (complete)

Chapter 25

It’s embarrassing, you know. I let myself stand my ground the other day only to turn into a scared little girl not long after. In the real world, I’m stronger than Jaylon so my fear makes no sense, but the mind never lets you forget the things you don’t want to remember. It’s annoying really. I want to be serious with him for his actions but yet I can’t bring myself to look at him. Last night, I calmed by focusing on his eyes, but ended up rushing away to my room and magically sealing the door as a precaution.

Since I doubt that I will see Dimitry for at least a month, I went on a run at three to keep myself on schedule and get over my fear of the forest. It healed me in more ways than one by not only reconnecting me with nature but also with my wolf. None of my girls have turned yet so I left them alone and made them breakfast when I got back.

I kept a smile on my face as I walked into school, but secretly I worried about how long I’d last and how safe the others would be around me. I’ve been trying to hide it as much as possible, but I’m beginning to lose control of my powers. It’s like they’ve developed a mind of their own and are trying their best to consume me. So far I’ve made it snow, lit a trash can on fire, formed an energy ball I had no choice but to throw out, and caused last night's rainstorm. Obviously, everyone knew about the snow, but the rainstorm could be blamed on the weather and no one saw the energy ball because it was when we were out of town and Dalton and Angelina were in their own room. The trash can incident happened in the hotel lobby though. . . It was blamed on a cigarette but Dalton wasn’t having it.

Nick wrapped his arms over my shoulders as we came to a stop beside him. I was happy to see that he was in a much lighter mood than the night before. “Goodmorning.”

“I heard you this morning. I was going to join but I figured you needed your moment.”

“You made the right call. Maybe tonight though?”

“I believe you still owe me a race,” Seth stepped in. He’s the Gamma wolf, which if you didn’t know is the fastest in the pack. At least they're supposed to be. They’ve never really had a supercharged Luna to race though.

“That will be interesting to watch,” Julia smirked.

“I guess tonight’s the night.”

I looked back as Dalton and Angelina walked past. I didn’t want to make a big deal so I played it down with a smile. I’d definitely freak out about it later. They were radiating off of each other and looked powerful as they held tight hands. The news wouldn’t take long to spread, but I didn’t want to be the one to call it out. Our female Zeta has been mated.

I was right. By break, everyone was talking about it repeatedly to every person they came in contact with. Jaylon, Bridget, and Loren were absent today for an unknown reason, which meant I was the insight. I disappointed each of them though. I didn’t know any details of it or how or why. But if I did, that’s a very personal topic and also none of my business.

Herbalism was the first break I got from the subject since Professor Plenskiofski would tape people's mouths for off-topic subjects. It’s very entertaining to watch.

With Jaylon’s absence, Seth was grouped with Tyler and me. They were bickering over who was going to pick up the plant. Eventually, I got frustrated and turned to glare at the two. “It’s just fireweed. You can eat it. You run over it every day in the forest. Why are you arguing over who is going to pick it up?”

"You can eat it?” Seth questioned.

“It’s also in a few medications. Now, are you both going to do that, or is one of you going to help me with the second experiment?”

They both looked at the book before Tyler turned to me with wide eyes. “Are you insane?” he questioned the teacher.

“Tyler, stop being overly dramatic. We have gloves so it won't hurt anyone,” I explained.

“I think I’ll stick with this experiment.”

“Seeing as though it doesn’t hurt you, I’ll let you take one for the team,” Seth grinned, causing me to roll my eyes. I began reading the instructions before pulling the wolfsbane out of the bag, yes with gloves. I may not feel pain, but I don’t want to be out of it again either. I dropped it in the glass jar and slid it down under me to keep the fumes from irritating the boys while I added the other ingredients. For some reason, my eyes started to lose focus and I momentarily felt like my head was spinning. I quickly put in the last ingredient before slamming the jar lid down on top.

“Ali. . .” Seth mumbled and I looked up slowly, realizing that the light above us was turning off and on slowly. I was going to say something, but it stopped and something wet slid down from my nose. “Are you okay?”

