Born of Two

Her Choice

Chapter 12

Lochlyn's POV

What did she just say?

What did she just say?

Did she just say what I think she just said?

Did she just say what I had been hoping for?

Did she say, Mate?

I looked down to see Rosie's eyes, bright blue with flecks of yellow dancing through them. Just as fast as she was in my arms, she was gone with a massive smile across her face. Then I realized we were still in the game, and my beautiful and very naked mate was running to the opening without any idea of what was waiting for her. I was naked, but I wasn't nearly as shy about my manhood and parts as she would be to the pack members waiting. I nodded to Ray, and he knew exactly what to do. I could hear the commotion coming from the ramp going up to the training field, where I could only assume that Chase was blocking Rosie from going out. Bless him. Ray came back and confirmed what was happening.

I only just realized that I was still lying on my back against the concrete, staring at the ceiling starry-eyed and in a perfect world. Ray extended his hand to help me up and get some clothing. I could hear my Rosie absolutely yelling at Chase for not letting her through.

"Rosie, you are buck ass naked. Naked as the day you were born. Naked like the time your dress ripped at the club. You can't go out."

"Our team will lose!!!!!"

"They won't lose. Look, all of them crossed the line."

I stood behind the corner and beamed at her sheer defiance and stubbornness. I need to make myself known to her.

"Rosie."

"I know you're there. I have known it the entire time. Your smell is… distinct."

"Honey, let Chase give you his shirt. Everyone crossed the line, and you did your job. They all passed except Jarid."

"What happened to Jarid? Why are you staying behind the corner?"

"Because you're naked, and I am naked, and I would really like to see you naked in the middle of passion versus in front of my best friend and brother-in-law."

"I can understand that… yes, Chase, I will take your shirt. Stop looking at me." I could hear Chase huff as he removed his shirt and promptly placed it over my mate's body. "Okay, will you come out, you weirdo?"

"Nope. The same thing applies to me. Middle of passion only," I said with a smile. I couldn't wait to see her naked, but I wanted to do this the right way. I know I saw a portion of curves that day in the forest when I ripped her shirt, but I didn't want that to be the memory of her body. Her wonderful scent and her extraordinary powers will keep me at bay for right now. There was more I wanted to learn now that she was better before I even got to the need to sleep with her. While my animal disagreed with that statement entirely, he was so happy that the story would be rewritten. I heard Ray coming down the stairs and excusing himself past Rosie. As he brought some clothing to me. He rounded the corner without a smile and was more nervous to see me. I lowered my tone in hopes that Rosie wouldn't hear.

"What's wrong?"

"You need to be ready."

"You want to elaborate on that some more?"

"Jarid woke up. He is pissed that he didn't complete it. Some guards restrained him at the moment, but he went after Marco. He tried to get a couple of shots at him before Finn and Quinn to him to the ground."

"Shit." I ran my fingers through my hair. I wasn't ready to do this part. Now knowing how pissed he is was going to make this more complicated. "Okay, let us try to calm him down. Honestly, after that challenge set, Marco deserved to get hit a couple times."

"No kidding. I was kind of hoping to punch him first for almost drowning me, though."

"Let's go. I need to beat my Luna out. Does anyone know?"

"Nope."

I smiled as big as I could get. Let's shock everyone; I couldn't wait. I round the corner, and there in the middle of the hall with Chase's shirt hanging off her like a dress was the most beautiful, most memorable, and the fiercest girl I knew, and she was mine. I was hers. I ran to her and scooped her up into my arms, and twirled her around. I could hear her muffle gasp and a slight giggle release from her. She wasn't as strong as she was trying to portray. I could make her weak with our happiness and joy. I set her down, and she looked up at me with a straight nose and piercing blue eyes. Her waving brown hair fell in front of her face. I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear so I could see the full beauty of her face; her pale skin, the few freckles that popped around her face, her dusty pink lips, and the pink hue in her nose.

"Can I kiss you now?" I could tell she was a bit taken back from such a forward request. I had her hands in my massive hands, hoping she would say yes.

"Yes."

I was so giddy, but just I was leaning into the space between us, I was met with air. In my expectation of her soft kiss, I didn't realize that her hands were no longer in mine, and she was standing a foot away from me with a devious and competitive smile. She turned on her heels and made her way to the finish line. I knew it then; I was in for more the I bargained more.

