Her Mate Dilemma

9 - First Night at Brady's

Alexandria 

    I probably should have been more focused on getting to know Brady better, but I knew I would probably end up needing a female friend to get advice from in the near future.  That's why I wanted to visit Andre and his mate Lacy.  When I met her at my Uncle James' memorial service, she seemed super nice, and I liked her right away.

    We followed my cousin to the living room, where he sat down beside Lacy on the couch.  I walked over to the loveseat, then I sat on the end that was closest to Lacy.  Brady immediately sat down beside me and grabbed my hand, then I flashed him a smile, before I focused my attention on Andre's mate and happily chirped, "Hello, Lacy!  How are you?"

    She flashed me a small smile and timidly replied, "Hello.  I'm good.  How are you?"

    I could tell she was still the shy she-wolf I met at the memorial service, and that made my smile widen, as I thought about the different ways I could help her overcome that shyness.  After a few seconds of thought, I curiously asked, "What do you two like to do for fun around here these days?"

    Andre chuckled at me, before he nonchalantly answered, "The same things we did for fun when we were pups."

    "Would you would be up for going on a run with us tomorrow?" I sheepishly asked.

    "I'm all for it," Andre cheekily replied.

    "I'm okay with it," Lacy shyly mumbled with a small smile playing on her thin, pink lips.  She really was a cute she-wolf.  I could see why Andre was so smitten with her.  She had short, brown hair and the prettiest dark green eyes.

    However, she didn't have the typical, petite body that most she-wolves possessed.  Instead, she was more muscular, a lot like me, and that made me wonder if she was also a warrior, so I curiously asked, "Lacy, do you train with the warriors?"

    Instantly, her lips curved up to form a wider smile, before she proudly stated, "Yes, I do.  I'm the most skilled female warrior in our pack."

    That was it!  The common ground I needed to bond with her.  I knew there was something about Andre's mate that made me want to get to know her better.

    I beamed a wide smile of my own, as I enthusiastically chirped, "I am also a trained warrior.  We will have to train together while I'm here.  Maybe you can teach me some new techniques, and I can do the same for you."

    I watched excitement spring into her pretty, dark green eyes, as she nodded her head and gushed, "I would love that.  It'll be so fun."

    Seeing her open up to me so quickly brought me a tremendous amount of joy, and I was just as excited as she was about training together.  The two of us talked about training for almost an hour, before Brady insisted we head back to his house.  In that hour, I got Lacy to loosen up a lot, and I could tell we were fast on our way to becoming good friends.

    Before we left Andre's cottage, I gave him and Lacy a friendly hug, then I grabbed Brady's hand and mumbled, "We can go back to your house now."

    He mumbled a quick goodbye to Andre and Lacy, then he pulled me toward the door.  On our way out, Andre suddenly stated, "Hey, Brady.  You better treat my cousin with respect, or I won't hesitate to kick your ass."

    Brady just chuckled before he confidently replied, "Don't worry, bro.  She will be well taken care of with me."

    Andre gave him a pointed look, then he adamantly stated, "I mean it, Brady.  I'm not f*****g around when I say I will kick your ass if you do anything to hurt my cousin."

    Brady let go of my hand, then he threw his hands in the air like he was surrendering, as he playfully retorted, "Your cousin is a big girl.  I think she can handle herself," then he stated in a more serious tone, "but seriously bro, I will do anything and everything I can to keep your cousin happy and feeling loved.  She is my mate, and I love her already."

    "Good!  That's what I wanted to hear," Andre cheekily remarked with a chuckle.

    After that, Brady gave Andre a playful salute, then he closed the door, before he grabbed ahold of my hand again.  On the walk back to his house, he curiously asked, "Have you thought about if you are going to keep training with the warriors when you choose which pack you want to stay at?"

    "Oh that's a must," I immediately replied with all seriousness.  I loved training with the warriors, and I was very good at fighting.  

    "This should be interesting," he nonchalantly mumbled.

    "Why do you say that?" I curiously asked in response.

    "Well, if you train with our pack, you'll be training with both males and females," he absentmindedly replied.

    "So?  What's the problem with that?  That's how we trained at the Forest Pack," I quickly informed him.

    "Eventually, we will have to fight against each other in training.  I'm not sure how I feel about that," he anxiously admitted.

