Arianna's POV
Gracie and I had planned on going to the mall today, not for anything in particular, we just needed a break. And besides, everyone's aloud a break on their birthday... right? Gracie and I had intentionally dressed the same, dark skinny jeans with a white singlet and our favorite black leather jackets; although with her hair flowing in waves down to the middle of her back and mine, pin strait not even reaching my shoulders, the whole idea of making people think they're seeing double is lost. And then there's the whole eye color difference, but other than that we were mirror images of each other. Dads say we look just like mom, though she says our attitudes mirror our fathers. Mama says I'm like Pa, short temper and all. Gracie is definitely the more hospitable and patient twin like Daddy.
We were walking past the office on our way down to front door when Mama called for us. I stopped and tapped Gracie on the shoulder.
"Mama wants to see us." I said and signed. Gracie might be good with reading lips, but it was still a hassle. This way she didn't have to work so hard to understand. The whole pack learned sign language when they found out that Grace was Deaf. Some, like Mama, Dads, Uncle Aaron and Aunt Tori stuck with it longer than others. Some members of the pack know just enough to get by, others rely on the fact that she can read lips and that I'm always by her side. Grace doesn't talk with her voice, when we were younger she was taking speech therapy but a boy at school said she sounded funny and she's never said a peep since. The day after the boy said she sounded funny he had a black eye and a missing tooth, I on the other hand had a broken finger and a smile on my face that was a mile long. I smiled slightly at the memory as we both walked in to the office side by side.
What's up? Gracie signed. Mama and Dads were in the office, Dads each at their own desk and Mama on the couch off to the side nursing a cup of coffee. Mama slowly put down the coffee and started signing while speaking.
"I want you two to stick together today when you go out. You've reached an age where meeting your mate is very high and if you two are anything like your fathers you'll share a mate. It's easier for the single mate to better understand that the bond is a triad if they see both mates at the same time."
"Mama... we always stick together. We know that accepting and being a part of a triad is harder than a pair... but why are you telling us this now? Did the Seer say something about today?" my hands flew as I spoke... it was second nature for me to communicate both visually and verbally.
"No... Margret didn't see anything. Call it a mother's intuition. I just want you two to have fun." She gave what we knew as her sad smile, though to a stranger it wouldn't look like she was covering up a sad memory. "When I was your age I didn't know what fun was anymore. All I knew was pain. It wasn't until I met your fathers that I started to remember what it felt like to be happy and loved. When I had the two of you I knew I was being given the family that was taken away from me. Even though the doctors said I wouldn't have any more children I was okay with that. I had you two... then your brother came along and I figured the Goddess was blessing me with more love in my life. I wouldn't have been able to accept this life if not for your fathers. And had they not shown up in my life at the same time I might not have stayed and I wouldn't have had my beautiful girls, or my rambunctious son. Being a part of a triad is difficult to wrap your head around, especially if you've grown up your whole life thinking that wolves mate in pairs. It's easier if two are together when they meet the third." Mama never spoke much of her life before meeting Dads and we were warned by Uncle Aaron and Aunt Tori to not bring it up.
We'll stay together Mama. You don't have to worry. Gracie gave one of her smiles and Mama nodded.
"Alright. Go have fun, we'll have cake and birthday celebrations when you get home." Gracie and I both went over to Mama and gave her a hug goodbye, then went over to Dads and did the same before running out the door and hightailing it out of the house to our motorcycles.
~
It didn't take long to get to the mall, and after parking the bikes in a space we walked into the massive building. Immediately after smelling the food court I wanted something to sink my teeth in.
Mind if we grab something to eat before we start? I signed to Gracie.
I swear you read my mind. She laughed and grabbed my hand and dragged me in the direction of food. Suddenly she stopped and tightened her grip on my wrist. Do you smell that? Her eyes were wide and her nostrils flared as she tried to catch the scent again. Because of her lack of hearing her other senses were stronger... she had the strongest nose I've ever witnessed and she was never wrong about a scent.
