Liam
I'm gobsmacked.
I'm still not sure what took over me to ask the school principal to drive me to his house, but I'm glad I did. I'm also happy to have this time with him even when he's just sleeping.
I had lunch at his house, the Alpha residence, then left to return to the pack house.
It seems like only yesterday I was a no good trash from a small town in the South. Now, I'm sharing a meal with the Alpha of the most powerful werewolf pack of the nation with more than 20 thousand members.
To the best of my knowledge, no other pack takes over an entire city. Like in the Crescent Moon, werewolves have to mingle with humans and live in disguise to survive. It's a good thing we don't have to shift compulsory at the full moon.
Although to a wolf there's no higher pleasure than to shift when the moon is at its peak. If you do it with your mate next to you, it's supposedly even better.
The mate bond works wonders.
It's the thing that separates us from them, the humans. And though there are instances of werewolves being mated to humans occasionally - the Goddess must choose from what's available to you. The link between mated wolves is something special, unique.
Felt by all mated couples and still singular to each of their experiences.
It caused me to feel as if my life was wasting away until I was right beside him.
As if somehow my own life was worth nothing without him by my side. Or at least if he's not well.
It's like they say: be careful what you wish for.
I wished so hard and so long for a mate, but in the minute I refused him, an incredible wave of pain washed over me as if I was the one being rejected. It's like a limb was being ripped from my body without any sort of anesthetic.
The pain was unbearable.
I guess it's the stupid cliché: if it were easy to reject your mate, no one would accept them in the first place. It's as obvious as it is true. So very true.
Though I still don't know why I rejected the most beautiful boy I've ever seen in my life.
I went straight to my mom's room after I came inside the pack house. I needed to tell her before she heard it from someone else. People talk a lot as I've established earlier.
And this is some juicy gossip.
"Mom, you're not gonna believe what happened to me today!" - I exclaimed excitedly, as soon as she opened the door to her bedroom.
"What are you doing here at this hour? What about school? Don't you have class?" - Mom was quick to point out, not amused.
"I do, yes. Only one, but there was a situation today." - I said in a somber tone.
"Please tell me you didn't get suspended already! Please, Liam!" - Mom grimaced, sighing in discontentment.
The sigh of disappointment I know so well. I got from excited to dreading in seconds.
"No, I didn't get suspended from school. I'm sorry I left earlier. But I promise you it's not because I don't take it seriously." - I explained, sulking.
She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Then, sat on her bed.
"So, what happened at school today?" - She asked gearing up to be displeased.
I sat on the bed across from her.
"I found my mate." - I stated in a somber tone.
Mom's jaw dropped to the floor.
"What? Didn't you already go to school yesterday? Who's them that you didn't see on Wednesday? Were they aged into consent?" - She's statically happy for me, gobsmacked at the shocking revelation.
Werewolf mating rules state that you can only discover your mate when you turn 18, no earlier. And they also state that you need to be at least 17 to be discovered, what we call the age of consent.
You can only be mated to someone up to 2 years older or younger than you. But if by any chance your mate isn't 17 when you turn 18, then that means you won't discover them.
Which is why some people get disconnected from their mates. Because by the time they turn 17, you're already out of high school. It can take years for you to find a mate.
"No, they weren't aged in. He was just not there yesterday at school." - I explained to her, sharing in her excitement for me.
"He, huh?" - She smirked with a knowing glance. I blushed under her gaze.
"Yes, ma'am. He. Shocking, I know?" - I snickered. Mom laughed out loud.
Though my last affair Emm is non binary, I have always been openly queer. This is not the surprising part of the news I'm telling my mom. The real shock comes next. And I do mean it.
"Right. The suspense is killing me. Who is he?" - She asked, excitedly looking at me.
"Yeah, that's when it gets a little tricky." - I muttered, uncomfortable at the revelation. How am I going to explain to my mom that I already rejected my mate?
Granted, it was a short lived rejection. But still...
"Why tricky? Who's he?" - She asked, looking puzzled at me.
"His name is George." - I replied, sheepishly.
"Does he have a last name or is he like Madonna?" - Mom joked. I giggled.
