The Contract (My Perfect Mate Continued)

Sorting it Out

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Andy rushed over and immediately began picking up the larger glass pieces that surrounded me. I bent down and helped Andy pick up the remnants of the bottle.

His voice lowered, as if embarrassed,"I don't know exactly, I just found myself walking here. I wanted to check in and make sure that you were okay."

I rolled my eyes as I picked up the last of the glass. "How chivalrous of you." He tried to hide his amusement. "I was fine, until you made me drop a perfectly good bottle of whiskey."

Andy rose up with a handful of glass in his cupped hands, "I will replace it. Help yourself to any bottle of vintage you'd like."

I walked past him and headed to the kitchen to throw away the evidence. I didn't feel like being playful, "It's fine, I was just giving you shit."

Andy followed close behind and threw his share into the garbage bin. "Regardless, I am sorry to have invaded your space like this."

I waved him off. This wasn't the worst intrusion that I have had to live through. I wandered into the living room, "Care to sit?"

"Only if you are comfortable with it," he said with a shrug.

I stopped and stared at it, "Oh please, we're just going to talk."

As Andy headed to the couch, I walked over to the bar once more. I grabbed an awaiting glass and popped the lid on the decanter. "Would you like a drink?" I called over my shoulder.

"That would be great, thank you."

I mindlessly grabbed another tumbler, "How do you take your whiskey?"

"Neat please."

I smiled to myself, "My kind of guy."

I heard Andy chuckle behind me as I topped off both glasses. I leisurely walked over to the couch where he sat and handed him his glass before plopping down next to him. I crossed my legs in front of me on the couch. Andy didn't look comfortable in the way that he was sitting.

I smiled against my glass and took a sip, "Will you sit like a normal person? You're making me nervous sitting like that."

Andy camped it up as he slowly sunk back into the couch cushions.

"Better?" he said with a crooked smile. I couldn't help but giggle at his awkwardness.

"Yes, much better."

We both took a sip of our drinks before my mouth betrayed me. "So did you know?"

He puckered his lips briefly, "I did, but I only found out about it yesterday. I would have given you a warning, but I didn't know who you were. I had no idea that I had already met you several times."

He smiled sideways at me and I giggled at his goofiness. I could tell that Andy was a nice guy, and I was upset for him that he was forced into this situation. I couldn't help my mind from wandering. What if his fated mate was out there, and I was just a placeholder? I couldn't live with myself if I ruined both of their happiness with my father's agenda. I felt my mood drop even further but was brought back by his sudden contact. He placed his hand on my knee in an effort to comfort me.

"Where did your mind go?"

I felt my eyes moisten with the threat of tears and nodded my head through my sadness. "Yeah, I'm sorry. This whole thing is just so overwhelming."

He gave me a sympathetic look and nodded his head, "I know, I'm sorry. We don't have to talk about it right now, if you don't want to."

I shook my head, "No, I think that it would be helpful to talk everything through." I took a sip, "So what do you want to do? I'm curious to know how you feel about all of this."

Andy adjusted in his seat, he looked much more comfortable now. "In all honesty, I didn't think that a situation like this would ever happen to me. In fact, I never thought of myself having a mate and family of my own. I know that it is part of the Alpha role, but I wasn't expecting to have to face it so soon. I'm still newly appointed to the Alpha role and I feel like I still have so much to learn about running a pack. Not to mention there is plenty of other pressing pack business that needs my attention, I kept my mind closed off to the whole idea."

I nodded my head, "I respect that. Did I forget to mention that I feel the same way?"

I caught Andy in the middle of a gulp, he almost choked at my comment. "Seriously?"

I smiled at him, "Yeah, is that okay?"

He wiped the dribble off of his chin, "Yeah, I just wasn't expecting you to say that."

I shrugged my shoulders, "Yeah, no dice. I have always fought against the domestic nature of our kind, especially being a she-wolf. I know that there has always been an expectation of me, but I realized early on that it wasn't for me. I think that's why my father cooked up this plan. I think that he's so desperate to prove me wrong that he shipped me off to a different pack. I think that he did all of this out of his frustration for my defiance."

"Well, regardless, no matter what happens, you don't have to go back to Red Moon if you choose not to. You will always have a place here in Silver Moon."

I gave him a small smile, "Thank you, I appreciate that. I know that I won't step foot back in Red Moon for quite a while. My father is known to hold grudges and I don't want to subject myself to another round of abuse. I feel like I can breathe for the first time in decades." I zoned out on the glass in my hand.

I could see the anger all over Andy's face. "Please tell me that my suspicions aren't correct?"

I took another gulp before answering him. "Everything you're thinking is true. Dad always puts on a united front. But behind closed doors, he's a tyrant. Before I was born, my mother got the brunt of it, until I came along. When I was young, I was quite the daddy's girl. But when I got old enough to 'know better,' that's when the constant abuse started. It didn't take long for me to get used to it."

Utter disbelief was written all over his face, "I don't understand, didn't your brothers step in?"

The silent tears began to stream down my cheeks. "Yes, but dad would only get more upset. He wouldn't dare lay a hand on his boys. After a while, I would purposely keep out of his path, but he would find me, one way or another. If he couldn't get to me, he would use my poor mother to lure me out."

Andy's fists balled up on top of his knees and his body went rigid with anger. This is what I was afraid of, he was already forming a sense of protectiveness over me.

I placed my hand on his wrist to try and calm him, "Please don't. It's in the past now. But if given the chance, I will go back for my mother."

I locked eyes with him and his emerald green was quickly slipping away into darkness. "Andy, I'm serious. Please calm down. I'm okay, I will stay here for a while until I can get back to her. Let's change the subject."

I saw him begin to refocus and Apollo took a step back. When it was safe, I continued. "So what should we do now?"

Andy sunk back into the cushions, "That is completely up to you. You may stay here in the guest housing or move into the main house. I don't want to force you into anything that you don't want to or are not ready for."

That was more than reasonable. I envied his ability to keep a level head. "Well, thank you. I appreciate that. I don't have an answer for you right now. I think I just need more time."

"I completely understand. I can't say that I don't have enough on my plate right now as it is. But I do want you to know that I can always be available if you need anything."

"Thank you. I do want to thank you for being so cool about all of this."

"How else would I be? We are both in this together." There was a brief silence, "I should let you get some rest. It's been a long day," he said with a small smile. "I will say though, if you did want to move to the main house, you would have the Luna suite all to yourself."

I was seriously contemplating that option. It was the most practical choice, but I don't know if I was there yet.

"Can I think about it?"

Andy finished off the last of his drink and set it down on the coffee table. "Of course, it was just a suggestion. I want you to feel comfortable and for you to take it at your own pace."

We got caught up talking that we didn't realize that we had finished the entire bottle of whiskey. The sun had fully set outside and the stars had begun to sprinkle across the sky.

After a while longer, I looked at the clock hanging on the far side of the wall, "holy s**t, it's 11:30 already."

Andy followed my gaze at the wall, "hmm, I guess it is. I should probably let you get some rest."

I tried to hide the yawn that escaped me, "It has been a very long day. I'll need some rest if I have training in the morning." I said with a wink.

Andy smiled and pushed himself off of the couch, "I can't wait for you to whip my boys into shape." I chuckled at his giddiness.

"Here, I'll walk you out."

I led Andy to the door and was surprised when he placed a kiss on my cheekbone, "Good night."

I couldn't help the color and heat that rose to my cheeks, the gentle contact felt nice. I didn't want to fight it.

"Goodnight."