"Brandon I swear to everything that is holy I will," I leaned in, "beat your ass." Brandon bit his lip, fighting back a smile.
"President." Groans echoed around the group of five. Brandon always won, literally always, and Joanne was convinced he was cheating. No one had caught him yet, so he continues to destroy them every time we play President.
And we just keep coming back for more.
Alice threw her cards on the table. "That's it," she announced, standing up. "We're playing Mario Kart."
I gestured towards where me and Alex were sitting with our sides pressed together. "Does that include us this time?" Alex and I were the best of the five at Mario cart. It was actually the only time I ever outranked Alex, something I constantly reminded him of.
Alice groaned. "We're doing teams, you two on separate ones; as always." We all laughed. Cal and Alex have never played Mario Kart on teams together, it'd be unfair. They tried it once, and it did not end well for the other team. Alex and Cal managed to make all of them come last.
"Who's sitting out first then?" Joanne asked.
"I'll do it," Alex said.
"Oho, Mr. Alpha stepping away from the competition?" I teased.
"Yeah yeah I gotta go the the bathroom," he chuckled. He got up, suddenly leaving half my body cold, and walked off. I stood up as well, missing the look Alice, Joanne and Brandon shared.
We moved away from the coffee table and settled on the couch, picking up the Wii nunchucks from the side table. We set it up and picked teams, the challenge, then picked characters. I was always Rosalina. Every time. Super Mario Galaxy was the first game I finished by myself, and it held a special spot in my heart.
By the time Alex got back, I was winning, of course. Alex plopped right down next to me, causing me to drive into a hole. "If you weren't my Alpha," I grumbled, the threat hanging empty in the air. If we hadn't become enemies at this point we never would. Alex just chuckled and nudged his shoulder against mine, before sliding down a bit and resting his head on my shoulder.
Alex has abandonment issues. It started when his parents left him; we were 8. My parents, the Beta's, stepped up to lead until a few months ago, almost a year now actually. Alex had come to live with us. He tried not to show it, but he was still hurt by it. He never got to ask why, he never found them, he'll forever wonder why he wasn't important enough to stay for, or at least take with them.
That's why I will always chose him. From school projects to games to patrol I always chose him, to remind him I'm not going anywhere. He is enough for me. I'll never let him forget that.
___
Two days later was the start of school after March Break. We were seniors. It was kinda scary thinking that in only four months we'd be graduated and going to university. Alex and I are staying in the city, it's our first choice plus the Alpha and Beta shouldn't be gone for so long from the pack. It wouldn't be fair to my parents. They want to retire, take a nice vacation to Greece and Italy, maybe stop in Spain on the way back.
I drove us to school. Ever since Alex's parents left he's been living with my family. I wouldn't want to go back to the house the parents who abandoned me owned. One week we're in my house, the other next we're in the pack house. That's where our offices are. Not that we use them much. The rooms used to be filled with paper files, but everything went digital four years ago, courtesy of your two favourite leaders. Now the bookcases were actually filled with books, history and fiction, plus some framed photos of our friends and family.
My office had the better couch, but Alex is too stubborn to admit it.
We pulled up alongside the school, stopping right across from it. The students didn't have access to the parking lot, so the streets around the building were filled with teenager's cars. We walked to the door, spotting Alice, Joanne and Brandon sitting on one of the benches at the front of the school. We made our way over to them.
"What's up fuckers," Joanne greeted without even looking up from her phone.
"This is why no guy wants to date you," Alex said.
"Well that and she's lesbian," I finished.
She glowered at both of us. "Brandon why am I friends with these two again?" He sighed.
"Because we've been friends for years and you love me enough to put up with them." The end of his sentence turned up like a question, like he was uncertain she loved him enough still. Alex must have reached the same conclusion I did because I felt him stiffen and grab my hand, threading our fingers together. He only held my hand if he was feeling really unstable, he must've had a nightmare last night.
I squeezed his hand and said nothing.
We headed into the building, not wanting to be late for class. When we reached our lockers Alex let go of my hand to put in his combo, and I turned to mine. Hanging up my jacket I closed my locker and tuned to Alice. "How much more of Macbeth do we need to read," I complained. "It feels like all the happiness is being sucked out of me every time I walk into the English room."
Brandon snorted. "Me but with math," we all laughed and Jo groaned. Those two were taking Functions and Calculations, more often referred to as FunCal, but there was nothing fun about it. We didn't even get any messages from them during that class complaining about how dead they are because if they miss even a second, they'll be behind an entire chapter.
We all parted ways, Alice and I heading to the opposite hall before splitting off to our separate class, promising to meet up again at lunch.
___
Two weeks later we were all back into the swing of things, so of course it was time for something to change. The annual mate hunt. It used to be a barbaric thing, literally hunting down your mate, cornering them like a frightened animal; but now each month everyone of age and mateless from a pack visits all the others in the area. They stay at each pack for a few days, then move on to the next one. Those who find their mate can choose to stay with that pack, or return to their own pack.
I wouldn't say finding your mate is like love at first sight. It's sort of a feeling, a feeling of intrigue. If wanting to know more. To be with them forever. We got to pick our own mate, but there was a little help from the Moon Goddess.
The whole pack was in a tizzy. All the spare rooms were being cleaned, truck loads of clothes and covers were being washed. It was one slip up short of chaotic. The formal dining room was being prepped, the table cleaned and a nice table cloth set, don't trust weres to be neat at the dining table, there was always at least one spill however hard we tried.
I spotted Jamie in the kitchen, trying to sneak away one of the cookies from Maude when she wasn't looking. If he did that, I might be an only child. I grabbed Maude's attention, trying to save the favourite child.
"Hey Maude," I said, my tone light. "How are things going? Getting anything to eat or drink?" Maude tended to put the many before the few, and by few I mean her. She'd make sure everyone had enough to eat and drink before she'd even consider taking care of herself.
"Cal dear," she said turning towards me. "What are you doing in here?"
I smiled. "Checking in on you of course Maude, we all know you get too caught up in taking care of everyone else that you forget about our favourite cook." I glanced around the kitchen, gesturing towards all the food made already and the food being made. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted Jamie slipping out one of the doors, his prize clutched securely in his hands.
Maude laughed. "Believe it or not I just ate, so I'll be good for another few hours. You get going now, River Pack should be arriving in a few minutes and you being the future Beta and all you need to be there to greet them."
I gulped, playing along. "Thanks for reminding me Maude." I headed out the same door Jamie did, seeing if I could catch up to him.
I jogged forward. "Jamie, hey James," I whispered. He poked his head out from behind a door and grinned when he saw my face. I grinned back. Lifting up my hand I asked for a high five and he reciprocated wholeheartedly. I looked down at his prize, two chocolate chip cookies, and asked for one. My little brother, being the person he is, didn't give me one.
"Ill rat you out to Maude and she'll never let you back into her kitchen," I threatened. I wouldn't actually, that'd be a terrible thing to do, but he doesn't need to know that. His eyes widened.
"Cruel move, Beta," he muttered shaking his head and handing a cookie over to me. I opened my mouth to respond but was cut off by Alex calling my name.
"Cal. Cal!" He yelled, probably from the front door. The jerk never bothered to actually come looking for me, he just yelled until I found him.
"Coming," I called, reaching out and ruffling Jamie's hair. I hurried off, taking a bite of the cookie on the way. Alex gave me a weird look when I showed up but I shrugged it off.
"They're here," he said, slipping into Alpha mode. "Come on let's go outside to greet Alpha Maxwell."