Fated to Two

Made a Fool

I open the front door to my parent’s house and step inside.

“Mom? Dad?” I call out, waiting for a response.

They both come rushing down the stairs and swallow me in hugs. “Oh honey, I’m so sorry you have to deal with all of this. And I’m so sorry you have to go to Crescent Moon - I can’t imagine what it’s like there. Is Alpha Hunter forcing you to go? Do we need to take this to the council?” Mama bear instantly has her claws out. “No, mom. It’s not like that. I agreed to go with Hunter. He’s my mate, too...my wolf is really pushing me to do this.” I confidently answer. After some sleep, I feel good about my decision. I know Eli isn’t happy about me leaving, but he will just have to get over it.

“Princess, you know you can call if you have any problems. I can and will drop everything I’m doing if it means your safety is in question.” Dad says as he brings me in for another hug.

I squeeze him as I let go, “I promise I’ll call if things are bad. Now, I’ve got about an hour to make sure I have everything I need - Mom, did you get a bag started?”

She grabs my hand and pulls me upstairs towards my room, “I’ve got everything packed for you already. Phone chargers, your laptop, formal wear, workout and casual clothes, grabbed your favorite jeans and sweaters, shoes to go with each outfit. You’ll only be gone for 1 week, so I didn’t go overboard, but I wanted to make sure you were prepared.” Thank the Goddess for this woman - what would I do without her?! “Thanks, mom. I really really appreciate you doing this. Eli said he text you last night asking you to handle this - I would’ve been screwed if I only had an hour this morning to pack all of this!”

“It’s no problem, honey,” she responds with a knowing smile, “so tell me...what did my little girl end up doing last night, hm? Your first night with your mate. I remember my first night with your father - I was shocked the first time we..” she starts reminiscing. “MOM,” I interrupt, “please don’t make me hear about you and dad doing.. Ya know.” She laughs, rolling her eyes at me. “And to answer your question, we didn’t..mate.” I tell her, feeling my cheeks redden.

“Ree, there’s no shame if you did. To be honest, I can smell him all over you! Are you sure you’re telling me the whole truth?” She questions me. s**t - I still smell like Eli? What will Hunter say? Mom is smiling at me teasingly. “We didn’t have s*x, mom. We did...other things. This morning,” I tell her, not sure why I’m so embarrassed to tell my mom this. She claps her hands together and lets out a giggle, “I’m so happy you two are comfortable with each other! Just make sure you’re being careful!” She adds with a stern tone.

“Mom! When we get to that point, I promise we will take extra...precautions. Now what do I do about smelling like Eli? I’m sure Hunter will be pissed if I smell like Eli the entire ride back to his pack.”

As soon as the words come out of my mouth, things start to click together...that bastard! He did this just to piss Hunter off! “Reese, what’s wrong? You’re shaking!” I realize I am shaking, and I’m going to let Eli have it when I see him. How could I fall for that? I storm into my bathroom and turn on the shower as hot as I can stand and start scrubbing until my skin hurts, until it’s red and irritated.

When I emerge from my bathroom, mom has laid out a fresh pair of clothes for me - a pair of leggings and an oversized cream colored sweater - my go-to look when traveling. Except I’m not going for comfort today - Eli tried to mark his territory just to get at Hunter, to rile him up, and I’m no one’s property. I throw the leggings and sweater into my bag and step into my closet. I decide on a form fitting dark green dress that falls just above the knees, with black over the knee heeled boots. I leave my hair down, my waves creating an effortless yet sexy look. I’ll show Eli who he’s messing with - we may be best friends, but he’s not getting away with what he pulled this morning. He took advantage of me just to piss Hunter off. Ree, are you sure you know what you’re doing? Eli will not like how you’re dressed. Are you trying to make our alpha angry? Remi says to me. I check myself in the mirror one last time - it’s 8:25 - time to go! Remi, I know exactly what I’m doing. And Eli isn’t my only alpha, the quicker he learns that, the better. I say back to her and then cut the connection as I head downstairs with my bag.

Mom and Dad have a meeting in the city, so we say our goodbyes and I head outside. Just as I’m opening the door, I almost run straight into Hunter.