“Umm, yeah. I’m done,” I replied quickly before mind-linking the teacher and leaving. In the hall I found Julia sitting outside of her classroom. Her face was drained of color. “What’s wrong?”

“I’m bored with the current news rotation.”

“I figured. Well, I’m going to see my aunt. Do you want to come? I’m sure that’s the last thing she’ll want to discuss.”

Immediately her head shot up and her eyes glowed with relief before it all dropped to worry. “What the hell happened to you? Jaylon?”

“No. Just some wolfsbane fumes.”

Julia stood up quickly and stepped closer to look in more detail. “But I thought it didn’t hurt you?”

“I guess it does now. Who knows? So can we go?”

“Yes of course.”

I was trying to remain as calm as possible, even mentally. Yes, I’m terrified at my new weakness but it could have a very simple solution. Also, I’m scared of what will happen if I freak out. Julia on the other hand let her emotions burst the second she saw my aunt and has been sobbing with her head in my lap for the last twenty minutes. “I just thought it would be us, you know. We balanced each other out so well.”

“At least your birthday isn’t that far away,” I attempted to comfort her.

“I thought I was okay and getting over it, but they mated and now it’s all becoming real.”

“Julia, I felt the same way until I met Ron. The second your birthday gets here, you’ll understand it and appreciate it,” my aunt eased.

“But what if I get mated to a Jaylon! I’m sorry Ali, but I’m not as patient as you.”

“It’s okay. I’m barely as patient as me.”

My aunt let out a sigh as she figured out the words to say. “Julia, there’s something I need to discuss with Alison in private and I need you to wait in the lobby. The second we’re done I will come to speak with you.” Julia quickly wiped her face and did as she was told as my aunt turned to me with worried eyes, waiting till Julia was out of earshot. I looked at her confused as to why Julia couldn’t stay. “Alison, I need you to remain calm okay?”

“That bad?” Suddenly the door opened again as my aunt walked around the room closing the curtain. I froze as a drawer went flying across the room and a light bulb busted.

“I asked you to remain calm!”

“What is he doing here?” I questioned, staring wide-eyed at Jaylon.

“Sit beside her, she doesn’t bite,” Martha pushed him gently. I don’t? Jaylon never said anything or even flinched at my outburst, he simply did as she instructed. No emotion was on his face or in his eyes that never left the ground. He looked so tired and over it all, basically a zombie. I tightly hugged my legs, praying that it kept my powers at bay as she started. “Look, I get you two have problems, but this is serious. As a non-witch, I can only assume, but it appears that your powers are eating up at you. Without a mating, your body can’t handle the power Alison. You’re going to have to and soon at that.”

“No, that's ridiculous. Grandmother went years without mating. If my body can’t handle it then why am I a witch?” The irony of this is that Grandmother said just a day ago that nothing can harm me. So what is this?

“They also thought she was insane during that time. Your body temperature is down, you're now affected by wolfsbane, and your powers are all over the place. You are the literal balance of nature, Alison. You can’t take all of that in the state you’re in now. Something’s gotta give. Now whatever your issues are, they need to end here,” She explained with raised eyebrows before leaving.

I glanced over at Jaylon and back to the wall, remaining still. I’m not mating with him. It’s not happening. We sat beside each other as statues in complete silence. Our elbows were close enough together to form familiar sparks. Something I honestly forgot about in all of the chaos. It was another thing a demon couldn’t mimic.

“What made you so scared of me?” a quiet voice asked. “I saw it in your eyes the day before. It wasn’t just the dream.”

“I had a vision of you taking me to the basement of the packhouse,” I replied after a couple of seconds. “I don’t think it was truthful though. Some of the things I saw were in the prison. I guess it was foreshadowing that.”

“Prison?”

“It wasn’t a dream. It was a self-induced mental prison. It’s a witch’s torture chamber.”

Jaylon didn’t say anything at first, which made me glance over at him. He had tears in his eyes that never fell. Out of instinct I reached out and grabbed his hand. That made him look at me. “Please tell me about it. I can’t help if I don’t know what happened.”

