Unexpected Mates

Despite having discussed it at home and during the long car ride to get here, I still can't understand exactly what I'm doing in Oregon. I mean, I kind of understand what my parents are telling me, but it just doesn't make sense that we've driven fifteen hundred miles to congratulate and introduce ourselves to somebody's son. Apparently one of my parent's old business associates or something stepped down from some prestigious spot and now his son is taking his place. In the car, when I asked why we couldn't just send a basket of fruit with a card or something, both of my parents shot me looks that told me I should stop talking about it. One plus side of this trip though is that I never realized just how pretty Astoria would be. I remember it from The Goonies and kind of imagined it full of little kids running around on a treasure hunt. As a child, that would've been awesome, but as a nineteen year old, I wasn't looking forward to it. Luckily, we're staying in a really nice hotel that has a great view of the Columbia River. The receptionist gave me a barely restrained look of disgust when I asked whether the river was fresh water or saltwater, but I was mostly just proud of myself for knowing it was a river. After that, we headed up to our room. It was gorgeous and I was kind of surprised. Normally on trips, my parents make us stay at a Super 8 or cheap motels. This was luxury at its finest. When I told them I was going to go do some exploring, they both looked at each other cautiously. 'Guys, seriously?' I rolled my eyes. Their over-protectiveness was getting to be a bit too much for me, so I reminded them that I was nineteen and fully capable of calling for help if I got lost. They reluctantly agreed to let me go after that. 'Remember that you need to be back here before three o'clock, okay?' Mom called out after me. I nodded and closed the door gently behind me. Now, I'm sitting here at some really nice café, reading a magazine about home furnishing and taking what I feel are sophisticated sips of my hot chocolate. "Hey, do you mind if I sit here?" I hear beside me. I look up and see a tall, pale, beautiful redheaded girl standing in front of me. I nod my head, looking around to see that although the café is quiet, it's also pretty busy. "Thanks,” she says with a bright smile. "I love coming here, but so does everyone else in this town." I smile at that and look back down at my magazine. "So, you like Better Homes and Gardens magazine?" the girl asks doubtfully. I glance up again and laugh a little, "Not usually, but it's the only one they're selling here." I point to a rack that's overflowing with the same magazine I'm reading. "Oh!" she laughs, “you should have just gone across the street. Betty usually has some good things to read.” I nod, “Thanks, that’s good to know." "I'm Clem,” she says, sticking her hand out. “Actually, it’s Clemency, but I always feel like I'm in trouble when people use my full name." I shake her hand, "Avery. Sometimes people call me Ave, but when they spell it, it looks like the abbreviation for Avenue and it confuses me." She laughs, “Nice to meet you.” I go back to reading until Clem leans forward with her arms resting on the table, "You know, that's an interesting scent you're wearing." There’s a curious note to her voice, sounding like she's suggesting something. I frown and look down at myself. After over a day in the car, I'm wearing dirty clothes, my hair is greasy, and I don't exactly smell lovely. "Sorry, I just got here after a long trip. I didn't realize it was that bad." I feel my cheeks darken as I say this, embarrassed that I've been sitting in this café stinking up the place. "No!" Clem practically shouts as her eyes widen and she realizes what I just said. "No, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that you stink, I just meant your perfume is interesting.” I tilt my head, confused. "I'm not wearing perfume." Her eyes dart around the room quickly before leaning closer and whispering, "No, your perfume." My eyebrows wrinkle as I lean forward and whisper too, "I'm not wearing any." "No, I mean, it’s just different to run into one of us that I don’t know, you know?” She talks softly, and then waits as though she's waiting for me to admit something. I seriously have no idea what she's talking about, and I tell her that much. Her eyes widen again, “How do you not know what I’m talking about?” I'm sure I look like a complete airhead since I'm so confused, but I can't help it. “I don’t know what’s happening right now, but if you could fill me in that’d be cool.” She starts giggling and shaking her head, "Oh, you'll find out soon enough." I frown, "How?" Before she can answer, my phone starts ringing. It's Dad reminding me to head back to the hotel. "I have to go now,” I tell her, standing up and grabbing my jacket. "It was nice meeting you, Avenue,” she says, waving at me. I can't help laughing as I walk out the door. So far, nobody's called me that, but it makes sense after what I told her. # Back at the hotel, both of my parents look relieved. "What is going on with you two?" I ask, having never seen them act this odd before. It's weird, we've always had the type of relationship where secrets aren't kept, but I can't help feeling like they're hiding something from me. "Just hop in the shower and get ready,” Dad says. I sigh, turning to do what he says, when he adds, "And please dress appropriately. I know you’re more comfortable in certain clothes, but we need to make a good impression.” I slowly turn around with my eyes narrowed and almost lose my focus when Mom begins to laugh. I watch Dad's eyes widen. “It’s not that you don’t dress nicely, sweetheart,” he quickly explains, “I just meant it in a general, ‘we all should dress nicely’ way… okay?” My lips curve upwards slightly as I try to keep myself from smiling - it's impossible though. I can hear Mom teasing him as I walk into the bathroom and