It’s the end of the school day. Josie and Flint meet at my locker.
‘Hey, bro, ready to go home?’ Flint asks.
‘I’d rather them not see my face, but I don’t have a choice. So I suppose we better get home so I can face the music.’
Nina was home before us, and, as expected, mum and dad were standing at the front door looking as mad as a hatter himself.
‘Magnus, we received a phone call from the school today stating you got into a fight with the new boy and, from looking at your face, I’d say they gave us accurate information.’ Mum says, unimpressed. Dad walks to me and places his hand on my shoulder.
‘Son, what were you thinking? You will be Alpha before you know it, and here you are, beating up the new boy. You have some explaining to do.’
‘I may have accidentally nudged him at PE, and it turned into a fight.’
‘And why did you accidentally nudge him?’
Perfect timing. I look over Dad’s shoulder as Nina approaches. Dad raises his eyebrow at Nina, then back at me.
‘I see… well, I hope we don’t have a repeat of this terrible situation, but I’m glad you are okay, son.’ He pulls me in for a hug and whispers in my ear.
‘Next time, knee him good and hard in the balls, son. That girl is worth fighting for.’ Shocked, I contain my tiny smirk and give dad a slight nod instead.
I remain in my room until it’s time to join the Packhouse for dinner. Leon, Seth, Mia, and Amelia cringe at my face. Mum, of course, sits on dad’s lap.
‘Your father and I have been organising your wolf ceremony. We have invited five different packs.’ She smiles.
‘Why so many packs?’
‘Well, since you will be eighteen and have your wolf, you will find your mate and become Alpha. However, just in case your mate isn’t in this pack, I figured we would help you find her quicker by having as many unmated she-wolves present for the ceremony.’
‘Mum, are you for real?’
‘Yes, I’m for real. I’m so excited for you! When I met your father while working at the diner, I didn’t even know wolves existed and didn’t even know I was one. Your father entered the diner like he owned the place and kept talking about vanilla and cookies. Jim and I thought that was what he wanted to order, but it was my scent. It’s funny now that I think about it. I fled from your father and tried to pull a runner when he said we were mates and had explained it to me.’
‘You ran from dad when you found out he was your mate?’
‘Yep.’ Mum laughs.
‘Your mother fled from me a few times, but before I knew it, she couldn’t get enough of me.’ Dad laughs.
‘So true,’ Mum giggles.
‘What if the she-wolf I want isn’t my mate? What if I want to choose my mate instead?’
Mum drops her fork, and the colour from her face fades. Everyone has stopped laughing and stares at me instead. Finally, mum seems to have come to her senses and stairs at me.
‘Magnus, it’s frowned upon for good reasons choosing a mate instead of accepting the mate the Goddess blessed you with.’
‘But…’
‘But, nothing,’
‘Mum!’
‘She is right, son. Choosing a mate instead of accepting the one the Goddess blessed you with can cause many problems, not just for you but your entire family,’ dad frowns.
‘What if I don’t like my mate?’
‘Why don’t you at least wait and find out who she is first?’
‘It would be easier just to choose,’ Mum abruptly stands from dad’s lap.
‘It’s too dangerous, Magnus, just please wait and find out who she is first.’
‘I don’t see what the big deal in choosing is.’
Mum slams her hand on the table.
‘Magnus, choosing a mate takes her away from her true mate. Is that fair to her? People die. People get hurt when you choose a mate. How do you think my mother died when I was a child and your grandfather and our entire pack of Mooncrest? Unless your mate has passed away and the she-wolf, you like, has also had her mate pass away, then it will not happen.’ Mum storms from the room, leaving me in shock.
’I did not know that… I didn’t mean to upset mum.’ I say to dad.
‘She will be okay. She has had a very rough past and wants the best for you kids.’
‘Great, now you upset mum too.’ Josie sighs and crosses her arms.
‘Josie,’ I scowl.
‘Who else have you upset today?’ Leon asks. The room goes silent. No one dares answer, not even Nina herself.
‘I’m going to bed,’ I say, standing up. I walk up the stairs and crash land down onto my bed.
The dreaded sun hits my face. I don’t even remember falling asleep. I must have been exhausted. It’s Saturday. I put my shorts and tank shirt on and spend the day at the Packhouse gym. I’ve got Claire’s party tonight. Part of me wants to go, the other part doesn’t, but everyone will expect me there. I shower and put the black jeans on with the silver-grey shirt and my belt with the silver wolf buckle. A lot of the swelling and bruising has gone down. There is a knock at the door. I open the door to see its mum.
‘Mum, I’ve been meaning to talk to you. I did not know the effect choosing a mate could have. I’m so sorry, mum. I never meant to hurt you.’
She welcomes the hug and embraces me with a tight, loving squeeze. She is so tiny she can barely reach around me.
‘I was coming to let you know Claire rang and is hoping you will arrive at her house soon to help her greet everyone.’
‘Yeah, I guess I can go now, mum.’
She smiles. ‘You have a great night and no more fights, okay?’
‘I’ll try my best to behave, mum.’ Waltzing downstairs, my breath is caught. Nina stands by the window near the front door, looking out. She has a red fitted dress that sits just above her knees with little black heels and a matching clutch purse. I want to tell her how beautiful she looks. I take a step towards her.
‘Wow, Moss is a lucky man,’ Flint says as he and Josie approach Nina. Flint is wearing a white shirt tucked in suit pants, and May is wearing a black dress with straps. Flint sees my steel gaze on him and laughs nervously.
‘I’m assuming Moss will be here to pick you up any minute?’ Flint asks her.
‘Yep, any minute.’
‘What!?’ I say.
Nina tilts her head to look at me.
‘Moss is taking me out for dinner. Then we are going to Claire’s party afterwards.’ She smiles. I want to punch the front door, but I know I will knock it off its hinges and mum and dad would be angry. So instead, I walk out the front door and do not say a word.
Flint and Josie run outside after me.
‘Aren’t you going to get a lift from Seth with us?’
‘No thanks, I’ll walk. The fresh air will do me good.’ I huff.
