Tyler
I sat there thinking about what Bann had said, and it was a lot to digest. A light switch needed to go off in my brain, where the bridge between self-defense and pack-defense had to align. I had to be proactive about it, by killing my enemies, leaving no one standing. But there was a different way to go about handling Kaylee, wasn’t there? I could have taken her and made her mine, adopted her into the Sire Wolves. It wouldn’t be a decision she’d easily fall for, but at least she would still be alive after I took her in.
Hmm, took her in…
It didn’t matter how many ways I looked at it, I’d still be taking her by force, impregnating her to claim her as mine. I’d be sized down to a criminal regardless, so I guess yeah, the human part of me couldn’t see past that.
Bann was right, but this mentality wasn’t my fault.
My mother wasn’t a werewolf. I was raised with different morals, human morals. Converting to an alpha was both a physical and a mental thing that I needed to overcome, and the longer I sat in my room alone, the harder it was for me to accept what I had to do to get there.
“They want me to be a monster,” I whispered to myself, thinking back to a few nights ago, when I’d been all for ripping people apart for vengeance. “How can I take that a step further, while keeping myself sane?”
I felt gullible and naïve for not thinking the entire process through. I thought it was simple; bang the omegas, build my pack, claim the throne. But after seeing what Tegan and Bann expected from me tonight, I saw just how dark this entire journey was.
“Shit, if Bann is a true alpha, then why doesn’t he go out there and avenge my father? He knows where to find Blake, doesn’t he?” If Bann was strong enough to scare Blake off, then he can rise up to the challenge and take him down. Why was that luxury reserved for me? I mean, I get it, Alistair was my father, but Bann’s vendetta was just as justified. If we really wanted to wrap this up, we could, through him.
I felt overwhelmed, running my hand through my hair, dismissing my misplaced responsibilities as soon as I thought of them. Bann had chosen me for a reason. He believed in me to carry out my father’s mission. There was a reason he fell back. He wasn’t going to disrespect Alistair’s honor by letting his son take the back seat.
That’s how pride and honor worked, right?
I needed a reminder, thinking about that bloody t-shirt from when I was four, the same shirt that had my parent’s blood on it. I was determined to change, I just needed to adjust, hopefully sooner rather than later.
I took a breath in and a hard breath out, got up on my feet, then looked around my tousled bedroom. Alice and I had hauled our stuff in here, and I used the next hour to get our things together.
How we went from strangers to roommates in under a couple hours still boggled my mind, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. She was my mate now, and I took that seriously. If there was anything my father taught me from when I was young, it was to always take care of your own. Protect family, because they’re priority. If anything mattered in the world, it was them.
So I took care of Alice’s things, setting her clothes in the closet. I gave her the left side, and I had the right, a considerably smaller section just by looking at it. I didn’t own a lot of things, the simple side of me bearing title to the bare minimum. So it was easy for me to de-clutter, mostly Alice’s stuff, from her makeup kit I left as is, to the rest of her vanity I had to find some space for around my bathroom. Her scent lingered on me, on my bed, in the space in the room we would share, where the idea behind getting stronger resonated with me now than ever.
Fuck my rules…
I couldn’t let the same thing that happened to my parents happen to Alice… or Tegan…
I washed up, changed out of my blood-blotched clothes, and slipped into some grey sweats and a black sleeveless undershirt. When I went downstairs, I expected some type of chaos, Tegan possibly clashing heads with Alice. She was the jealous type, even though she wouldn’t admit it. Instead, my feet reached the bottom step, and I was welcomed by the smell of… brownies? For dinner?
“Hey, Tyler!” Alice beamed, while running a baking knife through a tray of dessert. And standing right next to her behind the kitchen island, Tegan, looking up to me with a deadpan look.
“Don’t ask…” Her flat voice answered to the very visible confusion on my face.
I chuckled, walking up to them, expecting Bann to be downstairs too. But I guess he was still up in his bedroom getting ready for dessert.
“Do you want some brownies? Tegan and I made some, and we want you to be the first to taste it.”
“Sure you didn’t already lick the batter off the spoon?”
“No, of course not!” Alice said, while Tegan nodded her head at me.
“Well, if it’s as good as it smells, I’ll have a bite. But what about dinner?”
“Alice here has a sweet tooth and she insisted we bonded through making brownies. Thus, here we are.”
“You can’t tell me you didn’t have fun, Tegan!” Alice sure was bubbly by nature, nipping Tegan’s nose with the batter off the bowl. “Boop!”
“Exactly how much of that batter did you have?” I smiled, watching Tegan flick the chocolate clump off the tip of her nose with her finger.
“Obviously too much.” Tegan licked the mixture off her finger, before opening the drawer just above her waist. “Safe to say, we are going to need takeout. It’s too late for me to cook dinner and have it ready by eight.”
