The Prophesied Mate

4-Alexander

4-Alexander POV

When she walked in the room, her lilac scent hit me like a ton of bricks. My wolf, Eros started pacing restlessly in my head.

What is your deal, man? Chill out!

He growled at me, refusing to respond and just kept pacing, trying to push me closer to her until it became unbearable and I made my way through the crowd and stood by her side. Her personality was enrapturing and she captivated my attention with the way her eyes sparkled in the light.

"Hello, Alexander." She giggled, her scent hitting me stronger as she flipped her long, blonde hair over her shoulder. "Did you need something?"

Eros snarled at me, speak you imbecile!

"Oh, um hi Hope. No, I didn't...I wanted to say thank you for saving me and bringing me to your hospital despite the risk I could have posed to you. I appreciate your...care and attention." Man I sounded like a dolt. How was this girl turning my normally silver tongue into a pit of mash potatoes?

She chuckled softly and took my hand in hers, the touch lighting a fire inside of me. "It was nothing, really. I'm just glad you're feeling better." Her thumb brushed over the back of my hand and I shivered involuntarily. "Is there anything I can do for you?"

The way she was looking at me made it difficult to think straight let alone form a sentence. "Um...I don't know. Maybe...maybe you could stay with me for a little while? I feel like I need to keep talking to you."

"Of course, Alexander." She squeezed my hand gently before letting go. "Let's grab a drink and take a seat? I see my brother over there!" Waving at him, Gareth turned and looked at me with a deep scowl on his face.

All of a sudden, we were interrupted as she sat down at the table where Gareth and Regan were talking. If looks could kill, I'd be dead 10x over. Both Gareth and Regan were giving me the stink eye, all to Hope's oblivion.

I wasn't paying attention to their small talk until she asked Gareth what the plan was. I was surprised she knew what was going on, given she was privvy to the conversations held with the council. It's a gift she has. Eros said gruffly.

"The plan is to get rid of the threat." Gareth ground out, his jaw clenched tightly.

Hope looked up at him with a worried expression and I wanted so badly to kiss those plump lips.

"Don't worry, I...we will make sure everyone is safe as we finalize the plan." I whispered, trying to reassure her.

She nodded but still looked apprehensive.

I was pulled from my thoughts when Regan asked me what I wanted to do. "Um...I don't know. What do you think? You're the expert on all this mumbo jumbo."

Rolling his eyes, Regan huffed before sighing in resignation. "Fine, but if Hope gets hurt because of your lack of..."

Eros growled loudly. "May I speak with you a moment Regan, please?" I managed to choked out before Eros became too jealous and pushed forward.

Regans dark brown eyes flickered black as Ares crawled under the surface. He must have sensed the possessiveness Eros was feeling for Hope. Nodding, he stood up without a word and we walked outside. The sounds of the birds happily chirping did nothing to ease the ever-growing tension between us.

"What the f**k was that?" Regan finally asked after a few minutes of tense silence.

"I don't know, I just feel really protective of her and every time you try to butt in, I get really angry." No need to tell him Eros gets angry too...that could get ugly if my suspicions are confirmed.

Rubbing his temples, Regan muttered something that sounded like a curse before sighing in resignation. "Fine, but if she gets hurt because of your bullshit then I will personally rip your throat out."

Nodding, I agreed to his terms even though it made my wolf furious inside. All I could think about was keeping her safe. No matter what the cost. Before I could turn around and head back inside, Regan spoke again. Whipping around to look at him, Ares has pushed forward, his eyes black as night. Eros tried to push me out, but settled as I allowed him forward with me.

"What do you think you're doing, Alex. Hope is mi...underage." Ares was struggling to maintain control of himself, just as Eros was.

"You don't even know her scent." I snarled, desperately trying to keep the conservation light before we we got so heated our lycans wanted to fight each other.

"Its..."

"Lilacs." We both finished at the same time, causing us to look at each other with stunned faces.

"No...no, ohhhhh no. This isn't possible!" Regan slammed his fist on the picnic table.

We can't share a mate with that buffoon! Eros was screaming in rage. She's ours! Trying to reason with Eros was practically impossible. Regan had been our friend for centuries and had never let us down, but now it felt like he had moved into position of public enemy number one.

