Beyond Fate

Crocodile tears

A knock at the door alerted Johnny and I that someone else had interrupted our sweet sibling moment we both pulled back but I remained in Johnnys arms as we looked in the direction of the door to see one of Johnny's warrior buddies stood there eyeing us in his seemingly perminant disapproval face I immediately recognised him as one of the warriors who had been watching me and Mitchell at the club the other night.

“ ash? What’s up man?” Johnny inquired, his arm remained around my waste keeping me close to him, ash’s eyes momentarily went to me his eyes trailing the length of my body, his irritation for me evident but I saw his eyes turn dark with lust. It was my turn to look disgusted at him. It made me sick that he could still treat me as if I was a bad guy but lust after me at the same time. He was an attractive man I’ll admit, tall, muscled and handsome, his dark blonde hair grown out to his shoulders that he usually tied back but today he hadn’t bothered, he was every girls dream but to me I couldn’t think of a man I wanted to be around less. Maybe Nathan.

“ It's almost twelve, time to head down” was all Ash said sparing a glance at Johnny. He turned and left straight away not waiting for a response obviously expecting Johnny to follow like some obedient pup.

“ Who the hell does he think he is?” I glared after the guy feeling like dragging him back and making him apologise for the lack of respect for his commander. Johnny may like being informal with his men but he was still head warrior that deserved respect and from what I’d seen they all did but this Ash guy clearly thought otherwise because we were in an informal situation.

“ don’t worry about Ash he’s blunt like that, he’s a good warrior, though not really one for fun” Johnny said making excuses. Just because you weren't a happy go lucky type of guy didn’t excuse the lack of respect. Irritated, I folded my arms trying to shake off my anger. Today was about Johnny. I didn't need to start something with one of his warriors, not today anyway. Johnny smiled down at me giving me one last hug and kissed my head following ash down the hallway. I watch him disappear out of sight before going back into my room and making final preparations before heading out too.

As I walked down towards the stairs that lead to the front door I saw a tiny figure coming out of one of the rooms and heading to another. I stood there watching them for a moment the person seemed to be looking for something.

“ Hey, do you need help finding someone?” I asked and the person froze with their hand on the door handle to the next room at the sound of my voice. I frowned trying to see who it was but their face was covered in the shadows. The person didn’t move. As I got closer, they finally stepped into the light and my heart stopped in my throat seeing the determination in their eyes. This was bad, really bad.

“ Heather?” My eyes went wide, I didn’t know why I should be surprised to see her here I thought she would make a last ditch attempt to seduce my brother I just hadn’t expected her to be quite so bold about it, we had a private house and Mitchell had given all the omegas the time off from their duties to enjoy the festivities so there was no excuse she could really give me as to why she was here other than to get near my brother.

“What are you doing here?” I eyed the omega suspiciously. I have been doing that a lot lately. No one seemed to be who they said they were and I was suspicious of everyone’s motives and actions.

The little omega suddenly looked like a deer in headlights seeing it was me coming towards her. She was dressed in a beautiful long form fitting floral dress that hugged all her tiny curves perfectly, her usually straight pixie bob was slightly curled, she looked like she should be dancing through the forest sporting fairy wings.

“ I..I..was… just…” she stuttered and I frowned more at her. It was then I realised she hadn’t been prepared for me to catch her she was expecting one of Tammy’s lot to be up here, someone she could sweet talk so she could get near Johnny, there was no such thing as loyalty with these girls it didn’t matter they were the brides friends any chance for a drama and they were in.

Seeing the look on my face that I wasn’t going to buy whatever pathetic excuse she was preparing in her head, Heather decided to just shamefully dip her head. It wasn't an answer but it didn’t take an i***t to see she had been looking for Johnny. I was suddenly grateful Ash had come to collect him.

“ I know what you were….just” I mocked the last part making it clear I was making fun of her stuttering before, it was harsh but then so had her attempt to get near my brother and cloud his judgement……AGAIN…today of all days.

