The Alpha’s Fight for His Omega

Chapter 111

***Chastity***

Leaving to go back to Cloverland hadn’t been easy as I hadn’t wanted such an amazing visit to end. I knew I had to go back though, and when I was finished I would be home permanently. I only had a which wasn’t that long in the grand scheme of things. Once I graduated, it would no longer be visits, b lifetime with the people that meant so much to me.

My first week back had been a whirlwind of things. New classes started, we started the wolf system: Anatomy class, and I ended up not continuing self defense as one of my classes was during that sa time slot. I had enjoyed the class, but the time constraints made it too hard to continue. Marcus, and Colby decided to take over teaching Lexi, Norm, and I which worked out great because it gave all of more time together.

My appointments with Dee-Dee also had to be changed due to my schedule. I still saw her twice a we but now it was in the evenings instead of mid-day. I was her last appointment on those days which s said was great because it gave us more time to talk when I needed it. My first appointment with her h been really good. She said she had been impressed with all of the progress I had made, and that she h full faith in me that I would look back some day, and be truly proud of myself. I couldn’t disagree with h because I already was.

My following appointments with her were a bit harder because we focused a lot on talking about my st lingering lack of confidence. Those were hard because I had to discuss things that happened to me in th past. I hated that, and those things tended to haunt me after the appointments, but I knew it was also necessary. Rowen was great about it too. I would talk to him about the same things I talked to her abou I could see they upset him, but he didn’t let that upset get the better of him. He would listen intently tha we would talk about how I could put it behind me.

One thing I kept finding myself wondering was what had happened to Aurora to make her the person she was. Why she thought the way she did, and felt how she did. Those were questions I wasn’t sure I would get the answers to, but they still plagued me, constantly. I knew nothing about her life before meeting my dad, and I found myself wondering if her pup hood was what caused her to behave as she did. My dad swore that her parents were amazing people, and never did anything to her that would have caused her to become who she was.

After talking it over with Dee-Dee, she suggested asking someone who knew Aurora as a pup. Other than John, I wasn’t sure who did. It was dad who said Lucy did as she, and Aurora had been friends as pups. He gave me Lucy’s number, and I ended up calling her about a month and a half after I got back to school.

“Hello?” I heard Lucy’s voice through the phone.

“Hi Lucy. It’s Chastity.” I said brightly.

“Chastity? Well hi there girly. How are you? How is school going?”

“I’m doing really well Lucy. School is hard, but I’m really enjoying it.”

“I’m so glad. We all miss you back here, but we are so proud of you.”

“Thank you. I miss you all too. Um. Listen, I….uh….I have something I want to ask you about.” “Sure.”

“As you know I’m in therapy.”

“I do, and I think that it’s a good thing.”

“It really is, and I’m glad I’m doing it. Dee-Dee has helped me a lot.”

“Dee-Dee?”

“My therapist.”

“Ah. So what can I help you with?”

“Please know that I’m asking this because I really am just trying to understand, and dad said you might

have some answers.”

“Understand what?”

“Why Aurora was the way she was.”

“I’m not exactly sure how I can help with that. I wasn’t exactly friends with her once we reached high

school.”

“But you were her friend as a pup, right?”

“Yes I was.”

“So you kind of grew up with her?”

“Only until high school. After the first year of high school she dropped me like a hot potato.”

“Did…did something happen? Were her parents treating her badly or something? Did someone do something to her?”

“Nothing like that. She changed.”

“What happened?”

“First, her parents were, and are wonderful people. They loved John, and Aurora very much.”

“They’re still alive?”

“Oh very much so, but Aurora was embarrassed of them so she never had anything to do with them after she moved in with Dimi when he returned from Beta school.”

“I don’t think I understand.”

“The Goldrinds are good people, but they’re not well off. They get by, but they had to work hard for what they have. Mrs. Goldrind worked at a restaurant until she retired. Mr. Goldrind was a printer at one of the book factories. By the time he retired he was a shift supervisor, and trainer. A respectable job, but not one that made the kind of money that would afford a luxurious lifestyle. They do love their pups very much though. Mrs. Goldrind had her shifts at the restaurant worked out that she could be home with John, and Aurora every evening. If she HAD to go to work for one reason or another, she was allowed to bring them to work with her. The restaurant owner would provide them their dinner that evening, and had a room set up in the back for his employees to bring pups to work. The pups had all they needed to be entertained while they were there. He even hired several people to rotate to care for the pups while mom or dad worked.”

