~*~*~
We remained silent on the walk into town, until my house came into view. I could hear my parents inside and it didn’t sound like my father was angry, but…
Christopher looked at me questioningly before shaking his head.
“This can wait,” he stated, making us change direction, “Let’s go to my house first.”
I let out a small breath of relief.
He led me to a house I used to know well. When I was a kid, I spent most weekends there, with Christopher and other kids in my age group. Christopher was the oldest, but always seemed to enjoy hanging out with us younger, uncool kids.
“It hasn’t changed much,” he commented as we entered, “I always liked the way my mom kept it decorated.”
“It’s nice,” I agreed softly.
“Why didn’t you want to see your parents?” he asked, not beating around the bush.
“I never said I didn’t—”
“You didn’t have to,” Christopher shook his head, “I sensed your hesitation… your fear. Is it because of… your father?”
I jerked my head up to meet his eyes. Slowly, I nodded, swallowing hard against the lump in my throat.
“Does he hurt you?” Christopher asked, his eyes narrowing.
“It doesn’t matter,” I shook my head.
I heard a rumble grow in Christopher’s chest as he gripped my shoulders. I barely contained my whimper of fear.
“Tess…” he began, his voice utterly puzzled, “You’re afraid I’ll hurt you?”
I let out a small sob as I nodded. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw his expression become angry, and his fingers tightened on my shoulders. Another whimper escaped me.
“I am not angry with you, sweetheart,” he stated concisely, his voice tense, “I’m angry at your father for making you scared of having a mate… for making you feel like running away from your pack to live as a rogue is a better option.”
Tears began streaming down my face as I said shakily, “How’d you know?”
“I heard you…” he admitted, releasing my shoulders and looking sheepish, “The other night… in your room. I heard you murmuring to your wolf. I suspected from the first and then when I saw you looking at that cliff… Were you still going to do it?” he asked, “Last night when you began to climb… were you going to run from the pack…? From me…?”
I nodded before mumbling, “I would have if my wolf hadn’t decided you’d make a good mate…” as the words left my lips, I felt my cheeks fill with warmth.
“Remind me to thank her,” he half smiled, “My wolf would have never forgiven me if you’d gotten away… or worse, mated with someone else.”
A shudder ran through me at the thought. It then dawned on me… As afraid as I was to be mated at all, the thought of being mated to someone besides Christopher thoroughly disgusted me. Maybe it was the fact that we were already mated making me feel that way, but I did believe it could be worse.”
“Are you still planning on running?” he asked softly.
“Yes,” I admitted.
“I can’t have that,” he began regretfully, stepping towards me. He knotted his fingered in my hair, forcing me to meet his gaze, “Tess, I care about you more than anything,” he breathed, “If you leave now, it will break me… Don’t leave,” he ordered, using his stern, Alpha voice, “I’m not going to hurt you. I’m not going to let your father hurt you. Don’t leave. Please, Tess…”
Unable to fight my wolf’s instinct, I tilted my head to the side, exposing my neck, and whined submissively.
“I’m sorry, Tess,” he told me apologetically as he released my hair.
“I won’t leave,” I told him, my voice shaking, “I’m sorry, Alpha…”
“Christopher,” he corrected, “I’m your mate first, Alpha second.”
“Sorry… Christopher,” I whispered, “Please don’t be angry…”
“I’m not,” he replied, cupping my cheek and catching my tears with his thumb, wiping them away with a caress. “You’ve done nothing wrong, sweetheart. Now… I have to ask… Your mother—”
“There’s nothing you can do,” I shook my head.
“I’m the Alpha, sweetheart,” he chuckled, “I think I can find something to do.”
“You can’t order him not to treat his females the way he wants,” I breathed, “You know that.”
His smile disappeared as he nodded, “Maybe not… but I’m pretty sure domestic abuse is illegal.”
My jaw dropped, “The police can’t handle a werewolf!”
“Ssshh,” he murmured, running his thumb over my bottom lip, “The regular police can’t, but I have contacts… I happen to be good friends with a member of the Guard.”
“No,” I sobbed, “They’ll take him away… maybe kill him.”
“You care about him?” Christopher raised an eyebrow questioningly.
“He’s still my father…”
“If he remains here, he will continue to hurt your mother, will he not?”
I nodded morosely.
“Perhaps this can be the first step in bringing this pack into the twenty-first century,” he noted, “Show males that females are not simply playthings to be used and broken as they see fit… Perhaps I could even rid this pack of the horrible mating tradition.”
