He Will Be Mine (New Horizon Book 1)

Not Together, Not Available Either

Tyler

Theo and I and our friend Will are on our way to the activity center for students where we like to work out. Saturday morning is one of the best times for it because it tends to be pretty empty in there and there might actually be a trainer available.

Every time we have walked this path this week, I have had to fight the urge to stop in to see Aly and maybe even invite her along. I’m trying not to smother her with how much I want to hang out, and I don’t even know if she would be interested in working out with us. It seems that today I can’t fight the urge, though.

I tell the guys that I’ll meet them there because I want to stop in and see a friend for a minute. They give me knowing smirks, assuming that when I say “a friend” I mean a girl, and specifically the girl I was with last weekend at the party. They saw me there with her, and apparently, I have their approval because they both think she is hot. She is, but I just hope they don’t turn into idiots as soon as I bring her around them.

I cut across the lawn that will bring me to the front of her building and get lucky because there are two students coming out who hold the door for me. I guess I look like I belong here. I thought I would have to call Aly to come let me in. This works, though, because now I can just go up and surprise her.

After I get up the second set of stairs leading to her floor, I chuckle to myself realizing that my workout is already starting. I really don’t miss dorm life, although I also appreciate that it was how I met Matt and Trevor. Two more steps, then the big wooden door that leads into her part of the third floor. No lock on that, either. So far, so good.

I make my way to the door to Aly and Ronnie’s room and stand outside it for a couple seconds composing myself. Next thing I know, the door flies open, and Aly is throwing herself at me lips first. I don’t have to think twice about what to do in this situation. I kiss her back, and I do that thing with my tongue that seems to drive her wild and makes her open her mouth for me.

Instead, she pulls back slightly. “Mmm, get in here,” she demands, and I feel her tug my arm and pull me into the room, closing the door behind me. Sadly, she leaves me by the door and steps back a few paces.

Ronnie is lying down on her bed, laughing. “The look on your face,” she says, still laughing. Apparently at me.

“I’m confused,” I admit. “What was that? And how did you know I was there?”

“I heard you out there,” Aly explains, “and I might have kind of told the other girls here that we’re together, so …”

“So, you decided you needed to mark your territory?” I chuckle as I put it together.

She gives me a strange look, and then grins at me sheepishly as a blush creeps up her cheeks. I love that look on her. And I love that she told her friends we’re together. I know we’re not, but I have been saying something similar to Theo and Will and probably for the same reason. I don’t want them to try to pursue her. I like that we’re on the same page, at least. Not together, but not available either.

“Something like that,” she says. “I don’t know. It was dumb.”

I step forward and wrap my arms around her. “I’m going to have to start punishing you every time you say your feelings are dumb. They’re not dumb. Stop it.”

She turns her face up from where she had it buried in my chest and looks at me with what appears to be a mischievous twinkle in her eyes. She’s also smiling now. Mental pat on my own back.

“Aly, I get where you’re coming from, because I told my friends we're seeing each other, too,” I confess. “Not Matt and Trevor, obviously, but my other friends I’m not super close with. They think you’re hot, and I know if I don’t claim you then they’re going to try to get with you, and that bothers me. It’s like we need time and space to sort stuff out. We’re not together, but there’s a thing between us that we have to figure out so back off, right?”

I feel Aly relax as she exhales in relief. “Yeah, exactly. That’s exactly it, Tyler. Thank you for understanding.”

“Yeah, of course. And speaking of my friends, I’m supposed to meet them at the gym in a few, and the whole reason I stopped by was to see if you wanted to join. No pressure, though. I was just wanting to hang out, but we could do it later.”

“I’d love to,” she says. “I could really use some physical activity.”

As she pulls away from me to get ready to go to the gym, I’m looking for any sign that what she just said was an innuendo of some sort, and not finding any. Too bad. It would have been perfect. She does seem psyched for some gym time, though. Can this woman be any more perfect for me?

-

-

Aly

Working out with Tyler and his friends was so different than the workouts I’m used to back home, and that’s not a bad thing. It was fun! His friends are cool, though I’m still wrapping my head around how they can be jocks and nerds at the same time. I’m beginning to think the same is true for Tyler, although I kind of love that about him. I’ve never been into jocks, despite prioritizing taking care of myself and keeping my body in good shape.