“Not if you have help!” Alice offered.
“With the way you’re going, I’d rather have takeout,” she said, pulling out a bunch of menus out of the drawer. “Besides, you like to eat while you cook.”
She giggled. “Are you really going to hold that against me?”
It brought a smile to my face, seeing them getting along. I guess Tegan’s initial perception of Alice changed, Alice not using me for her self-gain after all. They both looked through over a dozen menus while I took a spot on the bar stool right across from them, admiring my two girls.
Well, Tegan wasn’t mine, but she might as well be. It was only a matter of time before she became part of the Sire Wolves.
I might have been instigating too closely, that proud smile on my face getting some attention. They both stopped mid conversation to look up to me, where I looked at them blankly, my eyes battering at their combo stare down. “What?”
Tegan stifled a chuckle, lowering the menu from her eyes. “Alice, I hope you know what you’re getting yourself into,” she warned. “Get ready for a lot of those.”
I snickered. “A lot of what?”
“A lot of staring.”
I squinted at her, folding my hands over the counter. “I don’t stare at you, do I?”
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She tossed me some sass, bringing her hand to her hip.
“Maybe you’re the one who’s been doing all of that staring. Can’t keep your eyes off me,” I jested.
She blushed “You’re going to have to get used to his bravado, too,” Tegan snipped, trying to distract herself by munching on the brownie piece Alice had offered me.
“Don’t think it’s a good idea to spoil your appetite, Tegan. Besides, I thought chocolate was a dog’s greatest weakness?”
“And his terrible werewolf jokes!”
Alice giggled. “Boy, I feel like I’m imposing here. You guys make such a cute couple!”
Tegan choked on her brownie, rushing over to the left for a napkin on the counter.
“Heh, no, Tegan and I… we aren’t a couple,” I corrected Alice.
“Right,” Tegan struggled, coughing out into the napkin. “Ehem, no, no, no! Not me, and him. That’s for sure! Heh,” she overcompensated.
“Oh? I’m sorry! I thought when you mentioned me being your first mate, that the two of you were at least dating!”
“Tyler and me?” Tegan pitched, trying to keep her eyes off me. But the cute little wolf ears would do, those bad boys springing up just in time to catch her in her little act. Alice jumped, Tegan backing up as she tried flatting her ears down embarrassed.
“Oh my gosh! Those are so cute!” Alice beamed, bouncing up and down off her tiptoes.
“Annoying is what they are,” Tegan said shame-faced.
“I don’t get cute little wolf ears poking out of my head! That must be a rare genetic phenotype!”
“I have zero control over it.”
“Well, I wouldn’t say zero control,” I taunted. “Why don’t you tell Alice what makes them pop—”
“Stop instigating, Tyler!” she barked, that silky crown of hers suddenly losing its furry friends.
“Mmm, all this talk about control is making me want to take a bathroom break.”
“Down the hall, to your right,” Tegan instructed.
“Okay! I’ll be right back. Try not to miss me!” Alice dashed off, leaving Tegan and I in the kitchen alone. I watched Alice turn that corner before veering back to Tegan, who couldn’t bear looking at me.
“Interesting,” I started, those eyes of hers not pulling away from the menu as she made her way back to the counter.
“What is?”
“That Alice thought we were a thing.”
“Common misconception when another omega sees an Alpha walking around with her kind.”
I grinned. “You think so?”
“I know so,” she said, finally looking up to me apologetically. “Hey look, I’m sorry for telling Bann about Kaylee.”
“No worries,” I said smoothly. “Besides, I’m glad you did. I needed that talk with Bann. I was still, how you say, thinking like a human.”
“It’s not going to be an easy transition, but the quicker you adjust—”
“Yeah, I know. Maybe we can talk more about it over dinner.”
“I’m sure Bann won’t hold his tongue back about it if you lean on him.”
“No, I’m talking about an outside dinner, just the two of us.”
She looked back at me shocked.
“You told me that your birthday was coming up, right? In a few days? We can do it after paintballing. Unless, you changed your mind and wanted to do something else for your birthday?”
“N-n-no, that’s um, that’s fine.” She smiled. “I don’t mind hanging out with you for my birthday. It’s actually in two days. I know a paintballing place. But we would have to go after six. The place is kinda far to take the bus. So we would need to take my Dad’s car.”
“What do you mean, we have Alice’s car. I’m sure she wouldn’t mind.”
“Hmm, you’re right. With that lovely display of driving from you earlier, I feel that Daddy won’t let you two inches near his steering wheel,” she said cheekily, bringing a light chuckle out of me. “Are you okay with Italian?”
“I’m not a picky eater. I’m up for whatever you’re in the mood to eat.”