The Mating Revolution

Chapter Eleven

Time flew by as I adjusted to my new life. I didn’t fight being Keaton’s mate as much as I thought I would have. The pull makes it almost impossible. I moved my daily work into my office. It took forever to get the financials in computer form. Keaton made it my job to keep them updated and also check on Hailey as she took care of her responsibilities. She was as new to this world as I was, and it was my job to help Keaton look out for the pack members. Life with him was good. Better then the stories led me to believing it would ever be. We grew stronger as mates as we learned about each other. Our s*x life was on fire too. We don’t have play dates every night, but we have some sort of s****l contact every night. My body craves his. He was true to his word and hasn’t forced me to start trying for babies yet. As I get more into my life as a werewolf I started to forget about my human life, and the revolution. Until one afternoon a letter came for me. I had written a letter to my parents and Gary about a month after my change. Keaton had Tyson take it when he went to my city for business. We own a ton of real estate there. Tyson and Rachel were gone for about 3 months. When they came back, they came back with my 1 letter I’m allowed for this year. I slipped into my office to read it in private. Shaking, I opened the seal. Tears sprang to my eyes as I looked at the handwriting of my mom.

Dear Kat,

It was so good to hear from you baby girl. Your dad and I miss you so much. Life here is pretty much the same. There is a shortage of workers, so your dad and I have been required to take on more responsibilities. We aren’t pregnant yet, so no little brother or sister. Doesn’t mean we aren’t trying!

I stopped reading to gag. Of course, my mom would update me on their s*x life. I chuckled to myself and continued reading.

Life isn’t the same without you here. The house is so quiet. Your dad and I would get bored with each other if it wasn’t for Gary. He’s been at dinner with us every night. I’m about to invite him to move in with us. He was so broken when you were taken. All of us were. Life is getting better though. We are slowly healing each other. Gary was forcibly paired with another girl. She has brought some life back into his eyes. She is such a sweet girl. Do you think you could come visit us? Probably not. I know your mate will only allow 1 letter per year. I’m grateful for that though. Tell my son-in-law thank you for us. I hope you are safe, and I hope life treats you well. We love you so much Katie. Never forget how much we love you and how much you are missed.

Love Mom and Dad

Tears stream down my face. My sweet parents. My heart ached for them. It was a short letter, but it was packed with love and longing. I just wanted to hug my parents again. Have another family night. For the first time in a long time my anger at the situation ignited. I turned the letter over to find more writing.

Dear Kat,

It was so surprising to hear from you. I thought that would be it when I watched that bastard point at you. I thought you were out of my life forever. I can’t believe he let you write a letter. I’m glad he did. After The Mating those whose human mates were chosen was given a week to choose a new mate to have children with. I couldn’t find anyone like you, so I was forcibly mated with Lilly. She’s ok. Luckily, we aren’t pregnant yet, but she can’t go to The Mating yet so unless I get chosen at The Mating next year I will most likely be a father at some point. I love you Kat and I miss you. Remember. We don’t agree.

Love Gary

I gasped at his words and saw the peace symbol. He is continuing the revolution and I’ve done nothing to help. Pain radiated through my body as sobs took over. I hit my knees on the floor and curled up in a fetal position. I cried myself to sleep.

I woke up in bed, next to Keaton. He was sitting up in bed, reading a book. I sat up and gave him a sheepish look. “What happened?” He closed the book and kissed me. “I found you asleep in your office on the floor, clutching a letter. You miss your family, don’t you?” I felt more tears gathered as I nodded. “I do. It’s not just that though. It brought back memories of how I was treated as a human. I want to change it. I forgot about it. I forgot about their suffering while I was living a happy life.” I let the tears fall as Keaton stiffened beside me. I continued on. “I need to do this. I need your help.” Keaton closed his eyes and sighed heavily. “I can’t help you. I can’t allow a coup. We can’t let the humans rule us again.” I shook my head and positioned myself to face him. “That’s not what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about them ruling us. I’m talking about humans having the freedom to make their own choices. I want my parents to be able to have another kid and not have to worry about losing them like they did me. I want my friend Gary to be able to get married and have children without having to worry about his life being ripped away. All my human life was waiting to see if I would make it through The Mating and be able to go home just to make it through the year until the next Mating. I never allowed myself to have any relationship or the possibility of getting pregnant. I just wanted the choice to live my life the way I wanted.” I was almost yelling at the end of my rant. Keaton’s face was impossible to read. I swallowed and in a low voice I apologized. The hard look on his face didn’t change. He was silent for a long time. Finally, he spoke. “What exactly would you ask the council for?” Surprised that he didn’t knock down the idea immediately I thought about it. “I want humans to have the choice to participate in The Mating. I want the law that requires humans to have children to be abolished. If someone has a child and decides to go to The Mating they need the option to take their child with them.” Keaton closed his eyes, thinking. I stayed quiet, waiting for his answer. I couldn’t do anything without his help. He had sway with the council. They wouldn’t listen to me without his suggestion. I was about to give up hope when he said “Fine.” I sprang onto his lap and kissed him. “Thank you, Kea!” He chuckled and kissed me back. “Kat you have to listen to me though. The council will not listen to you unless you have other wolves behind you. Even then they may not. This could earn you a punishment if they dislike your idea too much.” Nervousness flooded my stomach. “What do you mean punishment?” Keaton’s eyes turned dark “It could be anything. Death, beating, silver. Most of the punishments involve pain.” I was willing to go through pain for my family, for humans. “I can handle it.” A pained look spread across Keaton’s face and he nuzzled into my neck. “I don’t know if I can.” His whisper was faint. I ran my hands through his hair until pulling his face to look at mine. “I have to do this.” He nodded and nuzzled back into my neck. We sat there in that position for hours. He was breathing in my scent and I was running my hands through his hair. We fell into bed together, still cuddled close, and fell asleep.  We woke up the next morning and went down to breakfast. Keaton announced a pack meeting to take place after breakfast. I was worried that this would tear the pack apart. I nudged Keaton and motioned for him to bring his ear to me. “Is that a good idea Alpha? What if the pack turns on us?” He turned his mouth toward my ear. “They won’t.” The danger in those words made me shiver. Sometimes I forgot he was ruthless. After breakfast Keaton and I, along with the rest of the pack that had joined us for breakfast, went to the large meeting room. Keaton and I stood in front of the room. This was it. The revolution would either die or come alive. Once everyone was settled, I took a step forward and took a breath.