Calix
Alex sauntered into the pack leaders’ meeting late. Alex. Late. Late? Alex?
“Who are you and what have you done with Alex, body snatcher?” I asked.
Alex rolled his eyes. Dad gave him a disapproving look. Beta Keaton smiled and winked at him playfully. He was not as strict as Dad. Dad had waited until we were twenty-one to hand over the pack and he insisted on still attending pack leader meetings for a few months “to make the transition smoother.” Alex was usually here an hour early but today he was more than an hour late for the eleven o’ clock meeting.
“It’s after noon, Alex,” muttered Dad. “Everyone is furious,” Dad hissed under his breath.
Alex raised his eyebrows incredulously. I looked around the pack house conference room. Keaton was chilling. Our new Gamma, Kaiden, was clearly texting his new Bae, his mate we had met at the diner. Dad’s father, our paternal grandfather, was asleep in his chair in the corner. He always sat there so he could sneak in a nap. Felix was grinning like a Cheshire Cat at Alex.
“Alex, shame on you!” Chastised Felix mockingly. “Making my Baby Chasity late for school and to think, before you came into her life, she had perfect punctuality and attendance.”
“No she didn’t,” I retorted.
“Whatever,” muttered Felix.
“My Luna and I were tired,” grumbled Alex, sitting between Felix and me. “We fell asleep.”
“What do you mean?” Asked Felix quickly.
“You mean you were right downstairs? You didn’t go to hang out or something?” I asked.
I had assumed they had left for Chasity’s school when they had been missing in the morning. When they were not back soon, I had assumed Alex had planned a sneaky solo date.
“Yeah, we were asleep in Chasity’s room,” whispered Alex, smiling, his cheeks flushed.
“Oh hell no!” Hissed Felix.
“What’s your problem?” Asked Alex.
“According to your timetable, it was my turn and Calix’s turn to sleep next to her. The one time you’re not next to her you take her downstairs to sleep, just the two of you,” snarled Felix.
“It was not like that,” said Alex softly.
Dad was glaring at Felix and Alex for making a scene.
“Boys,” hissed Dad under his breath turning to look at us.
We were sitting in the conference room where several rows of chairs faced a projector’s screen. We used this one for presentations. The other conference room had a huge round table for pack discussions.
“I woke up early and Chasity was sitting up in bed already. She went downstairs to…” began Alex.
Dad got up from his chair and motioned for us to follow him. He marched us into the other conference room with the table. We sat around it.
“Shut the door,” he said to me.
I closed it and sat down.
“What is this about? Alex? You? Late? That’s unheard of. I expect that from Felix. Maybe even Calix. But not you!” Said Dad, clearly upset that his first-born was not being perfect today.
I sighed. Dad was too hard on Alex. To the shock of everyone, Alex seemed non-pulsed.
“You have nothing to say for yourself?” Said Dad.
“I am the Alpha now. Must I explain myself?” Said Alex with a shrug.
Felix’s jaw dropped though he seemed impressed also. I was shocked too. Dad stiffened.
“And this is how an Alpha acts?” Asked Dad.
“I had a pressing matter to see about,” said Alex.
“A quickie with your Luna before a pack meeting especially when that same Luna is still in high school is not a pressing matter,” shouted Dad.
Alex looked affronted.
“We were not having sex. I was showing her my plans for the pack. I keep them in a book and we were reading it together,” explained Alex calmly.
“And that takes four hours,” said Dad sarcastically. “Of course.”
“Well it wasn’t a quickie at least,” joked Felix.
Dad looked murderous.
“Dad, seriously, none of us have mated Chasity yet. You know that. You can smell it,” said Felix, defending the newly rebellious Alex.
I smirked at him. Chasity brought out the opposites in all of us. She made Felix soft and sensitive, Alex rebellious and carefree, and me assertive and brave enough to stand up to my father and brothers and even to Mom who was usually my kryptonite. I was self-aware enough to admit that I was a bit of a Momma’s boy though I’d never give Felix the satisfaction of saying it out loud.
“While we were going through my plans, my Luna became emotional and comforting her took longer than expected. Let’s not delay the meeting anymore,” said Alex. He took a deep breath. “I apologise for my tardiness.”
Dad sighed.
“You know I just want to see you reach your full potential, Alex,” said Dad.
“I know,” said Alex softly.
“I was young once too,” said Dad.
This would take a while.
“Your mother and I,” said Dad, grinning, about to reminisce.
“Let’s start the meeting Dad. Grandpa is already asleep,” said Felix.
