The Bet

Chapter 6

When Louise burst through the front door of the Hale house, nobody was even surprised. Well, the only one who had been in the living room was Peter, and he was relaxing in a chair with a well-worn book in his hands. He looked up when she entered.

"What a nice surprise, Louise," he said. "Tak's downstairs."

Louise made a face, "You've known me for a really long time, Peter. How many times have I ever been over here to see Tak?"

"True point," Peter said, setting his book down on the coffee table. "But then again, you haven't always had an arrangement with Tak, now have you?"

Louise sighed, "I don't know why I didn't think that he would tell you. Of course you f*****g know. But, I'm not here to see Tak. I'm actually here to see Laura."

"She's down there, too," Peter said.

Talia had turned the basement into a rec room of sorts several years ago. Tak always complained of not having somewhere to go just to relax, and the idea of the room was born. Tak was usually the only one who used it - Laura didn't have time, Cora hated it down there, and Malia preferred to be outside. Louise was a little surprised that the four of them were down there together - as family oriented as the entire family really was, Tak didn't really spend much time with his sisters and cousin. When Louise went downstairs, they were just watching a movie. Louise sighed, "Laura, you and I are about to have a problem."

Laura jumped a little, even though Louise knew she must've heard her coming. Laura turned around, "Hey, Lyds. It's nice to see you, too."

"Cut the bullshit, Laur," Louise said. "You told my mom that Tak and I were seeing a lot of each other."

"Did you really?" Tak groaned. "Laura, why?"

"Actually, I believe I told Mom that you and Tak were spending time together. She wanted to know, so I told her. It's not my fault that your mom knows, too."

"Again, cut the bullshit, Laura. My mom asked me if Tak and I were dating. She told me how I need to open up myself to someone, it's been a long time since I had my heart broken, blah, blah, blah," Louise said. "I don't want to have to explain f**k buddies to my mother."

"I'm pretty sure she already knows what they are," Laura said, trying to be funny. Louise just groaned.

"That's not what I meant, and you f*****g know that. Seriously, Laura, why?"

"They worry about you, Lyds," Laura said honestly. "You can't fault them for that. Natalie's your mom and she's always gonna worry about you, no matter what, and Mom and Dad took care of you for that year and a half. Actually, they look at everyone in the pack as their children, but you are more so than the rest of them. You haven't dated anyone in a really long time, and I was trying to make them worry less."

"This is bad, Laura," Louise said, starting to pace. She only paced when she was extremely agitated or was trying to figure out how to voice a thought. "I don't think you realize just how bad this is. You've given my mother something dangerous."

"And what is that, exactly?" Laura asked.

"Hope. f**k, Laura, you've given her hope, the thought that I may start dating again. She's going to be on my case now more than ever."

"All I did was tell her that you and Tak were spending time together," Laura said.

Tak sighed, "Laura, do you realize what you've f*****g done? Natalie isn't going to let this go. Not now, not ever. She's always worried about Louise, that much is true, but now she's going to be, like...extra worried or something."

"Things are going to be fine, you guys," Laura said, looking at Louise and then Tak. "Honestly, you're worrying over nothing."

-x-

Pack holidays were always held at the Hale house. They had a large house at the edge of the preserve and so they had the room. Most of the pack arrived early to help with the cooking. Louise knew that Stiles got there around eight to start the turkey. Don't let his demeanor fool you - he was a kick ass chef, and sometimes Louise thought that maybe if his career in police work didn't pan out that he should think about going to culinary school.

By the time Natalie and Louise got there, it was almost noon. Dinner was never held until one, or two at the latest. Louise loved going over there for the holidays, though. The pack was her family, and they had all grown up together. A lot of the time, she thought of them as more than friends, because they all had bonds that went pretty deep. Louise went into the house this particular day looking for Tak, though.

"I can only wonder why you're looking for him," Peter said, his arm around Melissa's waist. Peter and Melissa McCall had been a thing for several years, and part of Louise wondered why they hadn't gotten married already.

Louise gave Peter a dirty look and then said, "Peter, if you know where he is, just tell me, okay? I don't feel like playing games with you today."

"He's in the library," Peter answered. "Seriously, Louise, you take all the fun out of everything."

Rolling her eyes, Louise said, "Thanks, Peter."

Tak was in the family library, a book in his lap. Even with his wolf senses, he didn't hear Louise come up behind him until she spoke, "Hey."

"Louise, hi," he said, snapping the book shut. "What's up?"

"Whatcha looking at?" she asked.

"Pictures. They're pictures of the family before the fire."

"Holidays are hard," Louise said, sitting down in a chair across from Tak's. "I can't tell you how much more difficult holidays have been since my dad died."

"The rest of the family doesn't seem to understand," Tak said. "I mean, Mom gets it, but she's, like, the most logical person to understand. What really f*****g bothers me is that Peter pretends like nothing's wrong, like we didn't get hit by a big ass tragedy."

"He looked pretty cozy with Melissa downstairs," Louise commented. Tak nodded.

"Yeah, I figured as much."

