Beyond Fate

Oh Brother

“ What the hell are you doing?” I demanded still not quite believing what I’d seen, Johnny and Heather, Heather and Johnny, sneaking around behind everyone’s back, what did this mean?

Johnny was now stood at the sink staring out the window seeming to ignore me. He gave a deep sigh dipping his head as if he wasn’t sure how to answer me. Had he not thought he was going to get caught out if he was sleeping around in his own house. His silence was grating on me, I was about to speak again when I heard delicate footsteps descending the stairs. I looked to my left towards the doorway and I saw heather walking past the kitchen. She looked at me apologetic but I just glared at her with my arms folded.

She hadn’t spoken to me in weeks and now she wanted to play the apologetic slut because she’d been caught red handed with my engaged brother. I was too angry and everyone’s fakery was mounting up. How many more secrets didn’t I know about the people around me. Her eyes darted over to Johnny who had his back to us still but I’m certain he knew she was there, when it was clear he wasn’t going to say anything more she sighed and left after one final longing look. We stood there in silence waiting for the sound of the front door clicking shut.

“ I’m not trying to tell you how to live your life and I know I’m not Tammy’s biggest fan” understatement of the year. “ but I really think you're playing with fire sneaking around with other pack females”. I said gritting my teeth trying not to let my anger over take. I was pretty impressed with how calm I seemed. Ok that was mild for what I was actually thinking. More like he was completely insane and he wasn’t just playing with fire he had soaked himself in petrol and handed Tammy a blow torch. He had lost his damn mind.

“ Heather won’t say anything,” he assured me. Still not looking at me and I’m sure he wasn’t convinced by his statement. Heather blabbing wasn’t the issue here. The issue was that she had something to blab about.

“ She's not your mate is she?” I asked hoping the answer was no. Johnny finally looked at me his face told me straight away I was wrong.

“ no, goddess no she’s had a crush on me for a while and offered to be a friend with benefits” he shrugged like it was no big deal and I wanted to slap him.

“ for how long?” I demanded. Johnny came to sit at the table with his head in his hands. Oh goddess this was going to be bad.

“ about 6 months…” Johnny shrugged, peering up at me afraid of my response.

“ 6 MONTHS!! You’ve been sneaking around with Heather even before Tammy” that was it, I smacked him over and over up the side of the head hoping to knock some sense into him.

“ ouch Ali stop,….” He grabbed my wrists to stop my attack. “ Look it’s not what you think it’s only once in a blue moon, I’ve been on edge with the wedding so close” he said like it made what he was doing ok.

“ when was the last time you had s*x before today?” I asked, snatching my hands back. I began pacing the kitchen not sure if I wanted the answers to any of my questions but needing them all the same.

“ ok so maybe it was once in a blue moon but…” I didn’t let him finish before I smacked him up the side of the head again because it basically meant they were at it like rabbits whenever Tammy wasn’t around. ok so I hated the girl but she didn’t deserve this she was still pregnant with his pup and what Johnny was doing was wrong. what if he got heather pregnant too there was stupid and there was just being plain idiotic and throwing in a side of moron for good measure.

He got up moving away from me, It was wise because I couldn’t trust myself right now.

“ ok ok so it started becoming a regular thing again a couple of weeks ago, normally I just go to the pack house” he held his hands up in defeat. I laughed, now it all made sense no wonder he was so eager to sleep at the pack house the other night. “…but..” he hesitated looking at me like he was in for another smack.

“ what?” I urged, placing my hands on my hips.

He ran his hands through his blonde hair sighing deeply before he spoke “ she’s been getting ballsy…showing up at my office and then today she turned up here, she’s never done that before” he said looking worried.

“ So she's stepping over the line on what you agreed and your answer is not to shut it all down but to jump into bed with her…AGAIN!” I roared raising my hand to hit him again, it would save dad having to kill him if I knocked him into a coma.

This time Johnny grabbed my hand and twisted it back not enough to hurt but to make sure I couldn’t hit him again. “I did Ali, I'm not a total i***t, that was just a goodbye thing, her idea before you say anything” he released me and held his hands up in defence when I turned to glare at him.

“ please tell me you were using protection” I begged, my eyes wide, oh godess please tell me he wasn’t that stupid.

“ of course I’m not stupid” He frowned at me like I was the insane one.

“ says the i***t sleeping around behind his pregnant psycho finances back barely a week before the wedding….sure you weren't sharpening those knives for your balls not dads?” Johnny chuckled dryly, shaking his head.

“ alright I’ve been acting crazy I know, it’s not easy Ali I’m struggling, this isn’t what I wanted from my life, Tammy can’t even stand me, she just wants to make a name for herself ….I always thought….” He sighed heavily, shaking his head.” It doesn’t matter now….. my future is set and it’s my own damn fault……for the record I’m sorry I gave you so much greif about Lucas when you were together too, I just don’t want you making the same mistakes I have” he said sadly and I felt my heart breaking for him. Yes sneaking around with Heather was wrong but we can all do stupid things when faced with an impossible future.