I couldn’t look at him while I talked about it. I knew the images would come back. I kept his hand in mine though for comfort. “It’s dark and cold. There’s a blood moon. No one’s ever there, except for you. Usually, your touch warms and comforts me, but there it’s cold and it feels so wrong. Your eyes terrified me. They were filled with amusement as they watched me. But I guess you were played by a demon, so of course, they would be amused by my discomfort. In the prison, I’m human so I had no advantage. I tried everything to get away from you, but it always ended the same. You’d find a way to end me one way or the other, each time more creative than the last. But before you did, you’d mate with me. You were so rough with me. . . that’s where the mark around my neck came from.” Tears began to blur my vision so I gave into what my body had been wanting the whole time. I quickly crawled onto his lap and clung to him as I sobbed on his shoulder. He was the only one that could heal me and make me feel safe, even if it was from another version of himself.

Jaylon’s arms wrapped tightly around my waist while he whispered ‘I’m sorry’s. “I didn’t mean to push you over the edge. I saw you with Jesse so I acted out of rage and wanted to get even. I ended it with Loren that night. I haven’t looked in a single girl’s direction. I swear I will never force anything or harm you. I can’t do any of this without you, Alison. These past few days have been killing me, but I didn’t let myself relapse. It broke my heart to see you so afraid of me,” Jaylon cried into my neck. I separated from him enough to look into his red eyes. “Please don’t leave me again. I want to change for you. I will be whatever you need me to be. I will wait as long as you want. It broke my heart to see fear in your eyes.”

“I need you to be serious, Jaylon. No more petty games.”

“I swear. It will be you and me like I promised. No one else.” Jaylon was going to go on, but I pulled his lips into a gentle kiss. I’ve missed his kisses just as much as his warm cuddles. No place on Earth gave me as much comfort as him ironically. We both slightly separated and I pulled his hand in between us. I guess I should test Nick’s theory.

“Where did you get this?” I asked, referring to his bracelet.

He looked down at it and sighed. “From you. I had your stone made into beads.”

“But I watched you throw it in the lake.”

“I threw it in the shallow end. I just wanted to get on your nerves. It was a very thoughtful gift. I went back and got it that night.”

“Thoughtful? It was a stone. A stone that you threw.”

“You said you had a feeling I would need it. The witches haven’t bothered me since I started wearing it. I only threw it because you were in love with me and I was trying to help you. Imagine if you and I hadn’t been mated?”

“I wish you thought that way about Loren,” I complained, getting up and pulling him up beside me.

“I know, I know. It’s hard to explain but I’m going to make it up to you. All of it,” Jaylon reassured as we made our way to the lobby to retrieve Julia.

“All?”

“Yes, all. I have at least 600 years to make up for the last ten. Every fight. Every girl. Every tear.” I smiled up at him as the doors opened. Apologies don’t fix things, but it’s a start. We’re running out of time for games.

Julia jumped up from her seat in surprise and my aunt did the same slowly. “I thought you said she was running tests!”

“Well I wasn’t going to tell you that they were supposed to go mate,” Martha explained, giving us a look.

“Oh my gosh! Really?” Julia beamed.

“No, not right now.”

“Alison, I told you it’s necessary. Jaylon?”

“It will happen whenever she is ready. She can control her powers around me. Look how clear the skies are,” Jaylon motioned out the windows.

Martha looked between the two of us reluctantly before sighing and agreeing. She’s pushing, but it’s only coming from love. “Fine. But you two better get it together. No more playing around, Jaylon,” she warned. “Now, my lunch is over. Good luck my loves.” She hugged Julia and me and headed back to work.

Julia squinted her eyes at Jaylon and pointed a finger at him. “One tear and I’ll neuture you!”

“We have a deal,” Jaylon nodded in agreement. I smiled at them both before rushing them out the door. My parents are home.

“What the hell happened to you?” My mother started the second we walked into the living room, referring to the blood on my shirt.

“Just a nosebleed.” They have no idea what happened in their absence. Thankfully, the pack all had an agreement on that matter.