"Look, Tak," Louise said, remembering the reason that she came up to see him in the first place, "I just wanted to ask you a question. Just one question and then I'll be out of your hair."

Tak nodded, "Sure."

"Do you like me?" Louise asked.

"Huh?"

"Do you like me?" she repeated. "Like, as a friend, or something more? I mean is there something more? I mean, is there something between us?"

"Why? Are you thinking about actually dating someone?" Tak asked. Louise just shook her head.

"No, actually. I just...if you're in love with me or something, we really shouldn't continue this bet. I just didn't realize that you might be in that far until yesterday. When I cornered Laura and complained about what she told Talia, you didn't seem all that upset."

Tak was trying to figure out how to get out of this one. Thankfully, Louise was not a werewolf and therefore she couldn't hear a lie. He finally just said, "Nothing like that. I want to be friends with you, Louise. We've known each other for a long time, but we don't really know one another. I'd like to fix that. But I'd like to continue this bet. I think, in the next five months, I can get you to crack."

Louise rolled her eyes and then knelt before Tak. She watched him carefully before undoing his belt buckle.

"What are you doing?" he hissed.

"Relax," she said as Tak lifted his hips so Louise could get his jeans and boxers down. "You know as well as I do that your parents have practically every room in this house soundproofed, and besides that, you will hear it if anyone comes this way. But I'd really like to make you come."

"I don't know if that's such a good idea - " Tak started, but was cut off as Louise took the head of his d**k into her mouth. She swirled her tongue around the tip and then sucked it further into her mouth. She grabbed his hand and put it on her head, and he grabbed her hair and started thrusting up. Louise moaned, her hand sneaking underneath her skirt and into panties, and she started rubbing her clit in slow circles. She took his c**k as deep as it would go, relaxing as it slipped into her throat. Deep throating was something she was good at, and yeah, she flaunted it when she could. She was rubbing herself faster and faster, knowing that it was going to take practically no time at all for her to come, and she wanted Tak to come with her, so she put everything she had into the b*****b. When Tak came down her throat a minute later, he gripped her hair tightly, and Louise's o****m came right after.

Louise wiped her mouth and sat back on her heels as Tak leaned back in his chair, breathing heavily. After a couple of minutes, he looked at her, "Do you want me to return the favor?"

Louise shook her head, "No, I already came, so I'm good. Besides, we can't f**k. I don't have any condoms."

"I've got some. I always carry a few with me."

"Are yours made of latex?" she asked. Tak looked at her, confused, "Yeah, why?"

"I'm allergic," she said. "There's a reason we always use mine. Believe me, it's more annoying than anything."

Tak wasn't sure what to say about that . Finally, he said, "We can still f**k. I know you probably won't agree, but I could just pull out -"

"I've slept with a lot of people, Tak," Louise said, "and I need to continue to be safe."

"You know that werewolves can't catch or carry human diseases," Tak said. "I know you do. But if you don't want to, it's fine. I'm not going to push."

Louise nodded, "Okay. Thank you."

He pulled his pants and boxers up and then lifted Louise, setting her down on the desk. He nipped at her neck and then said, "Let me make you come, at least." And then he was lifting her skirt, slipping her panties off and pocketing them. He licked up her slit one, two, three times and Louise was biting back her noises.

"None of that," he said, inserting two fingers inside of her. "As you pointed out, this room is soundproofed. I want to hear you."

As he went back to eating her out, Louise let the noises fall from her lips. He f****d her with his fingers as his lips and teeth attacked her clit, and this time was different than the previous times they'd been together. There was something this time that felt a little more...carnal. As she felt her o****m, she mumbled out, "s**t, Tak, gonna come. Make me come, please."

He attacked her clit a little more aggressively and then bit down. The pain molded with the pleasure and she let go. He withdrew his fingers and licked her juices off of them.

Louise stood, straightening out her clothes. Her heart was still racing and she felt like she might faint, but was sated. Then she looked at him, "s**t, Tak."

"What?"

"I just realized I'm about to go to Thanksgiving dinner with f*****g werewolves. They're gonna smell us all over each other."

Tak shrugged, "I don't think anybody's gonna say anything about it."

"By the way," she said after a moment, "You and I really ought to have a talk. I mean, why did you tell Peter about us? He's never going to let me live this down."

"Peter and I tell each other everything. You know that, and you've known that for a while. Why should this be any different?"

It was true. Tak and Peter were more like brothers than an uncle and his nephew. Peter was almost twelve years younger than Talia, and so he felt more like a child to her than a brother. It didn't help that their parents had been killed by a rogue hunter not very long after Talia turned eighteen, and so she practically raised Peter. With Talia's children growing up with Peter not that much older than them, he felt like more of a brother. When Tak's only brother died in that fire, Peter kind of became even more of a brother to Tak. They were really close now.

"I guess, it's just...how can I know I can trust him not to say anything?"

"That's not the kind of person Peter is, and you know it," Tak answered. "You know that he and I keep each other's secrets."

"I don't know," Louise responded. "Sometimes I don't think I should trust him at all."

