The Mate He Couldn’t Control (complete)

Part 1: Rejecting Love After turning right into the forest, I watched as the gate closed through the mirrors before looking back at my sleeping nephews and smiling to myself. The last time we were here they were tiny. I mean it was only two years but for kids, two years is like ten. I quickly slammed on the brakes once I turned my attention back to the road. Bentley and Gabriel shot awake in the back seat while I sat wide-eyed watching a huge white wolf stare at me through the windshield. Its icy eyes scanned the car then returned to meet mine. Impossible. I thought wolves could only be around two feet tall. This thing is the size of my Aviator. Suddenly it bolted off through the trees and I finally let myself breathe out. Well, I’ve been gone for two years and now we have wolves. I put my foot back on the gas and Bentley immediately started. “See! I told you they were real!” “Bentley, yes wolves are real. I said werewolves are not real.” “You don’t know that.” “When I have a hot werewolf boyfriend we’ll talk, okay?” I smirked through the rearview mirror. “Are we there yet?” Gabriel mumbled tiredly. “We’ll be at Martha and Ron’s in about an hour. You have time to start another movie.” As the car came to a stop, I was filled with excitement seeing my aunt and uncle's house. It still looked the same. The kids immediately jumped out of the backseat and I followed, making sure they stayed away from the cliff. My parents, aunt, and uncle met us halfway on the stone pathway. My nephews being themselves went straight for my parents, completely ignoring the other two, as if they hadn’t seen them Sunday. My parents were too excited to wait, so they came to the lakehouse on Monday while my nephews and I had to wait for school to end yesterday. “Aww, my Alison!” My aunt greeted, pulling me into a tight hug. “It seems the littles weren’t too excited to see us.” “I wouldn’t take it personally. I doubt they remember you and anytime my parents are in the room the rest of the world doesn’t exist.” “The drive didn’t kill you too much did it?” My uncle asked as we slowly walked toward the house. “We drove during the day so the traffic added five hours, '' I complained, glancing back at the sunset. “How long is it normally?” “If I would have come last night it would have been ten hours, but Melissa asked me to babysit.” For some reason, the ground below felt like it was vibrating and I looked up to see if anyone had noticed. When no one said anything I just assumed it was my lack of sleep taunting me. I decided to ignore it as we stepped through the front door. As if on cue, my nephews started complaining about the bathroom and I took them upstairs. Every step through the house was a memory. Not all of them were the best but some were core memories. Memories that I’ve cherished for years. A smile crept to my lips as I waited in the upstairs living room. Bridget and Jaylon walked out of her room and it sent me back again. It sent me to that memory. The reason I haven’t been back in years. But now, I smile at the peace it’s brought me. Had it not happened, I might’ve spent the last two years in love with a fantasy. I was dragged out of my thoughts when my nephews ran out of the bathroom and down the stairs. “Are you okay?” Bridget asked with a confused look on her face. “Yeah, I think I am just feeling a bit light-headed or something,” I replied casually. “Did you just take a shower?” I squinted my eyes at Jaylon. His skin and hair were soaked and his shirt was sticking to him. “Oh- uh yeah,” Jaylon mumbled awkwardly, causing me to raise my eyebrow at him. “I hear that towels work well for that sort of thing,” I smirked, walking away from the pair. “Where’s Dalton?” “In his room,” Bridget answered. “I’ll see you downstairs,” I replied, walking into Dalton’s room. Jaylon stepped towards me, but Bridget grabbed his hand and dragged him down the stairs. “Because I can’t just do that Julia!” Dalton screamed before hanging up his phone and throwing it on the bed. My eyes slightly widened before I gave him a nervous smile. “I’m sorry,” I started slowly. “Don’t be,” he sighed, running his hands over his face frustratedly and giving me a soft smile. “I’ll see you downstairs too?” I offered and Dalton nodded his head in agreement. I’ve seen him mad before, so I think I’ll give him a minute. I went down the stairs and my nephews immediately attacked me as if I were a tree they could climb. “Ah, my attackers!” was all I could say as I focused on the conversation across the room. It was my mom and my aunt Martha talking about our lake house. “Well we never went big because we haven't been here that long, but now with the coming circumstances, we need to stay here. We just haven’t told Ali yet because she won’t understand why,” my mom vented, fully invested in her conversation. Excuse me? I decided going outside would be for the best because I was beginning to feel overwhelmed. I’m tired and I was not expecting to hear that. I’ve only been back a few hours, I don’t need to flip. I put my nephews down and opened the glass sliding door to reveal my dad and uncle cooking by the pool. I felt it again. The ground was vibrating and no one seemed to notice. I could hear humming in the distance and followed the noise around the house to the edge of the lake. Staring down, I realized that the noise was the water. I stood there mesmerized as it reflected the