The Mate Deal

Chapter 21

[A/N: so, I’m putting this author’s note at the front of this chapter so that I can give you this.  For your convenience, I made up a list of all the King kids, because I know how confusing it can get.

The kings:

Edith- mom

Renee-19

Rashel- 14

Ron- 12

Ricky- 10

Rain- 7

Rachel-4

Regan-4

Roxanne/Roxy- 4

Also, I want to just say the usual spiel: vote/comment if you like it!  Also, I’m starting to get swamped with school.  I started this chapter like a week ago, but never had time to finish.  Well, here it is!]

We stayed in that day.  Mr. King had weekends off of work, and so he was home with us, and Mrs. King insisted on all of them having a family day.  It was hard to forget that my mate was outside while we were all in there playing scrabble while it poured rain out there.

It doesn’t matter.  He deserves it, I reminded myself.

But that look on his face told me there was something I didn’t know.  Forget it, I reminded myself.  He is a jerk.

“Mom, can we order pizza,” Ron asked Mrs. King.

“Maybe.  You got forty bucks?  Because that’s how much it would cost to feed all of you.”

“Come on, Mom,” the kids all complained.

Edith sighed.  “Fine.  What toppings do you want?”

The kids all cheered and most of them said Canadian bacon and other meets.

Mrs. King left to get the phone to make the call and Rachel sat down next to me.

“Oh my gosh!  Matt is so cute!” she giggled, causing me to roll my eyes.

I laughed.  “Back off!  He’s mine,” I said.  Then, I remembered that he actually wasn’t.  He was Renee’s mate, not mine.

And I’m okay with that, I thought.  It was not something I had to try and convince myself of.  I hadn’t thought about my feelings for Matt in almost a day.  Of course, with everything going on, how could I have?  But now, I found myself disgusted with the feelings I’d had for him.

No.  Not disgusted.  Just…  I didn’t know.  More guilty, I guess, than disgusted.  I decided then and there to forget it all.

For real this time.

So what about Tyce?

I frowned to myself and left the room, walking up the stairs to my room, suddenly wanting to be alone, I scrutinized myself for even caring.  What about Tyce?  He’s nothing!

Absent mindedly, when I reached my door, I burst through.  Without remembering how it felt to see him, I looked out the window to see if he was still there, and indeed he was, sitting with his back against a tree.  I ought to call the cops.  Have them deal with you, I thought, wishing we were in wolf form so I could project the thought to him.  The mind-link only works when the two are in wolf form, anyway.

I allowed my gaze on Tyce to linger a while.  He hadn’t changed much.  However, he still looked a little more pained than usual.  Sitting out there in the Kings’ front lawn, he looked hurt.  But he was still that same dark haired boy with the small, flat brown eyes and the extremely curly hair that stuck up a bit, cowlicks here and there.  He was clean shaven, a feature that did not look right with the sorrowful look in his eyes.

I realized I was beginning to feel sorry for him, so I forced myself to look away and snap the curtains shut.  He was getting in my head, and I wouldn’t let that happen.

I thought of maybe going out to yell at him.  Make him go away.  Hurt him more than he had ever hurt me.  I wanted that.  I wanted him to know I hated him.  The only problem, was that I felt like I owed him.

If he hadn’t let me go into the pack house, I would have had problems.  I sat on the bed and let myself fall back onto it, sighing in frustration.  “What is wrong with me?”

“A lot of stuff,” I heard someone say.  The door was opening slowly and it revealed a worried Renee.  “But I’m not going to take the time to list them all.  Steph, are you okay?”

“Yeah,” I assured her.  “I’m just… I don’t know.  Thinking.”  I tapped my head to indicate it.

“Steph, we’ve been over this!  Thinking is bad!  Very, very bad,” she teased, wagging her finger at me as she walked towards me and sat down next to me on the bed.

“I know.”

“So what are you thinking about?”

I sighed.  “The werewolf on your front lawn.”

She groaned.  “Is he ever going to leave?”

“Knowing him, I have no idea.”

Renee laughed.  “Do you think maybe you should go talk to him?”

I frowned.  Please, don’t ask me to do that, I pleaded mentally, but then I sighed.  “I can’t do that.”

“Steph,” Renee sighed in her comforting voice, “What’s wrong?  I know this isn’t you.  I know you.  The normal you would be out there in two seconds for a chance to tell him off.”

I laughed without humor.  “Ray, I’m scared.  I’m scared that I’m going to go out there to talk to him, and something’s going to happen to me.  Like… the mate bond will get in the way.”

“You’re scared you’ll start to fall for him?”  I loved Renee.  She was Naïve at times, and a little slow to understand things, but she will always be my best friend.  She has always been able to make me laugh when I’m ready to cry.  She’s always been a mom to me when my own didn’t have the time for me.  Renee had always been my family.  My only family.  She cared about me in ways that David, and my parents never could, or would have.  I knew I would always be able to trust her.

So I looked her in the eyes, and felt my own eyes fighting back tears.  I took a deep, sharp breath, and whispered, “I’m scared I already have.”