“ I’m only going to say this once so look at me so I know you understand” I got in her face and waited while she slowly raised her head to look at me, tears now in her eyes looking so sorry for herself. I think she was hoping it would gain some sympathy and I’ll admit it probably would have worked if I hadn’t of thought back to all those times she had claimed to be my friend but had abandoned me when Mitchell had first come back and banished me from the pack house. she had also given me a fair amount of scowls like so many other girls when I had been with Lucas. It was clear now that her friendship to me had been fake, a mere way to get closer to Johnny.

“ My brother is going to be a married man in less than an hour. You will not do anything to jeopardise that” I said with malice. she flinched indicating she understood. No I couldn’t stand the bride to be and I know this was a bit of a twist, me defending the marriage but it was already too late to stop what had to happen and heather exposing their affair wasn’t going to make Johnny's life with Tammy any easier.

“ I…I…I’m pregnant!” She announced, I simply smirked at her letting her know I knew she was lying. Ever since I found them together at my house I had a feeling heather would pull something like this to stop the wedding. so I’d taken steps to make sure when the time came I knew with certainty I could call her bluff.

“ No heather you're not” I allowed my smile to widen, leaning into her unafraid.

She lost her confidence for a moment before gazing back down at the ground. She was submitting but I didn’t trust that she wouldn’t make a scene at the ceremony, so going quickly to my room and grabbing the pregnancy test I had stashed.

Funny thing, when you share a room with someone they know everything about you including your monthly circles. It was no secret Heather was well favoured with the males of the pack but the females not so much. Heather liked to have fun and although she wasn’t nasty about it she enjoyed the fact that males took her to bed over others, even when they already had a favoured omega at the pack house.

As luck would have it, Heather's roommate Gale recently lost one of her favourite male warriors to heather. Everyone knew that although they weren't mates Gale was in love with said warrior but after years of warming her bed she now had to listen to him have s*x with omega in the bed next to hers, understandably she was heartbroken.

So naturally when I gave gale an opportunity to ruin Heather's chance with the male she loved Gale had been more than willing to partake. She had given me everything I needed, Heather had finished her cycle only a few days before I found her and Johnny together. I knew that Heather could still come back and say she was pregnant later because of the day I found them together but Gale had gone one better managing to get a sample of Heather's urine…..I didn’t ask how.

With werewolf pregnancies being so fast compared to humans, you can tell immediately after conception if a werewolf was with pup so all I had needed to do was get my hands on a pregnancy test and hey presto, I had proof there was no baby in heather’s womb.

I shoved the test at heather unbothered if she tried to destroy it. I had others and now she knew I would out her the moment she opened her mouth. Heather looked down at the test in defeat, tears streamed down her face and she knew she was done.

“ I…I…love….him” she gasped in between sobs and I could see she was heartbroken. Then I remembered what she had done to her roommate. Not only had she seduced the man she knew Gale loved but she had also done it with her roommate having to listen to it in the bed next to them. Heather didn’t care about anyone but herself. She just didn’t like the fact that she wasn’t anything special to my brother. That knowledge alone was enough for me to be disgusted by her pathetic crocodile tears.

“ but… you don’t even like Tammy…we…we…were friends Alisha… I could make him happy…I….” Heather begged and I couldn’t bear looking at her anymore. We weren't friends. She didn’t care about me she used me thinking I would help her get close to Johnny, I was sure now she had some kind of long term plan she hadn’t put in motion yet and would probably have needed me on side at some point but none of that mattered now.

“ it’s not for you or me to decide Heather, it’s in the hands of the goddess” I sighed just as defeated by all of this, I looked down at the poor girl as she sobbed she clearly cared for my brother it was a typical situation where the guy is clear that it’s a causal thing but somewhere along the way the girl develops feelings however they don’t see that they are the only one. I didn’t think Heather really was in love with my brother, she wouldn’t be sleeping with other men still if that was the case but there were obviously feelings. Suddenly an idea formed in my head, I softened my expresion towards her and gently took her hands in mine. She looked up at me with hope in her eyes and it took everything in me not to roll my own.

“ If you really love him heather…. let him go, what will sabotaging today accomplish… it won’t change the fact Tammy is pregnant. You think sending him into a marriage where the bride knows he was sleeping with you the entire time they were together will help him?” I pleaded with her, she may have been outed for her pregnancy lie but she could still tell everyone the truth and make Johnny's life even more hell but I hoped her feelings for him were strong enough she could see that nothing would change from her outburst. Johnny was an i***t for getting involved with heather but he still had to marry Tammy regardless and Heather would only be giving Tammy more ammunition against Johnny in the long run.