take my shower. My parents are gone when I walk back into the living area. A small white piece of paper with the hotel’s insignia on it is waiting on my pillow. Went down to get some coffee. Meet us in the lobby. I walk to my duffle bag and pull out the nicest outfit I packed. We’d left in such a hurry that I hadn’t known what to bring with. Luckily, I’d grabbed a dress on a whim. I’m generally not too concerned with looking nice all the time, so my clothes typically consist of jeans and tank tops. The short sleeved dress is a rich red color, hugging from my shoulders to my waist and flowing out to a few inches above my knees. A thin gold belt wraps around my waist, right where the loose and tight fabric join together. I pull on a tan leather jacket and slip a pair of heels in a bag since I’d rather wear slippers to the car. I quickly blow dry my long blonde hair and straighten it, not having the time to do much else. For the most part I don’t worry about my makeup. Sometimes I wear it, but usually I’m bare-faced. Today, though, it seems like I should at least do something. With a small cateye, some mascara, a little bronzer, and a nude lipstick, I’m ready to go. The best part is that it doesn’t feel like I’m wearing a mask. Downstairs, Dad does a doubletake when he sees my feet. “Why are you wearing slippers?” he asks, sounding horrified. "Don't worry. I've got everything I need in here,” I say, laughing as I hold up the bag. "We need to go,” Mom says, looking at her watch for what must be the millionth time since we got here. My body protests as I settle into my seat yet again. I love roadtrips. I always have. But my butt started going number after about ten hours and I hadn’t gotten over the discomfort yet. "Maybe we could just walk?” I suggest hopefully. "The place we're going is about half an hour away in the car. We don't have time,” Mom says, sending me an apologetic smile. I nod, having figured it was a longshot to begin with. Still, you can’t expect to get something you don’t ask for. The car ride takes a surprising turn when Dad starts driving off the road and heads toward an opening in the trees that I didn’t realize was there until we were halfway through it. “What the hell?" I gasp, looking around. It's a dirt road that can't be seen from the road. “Don't worry, I've been here before,” Dad says calmly. “What? When?” I ask, confused. "Honey, your Dad and I used to live here. Jamie too,” Mom explains, like she isn’t dropping a bombshell on me. My eyes widen, "You guys lived here?! Why didn't you tell me? You guys said you’d never lived anywhere else, though.” Mom turns around with sad eyes, "Sweetheart, you're going to find out a lot of things about us today that might scare you, but just know that you're safe and that we didn't mean to keep any of this from you. It just happened." “What are you talking about? What haven’t you told me? Why would I be scared?” I ask, a panicky feeling coming over me. People always tell me that my sixth sense is intuition. My intuition had been telling me that something was off about this entire trip and they kept shutting me down. Now this? Dad looks at me in the rearview mirror, "I think it's best if we let you discover things for yourself." "That’s so shitty,” I say on an exhale, feeling shocked. How could they basically tell me that bad things were going to happen and then not say anything about it? What exactly do they expect me to do? Just sit here and wait for something to happen to us? The rest of the drive is silent with me mad and wondering what will unfold when we get there. When we finally arrive, what I see is something I never expected. # "Jamie?" I whisper, shocked. As soon as the car comes to a full stop, I'm out and running to him. "Jamie!" I yell, jumping into his arms. My older brother left home four years ago and, other than a two phone calls, one when I turned sixteen and the other when I turned eighteen, I haven't heard from him since. His arms wrap around me and he holds me close. Before he left, we were like twins. Neither of us did much of anything without the other. He was my absolute best friend, which is why it hurt so much when he left without a word on his sixteenth birthday. He left me a note that I found two weeks after he disappeared, simply saying “Stay safe,” in his messy writing. "Jesus, what have you been eating?" I ask him, struggling to breathe as he squeezes me tighter. He wasn't small before, but it seems like he's grown about fifty pounds of muscle in the past few years. I mean, I don’t know how much fifty pounds of muscle would be, but his are bulging and he's taller than I remember him being. He grins down at me, kisses my forehead, and says, “A lot. I'm a growing boy, Kid.” Hearing him call me Kid causes tears to fill my eyes. I haven't heard that in a long time. He sighs and pulls me closer to him. "I missed you so much. You weren't supposed to grow up,” he whispers into my hair. I laugh, thinking about how when he left I was a scraggly girl with glasses, acne and braces to match. Luckily, my acne cleared up, my teeth straightened out, and I got contacts. "What can I say? Seventeen was a good year for me." We both start laughing at that, feeling like old times. "Guys, we have to get inside,” Mom says anxiously. That reminds me of why we're here and I look past Jamie to see a huge house. By huge, I mean it’s a literal mansion. People are walking around and everybody is talking to each other. It vaguely reminds me of church on a Sunday but, given the casual wear, I don't think that's what this is. “If everybody else gets to wear jeans and t-shirts, why are we so dressed up?” I ask, frowning. “Because we need to make a good impression,” Dad says, grabbing Mom’s fidgeting hand. Still not understanding why we have to make a good impression, or who we have to impress, I walk over to the car and trade my slippers for a pair of black pumps. "Alright guys, are you ready?" Dad asks, waving us