As the Moon Teaches

No Choice. Part 2

Loren and Gregory lay pressed together; both barely breathing or twitching, anxious to make the situation worse. This lasted nearly forty-five minutes before the voice of Loren’s mother floated in from the kitchen to inform them of dinner.

Gregory sat up and Loren scrambled away from him. Blues eyes turned on the smaller teen, never wavering. Gregory watched him, looking for any indication of what Loren was going to do. They both felt some of the stress, from their wolves, lifted off of their shoulders. Loren could not deny the benefit from the short period of contact.

Zeala was calmer, like it was at peace. Loren assumed that Pelian was the same way. It was a strangely nice feeling. The kind of feeling you get as a child, wrapped in the protective arms of family.

Loren did not take his eyes off Gregory as the young Alpha got up from the bed. Movements were slow and cautious between the two young men. It was as if they could ruin everything and break the peace they had managed to create, albeit reluctantly at least on Loren’s part.

As Gregory moved to the door, Loren made sure his back was never to the Alpha. He did not trust the man, and showing your back was letting your guard down.

"Dinner is ready, let's not keep your parents waiting."

"I don't want you here." Loren grumbled. 

"Too bad, even though we both despise it, we are mates. We'll be dealing with each other a lot more." Gregory snapped back at him before opening the door. He headed to the dining room, greeted by Michelle and Kristian.

Loren followed reluctantly. His mother would not let dinner happen without Gregory, as she had offered him to stay to eat. It was probably smarter to just keep his thoughts to himself and try to enjoy dinner the best he could.

Dinner time was very tense. Gregory sat across from Loren, which caused Michelle and Kristian to sit opposite each other at the moderately sized rectangle table. Michelle tried to keep a smile and light dinner conversation going, but the two teens were being very angst ridden.

They both were mildly depressed at how the short stint of physical contact had helped calm their wolves so much. Neither wanted to accept that they were fated to be together, but Zeala and Pelian were desperately drawn to each other, regardless of their humans. The teens barely spoke during dinner, not until Loren’s father spoke up.

"So, Gregory… I suppose this means that Loren will most likely move into the Darkstone Pack, so that you do not have to be away from each other often?"

Loren choked on a piece of potato at the question and ended up in a coughing fit to expel it from his esophagus. Kristian looked at Loren with an apologetic smile before turning his attention to Gregory.

"Honestly, I had not considered it. That is a good suggestion though." Gregory took a sip of his ice tea and looked at Loren. "That way Pelian can rest assured that Zeala belongs to them only."

"That again? I told you I want a girl that's cute and wears bows. What about that tells you that I'll live under your watch?" Loren snapped, hands slapping down on the table, fork bouncing a bit as it became trapped between his hand and the table.

"The fact that I'm your Alpha." A domineering growl sounded as Gregory snapped, eye tinting red for a short second.

Gregory's gruff demeanor and rolling Alpha pheromones had all three of the Whitakers coiling back as if to escape. They were a bit pale as they watched him carefully, waiting to see what he was going to do next. It took a moment for Gregory to notice and start to settle.

Sighing, Gregory rubbed his forehead tiredly. He was not used to his Alpha status, having only recently come of age himself. Leaning forward, he rested his elbows on the table and then his head on his hand. The young Alpha could feel the Whitakers staring at him.

“I’m sorry, I’m still learning to control myself. It hasn’t been that long since I turned eighteen.” Gregory sounded more like he was chastising himself than apologizing.

“That’s no excuse.” Loren grumbled.

“It’s fine, Loren. Everyone takes time to adjust to life.” His mother chided him.

“No, he’s right, it isn’t an excuse. If I plan to be Alpha, I should work harder to control myself.” Gregory smiled at Michelle, a small but bright smile.

Loren stared at Gregory with a bit of shock, he had never expected the young man to just go with what he said while cranky. Mouth shut firmly, Loren tilted his head a little to study the other teen. He was intent on figuring the other out, so much so that he did not see the way his mother looked at him.

Michelle smiled at Kristian and nodded slightly. She could see the small connection starting between the boys. She did not know how well they would get along, but she could see they would at least manage to learn to adjust to each other. That was a start to lifelong happiness, especially in a case as difficult as theirs.

Kristian smiled back, he was definitely a believer of everything works out, one way or another. If the Moon Goddess thought Loren and Gregory belonged to each other, then who was he to interfere? He just hoped they did not fight fate too hard.