sunset. Am I hallucinating? “Hey. . . Ali,” I heard a familiar, but deepened voice speak up from behind me. “Hello,” was all I cared to make out. Everything in me is saying to jump in. “Are you okay?” “Yeah, I’m great!” “Then what are you doing?” Jaylon asked with confusion growing in his voice. “Either something weird is going on or I’m hallucinating, but the ground is vibrating and the lake is humming,” I replied, unable to break eye contact with the glowing water. “Why don’t you come over here and eat some dinner? You're probably just tired,” his voice told me that I was crazy. He grabbed my arm and walked me to the pool area where everyone was sitting. He took me to Dalton who was now babysitting me as I got food and sat down. Jaylon on the other hand was heading straight for my dad. Great. I sat at the top of a sun chair next to my nephews with my food and a water bottle annoyed at the headache beginning to form. Dalton was playing the role of the friendly cousin by sitting at the end of my chair to babysit me while my parents looked at me with worried faces. My annoyance was growing by the second. We will be discussing the move the second I get them alone. Bridget sat in the chair beside us and when Jaylon got done alarming everyone, he sat on the bottom of her chair. “So, what have you three been up to?” I questioned, to stay awake and act sane. They looked at each other before coming up with an answer as a group. “School. Home,” Dalton said blankly. Well then. I guess this is what my life has come to. “Friends?” I suggested awkwardly. At that, he let out an irritated laugh. “Those are overrated.” “Damn, Jaylon. What have you done?” I joked. “Not me,” was all he said. Jaylon is a part of this family, just not by birth. He’s been my cousin's best friend since the beginning. He is also very close with my dad. You would think that's his son as much as they talk. I have always felt bad for Jaylon in a way. I never met his family or heard about them but what made them so bad that he would rather spend his time with ours? “You know how friends are,” Bridget chipped in. “I don’t know, I think I was blessed in that department, except for. . .” I trailed off as I watched Jaylon’s face turn serious. I’m not finishing that comment. “Yeah for sure.” “What about you?” Bridge blurted out. “I always find a way to stay busy.” “So, have you missed it here?” Dalton asked, recovering from his irritation. “Yeah. I’ve missed the quiet. The constant. We’re always traveling. I’m always doing something. It’s a nice break.” “Is that all it is to you?” Jaylon questioned. “A break? You would never want to stay here?” “I mean Dalton makes it sound boring. I’m always busy. I’m always trying new things and going to new places. It’s nice to take a minute to breathe but anything more than a minute I’d probably go insane,” I admitted as my eyes widened at the thought. “Who knows, maybe one day you’ll fall in love,” Jaylon smiled at me gently. Bridget sent him a look as my father made his way over. “Look at you two finally getting along,” he teased, referring to Jaylon and me. “Dad,” I warned, sending him a look. “What? It’s just a rare sight,” he beamed at us. My dad has always supported my love of Jaylon, even after our situation. I looked in front of me to see Jaylon’s bright smile. When his eyes met mine though, his smile dropped as if he was realizing something. His blue eyes looked hurt. Something about my reaction, he didn’t like. I’m surprised he reacted so positively, but then again he’s grown. He isn’t the same person. Well hell, I wouldn’t know. He could still be. Even though it’s been two years, I still expected myself to feel something. But looking at him now, I realize that I feel nothing. I feel no hate. I feel no butterflies. I feel no love or obsession. I guess time does heal all wounds. Maybe what he did, set me free. I understand it. I understand that he didn’t do anything wrong, it was just my emotional ties to him that made me hate him. I guess you could call it growth. I pushed my talk with my parents back since by the time I got home, my migraine began to weigh down on me. My dreams were anything but restful, it felt like I never went to sleep. It was pouring outside as I made my way to the edge of the lake, listening to the humming of the water. It felt like I was in a trance, I couldn't stop what I was doing, only watch and feel myself do it. I looked up at the thundering sky above me and finally jumped in the water. I could hear the humming get louder as I swam closer to the middle of the lake. I stopped when I saw glowing coming from the bottom. I swam down towards it with incredible speed. Once I was close enough to it I saw it was a crescent-shaped moonstone necklace. I grabbed it and the next thing I knew I woke up standing in the kitchen. “ALISON!” my mom shrieked across the room. She, my dad, and for some reason Jaylon were standing in here talking. They rushed over to me and I looked down realizing I was soaking wet. “What happened!?” she shouted getting me a towel from the laundry room. “I thought I was dreaming,” was all I could make out, very much in shock. “Why are you two just standing there?” My mom questioned my dad and Jaylon who stared at my neck in pure disbelief. She stopped in her tracks. “Ali, where did you go?” “The humming wouldn’t stop so I swam to the light at the bottom of the lake,” I replied emotionless. Their faces were pale. “What’s wrong