The Alpha and His Song

Not Mates Pt. 3

I didn’t want to talk about that. I asked, “Is it hard knowing what you do?” Aria shrugged, “Sometimes it makes me very sad. Knowing the suffering around me. I just didn’t want to make the mistake I made with Cousin Alexander with you. My mom always respects when people don’t want to tell their mates. I knew Melanie was his mate. I knew there were many dark souls that wanted her. She needed him. Sometimes I woke up screaming for the amount of dark souls that surrounded her. I think it would be very scary to be her. Your mate doesn’t have as many dark souls after her. No one does, but it’s still a very dark soul. She is a pure soul, but if she went dark….everything in me tells me that would be very bad. So, I’m telling you to watch out for your mate. Protect your soul and hers. I don’t feel like that violates you not wanting to know who your mate is.” I snorted, “I asked your mom if she knew my mate.” Aria answered, “She doesn’t. Someone around here does though. Someone knows her. I can sense that. Maybe a few people.” I snorted. Maybe Finn would get his wish about resistance members. Maybe Melanie knew my mate. I said, “Thanks Aria.”

She nodded. I asked, “Do you know who your mate is?” Her lips twitch into a soft smile. I smirked, “You do.” She sighed, “It’s not our time. We do communicate though.” I laughed, “You sneaky little fairy. Does he know what you are to him?” Aria said, “He could’ve guessed, but I didn’t tell him.” I said, “Well, if you need anything you let me know. Thanks for the heads up. Get back to bed before an alarm goes out because you’re missing.” Aria smiled, “Aaron has that covered.” I snorted, “You fairies are devious.” Aria winked at me and was gone.

I stood up to pace. Channing said, “We need to find our mate, Keaton. I don’t want anyone to take her from us.” I told him, “We won’t let anyone take her from us. She’s ours.” Channing said, “I will not accept Lisa. I would never come forward to mark her. I’ve told you her s*x reports are wrong.” We’d actually argued over those papers. I usually block him when I read them because…I don’t even know why. Dear god, was I in an abusive relationship? Lisa never hit me so I thought….I closed my eyes. If Emma or Allison was in a relationship like mine. Would I say it was abusive? I didn’t even have to pause. I would. s**t.

I grabbed the folder that held two years and change of the reports. I walked downstairs to our fireplace. I quickly built a fire and tossed them in. It felt freeing. Keith asked, “What on earth are you doing?” I told him, “Setting myself free.” Keith asked, “Are you going to tell me what’s in them? I’ve seen you studying them before. I saw you crying once.” I sighed, “It’s embarrassing.” Keith said, “I’m your twin, and we don’t hide things from each other.” I told him, “I’ll tell you soon. Right now, I’m just reeling from the revelations from my talk with grandpa.”

Keith was silent for several moments. Eventually he said, “Lisa apparently walked into a warrior practice and told Justin he was taking her to the dance. He held her back when another girl said that was because you turned her down.” I shrugged. Keith said, “Well, I’m proud of you. Normally, you’d just take her.” He was right. I would’ve. Was grandpa right? Did she have some kind of magical hold on me? Keith asked, “What are you focused so hard on?” I asked, “Could having saved her when we were pups….have bonded us in some magical way?” Keith’s eyebrows raised. He said, “Maybe. You could ask Preston to look into it.” I nodded. I might just do that.

The next morning we left after giving Emma a hug. We ran back to Gray Stone. I hated that it felt like a weight left my shoulder being out of my pack. That was my home. I would lead there with my brothers, but right now it felt like I was anchored when I was there. I texted Preston my question. He said he would talk to his witch cousins and his Uncle Aiden. He’d get an answer. Aria Lyons words repeated in my mind. Dark souls. Was Lisa a dark soul? That seemed too far to take this whole thing. I obviously didn’t bring out a good side of her, and she didn’t bring out a good side in me. I was the worst Alpha wolf around. I threw myself into training. I needed to be stronger.

