FATED MATES

CHAPTER 12

"JJ! She didn't fall for it. I can't believe she could tell I wasn't you." He hollers as he leads us into a ginormous living room. You could fit my entire place four times over in just this one room.

I glance around, taking in my surroundings. There's a large brown leather sectional hugging one corner, with a rather large television hanging on an opposite wall. There's a large entertainment center under the TV, containing an assortment of gaming systems. Shelves loaded with all kinds of games and movies. They seem to really like first-person shooters and action movies. There doesn't seem to really be anything of a personal nature lying around, so I can't gleam anything else. It's cozy and homey, though.

My eyes finally land on JJ and I give him a big smile.

"Nice try, my friend, but I told you I would be able to tell the two of you apart." I tell him as I walk to him and nudge him on the arm with my shoulder. He drops his arm across my shoulders and give me a small squeeze.

"You did tell me, but I didn't believe you. What gave it away? Like I said people who've known us our whole lives have a hard time."

"It's your demeanors. You're more serious, while he seems more fun-loving."

"Hey!" He says, an affronted look on his face. "I'm fun-loving!" He gives me a look, reminding just how fun-loving he can be.

"That's not what I meant. I just meant your basic personality. I realize you share responsibility for your pack, it just seems you take it more on yourself than he does. There's a natural humor about him. He's a prankster isn't he? I can tell."

"Yes he is." JJ answers looking at Jamie. "He loves playing practical jokes on us. We have to be ever vigilant." Jamie doesn't even look ashamed. He just shrugs his shoulders and walks off to another room..

"Do you want something to drink?" He shout asks me. I send Nev a small wink.

"What do you have?" I shout ask back. Nev gives a small grin as he sits at one end of the sectional.

"Coke, Dr. Pepper, coffee, milk, soda water, regular water. Take your pick." He's still shouting.

"I'll take some Coke. In a glass. With four ice cubes." I yell back. I'm not that specific when I get something to drink. I'm just messing with him. JJ laughs softly next to me, then waves a hand for me to take a seat.

Jamie's head pops around the corner.

"Seriously?" His eyes are wide, and his face wears a look of incredulity.

"Oh, yes. I'm really particular about my drinks." I tell him, my voice very serious. In all actuality, I'm having a really hard time keeping a straight face.

"Okay, then. A Coke in a glass with four ice cubes coming up." He pops back into the kitchen, and I fall sideways in a silent peal of laughter. There are tears streaming out of my eyes, and I wipe them away, trying to get myself under control before he comes back. It takes everything I have to school my features, because JJ and Nev aren't any help, with their wide grins at my actions.

I just finally get myself under control when Jamie rounds the corner carrying a glass of Coke in hand and something clear and sparkling in the other. He hands me the glass of Coke, then takes a sip of his own drink before setting it down on the coffee table. I follow suit and set my own glass down.

"Can you tell Jamie and me what happened?" JJ asks quietly. So I do. The longer I talk, the more palpable the anger in the room is. It's threatening to overwhelm me, so I stop talking. They all look at me expectantly, except Nev, at the sudden halt in story telling.

"I'm going to need you all to calm down. I can barely breath through the anger emanating through the room."

They all glance at each other. I have no idea what's going on, but it seems like they are talking to each other without using actual words.

"Rude. Regular human here." I say, raising a hand and twirling over the top of my head. "It's not nice to have silent communications when one member of the team can't hear."

"My apologies." Nev says, inclining his head a fraction. "You are correct. That was incredibly rude of us. We were just saying we needed to get our wolves in check. They want nothing more than to find Dalton and rip him limb from limb, and while we agree, we realize that isn't a plausible solution at the moment."

"We need to figure out how he was able to dream walk with you and put a stop to it. With the dream walking, whatever happens to you there, carries over into real life." Jamie adds.

"Nev mentioned that earlier. That's what scares me so much. He had no qualms about trying to rape me." I shiver at the thought of going through something like that. The helplessness I would feel at having all choice taken away from me. Nev moves closer to me and puts an arm around my shoulders, drawing me in for a side hug.

"We'll figure it out, Skye, I promise. He won't get away with what he did. For now, how about this? Anytime you go to sleep, one of will make sure we're also sleeping. That way if he manages to dream walk with you again, one of us will be there to protect you. He's no match for any of us."

"His wolf form was at least a foot bigger than any of you guys'. How are any of you going to take him on?"

"Ouch! You wound me." JJ says, clutching his hands to his heart as if I physically hurt him. "Believe me when I tell you, he is no match for any one of the three of us, no matter the size of his wolf. He's a lone wolf. He has no pack to back his power. Shifters are physically and mentally stronger with a pack."

"Okay." I nod my head absently, thinking about he just said. "Okay. That sounds like a start to a plan. I don't think I can think about it anymore tonight. My head is starting to pound. Do you have any aspirin?" I ask as I massage my temples, trying to ease the pain away.

Jamie moves away into another room, presumably to get me some kind of pain killer. I lean into Nev, lying my head on his shoulder and take the comfort he's offering. Jamie comes back and hands me a couple of tablets, which I pop to the back of my mouth and take big swig of my Coke. The four ice cubes have long since melted and the top layer is watered down Coke. Not the most appetizing, but it gets the job done.

I swallow the tablets, then close my eyes willing them to stay down. I've never been a person who was able to swallow pills easily. I just hope above all hope that i don't embarrass myself in front of the guys. After a few moments pass it seems my body decides that it will accept the tiny pills.

I open my eyes to see all three of them staring at me.

"What? Do I have something on my face?" I tease. They all smile.

"Nope. Your beautiful face is all clean." Jamie flirts, causing a blush to spread across my cheeks.

I don't know where we're going from here, but I like the start.