Her Mates by Tamara White
Six
“Honey, I’m home,” Dad calls down the hallway.
“Hey, I’m just finishing up my homework,” I shout back, while writing my notes out. I have an assignment already. I’m supposed to read a classic book then give a detailed report on it explaining the plot complexities, or some crap like that. How the hell would I know? And what’s a classic? Is it my favorite or a book that has the most sales?
“How was school today?” Dad asks, appearing in my doorway.
“Well, it was great until I met my mate’s friends and went from having one mate to six. Oh, and they’re all alphas, or going to be alphas, according to my teacher, who is also one of my mates,” I blurt out in a rush without taking a breath, then I draw in a deep inhale.
I don’t know what to do, but when my father pulls me to my feet, wrapping me in a fierce hug, I instantly relax.
“Sorry, I just don’t know what to do. You told me I have to pick between them, and from what I can tell, they’re all pretty close. How do I pick just one? If I pick one, won’t the others get jealous? What if I pick one but have feelings for another too? Wouldn’t that make it harder? I mean, regardless, I’d be spending time with all of them as alphas, and I don’t want to be part of the Alpha Pair if I have to be around people I might care about. It would be too hard.”
“I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner. I didn’t mean to make it harder on you, but you will have to choose. My advice would be to spend time with each of them and make an informed decision. Don’t forget, there may still be more contenders coming forward. You also won’t have to make a choice until the trials are over. The odds of more than two people making it through the trials, though, are astronomical,” he says, rubbing my back soothingly.
I realize he’s right and let myself calm down. Besides, it’s not like I have any control over who is or who isn’t my mate.
“Dad, um, there’s something else. I may have kissed Jason today. He’s my teacher,” I confess, waiting for the explosion.
“And will this Jason be here tonight?” he calmly asks me.
I step away from him to gauge his reaction before answering. If he looked pissed off or his wolf was showing, I wouldn’t say anything. Thankfully, he’s all human at the moment.
“I’m pretty sure the guys said they’ll tell him to come, so maybe. Please don’t make a big deal out of it. I’ve apologized and told the others I won’t be kissing any of them until after they know what they’re in for. Besides, it feels unfair to be kissing any of them unless I know we’ll be together at the end.”
“I wish your mother was here right now. She’d probably say ‘follow your heart,’ or ‘love chooses you,’ but me, all I want to say is ‘no boys until you’re forty,’” he teases, laughing at his own joke.
When his chuckles die down, he continues, “Saying that, I’ve raised you as best as I could and showed you how to protect yourself. I just never thought I would need to protect your heart. I guess part of me was hoping only one mate would come forward and that would be it. No choosing, no trials, just ascension to the throne. Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like that’s going to happen, so I’ve got nothing.”
I laugh abruptly, shocked at how that went. I thought for sure he would have some life altering advice that would help me make a choice in the future, but all he’s got is “nothing.” Great, I’m on my own.
“Fine, I’ll choose by myself. Now, let’s order dinner. I’m starving. I was going to cook, but I figured you would prefer not to get sick again.” I grin, remembering the first time I cooked dinner.
I thought I would make a roast chicken for Dad, trying to be nice, but did you know pink chicken isn’t cooked? Well, I didn’t. I’d heard of pink steak, so I assumed it was the same for chicken. Totally not true. That was the night I found out wolves can get food poisoning.
Dad shudders, gulping loudly. “Um, yeah. How about I order a pizza?”
He doesn’t give me a chance to respond before he’s up and dialing the pizza restaurant. Guess we’re having pizza for dinner.
A knock at the door makes me jump. I never thought my mates meeting my father could cause so much internal panic, then again, I never thought I’d have multiple mates to introduce to said father.
My thoughts immediately start racing. Will the alpha accept us? Will he turn us in? How will Dad react seeing the boys? Will Dad try to kill Jason?
There are endless possibilities about how tonight will go. I just have to face the unknown with my big girl panties on.
Dad answers the door, and a man, looking like an older version of Nate, stands there.
His mouth falls open in shock, and he exclaims, “Greg?”
“Hey, Tim, how’ve you been?” Dad replies while the other man seems to shake himself out of his shock, pulling my dad in for a bone crushing hug. I hear the murmur of voices behind them and know my mates are waiting patiently in the hall outside.
Our apartment is in a complex of a dozen others, so we’re all pretty much squished together. It’s small, but my father can’t afford much more than this. Sure, it would be nice to have a bit of space, but he spends all the money he has on providing for me.
I cough, trying to get my dad’s attention. He pulls back, realizing he and his new friend are crowding the entryway.
“Sorry, honey. This is Tim,” he says, introducing me to the older man beside him.
“Blair? Is that you?” he inquires, paling considerably. Tim, the alpha, stumbles through the doorway, like he’s unaware of his actions in a desire to get close to me. Still, I back up, unsure what he will do.