I left the guy and went back to my room. I was astonished to find Haley Conners there. I smiled, “Hey Aunt Haley.” We all usually called her aunt. She wasn’t by blood, but she was an honorary aunt to me. She smiled back and replied, “Hello Keaton.” I asked, “What are you doing here?” Haley replied, “To be perfectly honest, I have no f*****g idea. I have guesses. Your grandpa asked me to talk to you. I don’t know what you’re going through Keaton, but I’ll say this. There is no shame in getting help. I don’t know why your grandpa didn’t want Eric to talk to you, but he asked me. Eric has spoken to a therapist when things have been hard. He’s had moments where he’s felt f*****g weak and unable to protect his family. He’s been so f*****g angry he needed to talk to someone about what to do with those feelings. I’m obviously a big believer in talking to therapists. Sometimes it is nice to have someone from the outside give their perspective. I can guess this is about that girl I’ve never f*****g met. I’ve even stopped by your damn pack unannounced. It’s like that b***h can smell me coming. I personally have only had the one romantic relationship, but I had plenty of toxic non-romantic relationships in my life. It’s ok to cut those out of your life, Keaton.” I laughed, “Maybe Lisa can smell you coming. I guess I’m realizing some things about our relationship.”

Haley nodded. She said, “I don’t know why you are determined to prove you are worthy, but you are.” I gaped at her. Haley admitted, “I watched you in the gym. You can’t hide your motivations from a fairy. Your motive is to prove you are a strong Alpha. That you are worthy. You are. I don’t know who the f**k said you weren’t. If it’s the L named she wolf who might be getting a C name nickname because I’m getting the sense she defuckingserves it….She’s wrong. I’ve watched you grow up. I have watched you become a kind, caring, and compassionate young man. Whoever says f*****g different is a goddamn liar because I can’t lie.” She put a card down on my nightstand. She told me, “Eric talked to this guy. He really liked talking to him. I’m also available, but then I might have to kill a bitchy she wolf. Which might touch a foggy area of patient confidentiality. I’d kill for you though, Keaton. In a heartbeat. I love you like I love my own kids.” I snorted, “Gray area. It’s called a gray area.” Haley tilted her head. She said, “I assure you there would be nothing gray about any area. It might be a green area that gets some red stains from blood, but there would be nothing f*****g gray. Maybe brown. I could rip her cuts out then s**t would be everywhere.” I laughed, “Thanks Haley.” She nodded and gave me a quick hug before popping away.

I sighed and tapped the card. If Eric Conners got help maybe talking to someone wasn’t such a bad idea. I’d call him after Thanksgiving. Between my homework and training I was actually really busy. Keith and I were having a lot of fun. I felt more like me than I had in such a long time. I watched Keith at the bonfire Gray Stone was having. He was flirting with some girl. I glanced sharply at him when I could tell he was getting mad. We knew things like that about each other. I walked over. I asked, “Brother?” Keith said, “This girl was just telling me I failed the boyfriend test.” I laughed and asked, “There’s a boyfriend test?” Keith hissed, “Yes. Lisa messaged her and asked her to put her boyfriend to the boyfriend test.” I laughed, “Well, it’s understandable the mistake was made between us. We are twins, brother.” Keith said, “That’s f*****g bullshit!” The girl paled, “Wait, you’re not Keaton Daniels?” I answered, “No, he’s my twin. I’m Keaton. Lisa is also not my girlfriend.” Keith added, “Nor would she pass the girlfriend test. She’s openly f*****g someone else.” I nodded, “That’s true.” The girl looked at me. She said, “You don’t seem to care that she is.” I told her, “Because I truly don’t. She’s not my girlfriend or my mate. She’s free to do what she wants, and so am I. Feel free to message her back and say you have to have a boyfriend to do the boyfriend test. Also, if you feel the need to have some girl flirt with your boyfriend…..maybe there’s a reason you don’t trust him. Just saying. In this case, it’s because she’s untrustworthy. I’ve never cheated on her. She can’t say the same.” The girls jaw dropped and Keith and I walked away. Keith asked, “Are you really ok?” I nodded, “Yup.” I meant it too.

