He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

Going Home: Aly

The look on Mrs. Taylor’s face when the guys stormed into the house and silently went about gathering up our stuff is going to haunt me until these two come around and decide they’re ready to talk it out with Matt’s parents. Well, both of their parents, I guess, though I don’t think either of them is ready to see it that way. I was hoping that Mr. Taylor would be able to explain himself to Matt, but I guess that didn’t happen. He hasn’t said much about whatever they talked about before he left.

I’m just glad it doesn’t seem to have created a rift between them. They seem to be on the same side of whatever is going on in their heads. It’s almost eerie how they understand each other’s sighs, grunts, and other nonverbal cues of distress, each seeming to know when the other wants comfort or to just be left alone. I want in, but I also know this isn’t about me. I’ll keep being and doing whatever it is they need, which so far has just been their getaway driver.

We drove the hours back to Matt’s house mostly in silence, with the occasional comment from one or the other.

“They never said anything about it to you?” Tyler asked at one point. Matt assured him he had no idea, and Tyler seems to have accepted that.

“How long have you known you were adopted?” Matt asked him awhile later. Tyler told us he has almost always known, ever since his mom told him when he was in the first grade and started asking lots of questions about his dad. She told him all about his dad as well as how he ended up with them.

“I almost envy that,” Matt admitted, but then clarified, “not the part about my parents giving you up, obviously, but the part where your mom was always honest with you. I respect the hell out of that.”

But other than that little bit of back and forth, they were quiet the ride back, lost in their thoughts and feelings. Once we got there, they both ignored Mrs. Taylor. I gave her an apologetic look at one point, but I also knew I needed to be careful to keep my conduct supportive of my mates. They don’t want to talk about it yet, and I’ll run with that.

For now. Eventually, they’re going to need to sit down with Matt’s parents and hear the rest of the story, plus share how they feel about it all. If there’s anything I’ve learned from my mom, it’s that keeping it all buried will rot you from the inside out.

When Tyler told me he wanted to go home, I figured he meant he wanted to go back to New York to see his mom. I was surprised to learn that he actually meant going back to my home. It thrills me to know that he sees it that way, but I do wonder if he wouldn’t benefit from seeing his mom again before we have to head back to school. I know she would be glad for the company. I have a plan brewing at the back of my mind of how to get her to my pack so he can have her with him but also be where he feels at home.

But for now, considering how late in the day it was when we left the lake where we had been ice fishing, and knowing that with the head spaces they’re in currently, they probably shouldn’t be driving, I decide to stop us for the night about halfway between Matt’s place and mine. Tyler finds us a town with plenty of options for drive-through food and some decent options for lodging, so that’s where we go.

We stop for take-out since none of us have eaten since before our little fishing adventure, and then find a nice scenic place to park and eat. It’s up on a hill that overlooks the town, which if you can ignore all the fast-food signs and neon flashing here and there, looks pretty idyllic at night.

“It feels like a million years ago that I last had a cheeseburger,” Tyler comments after we’ve been sitting quietly for several minutes.

“We stopped for cheeseburgers on the way to Matt’s just a few days ago,” I remind him, happily munching away on my own burger.

“Yeah, but a few days ago feels like a million years ago,” Matt agrees with him.

“And today was the longest day ever,” Tyler adds, and then goes quiet again.

It blows my mind that they’re twins, but in moments like these it also makes perfect sense. And they’re a lot alike when I really think about it. Matt’s hair is darker and curlier, but the thickness and texture of both are similar. They have the same eyes, which they obviously get from Mr. Taylor. They’re comparable in height and build, and when you get past Matt’s anxious exterior and Tyler’s false bravado, their inner selves have a lot in common too.

And they’re both my mates. Now it’s undeniable, since earlier when Mari finally recognized that Tyler is ours just as much as Matt. His scent is a little different from Matt’s, lighter on the spicy element and heavier on the woodsy aspect, but their scents are complementary. Sitting here with them together in the same space, I realize that they complete each other. Not only do their scents go together, but so do my experiences of them.

With Tyler I get the boldness and intensity, but also the romance, while from Matt I get the sensitivity and softer aspects, but also passion and the freedom that comes from letting myself lose control. They each embody all of that to different degrees. Tyler empowers me, while Matt helps soften my harsh edges, but together they keep me grounded. That’s why the pieces started falling into place when Tyler invited me to start including Matt. That feeling of being torn and divided went away, replaced by a peaceful fullness.

And now I have a new dilemma. The moment I felt the familiar pull to Tyler and recognized his scent, Mari’s desire for her mates kicked into overdrive. She wants to claim them, Elders and Alpha prospects be damned. I’m going to have to be careful going forward that I don’t let her push us before we’re ready, and before we have the support of people who matter. That’s even more important now that these two are reeling from their family secrets. We need a secure place to land once we get past all this.

After our burgers are finished, I gather up all our wrappers and trash and deposit it in the outdoor bin near where we're parked, and then we head to the nearest motel. It’s nothing fancy, but it’s clean and offers a king-sized bed and a hot shower.

We take turns with said shower after we check in, although when it’s my turn after Matt is finished, Tyler invites himself in just as I’m washing my hair. He seems to just want to be held as the warm water rushes over us, which I’m happy to do for him.

“It still tingles,” he comments with a soft smile, leaning into me with his eyes closed.

“That’s our mate bond,” I explain. “Mari finally recognized that you’re our mate, too.”

He opens his eyes and grins at me, obviously very pleased by that. “So, she approves?”

“Mmhmm. She more than approves. She is demanding that I claim you.”

“I’m already yours,” he declares, which gets Mari riled up and trying to push her way out. “I’ve always been yours, Aly.”

