^Alpha Thomas, Luna Charlotte, and Evelyn

"But as the sun goes down, I get that empty feeling again. How I wish to God that you were here. Baby come back, yeah, any kind of fool could see, there was something in everything about you."
~Player, 'Baby Come Back'

~~~

*Kai's POV*

I wake with a groan, feeling a deep ache spreading through my entire body. The muscles in my body scream in protest as I sit up slowly, looking around my room. Wait, this isn't my bedroom...

Like a freight train, memories from last night slam into my mind. Showing up at Lucca's house, trying and failing to talk to Lucca, feeling Lucca's hands on me... I gasp, covering my mouth with my palm. Blood rushes to my cheeks as images of Lucca fucking me replay in my mind.

Oop. Guess I'm not a virgin anymore.

Blushing like a madman, I scratch the back of my neck shyly. My fingertips brush over harsh ridges on the crook of my neck, making me pause. The contact of my fingers on my skin send electric tingles through my body. Lucca's mark.

Praise the fucking Moon, we mated! Does this mean Lucca has accepted me as his mate?? He's not going to run away from me anymore, right? He's... wait, where is he?

The smile on my face slips away when I glance around the room, unable to detect Lucca's presence close by. From what I've learned about mates from Landon and Ryland, and Ronnie and Lia, our mate bond should allow me to sense my mate's presence. But... I can't feel him.

Panic sets in. I scramble out of bed, ignoring the painful aches throughout my body as I rush out of the bedroom.

"Lucca?" I call out, but only silence answers. "Lucca!"

To my horror, I realize I'm the only person in the house. Lucca is... he's gone.

Sinking down into a crouch, I cover my head with my hands. No, no, no, no. He couldn't have left me behind like this. Not when our bond is so fresh, so new and delicate. Not when... when Lucca's touched me in a way no one else has, being my first time. He didn't actually leave after taking my virginity and marking me. He couldn't have.

Okay. Okay, calm down. Maybe he's just gone out for a bit to get something. Maybe he's on his way back right now. Even as I try to convince myself, my body begins to tremble with fear.

Drawing in a deep breath, I close my eyes and try to focus. Lucca and I should have a mind link now that we've mated. And I pray to the Moon he hasn't blocked me out.

With deep concentration, I picture Lucca in my mind and try to reach him. 'Lucca.' When I don't hear anything in response, I try again. 'Where are you?'

Even over the mind link, my voice comes off as shaky as it would've been if I was speaking out loud.

I'm met with more silence, and my panic begins to boil over. Pushing as hard as I can, I scream out, 'Lucca!'

'Do you mind? I haven't had my coffee yet and your screaming is giving me a headache.' I finally hear Lucca's snarky voice. Even though he can't see me, his nonchalant response makes my eyes squint in a glare.

'Where are you?' I demand. 'I-I woke up and you weren't here and... and your mark is on me. Lucca... Lucca we mated!'

'I know,' Lucca responds softly. 'I'm so fucking sorry, Kai.'

My heart nearly stops at his apology. If he's apologizing... then he definitely didn't leave with good intentions.

'Are you coming back?' I ask quietly, feeling the hurt build and build in my chest.

'No.'

Kieran howls in pain. Lucca hasn't officially rejected me, but this is pretty damn close. He left me, and he doesn't plan on coming back.

Huffing, I shake my head. If he's not going to come here... 'Then I'll come to you,' I declare, somehow sounding more confident than I feel.

'No,' Lucca says sternly. 'You won't.'

I bristle, feeling anger overriding my heartache. 'You can't stop me—'

'I'm not telling you where I am,' Lucca cuts me off. 'Don't you get it, Kai? We can't make each other happy. I don't want a fucking mate.'

The air gets sucked out of my lungs. Our bond pulses; a heartbeat pumping burning pain through my veins.

'I am sorry,' Lucca whispers. 'Honest, I am. You should be with someone who wants to be with you. And I... I'm not that guy.'

'Yes you are!' I shout back, but my voice echoes as if it's being thrown down a dark, empty tunnel. A tunnel with no one on the other side to hear my pleas, to listen to what I have to say. 'Lucca, come back! We can work through this if you give me a chance!'

Nothing. Once again, my voice bounces around, unheard by anyone other than Kieran. He must've blocked out our link, I realize in frustration. And without his phone number, I have no fucking way to get ahold of him again.

Dammit! I can't let my mate push me away like this. If he would just give me a chance, he would see that I'm not that bad! I could make him happy... probably. At least, I think I can. We don't really know each other that well yet, but the Moon paired us together for a reason. Lucca is destined to be the wolf I spend the rest of my life with, and I'm not willing to give up on that yet.

'If you're not home within the next hour,' Ryland's voice growls over our pack link, making me jump in surprise, 'I'm going to seriously beat your ass.'