“That was good of him.”

“It was. Gordy was a family male himself. He believed fully that the most important job in the world was being a parent. He did all he could to ensure that his employees that had pups were able to take care of those pups in every way possible. If a pup was sick, he would send the parent home with their full days pay, and an additional amount that equaled their average tips as if they had worked. He would also work with the schedules of parents so that the parent knew at least that employee or their mate was home with the pups. If they were on the day shift, their shift started 30 minutes after school started, and ended

30 minutes before school ended During school breaks, he would personally arrange a summer camp program for the pups, and during the rest of the breaks he would try to make schedules work well enough that the parents got to be home with the pups as much as possible.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. His son, and daughter are the same way now that they have the restaurant. I got off topic though. Aurora’s parents were very good to her, and John. No they couldn’t shower them with expensive things, and give into their every want or desire, but they did the best they could. They made up for it with love, attention, support, patience, and compassion. Aurora was very blessed in that department. Her parents. never hit or ridiculed her. They loved her with all they had.”

“So what happened?”

“I think it was about 7th grade that Aurora started to notice the difference in what others had that she didn’t. She started to notice name brands, and expensive things. Well maybe more expensive than what she had. She also really started to take notice to my friendships with Joey, Dimi, and Pete. My family was still living in the pack house at the time as mom was one of the house Omegas employed to work there. Aurora suddenly wanted to spend more time at my house than her own. She also seemed more, and more embarrassed about her home, and what they lacked. No one ever pointed it out or teased her about it as a lot of us didn’t have as much as others. Our families worked just as hard for what we had. That never seemed to be good enough for Aurora, no matter how much we tried to tell her those things didn’t matter. Joe, Dimi, Pete, and the others our age, who’s families had higher incomes never rubbed it in or anything. It was just how things were. It didn’t matter to any one, except Aurora. It didn’t matter to her though. All she cared about was that they had better stuff than she did.

“By the end of 8th grade she started talking about how she would make sure that she got into a position where she would have all she felt she deserved. She felt she deserved having expensive things, a big house, and all of that to show off to everyone. She was convinced that we would all respect her, and

put her on some pedestal when she proved that she could surpass us all in the material things in life. She didn’t care how she did it, but she would. The thing was no one ever disrespected her for not having what others did. Most of us didn’t. We all knew how it was, were ok with it, and had no problem with the idea of working for what we would one day have. Aurora wouldn’t listen to us. She also started making huge demands on her parents. Demands they couldn’t meet. Telling her no broke her parent’s hearts time and time again, but there wasn’t much they could do. They knew what they could afford, and not much could change that. They tried as best they could, but it was never enough for her.”

“That’s so sad.”

“It was, and nothing I could say would change her mind or get her to back off.”

“So then what happened?”

“In 9th grade, as you know, we get an educational teaching on mates. What they are, what they mean to us, and what they do for us. How they treat us, and that kind of thing. I don’t know what brought Aurora to the conclusion that she could choose her own mate, and that her choice would be the person that she would know for sure was her mate on her 18th birthday, but that’s what she thought. With that thought in mind she looked to three males, and no one else.”

“Who?”

“Joey, Dimi, and Pete. She tried for Joey first, but he turned her down immediately. Joey was your typical Alpha male back then. He wanted no commitment, and just wanted to play around so that was what he did. She wanted a relationship, and he didn’t. He told her that IF they were mates they would go from there when that time came, but prior to that he wasn’t interested.”

“Ouch.”

“It was what it was. He was honest with her from the word go. I couldn’t fault him for that, and neither did anyone else. Aurora though, she was angry. Not sad, hurt, or disappointed, just angry because she hadn’t gotten what she wanted. She didn’t bother with Pete because he never paid any attention to her to begin with. He was also too studious for her. She wasn’t interested in education, learning, books, or any of that. Then there was Dimi.”

