Zeke

Valerie needs to wear a straightjacket when she sleeps. I love the girl, but waking up with a black eye isn't ideal. Liam glanced up at me from his plate of pancakes before he snickered for the thousandth time this morning. "I'm tired of you teasing the boy. Knock it off" Grams scolded him as she narrowed her eyes. Liam muttered an apology before stuffing some pancakes in his mouth. "How'd you sleep, darlin'?" Grams asked, looking at my mate.

With a blush on her cheeks, Valerie glanced up at Grams. "Good" she said simply. "Thank you for making breakfast" Valerie said gratefully. Everyone began having their own conversations. Valerie leaned over to me. "Is this everyone that I was supposed to meet?" she inquired.

I looked around and shook my head. "You haven't met Mason yet. But I heard he lives in his own house. Then there's Amanda and Kat. They should be around here somewhere" I stated. I had to remember not to act my usual way around Amanda. That wouldn't go too well with Valerie in the room. "Where's Mason and the girls?" I questioned, looking around the table.

Sam shrugged with his eyebrows furrowed together. "They're all at Mason's house. They said they'll be here for breakfast, but-"

"Hey. Sorry we're late!" Mason apologized, coming through the door. I quickly stood up and gave him a quick hug. "Long time no see, kid" he said, patting my back. I scowled at the old nickname as we pulled away. "What happened to your eye?" he asked casually.

I shrugged before greeting the girls. "Manda Panda!" I chirped, causing her to glare at me. Regardless of her anger, I still wrapped my arms around her. I felt a pang of jealousy that wasn't mine, so I quickly let go and moved onto Kat. "Hey, Kat" Our hug was short so I wouldn't piss off Valerie. Before starting a conversation, I turned around and grabbed my mate's hand to pull her out of her seat. "This is my mate, Valerie" I introduced. She relaxed as I rubbed small circles on the back of her hand. "That's Mason, Amanda, and Kat" I named off.

She nodded her head and smiled at them. "Valley" I dropped Valerie's hand as we both turned around to face Kenny. He was rubbing his eyes and yawning at the doorway. "I'm hungry" Kenny stated.

Valerie walked closer and led him to the table. He took my seat and Valerie switched out the plates so Kenny would have a clean one. She grabbed a couple pancakes and I put some bacon on his plate. "You can have more if you're still hungry when that's all gone" Valerie told him as he munched on bacon. He nodded his head, unable to talk with his mouth full. "Wave to Bubba's friends" she instructed softly as she pointed to Mason, Kat, and Amanda.

Kenny waved before swallowing his food and greeting everyone around the table. "Hi, Grams!" he chirped happily. I'm proud to say that I got Kenny to easily warm up to Grams; but then again, everyone warms up to Grams.

The older woman smiled kindly at Kenny. "Hello, Kenny. How'd you sleep?" she wondered. He smiled and began blabbering about his dreams. Grams listened intently along with Liam- he actually looked very intrigued by the kid's story.

From the corner of my eye, I spotted Mason motioning me over. "Dude. Not that I'm judging or anything. But is he Valerie's?" he questioned.

Hearing him, Valerie walked over to us and laced our fingers together. "He's ours. We're adopting him" she said with a strong voice. I pressed a kiss to her temple and gave her hand a small squeeze.

"How old are you?" Amanda blurted, not hiding the shock in her voice. Valerie's eyes slightly narrowed, but she kept herself composed as she answered. "Wow. I think you must be a responsible girl to be able to take care of a kid at this age. Zeke's lucky to have you since he's probably one of the most irresponsible guys on this planet" she teased.

I scoffed as Valerie nodded in agreement. "You procrastinate way too much" Valerie reminded me. I shrugged in response. She was right of course. I mean, I did go back to sleep instead of getting ready to come here when Piper called. "I'm pretty sure you never even unpacked from last time you visited Piper" Valerie said with a laugh.

I thought about it for a few moments. I honestly couldn't say with 100% positivity that I did unpack. Valerie and Amanda began discussing my various bad habits. I was glad that Valerie dropped her anger and jealousy. I just have to make sure that I didn't say anything to bring that jealousy back. I can't judge though. We're both extremely jealous people.

Valerie's grip suddenly tightened. I snapped out of my thoughts and started paying attention to their conversation. "He just never gave up" Amanda said, laughing. Valerie had a tight lipped smile on her face as she nodded her head. I was completely lost as to what they're talking about.