Dad nodded.
“One more thing, what made Chasity emotional? What sort of Alpha plan is that?” Inquired Dad.
“My plan to absolve Chasity of all her debt and pay her wages for the past years including over-time as she missed out on so many holidays and vacations. One of the issues preventing us from gaining our Luna’s trust is that she thinks we would still mistreat her if we had not been fated to her but those plans were proof that we had every intention of treating her more fairly as soon as we became Alphas,” explained Alex.
I smiled. It was true. I had seen Alex’s plans to absolve Chasity of her debt and I had added to some of them. Even Felix had added to it. He would not let Felix or I actually write in his Alpha Book because of our “illegible handwriting” but he noted our ideas too.
“Why should she be absolved of her debt to the pack if she were not your fated mate?” Asked Dad, raising his eyebrows.
“Because it’s only right,” said Alex, looking shocked.
“Dad, Chasity was nine when they dropped her off…she’s not at fault and the money is meaningless to you,” I interjected.
“The reason why I agree with you absolving her debt is due to the fact that she is your fated Luna. Repaying her debt to the pack won’t make any sense. Your money will become her money. But that wouldn’t happen if she were not yours,” explained Dad.
“She deserves to be free from debt and her parents’ mistakes whether or not she is ours,” said Felix bluntly.
Dad sat back, shocked to see us all agree on this.
“What merciful Alphas you are,” he remarked.
He did not make that sound like a compliment.
“I wonder if rival packs are this merciful?” Said Dad.
“How we handle rival packs and how we handle a teenaged girl should not be similar,” retorted Felix.
“I wonder if you’ll feel the same way if Chasity runs away before you can mark or mate her,” said Dad nonchalantly.
“We will. Don’t worry,” said Alex pointedly.
Dad was taken aback.
“I am ready to preside over my meeting now if we’re done here,” said Alex curtly.
Felix
I had to admit it. I was proud of Alex. He wasn’t letting Dad steamroll over him and Calix was standing up to Mom too these days. Chasity had turned these boys into men. I was still pissed about Alex and Chasity’s nap downstairs. That seemed like a loophole in the timetable rules.
“I’m happy you stood up to Dad,” I said to Alex after the meeting.
It had been about the absorption of willing rogues. The vast majority of the rogues in our newly claimed territory desperately wanted to join our pack. I didn’t blame them. We could provide a lot of protection and resources for them. Not only were we a very wealthy pack, we also had incredibly strong wolves, toughened up by our harsh terrain and rigorous training. Speaking of training, Alex and I had hit the gym together after the meeting, dragging Calix along with us. He was always trying to skip our gym sessions. He probably wished he were playing dolly tea party with Mommy instead. He had a stuffed polar bear on his bed that he always hid as soon I came into his room.
We had finished our sets for the day and were sitting on the floor of our home gym. Chasity never set foot in here. She was not the working out type. I would not even breathe the word “hike” around her. She definitely would not appreciate an exercise date.
“But I’m still pissed you slept downstairs with Chasity,” I muttered.
“What can I say?” Said Alex with a grin. “She wanted her Alex,” he added smugly.
“Using my own lines against me,” I said, shaking my head. “Shameless.”
Alex’s smile faded.
“I’m just kidding,” I said, shoving him playfully.
“I know,” said Alex. “Dad seems to think we would have been…you know…sexual with Chasity by now.”
I sighed.
“Yeah, well, in normal circumstances, Alphas and Lunas can’t keep their hands off each other,” I admitted. “We can’t even get Chasity to kiss us on the mouth.”
“I bet she’ll kiss us by Christmastime or at Christmastime,” said Calix hopefully.
I was not nearly as optimistic. Calix said we needed to make ourselves a constant and dependable part of Chasity’s daily routine. That would make it harder for her to leave. She would feel like she needed us.
Chasity sleeping in one of our rooms with all three of us sharing a bed became the norm. Every morning, one of us would wake up early, make her pancakes (the girl was obsessed) and drive her to school. We would all pick her up together. The school week passed by this way quickly. I was looking forward to the first weekend of Chasity being our mate, not counting last weekend as we had only just became Alphas and found our mate then.
On Friday, I brought up the topic of the weekend with Chasity while Calix drove to pick her up from school. Alex and I sat in the backseat.
“What’s gonna be our routine for the weekend?” I asked Get-the-girl-Guru Calix. “What’s the game plan?”
“Every Friday night and Saturday night, we should probably take her out somewhere and on Sunday, we should spend the day together at the house doing something more low-key,” said Calix simply.