“How did she get him?”

“She played a different game with him than she did with Joey. Dimi was particular about the females he liked. He didn’t like the females that were stuck up, gossipy, rude to others, or flaunted themselves. He liked the respectable females, who treated everyone with kindness, and not like they were above others. Aurora knew that so in front of Dimi she became everything he liked in a female. In front of him she treated everyone with kindness, and respect. She never put anyone down, or bragged about how she was going to be above and better than everyone else some day. It took a few months, but eventually Dimi fell for the act. When any of us tried to warn him off, he didn’t believe us, at all. He asked her out, and well that was all it took. He spoiled her with gifts, treated her like a queen, took her out on fancy dates, all kinds of things. She continued to play her game of being all he ever wanted in a female.

“The fight between her, and I happened right around the end of 9th grade. She told me that she knew beyond anything that she was his mate, and even if she wasn’t she was going to make sure he choose her over whoever his pitiful mate was, when the time came. When I asked her how she thought she could pull that off, she told me that she was going to give up her virginity to him over the summer, and make sure she got pregnant with his pup before 10th grade started. He would have to choose her then. I was shocked, and we got into a huge fight about it. Nothing I said could change her mind. I decided to warn Dimi, and I did. He chuckled, and said that wouldn’t be an issue because he had been on the contraceptive shot since his 15th birthday, and would continue to be on it until he was ready for a pup.

He then went to Aurora about our fight. She blew her stack at me, after lying to him, and that was the end of our friendship.”

“So wait, her behavior was all because of money, and material things?”

“Pretty much. She learned to become manipulative to get what she wanted. Her anger at the appearance of your mother made her vindictive, and her behavior that much worse.”

“So nothing ever happened to her?”

“Nope. Just a huge dose of jealousy.”

“That…..I don’t even know what to say to that.”

“Neither do I, most times.”

“What….what about her parents? Didn’t they ever try to reason with her?”

“Many times. But Aurora would just laugh at them, and tell them they were jealous of her ability to have better than them. To prove her point she cut them out of her life as soon as she moved in with Dimi. She made sure to throw that, and the fact that she was pregnant with Jax in their faces. She told them they would never know their grandpups because she wanted to spare her pups the embarrassment of having such losers for grandparents.”

“That’s terrible.”

“It was ”

“So why…..why did she do what she did to me?”

“Now understand that my friendship with Aurora had long since ended by the time your mom, and you came along. Dimi and I were still close until your mom passed away. He shut everyone out for a long

time after that. We would still have our dinners together, but Dimi didn’t talk much about personal things, and

refused to talk about how he was feeling in any way. I have to guess on Aurora’s thought process here.”

“I understand.”

“I think what she did to you was a lot like she said. It was her way of making Brinna pay for taking Dimi away from her. She made Brinna pay with her life, but that wasn’t enough for Aurora. You were also an everyday reminder of what she had almost lost. You were also a threat to her place in Dimi’s life or at least what she thought was her place in Dimi’s life. As I said, she was very vindictive.”

“How could I be a threat to her place in my dad’s life?”

“If Dimi reached a point that he could look at you, and see you for you, instead of just Brinna. Be the father you should have had from the start, Aurora risked you telling him what she was doing to you. She knew if you did she would have been gone. She did what she could to make sure you kept your mouth shut so that would never happen. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was whispering things in Dimi’s ear so to speak to get him to keep his distance from you.”

“I guess I can see that.”

“Sadly, so can I. I’m just sorry I never knew about any of it. I would have gotten you out of there. I never knew why, but Jane, Brinna, and Naomi had all asked that if something happened to one of them, and their mates couldn’t handle parenting alone, that I step in, and take over raising their pups. As I said, I never understood it, but I agreed. Since Dimi never said anything about not being a good father to you, and no one was completely sure something was happening to you, I never got the chance to get you out of there.

“Jane suspected something wasn’t completely right, and she hated that you were moved from Dimi’s apartment, but every time she tried to talk to Dimi about letting you come live with me, he would brush her off, say that wasn’t necessary, and that you were fine right where you were. Due to him being your parent, Jane couldn’t take you away, nor could she convince Joe that you needed to be taken from Dimi. Joe believed that Dimi would eventually come around on his own, and turn things around. She almost had Joe convinced to move you in with me when Jane died, and nothing further happened.”