“It worked for us,” I mumbled shyly.
“Indeed it did,” he laughed lightly, “But that’s because we’re true mates.”
“True mates?” my eyes widened in amazement, “Are they real?”
“They are,” he nodded, “I’ve seen it with my own eyes in the past. I have no doubt you’re my true mate… My wolf claimed you the instant I saw you by the lake.”
“Why not earlier? We grew up together after all…”
“Neither of us were ready,” he shrugged, “But I was always drawn to you. My wolf has always liked you… a lot.”
I let out a small laugh and said, “The feeling was mutual, Christopher. My wolf always turned into a little puppy-dog around you… even now.”
“I noticed,” he grinned, “She’s quite playful, huh?”
“Sorry,” my cheeks grew warm.
“No, that’s fine,” he chuckled, “It’s more than fine… I like it. My wolf especially likes it…”
“Are you really going to report him to the Guard?” I whispered, “I thought they dealt with human/werewolf incidents.”
“They do,” he nodded, “But domestic abuse is illegal by human law… and if someone were to report it, then humans would have to get involved…”
“And then the Guard would have to take action to prevent humans from discovering he’s a werewolf,” I finished for him.
“I’ll contact my friend, Jacob, before taking action,” Christopher explained, “He’s been part of the Guard a while… Even his brother works for the Council at one of their facilities. He’ll know what the best thing to do will be.”
“Will he really want to help, though?
“He and his brother Ian are very modern werewolves. They don’t see things like the werewolves here do. Females are valued in their eyes, not just toys. Jacob won’t stand by and let your mother be treated this way.”
“Okay,” I nodded, swallowing hard, “I just don’t want to make thing worse…”
“Make things worse…?” he frowned.
“If he finds out I told anyone about what he does,” I began nervously, “And then doesn’t get taken away… he’ll punish us. Well, my mom now, I guess… Oh, no; it’ll be even worse now that I’m not there!”
A wave of panic washed over me and tears began streaming down my cheeks uncontrollably. Christopher wrapped his arms around me in a warm embrace, murmuring soft words of comfort as he rubbed my back. I buried my head in his chest, feeling his strong arms around me, submitting to the protection they offered as I cried.
Abruptly, Christopher stiffened.
“What is it?” I asked, sniffing and wiping away my tears as he moved towards the window.
/>
“Your parents,” he replied, his voice low and dangerously quiet.
“He can’t know,” I whispered under my breath urgently, wiping my eyes determinedly, “He probably already suspects I’ve told you… You have to convince him otherwise!”
“I’m not sure I can even face him without throttling him,” Christopher rumbled.
I gripped his arms tightly, looking him firmly in the eye, “You have to,” I ordered. “If you don’t, he’ll beat her. Please, Christopher… Alpha… Mate… Whatever the heck you want me to call you. Please…”
His brow furrowed as he cupped my cheek, nodding decidedly.
“Mate or Christopher works,” he murmured, placing a quick kiss on my forehead, “I’ll convince him, sweetheart.”
“Thank you,” I whispered as my father knocked loudly on the door.
Christopher took a deep breath before opening the door, plastering a large fake smile on his face as he greeted my family. “Mr. Brady, Mrs. Brady, I was hoping to see you soon.”
“Chris!” my father boomed, shaking his hand before stepping inside, uninvited, “Great news! Great news!”
“Alpha,” my mother greeted him so softly, human ears never would have heard it. She kept her eyes down, though I could see she was watching me in her peripheral vision.
“We brought Tess’s things,” my father gestured at the suitcase my mother carried.
“Thank you very much, Mrs. Brady,” Christopher thanked her as he took the suitcase, “That was very nice of you.”
I kept a smile on my face as I interlocked my arm with Christopher’s giving it a slight squeeze. He looked at me in confusion for an instant before I saw understanding in his eyes.
“Mate, take this to your room,” he ordered me, gesturing at my suitcase.
“Go with her,” my father ordered my mother, “This is male’s business.”
I quickly carried the suitcase to the room I assumed Christopher was talking about; the small spare bedroom. My mother caught my arm, though, and forced me to continue down the hall, towards the master bedroom.
“Sorry,” I whispered as quietly as I could as I shut the door behind us.
I looked into my mother’s eyes and realized she was fighting back tears.
I pulled her into a hug and murmured, “He’s fine, Mom. He won’t hurt me. He’s… sweet.”
