I walked into my house, Dexter and me bantering about the possible season our football team was going to have. We took off our shoes, trying not to track mud into the house.
My mother poked her head into the hallway. “Hi Dexter, hi honey. How was practice.”
“Good,” I said. “I think we have a pretty decent team. We’ll just have to wait and see.”
Her sandy blonde hair shone under the lights as she nodded her head. “That’s nice sweetie. Go take a shower and get ready.”
Me and Dex exchanged a look as she began bustling about. “Why,” I asked suspiciously. “Mom, are we eating out tonight? You haven’t cooked dinner yet.” She always cooked dinner by six o’clock. Always.
She turned and smiled. “Actually, we got invited to dinner. Another Alpha in this area wants to meet our family and asked us to eat dinner with them.”
My easy smile flickered. I knew who the other Alpha was. “I’m not going,” I said flatly.
“Why on earth not,” she asked pleasantly. I knew she didn’t know about Reyna being my mate.
“Not hungry, besides, I have tons of homework, so yeah. Tell them I wish I could have been there.” I began backing out of the living room slowly. “Bye, Mom!”
I ran into someone on the way out. I cringed and turned. It was Dad, his dark hair and eyes glaring at me, his thickly corded arms crossed over his chest. “Jaylan, you are going. End of story.”
“But Dad--”
“No buts,” he said sternly, but not harshly. I may favor my mother in appearance, but I favored Dad in personality. “Go upstairs and get ready, make sure your sister is too.”
I groaned, but heard the finality in his tone. I trudged upstairs after saying goodbye to a snickering Dexter. I opened the door to my sister’s room. She was sitting at her vanity, applying some sort of makeup to her face. Her brown hair was curled lightly, her soft blue dress making her darkly colored eyes stand out. She smiled at me. “Hiya, Jay.” Anna wrinkled her nose. “You stink, go take a shower, you have to look good tonight. That Alpha chick from school is going to be there.” She cut a sly glance at me. “She’s awfully pretty you know. Even prettier than Selena.”
I rolled my eyes. “That’s fantastic,” I said, even though my wolf was nodding its head in agreement. “We’re leaving in a few minutes, be ready.”
“Yes, sir,” she grinned, then shooed me out of her room. “Now go get ready!”
I stared up at the ominous house before me. It wasn’t actually, it was rather modest, my mind just dreaded what was inside. It was a two story farmhouse with white walls and navy blue shutters. The front porch had a wraparound deck like mine, and was nicely maintained. I could barely see Reyna living in the elegant house. Her room was probably black with chains and coffins.
I ran my hands over my khakis nervously. I really didn’t want to be here, my wolf did, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to see Reyna. She brought out all my worst qualities. Anger, impatience, desire, unpredictability, more desire. I groaned at the thought of spending all evening with her, trying to be pleasant and civil. I honestly didn’t think it was possible, but out of respect for my family, I was going to try.
We got out of the car and walked to the front door. My mother knocked lightly, and my father gave me a reassuring look right as the door opened. Reyna’s mother opened the door. Her dark eyes matched Reyna’s perfectly. “Hello, you must be the Midnights.” She ushered us inside. “It is so nice to meet you, Mark is finishing up dinner right now.” She flashed me a dazzling smile. “Hello Jaylan, it’s nice to meet you, Reyna has told me so much about you.”
I shook her outstretched hand, raising my eyebrows. “Has she?”
“I have,” a voice said coming from the staircase. My head snapped towards it. “And none of it was good.”
Reyna came slowly down the steps, and I felt my heart start beating faster. Half her dark hair was pulled back, leaving the rest to fall to her waist. Her black dress showed off her long legs and broad shoulders. A thin belt was set against her waist, emphasizing her narrow waist. Desire burned through me, she did it on purpose. She wanted to look that good, that tempting, just so she could throw it into my face that I couldn’t have her. Her smoky eyes bore into mine, and she smiled a dazzling smile, she could smell the desire rolling off me. “Hello Jaylan. How’s your shoulder?”
“Fine,” I snapped, remembering her sickening blow. “How’s your face?”