I was surprised he had such a definite answer.
“You’ve clearly been pondering this topic,” chuckled Alex, grinning at Calix through the rearview mirror.
“Suggestions for our date tonight?” Asked Alex.
“I wanna let Chasity choose a place,” said Calix.
“I’m curious to see where she might pick,” said Alex.
“The airport,” I joked.
Alex and Calix burst into laughter. She was still threatening to leave though the threats were infrequent. We parked outside her school. It was cold as fuck in late November. I got out of the car, worried about her trudging through the deep snow. It was quarter to four in the afternoon so she was still in class. The high school looked exactly the same as it did three years ago. Winter Moon High was a great school. My Dad had ensured that the school got more than sufficient funding. I wandered through the hallways, hoping to peek in at Chasity in class. I wanted to make sure she didn’t have a secret boyfriend. What if that was the reason she was not getting physical with us yet? It was conceited to admit but my brothers and I were hot and I knew Chasity was physically attracted to us. So what was the holdup? I rounded a corner and I smelled her. Honeysuckle and roses. I licked my lips. I tailed her scent and quickly found the class she was in.
“Ok class, before you go, I want you to put yourselves into study groups. I’m having a little contest to encourage group study. I will reward the group with the highest average score when I tally the test scores of the individual members,” said the teacher, a curvy she-wolf with a deep complexion and a cheerful smile.
My eyes found Chasity immediately as I peeked in. The door was ajar. It seemed like an English Literature class. The students all had DaisyNovel in hand. They were chatting animatedly as they formed groups.
“How many to a group?” Asked a redheaded cheerleader who reminded me of Sandra.
All the cheerleaders in this particular class were already sitting together. There were five of them.
“There’s only thirty of you in AP Lit so I want five groups of six,” said the teacher.
“How about six groups of five?” suggested the redhead pointedly.
“Five groups of six, Georgia,” reiterated the teacher sternly.
Georgia rolled her eyes. Chasity was near the front by the window at a bench alone. My heart hurt for her. I remembered my days here. Alex, Calix and I had always been surrounded by friends and admirers. I felt like we were to blame for Chasity’s friendlessness. Her difficult home situation had probably put her in her shell in the first place. Werewolves were also really influenced by hierarchy and Chasity had been a low-ranking pack member growing up. I wondered if the students knew Chasity was to be their Luna yet.
“Excuse me, may I help you?” Asked the teacher, pushing open the door to reveal me spying on her class.
The classmates gasped and erupted into excited chatter.
“Sorry, was just here to pick up Chasity. I’ll wait till you’re done with class,” I mumbled.
“Alpha!” Exclaimed the teacher. “I’m sorry! I didn’t recognise you!”
I grinned.
“That’s quite alright,” I said.
Chasity was staring at me, her expression unfathomable.
“Alpha Felix, you look great. Have you been working out?” Tried Georgia, practically glowing with eagerness.
“You can tell us apart,” I said, surprised.
“I can’t tell Alpha Alex and Alpha Calix apart but I would know you anywhere,” she said, her voice dripping with suggestion as her fellow cheerleaders giggled.
“Why are you here, Alpha? Might I ask?” Said a petite blonde cheerleader with pale skin and a light sprinkling of freckles.
She reminded me of Avery. The girl next to her looked like Tonya with her dark glossy straight hair and olive skin.
“I’m here to pick up Chasity,” I said simply.
“Really!” Squealed Georgia, jumping up from her seat and heading towards Chasity. She pulled on Chasity’s arm, bringing her over to the cheerleader bench.
“She’s our sixth group member. If it’s ok with you, we might study at the pack house,” said Georgia. “I’m Georgia by the way,” she said, literally batting her eyelashes.
“Yeah, I heard,” I said.
“And this is Sky,” said Georgia, pointing to the Avery lookalike.
Hopefully Sky was smarter than Avery or else they would definitely not win the study contest.
“This is Blossom,” said Georgia, nodding towards the Tonya lookalike.
“Layla,” said Georgia, pointing to a cheerleader with high cheekbones, curly hair and a deep complexion.
“And Ivy,” added Georgia, pointing to a cheerleader with long brown hair.
I forced myself to smile.
“Are you and Chasity close?” Asked Georgia, gazing up at me.
Chasity stared at me.
You don’t have to tell them I’m your mate if you don’t want to, said Chasity in my mind.
Her sweet soft voice in my head felt so intimate. I loved it. Her words confused me though.