"Okay, so...basically...we both feel some kind of way about her. Considering she isn't even 18 yet...I'm thinking we can come up with a solution that's fair to all three of us. Like maybe we wait until she's 18 and see who she wants?" I tried to be reasonable, but Eros was having none of it. She will choose us or there will be hell to pay.

Regan looked thoughtful, his eyes changing back from black to dark brown. Tousling his hair he heaved a sigh. "Well, I didn't see this coming...to be quite honest."

I laughed despite the tension. "Me neither brother."

He grabbed my shoulder and squeezed. "Let's just respect her, respect each other okay? We've been friends a long time...I wouldn't want anything to get in the way of that."

Eros was still fuming, but he conceded, not seeing another way out of this. "Fine. But if she chooses you over me I will kill you." I said eventually

Regan rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. We all laughed and things seemed to be okay again. For the moment anyways.

As much as we didn't want to admit it...Regan and I knew that we could do nothing until she blossomed. We were both drawn to her, there was no denying it. The only thing left to do was wait and see what happened.

"Who knows...maybe she will reject both of us!" Regan laughed nervously.

"Doubtful bro, have you looked into these baby blues?" I blinked furiously, eliciting a deep chuckle from my friend.

"Let's go inside...they're probably wondering what happened to us." Regan held out his hand and I shook it. Gentleman's honor, gentleman's agreement.

We walked back into the house, Eros sulking by himself. I had a feeling things were going to get heated when she turned 18. Until then, we would just have to wait and see what happened. Who knew, maybe she would choose neither of us in the end? Stranger things had happened. In the meantime, we would just have to be friends. It was all we could do for now anyways.

Gareth looked at us suspiciously as we sat down to finish our meal.

"What were you two up to?" he asked, eyeing us suspiciously.

I could tell by the look on his face that he didn't believe us when we told him we were just having a chat. I wasn't sure what he was thinking, but I was sure he was going to figure out how attachments to Hope.

"We're not up to anything," I said. "We're just trying to enjoy our meal, now."

Gareth still looked suspicious, but he didn't say anything else. We finished our lunch and left the dining hall. I could tell Gareth was following us, but I wasn't sure what he was planning to do.

"You guys up for some midday training? I can have Mandy set up the gym for some sparring." He asked, c*****g his head to the side.

"Sure!" I said. "I could use the workout."

Hope nodded in agreement.

Gareth led us to the gym, where Mandy was waiting for us. She set up the sparring rings and got out the gear. Gareth and Hope went into one ring, while I went into another with Regan.

We started sparring, and I could tell that Regan was holding back. He wasn't using his full strength against me, and I wondered why. After a few minutes, he stopped fighting and called a halt to the match.

"What's going on?" I asked him, panting with exertion. "Why are you holding back?"

"I don't want to hurt you," he said, lowering his voice, he whispered, "Ares is struggling to contain his anger at you and the proximity to Hope..."

Nodding, I understood. Lycans were extremely jealous, possessive and territorial as it is. It's almost unheard of for a lycan to have two mates, so I could understand Ares struggling to contain himself.

After a few more minutes, the match ended and Regan called another halt.

"What's wrong?" I asked him, panting for breath.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I can't do this anymore."

He turned and walked out of the gym, leaving Hope and Gareth looking confused.

I watched Regan walk out of the gym, feeling triumphant. My patience had paid off and now I was alone with Hope...and Gareth. I had been looking forward to sparring with Regan, putting some of this frustration to use, but now it seemed like that wasn't going to happen. I turned to Hope and Gareth, who were both looking at me with concern.

"Is everything okay?" Gareth asked, studying me intently.

"I'm not sure," I said, shaking my head. "Regan just stopped fighting and walked out."

Hope frowned in confusion.

"What's going on?" she asked. "Do you know what's wrong?"

I shook my head, not knowing what to say. I knew better than to tell her the truth, but I also didn't want to lie, so I simply stayed quiet.

"I'm going to find out!" With that announcement, she flounced out of the gym, leaving me stunned and Gareth fuming.

He turned to me. "Get in the ring, I need to blow off some steam and your face is the perfect place to do it."