Alex
Love was a form of madness. I would always see mates taking care of each other through thick and thin and in ways that were frankly…gross. I remembered my high school friend holding back his mate’s hair while she vomited into the toilet. She had then proceeded to vomit on him too. All he had been concerned about was her. He had not been the least bit squeamish. I had told him he was crazy. I wondered if he was here tonight to see that I was crazy now too. I went right for Chasity and wrapped my arms around her. I knew there was undoubtedly vomit on my shirt now but it was the least of my worries. Chasity was sick. I should have cut her off sooner. In fact, I should not have let her drink at all. I had held my tongue because Felix and Calix were both all for it and I had wanted to not be the bossiest and fussiest one for once.
“Little Luna! Are you ok?” I cooed, pulling her even closer to me. “What happened? Where’d you run off to?”
“I had to use the bathroom,” she mumbled.
“Did you?” I asked.
She shook her head. I looked at the open door right in front of us. It led to an immaculate white-tiled bathroom here on the stair landing. Unfortunately, there were three seething she-wolves separating Chasity and me from the sanctity of the bathroom’s gleaming interior.
My brothers and I had tried to end things with Sandra, Tonya and Avery on good terms but they probably still harboured ill feelings towards us. Nevertheless, Chasity herself was innocent in all of this. I had hoped Sandra and the girls would be decent enough to acknowledge that. I supposed my hopes for them had been too high.
“Excuse us, ladies,” I said, keeping my tone polite and unassuming, hoping that they would simply step aside.
“Alex! She vomited on us!” Shrieked Sandra, her voice shrill.
The girls remained standing there wearing scowls to match their vomit-splattered clothes.
“She’s sick,” I said curtly, “and if you hadn’t blocked her way to the bathroom you wouldn’t have gotten vomited on,” I added.
It was a no-brainer. Who would accost a nauseous girl on her way to the bathroom?
“You hated her!” Spat Sandra, emphasising the word. “You called her a burden and…”
“ENOUGH!” I roared in my Alpha voice as my wolf came forwards.
Sandra’s screeching had irritated him. I could not recall ever calling Chasity a burden. Sandra was totally misrepresenting everything I had said just to put a rift between me and Chasity and that was low. Sandra, Tonya and Avery fell silent and became tense in response to me using my Alpha voice.
“Move, now!” I ordered.
They had to obey their Alpha so they hurried down the stairs and out of sight. I helped Chasity into the bathroom, locking the door behind us.
“Do you need to vomit again?” I asked, brushing the curls stuck to her sweaty forehead out of the way.
She shook her head but went towards the toilet anyway. She stared at me. I stared at her.
“Turn around. I have to pee,” she squealed.
I faced the wall while she used the toilet. She washed her hands and then I helped her wash her face. I wiped the vomit off of her dress with a few damp paper towels. I carried her from the stair landing bathroom to the kitchen. I knew the layout of the house well. It was my Beta’s house and we had pack meetings here as adults and playdates here as children. We had known the whole family for years.
I put Chasity to sit on the kitchen counter and then I made her sip some water while I patted her head with a damp towel. Her face was flushed and she felt a bit feverish so I was worried. She groaned.
“Your tummy?” I guessed.
“My head,” she mumbled.
“You have a headache?” I asked.
She nodded feebly. I made her take two ibuprofen tablets for the headache and a gravol tablet for the nausea. Chasity took whatever I handed to her. She was so trusting and sweet. I kissed her forehead and put the damp cool towel on the back of her neck while she buried her face in my chest. I kept one of my hands on her waist to hold her steady.
“How’s she feeling?” Said a familiar voice.
It was Roxie. I smiled. Roxie was a decent ex to Felix and first and foremost, she was our childhood friend and the Beta’s elder daughter.
“She’s doing ok,” I said.
“Could I talk to her for a minute?” Asked Roxie, the hesitancy in her voice evident.
Chasity cozied up to me, seemingly reluctant to talk to Roxie.
I thought she could use some advice on how to deal with all the not-so-friendly competition from other she-wolves eyeing her Alphas, said Roxie in my mind.
Chasity has no competition, I said sternly.
That doesn’t mean the cattiness affects her any less, said Roxie firmly.
I sighed inwardly. She was right. Our unwavering love for Chasity did not protect her from feeling alienated or judged or slighted by the a few of the hostile she-wolves in the pack, especially if those she-wolves were the exes of her mates.
“I’ll be right in the pantry looking for a snack for you. You need to eat something!” I said to Chasity.
“Help yourself! You know where everything is!” Said Roxie, giving me a grateful smile.
I stepped into the huge pantry. I would grab a snack for Chasity on my way out of the pantry. I was not about to miss this chance to eavesdrop on the conversation between my Luna and Felix’s ex. I closed the pantry door and pressed my ear to it.
