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My last words hung in the air between us and years later, I would see them as a clear line drawn in the proverbial sand. Because that day, at only age thirteen, I understood that to have a true mate meant to stand with that one other soul through the good times and the very, very bad – even if no one else I loved understood my level of devotion and sacrifice. And, honestly, I didn’t realize that day what my steadfastness would cost me.
What??????
“No matter what happens as a result of this weekend, I am still Malic’s true mate. Even if he doesn’t feel the pull or…” I had to pause, because, God, it hurt so bad to say. “Or even if he doesn’t care.” It took me several moments to get that hard truth out. “I am his mate and, therefore, I – above anyone else – have the final say in how we handle this.”
Dude, your 13 years old
Malic won’t ever know about my physical reaction to his choices. As his mate, so I do say.” My parents closed their eyes and hung their heads. They knew our laws well and they recognized that my final words had sealed a protective circle around Malic.
Huh??
“And, I see that I hurt you just as bad as Malic did today – though in a different way,” Joshua confessed. “I shouldn’t have taken away your trust in us, not when your faith in him was being put to the test. You needed your brothers, and I’m sorry that we failed you.”
You are 15
“So, no matter what comes, I will choose what’s right,” I vowed. “Something tells me this is only the beginning, so I’ll need my brothers and my family like never before. You’ll be the only ones who know my truth and I intend to keep it that way. I won’t be the weak link who causes Malic harm.”
Ok someone tell me what 13 talks like this??
Even though he was only thirteen and I was sixteen, my wolf knew what I refused to admit out loud – that Corwin was mine, in whatever form he took.
Except that you boink others
“Stay there,” he panted and closed his eyes. Corwin gritted his teeth and a low growl rumbled through his chest. It was the sexiest sound I’d ever heard.
He's 13!!!!
I watched as a single tear slid off of his cheek and hit the wood plank by his left foot. I reached for him before either of us could pull away and I had him against my body in one swift motion. It felt like every piece of my being settled in that one moment as I held Corwin to my heart.
No, oh heck no
He trusted me still and, for the life of me, I didn’t know why. I wasn’t worthy and I knew there would be other days ahead where I still did what I wanted.
You are horrible
the kevin (vaguely alive) liked this
He wanted to act indignant so badly over this entire incident. Only he couldn’t because my calming and light-hearted approach thus far was pouring off of my aura in waves.
If all this strife didn’t destroy us, then we’d be made stronger for it and thereby be better partners for one another.
“Lost, Malic.” Sven suddenly looked so sad. “You’ve seemed lost. Rudderless. Don’t worry, though, no one’s said a word to me. You’re the king of hiding how you really feel and compartmentalizing stuff until it’s nonexistent. But what I see, is that you want out of all this pressure so much that you’re hiding in plain sight.”
Sven is 15
The warmth came from my wolf, letting me know it was eager to hear our mate’s voice after the drought Malic had imposed on us. The cold came from all those days and nights over the last year when pain sliced through me, letting me know my mate was in another’s arms.
You are 15
I was as horny as any other teenage guy out there, maybe even more so with my wolf clawing at me to go and join with our mate. But I also knew the cost. I knew the pain firsthand that Malic would feel if I indulged in another person physically.
Oh you poor omega, live without everything so alpha will be ok
My wolf was my protector and my friend when challenges came which might otherwise cower me. With the innate power flowing through my body, my wolf would help me persevere.
Funny, how I’d never really taken the time to stop and see Corwin’s role within our pack from his perspective until that night. I’d never thought about the pressure he might feel to be who and what everyone else needed, regardless of his own goals and dreams. I let out a humorless chuckle, admitting to myself that I didn’t have a clue what Corwin’s dreams entailed because I’d been running in the opposite direction at every turn.
You are 17
“Corwin, I didn’t mean to imply that I thought you were quizzing your father about me. Not at all. I just wondered if he’d made comments in passing, that’s all,” Malic said and exhaled.
Teens talk this way
Corwin grew silent as he concentrated on eating the meager dinner I’d prepared for him. A chef I was not, but I could warm up simple fare.
Again, these are teens
After expending nearly every ounce of my energy to pass Alpha Jonas’ trial, my true mate’s unexpected presence after it was all over seemed to be what really made me pause and grasp at my last internal reserves.
