Fate’s Design

Family

Jordan POV

I wasn’t surprised, but I was disappointed when I saw Kelsey walk up with a new flavor of the week. She had already gotten one of our guests wrapped around her like the last blanket on a cold night. One of these days, all of this was gonna bite her little hiney. I wanted to be happy it at least wasn’t Alex this time… but adding another poor soul to her mess was not a good thing at all. Especially when it could cause tension between packs.

I knew why she did it. I just wished she would understand this wasn’t the solution to all that crap she was still dealing with from whatever those psychos did to her. When we were younger, there was a raid on our caravan when our family, Durian’s family, and Gamma Theo’s family were all out. It was rare for Alpha, Beta, and Gamma to all be gone, let alone the Luna and Beta and Gamma females also, but this was an important occasion. Alpha Carson, Durian’s father, was signing a treaty with the Black Claw pack. Our packs had been rivals for generations. This treaty would mark the end of decades of violence. Anyone who was anyone in either pack was going to be there. But it turned out to be a ruse. Along the way, they ambushed us. They came out of nowhere, and it was like they were everywhere at once. Alpha Carson was killed, so were both my parents and several of our warriors. Then they seemed to disappear just as quickly as they had appeared, and Kelsey had disappeared with them. It was weeks before we found her. She never told us what happened in that time, but we had our suspicions. Regardless of the details, it was clear that whatever happened in that time changed her. She wasn’t a carefree kid anymore after that. She was an angry, hurt young woman with something to prove and apparently nothing left to lose. And whatever they did caused her wolf to wake up early. I had never heard of someone meeting their wolf at 16. The rest of us had to wait until we turned 18, but my sister did. She hadn’t shown an interest in boys before that. After, they were like pawns in a game. She knew how to charm a fella into doing whatever she wanted while giving him as little as possible in return. All she had to do was say the word and any guy would be under her spell. Judging by the way the Harvest Moon wolves looked at this guy, this one was someone important. He was too young to be Alpha Stone, so I guessed it was his son, Mason. I wasn’t sure what exactly Kelsey planned to get out of him, but whatever it was, the poor guy had no clue what he was getting into. He’d probably hand over his pack and thank her for the privilege if that was what she wanted out of him. Thankfully, I had never seen her do anything that sinister. Kelsey never seemed to be very ambitious with her manipulations. She mostly wanted to be left alone. She spent way too much time in that burrow in the woods instead of in the village like a civilized person. I figured that at least meant she was getting along well with her wolf, which she refused to let any of us meet. Since she wasn’t one of the warriors, she didn’t have to shift at any point in training, she just had to have basic hand to hand skills like all the adults were expected to.

I plastered on a smile and walked up to do my job as Beta and introduced myself. “Welcome. I’m Jordan James, Beta of Crystal Run. You must be Alpha Mason. I believe congratulations are in order. I hear you are officially taking over for your father soon.”

A flicker of annoyance came across his face, but he quickly hid it. If I didn’t know better, I’d say he wasn’t particularly excited about his new position. “Thank you. I hope to lead just as he taught me to, honoring the stories of our people, great and small.”

“I look forward to seeing that happen. Your pack has always been content and well cared for.” I told him. “I see you’ve met my sister.” I said carefully. I didn’t want to step on his toes and tell him he was screwed. I also didn’t really want to throw my sister under the bus like that.

“You didn’t tell me your brother was the Beta, sweetheart.” He said, turning to her with what seemed to be genuine affection. This poor sap really was under her spell. Most of the guys just thought she was hot. This guy actually seemed a bit smitten.

“Didn’t seem relevant.” She said casually, shrugging her shoulders. Typical Kels.

Alpha Mason chuckled. “Why does that not surprise me. So, are you gonna tell him or am I?” He asked. Oh, boy. What did they have to tell me? The slightly panicked, slightly embarrassed look on Kelsey’s face confused me. Both were emotions she didn’t display often. I swear, if they were about to tell me she was pregnant…

“Mason is my mate.” She blurted out. That… was not what I expected at all. The possibility hadn’t even crossed my mind, in spite of how much I had warned her that one day her mate would turn up. I never expected that he would actually accept her after everything. Surely he knew… right?

“I’m sorry… did you say mate?” I asked incredulously after a moment, looking between the two of them. Alpha Mason looked just as surprised as I was. Had he not expected her to admit it? I guess that tracked. “This… how… how are you doing with all that?” I finally managed to get out. Everyone always hoped that events like this that brought the packs together would lead to matings, and it was always cause for celebration, but given the circumstances, I didn’t know how to react. ‘Congratulations’ seemed premature.

I saw him tighten his hold to pull Kelsey slightly closer, almost as if he was trying to protect her from my question. Either that or he was afraid she would run off on him… which would frankly be a very reasonable concern to have. Either option was a possibility.

“We’re figuring it out.” He said for both of them when she didn’t respond. “It’s a little more complicated than most couples, but nothing we can’t manage.”

“Well, uh, let me know if there’s anything I can do for you.” I had no idea what I was even saying at this point. I think I was a little in shock over the whole thing. I think I had somehow started to believe Kelsey when she said there wasn’t a mate out there for her. I never thought I’d see her mate standing next to her. We had all just assumed that her mate wouldn’t want the trouble of accepting her. When I first saw the two of them arrive, I felt bad for him and thought he didn’t know what he was getting into. Now, seeing the look on his face, knowing that he understood exactly what he was in for and was choosing to be here anyway because she was his mate, no matter what… I had nothing but respect for the man in front of me.

“Have you told anyone else?” I asked Kelsey.

“Durian and Alex know.” She answered, not quite looking at me. Since when was she afraid to look me in the eye? She was always getting into trouble and practically daring me to do something about it as her brother and Beta. But now that she was doing something right for a change, she seemed nervous.

I let out a low whistle. “I bet that went over well.”

“Yeah… you could say that.” She said quietly. Alpha Mason kissed the top of her head gently. “Kelsey, you tell your pack however you want to, but people are gonna find out sooner or later. It would probably be a good idea to get ahead of it before rumors get too wild.” Mason said. She looked up at him for a moment, then nodded.

“Yeah, you’re right.” She replied reluctantly.