Her Brother, Her Mate

I made Parker wait most of Saturday before I finally decided to text him. I didn’t go to the warrior center or training all day, choosing just to workout in the pack’s gym early this morning instead. Courtney went with me, and then I took her around Miami and even took her shopping so she had more appropriate attire for the twin’s party tonight.

Casey called me around lunch, wondering where I was since I’m usually at training all day on Saturdays. I reminded him that my cousin was in town and told him he’d meet her tonight.

“Who was that?” Courtney asked.

“Casey. He’s a really good friend. Simone, his twin sister, has been my best friend since elementary school. Casey is a warrior like me, but Simone’s….” I bite my l*p, thinking of the best way to describe her, “she likes to be pretty. She isn’t a fighter at all, so Casey and I hang out more lately. He’s a beast. He was a gamma candidate here, but when he heard I was transferring to Blue Cliff he applied to transfer too.”

She looks at me oddly, “Are you guys dating?”

I laughed and shook my head, “No, no. I never crossed that line with him. He means too much to me to ruin our friendship after we found our mates. Now that I know he’s not my mate, I wouldn’t even consider it. He’s always been like a brother in my eyes.”

“Which is funny considering your brother turned out to be your mate,” Courtney giggled.From NôvelDrama.Org.

I laughed with her, “Ironic, isn’t it?”

When we got back to the packhouse, I parted ways with Courtney so we could both rest up before the party tonight. Once alone in my room, I text Parker a vague ‘hey’ and I swear he responds before I even finish pressing send.

P: Finally!

I laughed softly at his response.

Me: It’s later

P: I couldn’t even stalk you. You weren’t at the Warrior Building all day today.

Me: I was taking my cousin around Miami. She hasn’t been here before.

P: What are you doing now? Can I come see you?

I bite my l*p, wondering if it’s a good idea. I hate to admit it, but I’m craving his closeness right now. It’s hard to keep fighting the pull I feel towards him.

Me: In my room. Yes.

It takes him maybe 2 minutes before I hear knocking at my door. I laugh as I pull the door open. Just like a puppy, I think to myself. Simone described him perfectly.

“Hi,” I chuckled, staring up at him.

“Hi,” he smiles back nervously at me. “Can I come in?”

I stood back and gestured for him to come inside.

“Later took a long time,” he mutters softly.

“Later isn’t a definitive amount of time. I could have waited until tomorrow considering I have a birthday party to get to later.”

His face drops momentarily, and with his droopy eyes and pouty lips ‘puppy’ is all I can think, making me laugh softly.

“Want to come to the party with me?” I asked him, making his face instantly light up. “It’s for the twins, so you’ll have to play nice with Casey.”

“As long as he doesn’t act like your boyfriend in front of me, I’ll be fine,” he states.

“He’s not my boyfriend, Parker. I let you think that because I thought you were trying to act like some self-righteous prick, but he’s never been more than a friend to me.”

“Really?” Parker smiled brightly, “I thought he was considering how close you both are.”

“Simone is still my best friend and Casey is a close second. Now that I know that he’s not my mate, I’m not ruining our friendship by treating him as anything other than my friend.”

He grimaces slightly, “Let’s hope he feels the same.”

“Why’s that?” I ask, tauntingly, “I still haven’t accepted you yet. What if he finds his mate and she’s horrible? I could still take him as a chosen.”

Parker growls disapprovingly, making me laugh, “I’m just kidding. I can’t see the moon goddess doing that to him. She has our best interests at heart, right?”

He smiles shyly at that, “She does.” Parker takes a deep breath, then pulls me to sit beside him on my loveseat. “Carli, about yesterday, I’m sorry I wasn’t honest with you from the start. Even four years ago, when I first found out, I should have talked to you about it instead of trying to run from it. I was so scared that there was something wrong with me and I would end up hurting you. I’m sorry that I hurt you more by staying away. It felt like s**t, and I thought I was only punishing myself. I was too stupid to see that I was hurting you as well.”

