Against the Black

Chapter 20

“Roxanne…” William said my name and then hesitated.

“Please, call my Roxy. We’re mates, after all. Roxanne feels too… stuffy.” I wrinkled my nose, and he just smiled. A small huff of annoyance came from the back seat.

“Alright, Roxy. It’s actually a good thing his highness is here, since I came to discuss the matter of our mating.” I would have swerved had I not just put the car in park. My whole body tensed as I turned to look at William.

“I was hoping you had come to a decision.” His eyes seemed to sparkle, drawing me in. My mind screamed at me to think and my body refused to do anything other than stare into his clear sky like eyes. “Well?” He cleared his throat, and I snapped back to attention. I wasn’t sure when I’d turned into a blubbering i***t and I hated the mate bond for bringing out the worst in me. I turned from him and opened my car door to step out.

“No, I haven’t made my decision. How can I? We haven’t spent any time together.”

“I’m not sure I follow.” He climbed out of the car and I walked around to stand next to him.

“I have been given the gift of two mates. The gift to choose for myself. I cannot base my decision solely on looks. I have to determine which of you will be a better mate.” I walked away from the pack house and along the stone path leading to the clearing near the waterfall. He looked deep in thought before asking,

“Who do you feel the bond with more?”

“I feel the pull equally.”

“Are you sure?” He placed a hand on my wrist and I felt tingles run wild under the skin where he touched me. Roman let out a growl before placing a hand on my other wrist. I could feel my body trying to melt into the bond and Kalua purred. I pulled my hands away.

“Yes, I’m sure. I feel the bond pulling me toward both of my mates equally.” I tried to keep my tone diplomatic, but neither was pleased.

“Then how do you plan to decide?” He looked thoroughly stumped and frustrated by it. I couldn’t help but groan internally.

“Do you know how humans choose their mates?” I walked closer to the lake and stopped along the edge.

“No, why?” Roman answered this time. I smiled, a little giddy at the idea I could finally be one step closer to choosing my mate.

“They date.” When both men looked thoroughly confused, I elaborated. “They spend time with the person they find attractive. They do activities like going out to eat or seeing a movie. They get to know the person’s likes and dislikes. If their likes and dislikes match up, they decide to mate.” Both men still didn’t seem to understand what I was suggesting, so I broke it down further.

“I propose we each go on a date. We can eat good food, have good conversations, and get to know each other on a level deeper than the mate bond. Once I feel like I’ve learned enough, I’ll make my decision.”

“But why would you bother trying to learn those things now? We’ll have our whole lives to learn about one another.” Roman looked like his brain was about to begin smoking from the effort of thought. At least I wasn’t the only one the mate bond turned into a complete i***t. At least, I hoped it was the mate bond.

William began trying to explain it to him, but William didn’t understand it much better. I was beginning to think my mom was right and they would have to fight it out. As I watched them struggle to comprehend the simple concept of a date, the answer came to me in a flash. As if I’d been struck by lightning.

“Think of it like… a competition. Each date is a round in a competition.” I smiled widely at my own brilliance. Both men snapped their attention to me. Both men clearly believed themselves the better competitor, as they both subconsciously puffed out their chests.

“When do we start?” William asked, and my face fell.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Help!” I cried, slamming the door shut as Babs, Vera, and Lenny walked into my suite. I had left Roman and William with a vague timeline, promising I’d let them know as soon as I had all the preparations made. Then I set them each in a guest room and fled to my suite, calling for an emergency meeting with my girls.

Vera, Lenny, and Babs walked in wearing pajamas and brought snacks and drinks.

“What’s wrong?” They all stared at me like I’d gone mad. “I thought this was gonna be a gossip sesh. Do you need like… help, help?” Vera asked cautiously while setting the two wine bottles she carried onto the countertop.

“Yes, help help. And we can gossip afterwards!” I promised and slumped against the door behind me, sliding to the ground. They sat at the bar and I stayed slumped on the ground and explained what was happening.

“Is this whole…” I waved my hand in the air. “Date challenge thing ridiculous?” I asked. The three of them looked at me as if I were the most exciting thing they’d ever seen, shaking their heads.

“Not at all. First of all, you need some way to make a decision, so it makes sense. But also…” Vera giggled. “They could totally humiliate themselves and that would be fun to watch!”

“It’s brilliant!” Babs agreed viciously. They looked like they were about to dive into a plate of hot wings: Hungry and ready to get messy. Lenny only nodded vigorously.

Babs brought her mate to our room for introductions and to privately pledge into our pack. She was a sweet spitfire of a girl with flaming red hair shaved down both sides but long in the middle. She had a small nose and lip ring and a stunning natural beauty. We stayed up the rest of the night planning out the dates. The next morning, I announced the competition to Roman, William, and the pack.

I sent out a pack wide link to meet in the dining hall for breakfast. As everyone gathered, my mother tried to pull me aside to see what this was all about.

“You’ll have to wait and find out with the rest of the pack.” I said, winking at her, then moving to address the room.

“Thank you all for coming. I’ll make this quick. I have been fortunate enough to find my mates.” The dining hall erupted into loud cheers, along with confused faces. Once I was able to quiet them down, I continued. “However, since I was blessed with two, I am forced with the decision of choosing one of them over the other.”

“Mate em both!” A woman shouted from the crown and others laughed and hollered with her. Roman and William growled low behind me. Laughing, I said,

“Sadly, that’s not an option. The moon goddess blessed me with two Alphas.” The crowd nodded and murmured in understanding.

“Since I have to choose between my two mates, we will be holding a competition between Crown Prince Roman Woods. And Alpha William Black of the Black Winter pack.” The crowd exploded in noise. Some of them were excited for the competitions, others were outraged that I was mated to a member of the Black Winter pack. I hushed them.

“I wanted you to be aware this may disrupt your daily activities. The’ Mate’s Dates’ competition will start in two days!” Again, the crowd exploded into cheers. Babs, Lenny and Vera were doubled over with laughter at the silly name we’d come up with for our competition. My mom looked stunned and a little angry. I turned to my mates.

“The competition will start in two days. That should give you enough time to delegate any pack duties as well as get to know my pack grounds. I will dispatch three of my best warriors to your lands as a show of goodwill to help cover for the absence of their Alpha and Prince. This is non-negotiable.” I added the last part as I saw William begin to refuse. “If you refuse, you will forfeit your place in this competition. If your pack refuses my warriors in your stead, it will be considered a forfeit, as well.” I paused, waiting to see if there were any more objections before continuing.

“I have assigned you both a pack guide to help show you the grounds and help you learn our history. Please use them as a resource. This will not be like any other competition you have faced.” I sounded ominous and mildly threatening, yet I couldn’t help the smile crawling onto my face.