Before I knew it, it was time for Thanksgiving. Keith and I decided to run home. Our wolves were playful with each other. Channing even felt more carefree than he had since we first met. When we got home we went in the back door and changed into jeans and a t-shirt and we came down the stairs together laughing. The tension hit us quickly. I looked around. My entire family was tense. I groaned, “Now what?” I was stunned when Lisa shouted, “Keaton! You’re home!” She jumped on me. She said, “I missed you so much.” Keith winced. Her voice was really high, but she couldn’t help it. I asked, “What are you doing here?” Emmett said, “You didn’t invite them?” I frowned, “Them?” Lisa said, “It’s Thanksgiving. Of course you wanted to spend time with me, and I wanted my family to come.”

Keith said, “I’m sorry. You invited yourself and your family to our families Thanksgiving day lunch?” My cousin Joe Scott coughed, “Psycho.” Lisa scoffed at him. I took her aside. I gritted my teeth. I asked, “What are you doing here?” She slapped my arm, “Don’t embarrass me like this, Keaton. I missed you.” I nodded, “Sure. That’s why you’re with Justin and why you’ve never even called or texted me. I'm not sure if it counts sending someone to do the boyfriend test on my brother as talking to me.” Lisa’s eyes filled with tears. She whispered, “Are you really going to kick my whole family out of Thanksgiving?” I told her, “No, that would be rude. You’re already here, and my mom raised me better than that.”

I walked back into the room. I said, “You all are welcome to stay, there is enough food. Sally always makes extra; however, in the future it is customary to be invited over to someone’s home. My mother always taught my siblings and myself that it was rude to invite ourselves places. I guess not everyone was taught that.” Lisa made some strange noise of disbelief. Her parents were flushed red. I just didn’t care. She shouldn’t have come, and honestly her family should’ve known I didn’t invite her. Her sister actually looked really embarrassed. She threw a glare Lisa’s way. I found that odd. They were pretty close. Her brother was glaring at her too.

Lunch was awkward. Afterwards I escaped into the game room. Lisa of course followed. She told me, “You should probably skip desserts today. You look like you’ve enjoyed one too many parties over there in Gray Stone. They clearly aren’t a good influence.” I just stared at her. Annie Miller spoke from behind me, “How odd. I was going to say the opposite. I was going to tell Keaton he seemed to lose about one-hundred and twenty pounds of dead weight.” She winked at Lisa then added, “In case it wasn’t clear I meant you. You are the dead weight he lost. I’ve actually never seen him in better shape. You should have an extra piece of pie Keaton. Consider it a reward. You look good.” She kissed me on the cheek then said, “Keep in mind Lisa, I’m the only one in the room that can’t lie. I wonder why you would make such a remark to your ‘boyfriend’ after not seeing him for so long. He definitely has more muscle tone than your fuckboy friend. Although to be fair, he was always in better shape than Justin. Alpha blood and all. Welcome home, Keaton. You’re looking good. Better than ever.” She popped away.

Lisa said, “I hate her.” I frowned, “Why?” Lisa groaned, “Fairies. She’s not even a partial werewolf fairy. She’s just a hood, fairy mix.” I said, “So are Bryce and Tony Jr. Bryce told Keith you came onto him. So, it’s clearly not that you don’t just dislike non-werewolves. It’s just Annie.” Lisa slapped my arm, “I only flirted with Bryce because you were flirting with that visiting team’s