“Oh. Wow.”

“I’m sorry pup. I could have saved you, but I just….”

“Do NOT blame yourself Lucy. You didn’t know, and there wasn’t anything you could do.”

“Unfortunately, but I should have tried harder.”

“Lucy, you had pups of your own to take care of. You also had a job. I don’t blame you, and you shouldn’t blame yourself. The only people to blame here are the people that hurt me. If I can forgive them, and move on with my life, so can you.”

“You’re a good pup Chastity. I’m really proud of you, and your mom would be too.”

“Thank you Lucy.”

“Is there anything else I can tell you?”

“No. You helped me a lot, and answered my questions. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome girly. I hate to cut this short, but Paula just got home, and I would like to ask her about her date.”

“Oh. Definitely. Please tell her I said hi.”

“I will. Bye Chastity.”

“Bye Lucy.”

I hung up the phone, and considered all Lucy had said. I never thought greed, and jealousy would make someone behave the way Aurora did. Learning about her life made me sad as well. Not for her, but for her parents. What they lost must have really hurt them. I hoped they didn’t blame themselves. My thoughts were interrupted by a knock at my door. I got up to answer it to find Lexi, and our new friend Julie.

We met Julie in our obstetrics class. She was about an inch taller than me with long blonde hair, and brown eyes. She was from a smaller pack that had several midwives already. She was following in her aunt’s footsteps. Lexi, and I hadn’t met her sooner because she had missed last semester due to a death in her family. She was given bereavement leave for it. She was a nice girl, but a bit boy crazy. She seemed smart. Lexi, and I were still considering talking to her about coming to Moonlight to be a midwife there. We hadn’t decided yet though.

“Hi guys.” I said brightly.

“Hi Chas. Are you ready to get to work on our project?” Lexi said, walking into my room.

“Sure am.” I said as I closed the door behind them.

Julie hadn’t been to my room before so I pulled my books, papers, and laptop out as she looked around. There wasn’t a lot of space, but she took a lot of time looking at all of the pictures I had up. I had had to take a few down to replace with newer ones, but those ones I took down ended up on my dresser, and desk.

“Who are all of these people?” Julie finally asked.

“My family, friends, and mate back home.” I answered as I got my laptop up and running.

“They’re all pretty hot.”

“Um. Thanks.”

“Are we ready to get started?” Lexi questioned as she took a place on the floor.

“Yes. What did we decide….” I started, but was interrupted by a video call from Rowen which I answered quickly.

“HI sweet girl.” Rowen said with a smile as soon as the call connected.

“Hi Rowen. How are you?” I responded.

“I’m good. I’m not bothering you, am I?”

“Kind of. Lexi, Julie, and I are about to start working on the project I told you about.”

“Oh. Sorry. Why don’t you text me later, and we can talk then?”

“Oh wow! That’s you’re mate? He’s really hot.” Julie said over my shoulder, causing me to jump.

“Um. Hello. I’m Rowen.” Rowen introduced himself.

“Hi. I’m Julie.” She responded as she started twirling her hair, and giving him a smile that bothered me.

“Right.”

“Hey Rowen.” Lexi called out from her place on the floor.

“Hey Lex. I’m sorry I interrupted your study time. I’ll talk to you later sweet girl. I love you.” Rowen said.

“I love you too.” I said with a smile, and a wave then disconnected the call.

“Wow Chastity! He’s hotter than I expected.” Julie squealed.

“Um. Thanks.” I responded as I pulled up the project directions on my laptop.

“Does he have a brother?” Content provided by NôvelDrama.Org.

“Um. No.”

“Oh. That’s too bad. I wouldn’t mind taking a turn on him though.”

Lexi glared at her just as I did, and I growled quietly, “I would appreciate it if you not talk about my mate that way. He’s mine.”

“I….I’m sorry.” Julie squeaked.

“Thank you. Can we get to work now please.” I requested.