with me?” I asked, looking at my dad. “Jaylon, I need you to not tell anyone about this,” was the first thing he said. “Honey, there's nothing wrong with you, it just appears your grandmother wanted to give you a welcoming present,” was all I got. My dad reached for what I assumed was the necklace before jumping back in pain. “Here sweetie, why don’t we take you upstairs and run a nice hot shower,” My mother perked up, giving my father a worried glance, and wrapping her arms around me. I didn’t say anything, I just followed in a daze. I was too confused to argue with her. I couldn’t think of the words to use. I’m not even sure if I’m actually awake. What if this is like those very detailed dreams people have of going to school? She switched on the water before turning to me. “I’m sure you must have so many questions running through your mind. How about, for now, you warm up and try to get some sleep for me? That way you can process all of this in the morning.” I nodded slowly and she gave me a comforting smile before leaving quickly. I didn’t realize how cold I was until the warm water felt like it was burning me. I scrubbed the sand off of my skin and then got out. The mirror reflected the necklace glowing around my neck and I stared in disbelief. The stone was warm and I could feel it radiating on my skin. This whole day just feels like a fever dream at this point. I decided to get dressed before I passed out in shock and was confused when I saw Jaylon standing in front of my couch. “What are you doing?” “We want to make sure you don’t go swimming again, so I’m going to stay here for the rest of the night,” he replied tiredly. His eyes were dark and his shoulders were tense. He looked me up and down and I realized I was still in a towel. I went into the closet to put on a pair of sweatpants and a hoodie and came back. I wasn’t that freaked out, I used to have sleepovers with Dalton, Bridget, and Jaylon all of the time. I glanced at my closed bedroom and balcony doors and decided he thought it was for the best. I gave him a pillow and blanket from my bed and turned around, only to have my wrist grabbed gently. “Ali?” “Hmm?” I hummed, turning back around. Jaylon stepped forward and looked into my eyes. “Are you okay? Is there anything I can do?” “Can you explain to me what happened?” I asked quietly. “I can’t. I want to, but I can’t. Your parents have to. I just don’t think they can find the words at the moment,” he explained, giving me a sad expression. I nodded my head tiredly, turned around, and crawled into bed. “Night Jay,” I mumbled, before turning off my lamp and dropping on my stomach. The faster I go to sleep, the faster I can wake up and deal with this. My reaction is very underwhelming for someone that just sleep-swam. But freaking out now would serve no purpose. I can’t put my thoughts into words and my parents seem to be suffering from the same thing. As exhausted as I am, sleep didn’t come easily this time. I lay there frustrated with myself for thirty minutes, mentally freaking out. I was questioning every single thing. The humming, vibrations, randomly popping in the kitchen, my grandmother that my parents never talk about, the lake, and the necklace. It all began to hit me like a truck and I tried moving around multiple times to calm it, but it didn’t work. When I heard Jaylon move on the couch, I felt terrible for keeping him up. I’m usually an easy sleeper but now is the exception. I started to panic at the thought of it happening again, but then I heard him get up and froze. “I’m sorry,” I mumbled quietly the second he stopped beside my bed. “Don’t be, I don’t think anyone would be able to sleep after that. Let me help,” he offered, sitting beside me. “How?” “Sleeping with you. It used to work when we were younger.” “No, I would never do that to Bridget!” “Do what to her?” “You’re her boyfriend. I am not cuddling with my cousin's boyfriend. That’s all types of f****d up.” “I am not her boyfriend,” he laughed. “Oh so then what are you?” “We occasionally fill each other's needs. That’s all,” Jaylon explained blankly as if it was nothing. Yep. That’s my Jaylon. I gave up on arguing with him as he lightly laughed to himself. My reaction was hilarious to him. I ignored it and slid closer to him. Jaylon turned and laid on his side and did something that he did not do when we were younger. He wrapped his arm around my waist and yanked me into his chest. I tensed for a second before relaxing and closing my eyes. He smells nice. Kind of like sage mixed with salty ocean air and cedar trees. Within the first few seconds, I felt my body calming and my mind easing. I began to drift off until I heard a gentle voice. “Do you hate me?” “I’m cuddling with you and you think I hate you?” I giggled gently. “You're so different and you haven’t been back in two years. I was worried you would never come back,” he admitted with pain in his voice. The small moments like this where he’s gentle and caring were why I loved him when I was younger. But now that I’m older I realize that we can’t love someone just because they’re nice to us occasionally. We love someone because they deserve and want to be loved by us, otherwise, we hurt ourselves. “I’ve never hated you Jaylon,” I mumbled before a peaceful sleep eased its way over me. Something about his arms around me, the warmth of his skin coming through his hoodie, and the sound of his heartbeat made it come so easily.