Shields are nothing but holes strung together - unknown

"Kyle? I think you've trained hard enough for today, dude. You should go back to your tent and rest. After all, the Mating ceremony is toni-"

 "I. AM. NOT. GOING. One more mention of this mating shit and I am going to break your neck". 

"You wouldn't" argued Alexander, but this time he heard the desperation in Kyle's voice and raised both hands in appeasement.

Kyle let out a big sigh, feeling the anger gradually leave him. He knew it wasn't fair to take it out on Alex. The latter was a good guy - a bit persistent, maybe, but it was his way of showing concern. Besides, he was the only wolf in the pack brave enough - or stupid enough? - to bear with Kyle's moodiness and murderous glances.

How weird. Never in a lifetime would have Kyle imagined that one day, he would consider Alex his only friend - well, aside from Milena, apparently. 

When they were still teenagers, neither he nor Darren and Nate had given much thoughts to the quiet kid. Alex had been a shy kid, who had turned into a shy man, but now Kyle was aware there was much more about him that what met the eyes.  

In the end, his former best friends had become strangers, while Kyle had befriended the pack's loner. 

Life is a box of chocolates* and yadidi, yadada. 

"Seriously, though." Alex tried again, as Kyle remained silent. "You should attend the ceremony. The Alpha's not going to be pleased if he finds out you disobeyed a direct order, and you know you're not exactly in his good graces..."

At that, Kyle started laughing maniacally.

" What are you saying, Alex? The Alpha loves me. He secretly has a big, fat crush on me. He's just too much of a coward to actually do something about it".

"That's not even funny, Kyle".  

"Who's having a big, fat crush on who?" 

Kyle didn't turn to see who it was. He didn't need to:  although he would never admit it out loud, only one person had the power to intimidate him. A tall, muscular and strikingly handsome man, who also happened to be the Alpha of the pack. Such a cliché, right? 

If he had only half of the charisma of his former best friend Darren, Kyle would die a happy man, but, as a talented writer once said, "The world is not a wish-granting factory**".  

"Ermmm, you know what, Kyle?... It feels like a one-on-one kind of conversation. I'll leave you alone with our Alpha" 

With that said, Alexander, like the ever-loyal friend he was, gave Kyle an apologetic smile and promptly left. As soon as he disappeared, Kyle felt a shiver ran through his body. One didn't need to possess a very high emotional intelligence to guess that the Alpha wasn't very pleased.

"By any chance, were you talking about me, Beta?" Darren asked, his voice void of any trace of humor. 

"I have no idea what you're talking about", Kyle replied sweetly. 

"ANSWER ME".

Crap. No, no, no. Not that deep, commanding tone. For a moment, Kyle thought he was going to be sick. Why was he like that? How could he be turned-on by the situation - because there was no mistaking in the way all his blood seemed to rush south?

I'm hard. The last time I was hard like this I - It was that night when I made the biggest mistake of my life. Goddess, I'm a disgusting, vile creature.

He took a deep breath, praying that Darren had not noticed his sudden change of behaviour. He slowly raised his eyes to meet the Alphas', and almost sighed in relief when he found that his leader was looking back at him with a bored expression. 

He hadn't noticed Kyle's quickly growing problem. Well, it was not that surprising, as Darren and Nate never noticed anything, when he was concerned.

He could become the greatest warrior of all times, hang himself or slowly morphed into a yellow elephant and still, Darren and Nate would not even spare him a second glance. Damn, he had thought that after all this time, it would not hurt so much but here he was...

"That was highly inappropriate, Alpha. I apologize for my poor attempt at a joke" he eventually replied, proud for the apparent calmness in his voice. 

" Whatever. " the other eventually mumbled. "I am not surprised someone as brutal and unruly as you is also disrespectful in private. Just be there in time for the Ceremony, Beta". 

Kyle watched his former friend leave with a very unhappy expression. To think that, once upon a time, the three of them had sworn to each other that they would never let anything, or anyone threaten their friendship. 

Well, times change and so do people. Move on, Kyle, and learn your lesson. Trying to rape your friends is not a good way to keep them at your side. 

~~~~~~~~~~

How did people manage to randomly sleep during the day? Last time Kyle had a proper nap, he must have been around four or five. Even at that time, he probably only stayed still for a few hours, before rushing outside to play with the other pups. 

Kyle had too much to think about to fall asleep anyways. The freaking Ceremony which was awaiting him. His brief conversation with Darren, if you could call that a conversation. 

His... unwanted reaction to Darren's authority. 

 Was this sudden, unquenchable need something every Submissive experienced at some point? It wasn't a satisfying explanation, though. Kyle was not a Sub anymore, or at least, that's what the bloody pills were for. His submissive nature shouldn't have arose, almost betraying him in the worst manner possible, in front of his Alpha.

Thankfully, Darren had failed to notice anything. That's one of the positive aspects of being considered a weirdo: when you do act weird, people think you're acting normal. 

 He had to be more careful, though, and not let himself be overflowed by relief. All his hard training to become the perfect Dominant would have been in vain, had the Alpha noticed Kyle's excitation. The guy was not stupid and would have immediately understood the truth. 

A Dominant could be a lot of things but being excited by someone's bossy tone was certainely not one of them. Tears started slowly falling down from the corners of his eyes. He had to find new pills, stronger ones. Even his own body seemed intent on betraying him. 

Glancing down to find his member still far from flacid, Kyle let out a cry of disgust before shifting in his werewolf form, his uncle's words resonating in his crane "Only sluts and submissives want to play the passive role. Those are weak, vile and pathetic creatures. My nephew is NOT one of them". 

Those words were usually followed by some serious beating. Willing to leave this memory far behind him, Kyle started running faster, unaware that someone was following him. 

When he was done running, his feet were bloody and he felt a slight nausea, but a Dominant is never too hard on himself. Besides, there were only three things Kyle was good at, so he knew he couldn't allow himself to slack off. 

Now, you may wonder what these three things were?

Sleep. Eat. Train. Repeat. 

I'm a bad person, but maybe I can still be a good Warrior. Doesn't matter if they all hate me, I won't let my pack down.

~~~~~~~

Kyle was late for the mating ceremony. He had trained so hard last night that his legs felt like jelly and his headache was getting worse. So much for being the Great Warrior of the pack! But even Darren did not dare disrupting the Mating Ceremony by publicly scolding him. 

Darren. He looked utterly breathtaking, sitting proud and tall among his pack, his dark eyes silently daring anyone to break the silent atmosphere. Next to him, Nate looked equally splendid, with his blue eyes and soft-looking hair, but his firm posture and guarded expression showed that he was no weakling himself. 

Although they might be a bit cold and frightening sometimes, the love and affection between both men was undeniable. 

"KYLE"

Kyle had been so engrossed in the two lovers he almost jumped when the One Eye called out his name. The One Eye glared at him, looking stern and almost unattainable in his white dress. His next few words, though, definitely stirred up Kyle. 

"You are to be mated with Nate". 

People started whispering, even though the Mating Ceremony was supposed to be the kind of shitty events where everyone tried to control their breathing, making you painfully aware of your own stomach's mumbling. 

" And you are also to be mated with Darren". 

Kyle did not dare looking at Nate and Darren, but he was positive they did not appreciate the One Eye's joke at the slightest. Because that was what it was, right? A joke. 

Years earlier, before that terrible night, Kyle would have been thrilled to discover he was their mate. Now, the Goddess's decision resembled more the beginning of a horror movie.

* Forrest Gump, a film by Robert Zemeckis

** John Green, The Fault in Our Stars