“So, when would Loren move in? Are you going to stay at your Pack House, or are you going to have your own place?”

“Seriously dad!?” Loren grumped at his father’s teasing questions.

Dinner passed with little conversation because Loren’s father could not help but ask teasing, but important, questions that made things a little tense. Loren knew his father liked to joke around, but he was acting like the teens were in love, rather than despising their situation. Kristian was pushing Loren’s buttons and he seemed to be enjoying it.

“So, guys. Seriously though, you’re going to want to be close, so that your wolves don’t suffer.” Kristian gave a sincere smile. One that showed worry as well.

Loren sighed and slouched in his chair. He knew his father cared, but he could not happily go live under Gregory’s control. The Alpha was just too much for Loren to deal with.

“Yes, I’ve already talked with Alpha Andersen. We’ve agreed on Loren and I having our own place for the time, instead of the Pack House. We figured that it would give us more privacy to figure things out.”

Loren blinked in surprise. At least Gregory was considerate, even though he was still a jerk for assuming that Loren wanted to live with him at all. Sighing, the teen stood and looked from his father to Gregory, then to his mother.

“I don’t know if I can accept that. I’m not ready to leave for a new pack.” This was the easy argument that he could come up with for the moment that was better than ‘I’m not gay.’ That sentiment was already expressed, repeatedly.

Loren headed towards his room, but did not make it to the door before Gregory was up and following him. He huffed as he entered his room, trying to close the door before Gregory could follow, but the other young man was stronger.

Gregory forced the door open and stood in the doorway. He silently watched Loren, who glared back for a moment. The Alpha did not react, he just stood there watching his mate.

Loren went to sit on his bed and tried his best to ignore the other young man. He pulled out his cellphone and messaged both Carleigh and Lucy, informing them that 'Mr. Bossy' had surprised him with a visit. He could not wait for their responses.

"Are you going to stand there forever? Can you leave, please?"

"Just waiting for you to accept moving in together. I won't be able to hunt you down all the time, with learning the ropes of leading a pack and all."

"There has to be some way to fix the problem of being mates." Loren huffed and got up. "I don't think I could accept living with you."

Gregory sighed and walked over to Loren, arms crossed his chest. "If a way can be found, I'll find it. Until then, it really is best for us to live together."

"You're seriously considering that?" Loren gave a bitter bark of laughter.

Gregory reached out quickly and grasped the front of Loren’s shirt, pulling him closer. "Yes I am. You felt the relief of Zeala and Pelian having their connection. It's a thousand times better than that electrical sensation."

Loren gasped, in surprise of being pulled, but also in surprise at how Gregory explained the sensation. He found himself nodding before he fully realized what he was agreeing to. "It was better…"

Gregory's eyes flashed red and he leaned in, nose finding the crook of Loren’s neck. Deeply inhaling, his eyes rolled shut as Pelian relished the scent. It lasted a moment and then it was over, the Alpha stepping away and turning to leave. He gave Loren no time to really react as he left the room.

The next thing Loren knew, Carleigh was entering his room, looking quizzical. He sighed and moved to sit on his bed, patting the bed in front of him. Loren waited for Carleigh to sit before he said anything.

"He stayed for dinner, thanks to mom."

"Seriously? Hold up, I'll call Lucy, since she wants updates."

Loren sighed while he continued to wait. As soon as Lucy answered, he went on to explain about the short stint of physical contact, dinner, and then about just before Gregory left.

"Are you going to move in with him?" Lucy asked over speaker phone.

"Of course he's not, guy was a jerk." Carleigh huffed.

"Well, honestly, dad and Gregory have a point…" Loren rubbed his chest lightly, "Zeala is already missing Pelian, like I feel hollow."

Carleigh sighed, she knew the feeling of hollowness, having not found her mate yet. She supposed it was worse for her little brother, having found his mate in someone he did not want.

"I don't want to move in with him, but I don't know how long I can tolerate this hollow feeling." Loren rubbed a hand over his face. "Zeala even liked when he sniffed us."

Carleigh blinked and looked confused for a moment. "He sniffed you?"

"Oh, yeah just before he left. Pretty sure it was Pelian though, because his eyes flashed red."

"Sounds like his wolf is winning their battle over their connection to you." Lucy piped in from the phone line.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just be careful of Pelian taking over, you know, if you move in with him." Lucy giggled.