He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

Road Trip Trio II: Aly

I find it kind of fascinating that pretty much the moment we step out of my car outside Tyler's home, everything about him changes. He starts to walk strangely and carry his weight differently, like just being here makes walls come up around him as his real self retreats deep inside of him, only to come out once he feels secure enough again. It makes me wonder if it was kind of tough for him growing up here, and I start to realize where the cocky playboy persona comes from.

Tyler and his mom live in a small one-bedroom apartment up two narrow flights of stairs that lead to the upper floors over an Italian restaurant. Their place is a bit cramped, but it’s easy to see that they take good care of it. It’s neat and tidy, with lots of little accents and personal touches to make it cheery and inviting. There’s a handmade afghan neatly folded over the back of the well-worn but comfortable-looking sofa, and just the sight of that cozy little spot makes the whole place seem homey. I can just picture Tyler coming home from school and flopping on that couch on his side with one leg draped over the back the way I see him do on Matt’s couch back at their apartment.

“Yeah, so, this is home,” Tyler says as he spreads his arms and spins around twice in the living room.

“It’s cute,” I tell him honestly. “That couch looks like the sort you can just sink into and never want to leave.”

“Oh, it is,” he confirms, heading over to said couch and flipping over the back of it, assuming the position I was just imagining. I can't help laughing at that.

“So, I know your mom said she wants us to stay here -,” Matt starts to say, but Tyler cuts him off.

“Yeah, I know. There’s not much space,” he completes the thought. “My mom already sleeps out here on the pull-out. But listen, you can go in my room and look. We can set up an air mattress on the floor, which is what we do when either of my cousins sleeps over, but if you think that would be too cramped, I won’t be offended if you’d rather stay in a hotel.”

He takes us in his room which is a bit small like the rest of the place, but totally Tyler. There’s artwork all over the walls, some looks like his and others are probably from artists he likes. The headboard to the bed has bookshelves and he has them filled with comic books and a couple figurines. He has a twin bed with the extra-long length for an adult like back at the dorms, and there’s a limited amount of floor space where a twin air mattress would fit but probably take up all the available space.

“As long as Aly doesn’t mind getting super cozy with you in that bed, I can make this work,” Matt surprises me by saying as he gestures to the floor.

I’m looking at his extra tall frame, which is a fair bit over six feet tall, and wondering how he plans to make that space work. I’m not even sure how I’d make it work, and I’m a couple inches under six feet. But if he’s game, I’m good with it. Super cozy in a bed with Tyler has kind of become my specialty.

We go back out and drag our stuff up all the stairs and stash it wherever we can fit it, and then find a secure place to park my car while we’re here. Then Matt and I decide to try out the Italian restaurant for a late lunch, which Tyler seems to find humorous for some reason yet agrees to our plan. I can't figure out what he was laughing about because the food is delicious and not outrageously expensive. After lunch, we get comfortable on the magic sofa back at his place watching TV until his mom comes home.

We’re all asleep when she gets in, fallen victim to the sofa’s irresistible comfiness. By then I have my head in Tyler’s lap and Matt is cuddling with my feet and legs. We wake to the flash of her phone taking a photo, and my first memory of her is how she laughs.

I can’t help smiling as I sit up properly and work on tugging my clothes back where they belong and fixing my hair to get rid of the bedhead look.

“Ma, really?” Tyler complains, though I can tell he isn’t as annoyed as he’s pretending to be.

“Sorry, I couldn’t resist. You were too adorable all cuddled together and passed out,” she explains, tucking her phone in the back pocket of her jeans.

Then she steps forward to hold her hand out to Matt. “I’m Carrie,” she introduces herself.

“Matt,” he answers shyly, but does shake her hand. "I remember you from last summer."

"Oh, right," she laughs as she palms her forehead to show how silly she feels for forgetting that.

“And you’re Aly,” she says as she makes her way to me. Instead of holding her hand out, she reaches down and pulls me up, drawing me into a hug. “I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

“Yeah, you too,” I tell her, hugging her back.