It made me think a lot about my own secrets, so many lies I had kept from my brother because I was just too ashamed and here I was ripping into Johnny for his own irresponsible actions when I was no better. There were so many things I wanted to tell him but I knew it wouldn’t end well. I went over to him, he flinched eyeing me cautiously , probably thinking I would attack again but instead I wrapped my arms around his waist hugging him tightly. After a few moments his body relaxed into mine and he hugged me back. Then I remembered why I had gone to him in the first place before the heather drama.

“ I overheard a conversation between Mitchell and Nathan the other day, I think you should know about it.” I whispered looking up at him, if I couldn’t tell him my secrets at least I can tell him the packs. Johnny nodded his expression hardened, he listened while I relayed everything I heard leaving out the part where Mitchell and Nathan insulted me. I wasn’t protecting them. I just knew Johnny would go into protective big brother mode and he had only just rekindled his friendship with Mitchell. I didn't want that ending again because of Mitchell’s opinion of me. It wasn’t like what he said hadn’t been true, it was just shitty of him to act as if we were friends when we weren’t.

When I was done Johnny seemed deep in thought before looking back down at me smiling slightly. “ I’m Glad you told me” he said, giving me a slight squeeze and I felt the weight of one secret being lifted off my shoulders.

I made us both some coffee and the conversation moved to lighter topics. We didn’t mention Heather again nor did Johnny say about what he had planned with the information I’d given him about the attacks. He already knew about the body left at the border and had sent trackers out to search the area but nothing had been found and the body still hadn’t been identified. He was convinced at this point it was just a rogue seeing as no other pack had put out any alerts for missing members. He wasn’t ruling out foul play though he told me about the way the body had been strung up was a clear message to someone but they wern’t sure to who, if it had been rogues they usually just shredded the body and left but someone had mutilated the body deliberately after they had been killed and left them for all to see. However I could tell the other attack was worrying him more especially because Mitchell wanted to keep it from him. Like me, Johnny didn’t agree that keeping his head warrior in the dark was the best way for him and the other warriors to do their job. I wasn’t sure how it would end but I knew Johnny was hurt his alpha and friend had lied to him.

“ I better go for a shower, Mina will be back soon and I’ll need to put her to bed. Jasmine wants to take me out tomorrow as well, her way of helping me find myself again” Johnny just chuckled rolling his eyes. He liked Jasmine but felt she was a bad influence not that she cared what others thought of her. I went to head upstairs when Johnny's voice shouted at me from the kitchen.

“Hey before I forget a package came for you earlier I put it on your bed” my heart immediately began to race at the thought of having another package like the last one. Who kept sending me them.

“ Who's it from?” I asked nervously, Johnny appeared in the doorway shrugging and I prayed he didn’t notice my distress.

“ don’t know, it was waiting on the doorstep when I got back earlier” he turned back into the kitchen without a second glance.

When I entered my room I saw another box lying on my purple bed sheets, the white gift box standing out even more, a feeling of dread filled my stomach along with a thousand questions. What was it now? Who was doing this to me. Why couldn’t they just leave me alone.

I went over to it part of me thinking about just throwing it out. Despite that o found myself opening it up, my curiosity getting the better of me and wondering what I might find, did I really have the energy for another blow.

However when I opened it up inside lay a black leather bound sketchbook with a case of brand new sketching pencils. The front of the book was embroidered with gold flowers that were sewn into the black leather. It was beautiful. I smiled brightly down at it, examining the case that had my name engraved into it, it didn’t look like your average run of the mill sketch pads either. I wondered who could have done this, maybe mom and dad showing their support for me getting back into training. Was that why Johnny had been so evasive when I asked who’d sent it. I opened up the book and inside the cover was a short message from someone I hadn’t expected.

I once knew this girl. She was a Beta through and through. She had a cute little smile, a wicked sense of humour and took no crap from anyone, not even from her protective big brother and his joker friends. She was somone I always wanted to consider a friend but when I was finally given the chance to prove myself as her friend I let her down because of stupid comments made by a small minded bully and for that I’m truly sorry.

An alpha expects loyalty but a friend has to earn it. I haven't been that friend to you and for that I’m sorry. I let a pack member get the better of me and cloud my judgement, for what it’s worth I don’t see you as an outcast or an omega. I only see the young Beta that is selling herself short, you’ve been a good friend to me even when I didn’t realise it, at a time when I badly needed that friend and when the time finally came for me to do the same I let you down and I’ll never be more sorry for breaking your trust. I understand that it’s not given out easily by you and cannot expect to gain it back. I can only hope that one day you can forgive my idiocy.

Even though you do not consider me a friend let me try and be one to you by telling you to keep fighting back, only a true Beta would be able to take all that life has thrown at you and still be standing. That Beta female I knew so long ago is still in there Alisha find your way back to her.

Mitchell x