"If I was dying on my knees, you would be the one to rescue me. And if you were drowned at sea, I'd give you my lungs so you could breathe. I've got you brother."

~Kodaline, 'Brother'

~~~

*Easton's POV*

"How has training been going with the new set of warriors?" I ask Mateo as I ruffle through a stack of paperwork.

"No problems so far," Mateo shrugs. "A few of them have struggled a bit, but it's nothing we can't handle. I think they just lack confidence."

"Do you have the list of names?"

He nods, pulling out a piece of paper from his pocket and unfolding it. I glance down at the wrinkled page before raising an eyebrow.

"I didn't have anywhere else to put it," Mateo raises his hands defensively. Shaking my head, a snatch the list and let my eyes roam over the names. One name in the middle stands out to me, and I furrow my brows.

"Enzo Grey is one of our newest warriors?" I question. While it's only been a few days since my talk with Landon, we've managed to see each other daily. He hadn't mentioned that his older brother was becoming a warrior.

Mateo nods his head. "He shows a lot of promise. Very bright and determined. Pays attention to detail. I have high hopes for him."

I hum in approval, setting the paper aside. "I'm glad to hear he's doing well."

"Why are you curious about him in particular?" Mateo asks while tilting his head, and I pause. I haven't told anyone about Landon being my mate. I'm not sure if I should yet. Do I tell people now, even though Landon won't feel the bond for two more years?

"I met him the night of my coronation," I answer slowly. It's not technically a lie, since I did meet him at my coronation. I'm just... leaving out the part of being mated to his brother.

Mateo shrugs, seeming to accept that answer. "Well, he's a keeper. Give him a few years and I wouldn't be surprised if he is the new head of the warriors."

I raise my eyebrows, extremely impressed. That's a high compliment coming from my Beta, especially since Mateo has been known to be very picky when it comes to the warriors. After all, he was the head warrior before becoming my Beta.

"Oh, I've been meaning to ask," he starts, leaning against my desk. "What have you been up to these past few days?"

"Besides being Alpha?" I chuckle, and Mateo shakes his head.

"You've been randomly disappearing over the past few days," he points out, and I freeze. "And I know it isn't Alpha business, because I would've been told about it. What's going on with you?"

Trying to play it off, I shrug nonchalantly. "Nothing you need to worry about."

"Easton," Mateo says firmly, his dark eyes hardening. "The last time you started disappearing, you were—"

"I know," I quickly cut him off, not needing to hear a recap of how weak I was back then. In middle school, I started feeling a tad... anxious. There was too much pressure as the next Alpha to be the smartest in school, and whenever I felt short, I would have minor panic attacks. I started disappearing randomly whenever I felt panicky, slipping deep into the woods to... well, let's just say that Mateo freaked out when he saw the scars on my arms. He basically rescued me from that dark period of my life, and I swore to never show that kind of weakness again. "This is nothing like that. This is... I found my mate."

His eyes practically pop out of his skull as his arms flail in shock, knocking a stack of papers off my desk. I glare at him, stooping down to clean up the mess.

"You found your mate?!" Mateo exclaims with an excited smile. "Our Luna?"

"Yes, now keep your voice down! No one else knows."

The smile slips off his face. "Why would you keep something like this from your family and pack? This is a huge deal! You found your Luna! Who is she?"

Again, the pronoun makes me wince as I stand with the stack of papers, setting them on the desk. She. Of course he expects my mate to be a girl. Everyone does. Everyone expects me to produce biological children as the Alpha, which is impossible having a male mate.

'You're going to disappoint every single fucking person in your pack.'

"Easton?" Mateo waves his hand in my face, snapping me out of my daze. "You zoned out there for a second. Who's your mate?"

My palms sweat as my stomach twists with nerves. Will he agree with my inner voice, and think that I'm a disappointment? Mateo looks at me with his big brown eyes, waiting for my answer. I stare back into those familiar eyes, feeling myself relax. No... no, Mateo isn't like that. He's my best friend. If anyone is going to be understanding, it's him.

"Landon Grey," I blurt out, ripping off the bandaid.

"Huh?" Mateo says dumbly, and I roll my eyes.

"My mate is Landon Grey. Enzo's younger brother."

"A guy?" Mateo questions with furrowed brows, and for a moment the panic begins to rise again. "You know, I don't think I ever told you this before, but my dad used to think his mate would be a guy."

I blink, taken aback by what he just said. Firstly, there's the fact that he's not bothered by my mate being a guy. Secondly—

"Your dad is gay?" I ask in disbelief.

"Well, not anymore. He's bisexual," Mateo grins. "He said it was the biggest shock of his life when he found out his mate was a woman. He had always found guys more attractive and never once had a crush on a girl. But he says that makes my mom even more special, because she's the only girl he ever loved."

My head shakes as I try to wrap my head around this situation. "Okay, rewind. You don't mind that my mate is a man?"

"No," Mateo answers without hesitation.

"Why?"

His eyebrows shoot up. "Why? Easton, you're seriously asking me why I'm not bothered by who the Moon paired you with? We all know that we don't choose our mates. I can't judge you for the Moon's choice. Plus, if he got mated to you, I bet he's an okay dude."

A heavy sigh of relief leaves my chest, and I smile gratefully. "Thanks, man. I'm still not telling other people yet, so keep this on the down low. He won't be of age for two more years."

Mateo whistles lowly. "You got paired with a younger guy? That sucks. Are you waiting until he's eighteen to mate?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"For starters, there's the fact that you'll go through heat every month until you mate," Mateo points out, and I grimace. I hadn't even thought about heat. After finding their mates, wolves will go through heat, which is a three day period when the wolves become sexually charged. It's our Moon's way of urging us to mate sooner rather than later. Since I'm eighteen and have found my mate, I'll be experiencing heat. Landon, on the other hand, is only sixteen. He won't feel the mate bond for two more years, which means he won't experience the heat yet.

"Even so, I can't mate with him yet," I tell Mateo, running a hand through my light red hair. "It wouldn't be right since he can't feel our bond. I guess I'll just... deal with the heat."

"For 24-months," Mateo deadpans, and I nod my head.

"For 24-months."

"Goddess above," he breathes out in awe. "Well then, you look like you could blow off some steam. Care for a run?"