"No, he does have a last name. It's the same name that graces our new pack." - I said, trying to hide a smirk at the edge of my mouth.
"What?!" - She shouted in disbelief.
"His name is George Stonehold." - I reiterated, to her absolute shock.
"I got that, genius! I'm just shocked that you of all people got mated to a Stonehold!" - She sassed me.
I frowned at that. Even my mom doesn't think I deserve him. My face descends into a scowl.
"Thanks a lot, mom!" - I smirked, feeling disappointed, lowering my head.
Mom comes closer to me and lifts my head up.
"Hey, I didn't mean that you don't deserve an amazing mate. That's not it at all! I just meant that you're a Forsythe. So, to be mated to a Stonehold... That's a lot!" - She elaborated, making me feel a bit better. She's not wrong there.
"Tell me about it! That's what I thought to myself when I rejected him--"
"You did what?!" - Mom yelled at me, her face was utterly shocked, perplexed, floored.
"You rejected the son of the Alpha? Are you crazy? You do know that blows up the entire succession, right?" - Mom chastised me, livid.
"I didn't realize it at the time, but yeah... I know." - I replied, feeling self conscious.
"Why would you reject your mate? You spent the last 6 months bitching about not having one!" - She's puzzled, knitting her eyebrows into a deep frown. Me too, mom.
"I was overwhelmed. Okay? I panicked. But I went to his house afterwards, feeling guilty. And I took back the rejection." - I explained, feeling deeply embarrassed.
"Oh my Goddess! Are you trying to give me a heart attack? Wait, you went to his house? How? Weren't you at school when this happened?" - She inquired, very intrigued.
"Yes, I was. But he was feeling sick, so he got sent home." - I replied, before getting interrupted by her eye roll snarky comment.
"I wonder why..." - She snickered. I glared at her.
"Anyway, I asked the principal and she drove me there." - I continued in a low tone.
Mom still looked horrified at me. And I could certainly do without the judgement. I judge myself harshly already.
"She's his aunt." - I informed. My mom glared at me.
"I know, son. Her name is Burke same as the Luna." - She rolled her eyes.
"And she was awesome! She drove me there, no questions asked. No judgement..." - I glare at my mom as I said that, who scoffed.
"She took me inside the Alpha residence, faced off against her brother and the Alpha to get me inside his room. George had been sedated earlier because he was too distraught. But she let me enter his bedroom and be there with him for as long as I wanted." - I said with admiration for the remarkable woman.
"After he woke up, I talked to him, we had lunch and now I'm here. That's it." - I concluded, relieved to be talking about it to her.
"Wow! That's a lot of excitement for one day!" - Mom commented, baffled at the events.
"Tell me about it!" - I muttered, perplexed myself.
"I'm still mad at you for missing class!" - Mom glared at me once again.
"And I just can't believe my son got mated to a fucking Stonehold!" - She's utterly shocked.
Yeah... Join the club!
Since I don't have any classes on Friday, I just slept in - after breakfast, I mean. There's no way I'm missing that! And they're on a strict schedule as I said earlier.
But I basically had breakfast and got back to bed, trying to enjoy my free time before I have to do some serious school work.
My mom is not gonna let me off the rook until I graduate. And I do want to. Heavens knows I don't wanna get stuck in school anymore than I already have to.
After George left my room, we walked back together through the guest wing corridor. He was on his way out and I on my way to the dining hall.
We encountered the Beta walking on the opposite direction and he greeted us.
"We were just talking. I swear!" - I was quick to justify myself to him. Both he and George frowned at this, looking confused at me.
"Liam, you don't have to justify yourself to me or anybody else. I know he's your mate!" - Beta Gutierrez said with an empathizing tone.
"Wait, you do?" - I asked him, baffled at how fast word spread around here.
"Yes, of course I do. The whole pack is talking about your rejection!" - He informed me and I gasped, blushing.
"I'm sorry. I recanted that." - I said, feeling embarrassed.
"It's your right to do as you please. And no one has the right to judge you for it. Whatever you decide, it's valid." - He stated in a firm tone.