“Don’t say stuff like that right now,” I shake my head to get a grip on myself, verbalizing a reminder that, “We need to wait and see what the Elders will say.”

“Does it matter?” he challenges, seeming to be determined to make this harder for me with every word and move he makes. He reaches for me, placing a hand on my hip and tangling one in my hair, pulling me to him.

“Only if you don’t want to upset my dad,” I answer shakily, starting to feel breathless at the way he is handling and looking at me. “You’ve worked pretty hard for his approval.”

He backs down at that, releasing his hold on me and going back to washing himself. I find myself feeling disappointed. I was on the brink of giving in and letting Mari take what’s hers. I want it as much as she does, I just seem to care more about following the rules and not upsetting anyone who could stand in the way of me being the next Alpha.

We finish our shower with him smirking at me, noticing the way I have to force myself to resume breathing normally and argue with Mari to chill out. Then we get out and towel off, changing into our sleep clothes before returning to Matt in the other room.

He’s lounging on the bed as though he is relaxing, but his arms are crossed, shoulders tensed, and he seems to be glowering at the TV. I can’t tell whether he is just upset at the events of the day, or if Tyler and me in the shower together is also getting to him.

I go around to the other side of the bed and get in before rolling my way over to him playfully, stopping when my shoulder makes contact with his thigh.

“Hi,” I greet him, looking up into his face.

The amused smile he gives me and the way his posture relaxes were what I was going for with that. It also confirms that it's not me he's upset with.

He uses the remote to turn off the TV and wiggles down into the bed with me, his front against my back. Tyler finishes with whatever he was doing in his duffel bag, turns off the bedside lamp, and comes and joins us. I shift positions so that I’m laying on my back, and he snuggles up to me and lays his head on my shoulder.

Normally it’s Matt I hold like this, stroking his hair until he relaxes against me. It seems to work pretty much the same with Tyler, though.

“Aly, you don’t know what it means to me how you were there for me today,” he mumbles into my shoulder. “I appreciate so much that you seem to know what I need and you’re just there, no questions asked.”

“Always,” I promise. “I’ll always be there. And even if I don’t always anticipate what you need, just tell me. I want to be sure to give you what you need. That goes for both of you.”

I feel Matt’s arm snaking around my waist as he presses his lips to the side of my neck, telling me with his body what maybe he doesn’t have words to say like Tyler does. Then I feel Tyler press himself more firmly against me, his hand coming up behind my head to tangle in my hair. He props himself up and brings his face to meet mine, capturing my lips with a desperate kiss.

My body seems to respond to him on its own, turning his way and tangling our legs together. I feel an extra hand massaging my hip and a second set of lips on my neck again, kissing and sucking there as Tyler’s tongue explores my mouth, his free hand creeping up my shorts. Though the flavor and the feel of Tyler has become so familiar to me, it feels strangely different this time. His scent is intoxicating and the sensations his mouth creates against mine are new and invigorating.

It starts to overwhelm my senses to feel both of their hands and mouths on me, both of their scents invading my nostrils. I start to get lost in the moment, no longer distinctly aware of individual actions and sensations. The sounds I’m making feel foreign and far away like I don't even recognize this needy, hungry woman coming unraveled. Then I’m on my back again before I know it, a hot mouth dominating mine and a warm hand firmly massaging my right breast.

I feel soft lips sensually making their way down my abdomen and reach down to tangle my fingers in the hair that accompanies them. It’s Tyler, I realize, not sure exactly when he and Matt switched positions at my mouth. He is making his way down my body, hungrily kissing and touching every bit of exposed flesh he can find, growling in response to my touch as if asserting his right to claim me.

Not that I would even try to stop him.

“I’ve missed this,” he murmurs, now making his way back up my legs, his tongue delicately tickling my sensitive inner thighs where he has bunched up my shorts to allow him access.

The only response I can manage for him is a desperate moan from deep in my throat.

He chuckles, pausing what he is doing.

“Yes, ma’am. Message received,” he tells me as he lifts himself up on his knees and takes hold of the sides of my shorts, tugging them down.

Matt’s hand creeps down my belly, making me shudder at the way it tingles, and then I hear the familiar sound of a foil packet crinkling. My heart starts racing as I realize Tyler’s plan. I knew it would eventually come to this, but I had not expected it so soon.

Matt moans against my lips as two of his fingers find the entrance to my core, gently dipping into my wetness. He pulls his fingers back and drags the slippery fluids over my sensitive bud, beginning to rub it agonizingly slowly as he plunges his tongue back into my mouth.

I feel Tyler positioning his head at my entrance only seconds later and hear him groan as he pushes inside of me. I cry out, and though it’s dark in the room, explosions of color erupt across my vision as the intensity of the experience overwhelms me.

With Tyler’s hands on my hips and lower body joined to mine, and Matt’s fingers gliding over my c**t and his mouth tangled with mine, I ride waves of euphoria like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. It all seems to happen so quickly and yet also in slow motion, the two of them acting together in synchronicity and my body scrambling to keep up with the sensations, my mind having checked out before anybody even took their clothes off.

And when it’s over and we’re all three exhausted, sweaty, and thoroughly satisfied, it feels like we’ve achieved something important. At least, that’s how I feel in my groggy brain that can barely string together a coherent sentence in my thoughts from how tired I am. Nevertheless, I feel closer to them both, and it feels like we just knocked down whatever barriers had remained between us. It feels like there’s no more lingering awkwardness. Only comfort, and contentment.

I open my mouth to try to express what I’m feeling but discover that I’m too sleepy. I only manage to say, “I’m so …” and then abandon it because it feels like too much effort. Matt’s already snoring anyway.

“So what?” Tyler asks softly, yawning and turning to lean into me more.

“Nevermind,” I mumble, already drifting off.