“I know Tanya, Sonia and…Avalon,” said Roxie as she struggled to remember their names.
I knew she meant Tonya who was Felix’s ex, my ex Sandra, and Avalon, Calix’s ex.
“None of those names are right,” said Chasity bluntly.
I stifled a chuckle.
“Well you know who I mean, those girls, they were giving you a tough time. That was how it always was when you were dating one of the triplets. Girls would be so jealous. They’d be catty, calling me names, messing with my clothes while I was in the gym shower and they even sabotaged my art piece for the fair. They slashed the painting up,” said Roxie.
Whoa! I had not known that. I wondered if Felix had known. He probably didn’t. He would’ve gone ballistic over that. He had been quite protective over Roxie, though not nearly as much as Chasity. He was actually entering into the realm of overprotectiveness and sheer paranoia when it came to Chasity. Felix was an artist too, just like Roxie, so he would have understood how awful that must have been for her.
“But, you’re popular! You’re outgoing! You’ve always had…friends, money! You’re pretty,” said Chasity, seemingly shocked that anyone would dare to bully Roxie.
“None of those things made any difference. Everyone hoped to be Luna and they acted crazily over it. Alex’s girlfriend at the time, my friend Clair, dealt with the same thing,” said Roxie.
What?! Clair had never told me that! What was with these girls?! Why were they all so keen on covering up the misdeeds of their own bullies? I instantly became worried about Chasity. Clair had been a gentle soul, similar to Chasity. What else was Chasity hiding? Was she still getting mistreated by students or other pack members or even our own parents? Chasity had thought our mother had hired the kidnapper. Maybe, Mom was still being extra snarky behind my back even though I had told her she wasn’t allowed to have any serious talks with Chasity without me or my brothers present.
“So did Rosie! She was Calix’s girlfriend,” continued Roxie. “But people who behave that way aren’t worth your time. Any self-respecting girl would let go when a guy meets his mate.”
I had let go when Clair had met a guy whom she believed would be her mate. I had been a bit miffed because it had happened three months before her eighteenth birthday. In the interim, Felix had thoroughly enjoyed telling me I had gotten “dumped for a mature college guy who may or may not be Clair’s mate” as I had been seventeen at the time. However, she had been right. He turned out to be her mate and they started dating seriously after her milestone birthday.
“Why did you and Felix break up?” Asked Chasity.
Felix had not told her this?
“I met my mate, Deacon,” said Roxie. “And Felix was so happy for me. He really was. He hoped to find his mate soon too! He was never quiet about how much he wanted to meet her.”
I smiled. My brothers and I had all felt that way about our future mate and now we had found her. She had been right under our noses the whole time.
“Also, the relationship wasn’t perfect, we did fight. We’d argue a lot. He called me Charity by accident like twice,” said Roxie, laughing.
I winced at the mention of Chasity’s old mean-spited nickname. I had never called a girl Chasity or Charity by accident but I had signed a card for one of my exes: To my Dearest Chasity, Love Always Alex. The girl’s name had been Beth. Beth still hated me to this day. She was convinced Chasity was the other woman and not the girl my parents had taken in. Chasity had been dusting nearby while I had been signing the card. Not that it mattered. Chasity had always been on my mind or in the back of it regardless of how near or far she was.
“So I’m not surprised,” added Roxie.
Come to think of it, I was not that surprised Chasity was ours either.
“You were only seventeen at the time and Felix and I were twenty. We had dated back in high school for a bit when I was head cheerleader and he was the star quarterback. People seemed to like us being together but we weren’t compatible. He broke up with me and we both dated other people until aged twenty when we got back together pretty unexpectedly. I was livid that he was like obsessed with this little maid girl that lived in his house, no offence. Ugh, that sounds so snobby and awful saying it out-loud like that,” said Roxie.
It did sound awful. “Little maid girl?” I was in no place to judge though. I could have been much nicer to Chasity.
“He was always either whining about something wrong you’d did or how you looked at him as if he were a monster or how you didn’t respect him. Then he would call me by your name sometimes. Then I found it!” Exclaimed Roxie.
Found what? I thought to myself.
“Alpha?” Said a soft voice right behind me.
I jumped.
“Charlista, it’s you,” I whispered in relief as I turned around to find Keaton’s housekeeper.
She had worked for Beta Keaton since I was a child.
“Um, what are you doing?” Asked Charlista softly, raising her thick brows at me.
She was a portly woman with olive skin, glossy dark hair and hazel eyes. She always wore all black except for her signature crisp white apron, even though Keaton did not stipulate any uniform. She was kind but no-nonsense.
“Getting some snacks for my Luna,” I whispered, hoping Charlista would take the hint and not give away my position.
“Leave it to me,” she said.
She began gathering a few things. I continued eavesdropping.
“Found what?” Asked Chasity.