I can see the sincerity in Parker’s eyes boring into mine.

“Why did you tell mom to keep me away from you?” I asked nervously.

“I thought she would help. Not just me, but I thought she would at the very least protect you from your older brother who was seeing you as a mate and not a sister. I never wanted her to hurt you or shun you.”

“She did, though,” I tell him, “She was horrible to me. If I even showed my face to your dad she would flip out.”

Parker runs his hand through his hair, sighing deeply, “I’m so sorry. What else did she do?”

I shrug, “She gave me a credit card when I turned 14 and told me to uber to school if I didn’t want to take the bus. The bus doesn’t even come here. She also told me not to go to the dining hall anymore and to buy my food out. If it wasn’t for the Childes, I would have probably dropped out and starved. Elena started driving me to and from school and made sure I ate at every meal. My dad, even though he couldn’t tell me he was my dad since mom commanded him not to, was already acting like my parent and so was Elena. They stayed on top of me to continue training, to do well at school, they showed up to all my school events, and Elena took me shopping for clothes, dresses for dances, anything a normal mom would do.

“When I turned 16, mom saw me coming back from the beauty salon with Elena. Elena took me to the spa and went the whole nine yards for me. Facials, massages, manicures and pedicures, hair treatment and body wrap. Mom asked me to speak with her, dragging me to her office away from Elena. I thought she had remembered it was my birthday for once, but instead she slapped me, saying I was embarrassing her by being with Elena all the time. I just had to sit there and listen to her screaming at me for who knows how long, before she finally let me leave. I ran out of the packhouse and shifted, running through the rain all night long.

“I didn’t know, but the Childes had planned a birthday dinner for me at their home with Simone and Casey, Hillary, and a few of my other friends. I missed the whole thing because of mom. I even had my block up so they couldn’t mind link me. When I came back early the next morning, my dad and Elena had half the warriors gathered to start looking for me. That was pretty horrible. I never told anyone that mom did that, but I think Elena knew.”

I sighed heavily, then looked over to Parker, who looked pissed. I smiled at him and patted his hand, “It’s not that big of a deal. Mom gave me my car the following weekend, telling me to quit getting rides from other people like a beggar. I’ve avoided her for the most part after that.”

“It’s not okay, Carli,” Parker tells me in a low voice, “That will never be okay. I had no idea she was being like that. I knew she ignored you, and I knew that they didn’t give you the love you deserved, but I never thought she would abuse you. That’s child abuse, Carli. That’s criminal. I’m having a hard time sitting here and listening to s**t like that without doing anything. She should be in jail.”

“I’m not vengeful or vindictive. I just want to be free of them and start living my own life,” I told him honestly.

He looks down at my hands gripped tightly in his. “I want to be part of that life,” he whispers.

I smiled sadly at him, “I don’t know if I can stay here. Not with them here. Not with her here.”

He nods, still looking down at our hands, “I’m supposed to inherit the pack soon. If you want me to, I’ll renounce my title and move with you, but I want you to think about staying. I can banish them. No, I will banish them. I’ll do whatever you want me to do. You are an amazing warrior, and you would be the best luna. I really think the moon goddess made us mates for a reason.”

“What reason?” I asked him. Parker finally looks up, meeting my eyes. My insides flutter with the intensity of his gaze.

“My guess, the moon goddess did this to restore this pack. We hold the fate bond sacred for a reason. When the heir to the pack isn’t from the pack’s true Alpha and true Luna, it weakens the pack. Because of our parents,” he stops and shakes his head, correcting himself, “no, my parents’ selfishness and mistakes we were made to suffer; you more than anyone. But we were also given the task of making things right. I have the b***d of the alpha, you have the b***d of the true Luna. Us being a fated pair brings balance back to our pack. It’s correcting the mistakes of our parents and restoring the heart of the pack.”

Parker drops one of my hands and cups my face, “I just want what you want, but I think you should consider staying. If not for me, for the pack. Whatever you decide, I’m following you. If you decide you still can’t stay here, we will leave.”