Sighing, I tilt my head backwards and stare at the ceiling. Well, if Lucca isn't coming back here, there's no point in hanging around this place. If I'm going to find him, I need to come up with a plan.

But first, I need to go home and face the wrath of my brother.

Heading back to Lucca's room, I search around for my clothes, only to find them ripped to shreds on the floor. My cheeks heat up, and I grab some clothes from Lucca's closet instead. His shirt is way too big on me, coming down to the top of my thighs. The black sweats I slip on keep falling off my waist, so I yank the strings to tighten the waistband. Since Lucca is much taller than me, the pant legs drag on the floor, and I have to roll them up a few times to keep from tripping. I look like a mess, but it's either this or run home naked since Lucca lives in a human neighborhood, and everyone here would freak out over seeing a wolf running through town.

Partially satisfied with my appearance, I run out of his house with my bare feet padding against the rough sidewalk.

***

The moment I pass through the pack's gates, Ryland is already waiting for me with a glare that could melt steal. I slow my steps, giving my brother an awkward smile.

"Hey, Ry," I say weakly, not mentally ready at all for the shit storm Ryland's about to unleash.

"Are you out of your fucking mind?" Ryland starts in a low voice. "I can't believe you ran off on your own while you're in heat! Goddess above, Kai! Didn't you use your fucking brain? What if a stray wolf caught your scent and forced himself on you?! How the hell could you be so stupid?"

"Stop!" I shout back, feeling my blood boil. "You can't talk to me like that! I'm old enough to make my own choices!"

"Like hell you are! If you were, you wouldn't have chosen to run out of the safety of this pack while your Omega pheromones are out of control!"

"Nothing happened!" I defend myself, before pausing. "Er... nothing bad happened."

Ryland stops shouting for a moment to look me up and down. "Whose clothes are those? Those aren't yours. They're way too big."

"I, uh..."

"Wait a second," Ryland gasps, marching closer. I shrink backwards, but Ryland grabs the collar of my shirt and pulls down, his eyes doubling in size and his face turning red in anger.

Ah, fuck.

"Y-You...! This is— I—," Ryland stammers, staring at the mark on my shoulder.

Sighing, I push his hand away from my collar. "It's Lucca's."

One of the things I love about living in a pack deep in the woods is the quiet that comes with living far away from the human society. I typically wake up to the sounds of birds chirping, brooks running with clear water, and pups yipping as they play together.

However, right now, all other sounds have ceased while Ryland goes off on a screaming rant. The birds scatter; the running water drowned out by my brother's voice. The worst part? We're still standing at the entrance of the pack where everyone can hear Ryland freaking out loudly over the mark on my shoulder.

"Ryland!" Landon finally shows up, panting as if he had been running. "Jesus, I could hear you shouting from the schoolhouse. What the hell is— Kai? When did you get back?"

"Just now," I respond lightly, as if my ears aren't still ringing from Ryland screaming at me.

"Look at his fucking neck!" Ryland shouts, jabbing a finger in my direction. "Lucca marked him!"

Landon's head snaps up, and his jaw drops. "You guys mated?"

Groaning, I cover my face with my hands. "It all happened really fast, okay? I swear, I was only going to talk to him like I promised you. I didn't think—"

"What?" Ryland inhales sharply, and Landon's face pales.

Furrowing my brows, I look between them. "What?"

"You..." Ryland swallows thickly. "You promised Landon?"

Confused, I glance towards Landon, who looks white as a ghost. The realization hits me that Landon must not have told Ryland that he helped me. Probably be buses I begged him not to.

"Ry—"

"You knew?" Ryland's tone is accusatory as he faces his mate. "You knew Kai was planning on running away while in heat, and you didn't tell me? You didn't even try to stop him?"

Releasing a shaky breath, Landon drops his gaze to the ground. "No, I didn't. And, more than that... I told Kai where Lucca lives."

If I didn't know my brother as well as I do, I would've expected him to slap Landon right there. But he doesn't, because in my entire life, I've never known Ryland to raise a hand against someone he loves. And Goddess knows Ryland loves Landon, even if his eyes are filling with tears of betrayal right now.

Landon's face softens upon seeing Ryland's tears. He steps forward, but Ryland steps backwards.

"Honeybee—"

"Don't," Ryland snaps. "Don't call me that when I'm this fucking mad at you."

Pain flashes through Landon's eyes. He purses his lips, looking away while clenching his fists at his side.

"Ryland, Kai," another voice materializes next to us. Alpha Thomas stands tall, exuding both power as our Alpha and warmth as the man who helped raise us after our parents died. "Maybe you should continue this conversation in the pack house."