“Jaylan!” My mother gasped.
Reyna laid a hand on my mother’s shoulder. “It’s okay Mrs. Midnight, I provoked him.”
“It doesn’t matter! He should never have laid a hand on you to begin with,” my mother almost shouted. Reyna grinned, loving the face I was getting scolded. Her eyes narrowed dangerously at my mother’s next words. “Jaylan, what would Selena say if she found out you hit a girl?”
“Who is Selena,” Reyna snapped, looking between me and my mother. I could smell a touch of jealousy coming off her.
“Reyna can handle herself Mom,” I said pleasantly. “She is an Alpha after all.” My mother’s mouth fell open, and I couldn’t help my grin at Reyna. “Isn’t that right Reyna?”
Her glare left mine to smile at my mother. “Yes, ma’am. I’m a female Alpha.” She glanced over her shoulder. “I think dinner is finished. Mom, would you lead our guests to the dining room please?”
As everyone filed out of the room, she grabbed my wrist and whipped me around. “What are you doing here?” Reyna hissed.
“You think I want to be here,” I asked incredulously, my voice a whispered yell. “I’d rather be at home right now, not here. I didn’t have much of a choice.”
Reyna’s eyes glanced at the door to the dining room. “Look, my parents don’t know about our, um, little problem, and I’d like it to stay that way.”
I stared at her. “You haven’t told them that I’m your mate?”
She winced and nodded. “No, and I’m not going too. My mom would flip a lid if she found out. She already thinks that you walk on water, even after our fight. I think she is planning our wedding now.”
I snickered, I couldn’t help it. The thought of Reyna in a wedding dress cracked me up. She glared at me, reading my mind, which she could do being this close to me. Our connection was getting stronger by the day, and being in close proximity to her gave her access to my foremost thoughts. It worked visa versa too. “Shut up Jaylan, I will have you know that, though I hate dresses, I dream about my wedding day like any other girl.”
I caught the edge of her lace black skirt with my fingers, pulling at it playfully. “Well, I think you should wear dresses more often, they suit you.”
Reyna poked me in the chest. “You just like seeing half my bare skin,” she whispered.
I shrugged, peering into her dark eyes. “I’d rather all of your bare skin, but I settle for what I can get.”
Where had that come from? I didn’t talk like that, hell, I didn’t even think like that. Reyna most of noticed it too, because her eyes widened and her lips parted slightly.
My father came into the hallway. “Jaylan, Reyna, set aside your screwed up emotions and get in here.”
Her eyes looked at me wildly. “It’s okay, he knows were mates.” Then, we followed him into the dining room.
Wow, I thought. Me and Reyna actually had a civil conversation without threatening one another. It was a miracle. I sat at the table in blank shock. It took a few moments, but I finally tuned in to what was being said.
I looked quizzically at my father. “I didn’t know we were having problems on the mountain.”
He shrugged, swirling his wine around in his glass. “I wouldn’t call it a problem Jay, more like an inconvenience. Just an interloper passing through I’m sure, none threatening, not anywhere he shouldn’t be.”
Miranda, Reyna’s mother, considered the idea. “It could be Jonah, sniffing around. A new pack in town, he might just be curious.”
Mark looked up curiously at Reyna. “What do you think sweetheart? Could it be Jonah?”
Reyna stared at him for a moment, then became rather interested in her food. “How would I know?:
Her father smirked into his glass. “You and Jonah were rather close, weren’t you?”
Reyna shrugged a shoulder. “I guess,” she said noncommittally.
“You guess? You two were inseparable for weeks, especially during his recovery.”
Reyna glared at him, her fork paused over her plate. “Jonah is in Mississippi visiting family. He’s supposed to be back in September. I doubt he’d come back early.”
I could feel emotions swirling through Reyna. Frustration came through loud and clear, and longing. She missed him. My jealousy rose a few degrees, not normal with me. I don’t get jealous. What can I say, she brings out all the negative feelings.
“Who is Jonah,” I asked, my eyes narrowing in on Reyna. A fake smile was plastered over my face.