What do you smell? I didn't speak, in case there was someone listening to our conversation. I sniffed discreetly but all I caught was human scent, the occasional pack wolf and the food court.
It's coming from this direction. She took my arm again and continued towards the food court. Well at least I'll still get to eat. As we neared I took another sniff, trying to catch the scent that had my twin sister in a tizzy. As my mind made sense of the scents in the room I separated the human from the wolves, then the food. Grace obviously wasn't talking about any food scent, unfortunately... I was hungry. Then I caught it. My eyes grew wide and I looked over to Grace.
Spice and Cedar? I asked her for confirmation. She nodded her head wildly and smiled from ear to ear.
That's it! She once again started leading me in the direction of the scent. We were now officially in the middle of the food court, Gracie was looking, and sniffing, in every direction trying to find the source of the scent that was driving us both crazy. Something's different about it... there's an underlying scent that doesn't seem right. She told me as she turned in a circle. She was starting to get frustrated and it was coming out in growls, literally.
You're growling! I warned her... she might not be able to hear it but the humans around us might. We couldn't expose ourselves to humans, they'd totally freak if they found out their fairytales about humans turning into wolves was real. Just relax and focus on where the Spice and Cedar is coming from. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them I could tell she had the scent and was in full tracking mode. She started walking away from the food court and towards the middle of the mall. There was a siting area between the shops, mostly for men whose girlfriends or wives were still shopping. When Grace stopped again I followed her line of vision to the source of the spice and Cedar. A young man wearing a pair of faded and ripped jeans and a gray hoodie sat with his elbows resting on his knees. His black hair was messy and looked as though he combed his fingers through it a few times. His skin was a little pale but not in the sickly kind of way.
That's him. And I know that underlying scent... he's a Lone Wolf. Lone Wolves were rare, mostly because our kind would rather be with a pack. If a wolf decides they want to be on their own they can ask their alpha to grant them Lone Wolf status... if the alpha grants it the wolf won't get the stench of rogue when they leave, but they'll get a different one that lets other pack wolves know what they are. Most Lone Wolves stay to themselves, rarely do they come out and socialize, so why was Mr. Spice and Cedar here. Twin Moon pack didn't have any residential Lone Wolves... this guy is new.
Should we go introduce ourselves? I asked Grace. The fact that we both had a strong attraction to his scent could only mean that he was our mate. We both knew this and we both knew he would recognize us as his mate the second he saw us. I was surprised he hadn't caught our scent yet, we were no more than a couple feet from him. I didn't wait for her response, instead I walked up behind him with Grace following closely behind me. I smiled at her and got my hands ready to sign everything I said.
"So... you waiting on anyone special?" I tried extra hard to soften my voice, didn't want to scare him away two seconds into a conversation. My attempt to take out the power behind my voice didn't seem to work however, as soon as I finished my question he flinched and started shaking. I frowned and looked up at Grace.
He's scared... say something. Her eyebrows shot up and I could see the worry on her face.
It's not that easy. I was about to say something else to try and calm him down when I heard his shaky voice.
"N-n-n-n-no I'm n-n-n-no-nnot." I translated as best I could for Gracie... then looked up at her and bit my lip.
He has a stutter... I told her. I saw the wheels in her head turning. We both knew that certain things make reading lips harder. Facial hair and accents being some of them... but a stutter was beyond difficult to read. Someone with a stutter makes the same mouth shape several times before being able to get a word out. By the time the person got their thoughts out the lip reader was exhausted trying to figure out what they had said.
Maybe he's just nervous... it might go away when he's relaxed. She always was a glass half full kind of girl.
"You headed somewhere?" I asked, hopping my voice was soft and not intimidating.
"J-j-j-j-j-jus-s-s-t p-pa-passing th-th-thro-o-gh." I caught the sight of his nose twitching as he tried to figure out if we were human or wolf. The tensing of his shoulders told me exactly when he figured out we were pack wolves. "P-p-p-ple-eas-s- I-I'll b-b-b-b-be-e g-gone by m-m-m-m-morning."
