He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

The Trials Part I: Tyler

Ever since I told Aly that I had agreed to do the trials to prove I could be a good mate, she has been clinging to me. I really don’t mind. A twisted part of me wishes there were some way she could always be nervous about my fate to cause her to permanently stick to me like glue. The sane part of me hopes that doing these trials will have that result anyway.

This morning, Mr. Bentley told me that he contacted the Elders, and they would be sending someone to meet me. He doesn’t know when, but he wants to make sure I’m fed and ready for whatever they throw at me. That’s why Aly and I are in the kitchen and Henny has made me a plate with samples of everything they will be having at the feast in a little while. Though I am still invited to attend their gathering, the Elders will probably call me away before I get a chance to eat.

“Maybe they’ll start with the easy ones since today is a holiday,” Aly says hopefully. “And maybe you’ll be back before the festivities end.”

“I’m okay with it either way,” I assure her, shoveling another forkful of Henny’s candied yams in my mouth. I don’t know how she makes one of my least favorite holiday dishes taste so good, but what I’ve tasted of her cooking so far has added another reason why I’d love to come live here someday.

That thought gives me an idea.

“Aly, is there a way that you could make me a werewolf?” I wonder aloud.

She looks uncomfortable and shifts her weight from foot to foot before answering, “Technically, any werewolf can turn a human, but there are strict rules and laws about it because it’s really dangerous. If you and I become mates, then yes, I would be allowed to do that, but I wouldn’t want to.”

“Why not?” I ask, setting my fork down because it seems like I might want to pay full attention to whatever she has to say.

“The short answer is because you could die. You’re pretty fit and healthy, so maybe you would be okay, but I don’t want to take that risk. Plus …” she lets the last part of what she’s saying linger, shaking her head and seeming to change her mind about telling me more.

“What is it? Just tell me. I can handle it.”

She sighs, dropping her gaze to where our hands are linked.

“It’s selfish of me, but if I chose you as my mate, then I wouldn’t want to turn you because once you become a werewolf, there is a chance you would have your own fated mate. It wouldn’t be me since I already have one.”

“Oh, I see. Well, nevermind then,” I say, dismissing the topic more because it seems to make her uncomfortable than because I’m done with it.

I want to tell her that even if I’m given some other mate, I just want her. If she chooses me, then she would have to give up her mate, so I would be happy to do the same. I know I can’t convince her with words, though, and I’m also well aware that I don’t actually know what it’s like to have a fated mate and have to give them up.

After I finish my food, we make our way into the room that has been prepared for the gathering. A few early arrivals are already there. Aly and I join her parents where they are busy receiving guests. I find myself always drawn to her mom and what she is doing, knowing that if I’m Aly’s mate and she becomes Alpha, all the things her mom does now will eventually become my responsibilities.

I’m impressed at how she seems to know everyone by name and somehow keeps it all straight what everyone is up to in their lives. I’m pretty good with people, as long as I’m not trying to date them, so I think I could eventually get as good at all this as she seems to be.

A short while later, the room is filling up and my head is swimming with all the new names and faces I’ve been introduced to in such a short time, but Aly seems right at home talking with her pack. Whether she realizes it or not, she and her dad are a lot alike. It’s impossible not to notice with them standing so close. She even makes a lot of the same facial expressions and uses a lot of the same body language as he does.

My mood sours slightly when some of the special guests Mr. Bentley warned me of start to show up. I stand by her side and plaster a smile on my face as I’m introduced to Brent Castille, an imposing man who is built a lot like Aly’s dad at well over six feet tall with shoulders that threaten to burst through the fabric of his suit jacket. He looks to be around our age and is apparently in line to be the next Alpha of his father’s pack. Aly shakes his hand politely and then makes a point of turning away from him, as Mr. Bentley predicted.

I lean over to whisper in her ear, “If he’s supposed to be Alpha of another pack, how would it even work with you?”

“My dad is desperate. He’s been showing me off to guys like that who come from wealthier packs than ours, hoping if we’re interested in each other we could work out a merger of some sort.”

“Ah. That seems … less than ideal.”

She smirks at my comment and leads me away to hang out with Ryan and his mate, Mindy. I guess she is done playing hostess now that unwanted guests have started arriving.

Aly and I are listening to a story Ryan is telling a group of us, and I find myself feeling impressed at how dramatic and animated he can be while retelling something that I’m sure wasn’t nearly as exciting when it happened.

Next thing I know, a hush comes over the room and the air feels a bit heavier, as though someone has sucked out all the oxygen. I turn to see what is going on and notice an older man in just a loose garment that wraps around his body almost like a toga. His feet are bare, and his hair and beard are long and mostly gray.

“Elder Gerard,” Mr. Bentley calls out to him, making his way over to him. “We are honored by your presence. Thank you for coming.”

Aly reaches up to hug me tightly, knowing he has come for me. I return her hug for a moment and give her one last peck on the lips before turning and hustling over to her dad.