Yall he is still 15, what teen says this?
I learned that I could truly put my mate before myself and that I could be strong enough for us both – even when my reserves were at their lowest. My spirit, it seemed, was mightier than my body.
Nope
I had long ago decided that I would rather live alone than with a mate who was saddled with me because he had no other choice. So I remained silent in his arms and protected Malic from himself. From the truth he wasn’t ready to hear and from a bond he wasn’t sure he wanted.
Thoughts of a normal 15 year old
“You, Corwin, just became the most influential wolf here.”
Of course he did
In the wrong hands, my gift to nurture and soothe other shifters could easily be fashioned into a weapon. A powerful one at that.
There was no way I could remain in my chair after hearing such a selfless sacrifice on their parts. I rose and my brothers did too. We formed a tight circle there in our parents’ kitchen, holding to what we knew before the storms of life pulled us apart.
Teens do this
But since my heart wasn’t involved with my weekend dalliances, a small part of me held out hope that if we did talk, he would be able to overlook my choices.
Oh yea sure
As hypocritical as I knew it was, the thought of him in someone else’s arms made my wolf want to tear the other person limb from limb. Corwin was mine, no matter how very selfish I had been in the years preceding that moment. He was mine. Mine. Mine to claim, mine to share a life with, and mine to love.
Nope
This pain I’d caused so many – including me – ended that very night. I would be Alpha and I would claim my mate.
The mate is 16
It was all of our worst nightmares made real before our very eyes. For me, I was left shaken in a way I had never experienced before. My hands were still slightly trembling as I sat there in a place where I’d always felt safe.
“Hmmm,” he hummed and tilted his head back to stare at the stars.
Uh ok
“You have not willingly shunned your mate – this I know. We all know it. But it sounds like Malic might someday realize what he’s thrown away. And when and if that happens, Corwin, I hope you won’t have hardened your heart so much that you won’t be willing to open it again and see the man he might grow into.”
He should though
Anytime I got to be around people and enjoy their antics was fun for me. I loved observing and taking it all in.
15 years old!!
“No!” I shouted, livid at the fool that he would choose to toy with me in such a way. How dare he, I seethed within!
Yup just teenaged thoughts
Maybe, I postulated,
18 year olds always talk like this
My feet were going to be held to the proverbial flames many times over, but it was a penance I had earned, so I had no room to object.
Im beginning to think they are really 80 year old men
I strummed my guitar and crooned out another of John Denver’s ballads for the small crowd around me and for myself, too. His music had always brought me solace and as I grew older it came to mean even more to me.
You are 16
What I didn’t tell my parents, my brothers, or anyone else for that matter, was that I did occasionally allow a little kissing to take place and the occasional touch with Mark and Glen. They knew I was underage and more importantly that I didn’t want anything more than just to feel desirable at times, so they never went beyond a consensual light embrace.
WTF??
I was glad I had two friends who didn’t mind holding me occasionally, without the expectation of something more. I was sure most guys would have called me a cocktease, but not Mark or Glen.
WTF??
“Will you let me kiss you?” I trembled. “So long as it doesn’t hurt you or our friendship.” “I know you’re not mine, but I don’t want to spend the rest of my days wondering what you taste like, Corwin.” “Oh, God,” I murmured as he closed the distance between us.
He is underaged!!!
Aaron’s hands began to explore too, and I felt one of his large palms slip under my t-shirt and splay across my chest. I gasped when the pads of his fingers skated across my nipple.
Underaged!!
My grin grew and I ran my thumbs over his stubbled cheeks, marveling over Aaron’s rugged beauty. “I love you, Aaron. Don’t ever think that I don’t see what an amazing man and shifter you are, or that I take you for granted. Don’t think that all the good things about you go unnoticed either, because I see you. All of you.” “I know, Corwin. Because I see you too. And I love you. So much.”
Underaged!!
I placed his shirt on the large quilt I’d spread over the ground there hours before, along with a picnic basket filled with a late dinner for us.
Hours? In the forest?
“You are my mate and never will another have my body or heart. I love you and I forgive you. Now, make us one and bind us together.” I drew in a shaky breath. “And never, ever leave me again,” I said as tears gathered in both our eyes.
Uh underage mating?
When I’d asked Mark and Glen for their advice, they’d been very candid with me.
WTF?
