Nate

I had a pretty great life; my pack was small, but we were tough and we were accepting of everyone. That couldn't be said for every werewolf pack in the country. Some were still pretty prejudiced against same sex matings, interracial matings, second chance mates, the list could go on. I got lucky, when I came out, my entire pack rallied around me and accepted me for who I was, and if someone did try to start something because of who I was attracted to, it was quickly shut down. Mostly by the next Alpha in line, my best friend since before we could talk; I hoped that we ended up being mates, but a gay Alpha was next to unheard of and it was a silly wish. There was no way Beckham was my mate; for one, he was straight and had a girlfriend, and for another I wasn't one hundred percent attracted to him, but the mate bond could change that...couldn't it? There was a human boy I was interested in at school, and Beckham thought it would be good for me to have a fling before I found my mate.

The human happened to be my lab partner, and he was cute but he was extremely shy. I was walking towards that class with Beckham in tow, when I noticed said human leaning against the wall beside the closed lab door. I bid farewell to my friend and sauntered up to him, determined to ask him out, despite my wolf's protests. My attempt was laughable, and interrupted by the door opening,

"Mark, I uh, um..."

"Nate?"

"Er, nothing. Class is starting."

So, I crashed and burned because I was awkward and clumsy around cute boys. I managed to get through the rest of the day, but Beckham laughed at me when I told him how thoroughly I had crashed and burned with Marc. I flipped him off as I got out of his truck and walked into my house, kicking off my shoes I walked into the living room; surprised to see both my parents home, even more surprised to see the current Alpha. Were we in trouble? Was someone hurt? Was Vanessa okay?

"Did something happen? Is Ness okay?"

"Your sister is fine, Nate come sit down." 

I didn't like that my mom was being so serious, that was never a good sign. Following orders, I walked deeper into the room and sat across from my mom and dad; Alpha Jefferson looked...troubled.

"We're being transferred, to solidify a new allyship with a west coast pack."

"Transferred?" everyone was quiet, "I just started my senior year! You want me to move across the country and leave all my friends?"

"Maybe you'll find your mate, sweetheart."

"Does Ness have to go too?"

"No, Vanessa just started her new job on border patrol, she's over eighteen and has a mate." Alpha Jefferson interjected before my parents could answer.

This wasn't fair! But I knew I couldn't go against the Alpha's orders so I stayed quiet, even though my world was ending.

"When do we leave?" 

"Monday...so go up and start packing."

Grumbling to myself about how life wasn't fair, I went upstairs and began putting things into boxes that someone had put in my room. I picked up a framed picture of me and Beckham. We were ten, dressed as vampires of all things for Halloween. In between us was Sam; he had been killed by rogues last year...and the loss was still heavy on both me and Beckham. Beckham because he couldn't get to Sam in time, and me because I had been there but was helpless against the full grown, almost feral rogue.

"I miss you man."

I wondered if Beckham knew that my family minus my sister was being transferred across the country...but even if he did know, he was probably ordered not to say anything or act like anything was going on. I placed all my framed pictures in a box with a layer of soft sweaters or blankets in between so they didn't get smashed. I didn't have a lot of breakables, or a lot of stuff. I left out enough clothes for the weekend and stuffed the rest into duffel bags; satisfied I had gotten everything I wanted, I collapsed onto my bed. Staring at the ceiling, which was now blank and plain white I couldn't help but wallow in my misery.

I heard a soft knock on my closed and locked door, the door knob jiggled and I heard the frustrated sigh on the other side of the wood, it was Ness, my older sister. She must've heard the news and came to talk, knowing I wouldn't be talking to our parents any time soon, even though they had as much say as I did when it came to the Alpha and his orders.

"Let me in, you dramatic brat."

Huffing out a sigh of my own, I stood from my bed and unlocked the door; it wasn't long until Ness was inside my room and occupying my bed. Grumbling about inconsiderate sisters, I climbed over top of her to the side pressed against the wall.

"So you, mom, and dad are moving."

"I guess so."

"I know you hoped you and Beck were going to be endgame...I'm sorry."

"I knew it wasn't going to happen. It was a pipe dream, a stupid hope because he accepts me and I'm comfortable with him, what if my mate hates that I'm a dude? What if he doesn't know he's gay? Or worse what if he does know he's gay but he's in the closet because my new pack is stuck in Homophobia-Ville?"

"Okay, Captain Dramatic tone it down. First, he'd be stupid to hate you because you have a dick. Second, he'll be pleasantly surprised to find that he's gay and has a hot mate. Third, you'll figure it out, you always do."

"What am I going to do without you, Ness? No one understands me like you!"

"It's called FaceTime, or a cell phone. You know that thing you're constantly playing games on?"

"Not the same Ness."

"I know." Ness was quiet for a bit, and then she took my hand and we were quiet together, staring at my boring white ceiling.