    He ran his fingers through his short hair, and I couldn't stop myself from giggling.  He looked so cute with his hair tousled and a nervous smile playing on his lips.  After a few seconds of giggling, I confidently stated, "Don't worry about hurting me.  Most likely, I will end up kicking your ass all over the training grounds."

    His eyes immediately widened in surprise, then he chuckled at me before replying, "I seriously doubt that, but I guess we shall see if that time comes."

    I scoffed at his words, before I playfully retorted, "We can test that theory of yours anytime you want."

    "That's okay.  I'll pass on that offer, mate," he nonchalantly replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

    I was quick to playfully shoulder bump him, which almost made him let go of my hand, then I teasingly asked, "Why not?  Are you scared you might get your ass kicked by a she-wolf?"

    He tried to glare at me for just a second, then he started laughing, as he joked, "I'm not scared of a she-wolf kicking my ass, but I am scared of my mate kicking my ass."

    I laughed with him, then I flashed him an innocent smile and softly murmured, "Don't worry, mate.  I wouldn't purposely kick your ass, unless you did something to deserve it."

    Brady let go of my hand, then he snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me snugly against his side, before he affectionately stated, "Mate, I will never do anything to hurt or anger you enough to make you want to hurt me."

    After that, a comfortable silence settled over us, as we finished walking the distance to his house.  When we got there, we talked to his parents for a few minutes, then we went to Brady's room so we could hang out alone.

    As soon as we got in there, I went straight to my suitcase and pulled out a light yellow nightgown, then I glanced at Brady and nonchalantly stated, "I'm going to take a quick shower."

    He flashed me a sly smirk, before he teasingly asked, "Would you like for me to join you?"

    I thought about it for a split second, then I coyly replied, "I'm not sure you could handle taking a shower with me."

    His jaw dropped slightly, before he adamantly insisted, "I can handle anything you throw my way."

    "Hmm...Is that so?" I playfully asked followed by a little giggle.

    Brady chuckled for a few seconds, then he proudly replied, "That is so.  I have a lot of self control."

    "Okay, mate.  Let's see how much self control you have.  Come on and join me in the shower, but you can't touch me at all," I cheekily retorted, then I winked at Brady before I spun on my heel and walked into the bathroom.

    In no time, Brady was in the bathroom with me, and I couldn't deny the fact that I was feeling a little nervous about taking a shower with him.  He was quick to turn to the water on, so it could heat up, then he started getting undressed.

    My nerves started to get the better of me, so I turned around before I started removing my clothes.  I was almost done undressing, when I felt his warm breath fan across my shoulder, then I heard him huskily mumble, "I'll see you under the water." 

    My breath hitched in my throat, as a chill ran down the length of my spine.  His husky voice had a way of doing things to me that I could not understand, much less try to explain.  As soon as he stepped under the water, I heard him release a sigh of content, and that helped motivate me to hurry up and join him.

    I quickly finished removing my undergarments, then I stepped under the water with him.  Right away, my eyes scanned the length of extremely muscular body, and I was filled with the desire to run my fingertips over his sexy abs.  

    After I admired my mate's sexy body for a minute or so, I couldn't take it any longer.  I placed my fingers on the top of his shoulders, then I trailed them down over his pronounced pecs.  

    When I reached the top of his eight pack, I moved my fingers to the center, then I slowly trailed them down the middle of his abs.  Once the reached the bottom of his eight pack, I grasped ahold of his hips, then I leaned forward and placed a soft kiss on the front of his neck.

    When I glanced up at his eyes through lowered eyelashes, I saw so much love and adoration swirling in them that it was a little overwhelming.  It made me feel good to see my mate looking at me like that, but it also made me feel a little bad.  It was obvious that he cared a great deal about me, but I couldn't fully give myself to him.  Not when I had another mate who also looked at me with just as much love and adoration.

    I felt so conflicted about the whole thing, and I wasn't sure if I should let my guard down with either of them.  If only I could convince Brady to give our trio a chance.  I knew we could make it work if we wanted to, but he clearly didn't want to from the start.

    I guess Brady could see the wheels turning in my head, because after a few more seconds of me being lost in thought, he cleared his throat and curiously asked, "What's on your mind, mate?"

    I gave my head a little shake to clear my thoughts, then I nonchalantly answered, "I was just thinking about how difficult all of this is going to be.  I don't understand why you are so adamantly against us being a trio of mates."