Heather stared down at the ground seeming to think on my words for a moment I didn’t think my pleads would work and I was forming a plan in my head to lock her in my room till everything was over but then she spoke.

“ your right, I love him too much to hurt him like that” she spoke softly like she was making some great sacrifice keeping her mouth shut. She didn’t love my brother, how could she. She’d come here with the sole purpose to trap him just as Tammy had only there was no pup thank goddess. The situation made me wonder though. Has Heather been trying to get pregnant? Or was this just some not so well thought out last ditch attempt to win my brother over. Either way she had to go.

“ It's for the best heather, you have a mate out there that will love you and make you forget your pain today” I said, touching her shoulder in a bid to comfort her, completely hiding my disdain for the girl. Heather seemed to buy what I was selling because her hand squeezed my hand at her shoulders and nodded. She loudly sobbed heading further down the corridor towards the emergency exit away from the staircase that led downstairs all I could hear was the echo of her overly exaggerated crying until the door finally shut with a loud bang.

Once I was sure Heather was gone I leant against the wall breathing a sigh of relief that one bullet had been dogged. I can’t believe Heather came here to try and stop Johnny's wedding when honestly this entire day was just an elaborate show Tammy could marry Johnny but it wasn’t until they had marked each other that it was official with our kind. All today was just another way for Tammy to claim the spotlight, judging from the way Heather was behaving she wasn’t much better, apparently my brother had a type. Somehow I had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be the most dramatic thing to happen today but hopefully I had given enough for heather to think about causing any outbursts today would go the way she wanted.

The sound of a door opening brought me out of my thoughts. I opened my eyes to see one of my fellow bridesmaids and attackers from the other day. She had her hair styled exactly the same as me and matching bridesmaid dress that would have us looking like twins if her blonde hair wasn’t dyed a tacky bleach colour it was almost yellow under the light of the hallway.

When she noticed me standing there in the hallway leaning against the wall, she made a quick attempt to scowl at me, I growled at her. I wasn’t in the mood after dealing with one vengeful female and these bitches better watch their step today. She squealed and scampered as quickly as she had come disappearing into one of the other rooms. I decided to head downstairs before any more vengeful females came my way otherwise heads wouldn’t roll.

When I got to the top of the railing I heard the sweet little voice I loved floating through the house and my heart immediately filled with joy. I practically tried to run down the huge rounding staircase that led into the enormous open living room and kitchen before thinking better of it in the huge heels. I could see a small crowd of people from where I was standing over them. Most of them being Johnny's closest warrior buddies and a couple of the bridesmaids that were shamelessly gushing over them. My parents were at the kitchen island drinking champagne trying to ignore the unwanted guest stealing Johnny's attention. I was a little disappointed it wasn’t just my family there, I guess my conversation with Heather had taken longer than I thought, now everyone was ready and checking in with the groom. Everything in the house was in natural oak just like my suite including the enormous chandelier carved into the shape of antlers hanging from the ceiling as you entered the open space at the bottom of the staircase.

I descended the stairs slowly now and with as much grace as I could muster, reminding myself if I could see all of them then they could probably see me too so no doubt I would end up tripping up on my dress and tumbling down the huge staircase in front of everyone if I didn’t take my time. It wasn’t until I reached the halfway point I realised the room that was only moments ago busling with laughter and conversation had now gone completely silent, I looked over the bannister into the living room thinking they may have left without me only to be met with around twenty eyes all on me.

(Johnny pov)

“ …just give her a nice smack, nothing too….” I did my best to tune out all the disgusting wedding night advice one of my younger warriors Joel was trying to give me, he was a good guy and I knew he was only trying to get a laugh out of me before I sealed my fate once and for all but I looked at my mother who was scowling in disapproval all I could do was give a weak ass cringe like I hadn’t heard Joel tell worse stories. As I looked back at the i***t he was now gesturing with his body, thrusting his hips too.