I chased after her, realizing that not only was my mate just as competitive as I was but maybe more. She was going to fight for her choice. Her choice, oh my gosh, is she still going to leave even after all of this. Seeing what and who she is? How could she leave after that? I ran faster, trying to catch up to her. I remember Josephine telling me how much she runs and works out, and she was living up to her reputation; the girl was faster than lightning. She turned around and ran backward for a minute, even flipping me the bird while she smiled an antagonizing grin. It made me run fast than I thought I could. But she crossed the finish line before I could even react to her ego-busting act. I slowed down to saunter across the line. I could see my team, minus Jarid and her team congratulating her on the well-deserved victory. She had done it; she beat me in the underground even though I totally would have had her if she hadn't gotten her wolf. I would have had her by a few solid minutes. She sauntered over to me, swaying and her hands placed behind her back as if she was the most innocent thing in the world, but the fire in her eyes gave her away.

"I totally beat you, Alpha." She drew out the word Alpha, emphasizing the last syllables.

"Not so fast, you cheated."

"How did I cheat?" She said with her arms crossed. "Or better question who would believe you that I cheated… a girl can't help when she gets her wolf, right?" She slightly turned away from me and raised her hands above her head, and let a series of woo's out. I could see Josephine, Chase, Kal, and Deren all circling around her and cheering her on. My boys were there, but they were beaten, so they had some bruised egos to deal with. Then I saw Jarid sitting on a down tree with his head in his hands and digging his foot into the ground. I could see him muttering to himself, and then he pounded his fist into the tree, causing a nice hole in the trunk. I let the other celebrate as I made my over to him.

"Hey man, you okay?"

"Did you try?" He said, facing away from me and looking into the moonlight, "Did you try to wake me up?"

"Yes. We all tried. We couldn't get you conscious, man."

"So I failed."

"Not if I can help it. You didn't complete the challenge, but Ray's task was too dangerous. You should have never been knocked out. It wasn't a fair fight, and it wasn't okay. So if you are okay with it... I want to appeal it for you."

"Dude, you're the Alpha. Why can't you just say I passed!!" Jarid stood and was inches from my face. I saw something I had never seen in his eyes. I don't think anything I could say right now would make this better. "It's not fair. I trained so much harder, so much longer."

"I know."

"DO YOU???!!!" He was almost foaming at the mouth at this point, and he shoved me back. I held my hands up to Chase and Marco as they approached me. "Do you know what it's like to have to earn your place? All you did was be born, and you were given the Alpha title. You walked the people worshipped you. You made so many mistakes. You chased after some chick in Omaha for months and.."

"Watch what you say next about our Luna."

"Why? Why should I? She wanted to leave and leave you! She might be the brightest out of all of us. Why follow someone that can't even hold his emotions together!!!"

"Jarid, stop talking!"

"No, Alpha Lochlyn. You don't care about this pack. You only care about some fable and some worthless bitch."

That's when I saw red. No one called my mate a b***h. I raised my fist to knock Jarid's lights out, and I got one good punch in before Chase grabbed my arm and pulled me backward away from the guy in front of me, nursing a very broken nose. Rosie was at my side, trying to get me to calm down. She needed to move and get out of here. Two angry wolves shouldn't be interfered with.

"Jarid, go home." Her sweet voice rang out.

She was trying to help, but Jarid saw this as a threat and went after her. He grabbed her wrist and went for her throat with his other hand. She dodged pretty quickly, but he countered and punched her in the ribs as soon as she opened up her body. She crumpled to the ground with a yelp and gasped for air. Just then, Kal shocked everyone and tackled Jarid to the ground. I Felt Ray and Quinn shoving me back away from Jarid.

"Go walk it off, Jarid!! Be lucky he doesn't kill you for assaulting the Luna." I could hear Kal yell as he scrambled to his feet to brace for an assault from Jarid.

I saw the look in Jarid's again. I knew he was broken. HE had worked so hard on this, for this. After apologizing to Rosie first, I would give him the night to cool down and see what he wants to do. I watched as he huffed back a few feet away from Kal and shifted to his brown wolf instantly and flawlessly. He ran in the opposite direction and into the night.