Mark answered for her. “Jonah, the poor child. He was part of the Indigo Moon pack a few towns over. A new pack moved in their territory, and slaughtered Indigo as a whole. Alphas, women, children, they left no one alive except for Jonah. He was a rising Beta, and was probably the favorite of the entire pack, even over his own Alpha. Jonah managed to make it here and across the territorial border before they could kill him. While he grieved and recovered, he stayed here.”
“Reyna offered him a spot in her pack, he was only a year older than her in school, but he declined. Jonah became an Omega, an interloper hell bent on revenge. The only person that kept the boy sane was Reyna. Jonah decided to seek out family and another pack in his mother’s hometown in Mississippi.”
“We thought perhaps Reyna had found her mate,” Miranda added, “but he left before we could be sure.”
“Is that so,” I said, looking curiously at Reyna, who was pointedly not looking at me. I leaned my elbows on the table. “What do you say Reyna?”
“No, I don’t think so,” she said quietly.
“Darling,” her mother said. “We don’t know that for sure.”
“I mean,” I said pleasantly. “How would you know Reyna? If he was your mate or not?”
She glared at me, then set her fork down. Reyna interlocked her fingers, then rested her chin atop them. “He’s not. It is just something you know. You know Jaylan, just like you know none of the girls at school are your mate.”
“I dunno, I do have my eye on this one girl.”
She kicked me under the table. Hard. I smiled even further. My father was trying hard not to laugh, and my sister glared at me. “What about Selena?”
I looked quickly at her. “What?”
“Selena,” she said patiently. Me and my father stared at her, begging her to shut up with our eyes. “You know,” she said rolling her eyes, “short, blonde, pretty, your girlfriend?”
“Anna,” I said dangerously. “Shut up.”
Anna gave me a strange look, but did was she was told. Reyna looked at me bemusedly. “You have a girlfriend?”
I opened my mouth, then shut it, then opened it again. “Not exactly,” I mumbled.
She tilted her head. “You either do or you don’t,” she said simply.
I stared at her. She was the one that made things complicated. I was dating Selena, long distance maybe, but still dating. But could you date when you met your mate? Reyna didn’t want me, so did that make it okay to still like Selena? Reyna was nothing like Selena, but she was my mate, my other half, and she hated me. If she was going to deny me, did she have the right to be jealous?
I decided that she didn’t. “Yes, I do. Selena is back in Colorado, she was part of a different pack, but we made it work.”
“That’s funny,” she said. “I don’t remember anyone mentioning a Selena. Not Dexter, or Kiera, or Rodney.”
I snorted. “Because you talk to them so much,” I said sarcastically. I pulled my wallet out of my back pocket and handed her the first picture in it. It was of me and Selena right before prom.
Reyna ran her thumb over it, something dancing in her eyes. “Lovely,” she said, handing it back.
“So, Reyna,” my mother said. “What is it like being an Alpha female? It must be different.”
“I wouldn’t know, Mrs. Midnight. I’ve always been an Alpha. I have met the other female Alpha for this generation, and she said there is a big difference.”
My whole family visibly stiffened at the mention of the other female Alpha. My mother’s delicate nose wrinkled in disgust. “Ugh. Please don’t mention that terrible beast why we’re here.”
“You know Jessamine?”
My father winced. “Yes, we know the girl. Extremely disgraceful young lady. I am glad you are nothing like her.”
Anna’s eyes brimmed with tears. “Dad! How could you say that?”
I looked down at the table. “Anna, stop. It’s no use, we put this behind us a long time ago. Let it go,” I said quietly.
“Traitor,” she spat at me.
I said nothing, the weight of the past bearing down on me.
“Anyways, Reyna,” my mother said in a light voice. “If Jonah your mate, then pray tell, who is?”
Reyna shrugged. “I don’t really care. I don’t need a mate.”
I pointedly didn’t look at her. I heard her mother groan. “Reyna, we talked about this. You can’t shoot down the mere possibility of one!”
“Fine,” she said, then gave me a wicked grin, and leaned in conspiratorially to my mother. “I can tell you this though. I have met my mate.”