I’m surprised by how small she is and how frail she feels as I hug her. She’s petite and quite thin, a complete contrast to Tyler who is tall and solid. Her hair is blonde like his, but lighter and not as wavy. It starts to get a little uncomfortable how taken she seems to be with me, looking me over and playing with my hair, a proud smile on her face. I know it’s a big moment for her, though, finally having a chance to meet a romantic interest of her only child, so I let her soak it in.

Finally, she moves on from me to smothering Tyler. She holds him tightly for a few minutes, then brings him down to her level so she can kiss both cheeks before she pulls away.

“How long will you stay?” she asks uncertainly, and I feel bad for her.

She must get lonely and miss him while he’s gone. I feel guilty that I’ve been the one stealing him from her lately, first over Thanksgiving break and now over his winter break.

“I don’t know. A few days,” he tells her vaguely. “Long enough to show these guys around a bit and take them to Auntie’s, but then we have plans for a mini road trip on the way to Aly’s, and then eventually on to Matt’s.”

“Oh, that sounds fun. Will you need some money for that?” she asks, concerned, and it makes me smile. She sounds like my parents.

“I’ve got it covered,” I assure her. “It was my idea, and I don’t feel right making them pay for it.”

When I talked to my mom again last night, she told me she and Dad want to finance our trip and encouraged me not to be stingy. I’ve never asked for much, and they enjoy spoiling me when I finally give them a chance. Plus, she reminded me that I need to soak up opportunities like this because life gets a lot busier as Alpha.

Carrie seems to be in her element in their tiny kitchen cooking up a storm to feed us all some dinner. She makes a delicious shepherd’s pie, and between a werewolf and two large guys, it all gets gobbled up. It seems to thrill her that she has people to cook for and that we enjoy her cooking so much. I help her with dishes while the guys get the bedding situation tended to, which sounds a lot noisier than it needs to be, but they’re laughing in there together. I consider anything that makes Matt smile a win, since he has been so gloomy by default these days.

“So, Aly, I don’t know if you know this, but I actually used to live in your area back when my husband was still with us,” she tells me, a sadness creeping into her eyes and voice though she keeps the smile on her face. “Tyler was born there.”

“Oh, no I didn’t know that,” I respond.

I wonder if Tyler knows. He’s never said anything about it, but maybe he just doesn’t like to talk about it. I know his dad died when he was little, but he’s never spoken much about it.

“Yeah, I’ve considered moving back there. It’s nice, much quieter and more peaceful. I kind of miss that.”

“I don’t blame you. I’m not sure if I could handle living in a city.”

She chuckles at that, nodding. “So, what are your plans after college?”

“Honestly, I’m really close to my family. My plans after school are basically to put my degree to use around home.”

“I kind of figured. Tyler did tell me you’re pretty securely rooted to your family and community.”

I’m wondering if she’s probing to see if I plan to lure Tyler home with me after he graduates. If I end up choosing him as my mate, I absolutely do. It sounds like she might approve of that if she’s wanting to move back there anyway. Or maybe she’s wanting to move back there because she realizes Tyler wants to be with me, and that’s where I’m going to be.

I’ve finished washing the dishes, so I pull the plug in the sink and set the sponge down. I turn around and lean against the counter, formulating what to say to put her mind at ease, but Tyler comes out and scoops me up before I get a chance, carrying me bridal style.

I squeal and giggle from the surprise of it, making him laugh.

“Say night night, Aly,” he demands playfully. And then to his mom, “Sorry, I’m stealing her.”

His mom laughs and reaches up to hug us both. “Good night, kids. Sleep well.”

Since we decided to take turns driving and just came straight here without stopping, all three of us are pretty beat and ready for a good night of sleep. On the other hand, it’s also the first chance for us all to talk about things without being separated by seats or one of us being distracted by driving. Matt was pretty quiet in the car, but he seems to realize that now is a good opportunity to talk about some of what is on his mind.

As soon as we all get settled in and turn out the lights, he says, “I keep thinking about that night that I saw my uncle change into a wolf. His clothes ripped when he did that, so it has me wondering – that day I found you naked in the park, was that something to do with turning into your wolf?”

Even though it’s too dark to see each other, I roll over so that my back is pressed against Tyler’s front and I’m facing Matt. “Yeah, that’s exactly right. The whole reason I went there that day was to let Mari out. She gets restless, especially when I’m feeling emotional. It helps to let her run and let out some of the agitation.”