Tak laughed, "Yeah, he has that kind of persona. But trust me, if Peter was really that bad of a person, Melissa would have never given him a chance."

Louise shrugged, "True, I guess."

"C'mon," Tak said after a moment. "Dinner is probably ready by now."

-x-

The dinner was better than Louise had thought it was going to be. Most of the werewolves knew about her bet with Tak, but Louise was actually more worried more about Talia. After her mother's time in Eichen House, Talia's opinion started meaning a lot more to Louise than Natalie's. Don't get her wrong - Louise loved her mother, and respected her, and wanted her mother to approve of her choices, but Louise also felt this need to appease her alpha. It was almost like Louise had four parents instead of just the one.

Thankfully, if anybody noticed the scents, they didn't say anything, and Louise was really relieved about that. There were more pressing matters, anyway.

In the middle of dinner, Peter cleared his throat and said, "There's something I want to say." He looked around nervously, which was weird - Peter Hale never got nervous. At least, not since Louise'd known him. And if he ever had gotten nervous, he never showed it. His persona was all confidence.

After taking a deep breath, Peter turned to Melissa, "Melissa, you and I have known each other a long time, and I'm incredibly happy being with you. I love you very much, and you're a wonderful person. You make me happy, and even better, you make me a better person." He got down on one knee and opened a box, "Will you do me the honor becoming my wife?"

The whole table was so silent you'd be able to hear a pin drop as Melissa's eyes got really wide and she covered her mouth with her hands in surprise. Louise was pretty sure that she saw tears in Melissa's eyes as she removed her hands, showing off a huge grin, "Yes, Peter, yes!"

After that, Louise didn't worry about people talking about her. Everybody was buzzing with the engagement, asking a million questions, and, even after dinner, most of them, especially Laura, Cora and Talia had talked to Melissa, talking about certain wedding things.

Louise noticed that Malia had disappeared, so she went outside, into the woods, and found Malia by a stream of water. It was Malia's favorite spot to go and think, and she spent a lot of time there. Malia had told Louise once that when she was a coyote, she liked to curl up there and sleep. It was peaceful to her, and that's how Louise knew that Malia would be there.

"Hey," Louise said softly. She watched Malia carefully as Malia wiped tears away from her eyes. "Wanna talk about it?"

Malia shook her head. "Not really," she croaked, her voice raspy from crying.

"Mia," Louise said, sitting down on a rock beside Malia, "You can talk to me. I want to help you."

Malia sighed, resting her head on Louise's shoulder, "Look, Lyds, I knew that Dad would move on eventually. Hell, even before he started dating Melissa, he asked me if I was okay with it. He wanted me to know that even though it had been a while since Mom and the triplets died, he was never gonna forget them. I believed him."

Louise nodded, urging Malia to continue. Malia shifted, lying down on the ground and laying her head on Louise's lap. Louise started running her fingers through Malia's hair, trying to comfort her. Malia sighed and then continued, "I knew he probably would get married again eventually. And I want him to be happy, I really do. The way Dad was after the fire..." her voice trailed off. She cleared her throat, willing way the tears that were threatening to overflow, "Dad was miserable. Yeah, I was a coyote for a while, and I still feel kinda like I abandoned him when he needed me the most, but I just..." Malia sighed, trying to form the words in her mind before saying them out loud, "I want him to be happy, Louise. I really, really do. Dad deserves some happiness, especially after this family lost so f*****g much. But, somehow, I feel weird about him getting married again."

Malia sighed once more, "I like Melissa, I really do. She's been nothing but good to me, and has always treated me the way she treats Scott. That means a lot to me. But I just feel...I feel really f*****g weird about this."

Louise sighed before saying, "Your dad's always gonna love your mom, Mia. Don't ever question that. I remember after my dad died, after Mom's whole stay in Eichen House, how broken she was, but she started dating John, things changed. But Mom told me once that she really believed that you never forget the person you married after they die, especially if you loved them. Your parents were so much in love."

"I know that the fire drove Dad half insane," Malia said, rolling onto her back so she could look at Louise, "and I know he changed after his stay in Eichen House. I know it made him better, and I know that being with Melissa changed him a lot, too. But...what if Melissa tries to take her place?" The tears started to come again, and this time, Malia just let them flow. "What if he forgets all about my mom? I mean, he never talks about her."

"Look, Mia," Louise said, sighing, "everybody handles their grief differently. My mom almost never mentions my dad, at least most of the year. On the anniversary of his death, she and I talk about him, but that's it. But I know it's her way of dealing with what we've lost. You guys lost a lot, too, with the fire and everything, but I don't think that your dad's ever gonna forget your mom. Honestly, I think he just doesn't want people to know how much he suffered."

"But we're pack!" Malia exclaimed. "We're f*****g family, and it'd be nice to know that he misses her." She sighed deeply, "Lyds, I miss her so f*****g much."

They sat there for a while after Malia's exclamation, with the tears flowing down Malia's cheeks and Louise just sitting there, stroking her hair. Louise knew Malia quite well, and she knew that right now, Malia didn't want advice. She wanted someone to just hold her while she cried, and Louise was more than glad to be that person.