He gapes at me, his blue eyes full of astonishment and confusion. He’s got dark hair that’s just beginning to be peppered with gray, and his strong, chiseled jaw and muscular body makes me wonder how much their pack works out if even their alpha looks like this.
“Shit, sorry, Tim, I forget how much she looks like Blair. This is my daughter, Dani.”
I smile softly, a little embarrassed he thinks I look like my mom. I’ve never been able to see it, but I guess the hair color and skin tone would make anyone think they were seeing my mom.
“Where is she?” he questions, looking around the room hopefully, making my chest tighten. He doesn’t know my mom died.
“It’s a long story and I’ll explain once I’ve met my daughter’s mates,” he offers, as Jason walks in now that the doorway is clear. The others all follow, but don’t come too far into the room.
I rush forward to be close in case my dad does something, but I stop when I notice Jason is wearing a gray, button up suit rather than the casual jeans and t-shirt he had on earlier. Seeing him like this is breathtaking.
Jason must have heard the tail end of my father’s words because he steps forward and offers his hand and neck in a show of submission.
“I’m Jason Parks of the Parks Pack. I’m sorry I took liberties with your daughter before submitting to you first, sir,” he states contritely.
I’m watching with my jaw hanging open, wondering what the hell? Taking liberties? What is this, the 1800s?
My father, however, is nodding, and I can tell he’s holding back a smirk. I let this play out, pondering what the hell I’ve missed.
After Jason is dismissed by my father, he joins me as Nate steps up to greet my dad.
“Dude, what was that? And taking liberties? What are you, like ninety?” I whisper to Jason harshly, all the while watching Nate introduce himself the same way.
“No, it’s tradition when you meet your mate’s father. You state your name and pack, so the father knows you’re being mated to a respectable wolf. It’s also usually frowned upon to kiss your mate unless you have submitted to her father,” he whispers back.
“Nathaniel Wyld of the Wyld Pack,” Nate declares, greeting my father.
My dad nods, giving him the okay while Pete moves forward. “Peter Tiern of the Tiern Pack.”
Jonnie and Mitchell are next, which is fun to watch as they both greet him at the same time. “Mitchell and Jonathon Slade of the Slade Pack.”
My father hesitates for a moment before nodding yet again. I look over at Tim to see him smiling toward my father until Cam steps forward. I don’t know why, but Tim’s smile fades when he sees Cam.
“Cameron Bairn of the Bairn Pack,” he introduces himself, but instead of showing his neck for submission, he stands taller, letting his eyes change to the amber of his wolf.
I go to intervene, but Tim grabs my arm, shaking his head and gesturing over at them. I look back, shocked to see my dad submitting to Cam.
What the hell?
Cam eases up on his wolf and my dad straightens again, then threatens, “It’s nice to meet you, Cameron, especially considering you’re one of my daughter’s mates, but if you treat her the same way your father treated my mate, I’ll kill you. You may think this is an idle threat, but I won’t fucking hesitate. Dani doesn’t have a mother because of your father. I won’t lose my daughter to your family.”
I gape and get a sinking feeling in my stomach. It doesn’t take much for me to realize who Cam’s father is. It makes me nauseous.
“Alright, I think he gets it, but I also think you need to explain some things, Greg. The last anyone heard, you killed Blair and took off. We thought the Jackson Pack was lost,” Tim says solemnly.
Nate and Cam gasp, spinning to stare at me.
“What?” I glare at them until Dad shakes his head at my attitude.
“Dani, stop it. It’s not their fault they didn’t know who you were. Come sit down. I’ll fill your mates and their alpha in on a few things. We’ll go from there, okay?”
I nod, slouching my shoulders, thoroughly chastised. Sure, I know I can be bitchy, but my dad obviously has a plan for how tonight will go, and I don’t want to piss him off.
Once everyone’s seated, I grab drinks from the fridge and hand them out, but as I go to take my seat, I’m faced with a dilemma. There are none. We only have a two-seater couch and four chairs from our kitchen table.
The only place for me to sit is on the floor beside Cam, but after what I’ve learned, I don’t know if I can. Screw it! I have to learn to deal with it, so I may as well start now.
“Okay, Greg, I want some details,” Tim states, leaning forward and placing his elbows on his knees, giving my dad his full attention.
“Jeez, well, I don’t really know where to begin, so I guess I’ll start when we met. Dani, remember the four mates I said your mother had? Well, it was me, Tim, Luke, and Brendan. Your mother kept her distance from most of us, because she didn’t want to get close to someone she wouldn’t mate with. Very much your mother’s daughter, you are.
