Of Beasts and Wolves

Chapter 3: Friends

After Max's enthusiastic acceptance of Gavin's invitation to live with him, the pair decided to go collect her things from the house she'd been staying at for the last 5 years. They strolled together down the street, talking of everyday, mundane things. She learned that Gavin was 23, and had been a Sentinal since he was 17. He learned that Max loved to read, which was something they shared, and they turned to a discussion of their favorite books, genres, and authors. Before long, Max had a mental list of new books that she wanted to read based solely off of Gavin's recommendations.

So engrossed in their conversation, Max hadn't even realized that there were many newly mated couples out and about, doing the same thing she and Gavin were doing. Collecting possessions and beginning their lives together seemed like such a large step for such a short amount of time knowing each other, but it felt right, somehow. She couldn't explain it, but she knew that living with Gavin from now on was going to be the best move for her.

When Gavin raised his hand and greeted a few of the other wolves, Max bit her lip and tried to make herself as small as possible. She didn't want to see any of them and have this happiness interrupted. Gavin, however, wouldn't stand for that, and told her in a quiet voice, "Hold your head up, Max. You don't have anything to be ashamed of, and if anyone dares to say anything to you, they'll be dealing with me." To enforce what he was saying, he pulled Max to a stop and slid his hand beneath her chin to tip her face up to meet his. "You are beautiful, and regardless of your blood or who your parents were, you're mine. I won't let anyone insult you or treat you badly again."

His words made her blush clear up to the tips of her ears, but Max smiled happily and nodded at him, feeling certain in that moment that she could trust him absolutely. She didn't doubt for a moment that he would tear into anyone who tried to come after her, and that knowledge helped her gain the confidence to meet the eyes of the other wolves they passed by.

Surprisingly, many of them met her glance and even smiled at her, which was completely confusing. What was going on? These wolves had all shunned her before. Or had that been all in her head? Had she just expected everyone to shun her, and saw only what she wanted to see because she just assumed that would be what happened? Startled to realize that perhaps she had been her own worst enemy this whole time, Max began to smile back at the wolves who did meet her eyes and found herself pleasantly surprised when they then began waving and greeting her and Gavin both.

"I thought you said they all shunned you?" he questioned as they moved along and more and more people started greeting them.

"I thought they had," Max answered honestly. "But I'm starting to wonder if I just expected them to, so that's what I saw. Or maybe they're being nice now because I'm walking around with you? I don't know anymore, but I'm liking this. I've never felt like I was truly a part of this pack, but I think that might be changing now."

"I'm glad to hear that!" And indeed, when Max glanced up at him, Gavin was smiling down at her, the happiness on his face evident. She couldn't help but smile back at him, the enthusiasm contagious.

"It's odd," she started, looking back down at the sidewalk for a moment before remembering that she could meet people's eyes now. "I had planned to the leave the pack. I thought no one would miss me, with the exception of perhaps Jessica, and figured it would be the best way to move on with my life. Go somewhere no one knows me, where my mixed blood heritage won't be such a detriment. But now..." trailing off, Max looked around her again, seeing the beauty of the place she'd grown up, but now also seeing the possibilities and friendships that might arise if she gave them a chance to.

"But now...?" Gavin prompted.

Turning back to face him, Max smiled brilliantly. "Now, I don't think leaving would be such a good thing. I'm excited to explore this mate bond, and I really don't want to leave Jessica behind. I hope this works out well for both of us."

"It will," came the instant response.

More than willing to believe him, Max grinned and began to follow him back down the path, thrilled down to the tips of her toes when he reached out for her hand and drew her closer to his side. She loved the instant bond they seemed to have, and though a small part of her mind thought she should be a little more reserved, she was happy to ignore that niggling little doubt for the time being. Gavin had been nothing but kind to her so far, and hadn't given any indication that that was going to change.

As they walked, Max tried to remember to keep her head up and to make eye contact with the other members of their pack that they passed. She found it difficult at times, but with Gavin's help and his small reminders that she had nothing to be ashamed of, she managed to return most of the greetings that were sent their way. And, as it turned out, she was glad she'd been keeping her eyes up, otherwise she would have missed seeing Jessica and her mate on the other side of the path.

Pulling up short, she cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted, "Jessica!" But, she quickly realized, she needn't have bothered. No sooner had Max brought her hands up than Jess was already sprinting across the dirt road toward her, leaving her stunned and bewildered mate standing there alone. Laughing as she was enveloped in her friend's hug, her face smooshed to Jessica's ample bosom, Max returned the enthusiastic hug to the best of her ability.