Thankfully Mitchell came in moments latter through the sliding doors just behind Joel he smiled and me and gave the i***t a playful kick to the backside the force taking Joel by surprise throwing him to the ground so he landed face first on the hardwood flooring he shot back up immediately but wasn’t any less embarrassed now all the guys were laughing at him.

“save the s*x stories pup you need to loose your virginity first” that got a laugh from everyone in the room, even my mom was trying to stifule a chuckle unlike dad who was full on belly laugh mode clutching at his stomach, Joel turned bright red. He was a good kid and a promising young warrior, I’d hand picked him myself for early admission to warrior training when he was just seventeen but the guy was not a ladies man although he was keen and as good looking as any of us, the kid had no game so he took to telling elaborated stories to fit in with the more experienced guys. We all knew he was talking crap but we liked him enough to let him have his moment.

Seconds later Mina came bounding through the back door behind her dad. She skipped towards me with the brightest smile on her face and I automatically bent down, arms outstretched scooping her up.

This little girl that came into our lives under terrible circumstances a few years ago had become our family's Sunshine and I secretly hoped I’d be lucky enough with my own pup that they would be just like her. If my sister had anything to do with my pups upbringing they certainly would, my sister had been wonderful with Mina and one day she would make a brilliant mother of her own. I just hoped she would find her mate before making a mistake like I did. I wasn’t an i***t. I knew she and Mitchell had developed feelings for one another, I knew Mitchell was a good man and he would treat my sister well but I didn’t want him to stop her from finding her mate. It was different for Mitchell, Alisha hadn’t found her mate yet, he still walked the earth and I hoped Mitchell would respect that.

“ So man, how are you feeling?” Mitchell came to me smacking me on the shoulder. I was glad I’d asked him to be my best man. If I was honest even with the distance between us I couldn’t have imagined having another stand beside me on this day. I just wished everyone would stop asking me that question. How was I feeling? The truth was I was dying inside. After today nothing would be the same again. I was marrying a woman who wasn’t my mate and couldn’t stand me. If I ever met my fated mate I’d have to reject her that alone tore me apart more than anything. I would lie awake at night knowing I’d never get to hold her, kiss her, spend my life with her and probably have to watch her be with another. I couldn’t blame anyone else though it was my fault I had ruined my life and my mates by sleeping around like the dipshit that I was.

“ I‘ll be fine once we reach the bar” I lied but no one noticed the guys all cheered and the stupid females with them giggled, cosying up to the guys more. I had to hide my disgust at how easy it was for them all, I hated myself more that I was once one of them but since this thing with Tammy and the baby happened it had made me see things in a new light. I realised too late how stupid I’d been, running around our pack chasing girls that wern’t my mate for nothing more than a fleeting moment of pleasure, I didn’t want anything else from these girls but I had said whatever I could to get what I wanted from them just like these assholes were doing with the two girls infront of me and they were making it all too easy for the guys to get what they wanted from them.

Mina gave me a kiss before she quickly became distracted by the huge tv in the living room. She scrambled out of my arms running to find the remote, no doubt she was off to find a Disney movie. I chuckled standing back up from where I’d half crouched to let her jump down when I realised the chuckling and banter had ceased and the room became deadly silent. I looked around to see everyone including Mitchell staring at the ceiling. I looked up to see nothing out of the ordinary. I looked back at my friend frowning, ready to smack him over the head like we always used to when we were younger but then seeing his eyes changing colour as he continued to stare, no one had spoken, it was eerily silent. That's when I heard it.

The gentle clicking of heels on the staircase. I looked up to see the incredible beauty descending the stairs that had captured the rooms full attention doing nothing other than to walk into it. Alisha had always been a beauty. I’d had to warn more than a few guys away from her over the years but today she was captivating, my baby sister had become the most beautiful woman in our pack. I smiled brightly, feeling proud of how after all the years of being an outsider she still held herself with such pride and elegance.

I didn’t notice that Mitchell had moved away from me and was now heading straight towards my sister like a man on a mission, he didn’t take his eyes off her nor she him it was as if they were both in a trance and I realised something. My sister and my alpha were in serious trouble. Alisha may still have a mate out there in the world but judging from the way these two were looking at one another I had a feeling it was already too late.