“The painting,” said Roxie, lowering her voice.
Thankfully, my Alpha hearing never failed me.
“The painting of you looking all sullen and forlorn in your hand-me-downs sitting on the pack house porch steps. I mean you were always a pretty girl,” admitted Roxie.
No lies there. Chasity had been cursed with a shitty childhood but she had been blessed with girlish cuteness that blossomed into womanly beauty. She never had an awkward stage. It was probably the Universe’s way of apologising to her. That and “three hunks for the price of one” according to Felix the other day. I was pretty sure my mother and the other high-ranking she-wolves had been a bit jealous that the “maid girl” was so naturally lovely while they were trading plastic surgeons. My mother was a very beautiful woman in her own right but she was prone to lashing out at others, possibly out of insecurity or envy.
“But you were so sour!” Complained Roxie. “But now I get it! Who could blame you? After everything you’ve been through. Felix was terrified you would reject him as a mate and say no to the marriage proposal. He was scared he’d wake up one day and you’d just be gone no explanation, no note, no apology, nothing.”
“Felix told you all of this?” Asked Chasity softly.
My Luna did not sound pleased.
“I hope you’re not upset. I mean we’ve been friends for years and years even before high school. I’m Beta Keaton’s daughter, didn’t you know that?” Asked Roxie, sounding genuinely curious.
Felix really hadn’t told Chasity anything. I was to blame as well. I should have introduced Chasity to the hostesses and let her know they were the Beta’s daughters.
“Beta Keaton seems in his late thirties,” mumbled Chasity sheepishly.
I knew Keaton would love to hear that. Roxie laughed.
“Oh you know werewolves always look young,” said Roxie.
I heard Chasity sigh. Charlista tapped me on the shoulder. She handed me a plate of snacks and gave me a “get out of my pantry” look.
“Thank you!” I whispered.
“You’re sobering up,” I said as I walked back into the kitchen as though as I had been diligently choosing snacks and not just standing behind the door the whole time.
It was believable enough. The pantry was large and had a second entrance. That was how Charlista had been able to sneak up on me.
“Where’d you get all this?” Asked Chasity, laughing softly.
I looked down to see several brownies, sweet croissants, savour croissants and chips with dip on the large plate.
“Charlista picked some stuff,” I said honestly.
“Charlista?” Said Chasity, raising a brow.
“Our housekeeper,” said Moxie, Roxie’s younger sister, as she walked into the kitchen with Calix and Felix in tow.
Felix
Moxie was looking for her sister Roxie while Calix and I were looking for Chasity and Alex. We all ended up heading to the kitchen where we found all three of them.
“Chasity! Are you ok?” Calix asked, making a beeline for her.
He ran his fingers through her hair.
“Baby! Where’d you run off to? What happened? I missed you,” I cooed as I reached Chasity.
I kissed her forehead at least half a dozen times.
“It took you ages to notice I was missing,” She said softly but pointedly.
I grinned. My Baby wanted more attention. Usually, clinginess was off-putting but coming from reigning Ice Queen Chasity, it was a welcome change. It was nice to be missed by her even if she was currently pissed at me.
“Fine. Let me have it then,” I said encouragingly, opening my arms wide to welcome our first official “you need to be more attentive” lecture.
“What?!” She squealed, looking shocked.
I laughed.
“Yell at me,” I said, actually meaning it. “It’ll make you feel better.”
“No,” she said curtly.
I pressed my forehead to hers.
“Chasity,” I grumbled.
She said nothing. I gave her forehead a seventh kiss, making this one slow, soft and lingering.
“Come on, little party animal, it’s time to go home,” said Calix, winking at her.
Chasity hopped off the counter and swayed on the spot a little. She was in no danger of falling though, not with three Alphas pressed up against her. Clearly, we all wanted to be the one to carry our Luna from the party.
I’ve got his, guys, I said over mind-link.
That’s okay, I’ll handle it, said Calix.
I’m the one who has to drive so at least let me carry her to the car, said Alex, shamelessly guilt-tripping his younger brothers.
We obliged him. He swept Chasity up in his arms, holding her bridal style. He made sure to pass through the busiest fucking room in the whole damn party so every guy could see him holding Chasity.
Chasity was in a pretty foul mood and my ass ended up in the passenger seat while Alex drove and Baby Boy Calix was the only one with Chasity in the backseat. The thinking behind this was that Calix would be able to sweet-talk her.
I’m not hearing any sweet-talking back there, Calix, I pointed out over mind-link. If I’m gonna get laid tonight, you need to start talking.
She’s really upset, said Calix. She might need some space. I regret taking her to this party, guys. We messed up.
What’s done is done, said Alex.
Hindsight is 20/20, I agreed.
We won’t be so hasty in the future, said Alex.
Let the wooing begin, I demanded.