    I saw annoyance flash in his baby blue eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it had appeared, then he nonchalantly replied, "I'm sorry, Alexandria.  I know it's what you want, but it's not what I want for us.  The Moon Goddess only mated the two of us together.  Liam wouldn't even be in the equation if you hadn't casted that silly spell."

    Instantly, I frowned because of his response, while I tried not to let it bother me too much.  I dropped the subject after that and started washing my hair.  As soon as those words left his mouth, I could feel the tension form between us, and I didn't want to cause that tension to escalate.

    After I quickly washed my hair and body, I stepped out of the shower and grabbed a towel.  Right away, I dried my body off, then I pulled the nightgown over my head.  I was kind of fuming over Brady's words, so I decided to visit my Aunt Chelsea, while I gave myself time to cool off.  

    Brady's mum tried to talk to me, but I didn't want her to see me upset, so I mumbled, "I need to see my aunt.  Brady's in the shower.  Will you let him know where I went?"

    As soon as she agreed to let him know, I left their house and walked straight to Aunt Chelsea's cottage.  It only took me a few minutes to get there, and I was relieved to see her sitting on her porch swing.  The second she saw me coming up the walkway, she jumped up and ran straight to me, then she engulfed me in a warm embrace.

    I don't know why, but I instantly broke down in tears, as she hugged me.  I guess I was already missing my mum and siblings, but that was something I needed to get used to, since chances were that I wouldn't ever live with them again.  

    Aunt Chelsea didn't drop her arms from around me, nor did she ask me any questions.  Instead, she hugged me tighter and let me cry on her shoulder.  I hated the fact that Brady was so unwilling to see my point of view, and I wasn't sure if I had the patience or the willpower to wait for him to come around to the idea.  

    Brady must have got out of the shower right after me, because I had only been crying on my aunt's shoulder for a few minutes, when I suddenly felt those amazing sparks tingle on my arms.  A second later, I was pulled out of my aunt's embrace, then Brady wrapped his arms around me and softly murmured, "I'm sorry, mate.  I didn't mean to upset you.  Please don't cry."

    I gripped ahold of his dark blue t-shirt, then I buried my face in the crook of his neck and continued to cry.  I wanted to stop, but for some odd reason, I just couldn't.  The tears wouldn't stop flowing, and I didn't have the energy to keep trying to make them stop.  

    After a few more minutes of me crying, Brady scooped me up in his arms, then he carried me bridal style back to his house.  I kept my face buried in his chest so nobody else would see my tears, but his mum knew right away that something was wrong.  

    She tried to ask if everything was okay, but Brady didn't give her a response.  Instead, he walked straight to his room, then he sat down on the edge of his bed with me on his lap.

    When I didn't pull my face away from his chest, he anxiously mumbled, "Alexandria, please look at me."

    I hesitated for a moment, then I tilted my head back and gazed up at his blue eyes.  I could see quite the mixture of emotions swirling in them, and I knew he was seriously struggling with everything, just as much as I was.  

    After gazing into his eyes for a few seconds, I timidly mumbled, "You can't make shitty comments about the spells I cast or about my abilities.  I'm not okay with that, so please don't do it again."

    Brady gently brushed his knuckles over my cheek, as he flashed me an apologetic smile and softly murmured, "Mate, I love the fact that you are a hybrid.  I think it's great that you can unlock special abilities and do awesome things that us normal werewolves can't do."

    I flashed him a little smile, then I sniffled before mumbling, "Thanks, Brady.  Can we lay down now?  I'm exhausted."

    "Of course," he calmly remarked, then he stood up and gently laid me down on the bed with my head resting on a fluffy pillow.  After that, he walked to the other side of the bed and laid down beside me, then he pulled the blanket over us, before he reached over and turned his lamp off.

    We laid in silence for a few minutes, then Brady pecked a kiss on my forehead.  A second later, he groggily mumbled, "Goodnight, mate."

    "Goodnight," I whispered.  

    I was feeling too discouraged to want to snuggle, so I closed my eyes in hopes of quickly falling asleep.  However, Brady was feeling bad, and it didn't take long for him to snuggle to me.  Even though I didn't necessarily want to snuggle, it still felt nice to know he wanted that closeness with me, and it didn't take long for those wonderful sparks to help lull me into a deep sleep.