I like that with him I get the best of both worlds. He and his friends come to work out at least three times a week, and they also sometimes get together to watch cheesy sci-fi and horror movies. That’s perfect, and I hope they keep inviting me to join. I love Ronnie, but the girl is a little too in love with homework for my taste.

It also feels like some of the pressure is off now that Tyler said the thing about taking some time to figure things out without worrying about other people getting into the mix. What that seems to mean, in practice, is that we do a lot of kissing and hand-holding in public. I’m not complaining, and he seems to be enjoying it too. I think that also means that we won’t have to worry about finding dates to anything, ever, because we’re supposed to be “together” and therefore, we go to things together. I think. Leave it to me to not ask for details.

Tyler walks me back to my dorm after we finish at the gym. He seems to want to come up and hang out, but I need some alone time because I really need to call my mom. It sucks not having her right here to talk to when I have so much on my mind.

I let him walk me to the big double doors at the front of the building, but then I stop walking and turn to him.

“Hey, thanks for inviting me along,” I say to him. “I had a really great time.”

“Yeah, me too. I’ll come get you next time if you want,” he offers.

He tries to play it cool, but I can tell it would really mean a lot to him if I say yes, and I want to go anyway.

“I’d love that, Tyler. Just text me so I can be ready.”

I lean forward to plant a kiss on his lips, letting it linger a little extra. When I start to pull away, he reaches out and grasps my elbow with his hand as if he doesn’t want to let me get away.

“I need a little privacy for awhile so I can call my mom,” I explain to him. “This is the longest I’ve ever been away from home and I’m really craving some Mom time.”

“Okay, that’s cool,” he says. “But, uh, I was kind of hoping you might want to come over later and maybe watch a movie or something. Trevor is going to another party but I’m not feeling it this time, and I don’t know what Matt will be up to, but Saturday is usually date night for him, so we might get the place to ourselves.”

Butterflies start doing gymnastics in my belly at the idea of the two of us alone in his apartment. It’s exciting to think about, and my gut is telling me to say yes. Yes, I want a night alone with Tyler, and who cares what Matt is doing. Now I definitely need to talk to my mom.

“That sounds perfect,” I say when I realize I need to respond to his invitation out loud instead of just standing there smiling like a goon. “I would like to put in a request though. Please, no romantic comedies. I don’t know if I can take it again so soon.”

He chuckles at my theatrics, then leans in for another kiss. “I think I can manage to swing that. See you later, Aly. Make sure you talk me up to your mom so that at least one of your parents will like me.”

We part ways, me still laughing and my face still tingling from our kisses, and I head into the building and up the stairs to my room to grab my phone. Ronnie is at her desk working on something, muttering out loud and not seeming to notice my presence. I decide not to disturb whatever she is doing and just take my phone from my desk and head back outside to my car for some privacy.

It rings three times on my mom’s end before she picks up. It’s weird how much I was starting to dread her not picking up at all. I might be more homesick than I thought.

“Hey, Aly girl! I was wondering when you would call,” she greets me. “How are things at school?”

I spend a few minutes catching her up on how things are around the dorm, how classes are going, telling her some of the weird tidbits I learned about my dorm mates the night before, listening to her tell me how things are back home, and then finally I get to the point of my call.

I get quiet for a moment, wondering how to ask what I want to ask, and she seems to sense that something is on my mind.

“What is it, Aly? Talk to your mama.”

“It’s just that I’m a bit mixed up about all this drama with my mate, you know? This isn’t at all what I had pictured. It isn’t like the stories the Elders tell us when we’re little about how there is someone out there picked just for you, and once you find them, you’ll be together forever and ever. With Matt it’s hot one minute, cold the next, and way too much interference from other people. I don’t know if I’m doing the right things, here.”

I hear my mom suck in a breath, and it feels like she’s trying to suck the burdens right off my shoulders. Or maybe that’s just what I hope she’s doing.

“I know your situation is a bit of a special circumstance,” Mom begins her response. “Human mates are rare, and this is why. It’s much more difficult when your mate is human. He will feel the pull, but he might not know what it means. And in your case, when he already has someone else, it’s even harder. He doesn’t know what he’d be giving up by choosing the other woman, and everything he has been taught as a human tells him that the ‘right’ thing to do is to be loyal to the person he has promised himself to.”