As soon as Jess released her, she began speaking quickly, barely giving Max a chance to breathe, let alone respond.

"Oh my gosh, Max, I looked for you after the ceremony and when I didn't see you, I was worried that you'd been right and you wouldn't find a mate, but then I got to your house and that family," she sneered the word as though it left a bitter taste in her mouth, "told me that you'd been summoned to the Alpha's office, and I thought for sure he was going to banish you, but when I went to find out, he said you'd disappeared with your mate and, oh my gosh!, is this him? He's gorgeous! Hi, I'm Jessica, Max's best friend." She held her hand out for Gavin to shake, but didn't stop chattering as she grasped his hand and shook it firmly. "Of course, I happen to think my Teagan is just the sexiest thing alive, but I guess that's how the mate bond works, isn't it? Gosh, Max, we have mates! Can you believe it? You always said you never thought you'd have one, and then here we are!" She practically squealed the last bit, which made Max laugh and teasingly cover her ears. "I'm so excited to start our family and actually teach children what it means to be a good person. Our kids are going to be best friends, just like us. They have to be, don't you think? Christmases and birthdays and all sorts of holidays all spent together, just like we always talked about, right? I'll be Auntie Jess to your little ones, and you'll be Auntie Max to mine, and just...."

"Woah, Jess. Rein it in a little, will you?" a deep voice said from behind the blonde, making her grin beautifully and whirl around to throw her arms around the man who'd just spoken.

Max frowned a bit at him, not liking the way he'd seemingly tried to curb her friend's enthusiasm. That enthusiasm was one of Max's favorite things about the blonde; her unending joy and excitement about everything could wear a little on the nerves, sure, but she was always so bubbly and bouncy and joyful that you couldn't help but be in a good mood around her. And, the beautiful thing about it was that Jess had no problem carrying on a conversation all by herself, which meant that Max could just sit back, be quiet, and listen to her friend.

But Jessica just laughed and leaned up on tiptoe to kiss the man's cheek. "Max, this is my Teagan. Isn't he just dreamy?"

"Just," Max said quietly, staring at him and crossing her arms. Her look said quite plainly that she'd murder him if he hurt her friend.

Sensing the sudden shift in Max's mood, Gavin threw his arm around her shoulders and tucked her in close to his side. "Good to see you again, Teagan."

"You too, Gavin. It's been a while. How've you been?"

While the two men caught up, Jessica pulled away from her mate and caught Max's arm, drawing her away from Gavin so that the two could chat quietly together.

"What's wrong?" she asked, concern for Max lacing her voice.

"Nothing's wrong with me," was the response. "I just don't care for the way he basically told you to stop being excited."

But Jessica only laughed. "Oh, Max, he didn't mean it like that. Teagan is... well... he's perfect. He's the calm to my storm. He's exactly what I need."

Not entirely buying it but happy to see her friend so excited, Max only shrugged. "I'll reserve judgement, then."

Shaking her head with a smile, the blonde brushed off Max's concern and turned the conversation around. "What about you? Your mate's name is Gavin?"

At the mention of him, Max couldn't help the dreamy smile that took over her features, nor the way she instinctively turned around to search for him, already missing the warmth of his hand in hers. "Yeah," she answered, her eyes following her mate's movements as he gestured and spoke with Teagan.

"Well?" Jess demanded. "I need details, girl! Spill!"

"He's sweet and kind, and he seems genuinely interested in being with me. He told me he's had a room set aside for me since the day he discovered we were mates. I was only 13 at the time, so the bond wasn't activated for me at that point, but he told the Alpha he wanted to move me in and the Alpha refused.

"Wait. What? Why?!" Jessica appeared just as flabbergasted as Max had been.

"I don't know. He said the Alpha told him he didn't want to take away my childhood, or have me miss out on time spent with kids my own age."

"Uh.... does he know what you went through after you lost your parents?"

Max shrugged. "I thought he did and just didn't care, but Gavin swears the Alpha never knew."

"And how would Gavin know?"

"He's one of the Alpha's Sentinals. He applied when he was 17 and has been one ever since. He's 23 now."