Elder Gerard doesn’t say anything, just nods his acknowledgement of Mr. Bentley’s greeting and turns his attention to me making my way through the crowd. Mr. Bentley gives me a reassuring squeeze of my shoulder and Mrs. Bentley smiles, mouthing “good luck” at me. I smile the same smile I always give people when I want to come off as more confident than I am, and step over to Elder Gerard.

He nods and then turns to leave. Not knowing for sure what I am supposed to do, I follow after him. He leads me out of the packhouse to another building which if I remember correctly is the pack infirmary. My mind starts reeling with ideas about what reason he could possibly have to bring me here of all places. Is he expecting me to get hurt? Wait, does he plan to hurt me? What have I gotten myself into?

Finally, he takes me into a large room separated from the main room of the infirmary and closes the door. Where the main room looks a lot like an emergency room, this smaller but still relatively spacious room reminds me more of a clinical exam room. There is one of those adjustable exam tables, a desk, cabinets that are probably full of medical supplies, an IV pole with a bag of unknown clear fluid hanging from it, and various monitors and machines.

“Sit,” he directs me in a flat tone, gesturing toward the exam table.

I hop up on the exam table, fighting the urge to swing my legs like a child while I wait for him to do or say anything else. He is just reading something from what I can tell.

Finally, he stands and comes over to me, appraising me.

“Take off your shirt,” he orders, and I comply.

He pokes my bicep and starts moving my body parts around, keeping his lips pursed together. This is not at all what I expected when Aly and her dad were telling me about the challenging trials I would have to do. Once he reaches back and pulls up a tray that holds a prepared injection on it, I start getting more nervous. Yeah, this is more like it. He either wants to scare me, which is working, or stab whatever that is in me which will do God knows what. He goes with the latter, and in only a few seconds I start to feel a bit woozy.

“I’m going to ask you some questions and I want you to answer as completely and honestly as you can,” he states.

I try to say something in acknowledgement, but it feels like only gibberish comes out. He nods anyway as though what I said makes perfect sense to him.

It feels like only seconds later that he slams his book shut and rolls his stool away from me.

“Alright. That’s enough. We’re done here,” he declares.

His tone is exactly as flat and uninformative as it has been the whole time, so I have no idea what he thinks about whatever conversation we just had.

I don’t even remember what happened or what we talked about, but when I look at the clock, I realize an hour has gone by. Whatever he dosed me with must be wearing off because I can think a bit more clearly now.

“So, I can return to the gathering now?” I ask him timidly. I don’t know if he meant that I’m done with this part or done for the day.

“No, you will not. Come with me,” he directs and turns quickly to head out the door.

I hop off the table and scramble after him, still feeling a little disoriented. He leads me to a different door of the packhouse than we came from and takes me all the way through to the front door.

Outside, Mr. Bentley and Aly are waiting along with another man and there is an SUV idling nearby. I see somebody loading my suitcase into the back of it and start to panic. I can’t help worrying that I failed, and they’re kicking me out.

I look to Aly for reassurance, and she looks away. It looks like she is fighting back tears. Her dad is frowning and looking at me coldly, and I realize I’m not being paranoid. They’re really getting rid of me.

“Tyler, this is Jeffrey,” Mr. Bentley says as he gestures to a man beside him in a suit. “He’s going to drive you back to the airport. We’ve booked a flight home for you.”

“Wait, Mr. Bentley, I want to stay,” I plead. “Even if I can’t be her mate, I still want to be here with her.”

“You’re not welcome here anymore,” Mr. Bentley tells me coolly.

The murderous look in his eyes sends a shiver of fear down my spine. I worry what in the hell I said to Elder Gerard while I was drugged. It must have been pretty bad.

Knowing I won’t get anywhere with him, I turn to Aly.

“I’m so sorry,” I tell her with tears filling my eyes. “I thought I could do it. I really did.”

“I know,” she says softly. “It’s not your fault. I knew this would happen and I shouldn’t have let you go through with it.”

That hurts more than anything. I set out to prove her wrong and now I’ve done the opposite. I can already tell that it has changed things, even though she promised it wouldn’t.

“I’ll see you back at school,” I promise her.

She looks down again and crosses her arms. Suddenly, I realize it’s over, and I can’t accept that.

“Aly!” I shout, reaching out to pull her to me, my tears now turning to sobs. “No, you can’t do this. I love you. I’m not giving up.”

I feel two sets of strong hands on me pulling me away from her. She looks up at me with a brave face, but her tears betray her.

“You have to,” she insists. “It’s for the best.”

And with that she turns and starts running back into the house.

I struggle against the men holding me, wanting desperately to go after her. I’m still screaming and shouting for her when Elder Gerard approaches me with another syringe.

“No!” I protest, my struggle renewed.

It’s hopeless, though. Mr. Bentley joins the two men already holding me to keep me still so that Elder Gerard can inject me. And then everything goes black.