Fated Mate

The Fight

We lay on the grass with tension hanging between us all for what feels like hours but what I know to be just a few moments. as the light from the sky gets softer I watch the moon get higher and higher in the sky. I hear Lee sigh beside me before he sits up.

“Liam let’s get this over with”

“Is the moon high enough?” He ask nervously as the rest of us sit up. All but Josie who went inside to put dinner on the stove to keep it warm.

“Yeah it’s fine now make eye contact and let’s get this over with.” Sean says getting up and stretching. Maeve stands and so does Liam. Liam turns around to face away from her.

“I’m scared.” Groans from the four of us ensue. Maeve rolls her eyes and grabs him by the shoulders to make eye contact. We all hold our breath as we watch their eyes.

“Nothing!” Maeve shouts. Sean and Lee high five as Maeve rushes over to hug me.

“But, the moon is not high enough, it could just be delayed!” Liam says spewing excuses as quick as his brain will let him.

“Nice try, now please do us all a favor and leave” Lee says. Liam’s face turns bright red. He steps to get in Lee’s face.

“You’re just jealous of what Maeve and I have” Lee accepts his challenge and stands toe to toe with him. Sean takes up the space behind him.

“Don’t you mean what you and Maeve had. Past tense bud.” Lee corrects and crosses his arms.

“Josie!” Maeve shouts toward the house to get her sister’s attention.

“I don’t need a grammar lesson from you Lee. I want to challenge you” Liam says.

“Liam don’t” Maeve says stepping toward the cluster. So much for keeping the drama down to a minimum.

“Maeve, you don’t have a say in this” Liam says holding his hand out. Josie exits the house and sees the three boys staring each other down with Maeve edging around them.

“You guys are hopeless” Josie mutters stepping closer.

“Any member of the pack can challenge the Alpha to a fight if they think the Alpha is unfit to rule the pack. I am enacting that right.” Lee rolls his eyes.

“Liam just stop you’re embarrassing yourself” Lee places his hand on his shoulder and Liam smacks it away.

“What’s embarrassing is an Alpha who has to have his sister be his Luna.” Liam says trying to cut deep it seems. Lee growls and I can feel his wolf wanting to rip out of his skin as he stands there. “Did that strike a nerve? Now you actually have a mate but you have to share her with Twistriver. You might just get her to pick you if your fairy little Beta doesn’t scare her away.” The punch Lee throws connects with Liam’s jaw and the c***k reverberates through what seems like the whole world.

“s**t” Josie says running over. Lee is already on top of Liam and is pounding away as Sean is desperately trying to grab a hold of at least one of his arms.

“He asked for this!” Lee growls shaking Sean off no problem. Josie makes it over and tries to grab one arm while Sean grabs another. Lee throws his head back and howls before letting his Beta and Luna restrain him. “Let this be a lesson Liam, don’t ever mess with me!” Maeve kneels down next to him.

“Maybe you should really consider moving to Ireland.” She says before getting up and following me and the rest of her family into the house. Lee walks straight up to his room without speaking to anyone and Sean just lays down on the couch.

“I am so sick of making dinner and no one eating because they are too busy fighting.” Josie says getting tupperware out of a cabinet.

“I can’t believe Lee finally kicked his ass.” Maeve says eating a meatball. “I mean how long has he been wanting to do that?”

“Since you two got together” Josie answers. I realize that I could disappear at this moment and I don’t think that any of them would notice. I choose to go sit on the front porch for a minute to collect myself. I was a bit relieved that Xander and Lee had decided to approach our unique situation the way they did cause I realize now that the Alpha show of power does nothing for me. How some girls get turned on by all that is beyond me more than anything I just feel scared and confused. I could write a report on the Clover pack by now but, I doubt that I could even win two truths and a lie with Lee. The girls are sweet but after that first night they spend more time fighting than anything. Not to mention Sean who Liam even noticed that he didn’t want me here. Who even calls someone a fairy? That’s such an outdated insult.

I can only imagine how Maeve feels. The shifting ceremony is the werewolf version of what Sweet 16 is for humans. Girls normally make a big deal out of it and have huge extravagant parties that even other packs get invited to. Mine was a sedated affair not unlike how this one started. Just my family and Derek were there and we had a very quiet dinner after. Thinking of how often that this family fights makes me feel so conflicted. On one side I am uncomfortable and want to leave the second they start. On the other side I’m jealous. I mean they say exactly how they feel to each other all the time and that must be so freeing.

Talking has never been my strong suit and talking to my family about how I felt these past years sounds like both the worst and best idea I have ever had. There has been a lot I’ve been wanting to say to Diane specifically since I learned of the war. The War. I hadn’t even had time to process that either. Here I am living life like I’m on the bachelorette and there are probably people dying some where. I can feel my thought spiral starting and I trip and fumble through my mind and every negative thought I have had the last couple of days.

I hear the door open behind me and feel someone sit down next to me. I am not surprised to see that it is Lee. He puts an arm around me before speaking.

“I’m sorry for how that all just shook out.” He says and then continues to explain. “I’ve tried to stay out of their issues for a while now but, he just kept running his mouth.”

“It’s okay” I mutter.

“Do you still want to have our date tomorrow?” He asks nervously. When we are alone together he is a different and softer Lee.

“Yeah, have you thought of what we are doing?” I ask. I feel relief flood through me whenever he is near. Which is helping the thought spiral I was just caught up in.

“How do you like Mini-Golf?” He asks.

“I’ve never played it before” I answer.

“No way! Well we are for sure doing that then. What do you like to eat?”

“I really like Mexican food.”

“I think there’s a place next to Petey’s Putt Putt.” He says.

“Petey’s Putt Putt?”

“Yeah, it’s pirate themed, super fun” He thinks for a minute before talking again. “I used to want to be a pirate when I grew up”

“Really? What happened?”

“Apparently they are a lot different now than they used to be. Plus, I had to be an Alpha and big brother. Those are both full-time jobs.”

“When did you want to become Alpha?” I ask.

“Well, I don’t think that I ever really wanted to be an Alpha as much as I knew that I needed to be one. I knew my family would eventually want to go back to Ireland and that it would be up to Josie and I to take over for them. I guess I just didn’t realize how fast that all would become reality.”

“Were you ever scared thinking about becoming an Alpha?” I ask him.

“Goddess, I am still scared. I am always worried that I am going to make the wrong decision no matter what I do.” He stand sup suddenly. “Come on, let’s go inside.”

“Is dinner still happening?” I ask as he helps me to stand up.

“I think it’s looking like a spaghetti for breakfast kind of day tomorrow.” He says with a grin. He opens the door for me to go inside and we make our way past Sean sleeping on the couch to his room upstairs. He offers the bathroom to me first so that I can get ready for bed and when I am done I lay and wait in the bed for him to get done. Tonight our bodies find each other easier than last night. I drift off to sleep excited for the chance to get to know him better tomorrow.