inside. Jamie walks beside me and I realize that this doesn't feel as scary as it did only moments ago, but I'm still nervous. "Breathe,” Jamie whispers in my ear with a smirk. I glare up at him but take a deep breath. "What's going to happen?" I ask him softly. He just smiles, "Nothing you should be afraid of. We've all been waiting a while for this." “Wait, you know what’s happening?” It hadn’t occured to me that Jamie would have any idea what was going on here. I assumed he was in the dark like I was. “What is going on, Jamie?” "You'll see, Kid,” he says reassuringly. Seeing that I'm still uncertain, he wraps an arm around my shoulders and says, "I'll be by your side the entire time, I promise." With a sigh, I settle into his side, enjoying the warmth he seems to be radiating. The house is just as beautiful on the inside as it is outside. Without saying a word or hesitating to decide where they should go, my parents guide us to a staircase that brings us downstairs. My heart is racing in my chest as we walk into what I quickly figure out is a meeting room. There are rows of chairs on both sides of the room, all facing toward a long table at the front. There are about twenty people in the room, all listening to whatever the people up front are saying. At the long table are four people, all discussing something amongst themselves. My eyes focus on the man in the middle. He's big, with light brown eyes and dark hair that is long enough to be pulled to the back of his neck. I usually didn’t like how men looked with longer hair, but this man looks like he was born for it. His smile is soft and he seems a bit more serious than the rest of the people he's sitting with. Somebody must have said something that amused him. "Alpha Gabriel," My father starts talking, drawing their attention to us. Alpha? What the hell is happening? I watch the man’s gaze slowly travel over us until it settles on me. I also watch as his pupils dilate and his lips pull back, exposing his teeth. He releases a growl that reminds me of a rabid animal before leaping to his feet. I don't even have time to process what is happening before the table flies to the side and he lunges forward. Jamie pushes me to the side and Dad catches me before I can fall to the ground. Another growl rips out of the man's chest before something happens that I'm sure I'm imagining. Before my eyes, I watch as the man morphs into an animal. A wolf. He just changed into a wolf, right in front of me. His eyes are the same mocha color as before and his fur is as black as a moonless night sky, just like his hair. A stretch of fur down his spine is standing on end as he bends down, ready to attack. "No!" I scream, ready to jump in front of my brother. Dad holds me tighter and I watch in horror as Jamie's features begin changing. His mouth and nose push outward and his ears move towards the back of his head, elongating in the process. I hear his back c***k as he slowly bends forward, making the bones pop for the change. Somehow, I know exactly what's happening. I know that my brother is a werewolf and that he's about to defend himself – and me – against an alpha. I also know that I should be freaking out over this, but all I can do is watch in horror as everything I once knew is thrown out the window. When Jamie's change is complete, he's covered in dark grey fur, much like a normal wolf would be. His eyes are bright green and calculating as he sits calmly, waiting to see what happens. It's only when the alpha makes the first move that Jamie begins fighting back. The snarls coming from each of them are fierce and my body begins trembling with fear. Dad's arms tighten around me as I cry out for somebody to stop them. When the alpha digs his claws into Jamie's side, I can't even think straight. My brother and best friend is hurt. "Stop it!" I scream, breaking free from Dad's arms and running until I'm literally wedging myself between the two wolves. “Get away from him,” I demand, ready to fight him myself if I have to. He backs up, leaving room for me to kneel in front of Jamie. I cry, rubbing my hand against my brother’s head. His eyes look at me, filled with compassion as he nudges his snout against my chin. I wrap my arms around his neck and pet down his back. Vaguely, I'm aware that this isn't normal, but the shock of everything is making it feel less important than it should be. When he licks my face I begin to laugh, thinking about how disgusting and cute it is at the same time. "Would somebody please bring my mate to my office?" A voice behind me asks. Even though he says it as a question, his tone makes it clear that it's not a request. My attention remains on Jamie until I feel somebody's hands on my arms. I look up and see an unfamiliar man looking down at me. "What are you doing?" I ask him, gripping my hands in Jamie's fur. "I need you to come with me, Miss,” the man says politely. I shake my head, "No. I’m not leaving him.” His grip tightens and my body is being lifted from the ground. I start fighting. "Put me down!" I scream, trying to get him to let me go. "Jamie! Help!“ I twist to see Jamie looking like a human again as he covers his naked body with Dad's jacket. "Go with him, Kid.” I shake my head and fight harder. “It'll be okay, I promise,” Jamie’s voice reaches me through my terror and I look at him with pleading eyes, begging him to help me. He looks away, like I’m on my own, and I realize there's nothing he can do right now. I stop struggling. Soon enough, the man is setting me down on a huge fluffy chair. "What’s happening?” I ask as frustrated tears roll down my cheeks. "The alpha will be with you shortly, Miss,” he says, sending me an apologetic frown. "Will you wait with me?" I ask quietly, not realizing what I’m saying until I say it. I’m afraid to be alone right now, despite the fact that I'm pretty sure he's one of them. Instead of responding, he silently sits down in the chair across from me and we wait.