I picked up Rosie and held her close to me with her head on my should and her legs dangling over my other arm. I could feel how drained she was.

"So about that choice?" I held her tighter, breathing her fantastic scent.

"About that choice. You know Omaha really isn't that bad."

She looked out into the woods as I set her down slowly. She paused for long enough that I could mentally see her looking at and remembering the world she used to live in; her tux shop, her home, her parents' lives, her childhood. She turned back to face me and adjusted her hair.

"But this I think will be better. Much better."

I couldn't help it and ran over and scooped up with my arms. Her perfect butt was perched above my forearms and her face buried in my neck. She wrapped her arms around my neck and pulled herself away from me. I let her move, her face moving back every so slightly, but I kept my lock on her. Her smile was contagious as she threw her head back in laughter, and when she came to face me, her lips pursed together tightly, forming a smile. I stared deeply into her, and I couldn't help it.

"Can I please kiss you now? My deceptive lynx."

"Yes. You can... tortoise."

"Tortoise?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"Yeah, because… ya slow."

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, remember I beat you. It was like 20 minutes ago… Do we need to ask our friends. They will remind you." She nodded her head back towards our friends who had gathered under the glow of the lamps.

"Just.. shut up," I said.

I gave her an unquenchable kiss on the lips. She froze for a second before she released her inhibitions and joined the kiss. Her soft lips moved in parallel movements to mine. Breathless and wanting more, we pulled away from each other when we heard everyone whooping as loud as they could. Our foreheads came together in laughter as I sat back on the ground. I realized it was almost one in the morning, and no one had slept a wink for practically a day. We have found out our friends were pregnant, we went through the underground, Rosalynn got her wolf and her choice of life, She picked our world vs. a human one. I fought with Jarid, almost drowned, and finally, I got to kiss Rosie after months of waiting. I couldn't be more mentally and physically drained. I gently put my arm around Rosie's waist, squeezing her ever so slightly. When her face twisted with pain.

"Oh, hey! Let me see where Jarid clocked you." I reached for the hem of the shirt that covered her when she moved away from me.

"Really, I am fine… Plus, you said no peeking, and I don't know how you are going to look at my ribcage without seeing everything else."

I nodded because she was right, "At least let's get home, then you change, and Deren and I will come to look at it."

"That's fine but aren't I supposed to heal really super fast now?"

"Yes and no. Depending on the circumstances. Yes, you can heal much faster than in your human life, but if your energy is depleted and your wolf is tired, your healing will practically be that of a normal person. You are tired. Your wolf is tired and needs to rest, so your body is going to take time."

"So no cliff jumping?"

"No."

"No new dangerous hobbies?"

"God, please no. Nothing that could harm you. I want an eternity with you."

"An eternity.. weirdo."

I kept her close as we walked back to the house with most everyone in tow still. Kal and Hazel were headed to their home while Ray and Quinn returned to the apartments. The only ones in tow with us were Jo, Chase, and Deren. We were pretty quiet on the way home. Rosie's yawned about seven times before she rested her head on my arm as we walked. She looked over at Deren and tilted her head to the side, wondering things.

"Deren, who has Violet right now?"

"My parents are doing a Papito and Nonni weekend with her."

"I know you went through some stuff tonight. I don't want you to be alone. Why don't you stay at Lochlyn's house?"

"Honesty, that would be great."

When we got to the house, Deren escorted my mate to the bedroom and helped her change while inspecting her very sensitive side. I could hear my name from outside the door of her room. They both rolled their eyes when I walked in, and Deren handed Rosie a dollar. I looked at them confused, wondering why there was an exchange of money.

"She bet me you were standing outside the door. I thought you had more control over this. Apparently, I was wrong." Deren said with

smirk.

"Brace yourself, Rosie. You are no longer alone in life."

She looked at me with a pained smile as Deren pressed her side. "You think Chase and Jojo ever left me alone? Ha. I haven't been alone since that girl walked into my life."

I walked over to her to let her head rest against my upper abdomen area as I stroked the top of her head. Her side was incredibly tender, and I could hear little catches in her breath as Deren continued to inspect it. Her small groans and barely audible whines made me angry all over that Jarid got the upper hand with her.

"Okay. All done." Deren said, standing upright.

