A Matter of Convenience

Seventeen

~Jovanni~

Things have been interesting, to say the least. I never thought my talk with the Alpha would turn out the way it did. He wants to help me get Isis back, though he has his own motives for that. I guess it doesn’t matter what his reasons are because it’s a means to an end.

I’ve been in pain, and so has Wolfgang. I know the pain would subside if I accepted the rejection, but I don’t want to. If I’m being completely transparent, Wolfgang has already told me that if I accept the rejection, he will shut down for good. I can’t be without my wolf in my position.

I hit the bag again, causing it to swing on its post. Nothing is working, and all the training and exercise I’ve been doing is not helping at all in this situation. I’m beyond frustrated because I’m waiting for the Alpha to be ready to make a move.

I step away from the bag and peel the tape off my hands and fingers. I throw the tape away and grab my water bottle, chugging it. The cool water is refreshing as it goes down my throat. I step out of the training room, letting the fresh air whip around me. I close my eyes and throw my head back, savoring the scent of the nearby forest.

Small hands move up and down my chest, and a burst of warmth covers my backside. A slight smile makes its way to my face, and for a split second, I imagine that Isis has come back to me. I was never able to mate with her, though I’ve dreamed about it since we first laid eyes on each other.

The hands move down my torso into the waistband of my gym shorts. I feel my body responding, and my breathing starts to get heavy. It doesn’t take long for warm skin to make contact with mine, and reality sets in all too quickly. There are no sparks; this isn’t Isis.

I grab the wrists of the hands and pull them out of my pants. I drop one hand and turn around, setting my eyes on Nina. She has a seductive smile on her face, and it doesn’t impact me the way it once did. Before, that smile would have me practically cu.ming in my pants. My di.ck would be hard as a rock, and my body would have shivers running through it. Looking at her now, I don’t feel much of anything.

Nina is beautiful; that is a solid fact. She’s 5’5, has blonde hair that falls in waves down her back, and has a nice build. She has a heart-shaped face with somewhat thin lips, but that doesn’t stop her from using them to the best of her ability. As beautiful as she is, she isn’t Isis. Isis is fu.cking gorgeous, and she does things to me that I’ve never experienced before. “Hey, baby. I’m back.” I step away from her and drop her other wrist.

“I can see that.” Nina steps forward as I step back. A frown forms on her face, but it doesn’t affect me.

“You don’t seem too happy to see me. What’s that about?”

“I’m not sure what you mean. Of course, I’m happy to see you. I’ve just been training hard.” Nina turns her head, and her eyes roam over me. She doesn’t look convinced, though she has no reason to be. We’ve been hooking up long enough that what I’m saying doesn’t seem right. I know it, and I know that she knows it. I don’t know what I’m doing right now, but hopefully, some clarity will come to me soon.

“Jojo, I came back to be with you. I know your mate has gone, and I hear she rejected you. This is a good thing. Now we don’t have to play any games, we can just be together. How about we mark each other, hmm?”

If you mark that bi.tch…

Calm down, Wolfgang. She’s just talking right now. Don’t let it get to you. I say nothing, not really knowing what the right words would be. I shouldn’t be surprised to hear her say this, but here I am, pretty shocked. I guess I didn’t expect her to go so far as to want us to mark each other right now. We’ve talked about it loosely, but it was never something that needed to be immediate.

“Jojo? Did you hear me?”

“Nina, you just got back. Why are you talking about this right now?”

“What do you mean? Don’t you want to be with me?” Fu.ck! This isn’t what I need right now.

“Nina, there’s a lot going on, so right now isn’t the time to talk about this. Let me handle some things, and we can revisit this, okay?” Nina’s face scrunches up and turns into a scowl. She places her hands on her hips, and her foot taps on the ground. I swear she looks like an overgrown toddler. It would be funny if it weren’t so damn immature and unnecessary.

“Revisit this later?! What game are you trying to play with me, Jovanni? I don’t have time for your bullsh.it! You made promises to me and I want them fulfilled right now!” Nina huffs and turns on her heel. “DADDY?!” This just turned into a major clusterfu.ck!

~Ericson~

I stretch in the bed and wipe the grit out of my eyes. It was a long night trying to come up with my terms for this plan. I really can’t believe that I’m here about to enter into a contractual situation to obtain my birthright. If someone had told me this would be the case before, I would have told them they were crazy.

I was born to be an Alpha, and my family has a long-standing tradition of governing a pack. Nothing and no one should stand in my way of taking on the responsibilities that my family has shouldered for so long. Unfortunately, the elders aren’t of the same mindset, and now I have to resort to extreme measures.

It isn’t just the elders, though. If my mate had been who she was supposed to be, we would have taken over together. Just the thought of Amara makes my mood shift and my heart sink. I push her out of my mind, not wanting to dwell on such negativity right now.

My room door opens, and a nurse comes in. She checks my chart and takes a few measurements. “How are we feeling today?”

“I feel good, Josie. You’re looking good in your Barbie scrubs.” I see her cheeks go pink, and I smile.

“You stop that now. You can’t go flirting with an old woman like me.” I place my hand on my chest.

“Old?! Who told you that nonsense? You look good enough to pass for a high school senior. If you weren’t taken, I would be on you like white on rice.” Josie throws her head back and laughs.

“Oh my, I’m going to miss you when you go. Make sure you come back to visit me. It does me good being flirted with like that. The doctor will be in shortly to discharge you. Your father is eager to hear when you will be released.” My demeanor changes in an instant at the mention of my father.

“What do you mean, Josie?”

“He asked that we let him know when you are to be released. He plans to meet you here. Said something about getting the process going to secure a Luna.” Fu.ck! There’s no way in hell I plan to play his game. I have to get this going with Isis as soon as possible.

“Hey, Josie? Can you do me a favor?” She looks up from her clipboard, letting her eyes settle on me. “Can you hold off on telling my dad about my discharge. Maybe give me an hour or so? I just want to get some stuff taken care of to surprise him.” Josie looks at me as if she’s waiting to read the truth on my face. I keep a neutral expression, not wanting to alert her to anything I’m really planning.

Josie walks over to me and pinches my cheek. “Of course, sweetpea. Anything for you.” I peck the inside of her arm and watch her walk out of the room. I have no time to waste.