"Well you are on pack land without permission." I heard a small whine come from him. "We'll need to ask you a few questions to see if you pose a threat. Let's start with something easy. What's your name?"
"S-s-s-s-sa-a-am." his head was lowered in submission, showing his neck to us, and I'm not sure I liked that he felt he needed to do that.
"Sam... Okay. Did you belong to a pack before?" Grace smiled at the name and watched him shake his head. "You mind if we sit... frankly I'm getting a little tired of standing."
"S-s-s-s-s-sure." I smiled and both Grace and I walked around opposite sides of the bench he was sitting on. We stood in front of him for a minute. When he didn't look up at us I frowned out of confusion.
"You know, it's considered rude not to meet the eyes of someone you're having a conversation with." I jested, but I don't think he took it as a joke. He started shaking slightly as he lifted his head. When he finally met our eyes they nearly popped out of his head and his jaw almost hit the floor. He looked hysterical with his shocked expression. As his eyes flicked between me and Grace I took inventory of him. He was a little small, but that didn't take away from his structure. He was slouching in his seat, making him look shorter and shy... though I could see now that he was the shy type. When I looked at his face I noticed he was pale, not in the sickly kind of way but it didn't look too healthy. His eyes are what stopped me in my tracks. They were red. And not a dull red either, no his eyes were bright, almost glowing red. It took my breath away.
"T-t-t-two ... h-how?" he asked still flicking his attention between the two of us.
"My name is Arianna, this is Grace, and it runs in the family..." I explained in minimal detail. Sam however was distracted by my flittering hands and frowned slightly.
"W-w-w-why are you d-d-doing t-t-that w-w-w-w-w-with your h-h-h-hands?" he seemed angry, though I don't know why.
"Gracie here can't hear. It's called sign language." His face automatically lost the anger I thought I saw and his attention turned to Grace. She just smiled at him and waved. When he waved back she giggled slightly.
Nice to meet you. She signed. Sam however didn't understand so he looked at me.
"She said it's nice to meet you." His mouth made an "o" shape as he nodded. He seemed to be relaxed a little more than he was a few minutes ago so I walked towards the bench and sat down on one side while Grace sat on his other side. "So, you obviously understand that there's a mate bond to be made." He nodded telling me he was understanding so far. "Do you understand that the mate bond is between both of us girls and you?" Sam swallowed and looked from me to Grace, then back to me with a short nod. "Good. So that's one thing we don't have to explain." I let out a huff and thought about how we get him to come back to the pack with us. He didn't seem to be comfortable around new things or people. "Can I ask you something?" he nodded and slowly started rubbing his hands up and down his thighs. "Why are you in Twin Moon territory?" his face paled even more, I didn't think it was possible.
"T-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-twin-n M-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-m-moon-n?" he asked. Both Grace and I nodded and stared at him while he shook his head wildly. "I s-s-s-s-shouldn't b-b-b-be h-h-h-hear... I n-n-n-n-need t-t-t-t-to l-l-l-leave!" he shot up off the bench and started walking to the door. I shared a quick look with Grace then we both ran after him.
"Whoa there Sami. Where do you think you're going? You just met your mates... and your first reaction is to run away from them because of where they live?" I got in front of him and stopped, effectively making him stop as well.
"P-p-p-p-p-packs d-d-d-d-d-d-don't l-like r-r-r-rogues... es-s-s-specially T-t-twin M-m-moon." He tried to walk around me but Grace stopped him this time.
"But you're not a rogue. You're a Lone Wolf... and no one's going to question it when they find out you're mated to us." I told him crossing my arms when I finished signing for Gracie.
And if they have a problem with it I'll beat their ass. I just started laughing before telling Sam what she signed. I couldn't picture Gracie beating anyone's ass... she was sweet and understanding, she didn't fight... that was my department.
