He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

Her Two Mates II: Matt

Aly joins us just as Tyler is kicking my ass again at some fighting game. I don’t mind that I always suck at this kind of game. It’s still fun, and it feels good to have something to laugh about with my friend. It also feels good not to have homework and papers and projects to do.

“Who’s winning?” she asks, and I can tell from the bounce in her step and the cheery tone in her voice that whatever she talked to her dad about has put her in a good mood.

She squeezes in between us on the couch and puts her hand on my knee. The feel of it is distracting and I’m going to blame that for the way Tyler makes quick work of me in the game, though I know I was going to lose anyway.

“Me!” he shouts victoriously, laughing at how thoroughly he annihilated my character.

“How’d it go with your dad?” I ask her, trying to sound casual and cool and not like the pile of nerves and anxiety I’ve been feeling like since we got here.

“Good! He had some amazing news for me, which I’ll tell you guys about later. I’d rather do it privately.”

“Did he say anything about …” Tyler lets the end of his question trail off, but Aly seems to know what he’s talking about.

“No, they haven’t decided yet. But it’s related. I think you’ll like what he told me,” she hints mysteriously.

He smiles and throws an arm around her, setting down his controller. I’m pretty done with our game, too, so I turn off the console we’ve been using and set mine down next to his.

“Let me show you guys around a bit,” Aly offers after they’ve cuddled for a moment.

I’m pretty sure she mostly means me, because it seems like Tyler already knows his way around. I’m game, though. I’m curious about this place, and like Tyler said I want to learn all about her and her pack.

“Actually, allow me,” her dad speaks up from the doorway. “Matt, specifically. I showed Tyler around, and it’s only fair that I get my turn with you now, son.”

Him suddenly showing up and calling me out by name sends tremors of fear all through me, and I think I’d be panicking again if he hadn’t added that part at the end. Him calling me “son” was a nice surprise. It’s like he’s already accepting me, though I suppose it could just be what he calls all young men. Either way, I’m not super thrilled at the idea of being left alone with him, but the thought that maybe he likes me does help a little.

Aly gives me a worried look, which doesn’t help so much. Her hand on my cheek, though, does soothe my nerves some. I lean into that and focus on how warm and tingly it feels when she touches my bare skin like that, and for a moment her dad disappears.

Until Tyler reaches over and pats my arm. “He’s not as scary as he looks,” he whispers, and I hear Aly’s dad chuckle from behind us.

“Aw, crap,” Tyler exclaims, blushing slightly. “I forgot about the werewolf senses. They hear everything man. Everything.” Then he turns around and looks at Aly’s dad. “I do apologize, Mr. Bentley. Didn’t mean to imply anything about your appearance.”

“It’s fine, Tyler,” Mr. Bentley reassures him, still smiling. “I’m an Alpha. You’re supposed to be intimidated by me, and sometimes, I do it on purpose. But he’s right, Matt. I’m not that scary, and I’m not trying to scare you. I just want a minute to get to know you. Promise I won’t bite.”

It occurs to me how little I actually know about werewolves and how much I still have to learn. When he says he’s an Alpha, I feel like I know what that means, but I also assume that I don’t. Not really. It also makes me wonder what Aly is to her pack, and what that makes me.

I take a deep breath and get up from the couch, making my way over to Mr. Bentley. I suppose it’s not the worst thing in the world to be given a tour by the guy who actually owns the place and probably knows everything about it. I just hope he doesn’t expect me to talk much. I tend to get tongue-tied around new people, especially big guys like him.

He leads me through the house pointing out the different rooms. Man, there are a lot of them. Back home, my friends always act like my house is huge. It’s an old farmhouse that has been renovated and remodeled with various additions and improvements made to it, so that now in addition to a living room there is also a family room and a den, it has five bedrooms, one of which is my mom’s office, and there’s a formal dining room in addition to the breakfast nook in the kitchen. There’s a mud room, a utility room, a foyer, and even a room my mom calls a parlor which is mostly to house her old antique piano that my grandmother passed down to us. It’s a lot of house, and just what I've seen so far of this house easily dwarfs it.

Outside, there are many buildings and various outdoor spaces. He shows me an area where the whole pack gathers for parties and events, and there’s also a place where they train and work out together. That’s in addition to the fitness center that is in one of the buildings out back that is basically a gym like the one Tyler and Aly use at school. They even have their own medical clinic, which he calls the infirmary. I suppose all this helps them keep isolated, so they don’t have to go out around humans more than they need to.

Tyler’s right that he isn’t as scary as he looks. He’s been very friendly and gentle with me, describing and explaining everything so that it’s easy to understand and asking every now and then if I have questions. I do have questions, so many questions, but I don’t know what words to use to ask them, so I just stay quiet.

When we finish with all that, he decides to show me some of their trails since Aly has told her parents about how we like to go walking in the nature park and he figures I'll be interested in them.

“These areas where I’m going to take you are places you’re welcome to wander whenever you’d like, but anywhere else you’ll need permission and an escort,” he explains.

I nod to show him that I heard him and understand, which is what I’ve been doing pretty much this whole time.

He stops and turns to me, a soft smile on his face. It’s so strange to see someone so beefy look so tender sometimes. It’s like my brain can’t handle him being both soft and hard, firm but gentle. Not that I’m complaining. I would much rather that he smile at me than glare at me the way I remember him doing to Tyler the first day we met him.

“You’re a pretty anxious, sensitive guy aren’t you,” he comments, but it doesn’t seem to be a complaint or an insult. Just an observation.

“Uh, yeah,” I clear my throat nervously. “I suppose you could say that.”