I have to admit that Julie’s comment about Rowen did put me off a bit. That didn’t strike me as the type of thing one said about another’s mate. Especially a friend’s mate. I wasn’t sure how to react to it, or what to say beyond when I already had so I put it in the back of my mind to concentrate on our project. We spent an hour planning everything out, and deciding who would do what for the project. By the time we called an end to the session I had forgotten all about what Julie had said. We were on our way to the cafeteria to meet Norm, Marcus, and Colby for dinner when Julie brought it up.

“Listen Chastity, I really am sorry for what I said about your mate. I didn’t meant to upset you.” Julie told me with a small smile.

“Huh? OH. Yeah. I know you are.” I stated.

“Julie, I’m not trying to be rude, or critical here, but you should always be careful when speaking about someone’s mate.” Lexi said.

“Who said what about who’s mate?” Colby asked as he came up behind us, and put an arm around Lexi’s

shoulder.

“It’s nothing.” I said.

“Julie said that she wouldn’t mind taking a turn with Rowen.” Lexi stated, and I side eyed her for it.

“Oh. Yeah. Don’t say stuff like that to people’s mates. We tend to get a bit possessive.” Colby said.

“Yeah. I didn’t think.” Julie admitted, looking a little sad.

“It’s fine. It’s over now. You learned something from this, now we can move on.” I said as I grabbed food from the cafeteria line.

“Ok.” Julie smiled.

After we all had our food we found Norm, and Marcus sitting at table waiting or us. Colby, and Marcus instantly jumped into a conversation about the coming week’s classes. Marcus seemed to be really enjoying his new position, as well as doing really well at it. I was happy for him.

“Um…Chastity, can I ask you a question?” Julie asked.

“Sure.” I responded.

“How do you handle being away from your mate? I thought mates couldn’t handle separation for long?”

“Oh. We’re not marked. We decided to wait until I finish school to do that.”

“Why?”

“Because we both felt it was the best for both of us. I wanted my degree, and he had training he needed to do.”

“Training?”

“I told you he’s the future Alpha of my pack, right?”

“Oh right. I forgot about that.”

“Yeah. He couldn’t come with me, and I really wanted my degree so here we are.”

“And he was ok with that?”

“He didn’t have a choice.” Colby stated.

“He’s an Alpha. How could he not?” Julie questioned.

“His best friend, and Beta is our older brother. Jax wouldn’t have tolerated Rowen holding Chastity back.”

“Dad, and Joe wouldn’t have put up with it either.” I added.

“How could they stop him?”

“Joe is our Alpha, and dad is his Beta.”

“Oh right. I keep forgetting you are both the pups of your pack’s Beta. Is it hard to be so far away from each other?”

“It can be, but we make it work.” I answered.

“How?”

“We talk, text, and video chat daily. He also comes here, or I go home twice a month to visit for the

weekend.”

I was a little confused as to why she was asking these questions as I was pretty sure she already knew the answers I had talked about Rowen a lot since we met. I didn’t bother saying anything about it though. I didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. I decided to change the subject instead.

“Marcus, how was lunch with your dad?” I asked.

“A little uncomfortable at first, but for the most part it was good.” Marcus answered.

“That’s good.” I responded with a smile.

“What did you two talk about?” Norm asked, and I looked at him in question, “I waited to ask until now because I knew you would want to know too, Chas.”

“Ah.”

“Well the weirdest question dad asked, and he had a hard time asking, was how long had I known I was gay.” Marcus stated.

“What did you say?” Norm asked.

“I told him that I had always known. I never saw females the way other males did.”

“How did you dad react to that?” I questioned.

“He got upset with me.” Marcus responded.

“What? Why? Damn his judgmental ass.” Lexi questioned.

“That wasn’t why.” Marcus said.

“Then why?”

“Because if I had been straight forward about it he wouldn’t have tried to fix me up with some of his friend’s daughters.”

“But he gave you so much shit when you told him. He even kicked you out.”

“He did.”

“So why was he pissed when you told him how long you had known?”

“He says he feels like shit for admitting it, but I embarrassed him to his friends by rejecting their daughters. If he had known he would have never set me up with them.”