I could Feel Rosie relax and loosen as the pressure released.

"We may have to wrap it. You have probably a few broken ribs, and internally you more than likely have really good bruising. Your wolf is exhausted, which is why nothing is healing nearly as fast as usual. That is expected having been hurt this close to your first shift."

"See, you will have super-fast healing," I said, looking down at Rosie.

"Lochlyn, keep her relatively upright and lots of ice and Tylenol. I work a shift at the hospital tomorrow, so come see the doc and we will get pain meds if you need it. Just keep her from shifting or moving around a lot."

"So I have to stay here in her room?"

"Ideally. But no funny business, mister." She said, giving me the sternest look.

I could feel Rosie tense beneath me. We hadn't discussed sleeping arrangements yet, and I knew everything I needed to about her. She didn't know me well enough to take that step. I placed my hand on the back of her head. I reached my other hand to her chin and pulled it slightly to look up at me.

"No funny business, I promise. I will sleep on the floor if I need to."

"No, for some weird reason, I trust you but just stay on your side, okay."

"Whatever you need, but I am going to lift you up and place you in the bed."

"Lochlyn, I have broken ribs, not a broken femur."

"Still, the last two weeks, I have been kept at a distance, so our bond didn't scare you. Now, you are all my to take care of." I scooped her up very gently and placed her on the bed that was literally 2 feet from where she just was. Deren had flipped the sheet down, and I tucked her like she was precious cargo. Deren went to the door to leave and go to one guest room.

"Thank you for letting me stay tonight, Alpha."

"For sure. The bathroom is down the hall. Deren, you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Chase had let me know what your challenge was… you sure you're okay?"

"I don't know, but I know I have some closure. I don't think Marco did it to be mean but to simply give me something I never got."

"Okay, just please make sure you understand that we are here for you."

"Well, she might be asleep in that conversation," Deren said, pointing to the bed.

I look behind me, and sure enough, Rosie's head is bobbled forwards, and she is entirely out of it. I smile at her sleepy little face as I walk to her and make her a little more comfortable. "I didn't get it wrapped up."

"That's okay. Just a precaution for her. Just maybe keep her still tonight. Let me know if you need help. You know where to find me." Deren left and went to find her room. She closed the door behind herself, and I went to the old storage closet in her room and found some old pajamas that I could still wear. Slipped those on and got under the covers very slowly and gently next to Rosie. I was so excited to be next to her that I almost couldn't fall asleep, but the moment I let my body relax and give in to the mattress, I fell asleep fast.

That morning, I woke to have the best and worst night of sleep ever. On the one hand, I was next to my mate, so I slept deeply and soundly, but every couple of hours, Rosie would wake up and groan from the pain in her body. Her ribs and organs were bruised, but her body was exhausted from her shift which made her very restless.

I rolled over and looked at my phone when I saw three security alerts come through. One for the apartments, one for the cafeteria, and one for the gym. I slid out of bed and walked over to Rosie, still sleeping. I gave her a quick kiss on her forehead, and she began to stir. Her eyes fluttered open to see me standing over her, and for a moment, she panicked and moved too quickly, and her body protested the movements when she let out a small groan and growled slightly at the pain.

"Hey, don't get up; we just have something going on in the pack we need to take care of."

"I am coming with you."

"Nope, your not. Just stay in bed."

"I haven't seen anything in the pack yet. Please, I promise I will take a nap later today."

"Fine. Get dressed."

"Umm, Okay." She huffed, trying to get herself out of bed.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed, slowly and like a cripple, but what's the problem?"

"I already have Jo coming to help you." Almost as if saying her name materialized her, Jo showed up and was barging into the room with Chase, who looked like he just the crap kicked out of him. Jo supported his weight on her own until I ran over to help her. "What that hell happened?!"

Chase groaned as I set him in the chair I used to sleep in. He was mumbling something but couldn't get it out.

"Lochlyn, what happened?" Rosie's voice was full of concern. Chase grabbed my arm and looked at me.

"He went crazy…. He destroyed as much as he could." Chase roared as Josephine put his arm back in the socket of his shoulder, which I hadn't realized was dislocated.

"Who went crazy?" I looked at him, concerned that we had an invasion of some kind that I slept through.

"Jarid. Jarid left."