“Aly hasn’t done right by you, throwing this all at you at the last minute. I’m sorry for that. I suppose I pressured her a bit, but I really don’t know how you could have come here without knowing the whole story. It could have gone very badly if you had found out by accident. I didn’t mean for her to just dump it on you, though. What I meant when I told her you couldn’t come unless she told you the truth was that she should tell you when the moment was right so you could come next time.”

“Uh, well, it might be a bit my fault,” I admit. “I think I got a bit resentful that Tyler seemed to have an open invitation but not me. Not that I care that he can come here, just that I wanted to be able to come too.”

“You three hate being separated, don’t you,” he says softly as he gazes at something behind me, seeming to be thinking.

“I’m debating whether to tell you something,” he explains, probably noticing that I’ve gotten a bit anxious again with him just standing there staring off into the distance.

“More secrets?” I ask, my stomach already starting to turn again. I understand why they keep so much a secret, but I do wish it could be a bit more compact and easier to take in.

“Sort of. More like more detail to a secret you already know.”

I don’t know what to say to that, so I don’t say anything. He starts walking again so I follow, both of us quiet for a few moments.

“You said you don’t get upset that Aly spends time with Tyler, you just want to be included, correct?” he breaks the silence by asking.

I suppose that seems about accurate, although I think I did used to get jealous. Or maybe it was just that I couldn’t be with her the way he was because I was with someone else. It seems like something changed when I took a break from Jess. Once I started being included, it stopped bothering me so much. I actually kind of like having Tyler with us. It makes me less nervous because it’s not just me she’s focusing on, or who has to come up with things to say when she gets quiet.

“Yeah, that seems right,” I agree after I’ve thought about it. “I don’t get jealous as long as I’m not being left out.”

“That’s good. You’re going to need that,” he says.

It doesn’t seem like he intends to elaborate on that statement, so after a few minutes of debating and forcing myself to work up the nerve to ask a question, I do.

“What do you mean by that? I’m going to need that for what?”

“The news I got the other day that I just told Aly earlier. I can’t decide whether I should tell you or she should. I worry that if she springs it on you and Tyler at the same time, it might be too much for you, or you might feel pressured to react a certain way. I’m wondering if I should tell you now so that you have some time to think about it before you see her.”

He pauses for a minute, looking around and then back at me before continuing. “And here might be a good place. I get the sense that you feel most at peace when you’re outside wandering through the woods. A lot about you worries me, about how you’ll cope with living here, but that part will help you fit right in. Surrounding ourselves with nature helps ground us, too.”

I had wondered about that, if being Aly’s mate means that she expects me to live here with her pack. I’m guessing it does, and I don’t know how I feel about that. I had other plans, and I don’t know how my parents will react to it, either.

Oh God, my parents. We have to go see them soon, and I don’t know how I’m going to face them now that I know … what I know. I suppose the good news is that my dad at least already knows about werewolves. Maybe if we just tell him what Aly is then he’ll be supportive.

But still, I don’t know what I’m going to do with my hard-earned teaching degree here, and he’s right about it seeming like a difficult lifestyle for me. It seems like a hardcore way of life, and I’m not sure I’m up to it.

I realize that I must have spaced out again when he gently taps me on the cheek twice with the palm of his hand.

“You okay? Where’d you go there?” he asks, his eyebrows knit together with concern.

Aw, man. And now I’m making a fool of myself in front of Aly’s dad.

“I, uh. Nowhere. Just thinking,” I stammer out, my face feeling heated again. “I think I would rather if you tell me whatever it is you told Aly. I think you’re right that I’d prefer some time to process it before I talk to her with Tyler.”

He gives me a long, thoughtful look, still concerned, before he nods his agreement. “Alright, then. Well, I got a call a couple days ago from one of the Elders. The Elders are older werewolves from various packs who have distinguished themselves in some way and were selected to serve on a council that oversees all the werewolf packs in North America. We look to them for approval and guidance on big decisions, like who is to take over as Alpha of a pack and whether the person they intend to mate is worthy of the position. With me so far?”

I nod, encouraging him to continue.

“Well, last month when Tyler was here, he decided to have them test him to see what they thought of him becoming Aly’s mate, since she is the person most likely to take over as Alpha here after me. Somehow during that process, they stumbled on a discovery that I haven’t quite made sense of myself, but in short, they think that you and Tyler are both meant to be Aly’s mates. That’s why the two of them are so attached to each other, and probably also why the three of you just seem to naturally want to be together as a group.”

He looks over at me as we walk, probably making sure I haven’t zoned out again. He smiles and chuckles softly, then continues.

“Honestly, the best proof of their suspicion being correct is that you said you don’t get jealous of Tyler. Somehow, you all just seem to know and accept that you both belong with her. It’s weird, but I’m becoming a believer the more I see and hear about it. Did you know that when she first came in my office, she didn’t even wait to see what I had to say before telling me she refuses to choose between you two?”

“Oh wow,” I comment softly.

Considering that I just learned about werewolf mates and being Aly’s mate a little while ago, I don’t know where to file this information or what to do with it yet. I’m happy that she wants me, that’s the most prominent thought and emotion, but I am unsure of the rest. I don’t know what it would be like to share a woman. I don’t know if that’s what I want. What I do know is that I’m glad Aly isn’t here right now to see all these mixed feelings.

“Thank you for telling me,” I say out loud. I really do appreciate this quiet moment to process some before I have to face her. I don’t want to disappoint her or let her down, and I would feel a lot of pressure if it was her telling me. Especially because I know Tyler will be excited. They might take it the wrong way if I don’t seem to be happy right away.

“Yeah, I’m glad I’m telling you now. You need time, I can just see that on your face and feel it rolling off of you. Let’s keep walking,” he suggests.

I decide in that moment that I really like him. He’s not at all like he seems at first glance.