“That’s why he kicked you out? Because he was embarrassed?”

“No. He did kick me out because I’m gay. He doesn’t understand it, and at the time couldn’t accept it. He says some days it’s still hard for him to accept it, but he is trying. He got pissed at lunch over the being embarrassed thing.”

“Oh, but still. That’s not fair to you.”

“You’re right, and he admitted that, and apologized for it immediately. It’s just how it is some times. I can’t hold that against him, and I don’t because I did embarrass him.”

“Yeah, but….”

“Lex, it’s fine. I get it. He’s trying now, and that’s what is important.”

“Yeah. I guess.

“So how did the rest of lunch go?” I asked.

“Once we got that out of the way. He asked how I met Norm. He said he wasn’t too surprised that I met him thru Lexi. I took your suggestion, and asked him how he met mom, and some about when he was a pup. I learned a lot about him. I also learned that he was never really sure what to do with me.” Marcus

answered.

“What does that mean?”

“We’re two completely different people. Dad isn’t very athletic, and never has been. Sports, and such were never his thing. He’s always been a reader, and loves numbers. He went to my games, and such, but he finally admitted that he never really understood what was going on. When I took up warrior training instead of accounting he was disappointed because he had hoped we would have that in common, but it just didn’t work out that way. He tried, and still does, but he just doesn’t understand it. He did ask me what I am doing in my new job. He’s very proud of me for becoming an instructor. When I told him what I teach he said it made a lot of sense because even as an infant I seemed to observe, and look at everything, all the time.”

“Well that’s good.”

“Yeah. I thought so too. It was nice getting to know my father.”

“I’m wiling to bet he felt the same way.”

“He said he did. You know what the last thing he said to before we left was?”

“What’s that?”

“That he’s glad I met Norm. That he’s good for me. I smile more now, am more relaxed, and seem a lot happier than I have ever been. He’s still adjusting to the fact that Norm is male, but he believes Norm is the best thing to ever happen to me. He also believes Norm is the reason I am willing to open up to him being a part of my life again.”

“He said that about me?” Norm asked, teary eyed.

“Yes love he did.” Marcus smiled at Norm.

“Aww. That’s so nice of him.”

“Yeah. He’s right too. You re the best thing that’s happened to me. You’re also the reason I’m more open to trying to build a relationship with him. That I’m willing to give him this chance.”

“Me? Why?”

“Because I see your family, and I want that with my family. I want the closeness you have.”

“Do you think you’ll have that with your dad?” I questioned.

“I’m not sure. I kind of hope so.” Marcus answered.

“My family is full of nuts though.” Norm said with a giggle.

“They may be, but they’re close, and love each other a lot. That’s what I want with my family. So thank you sugar pop for helping me.”

I gushed quietly at Marcus’s words, and the kiss he gave a happy Norm. They really were good together, and I was so glad Marcus was building a relationship with his parents. Even though he was an adult, one could see he still wanted his parents love. I hoped things kept going in the right direction for them.

“Oh. Oh. Oh. Did you all hear the first mate ball in 25 years is happening here, in a few months?” Julie asked excitedly.

“Yes. Darren told me about it. It’s been set for the first weekend in April.” Lexi stated.

“Are any of you going?” Julie asked, and I looked a her confused.

“As much as I would like to see what one of those is like, none of us can go.” Lexi said.

“Now why would you want to go to one? You already have a mate.” Colby growled at her.

“Did you not hear what I just said you pain in my ass? I said to see what it’s like! Not to find someone.” Lexi growled back.

“None of us can go, Julie.” Norm stated, looking about as confused as I felt.

“Sure you can.” Julie insisted.

“No. We really can’t. It’s for the unmated only.” Colby stated.

“Why not? It will be fun.” Julie pouted.

Colby just shook his head, and pinched the bridge of his nose. I couldn’t understand why Julie didn’t understand this either. She was a sweet girl who excelled in her classes, but there were times when I really wasn’t sure if any of what she accomplished was her or someone helping her.

“Julie, anyone with a mate can’t go because it can cause confusion for those unmated, and looking for mates. It can also cause jealousy, and massive amounts of possessiveness in mates if someone flirts with their mate.” Lexi explained calmly.