One of the guys growled under his breath suggestively like the i***t he was thinking I hadn’t heard him but I caught it and growled louder in their direction letting them know this female was off limits to players like them. They all wisely dipped their heads in submission yes I was an easy going guy but they all knew I wasn’t the wolf to f**k with and when it came to my sister…. Let’s just say they would never find the body if any man dared hurt her.

( Alisha pov )

I wasn’t used to having all eyes on me, not for anything good anyway and for a moment the extra attention was a little overwhelming but I soaked it up as best I could holding my head high as I took the final step. That was when my eyes landed on the incredible green eyes of alpha Mitchell in the same moment making my heart speed up so much I was sure everyone could hear the sound of it pounding.

I had thought Johnny looked good in a suit but my brother was nothing when taking in the sight of the man that was becoming more of a fixture in my thoughts than I would admit lately. His suit matched Johnnys of course, when Johnny had heard how Mitchell had protected me he had also asked him to be his best man. Mitchell’s suit moulded to his body as if it had been made for him, fitted to enhance the adonis’s body that lay beneath without making it too tight and obvious, his hair had been smoothed back away from his head and his strong jaw had been left with just a slight bit of stubble which I found myself liking even more than when he was clean shaven. I licked my lips without even thinking, making myself blush slightly. To my surprise Mitchell moved forward towards me while everyone else remained rooted to the floor still staring at me silently. Dad for once was watching everything unfold intently while mom had a tiny smile on her face. Mitchell reached the stairs offering me his hand which I took without hesitation smiling brightly.

It was crazy. I was wearing the same dress the other girls in the room were wearing yet he looked at me like he was seeing something for the first time.

“ Alisha… your…breathtaking” he whispered probably thinking he hadn’t said it loud enough for anyone else to hear but moments later I heard a small but menacing growl coming from my brother. It was enough to bring Mitchell and I out of our moment and look up but to my surprise Johnny was glaring at his warrior buddies who were now looking sheepishly to the floor.

A cough sounded through the silent living room breaking the atmosphere. “ right everyone we need to get going the ceremony is in 30 minutes” my dad announced everyone began running around making last minute preparations as Mitchell guided me towards my parents and Johnny who was still in the kitchen area.

“ oh my baby you look amazing” mom swept towards me in her own beautiful gold halterneck gown wrapping me in a hug.

“ So this is the designer dress dad paid through the nose for” I gestured to the dress. It was stunning the skirt floated out into an empire beautiful although it didn't look like it was worth £5000. Mom smirked looking over her shoulder to dad who was deep in conversation with Mitchell and Johnny.

“ Of course not, I sent all that stuff back. I was just punishing your dad for ruining my dress” she winked at me.

I chuckled, shaking my head, I knew she wouldn’t punish him that much. She did love shopping but my mom would never spend thousands of pounds on a dress. Plus she loved dad too much to do that to him.

“ Have you told dad yet?” I whispered to her.

“ of course not, have to let him sweat just a little bit longer” we both chuckled. Moments later she grasped my hands a little tight I knew today was going to be hard for her this was not the kind of life she had envisioned for Johnny or myself. Tears were welling in moms eyes and she quickly moved away heading for the bathroom.

I stood there watching her retreating form when dad came to stand next to me.

“ how is she?” I asked and he frowned at me, letting his claws elongate on his fingers then made a clawing motion at his wrists and giving a dramatic impression of a dying man that had me laughing a little.

I sighed sadly as I looked over dads shoulder to see Johnny being guided out by his warriors and Mitchell, followed a little too close by two of the bridesmaids. Dad saw my line of vision giving me a weak smile he placed his hand on my arm rubbing it affectionately.

“ is this really happening?” I said without thinking, in that moment I was still a little girl hoping her dad would swoop in like my hero he was to save my big brother from sudden doom.

“ nothing we can do about it now baba so let’s just get through this day together” he sighed his expression completely defeated, squeezing my shoulder before we all began heading towards the door, I looked down at my munchkin who was suddenly at my side smiling brightly up at me. I knew she didn’t really understand the pain today represented for our family but her reassuring smile gave me the strength to walk through the door where Mitchell was waiting.

This was it…..