Glancing around, I notice members of the pack are standing around, murmuring lowly with their eyes on us. Great.

Without saying anything, or even looking at any of us, Ryland turns on his heel and marches towards the pack house. I offer Thomas a weak grin and we follow behind him; Landon trailing along with his head hanging low and invisible tail tucked. When we get to the pack house, Luna Charlotte and Evelyn are already waiting with sympathetic smiles.

"Ryland," Charlotte greets him warmly, holding her arms out. Unable to resist her motherly charm, Ryland lets our Luna pull him into a tight hug. I'm next, snuggling close to Charlotte in the hug I desperately need.

Once Charlotte has given everyone a hug, and Evelyn has asks Landon a million questions that he doesn't answer, Thomas ushers us into the cozy living room.

"Now, then," Thomas grunts as we sit on the couches. Ryland sits on the far end of one of the couches, keeping distance from me and Landon. "What's so horrible that you two brothers needed to have a screaming match in front of the entire pack?"

I glance over at Ryland, but he clenches his jaw and looks away. His eyes still shine with a mixture of hurt and anger. Sighing, I sink back in my seat and decline to speak first.

"I'll explain," Landon offers, making Ryland flinch slightly. "After all, they'd probably just start shouting again if they talk about it."

Chuckling, Thomas nods his head and motions for Landon to go on. My brother's mate tells our Alpha everything, starting from when I met Lucca at Xander's party, to Lucca nearly rejecting me, to when I asked Landon for help during my heat. I jump in at the end, filling everyone in on what happened at Lucca's place. Of course, I don't give any graphic details — Evelyn is sitting right there, for Moon's sake — but I pull down my collar to show them Lucca's mark on my skin. I explain what happened this morning, waking up alone before coming back to the pack.

"I see," Thomas says slowly, crossing his arms over his broad chest. "This is quite the mess, isn't it?"

"Which is exactly what I was trying to avoid," Ryland finally says.

"I'm not a little kid," I grumble. "I don't need you controlling everything I do."

Ryland opens his mouth to retort, but Charlotte raises her hand to stop him.

"Nothing is going to get resolved if you two keep fighting instead of listening," Charlotte tells us. "It sounds like you two need time apart to cool off for a bit. Kai, how would you feel about staying in one of our guest rooms for a bit?"

"Really?" I perk up, and Charlotte nods her head.

"I think some space would be good for you," she says before turning towards Ryland. "He will be safe with us. Don't worry about him. Take this time apart to think and clam down. Once you're both ready to talk, Kai may go back home. Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good to me," I shrug. Ryland doesn't say anything, but he nods his head once.

Thomas grins. "Excellent! We can have someone help you pack—"

"Oh!" I blurt out. "Can my friend Frankie stay here too? They've been staying with us, and I'd feel better to have them here with me."

Evelyn scrunches her nose. "How can one person be a they? That doesn't mean sense."

Instead of getting mad, I smile instead. After all, she's just a kid who doesn't know any better. There's no point in getting upset when a person simply hasn't been educated on the subject.

"I'll let Frankie explain it to you in their own way when you meet them," I tell Evelyn before glancing back towards Thomas. "So... is that okay?"

Our Alpha doesn't miss a beat. "I assume they're a wolf from another pack, yes? Then sure, I don't see why not. You're both welcome to stay here for the time being."

"Thank you, Alpha," I smile appreciatively. Thomas grins and ruffles my hair.

"Then that's settled. Grab your things and come by when you're ready. I'll have the guest rooms prepared for you both."

The three of us head out of the pack house. While Landon and I start making our way home, Ryland turns in the direction of the schoolhouse.

"Ryland," Landon calls out. "Where are you going?"

"Work," Ryland answers flatly. "I have papers to grade and lessons to plan."

"Can't you do that later?" Landon asks quietly. "Don't you think we should talk right now?"

My brother falls silent for a moment before saying, "I don't want to talk to you right now."

"Baby, I'm sorry," Landon quickly apologizes. "Please, let's go home and talk about this."

"Don't take this out on Landon," I tell my brother. "It's not his fault. I shouldn't have asked him to go behind your back."

"No, you shouldn't have," Ryland agrees. "You should've known better than to ask my own mate to do something like that. But Landon can make his own decision, and he chose to stab me in the back."

"Ry," Landon gasps, pain filling his blue eyes.

"Just..." Ryland shakes his head. "Leave me alone for a while."

~~~

This chapter was so hard to write 😭😭 I can't handle my babies fighting

The next chapter is up on Patreon for my impatient readers 💆🏻‍♂️

See you next time!
-Gumbie