I stare at her, and her mother choked on her wine. “You have!” Miranda gasped out.
“Oh yes,” she said.
Anna leaned forward excitedly. “What was he like? Handsome? Charming? Smart?”
Reyna grinned. “He was a complete asshole.”
“Excuse me,” I asked, and glared at her.
She nodded. “Forgive my language Mrs. Midnight.” My mother waved her hand in dismissal. “No, Anna. He just wasn’t dominate enough, didn’t take charge. So, I kicked his ass, and told him to stay the hell the away from me. Though, he hasn’t really done that.” She raised her arms in defeat. “What can a girl do? I mean, he’s still here, and won‘t leave me alone.” Reyna sipped her water quietly.
I stared at her in disbelief. “So what do you do when you go into heat,” I asked blatantly .
Reyna choked on her water. “What,” she sputtered.
“I mean, that is how it works, right, when you find your mate? Females go into heat, then it’s practically impossible to stay away from him. Isn’t that right?” My inner triumph soared.
“Well, um, yes, technically, that is true,” Reyna said. “I don’t need him though. At all. Besides, I can always screw Jonah when he gets back.”
“What,” I said, my euphoria fading.
Reyna shrugged. “Just because I go into heat because of my mate doesn’t mean my release has to come from him. It just has to come. From anywhere. Why, even Dexter could do it,” Reyna smirked.
I though Anna was going to claw her eyes out. My own hands began trembling at the thought of someone else laying hands on Reyna. “What did you just say?”
Reyna just smiled. “You bitch,” Anna snarled, her canines flashing.
“Anna,” I said dangerously. “That’s enough.”
My light Alpha tone made her shut down completely, forcing her into submission. Anna whimpered slightly. I had barely forced my Alpha out.
“Never say that again Reyna, do you understand?”
She twirled her fork around between her fingers. “It’s true Jaylan. Besides it’s not like you could do anything about it.”
There was a sound of something snapping, and I looked down to find my fork broken clean in two. I set it down and I rose from my seat, my hands splayed out on the table. “That is enough Reyna,” I snarled.
Her father half rose from his chair, but my father laid a hand on his arm. Dad looked completely relaxed, as if he had expected this to happen. Giving Dad a curious glance, Mark reclaimed his chair.
Reyna rose from her chair too. “What are you going to do about it Jaylan? How are you going to shut me up. I don’t submit to you.”
“Really,” I asked crossing the table, coming to stand right in front of her. “You want me to be dominate? You want to take control? Fine.”
I ducked down and picked her up, slinging her over my shoulder, my arms locked around her thighs. “Jaylan! Put me down you ass!”
“You could get out of this if I were some other Alpha, couldn’t you Reyna?” I asked, walking towards the door. I made sure her head hit the doorframe as I left. “But you can’t, can you?”
She beat on my back uselessly. I dumped her unceremoniously onto the ground. “Now. Never say that again. Are we clear?”
Reyna shot to her feet. She brushed off her dress. “You know I just said that to piss you off. No need for the spectacle.” Then, she slapped me. “Never disrespect me like that again, we clear?”
I grinned at her. “Yes, ma’am.”
Reyna rolled her eyes and began walking back towards the door. “Is it true.” I asked.
“Is what true,” she asked curiously, turning around to face me. Her face was quizzical.
I stared off into the forest, longing to go for a run. “What you said, about anyone being able to do that. Is it true?”
“Jaylan,” she said softly, putting a hand on my shoulder. Even through my shirt I shivered. I looked down at her, and she sighed. “Technically, yes, it is true, but I would never do that to you.”
I stroked her cheek with my thumb. “You’ll never get the chance,” I whispered. “To even do that to me, because you don’t want me. Just give me time Reyna, I’ll come to accept it.”
“Jaylan,” Reyna said, “it isn’t you, it’s me. It’s not that I don’t want to be with you, it’s just that I can’t. It-it wouldn’t be fair to you.”
“Reyna, all I want is you. I don’t care about your history, and I don’t care about your future. I just want to be apart of it. For once in your life, do what makes you happy.”
Then, I turned and left.