As the Moon Teaches

No Choice. Part 1

Something startled Zeala, which woke Loren up. Eyes snapping open, he saw Eric’s mother staring at them with a disappointed look on her face. Glancing to the side, he noticed Eric was awake and pointedly not looking at his mother. Loren groaned and closed his eyes while cursing himself.

“Boys, I’m not going to yell or chastise you. I’m disappointed because we’ve told you if you want to experiment with drinking, to come do it at the house.” Mrs. Gunn was a very blunt woman, she found no use in beating around the bush. “I have already called your father, Loren, he’s on his way. Now you two will have to find a way to pay me back for my bottles that you’ve nearly emptied.”

Loren opened his eyes and stared at Mrs. Gunn for a moment before nodding. “Yes ma’am.”

Eric looked like he was going to be sick for a moment, before he seemed to settle. He now was watching Loren with concern in his eyes.

Loren stood up and stretched, oddly enough feeling amazing even though he was in trouble. This was trouble he could handle, it was a normal type of trouble. Much better than the trouble with Gregory.

“Seriously Loren?” Kristian Whitaker, Loren’s father, spoke in an annoyed tone. “We’ve been over things like this. If you want to try things, try them at home with us. We don’t always react to things like humans do.”

Loren ‘mhmm’ed while looking out the window of his father’s Charger. They had had the talk about trying new things in the safety of the house, but he just really wanted to forget about his troubles with Gregory for a little while.

“I had to leave work to come get you… Luckily I can finagle around the truth a little, otherwise I’d have to book you boys.” Loren snorted at his dad’s taunt. Kristian was a detective, and luckily Mrs. Gunn told him very little over the work phone.

“I’m sorry. I just needed to forget about this ‘mate’ situation with that Gregory guy.” Loren sighed and closed his eyes. "I don't know what to do."

"Listen 'Ren," Kristian reached a hand over to pat his son on the shoulder. "Things always work themselves out."

The rest of the car ride was silent. Loren did not know how to take his father's advice. It sounded like he meant for Loren to go along with Gregory's proposal, because it will work itself out. That did not appeal to Loren.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, he was going to text Carleigh but stopped when he noticed the time. It was nearly five in the evening. Had he really slept that long? That surprised him, but really he had not slept well the night before.

Carleigh was most likely at her weekend job already with it being this late. Loren huffed but decided not to pester his sister while she was working. He would have to wait until she returned home.

As they pulled into their driveway, they noticed a deep red colored motorcycle parked on the road near their mailbox. Who would park that close unless they were visiting. Who did they know that had a red motorcycle? 

Kristian and Loren looked at each other with a bit of confusion. Getting out of the car, they headed inside quickly, intent on finding out who was visiting.

Entering the house, Loren stopped dead in his tracks, effectively stopping his father behind him. There in the dining room was Gregory. The young man that haunted his nightmares and left him feeling helpless all day today. 

Zeala howled in excitement and Loren had to fight hard against the urge to run to the other teen. He could not believe that Gregory was there, in his house. Loren was lost as to why he would visit.

"Pelian wanted to see Zeala…" Gregory offered an explanation to the unasked question. 

"I offered for him to stay for dinner." Michelle stated as she left the kitchen behind, bringing a drink to Gregory. "I mean, he came all this way to see you."

"Zeala… he came to see Zeala." Loren corrected and shook his head. "I'm not interested in the visit."

"Loren, don't be rude!" His mother snapped.

"Honey, let the boys figure things out themselves." Kristian walked over and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We're not figuring anything out." Loren muttered as he headed to his room. He wanted nothing more than for Gregory to disappear. Why had the other young man felt the need to give in to his wolf? He made sure to slam the door. Yes, he was acting petulant.

Before Loren could collapse back on his bed, Gregory was in his doorway, the door thrust open fairly gently for the speed at which it was opened. Loren stared in shock as the other teen gave him an incredulous look while closing the door. If looks could kill, Loren was sure he was doomed.

Loren could not even think to complain about Gregory entering his room without permission. Sitting on his bed, he was dumbstruck by the speed that the other moved, and the look he was receiving had Loren pinned. It was like fear was building and disabling him from reacting. He thought, ‘am I afraid of him?’

"I said Pelian wanted to see Zeala. Why must I repeat myself?" Gregory looked extremely peeved, like it was unthinkable that Loren was trying to avoid him.

"And I said I was not interested in your idea of making this work. I'm not gay." Loren snapped back, but his body was still stiff.

The teen was rigid, his body reacting to the Alpha pheromones that were rolling off Gregory in waves. If it were not for the fear building in Loren, Zeala would have already jumped at Gregory to have a connection with Pelian. It was difficult to fight both fear and excitement, and Loren was starting to lose the battle.

Was this the power of an Alpha? Was this the power of the connection between mates? Loren was not sure how he should act. Should he get mad or should he fear Gregory?

Zeala whined for its mate, not wanting to wait any longer. Fighting down the wolf's desire for Pelian, Loren did not notice as Gregory moved closer.

Suddenly, Gregory was pushing him backwards onto the bed. Hands on Loren’s shoulders, the Alpha wolf pinned the slightly smaller male. Those gray/blue eyes started to glow red, a growl beginning to rumble in Gregory’s chest. The scent of Gregory grew stronger, all of this forcing Loren to cower under him.

Zeala forced Loren to stay put instead of attempting to flee, like he desperately wanted to. He couldn’t bring up the nerve to fight off the young Alpha, definitely feeling that defying this man was dangerous. Loren held his breath as he waited for what was to happen next. Was Gregory going to harm him for refusing to go by his rules?

“I’m not gay either, but I know that if Pelian dies of a broken heart, I die.” Gregory growled down at Loren. He moved a hand to grasp Loren’s chin. “I’d rather hold someone that I have no desire for, than die before I get my rightful place.”

Loren managed a growl at his chin being grasped, but made no move to escape. His body was still rigid as he fully accepted that he was afraid of the stronger wolf. After a moment, Loren found his voice.

“What do you want from me?”

“Just lay still. Pelian wants Zeala.”

Loren’s mind went a mile a minute, trying to figure out what Gregory meant by that. There were many implications, and Loren was really not interested in finding out.

Suddenly Loren’s brain short circuited when Gregory lowered himself onto the bed next to him. A muscular arm draped across his waist to hold him close. Loren’s arm was under the crook of Gregory’s neck, like a pillow, and the Alpha rested his chin on that shoulder.

“Just lay still. Just until Pelian feels better, then I’ll leave.”

Loren was frozen, not even able to comprehend what was happening. While he was lost in thought, Zeala got what it wanted. Contact and connection with its mate. While more was desired, this was better than nothing.

Gregory lay there quite, with his eyes closed. He barely moved with each breath, as if he was concerned about disrupting what was happening. His wolf desired this and so much more, but was happy for the littlest bit of touch with its mate.

Loren slowly came to focus on the other teen laying against him. He was made of somewhat bulky muscles, but nothing ridiculous. Carleigh would probably consider him a chiseled beefcake, being more than just lean muscle. Loren wondered how he got so big, because he himself was only lean muscle and he was pretty active about being in shape.

They lay there, quiet and still as could be. Neither wanted to enjoy the moment, nor break the moment. There was a sense of internal peace for each of them. The sense of finding something that one did not know was missing. Their wolves were happy and neither wanted it to turn into something more.