I panic a little when I realize she knows about Jessica. I haven’t told either of my parents about that. Just Ryan, and I know he would never tell.

“How did you know about the other woman?” I ask her.

She laughs, and it reminds me of how she would laugh when I was little and she would find humor in my childish ignorance. I don’t know how to take that in this context.

“Oh, Aly, you should know better than to try to keep secrets from me,” she chides me.

She doesn’t elaborate on how she knows, but I decide it’s not important.

“Does Dad know?” I worry out loud. If he did, he would probably try to shut down my whole operation.

“Of course not. He’ll never hear it from me. That’s for you to tell, should you choose to. Besides, I’m rooting for you. If Matt is who you want, then I’m not going to rat you out and have your dad try to intervene.”

“What do you mean if I want Matt. Of course I want Matt,” I argue stubbornly. “He’s my mate.”

“Aly girl, you know I know you better than that. He’s the mate that was chosen for you. You’ve never been one to listen to anyone else tell you what you should do. I know you like to argue with your dad that your fated mate is all you want, but that’s because he is trying to choose for you, too. But who do you want, Aly? That’s the real question here.”

“I do want him. I just don’t know if I can get him, or if I can stand to endure everything I will have to in the meantime. Do you know what it feels like when your mate is having s*x with someone else, Mom? I don’t think you do.”

“I don’t,” she admits, “and I know it is hard for you. I also know you are strong. I truly believe that you have what it takes, but you will only succeed if you really want it.”

“Well, what other option do I have?” I ask, more as a rhetorical question. I feel trapped, in a lot of ways, and I wish she could see that.

“Well, let’s talk it through. You have Matt as an option, obviously. But if you get to a point where you just don’t think he is worth the trouble, then you can reject him. You can sever that bond, and you won’t feel that pain anymore, Aly. He won’t be drawn to you, either, and maybe he can go on and live a happy life with that other woman.”

“I hate that idea,” I admit. And I do. Maybe it’s a little selfish of me, but I still hate the idea of letting Jessica have him.

“Alright, well, then you have to somehow get him to accept you. Maybe not a relationship with you, but at least the idea of you. He is going to be drawn to you, but he will not nurture a bond with you until you both accept it. Which brings me to my next point. You have to accept it, too. You have to accept that he is the one for you and commit yourself to pursuing him and only him, or that bond will not develop. It will stay just a force that pulls you toward each other without fully bringing you together if you do not both accept it. Let me be clear about this, Aly: You could be the problem here. I’m not saying that you are, but if you are on the fence about him, at all, then no matter how he feels, that bond isn’t going to be strong enough to convince him to leave the safety and security of the relationship he already has.”

I sigh, knowing she is right and realizing I already knew that. I don’t say anything yet because I don’t know what to say.

“Now, let’s talk about your other options,” she continues. “There’s the boy you obviously like who obviously likes you just as much. The one we met the other day. I don’t know if you realize this, but he’s an option.”

“Not according to Dad.”

“Your dad might think he does, but he doesn’t make the rules. Not all of them. On this matter, he doesn’t make the rules. You can still choose. There will be consequences, of course, but the same is true no matter who you choose. You just have to figure out what you want, and what you are willing to give up in order to get it.”

“Well, according to Dad, I can’t choose Tyler if I want to be Alpha.”

“Do you want to be Alpha?”

“I don’t know.”

She sighs this time. “I hate how much pressure is always put on you about everything. But okay, let’s say that you do want to be Alpha. You can still choose Tyler, or at least try to. The Elders will have to approve of him if you want to bring him into a leadership position, but the same is true for Matt. The Elders are notoriously wary of humans. If you want to be Alpha, your best bet is a werewolf, and one that looks good to the Elders.”

“Ugh,” is my only response to that.

“I know, and I knew that would be the answer to that.”

“I don’t want a mate who only wants me because of my position, or what he can get out of it,” I declare.

“Okay, good. There’s a start. That’s something you want. And I’m going to tell you right now, if that’s important to you, pick a human. You would only get that from a werewolf if he were your fated mate. Every other werewolf will be looking at you because of your position.”