“How have I never heard about you being naked in the park, Aly?” Tyler teases.

I smile, but neither Matt nor I answer him because Matt moves on to the next thing on his mind. “The day you brought Tyler back all beat up, what really happened to him? Was it werewolves?”

I take a deep breath, trying to sort out how to answer that considering that I haven’t even told him about mates yet. Trevor’s warning keeps running through my mind. I don’t want to tell him about that unless I’m sure I’m going to pick him. I suppose I could tell him about mates in general, but then I would still have to explain that Tyler wants to be my mate. I just don’t know what to say that isn’t going to hurt him or make him jealous.

Tyler jumps in before I sort it out. “What I said was true, but not the whole story. I was trying to show her pack and her dad what I’m capable of. They didn’t hurt me for the sake of hurting me. I simply got banged up in the process of showing off. I decided to take on four guys at once who were all way more skilled and experienced than I was. I’m serious about what I said, though. I loved every second of it and am excited about what good strength training it turned out to be.”

He managed to tell the truth without mentioning the whole mate thing, which impresses me. I’m so glad Tyler is here to help me with this.

“Oh,” is Matt’s only answer to that.

I can tell he’s concerned about something now, so I take a guess at what it might be. “Don’t worry. Stuff like that isn’t a requirement when visiting my pack. That’s not to say that it won’t be a bit overwhelming seeing the inner workings of how we live, and you might see people shift like it’s the most natural thing to do, because for us it is, so I hope you’re ready for that. They won’t beat on you unless you’re crazy like Tyler and ask them to, though. And hey, maybe seeing others shift will even help you get over some of the fear that I think you’re still holding onto from witnessing it as a kid who wasn’t expecting it.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Matt says softly.

Then he goes on to ask about the basics of being a werewolf, the experience of sharing a body, how we differ from humans, and so on. Eventually he is out of questions, or maybe just out of energy, and is quiet for a few moments until I hear him start snoring softly. I smile and roll back over to face Tyler and curl up with him to get some sleep myself.

We spend the next few days with Tyler meeting the rest of his family and seeing more of what his life was like growing up here. His cousins seem a bit like bullies, or maybe that’s just what it’s like having family that you’re close enough with that they’re basically like siblings. He shows us some of the places he used to like to hangout, like this old arcade with retro arcade machines and gaming tables, plus flooring and furniture that look like they haven’t been updated since the place opened decades ago. He loves it, though, and I love seeing him so comfortable and happy.

His mom is pretty devastated when it’s time for us to leave, but I promise to come back with Tyler and visit her soon. Now that I’ve met her and seen how attached she is to him, I’ll definitely be keeping that promise. I hate the thought of her being alone when he’s not here. Remembering how excited Tyler was to spend Thanksgiving with my pack because there were so many people and so much food, I make a mental note to talk to my parents about bringing his mom into the fold so that she can come visit for holidays, too.

We head for Pennsylvania next, listening as Tyler tells us all about what he wants to do once we get to Hershey. He goes on and on about Chocolate World and all the other attractions. It kind of seems like this is a place he has been wanting to go for a long time, which I find to be pretty endearing. He has such an appreciation for the simple things in life, like chocolate, comic books, and old arcade games. I love seeing the excited little boy come out from behind his cool, tough exterior.

Once we get there, I can tell just from driving around that this is a place that kids would love. There are even rollercoasters and tons of chocolate-themed attractions. We decide to stay at a pretty nice hotel right in the midst of all the tourist attractions. Tyler is geeked about it, though I’m mostly excited about finally having a big bed we can all share.

Matt seems to be with me on that. It’s the first thing he goes for when we walk in the door to our suite. He flops on the bed on his stomach and makes a point of stretching out all his limbs and taking up as much space as possible.

“I’m so comfortable, I don’t want to move for at least a day,” he declares.

“Not an option,” Tyler insists, going over and grabbing his foot to tickle it. “First of all, I’m hungry and I was just reading reviews for some of the restaurants here and they’re all amazing. Secondly, I also just read that there’s a brewery near here where we can go beer tasting.”

Matt wiggles his foot away from him, then rolls over and leaps out of the bed.