"Amanda" Kat said through her clenched teeth. "Stop" she demanded. Amanda turned to Kat with furrowed eyebrows before looking at Valerie and I. "Sorry. She doesn't have a filter" Kat apologized, steering Amanda away from us.

My mate dropped my hand and looked at me with her arms crossed. "I know what you're thinking" Amanda told Valerie, coming back towards us. "Nothing happened between Zeke and I at all. Nothing" she said sternly. I shouldn't have been worried about me saying something to Amanda. I should've been worried about Amanda saying something to Valerie.

Nodding, Valerie continued to stare at me. "I was a dumb kid. I was never serious" I told her with a sheepish smile on my face. She didn't say anything. "I was practicing for when I met my mate?" I tried. The corner of her lips twitched upward. "Cariad" I said softly. "I swear, it never meant anything" I promised. I just knew this would come and bite me in the ass. Piper and Caleb warned me about it too.

Valerie sighed and rolled her eyes. She kissed my cheek before walking over to Kenny. At least that's over with. I let out a breath of relief before following her to the table. "You okay?" she asked, kissing the top of Kenny's head.

He nodded in confirmation. "Can I have more bacon?" Laughing, I grabbed a couple pieces and put them on his plate. The kid loves his bacon. "Cay!" Kenny chirped as Caleb and Piper came into the room.

Liam pouted. "Why didn't you get that excited when you saw me?" he questioned, feigning hurt.

Kenny shrugged. "I like Cay better than you, Lee-Lee" Kenny said unapologetically. I chuckled as Caleb stuck his tongue out at Liam. "Where's the baby?" Kenny wondered as Caleb and Piper sat down.

"He's finally sleeping" Piper informed him, sounding very happy about it. I know the baby probably kept them up all night. "When are you guys leaving?" Piper asked, turning to me. I shrugged and looked at Valerie- who shrugged and looked at Kenny. His eyes widened at the sudden pressure put on him. Kenny ended up stuffing a piece of bacon in his mouth so he wouldn't have to answer.

Shaking my head in amusement, I let out a small laugh. "Tonight or tomorrow morning" I answered. She nodded her head and began to eat. "Toss me a bacon" Caleb threw a slice at me. I ducked down and caught it in my mouth.

Valerie made a face. "Like a dog" she muttered, shaking her head at me. I shrugged off her comment and munched on the bacon. I'm not actually a dog, but wolves are in the same family as dogs. Dogs are practically our cousins. "What are the plans today?" Valerie inquired, looking around the table. We all shrugged. "How fun" she said sarcastically.

"Do you have any idea, Sassy Pants?" I retorted.

She grinned. "I haven't gone on a run in a little while" she said, giving me a puppy dog look. I told her that I wasn't gonna run. "Please, Zeke. Now that you can shift, we can go on runs together. Pretty, pretty please?" Valerie begged.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "It still might not be safe. I only shifted one time" I reminded her. I couldn't risk it in someone else's pack. Especially with Isaac around here. She started begging again. "Stop it. I'm not going" I snapped.

Valerie instantly stopped and turned away from me, but I could still see the frown on her face as well as feel her disappointment. "Do any of you wanna go on a run?" she asked, biting her lip.

Sharon nodded her head, giving my mate a small smile. "I'll go too" Cynthia volunteered. Of course, Sam and Liam agreed to go since they wanted to keep an eye on their mates. Valerie excused herself to go change, then everyone stared at me. "It's not even noon and you guys were mad almost five times already" Cynthia pointed out.

Everyone else nodded their heads at her statement. I'll admit, this morning wasn't our best morning. We got along much better last night. I don't know what's wrong today. "Stop being scared" Piper demanded, going into her big-sister mode. "You're not scared of anything except yourself and you need to let that go. Your mate is trying to help you and you're being a huge jerk" she scolded me. Everyone awkwardly looked away; even Kenny started just pushing food around on his plate.

"Well that is my nickname"

Piper glared at me. She pointed to the door and demanded that I talk to Valerie. I sighed and trudged out of the room. I took my time going up the stairs. I had to think of something to say. I'm sorry. That just seems too simple, not enough thought. I know she won't let that slide this time. I don't really have an excuse. I didn't think about it from her point of view. Piper was right. She could just be trying to help me, so I can be a normal werewolf.