“Alpha Hunter! What are you doing here? I was just heading to the pack house - I’m not late, am I?” Nervously saying to him, while checking the time on my phone. Hunter’s eyes roam my body, definitely liking my choice of outfit. He clears his throat before responding, “No, you’re not late, Reese. I thought I would introduce myself to your parents before we left - I asked around for directions and everyone pointed me here.”

Sexy and Respectful, we’ve hit the jackpot! Remi purrs in my mind. I try to bite back the smirk forming, but fail miserably. “Um, sure, of course!” I say and turn around to only run right into my dad’s chest.

Dad steps around me and holds his hand out, “Alpha Hunter - Good to finally meet you. I’m Reggie - former Beta of this pack, and this is my wife, Roxy.” Hunter steps forward and grips my dad’s forearm in return. “I’ve heard great things about you, Beta Reggie. It’s a pleasure to meet you both,” Hunter says, then turns to my mom, “Now I see where Reese gets her beauty from,” he adds, making mom blush. “Thank you, Alpha Hunter. Our Reese is a beauty, and has a soul to match,” mom says, while beaming at me. She has always been easy to win over - just give her a compliment or praise one of her pups and she turns to putty.

“Alpha Hunter, I expect Reese’s safety will be your top priority while with your pack. She is now future Luna to at least one pack - that makes her a potential target to any rogue who may know who she is,” dad adds in that dad tone, making me internally groan.

“Of course, we are already preparing for her arrival. She will have my best pack warriors guarding her at all times.” Hunter is now all business and in full Alpha mode. Could he be any dreamier? Remi says, causing me to roll my eyes. Remi, could you not drool over our mates for 5 seconds? Dad only nods, not wanting to show Hunter any weakness - both mom and I know just how worried he is to be away from me, unable to protect one of his pups should anything happen.

“Well, we better get going,” I say and give my parents hugs. Dad holds on to me a little longer than usual. “I’ll see you in 1 week, dad. And I’ll call you every night.” He doesn’t answer me, but rests his forehead against mine. With a tight smile, he steps away and we say goodbye one more time. Hunter grabs my bag and we make our way to the pack house.

Beside two black trucks, Eli is fuming. He looks me up and down before saying, “Reese, maybe you should change into something more comfortable for the trip.” I can tell he’s trying not to lose it. By this point, I’m standing right in front of him and he can definitely smell me - ONLY me, and not any scent of him. His nostrils flare just a bit, but he’s still controlling himself. “I’m fine in this, Eli. This dress is actually quite comfortable - the material is thin enough I won’t get too hot,” I tell him, while offering a small smirk. He only crosses his arms, showing his dislike as he stares at me, looking for submission. I match his stare - not challenging, but definitely showing him he isn’t going to push me around.

“Right, well we should get going Reese. I have a few meetings this afternoon I can’t be late to,” Hunter breaks our stare. I’m the first to look away, as I offer Hunter a smile. “Sure, let’s go. Eli, I’ll see you soon,” with as little emotion as possible. Hunter walks around to the second truck to load my bag.

“Ree, is something wro” - I cut him off before he can finish his question, “Don’t play dumb. I know exactly why you did what you did this morning. I won’t be making that mistake twice,” I say as I make my way to the truck. “Reese, it’s not what you think,” he grabs my wrist and pulls me back. “Just listen to me,” he says, not letting go of my wrist.

A low growl comes from the other side of the truck and in a second Hunter is standing beside me. “Let her go, she clearly doesn’t want to talk to you right now,” Hunter grits out. Eli growls back at him, his wolf ready to fight anyone that dares come between him and his mate. “Alpha Elijah, I’ll see you in 1 week when I return,” I say and jerk my wrist back. My words seem to knock him out of his rage towards Hunter and he looks at me, he really looks at me as if seeing inside my head, seeing what I truly feel right now - angered by being played a fool, embarrassment, hurt. He squeezes his eyes shut, and nods, “Be safe, Luna” he barely whispers and leaves, heading back towards the training grounds.

Jeez, Reese. Could you have been any harder on him? You didn’t even hear him out. I close my eyes to calm myself, to calm my storming emotions. Stay out of this, Remi. She may be my wolf and part of me, but she doesn’t know Eli like I do.

Hunter is staring at me, trying to read my emotions. “Let’s go,” is the only thing I offer to him as I get in the truck. He joins me in the back seat and we start on our journey towards Crescent Moon pack - away from my pack, my friends, my family...away from Eli.