"W-w-what m-makes y-y-you s-s-s-s-so s-s-s-s-sure the p-pack w-w-will a-accep-p-pt m-m-m-me?" he bit his bottom lip and waited for our answer. I stood to my full height and pushed my alpha powers to the forefront of my being. Looking over, Grace was doing the same thing. I could see the second Sam felt the alphas presence, he lowered his gaze to the floor and made himself look small. I didn't like that he cowered because of us, but my wolf reveled in the fact that he respected us enough to lower his head. I pulled the alpha back in and pushed it down so Sam could relax, but even when the presence was gone he still didn't look at us. I sighed and lifted his head with my finger.
"We know the pack will accept you because if they don't they have to answer to us. And trust me when I say, I don't like people messing with what's mine." I gave a hushed growl and Sam's body shivered.
"Y-you're A-a-alphas... w-why w-w-would fate p-p-pair t-t-two alphas w-w-with an O-o-omega?" I smiled as I finally understood all the reasons why he acted this way. It made sense now that I knew he was an Omega. Omegas were the complete opposite of Alphas. They didn't fight, and if something came down to a fight the Omega would roll over and show their bellies to the superior wolf. Omegas were generally small in stature, they were usually the last to eat and the last to receive protection in the wild. Though in packs like ours Omegas were treasured, our last Omega passed away a few years ago, she lost her mate and died of a broken heart. In the werewolf community an Omega brings out the protectiveness in the wolves. Every wolf strives to be the best they can be so they can provide a safe place for the Omega just like they would for their mate or child.
"Who knows why fate paired us... all I know is that you were meant to be with us and we have the means to keep you safe and happy. Now, come with us and we'll take you home." I reached out and took his left hand while Grace took his right. We walked hand in hand... in hand, to the bikes.
You take him, I'll watch your six. Gracie said after she let go of Sam. I smiled and nodded as I fished out the spare helmet from my storage compartment and handed it to him.
"Here you go. Now, remember to hold on tight." I smiled as I mounted my bike then slid my helmet on. I felt the bike move as Sam situated himself on the back then smiled to myself as his arms snaked around my waste. I smiled when I felt Sam's head rest on my back between my shoulder blades and chuckled when I felt him tighten his grip around me as we went around a corner. When we got to the house I was a little disappointed, I didn't want the ride to end just yet.
"T-t-this is y-your h-house?" his eyes were wide as he looked up with his mouth hanging open.
More than one family lives here. Though the top floor is reserved for the Alphas and their family. I quickly translated for Grace then took Sam by the hand and led him inside.
"So... first you'll meet the parents then we'll take you on a tour of the house. How's that sound?" I asked him while sniffing the air to see if I could find mom and dads. He nodded but I think most of his attention was diverted to the décor of the house.
Dads are in the living room... can't tell where mama is though. I gave Gracie a thumbs up and started walking to the living room.
"Pa... Daddy, this is Sam. Sam these are our dads." I turned to see Sam's expression after the introduction but was put on edge when I saw the terror in his eyes. His hand tightened around mine.
"T-t-t-t-two d-d-d-d-d-dads..." Sam looked at me then at Grace.
"I told you... the whole triad mates thing runs in the family. Two dads and one mom..." Dads smiled at me and Grace then smiled at Sam. "Sam... remember what I said about making eye contact with people you're having a conversation with..." I whispered to him so as to give him a small hint without completely embarrassing him in front of dads. I heard Sam swallow then slowly start to lift his head. However at that exact moment mama walked into the room. She was in full on Alpha Female mode and was projecting it.
"Who the hell does Mountain Stream think they are? They want to expand... Again. You know I have half a mind to go up that mountain and give their alpha a piece of my mind. I would rip him to... Oh. I wasn't aware we had a visitor." By this point Sam was back to cowering with his head bowed even further than before. Everyone who met mama knew she was the Alpha you had to impress, she was more Alpha than dads put together... and she wasn't afraid to show it.
