Fated Mate

A Tense Lunch

Liam I do hate to admit looks like the textbook definition of a little punk. He is scrawny but, in an attempt to look buffer he has ripped the arms of his T-Shirt. He is also somehow always sweating but, only on his forehead. His hair is dark reddish brown which I am realizing that everyone in this pack is some variant of a ginger. Liam stands embracing Maeve who is jumping for joy to see him. As he pulls back from her he pushes his glasses back onto his face.

“I am so glad you’re here!” Maeve exclaims before spinning on the toe of her combat boot as if it were a pointe shoe.

“I had to come back in time for your shifting ceremony babe.” Lee growls from on the couch where he is sitting watching this reunion. Liam hears him and turns to face him. “It’s good to see you too Alpha Rourke, Beta Sean, Luna Josie and who is this?” He says eyes landing on me in confusion. Josie and Maeve look at each other and lead Liam to the other room presumably to explain the complexities of my situation. I catch Lee’s eyes and I see no shimmer but I feel a fire coming from him.

“Alpha I think maybe you and Celeste might continue hiking now?” Sean asks trying to ease the suffocation tension that fills the living room.

“No, Josie made lunch and I don’t want to be rude.” Lee gets up to stand and begins to make his way his way to the kitchen before stopping and turning back around to talk to me. Sean gets up and leaves us to it.

“Am I being crazy?” He asks.

“Well to be fair Lee I have not known you long enough to determine that.” He gives a half-hearted smile at that lame attempt at humor. It’s true I know so much of his family and his culture but, when it comes to Lee himself I am left with not much to go off of for him. I follow him still back into the kitchen to sit with everybody. With an added person it is a bit cozier than breakfast but, all that means for me is being closer to Lee. Josie has prepared sandwiches and fruit salad for lunch and as I eye her choice of fruit I listen as the boys talk.

“How was the trip Liam?” Sean asks popping a grape into his mouth.

“Oh it was amazing I love going to Ireland, especially cause of the drinking age there” Maeve giggles at that. “My wolf had a great time too, maybe next time we go Maeve can come too”

“That would be so cool and I could visit mom and dad!” She says excitedly.

“That would take some time to plan” Lee remarks pushing a strawberry around his plate.

“Not really, we were talking about going back again next month anyway” Liam says not taking the hint from his Alpha.

“You know Liam you like it so much you ought to live there.” Lee says stabbing the strawberry now.

“Oh I would if I would’nt have to leave Maeve behind. I know you wouldn’t want your baby sister so far away Alpha.” After saying this he looks at me and something clicks. “Oh my goddess I am so sorry. Hi I am Liam I am Maeve’s boyfriend” He says and reaches his hand across the table for me to shake. As soon as my hand meets contact with his, Lee is growling beside me. So much for the non-jealous Alpha. I let go before Lee commits a crime. I should say murder works differently in packs. Our justice system is run by the Lycans but, your Alpha has control over you but, you are allowed to challenge your Alpha if you no longer see them or the bloodline fit for ruling. Wolves who act out of line and do heinous crimes are liable to be ripped to shreds. When Alphas do kill they have to announce it to the Lycans so it can be decreed fair and just and most times it is because even a Lycan wouldn’t want to question an Alpha pissed off enough to kill.

“How do you like the pack so far?” Liam asks me.

“Gosh it is just so beautiful.” I explain.

“Yeah, a lot better than that suburban pack you are from.”Lee growls again and when I hear it I have the instinct to reach for his hand and hold it. When I first grab it I can feel how tense he is but, he slowly sinks into my hold.

“Maeve give your boyfriend back the brain cell you guys share.” Josie says rolling her eyes. Sean snorts out a laugh and this reminds me of the dinner scene in the movie we watched last night. Shrek 2.

“Sorry, it’s just after living like this in nature it’s hard to imagine any pack doing it any other way” He explains further and takes a sip from his glass of iced milk. Sean recoils as he takes a sip.

“Oh, Celeste you never said if you were coming tomorrow?” Maeve asks.

“What’s tomorrow?” Liam asks. A pin could drop in this kitchenette. Josie puts her head down on the table and Sean is looking up at the ceiling I can only assume praying to the Moon Goddess.

“My shifting ceremony?” She says with a slow turn to her partner.

“Why would you shift before your birthday.” I grip Lee’s hand tighter and I feel like he may break my fingers.

“Liam are you serious?” Josie asks before she can stop herself.

“My birthday is tomorrow.” Maeve says quietly.

“Nah it’s thursday I would know” Liam says confidently.

“Liam I think the people who were there when she was born would know better” Josie says.

“You guys probably got confused with Celestia getting here, it’s thursday.” Lee gets up and steps outside through the back door. As soon as the door shuts behind him we hear him shout.

“Look Liam it’s tomorrow, right behind you is a wall and you can argue with that” Josie says finally grabbing her plate and Lee’s. Liam goes to open his mouth but, Maeve stops him and shakes her head. Sean is slowly beating his head into the table. I stand up and decide to follow Lee outside where he has stopped shouting. I step down the back stairs where he is sitting on a log surrounding a fire pit. I make my way to sit down next to him. As I get closer I can feel the heat coming off of him.

“Do you get it now?” He says through clenched teeth.

“He is kind of an i***t it seems.” I admit as I sit down brushing moss from the spot next to him.

“He is a complete moron, he has no goals, he barely treats Maeve with any respect, he is gone all the time to Ireland. They have been together for years and he still struggles with her favorite color and her birthday for crying out loud.” Lee finishes his rant and takes a deep breath. “The worst part is she loves him and she wants to be his mate. She has even talked about taking him as a chosen mate. If anything happens to me or Josie that makes Liam the Alpha.”

“I think you may be stressing a bit on that last part I mean what are the odds of that?”

“What were the odds of Derek’s parents being murdered?” He fires back.

“What does that have to do with anything?” I ask feeling offended on behalf of my brother in law. Lee takes a deep breath.

“Come with me.” Whether it is because he is my mate or because he is my Alpha I follow. He leads me down a path with just grass on either side. Again the trees are close to us but, we come to a shed before they get too dense. Now that I am on it I see the shed is pretty big and I am slightly alarmed and how well the trees conceal it. The door has a pin on the door and Lee dutifully punches it in. The light blinks green and he holds the door for me and rushes me inside. He slams the door behind us and fumbles for the light switch. When the lights come up I find myself in the middle of a war room. There is a table in the center of the room that has a model of the pack community on it. There is a conspiracy board on the wall with strings and profile pictures of a bunch of different Alphas, I spot Derek, My sister, and Xander. I walk over and see a young couple with an X marked over it in sharpie and red line going from them to Xander.

“As an Omega you have had no idea how tense relationships have been with each other for years.” He walks over to the board and paces in front of it while he talks. “Derek’s parents were assassinated and we still don’t know who did it. We have theories it was a Lycan but, we are unsure cause more and more leaders are going down so their heirs can take over. There is some group or person who wants to make all the inter-pack relationships strenuous to make it easier to attack.” He takes a deep breath and continues on. “Your sister says that there was a war coming she was wrong. The war is here”