The Contract (My Perfect Mate Continued)

Vows

Bryce and I stood across from each other in the ring. I wasn't the least bit surprised that Bryce volunteered to be the first one. His life's goal was to go against his twin brother. I knew that Bryce would purposefully give me a run for my money. I watched him with a smile on his face as he stretched out his shoulders and cracked his neck. I gave him a mischievous smirk and when Andy called it, I went straight for his center of gravity. He may be big, but I'm much faster. Every move I made was strategic. Before long, I noticed that Bryce's energy was waning. I was wearing him out. Eventually, I created some space between us, enough for me to take a running start for him. I dug my heals in and took off in his direction. Bryce swung his arm, but while his abdomen was exposed, I forced all of my weight on him. I wrapped my arms around his back and down we both went. I sat on his chest and smiled victoriously. The surrounding circle clapped and cheered. I don't think that any of them thought that I was capable of taking down their Beta.

I lifted my body off of Bryce and reached down to help him to his feet. Bryce and I turned towards Alpha, proud of our spectacle, but we received the opposite. Andy looked beyond furious, but I didn't understand why. I looked down at my body and realized that I was covered in scratches and I had several new bruises forming. I walked over to Alpha cautiously. I had this subconscious need to calm him down. I placed my hands on his chest and he looked down at me.

"I'm okay. I'm not actually hurt. Bryce didn't mean it. We were training. This is not the first time that I have had marks after a scrimmage, and it will not be the last."

Andy pressed his forehead to mine and I felt the anger leave his body. I knew that this was not a normal occurrence. What would he care if a couple of injuries were inflicted during training? This was different. I was his 'mate'. It occurred to me that I meant more to him than he meant to me. Unless he was just putting on a show. I shook that off, I could feel his emotions, this was real.

I raised up and placed a small peck on his lips and I felt him fully relax. He looked past me towards Bryce and nodded his head. The tension dissolved suddenly, and the men broke off into pockets. Each group was working on a different tactic. After 20 minutes or so, the men moved about the field, rotating to the next station. Andy and I stood in front of all of it, watching and analyzing, making secret rosters in our heads.

I have seen this time and time again when I would partake in training back home. My brother would do something similar. He would form an audition for the men without them realizing it. He would then take his observations and assign different ranks for the men that best suited the task. For instance, he would separate them by agility, strength, and stamina.

Bryce came over to us after a while, "Hey, I'm sorry for earlier." He looked at me then, "Did I hurt you Luna?"

I swallowed a bit at my new title and shook my head,

"No, Bryce, I'm fine. I grew up with two older brothers. I've had much worse."

Bryce and I chuckled, but Alpha was not amused. I nudged his shoulder to tell him to lighten up. Andy checked his watch and called the men to attention.

"Alright men! That's it for today, hit the showers!"

Some of them lingered, shooting the s**t and saying their farewells until they all eventually dispersed.

"I got to head out. I'm meeting Briana's parents today. I'll catch you later. Sorry again." He looked at me apologetically before jogging off to the main house.

Now that the coast was clear, I turned to Alpha and slapped his shoulder. I wanted to confront him about what happened earlier, but I knew that he was in a fragile state.

"Hey, what the hell was that? You said that I could join in on training. Why were you reacting like that?"

Andy blinked at me, like he didn't understand what I was saying. When he didn't respond, I tried again,

"Andy! Answer me." I was more upset than I thought I would be.

"I'm sorry. In all honesty, I think that was Apollo. I can't explain it, but he is extremely protective over Everest."

I rolled my eyes, this was more than just Apollo.

"Come on, Andy. I thought we were going to be honest with each other."

Andy seemed annoyed, like he was trying desperately to keep his emotions in check, "Andy, tell me." I stood my ground and tried to be as intimidating as possible. Although it felt like I was a mouse standing up to a lion.

Andy huffed loudly,

"Fine, I don't know what came over me, but I was very uneasy about seeing you fight. I was nervous that you would get hurt."

I rolled my eyes again,

"Andy, I was facing off with your brother. You should have known that Bryce would never intentionally hurt me."

Andy was growing increasingly agitated, but I knew better than to back off.

"I guess my feelings for you are deeper than I thought. At first, I had no reservations about having you in the ring, but it- it just bothered me." Andy started to sputter, like he couldn't form his thoughts into words.

He flipped the tables on me,

"And why are you being so confrontational right now? You've clearly had something bothering you all morning. If I have to open up about my feelings, then so do you. Tell me what's going on in that beautiful head of yours."

fuck. I should have known that was coming.

"Fine, I'll tell you. But not here. Too many ears around."

Andy reached out his hand, "Here, I know somewhere we can go."

*****

We sat up in the treehouse, our feet dangling off the edge. I knew that I had to tell him how I was feeling and all the reservations that were circling my head.

"Okay, here it goes." I took a breath,

"let me start first with this. Last night was amazing. I have never felt that connected with someone else in my life. I woke up this morning with the biggest smile on my face. The only thing is, I don't feel that magnetic pull that everyone is always talking about. I keep thinking that I'm just a placeholder. My biggest fear is that, one day, you will stumble across your fated mate, and it will be too late. I know that I have always fought against this, but I don't think that this is how I should feel. I don't want us to end up like my parents. My mother was forced into an arrangement that she wasn't happy about, she had to leave her fated mate behind, and it didn't end well for her. My father is constantly inflicting abuse and mind games on her. It's been awful seeing her slowly deteriorate in front of my eyes. I know that I have had a f****d up childhood, it's what makes me fight against it so hard. I just keep thinking that this is so unfair to you. I don't want you to ever feel like your settling with me."

I hadn't realized the tears that slowly started to pool in my lower lids. I hated that he brought out my emotional side. I have always had a strong exterior and I work really hard at keeping face. Any time that I feel the smallest tinge of happiness, I shoot it down.

I began sniffling,

"It's just so overwhelming as it is, and now I am officially bonded to you. I feel like we are trapped and there is no way out of this."

I was hysterically crying now, and I hated that it was in front of Andy.

He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest. Even with my persistence, my heart was happy being pressed against him. He began smoothing my hair and making soothing noises.

"And now I'm probably making you feel uncomfortable." I wailed. Andy chuckled, and I cried harder, "and now you're laughing at me!"

Andy hugged me tighter,

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh at you. I just find you adorable. I can't help it."

I pushed myself out of his arms and he stared at me. I wiped my tears away and tried to collect myself. "You think I'm cute when I'm upset?"

His expression dropped,

"I didn't mean to upset you more. I find you adorable all the time. I feel so drawn to you, even though we don't know each other very well. And I'm glad that you told me how you are feeling. I know that all of this is over-whelming. I can't say that it has been easy for me to organize my thoughts either. I just think that it will take time. I feel terrible about what I did to you last night. I took liberties that I am not proud of. I made the decision for the both of us when I marked you. I don't want you to end up resenting me because I took your choice away from you."

I could tell that he was truly upset about it. I leaned my head on his shoulder and relaxed against him.

"What's done is done. I can't say that I didn't enjoy the journey leading up to the marking incident, but I think that the only thing that we can do, is make the best of it. Even if we are not fated, we still have to work on building a life together, we don't really have any other options." I took a deep breath and look into his eyes. "I vow to never resent you, if you vow to always be honest with me. This is not going to be easy going forward, but I think that we have a real shot at being happy."

He nodded in agreement,

"I can't promise you what our future will hold, but I promise to always be here for you. I promise to be patient and kind. And I vow to always be your best friend first."

I smiled at him and extended my hand. "Deal."