“Oh. So you 4 can’t go, but you’re going, right Chastity?” Julie asked, looking at me with a big smile.

“Um. No. Julie, I have a mate. Remember?” I questioned.

“Sure, but you’re not marked so it’s not like official right? Plus I’m sure Rowen will be there too.”

“He better not be.” I growled, feeling angry all of a sudden.

“Why not? You’re not official yet.”

For some reason Colby got up from his seat, walked behind me, and put his hands on my shoulders. I looked up at him in question, and he did something that he hadn’t done it quite some time. He mind

linked me.

“She may not completely understand about mated, but unmarked mates. Try to calm down, and explain it to her. Or do you want me to do?” Colby said through mind link.

“Can you do it please She’s making me angry, and I really don’t want to yell at her if she doesn’t understand.” I answered him through mind link, and he nodded at me.

“Julie, being marked or unmarked doesn’t make mates any more or less official. Some mates wait until their ceremony to mark each other. Some don’t. Just because someone doesn’t bare their mate’s mark doesn’t mean they aren’t officially mated. Chastity, and Rowen are very much official mates. When Chastity gets home she and Rowen will mark each other in what ever manner they see fit. In the mean time they are still mates. That being said neither of them can or will be at the mate ball.” Colby explained calmly as he massaged my shoulders with his thumbs.

“Yeah. But….. What if one of them finds a mate they like better?” Julie questioned, and I growled again causing Colby to grip my shoulders a little tighter.

“Julie, how much do you know about mates?” Lexi asked.

“That there is one for each of us.” Julie answered.

“Right. Mates are each other’s perfect match in every way. There is no one out their better for them, and once they have found their mate they want no one else, but that person.” Lexi explained.

“But what about second chance mates?” Julie asked.

“Second chance mates are rare, and only happen in two cases.” Norm answered.

“Which are?” Julie questioned.

“If, on the rare occasion some one gets rejected by their mate. They get a second chance, while the one that rejected them does not. They have to settle for a chosen mate that they may end up losing if their chosen mate’s fated mate shows up. The second reason for that is if one’s mate passes away. They are given the gift of a second chance mate because they were robbed of a lifetime of happiness with their first fated mate. Sadly, very few look for their second chance mate as the loss for the first can be too painful to attempt a second time.” Marcus explained.

“Oh. So you really are all it for each other? Even you Chastity?” Julie asked.

“Yes.” I responded.

“Julie, can I ask you a question?” Colby inquired.

“Sure.” Julie answered.

“How do you not know this? We were all taught this in 9th grade.”

“Oh. I….I guess I didn’t pay complete attention to what we were being taught.”

“Oh. OK.”

“….I’m really sorry Chastity. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

“It’s alright. I forgive you.” I said with a small smile, but I was starting to question if I would ask her to come to Moonlight pack to be one of our midwives.

“So I guess I’m going alone.” Julie said with a small voice, and a pout.

“I’m really sorry Julie, but you kind of have to. I’m sure there will be others from Cloverland going, and people from your pack with probably be there too.” I said.

“Yeah. Probably.”

“You know what we can do?” Norm asked with a bounce, and I heard Marcus groan quietly.

“What?” Julie responded.

“Shopping!” Norm squealed.

“Shopping?”

“Um. Yes! You need a dress, and shoes!”

“True.”

“Lexi, Chas, and I will take you shopping, and make sure to get you the perfect dress.”

“Oh. Yes! Definitely! Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

After dinner we all went our separate ways. I headed off to my room to finish up some homework I had. I was just getting started when Rowen sent me a text asking to video chat. With a smile I called him.

Seeing his smiling face made my heart flutter.

“There’s my sweet girl.” Rowen said with a grin.

“Hi Rowen.” I waved at him.

“What are you up to?”

“Getting ready to do some homework.”

“Ah. If I’m bothering you….”

“Nope. You’re not. You know I enjoy when we’re on video chat, and working.”

“I do too. How did things go with Lexi, and Julie, is it, on your project?”

“Yes her name is Julie. It’s going well so far. We reviewed the topic, planned everything out, and decided who was going to do what.”