“I’m down for all of that,” he says enthusiastically. “Chocolate isn’t really my thing, but I am curious to see how it’s made, so I’m betting this is the place for that, too.”

“And there’s a museum that shows vintage cars and stuff like that,” Tyler adds to entice him a little extra.

“Now that,” Matt says with a grin, “I’m totally here for that.”

I’m impressed that Tyler knows him well enough to know that old cars excite him. I didn’t even realize that was an interest for either of them, so I’m glad all over again for the opportunity to spend this time together outside of school and learn more about them.

“I detect the beginnings of a game plan,” I comment, pulling out my phone to start researching all the things they’re naming off.

Over the next three days, we manage to do all of that and more. Tyler buys all kinds of chocolates and candy, which to me are odd souvenirs considering that they will only last until eaten, but I’m not about to deny him. I get the feeling that he’s never had much money to spend on things he wants and rarely gets spoiled.

I also think he was spot-on about the vintage cars being Matt’s favorite. We spend the better part of a day letting him take his time touring that place, and Tyler and I are both thrilled to see the return of happy Matt. I suspect that if we had let him just go home to Wisconsin, he would still be miserable, lonely, sulky Matt, so I’m not sorry to have dragged him on a road trip.

Our next stop is in Nashville. In contrast to Tyler, Matt is quiet the whole way there, but I can still tell he is excited. He’s a pretty subtle person, so you have to pay attention to his body language to tell the difference between his moods. When he’s sad, he gets very still. If he's anxious everything gets tense and fidgety. Angry looks like anxious except his face is different, dark and broody. Happy is a bit bouncy, plus that’s when he finally smiles. Excited is a mix of anxious and happy. He gets smiley and fidgety, like he is the whole way to Nashville. His eyes are brighter than I’ve seen them in a while, too. It’s almost like his whole body is saying, “Jessica who?” because he’s too excited and happy to care about her right now.

I figured that Matt wanted to come here to do the usual things – Grand Ole Opry and Country Music Hall of Fame – but it turns out he isn’t here for that. He’s here to sit at a café sipping on coffee and enjoying artisanal food creations while listening to live music. He wants to wander around and see street performers, stopping in local shops to look at unique creations you can’t find anywhere else. He’s interested in more beer tasting and visiting a distillery, which is the most touristy thing we do while we’re there. He seems to know a bit about things to do that I’ve never heard of, and I love that about him. He isn’t into your typical flashy tourist attractions; he’s into learning the heart and soul of a place.

What I’ve been discovering on this trip is that I’ve developed a habit of mindlessly reaching for their hands as we walk around. I’ll hold onto Tyler for a while, and then for whatever reason if we stop and do something for a bit, I might reach for Matt next. Being with them together feels like the most natural thing to me, and as long as I don’t let myself get in my head too much, I’m not bothered by the fact that I seem to be becoming attached to them both and only making my task of choosing between them that much more difficult for myself.

I’ve been starting to draft an argument in my head to try to convince my parents and the Elders that having two mates isn’t as bizarre as it seems. Maybe I won’t be able to mark them both, but what would be the harm in keeping them both? They seem comfortable with sharing me at this point. We hang out together all day and share a bed together at night. Granted, I’m sure it’s easier now because I’ve taken s*x off the table to avoid hurting either of them, so I haven’t worked all the kinks out of my budding plan yet, but it feels possible.

Mari is coming around to the idea, too. She likes Tyler and is developing an attachment to him, though she maintains that she will never be okay with any decision that means giving up her mate. So, in order to keep her happy, Matt will have to be on board with whatever I decide, and he'll be the one I mark. Right before taking over as Alpha would be the worst time to be at odds with my wolf, so I have to concede that fight to her if I want to stay at my strongest.

As we leave Nashville and head in the direction of home, the anxiety starts creeping in. I know it’s a big deal bringing my fated mate home for the first time. I know he’s still a bit unsettled about what happened with his uncle, and I hope that doesn’t mean that he’s going to have a hard time accepting my pack. I’m aware that the Elders were supposed to be convening sometime around now, or maybe they already have, so their decision might be waiting for me back home. And now, with my heart telling me not to give up either of these guys, I have to find some way to make that work.