"Thanks, Beta." - I said, sheepishly.
"You're welcome! Now, if you please excuse me I have to check something at the warriors' wing." - He said and was on his way.
George looked at me mortified.
"I'm sorry I'm such a loser!" - I lowered my head in shame.
"You're not a loser. You don't need to have everything figured out. You're just a teenager. It's okay to take it one step at a time." - He affirmed in a sweet tone.
There's something about the way he looked at me. I don't know... I'm enchanted already. It seemed so sweet. I kinda wanna kiss him.😳
"Bye. See you tomorrow?" - He said, taking a big inhale of my scent.
"Have a good day. See you tomorrow." - I winked back at him, excitedly.
I'm glad we had this time to talk a little. And I'm so looking forward to our date tomorrow.
My Friday afternoon was rather uneventful until I got another knock at my door.
"Hi, Liam. The Alpha wants to see you." - Beta Gutierrez announced it with a smile. He had a robe folded in his arm too, which I found it odd.
"But before you go, you need to put this on." - He handed me the robe with an awkward smile. - "And take off all your clothes."
I gasped. This isn't weird at all.😬
He left me soon after he said that.
As I did as I was told, I thought to myself: even though I've never done this before, I know what it's about to happen.
No, the Alpha isn't going to put me through the casting couch.😅
This is something else. My initiation. The nakedness is a requirement for what'll come next.😳
"Good afternoon, Liam." - He greeted me at his office as I entered.
"Good afternoon, Alpha." - I said and bowed my head.
"Please close the door." - He asked and I did it.
"Kneel." - He commanded me. I followed.
"Do you William Jackson Forsythe swear to uphold the laws of the Stonehold pack, to which you freely join, and to answer the command of its one true Alpha?"
His voice was as serious as the question he asked.
"I, William Jackson Forsythe, do so swear it."
"I, John Gutierrez Stonehold, Alpha of the Stonehold pack, accept your oath and welcome you into the fold. Now shift!"
He ordered and I did. Yes, you have to shift in front of the Alpha. It's a wolf thing. You're not the only one who have to submit, hence the robe for me to shift without showing my skin.
Once my beautiful dark brown wolf was standing in my place, Alpha Stonehold came closer to me and stretched out his hand to touch my head.
"Welcome to the family. I promise you that you'll always be treated fairly and as an equal." - He told me, to which my wolf was happy to hear it.
"I'll go the kitchen to grab some coffee to give you privacy to shift back. I'll see you shortly." - He said, just before walking out of his office and closing the door.
I hadn't shift in a while now. I kinda wish I could stay longer and go for a run. But now it's not the time.
There's a neural link that connects all werewolves from the same pack. It's what allow us to mind link any given pack member.
As I was from another pack, that connection was not there anymore. So, with this I feel properly a member of the Stonehold pack.
When Alpha returned, I was already back to human and dressed. He handed me a small folder with paperwork containing the laws of the land - wolf law, very different than human ones - and my rights and duties as a member of the pack.
He smiled and dismissed me without saying anything about my mating to his son, not even a judging glare.
When I walked out of his office, my mom was in robes too waiting. I smiled at her and went on my way.
I'm so blessed to have my mom. I still don't know what possessed her to get the idea to bring us here in the first place.
I mean, I know she was desperate. I get that, but what would make her think we'd be accepted here of all places?
I don't really know.
But what I do know is try as I may, I could never judge Alpha Stonehold if he didn't accept me. I can't even begin to imagine what's like being robbed of my entire family.
Yes, I lost my dad needlessly. But I never knew him.
It's not like him who had parents and a sister til he was robbed of them. That's a pain I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy.
So yeah, she's annoying, but she's my mom.
And I wouldn't be here alive if it weren't for her. Bless her heart.❤️
A|N: I honestly had no idea what to name this chapter.
But since this is my love letter to mom(s), it's fitting to be appreciative of your blessings.
Next chapter is their date. And well... it's called "Saturday night's alright for fighting".
By the way, thank you Ashley C. I look forward to your comments every time.
Love,
Léo.
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