"That's so cool! Teagan is a Sentinal, too, but he's 25. It's a little weird, being paired with someone so much older than me. But at the same time, I guess the Moon Goddess knows what she's doing. Someone our own age wouldn't be able to calm me down or help settle my excitement. Teagan is just the perfect combination of supportive and calm. He doesn't get as excited about things as I do, but he's happy to let me enthuse and be as excited as I want. To a point. You know how overboard I can go sometimes."

"That I do." Max chuckled with Jessica, fondly remembering the rants and discussions they would have growing up, usually with Jessica leading the way and Max nodding along and agreeing with everything. There had been some narrow scrapes for the pair over the years, but fortunately, Jessica's parents understood that the two of them needed to be able to express themselves in their own way, and only talked them out of the ideas that would really get them into trouble with either the pack as a whole or with the Alpha.

"What are you two talking about?" Gavin wanted to know, sauntering up to Max and curling his arm around her waist to draw her close, one hand tucked into the back pocket of her jeans. When she looked up at him with one eyebrow raised, he shrugged and leaned down to press a kiss to her temple, murmuring, "What? You were too far away. I fixed it."

Shaking her head and grinning at him, Max curled her arm around his waist and snuggled closer, glad to see that Jessica was doing the same with Teagan when she glanced over at them. Despite her earlier misgivings about the way her friend's mate had attempted to curb her excited chatter, she was happy to see that he was gazing down at Jessica with as much adoration - if not more - as Jessica was gazing at him. No matter what her own thoughts on him were, the blonde seemed absolutely smitten with her mate, and that was all that Max could ask for. She just wanted Jess to be happy.

"Jessica's told me a lot about you, Max. It's nice to meet you." Slightly surprised at being addressed, Max looked up and caught Teagan's gaze. She expected to see some kind of disgust or repulsion in his eyes, but all she saw was a friendly sort of curiosity. Deciding to take him at face value unless he gave her a reason to do otherwise, Max reached out and grasped his offered hand for a shake.

"It's nice to meet you too, Teagan."

Gesturing down the path toward the house where Jessica had lived with her parents, he said, "We're heading off to pick up Jessica's things. She'll be moving in with me tonight, and she wants me to meet her parents. We're having dinner."

Despite his nonchalant words, Max could hear the fear in his voice. "Don't worry," she told him. "Jessica's parents are super nice. I basically grew up at their house. Spent all my summers there. There's not a pair of nicer people in the pack than her parents."

Teagan looked a little more relieved at her words, but she could tell he was still worried.

"Why don't you guys come with us?" Jessica asked, smiling brightly at all of them. "Max, you know mom and dad would love to meet your mate. They've considered you their own child ever since..."

She trailed off, and Max couldn't help but let her own smile fall at the mention of the loss of her parents. "I know," she told Jess. "But this night is for you and Teagan. Go show him off to mom and dad. We'll come another night. I promise." Reaching out for her friend and drawing Jessica into a tight hug, she whispered, "Give your parents my love, please. And let them know I'm happy. I'm excited to see where this thing with Gavin will go."

Returning the hug, Jessica responded, "They'll be glad to hear that you're happy. They've always worried about you. It'll set their minds at ease to know that you're finally being take care of the way you deserve."

Jessica's words made Max flush with pleasure, and after one last hug, she shooed her best friend and her mate off. "Go on now. Have fun."

She and Gavin couldn't help laughing as an excited Jessica dragged Teagan away, and poor Teagan looked back pleadingly at them, as though begging them to change their minds and go to dinner too. Max only grinned maniacally and waved at him, making Gavin nearly fall over with laughter.

"Max!" he scolded through his mirth, "you shouldn't tease him like that!"

But Max only shrugged and looped her arm through Gavin's to start walking again. "You should just be glad that I don't have any parents to introduce you to."

Max was joking, but her statement wiped the smile from Gavin's face instantly, and she frowned at his sudden change in mood and pulled him to a halt again.

"Gavin? You know I'm just teasing, right?" she asked, hoping that she hadn't inadvertently said something to offend him.

"I know," he assured her, capturing one of her hands and bringing it up to his lips for a quick kiss. Tucking that hand back into the crook of his arm so they could resume their walk, he said, "I just don't like that you had to spend the last 5 years alone when you could have spent them with me."

Accepting his explanation easily enough, Max only shrugged. "I'm not a fan of it myself, believe me. But it's in the past now, and we can look forward together. Right?"

"Right."

"You should tell her, Gavin," his wolf interjected.

But Gavin didn't respond to Rowan, and his wolf settled back down, content for now to be close to his mate.