“Anyway, the first trial was something secret regarding your mother, which she passed, then we were able to move on to the second. It was between the mates and the enforcers from the pack. Your mother wasn’t able to participate. We all did okay, but Brendan lost after the first round. He was sent back to his pack to retain his position as alpha. You two probably know him,” he says, gesturing at Mitchell and Jonnie.
They nod, adjusting themselves on their seats, enthralled with his story.
“After that we had our next trial, which was to maintain peace. By this time, your mother had started to get closer to Tim and me, though for some reason Luke kept his distance.
“Anyway, for our peace trial, we were given a variety of challenges to face alone and together, as if we were already the Alpha Pair. Our elders judged us based on the ways we resolved things and Tim somehow lost. I’ve always wondered if Luke bought off the votes because he wasn’t alpha material. He was barely able to complete our negotiations without his hot temper getting in the way. It was one of the things Blair found disconcerting about him. Tim, though, was always a smooth talker, able to talk his way out of anything, so it never really made sense that he didn’t make it through.
“We continued on with the trials without Tim. At this time, Blair thought it was a good idea to get to know Luke a bit more in case I lost, not that I was going to let that happen.
“After a week of preparing for the final trial, your mother and I were inseparable. We spent every night talking and laughing about the future, discussing what we could do for the wolves, but Luke hated it. He felt it was unfair and demanded no fourth trial be held. Instead, he requested a challenge between the two of us.”
He looks over at Tim sadly before continuing, “The thing is, the fourth trial was combat between Blair, Luke, and me. Blair had to prove she was strong enough for her partner, so it seemed stupid to just have a fight between the two of us. Obviously, I won that challenge. However, the next day didn’t go anything like we planned.
“We were getting ready for the coronation when Luke summoned us, saying it was urgent and his father needed help. Stupidly, we thought he was in trouble and rushed straight into a trap. He had eight of his wolves there, threatening to kill Blair and hide her body. Then, he was going to shoot me and leave me there for everyone to witness.
“He gloated so much that Blair and I were able to fight our way free. When we were finally safe, we tried to call Blair’s parents, but Luke always answered at the house, so we assumed he was hanging around to get our whereabouts. We knew we couldn’t risk it, so we stayed away.
“We hid for a year in rogue camps until we heard rumors of what Luke was saying about us. He told the pack I kidnapped Blair and forced her to come with me instead of facing the pack elders. Apparently, the elders were going to give Luke another chance at being Blair’s mate, but I don’t know if that’s true or not. That moment was when we regretted hiding. With Luke being Alpha King, though, we knew we couldn’t go back.
“Then Blair became pregnant. She wanted to call her mother to tell her of the impending birth of her granddaughter, so I allowed it. What a stupid mistake that was. Somehow, Luke tracked us down shortly after. Dani was only five days old.
“Blair was so exhausted from giving birth, she was nowhere near her full fighting capability. I took on a dozen wolves, fought them off as best as I could, but they got into the house anyway. She managed to get Dani into the panic room, but she knew I wouldn’t make it in time, so she stayed out to fight.
“When I heard the first gunshot, I lost it. I knew what it was, and I went into a rage, destroying everyone in my way. By the time I got to the house, she was already dying. Luke had shot her four times. Four! With pure fucking silver.
“My mate lay there dying, and I had to pick the bullets out, hoping it might give her a chance to heal, but it was too late. Her body was dying. With her last breath, she begged me to hide Dani until she was old enough to bring her to the packs.
“We hid for sixteen years. I trained Dani to defend herself from any and all situations in case something similar happened with her own mates. I knew one day we’d be back. If Luke tried to hurt her, she would be ten times stronger and prepared for his attack.
“When Dani turned sixteen and she still hadn’t shifted, I thought of bringing her back to the pack sooner, fearing too little exposure from wolves was why she hadn’t shifted. I left it alone, hoping she was just a late bloomer, but then her seventeenth birthday arrived and still no shift. I knew it was time, so I started doing some digging.
“I heard from a human, whom your pack helped a while back, that you had eligible males. I thought maybe one of them could have been Dani’s mate. I figured maybe once she met a mate, she might shift, but nothing so far. Now, she has six mates, still hasn’t shifted, and will have to face the trials.”
There’s a minute of silence before Tim sits up, preparing to speak.
“You know what this means, don’t you? She’s going to have to come to the pack and train. How old is she exactly? How long until the trials can start? We need to do this as quickly as possible,” Tim muses out loud, rambling extremely fast.
“Four months until the trials can start. Dani turned seventeen two months ago. I’ve spent most of my time training her to defend herself from attack, but she has little to no knowledge of pack politics. She’s going to need all the help she can get before she faces the peace trials,” my father replies with a grin.
Tim and my father share looks of mischief.
“Well, seems like you and Dani will have to move into my house then. I hope you like sharing with boys.”