Valerie's frown popped into my head. I instantly felt guilty and sped up. When I got to my room, Valerie was sitting with her legs crossed in the center of the bed. She had changed into a pair of shorts and a tank top, but it didn't look like she planned to go running. "Hey" I said softly, closing the door behind me. She didn't even glance up. With a sigh, I crawled onto the bed and sat next to her. "It has been brought to my attention that I was acting like a jerk, again" She kept quiet. I frowned and moved closer, lucky that she didn't try to move away. "I'm so, so sorry" I mumbled, kissing her shoulder.

She pushed me away, literally. "You had a bad first shift, I get it. But you were able to shift again, and you were fine. You shifted back. There were no problems. But now you're refusing to try it again. You're scared, and I understand that. But maybe there isn't anything to be scared of now. I just want you to be able to shift and not be scared that you're gonna hurt someone. I want you to stop being scared of yourself" she rambled.

Nodding my head, I angled my body so I was facing her. "Okay. I'll make you a deal" I offered. She nodded for me to continue. "I'll go on this run, but if anything happens- don't help me. You run straight here and you let the guys handle me. Okay?"

"But-"

I shook my head. "No buts" I cut her off. Valerie sighed before agreeing to my terms. I pressed my lips to hers. "I love you" I said with a grin.

She smiled at me and leaned into my side. "I love you too, jerk" she mumbled. "Your eye is healing, by the way" Valerie informed me. I poked around my eye, only feeling a tinge of pain. "Stop touching it!" she chastised, slightly shuddering in disgust. I chuckled and stopped touching my face. The door suddenly flung open. Kenny ran inside and hid in the closet. "What the-"

"That was my bacon!" Sam shouted as he appeared in the doorway of my room. "Never steal a man's bacon!" he yelled, coming in and looking around.

I rolled my eyes. "Stop chasing around a four year old and just make more bacon" I demanded, getting off the bed. Sam huffed and walked out my room. "He's gone" I whispered, leaning towards the closet. Kenny poked his head out and scanned the room before deciding it was safe to come out. "Hey. You're not supposed to take food off of someone's plate. That's not nice" I informed him.

Kenny pouted. "But I didn't have any more bacon and the plate was empty" he explained.

It was hard not to laugh, but I pursed my lips together and allowed Valerie to step in. "Then you go ask someone if they can make you more. You can't take someone's food" she said softly. Kenny nodded his head in understanding. "Now, go apologize to Sam" she demanded. He sighed dramatically as he trudged out of the room.

I turned to Valerie. "Why didn't we talk to him about this when he continuously stole my bacon?" I questioned. Valerie laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Whatever. I'll change, then we'll go on that run" She squealed and gave me a quick hug before leaving the room. I took a deep breath before changing into a pair of basketball shorts and walking out shirtless. Everyone was already outside. Apparently, Grams was the designated babysitter. Piper and Caleb decided to stay behind, though.

"Finally" Sam said dramatically.

I rolled my eyes at him as they all shifted. Valerie's wolf grazed against my leg. I was the only one that didn't shift yet. She nuzzled her head against my hand. "Come on. It won't hurt as bad" she told me softly. Giving her a small nod, I allowed my bones to break and reform into my wolf skeleton. It didn't hurt, but my body felt pretty numb as I shifted. Valerie licked my face before darting into the forest. I stretched my legs out until Valerie's voice filtered into my mind.

"Hurry up slowpoke" 

_______________

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much"

-Helen Keller

I think this story might end soon. Comment any little holes and questions you might have and I will get them answered in the last chapters of this book.

But anyways! Wattpad has invited me to take part in their new program where there's occasionally ads as you read my stories. I get that it might be annoying to some of you- it definitely was to me. But now that I read up on it, I actually support it. It's only fifteen seconds at the most. Fifteen seconds to help a writer. We all started on this site, knowing that we wouldn't get paid. But now we can. Now we can still be on this amazing site- where people can read our work for free- but we could be getting paid for it. And it feels pretty good to know that I was chosen to participate in this. I would still write on Wattpad if I wasn't invited to do this. It's not about the money. But I mean, it's money. And I kinda want a new laptop, so...

Much love!

Kayyyzzz Byeeezzz

~A.J.