Why would I not want to tell them that you’re my mate. You’ll be their Luna eventually. They’ll figure it out, I said with a laugh over mind-link.
I get it if you’re…embarrassed…to be mated to a low-ranking she-wolf, she whispered, her eyes downcast.
“We’re fated,” I said simply to answer Georgia’s question.
All the cheerleaders’ jaws dropped and the other class members gasped.
“No way,” whispered Blossom.
“Alpha Alex dropped her to school the other day and called her ‘Luna’ in front of the whole class,” said Sky softly.
Georgia did not look pleased and neither did the other cheerleaders and girls in the class.
“Settle down, class,” called the teacher.
The bell rang and the students did not hurry to leave. They were all curious about me and Chasity.
“Come on, Baby, home time,” I said soothingly, offering Chasity my hand.
She took my hand and a smile spread slowly across her face. I took her backpack from her. We left practically the entire class dumbfounded and still sitting despite school being over. Even the teacher remained inside.
“You sure you wanna be in a study group with those girls, Baby?” I asked her, holding her hand with our fingers interlaced as we walked down the hallway.
It felt good to claim Chasity publicly even though she had not fully accepted me as her mate yet. Students stared at us as we walked by. I nodded politely to them and they dropped their heads in submission. Everyone knew I was the most ruthless Alpha. I had never been into PDA while at school here so seeing me holding hands with someone was a pretty shocking sight.
“I don’t have much of a choice,” mumbled Chasity. “They’re the only group with space for one.”
“Ok,” I said, not pressing the issue.
“Where do you want to go tonight?” I asked, trying to take her mind off of all the attention.
She seemed a little shell-shocked and was partially hiding behind me, walking very close to me, which was cute but I didn’t want her to be uncomfortable.
“The Movies!” Exclaimed Chasity, looking up at me with wide hopeful eyes.
“Done,” I said, grinning.
Chasity squealed. She wrapped her arms around my waist and buried her face in my sweatshirt. I wrapped my arms around her, holding her to my side as I walked her out. Students waved at Chasity. I could tell these were people she had never actually spoken to.
“Baby,” I said as we exited the school building and the crowd of students outside stared, waved excitedly or looked down submissively.
“Be careful with people trying to befriend you after they find out you are our mate,” I said.
Chasity nodded. “I know the cheerleaders don’t really want me in their group. I’m not stupid, ok,” she snapped.
“I know you’re not,” I said defensively.
She sighed. I ran my fingers through her tousled curls. Quite a few girls were staring at Chasity in envy. I cupped her face.
“Be careful, that’s all. I don’t wanna have to throw a bunch of high schoolers in the dungeon but I will if necessary,” I promised her, kissing her forehead and then the tip of her nose.
She giggled.
“Ugh! You’re so cute!” I growled, trying to be playful but my wolf was itching to come out.
I scooped her up, carrying her bridal style.
“Felix!” She shrieked in surprise.
I ran with her to the car.
“Let’s get you home so you can change to go to the movies!” I said as I placed her in the front passenger seat next to Calix. Calix leant over and kissed her forehead. Alex learnt forwards from the backseat to kiss her cheek.
“I missed you, Luna,” said Alex.
“Me too, Chasity,” cooed Calix giving her another forehead kiss.
Alex kissed her cheek again. “Calix got two kisses,” explained Alex.
Chasity smiled. I kissed the tip of her nose again.
“Good. Now we’re all at two!” I said.
“Liar!” Said Chasity suddenly.
The little minx was ratting me out.
“He kissed me twice already in the hallway,” revealed Chasity.
“You little…” I began but Alex leapt forwards and grabbed Chasity pulling her into the backseat. She was taken completely by surprise. Calix climbed into the backseat quickly too. Alex and Calix began planting kisses all over her face and neck except on her lips. She squealed and giggled. I joined in, tickling her sides instead of kissing her. She shrieked, laughing and trying to wriggle away. Alex and Calix started tickling her too. Chasity laughed until tears streamed down her cheeks.
“I surrender,” she declared, laughing.
She was panting. I glanced at Alex. He had never been playful with past girlfriends.
“Snitching on your own Alpha,” I said in mock disappointment.
Calix helped her climb back into the front. He got into the driver’s seat.
“Where to tonight?” Said Calix.
“We’re going to the movies,” I said. “Hopefully Chasity doesn’t take another two hour bath.”
“Hey!” Said Chasity indignantly. “I take an hour and forty-five minutes only! How dare you?”