***

Monday promised to show exactly how I was feeling about moving. I woke up to a thunderstorm shaking the panes of glass in my window. Sighing out my gratitude to Mother Nature for allowing everyone to know my distaste for getting up early, and uprooting my entire life; I stood from my comforting nest of blankets, folded them up and got dressed in the outfit I had laid out the night before. I didn't want to think about last night; it wasn't like I was never going to see Beckham again, he was going to be Alpha of this pack and the pack I was going to was a new ally...but we'd never been apart like this. Were platonic mates a thing? If so, that's what Beck was to me. This wasn't fair.

"Nate, let's get going." 

I bid a final farewell to my old room, and clambered down the stairs, sleep still keeping its greedy claws in me. My mom didn't offer any words of comfort, just put a travel mug of coffee into my free hand, the other occupied by my pillow and favorite blankets. I planned on taking over the back seat of the SUV and making a nest. A piece of home for as long as it could carry its familiar scent of this pack. Pine sap, Lavender honey, and home. Wasn't sure what exactly home smelled like; it was more of a feeling. Like a warm hug, it was comforting. It was safe. 

I saw Beckham leaning against the SUV, Bree was with him, she and I weren't exactly close, but we got along well and looked teary eyed. She was Sam's younger sister, by like a year I think so we had always known one another yet another piece of comfort being ripped away, Ness was also with them, her mate; Vincent was with her, offering her comfort with a strong tree limb sized arm around her shoulders.

The final goodbye...something I didn't want any part of, but was going to be forced to participate. I didn't want to cry in front of Beck and Bree, and most definitely not in front of Vincent but I could already feel the tears building up, so I took a deep breath and approached the car, Beck took my coffee while I set up the back seat to my liking. I worked in silence, I didn't have any words to offer, I didn't know how to say goodbye. I didn't want to say goodbye. Satisfied with my work, I turned around, and found Beck very close to me. Clearing my throat I took my coffee and put it in the cup holder. This was it.

"We'll see each other at the next summit." Beck said,

"Course we will."

"We'll text and FaceTime."

"Course, I wouldn't have it any other way."

"If you find your mate..."

"You'll be the first to know. Same goes for you."

"I remember."

Beck took me in his arms and gave me a bone crushing hug. Why was this so hard? It was like saying goodbye to a part of me.

I turned to Bree, and engulfed her in a hug. "Take care of him, okay?" I whispered so only she could hear,

"I promise. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I promise."

Ness and Vincent tipped their heads towards me, they were going to visit in a month after we got settled in, I'd see them a lot sooner than Bree and Beck. The next summit wasn't for a year.

"Alright guys, let him get in the car. I promise to have him call you when we get to our first stop."

Beck accepted that and let me get in the car. I managed to get through that without crying. I mentally patted myself on the back and waited until we were outside the pack limits and I felt the pack link snap, to finally allow myself to cry.

***

I was woken up by mom when we finally arrived on our new pack lands. I had called and talked to Beckham six hours ago and now we were here. I sat up and tried to look as presentable as was allowed after a twelve hour car ride. We were stopped by security wolves, they were mostly here to deter humans; but they served as a first line of defense against rogues too. This was the biggest pack on the west coast...I gulped down my nervousness, this pack was so large, it had its own zip code and school district.

"State your name and business."

"Calvin O'Rourke and family, transfers from the Purple Moon Pack."

"Proceed. Your house is located on Crescent Drive, house number twelve."

Dad started to drive, slowly now that we were within the pack limits. It was a beautiful place, giant redwoods lined the road, and pine trees and other flora were peppered throughout the old growth, a perfect spot for a werewolf pack. Dad pulled into number twelve Crescent Drive and parked the car. 

"Well, this is it." Dad climbed out and started for the door; it had been left unlocked, I followed behind him with my blankets and knapsack with my sheets. The first thing I was doing was setting up my bed. I needed that small piece of comfort. Especially in a new pack of this size.

"Nathan..."

"Yeah dad?"

"Can you...try to like it here?"

"I can certainly try. It depends on how welcoming they are." 

Dad nodded his head and walked back out to the car. All our stuff had been shipped overnight and was already set up. Mom would go through and set it up to her liking though, she was anal like that. I found my new room easily, it was slightly larger than my old one, with a picture window with a window bench attached, it had two doors on one wall, one led to a decently sized walk-in closet and the other was a bathroom. No more sharing for me, that was one pro to add to the list for this place at least.

After two hours of unpacking, my room looked good; better than my old room because of the size. It wasn't as cluttered. I wasn't sure how I was getting up on the ceiling to hang my tapestry but I could always ask Dad for help with that. For now, my room was complete. My array of framed pictures was on my dresser; maybe I'll make more friends and have a reason to buy more.

Tomorrow I start my new school. What could possibly go wrong?