“I know,” I say defeatedly.

“So, do you have any prospects who want you because of who you are?” she asks.

Well, Tyler immediately comes to mind. Maybe Matt, but I don’t know what he wants. He might only want me because it feels good when he touches me. But maybe Tyler just likes how I look, and it won’t last. Maybe I’m a novelty to him, the weird girl who lives in the woods. Even as I think that, though, a very vocal part of me knows it isn’t true. I think he likes me, and that is partly what I really like about him. He’s genuine in a way most other people aren’t. He lets me see parts of him that I suspect no one else gets to see.

“I’m not sure,” I say, because I feel it is the most honest answer.

“I thought for sure you would say the goofy kid with the shaggy hair,” she comments. “Tyler. He seems to really like you.”

“It’s just too soon to tell, or maybe I’ve just been trained to think that the only way you can know for sure that someone is devoted to you is through the mate bond,” I admit. “I feel like I’m flying blind, here.”

“Well, I agree that it is too soon to be making commitments to someone who is not your mate,” Mom concedes, “but for the sake of our conversation here, let’s say that your Tyler really likes you, and you tell him about who you really are, and he is all for it. Do you know what happens then?”

“The Elders and their trials.”

“Well, yeah, I was going to say you can mark him and create a mate bond with him, too. It’s a bit different than with your fated mate but depending on the strength of the relationship you already share and continue to build, it can be just as permanent. It’s possible, at least. And then yes, the Elders. The point of the trials is for your mate to prove he is the one for you and that he will devote himself to you and the pack. I don’t blame them for being cautious about humans and chosen mates. It can be risky to invite outsiders into the fold.”

“So, what are the trials, exactly? Do you know? I have this vague concept of them as like tests for warriors where they create an obstacle course or something.”

“I don’t know the specifics. I think no one does. What I do know is there are seven Elders and seven pillars of the test – strength, bravery, love, loyalty, vitality, empathy, and endurance. I don’t know what the specific tests are, but I do know that love and loyalty will test your mate bond and vitality is basically the elders wanting to make sure your mate is healthy enough that you will be able to produce heirs. The rest are a mix of physical and mental tests, I think. I couldn’t say. The trials are always conducted in secret, and all we ever hear about them is the outcome.”

“So what you’re saying is I should choose wisely and make sure my mate can pass those tests.”

“No, what I’m saying is that you should know what you want and what you have to do to get it. You can choose a mate who can’t pass the trials. He can still be your mate and join the pack. Just realize that Riley will probably become Alpha in that case. It sounds like you don’t care too much about that, though.”

“I care because Dad cares, and that’s about as far as that goes. I know it’s important to him and I don’t want to disappoint him.”

“That’s the wrong reason to become Alpha and make yourself miserable in the process, Aly. Being Alpha is a hard job and a lot of responsibility. Look at what it does to your dad. Imagine how much worse it would be if he didn’t have me to come home to, if he didn’t have a mate who can comfort him and be a companion to him. Imagine if we treated each other as simply baby factories and a means to a title.”

“Yikes.”

“Yikes, indeed,” she chuckles at my response. “And you have to know, also, that as much pressure as your dad puts on you about all this, at the end of the day, he just loves you. He only cares about you being happy and healthy. He lets himself get too lost in all that other, and that’s his own baggage he puts on you. He has a serious case of sibling rivalry with his brother and has always felt a need to prove that he deserves the title of Alpha. Somehow, he seems to think that making sure you become Alpha after him will be the greatest achievement, but I don’t think he wants to lose you or your happiness in the process. If you make a decision and you truly believe in it, then he will support you. All this wishy-washy on the fence and not knowing what you want is what makes him think he needs to decide for you. Make your choice, Aly. Choose what you really want, and the rest will fall into place.”

I do feel better after talking to her. I’m not any closer to knowing for sure what, or who, I really want, but I do feel like my goals are more clearly defined and I feel less bothered by a lot of what I’ve been worrying about. I appreciate that she came right out and said that Tyler can be a real option for me. And I love that for the first time, someone is telling me that becoming Alpha doesn’t have to be my top priority. I feel like I finally have a little breathing room to start figuring things out.