"Mama, this is Sam. Sam this is our mother, Bayne." He didn't move and his breathing came in short pants. "Sam, it's okay... you can lift your head and say hello." Grace put her hand on his shoulder and smiled when he looked up at her. Then with a deep breath he slowly raised his head to meet mama's gaze. When he finally did however mama looked like she had seen a ghost.
"His eyes..." the whisper barely made it to my ears and her face paled. Instantly dads were at mama's side with worried expressions as to why their mate's demeanor changed so drastically so quickly. "They're the same as his..." dads followed mama's line of sight and growled when they met Sam's eyes. Sam cowered and started to back away from our parents.
"Where did you come from?" Pa almost yelled out.
"Who sent you?" Daddy was next. I was completely confused as to why they were acting like this and Grace wasn't much better off.
"What the hell? Back off." I stepped in front of Sam who had started hyperventilating and shaking. Grace turned her back on dads and was trying to calm him down with her touch. He wasn't shaking quite so badly but his breathing was still coming in shallow pants. He was going to pass out in a minute if he didn't relax and take a deep breath. "He's a Lone Wolf who happened to be in the area when we found him at the mall. He's an Omega and our mate, now stop it you're scaring him?" by the end I was yelling at dads. Mama hadn't moved from her spot although she didn't seem tense anymore and was now looking at Sam with curiosity.
"Do you know who your father is?" Mama's voice was calm and quiet but that didn't hide the alpha power behind it. Sam's eyes were wide and misty as he shook his head furiously, trying to convince all three of them that he didn't have a clue as to who his father was.
"M-m-m-m-m-my d-d-d-d-d-d-d-d-dad l-l-left m-m-m-m-m-my m-m-m-m-mom-m b-b-before I-I w-w-w-w-w-was b-b-b-b-b-b-born." His stutter was worse when he was afraid. When he calmed down after Grace and I introduced ourselves at the mall you hardly noticed the stutter, now he could barely get out a sentence.
"And you don't know anything about the man?" Pa asked with a frown. I gave a growl as pa's face came closer to Sam
"N-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-n-no s-s-s-s-s-s-s-sir..." Sam was shaking again and Grace's touch wasn't doing anything to stop him.
"BACK OFF!" I yelled at them. When their attention was back on me I huffed and looked them right in the eye. "Can't you see you're scaring him? What does his father have anything to do with anything?"
"His eyes... they're exactly the same as a vampire that died the day you two were born." Daddy explained. He then walked back to Mama and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"You mean that Sercko guy everyone mentions from time to time but never talks about?" Daddy and Pa nodded their heads while Mama kept staring at Sam. I looked back at Grace and Sam, I couldn't believe they were being so quick to judge Sam.
Come on Ari... let's get Sam out of here and get him calm. I nodded and took Sam's hand and headed for our room. When we got through the door Grace took Sam to the bed and sat him down while I closed the door and locked it. I was practically fuming with anger but I stuffed it down when I saw Sam looking at me with fear. I didn't want to see that expression on his face, especially if I was the one causing it.
"I'm sorry... I had no idea they would do something like that. We don't even know what had them in a tizzy." I slowly walked over to the bed and sat down next to him.
"T-t-t-they s-s-s-s-said s-s-s-someth-th-thing a-about S-Sercko... w-w-who i-is h-h-he?" he had stopped shaking and his speech was getting better. Gracie waved her hand, a signal she wanted our attention so she could say something.
We don't know who Sercko is... just that he was a vampire that was in Mama's past. No one talks about him, in fact Uncle Aaron said that we shouldn't bring him up in conversation. Mama shuts down and Dads get angry. But beyond that we don't know who he is or what he did. Whoever he is he wasn't good. I translated and shrugged when Sam looked at me for verification.
"But that doesn't matter. Mom and Dads will just have to get over it. They may see something in your eyes but all I see is a brilliant ruby red. And I love the color red." I cupped his face and brought it closer to mine. His breathing picked up again but I smiled when his red eyes brightened. "And they'll learn to love you..." Grace tapped his knee and smiled at him.
Just like we do.