“Just be careful,” she returned just as quietly, “I thought your father was nice…”
“No you didn’t,” I corrected sadly, “But I will be careful.”
She pulled away and nodded, glancing at the perfectly made bed, “You haven’t…?”
“We’ve barely touched,” I shook my head, “At most, we’ve hugged and he just kissed my forehead… It was sweet…”
Fresh tears fell from my mother’s eyes. I spotted the master bathroom and retrieved some paper towels.
“Your makeup,” I warned gently.
“Right, I know,” she took a deep breath, “Tess… Did you plan to leave?”
“I did,” I confirmed, “I’m sorry… I’m sorry I considered abandoning you, Mom.”
“I wish you had,” she replied sadly, “But now you’re mated to the Alpha.”
“Christopher and I have been friends for years,” I frowned, “I know him… I think.”
“He trained to be a Guard,” Mom told me urgently, gripping my hand tightly, “He’s had military training.”
“That’s where he went when he was eighteen?” I mused, “But why is that a bad thing.”
“He’s strong,” my mom explained, “And trained… Don’t be sucked into the dream of having a male protecting you, Tess. It doesn’t happen.”
I jerked my hand free of my mom’s, frowning at her.
“Christopher isn’t like your mate,” I replied firmly, “He will protect me.”
“I thought the same thing at first,” she shook her head, “My wolf was so excited to have a mate… I just hope you don’t find out the truth the hard way. Keep your head down, Tess.”
Without another word, Mom left the bedroom. I collapsed on the edge of the bed, covering my hands with my face as her words echoed in my mind.
“Tess?” Christopher’s voice broke the silence several minutes later.
I let out a sob and within an instant, his arms were wrapped around me, urging me to lean against him. I clutched his shirt and sobs wracked my body.
“What did she say to upset you?” he murmured in my ear.
“Is… is he gone?” I hiccupped.
“They’re out of earshot,” he confirmed, “What happened, sweetheart?”
“You won’t hurt me… will you?” I asked shakily.
“Never,” he vowed, “You are my true mate, Tess. My wolf will not allow me to hurt you or anyone else. The reason your father takes his anger out on your mother is because his wolf senses it’s wrong to be with her. It frustrates the human part of him. A true mate could never do that.”
“How… how do you know?” I sobbed.
“I’ve seen true mates, sweetie,” he murmured, “There are none in this pack, but when I was away, I saw many.”
“How do you know we’re true mates?”
“My wolf feels it. Doesn’t yours?”
“When I was climbing the cliff, when I made the connection that you would be my mate if you caught me, she liked that idea… She took over even though she had let me have some control for the full moon. I begged her not to let you bite us, but…”
“I’m sorry this happened against your will,” he whispered, kissing my forehead, “In other packs, wolves are allowed to choose their mates on their own time instead of chasing them down. In other packs, finding your true mate is encouraged. Here, true mates are a myth. Maybe you and I can change that…”
“I’d like that,” I nodded against his chest, “I feel… safe with you. I wish my mom could feel that. I wish she wasn’t stuck with… him.”
“She doesn’t have to be,” Christopher gave a small shrug.
I pulled back to look him in the eye, “They’re mated.”
“I’ve seen ‘mated’ couples split up when one finds their true mate,” he explained. “It’s not pretty, but it can happen. The mating means nothing without being true mates. Their wolves are never happy with each other otherwise.”
My jaw hung open as I digested that information. The thought that my mother could find happiness was beautiful… but I doubted she would let herself. Shoot, I had been basically ruined thanks to her experiences. I couldn’t imagine how she would be.
“It’ll all work out,” Christopher assured me, “But, for now, relax. I was able to make your father extremely happy, so I have no doubt your mother is safe today. After they left, I called my Beta and he’s going to have people listening in on them. If they sense trouble, they’ll contact me and we can interrupt it before it happens. I won’t let him hurt her, Tess,” he vowed, “And no one will hurt you either.”
I smiled tearfully and nodded, unable to speak.
A smile grew on his face as well as he moved his hand to the nape of my neck and leaned forward, brushing his lips against mine.
As he pulled back, he murmured, “Just a taste of what’s to come, my beautiful mate. I know you might not—”
I interrupted him by eagerly pressing my lips to his, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling myself closer.
When we broke apart, he grinned. “Well, I’ll take that to be a good sign for our relationship.”
###
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