Skaydal - Unsettled Beta

4

Mato

“So, I think we should just go ahead and make a business plan,” Carmen said as she glanced around our new dining room table. The large dark wooden table was only one item of furniture we had received. The dining room was now a dining room fitted with a table and six matching chairs. A lush rug had been placed down as well and it still felt surreal to have so much furniture in our house.

“How do we even do something like that?” Triston questioned as he rested his elbows on the table.

“With a computer or laptop,” Carmen informed him with a smile. As she hurried out of the room – probably to go and fetch the new laptop she had been given – I decided to change the subject, real quick.

“What would you do if your mate hooked up with someone else?” I asked as casually as I could. However, both Jett and Triston snapped their attention to me, and the anger and disbelief were clear in their eyes. “Hypothetically,” I added, in hopes of defusing the situation.

“No way, bro,” Triston said as he shook his head. “Hypothetically my ass,”

“He cheated on you?” Jett questioned and I could see that he was clearly surprised by this, much as I had been. Once I had gotten over the shock, I had been angry and hurt.

“Did he…I mean, how did you find out?” Triston then asked and I suddenly hated that both of them were looking at me with pity. The anger was still simmering beneath the surface but their concern for me was far greater.

“I felt it,” I admitted softly.

“Felt what?” Carmen asked as she came back into the dining room with the laptop.

“Nothing,” I hurriedly said, at the same time Jett and Triston said: “Zack cheated on him,”

“You can’t be serious…are you serious?” she stared at me in confusion and concern. “How did you feel it?” she then asked, and all three of them were watching me closely. I should never have opened up my big mouth, but I wasn’t sure what to do. I didn’t want to reject him, but I also wasn’t sure I could forgive him. I mean, technically, we aren’t even together. Just because we are mates doesn’t mean we are automatically in a relationship. Does it?

“I didn’t feel him hooking up…I just felt his tension and frustration and then….well, suddenly that was all gone, and it was replaced with this intense pleasure,”

“Holy s**t,” Jett muttered.

“Soon after that, the pleasurable feeling was gone and I felt empty and guilty and…weird,” I didn’t admit that while I felt all of that, I also felt my own feelings of betrayal and pain.

“Reject his ass,” Triston blurted out as he stood up. “He doesn’t deserve you and clearly he doesn’t even want you,”

“I agree, why would he hook up with someone else when you are right here?” Carmen asked and I nodded. That had been my same thought. I mean, I didn’t have a lot of s****l experience, but I could’ve given him a hand – literally.

“Wait…” Jett suddenly looked over at me with shock on his face. “That night when you ran outside and the two of you were…talking…was it about that?”

“It’s sweet that you call it talking when in reality it was barely that, but yes,” I ran my fingers through my hair as I sighed loudly. “So, what am I supposed to do now?”

“Reject him,” all three of them said at once, and I flinched.

“Unless, of course, you don’t want to?” Carmen came over to me and slipped her arm around my neck in a soft embrace. “Do you want to be with him, Mato?” her question was valid, and I didn’t have the answer.

“I don’t know…maybe we should just talk about this business plan instead,” I did my best to change the subject and while I could see that they still wanted to talk about it, they agreed, and Carmen set up the laptop.

“Our first order of business is coming up with a name,” I said as I leaned back in my seat.

“Oh! What about Internet Café!” Jett exclaimed and I rolled my eyes.

“No way, bro,” Triston remarked. “I like the café part though,” he then added when Jett’s face fell.

“Ok, what else can we say other than the internet?’ Carmen asked as she sped away on the laptop. We had gone back and forth before about wanting to have a place where you could use the internet. But also buy products such as laptops, computers, or any other high-technology products. Since Carmen had always wanted to do a smaller version of a diner, I figured that café was definitely one way to go.

“What about Technology Café?” I suggested. Jett immediately nodded in approval but both Triston and Carmen scrunched their noses. “What’s wrong with it?’ I asked.

“Too long,” Carmen complained.

“Ok, what about…techno…café?” when all three of them smiled, I knew we had our name. “Right on, Techno Café it is,” we spent the next few hours going back and forth with the plan and, I had to admit, Carmen was a natural. So was Triston. Jett and I offered little when putting information down, but we were good at deciding what sounded good. Especially the small menu Carmen had come up with. Overall, as my family sat in the living room on our new couch, we watched the presentation Carmen and Triston had worked on and I was even blown away.