cheerleader in front of me!” I countered, “She dropped her sign. I handed it back to her. We didn’t flirt. Her boyfriend was the opposing team’s captain for god’s sake.” Lisa pouted, “You’ve become very argumentative since your birthday. I don’t like it. You’re changing. It’s not for the best, Keaton.” I told her, “If you don’t like me, then there’s no reason to be around me.” Her jaw dropped. Tears filled her eyes. She wiped away a few tears and said, “I don’t like when you’re so hurtful. You’ve been so angry with me since you discovered I wasn’t your mate. You blame me, don’t you? You don’t think I’m good enough to be a Luna.” I told her, “Those are your words, not mine.” Lisa huffed, “Well, you certainly aren’t denying it, are you? Your family finally got to you.” I told her, “My family has nothing to do with this. We don’t make each other happy Lisa. We haven’t for a long time. Name one thing you like about me.”

Lisa crossed her arms, “That’s ridiculous. Of course we make each other happy. We are high school sweethearts. We are both very attractive people, and we have a good relationship. You know when you come back for basketball season and the second semester of school you’ll remember how good we are together. We’ll be together and you’ll have to grovel for my forgiveness for how you’ve treated me.” I bit back, “And you? How about the groveling you’d have to do for running around the pack saying we are still together while you make out with Justin everywhere you go? You’d never forgive me if I were doing what you are.”

Lisa smirked then said, “So that’s what your attitude is. You’re jealous.” I honestly said, “Nope. I think you two make a lot of sense as a couple. You’ve always said he’s your best friend. Now you’ve made it public that he’s more.” Lisa started to pale. She asked, “This is about your public perception in the pack? How shallow can you be?” I said, “As shallow as I want, but I’m not being shallow.” Lisa said, “You’ll be sorry you treated me this way, Keaton. You always are when we fight. You’ll be apologizing to me, and this time I’m really going to make you earn my forgiveness.” I asked, “When have you not for my perceived failures? I’m always making something up to you. My favorite was when I made you a desk from wood I gathered and spent months carving designs into and you screamed at me for not spending enough money on you. If I recall correctly, I spent five thousand dollars on you before I was forgiven. Now, if you’ll excuse me it’s family time. Lunch is over, and you and your family need to go.”

Lisa raised her hand. I told her, “Don’t even think about slapping me.” One, I would catch her hand. Two, I would throw her out of this house. She huffed at me. She said, “You keep digging yourself deeper into a hole, Keaton.” I told her, “I’m not digging anything. We aren’t together. You’ve moved onto Justin. I wish you both happiness.” Lisa frowned, “I’m not with Justin. I’m with you.” I snorted, “The facts point to the contrary. We aren’t together.” Lisa huffed, “So you say. Then when you come home, you’ll want me back. I’ll see you soon, Keaton.”

Annie popped back to me. She said, “God, her voice is shrill.” I defended Lisa, “She can’t help it, Annie.” Annie said, “Maybe. Maybe not.” We stood there for several seconds. She said, “Well, the dark cloud of doom left the building. Let’s go have drinks and have fun and some actual fun. My sister has been mopey without her sidekick.” I snorted, “I’m sure Clara has been fine.” Annie said, “My Beta blood sister missed her Alpha, and she was avoiding the dark cloud who doesn’t like her. It was unpleasant enough with the daggers in her eyes she was sending your way. I must say, I like this new take no bullshit from Lisa version of you Keaton. He should stick around.” I laughed, “Alright. Let’s go have drinks.” Annie clapped and popped us to the living room. The mood was definitely lighter. My grandpa linked me, “I voted to throw her out. I was overruled.” I bit my lip. I was pretty sure he would’ve thrown her out. Channing linked me, “His wolf told me he almost took over himself and did it.” I smiled. I had a great family. One day, my mate would be here with us and that would be a great day. Now, I just had to find her and protect her.

Welcome to Keaton Daniels and Odette's journey. I am excited for this book and the reveals in it :) join my F B group the ribbon novels for theorizing, Q and A's with me and our characters. We have fun! Hope you enjoy the journey.