"So is the party like casual wear or like fancy?" Weston asked me, leaning against my locker preventing me from getting my books. I could've easily pushed him away, but I chose to indulge him.
"Uh it's fancy. Luna made me and Lyle get suits," I explained as I pushed him lightly to the side. He groans a little, but I knew he was secretly happy about it. He loved looking good and dressing up. "Before you ask, yes I'll come over to help you pick out an outfit." Weston immediately started grinning before hugging me tightly.
"This is why you're my best friend," he mumbled into my shirt. I hummed in agreement as I smelled a familiar scent walking near us. I turned to see Ace with two of his human friends walking past, giggling at something one of them said. We made eye contact, and he held it for a second before he turned back to his friends.
"Seriously dude, what's with you and that boy?" Weston joked, breaking me out of my trance.
"I don't know, but there is something about him that makes me feel like he's going to be important somehow," I answered, picking up the last of my books to head to class.
The day was quiet, unusually so. Emerald skipped school to go shopping with her mom. Apparently they are trying to spend more time together before she goes off to college. I, on the other hand, haven't really thought about college. Though I know my parents want me to go, it just feels wrong to leave the pack, even if most of them hate me. I was a pack guy, despite it all. Maybe I felt this way because I was once a rogue.
Weston and I sat alone at our usual lunch table, basking in the silence. We were those type of friends who didn't need to talk to be content with each other's presence. The silence was broken by some laughter behind us. We turned around to see Ace with a few omegas laughing. This boy sure was social and apparently funny too. I raised my eyebrow at Ace who blushing intensely. He looked wide eyed at me as we made eye contact.
"Oh hi... Blaze, Weston. What's up?" He asked timidly, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"Just eating our lunches, as one does in a cafeteria," I said with plenty of humor. I grinned as his cheeks got redder. He laughed awkwardly. I looked up at the other omegas who clearly put him in this position on purpose. "Want to have lunch with us, Ace?" I asked slowly, watching his face instantly light up. He nodded quickly and plopped down next to me.
"What, were you dared to talk to us?" Weston questioned very bluntly. Ace blushed again, looking down at the table.
"Yeah, kind of... they were making fun of me for being paired with you guys for training. Saying you guys made me your bitch," he shrugged as if it didn't hurt his feelings, but I could see it did.
Weston immediately started breaking out into a laughing fit. I stared at him as he finished laughing. "I mean we kinda made you our personal punching bag," he chuckled out, barely breathing.
I turned to Ace. "You're very talented. We couldn't have you paired with one of the untrained omegas. That would've been disrespectful to your skills," I stated confidently, trying to keep it professional and not admire how cute his face looked when he was embarrassed.
"So, Ace? Are you going to Lyle's birthday party?" Weston asked out of the blue. He successfully changed the subject of conversation.
"Oh, yeah, of course! I don't know anyone from the pack who isn't," he perked up.
"What are you wearing? Lyle and Blaze are wearing suits, so it's like fancy fancy. I need ideas!" Weston whined, and Ace was quick to dive into a conversation about clothes with him.
I stayed quiet pretty much the entire conversation, taking my time to admire Ace's beauty. Once lunch ended, Ace said a small goodbye before running off.
"He's a nice kid. I can see why you are drawn to him now," Weston commented as we walked to our next class.
"Drawn to who?" Lyle interrupted us with a bored look on his face.
I rolled my eyes at him, not enjoying his sudden appearance. "What do you need, Lyle?" Lyle glared at my sharp words.
"Mom wants us to help set up for the party after school. She wanted me to tell you we need to move the tables to the area," he stated, looking everywhere but at me. I nodded and continued walking. I learned with Lyle over the years that less words is better.
The party was tomorrow and the whole school was buzzing about it. Everyone from the pack was of course invited, which made this a rather large festivity considering the pack has about 1,000 people in it. We were one of the larger packs, but still a good size. It was great having so many people, except for when it came to large gatherings like this one. The party was taking place in the training clearing in the woods, and there was going to be lots of prep involved, especially with Luna running it. I knew she felt bad that it was only a party instead of the coronation, so she was going all out for it. Lyle didn't care much, though. He was just pissed he's not becoming alpha.
After practice, I rushed home to help set up. I could feel Luna's stress once I got within a mile of the house. Once I entered the house, Luna yelled, "Blaze! I need you to help me with putting these tables in the truck!" I sighed and began helping wherever I could.