“Well done!” my mother exclaimed in excitement. “There is no way he would say no to that,”

“I agree, well done,” my father was smiling so happily that I secretly hoped Grayson would approve our proposal because if he didn’t, our whole family would be disappointed. I was still in awe of having a furnished house and I was low-key in love with my new bed. I couldn’t remember the last time I had even slept on a bed, so it was like sleeping on clouds.

“Well, I’ve just sent it to Grayson,” Carmen said nervously as she crossed her fingers. We all laughed, but I knew that we would all be on edge until Grayson got back to us.

“Anyone up to watch a movie?” Jett asked as he eyed the large TV screen. That was something else that was new to us, and it didn’t take any convincing to say yes to movie night. Carmen and I headed to the kitchen to make snacks and I used the opportunity to praise my little sister.

“That presentation is kick-ass,” I remarked as I stood by the counter. Carmen blushed as she opened up the cupboard.

“I still can’t get over this,” she whispered as she stared at the numerous items in the cupboard. Not only had Grayson made sure our home was completely furnished but that our cupboards were over full, and our fridge and freezer were packed. My mother didn’t have to go to the pack house for food anymore. In fact, just last night, my mother had gone to the pack house, but to cook and everyone had raved over her simple pasta dish. I watched as she started pulling out items to make popcorn.

“Do you need any help?” I then asked as she moved around the kitchen. I felt useless and suddenly it hit me that I didn’t have much to offer.

“Don’t do that,” she hissed out, and I glanced over to see her glaring at me.

“Do what?” I asked innocently.

“Don’t get into your head, Mato,” she said softly. “You are talented. You and Jett are more techno-savvy than me and Triston,”

“Yes, but you two are…well, you are super smart,” Carmen stopped what she was doing and came over to me. She grabbed my hands and squeezed them.

“You are super smart. You managed to convince Benjamin that you could be trusted. You saved the day, don’t you ever forget that,” I went red as I listened to her. I didn’t consider myself a hero. I may have saved the day, but I did so selfishly. She knew that. So did my family. As much as I want to say that I did what I did to save Sierna, the truth was I wanted Benjamin to get caught. I wanted him to be locked away. That was the only way my family would be safe. I opened my mouth to counterargue her point but she squeezed my hands harder. “Stop,”

“Car…”

“And another thing…if you want to be with him, then you are going to have to fight for what you want,” her advice threw me off guard and I stared at my wise little sister. “I don’t know why he hooked up with someone else and I don’t know why he hasn’t claimed you yet…but since he hasn’t outright rejected you…well, there is hope, isn’t there?”

“Yes,”

“Good, now get a large bowl ready because I’m going to make a whole lot of popcorn,”

Zack continued to avoid me, and I had no idea what to do about that. Every time I thought we would be at the same place at the same time, he wasn’t there. When Sierna was announced as the official Luna of Skaydal, Zack had been close, but when I had gone looking for him afterward, he was gone. Needless to say, that’s how it went. The worst of it was, I could feel every emotion he had and that meant he could feel mine. I felt his tension and unhappiness, but most of all, I felt his fear. I wasn’t even sure what he was afraid of, but no matter what I did or wanted to do, he avoided me. It hurt. More than I wanted to admit, and I had a feeling he could feel my constant pain and anguish. Why wouldn’t he just stick around long enough for us to talk? If he didn’t want me, then why hasn’t he rejected me yet? When Carmen suddenly came barging into my bedroom, I knew that something was wrong. The look in her eyes told me that I wouldn’t like whatever she was about to tell me.

“What is it?” I asked.

“He got out,” she stated, and I frowned.

“Who got out? Out where?”

“Benjamin got out!” I jumped up from my bed and the two of us stared at each other.

“Sierna,” we both said as we sprang into action and hurried out of my bedroom. We gathered in the sitting room and waited as we watched my father pace around the space.

“Dad?” Jett whispered and I could hear the fear in his voice.

“He won’t come for us,” my father suddenly announced. “If anything, he will come for Sierna,”

“We have to protect her,” I said firmly, and my father nodded.

“We will offer our services to Grayson,” he then said as he stopped pacing and faced my mother and sister. “As for the two of you, find out where you are needed. It’s time to protect our new home,” everyone sprang into action, and I hurriedly followed behind my father as he led us to the pack house. Somehow, I wasn’t at all surprised to see Malachi – the delta – organizing a blockage. I wasn’t even sure where Zack was, but I could feel his adrenaline and it matched my own.

“Are you here to help?” Malachi asked the second he spotted us coming and we all nodded. “Good, I need men on the north and south with Steven and Kevin,” we were then split up and despite the urgency of the situation, I was still hopeful to see Zack. Except he wasn’t there when Jett and I arrived. Damnit, where was he?