“That’s a great start.”

“Thank you.”

“How was the rest of your day?”

“It was pretty good. I just got back from dinner with everyone.”

“How was that?”

“Mostly good. Marcus told us about his lunch with his dad.”

“Oh? How did that go for him?”

“He said it went really well.”

“I’m glad to hear that. So why mostly good?”

“Julie brought up the mate ball that’s happening at Dark Moon in a few months.”

“Yeah. Robert called me about it. He asked to borrow some warriors. He doesn’t think he needs too many. Just some to man the security gates, and check IDs against guest lists. That kind of thing.”

“Are you sending any one?”

“I put out a request for volunteers. The hard part is that I had to ask for mated people.”

“Why?”

“Well this is for a mate ball. If I send someone unmated, and their mate happens to show up for the ball, that person will want to be with their newly found mate, not working. It wouldn’t be fair of any of us to prevent them from having that. Sending those who are already mated prevents that from happening.”

“Huh? That’s true, but I thought those that were mated couldn’t be at the ball?”

“They can’t. That’s why they’ll be working the security gates at Dark Moon’s entrances, not the ball itself.”

“Oh. That makes sense. I don’t know why I thought they were going to be at the ball itself.”

“It’s ok.”

“Have you gotten any responses yet?”

“No, but I just put the request out this evening. I’m sure I’ll have at least a few by Monday.”

“You really think so?”

“I do. It’s an honor to help another pack. It’s also being paid as overtime so more money for those that do

it.”

“I guess that makes sense.”

“Yeah. So is Julie going to the ball?”

“Yes she is.

“Good luck to her.”

“Yeah. She asked if any of us were going. She was disappointed that we said no.”

“None of you have any reason to go, and you all going can cause a lot of problems.”

“I know this, and we told her that. She also thought I would go. She was convinced you would be there

too.”

“Why the hell would either one of us go?”

“According to her we’re not officially mates because we’re not marked, and one or both of us might find some body better.”

“Bullshit! First of all, there is NO ONE better for me than you! You are perfect for me in every way.”

“I feel the same way about you.”

“Thank you. Second, being marked or unmarked is not what makes mates official. We’ve been official from the star…..I mean a week after I was an idiot.”

“I know that, and that was explained to her.”

“Good. Why doesn’t she know all of this?”

“According to her, she wasn’t paying much attention when it was taught in high school.”

“Well alright then.”

“Pretty much.”

“So….um…..how did you react when she said we weren’t official? Just out of curiosity.”

“I got angry. Like really angry.”

“Not to sound like an egotistica! ass, but good.”

“Well you kind of are.”

“Kind am what?”

“An egotistical ass.”

“Hey! That’s not very sweet, sweet girl.”

“I’m kidding. You’re wonderful.”

“Humph. Of course I am.”

“Ego!”

“Yeah. Yeah. I know. I’m only kidding.”

“I know. So am I.”

“I miss you Chastity.”

“I miss you too. When can we see each other next?”

“I’ll need to be there next weekend to go over the listen of volunteers I get, with Robert. How about I come Friday night, and stay until Sunday? We can have lunch with Robert, and Beth one of those days. We’ll have the rest of the time for ourselves.”

“I love that idea.”

“Good. I’m glad. Plus Valentine’s day is that weekend.”

“It is?”

“You don’t know when Valentine’s day is?”

“Um…Rowen?”

“Oh. Right. Sorry. Yes. Valentine’s day is next Saturday. Why don’t you make reservations for us for the restaurant of your choosing, buy yourself a nice dress, and we’ll go out?”

“Ok. I can do that.”

“Great. It’s a date.”

“I look forward to it.”

“Me too.”

“Well I better get started on my

homework.”

“Alright. I have paperwork to do, and a few emails to answer.”

“Ok. Oh, and Rowen?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Chastity.”

I smiled, and got started on my homework. We spent several hours doing our own work. Every once in a while we would stop to chat for a minute or two about what we were working on, but mostly we just worked. I was so glad Rowen wasn’t overly demanding of my attention all of the time. It made doing things like this very easy, and very enjoyable.