It wasn't long until Lyle came back home holding our suits. I guess Luna had sent him out to get them from the laundry cleaners. He seemed to be in a sour mood, like usual, so I made a mental note to try to avoid him. Of course that only lasted a short while before Luna was yelling for Lyle and me to drive the tables over to the field where the party would be.
Lyle opted to drive, like usual, and we spent the entire drive in an uncomfortable silence. Once we got to the field, we wasted no time hopping out of the truck and unloading the tables. Thank goodness for our werewolf strength because the tables would've been difficult to carry without it.
We set up about 100 tables, some of which we brought and others that had been dropped off earlier.
"A lot of people," I mumbled, mostly to myself, but Lyle perked up hearing me speak.
"Yeah, mom is a little ridiculous. I didn't need a party. It feels like a mock coronation," Lyle complained, slamming a table down on the dirt. I could sense his uneasiness about tomorrow; he was worried he wouldn't find his mate for a while.
"Well if you think this is a lot of people, imagine when you have your coronation? Especially if your mate is from a different pack because you'll have their family here, too! Along with other local Alphas," I laughed, trying to keep the mood light, though it felt strained. He locked eyes with me, squinting in curiosity at my sudden enthusiasm. "Besides, tomorrow will be a good excuse to see everyone in the pack and hopefully you'll get a sense of your mate if they are there," I spoke optimistically, continuing to break my pattern from quiet punk adoptive brother to a supportive punk adoptive brother.
Lyle stared at me for a minute before responding. "Yeah, I guess you're right. If not, at least maybe I'll find a hot enough chick to sleep with while you bang my best friend," he deadpanned, leaving me to glare at him. He smirked a little before walking back to the truck.
I glared at him, my face slowly becoming emotionless like usual. "With your attitude, I'd think you were the one with the dick up the ass, not me," I mocked, sliding into my seat. He rolled his eyes but bit his tongue from saying anything else. He knew when I started opening up, my comebacks were not to be messed with.
After we got back, Luna was no where to be seen, so I opted to go to Weston's to help him pick out his outfit. I wasn't expecting to see a car I didn't recognize in his driveway.
I approached the house and didn't bother knocking. I heard voices upstairs and instantly smelled who the visitor was. Ace.
I walked into the bedroom, also without knocking. The two boys were giggling while looking at different clothes laid out in the bed. I instantly felt jealous at the sight in front of me. Jealous? Maybe more protective? I wasn't sure. I managed to keep a stoic face as I stared at them coldly.
"Oh! Blaze, you made it!" Weston shouted, throwing his arms around me. I glanced at Ace who was looking down, blushing a little.
"Uh yeah..." I mumbled, staring at Ace as Weston released me. Weston started holding up options while I sat on the bed next to Ace, who now looked nervous and tense compared to his carefree attitude when I entered the room.
"How was, uh, setting up?" Ace squeaked out next to me. I turned my attention to him, my eyes lingering on his plump lips.
"Just Lyle and I bickering while doing what Luna says," I shrugged, looking at Weston's options. I picked up one of the navy blue suits and holding it up where Weston stood. "I like this one."
"Ace liked that one too! I'm gonna try it on!" Weston squealed excitedly, grabbing the suit from my hand and rushing to the bathroom. This left me and Ace in an awkward silence.
"Can I ask why you don't call Luna your mom?" Ace asked out of the blue, causing me to tense. My heart sunk. He noticed my body's tension right away. "I didn't mean to speak out of line uh-"
I cut him off. "No, it's okay. I have, well, had another mother," I stuttered to a pause. "It just feels like if I call Luna 'mom', then I betray my birth mother. But Luna is a mother to me, don't get me wrong." I stared at the ground the entire time, and Ace didn't try to get me to do otherwise. I was thankful for that.
I felt his hand on my back, which made me hold back a flinch. Before he could speak again, Weston came in with his suit on. Weston was beaming, twirling in the mirror. It's times like these I forget we are both warriors and remember we are also teenage boys.
"It looks amazing, Weston!" Ace expressed, clapping his hands, his hand leaving my back. Weston smiled brightly at Ace, and I started to feel jealous again.
I stood up quickly. "I need to go back and help set up again," I said swiftly, straightening out my clothes. I turned to Weston who raised an eyebrow at me. "You look good, Wes. I'll see you guys tomorrow." I practically ran out of the room. Something is changing in me. And I didn't like it.