“From what?” My father pressed.

“Lab accident. How was your trip? Did Cole ask about me?” I smirked evilly to change the subject. My parents weren’t buying it so they looked at Julia and Jaylon who were smiling and nodding like nervous idiots. Great job making it obvious.

“Uh-huh,” my mother mumbled with questioning eyes.

“We don’t want to know, do we?” my father asked and I shook my head. “As long as it’s under control.” See, they trust me. . .To an extent.

After spending the day with Jaylon and Julia, all three of us equally needing a distraction, we walked out into the forest to meet Seth and the others. I tried to argue that racing directly after dinner wouldn’t be the best, but Seth said I was making excuses. Nick looked pissed and was struggling to hide it. Not at the situation, but at the sight of Jaylon which confused me.

“Thought you might not show,” Seth smirked.

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because you know you’ll lose,” Jacob patted Seth on the back.

“Hilarious,” I replied as we both wolfed out. Wow. I am much taller than him. Jaylon shot me a look of concern for my safety as Julia made fun of the height difference. Get him irritated why don’t you.

“Okay! No biting, pushing, snapping, scratching, or intimidating our opponents,” Ethan stepped in between us, sending a look to Julia who was trying to control herself.

“Yeah, Seth,” Jaylon warned with cold eyes.

“Oh come on! What kind of i***t snaps at a Luna,” Seth complained through the mind link. The pack would have his ass for that.

“You would be the one,” Penelope commented.

Benny started the countdown. “3. . . 2. . .” The second he yelled go, Seth rushed off and I shook my head before starting. It took maybe a few seconds for me to get in front of him and he let out a growl of frustration.

“See that’s not fair,” he commented in our link.

“I’m a supercharged Luna, remember?” He shook his head and ignored me as he pushed himself faster. For his pride, I plan on letting him win but right now we both know the truth. Just as we made it towards the other side of the lake near one of the mini neighborhoods, I felt something in my chest that told me something was wrong. I came to an abrupt stop to figure out what it was. Seth laughed in my head as he passed by but then stopped once he turned back and read my expression.

“What’s wrong?”

“I- I don’t k-” I was interrupted as the feeling got worse and a loud shriek came from miles away. Seth didn’t seem to notice but I did. I immediately left off in that direction and Seth followed, banging my head with questions until I scolded him to be quiet. Jaylon started to mind link me once he sensed that I switched course but I ignored them all as I frantically tried to find where the screaming came from. Suddenly I popped up in front of a girl who was laying on the forest floor, crying hysterically with a stake through her ribs. Vampire? No one has ever mentioned them. . .

I immediately shifted and ripped it out. She let out a shriek before calming down, dropping her head back relieved. The wound healed immediately and I offered a gentle smile. “Who did this to you?”

“You know how school bullies are,” she mumbled, making light of the situation. “Just some slight hazing.”

“This is not bullying my love, they could have killed you!” I argued. “Where did they go?”

I straightened up and listened around me, pissed that I couldn’t hear anything other than Seth about to catch up. “They’re long gone, but thank you,” she said quickly before running off. Damn.

A minute later Seth caught up and I reopened my link. “Did you just blink?” he questioned before stopping behind me. “Ooh, I see you were trying to lure me out for some hot Gamma sex.” Eww.

“Seth, don’t start with me,” I turned around and sent a glare. Jaylon would murder him. Seth’s eyes glanced at the stake in my hands before he growled in the direction the girl ran in.

“A vampire?”

“Don’t even think about it!”

“Why?”

“Do you want me to bite off that bushy tail of yours?”

“Fine. . . If you say I won.”

“Are you threatening me?” I raised an eyebrow.

“You know I’m teasing. Come on before they come to check on us,” he nodded back towards the trail and I followed after shifting. I will be looking into this.

When we got back I let Seth win. Jaylon gave me an amused grin as he, Julia, and Penelope acted as a changing curtain when I shifted. “Letting people win now I see?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I replied, trying to hide my smile while putting on Jaylon’s hoodie.

“Sure you don’t.”