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It's super late, and I didn't bother proof-reading.

Pic on the side is Patrick ===>

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~~~Tyler's POV~~~

"Tyler?"

"Dot, shut up!"

"Her eyes are moving!"

"You guys are so loud," I moaned, and I hesitantly opened my eyes to see a big mass of people standing in my room. Everyone, excluding Dot who was beaming at me, looked extremely concerned. For a moment, I was confused, but then everything with Jerod hit me like a ton of bricks; the mini game of cat and mouse we had played before he'd caught me. I sat straight up and winced.

"Careful!" ordered Anton. "You don't want to rip out your stitches."

"Stitches?" I echoed, confused.

"Yep, on your back," he replied. "Any sudden movements could rip them out and reopen the wounds, so be careful."

"Shouldn't I be healed by now?" I asked.

"Well, since your wounds were caused by another werewolf, they'll take longer to heal than if they had been caused by a human. The slashes in you back were so deep that they needed stitches to help them heal," explained Anton.

"Oh." I lifted up my shirt and felt the stiff fabric of the large bandage wrapped around my abdomen. "Ouch." Everyone laughed, somewhat nervously, but Bo remained serious. He looked like he'd been hit by a bus or something, and I guessed that because I was his mate, my injuries had taken a terrible toll on him.

"Can I talk to Tyler alone?" asked Dot suddenly. Bo darkened, and growled-yes, growled-at his little sister.

"It's fine," I said hoarsely. Bo's face fell, but he filed out of the room behind the rest of the people who had been standing in my room. Seconds later, the door slammed shut, leaving me alone with Dot. She crossed the room and sat down next to me on the bed, her expression telling me she was all business.

"You almost died."

"I know that," I said slowly and cautiously.

"Like, you were really close to meeting the Grim Reaper."

"I get it, Dot!" I snapped, and immediately regretted it. "I'm sorry, but what's your point?"

"When are you going to give Bo a chance as your mate?" she asked, frowning. "I know he lied to you, but he had his reasons!"

"Dot, I don't really think this is any of your business," I stated, slightly shocked that she was getting really personal really fast.

"I know," she said, blushing, and she looked down at her hands. "It's just, I saw the way he was when they pulled up with you all bloodied, and then he went crazy on Fletcher's mom, who was treating you. No one knew if you'd survive, since you'd lost a lot of blood." Dot paused, and looked me in the eye.

"I don't remember what happened when my mom died, but I do know it crushed my dad, and I still see it every day. Bo's my big brother, and watching him think that you weren't going to make it was the most painful thing I've ever seen. Had you died, he would've been destroyed."

I sat there, stunned into silence. I'd never seen Bo's mom, nor heard her mentioned, but I guess I just didn't read too much into it. I'd had no idea she was dead. I quickly regained my composure and I ran my hand through my hair. "You said he had his reasons, yes?" Dot nodded. "What were they?"

"Well," she replied, "He wanted to tell you at first, but our dad made him swear not to. He thought that the idea of a mate, when you were just learning about packs and Alphas, would freak you out. Bo reluctantly agreed, because he didn't want to scare you away."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"Bo found his mate," said Dot, "But he couldn't have her. That's why he avoided you; he didn't want to run the risk of blurting it out."

"Oh," I repeated, and I looked away from her. Now, I felt like a terrible person. I'd been so quick in my anger and hurt towards Bo; I hadn't even bothered to hear his reasoning. All along, he'd been trying to protect me, and I'd been too caught up in my own anger to listen. "I didn't know that."

"Yeah," said Dot. She paused for a moment before asking, "Are you going to give him a chance?"

"Uh, I don't know how I can't," I mumbled, which was true. Listening to Dot describe her experiences with her father losing his mate and the way Bo acted and his reasons made all the anger I had been feeling towards him dissipate. Now, all I wanted to do was be in his arms, as cheesy as it sounds.

Dot let out a high pitched squeal and I jumped about a mile in the air. "I already have your celebrity name picked out! Bo-Ty!"

"Seriously?" I asked, amused, and she nodded vigorously. Laughing, I told her, "Just go get your brother, okay? I want to talk to him, and I'm too scared to get up." Dot nodded and pushed herself off of the bed, being obviously careful to not jostle me too much, and she walked over to the door.

"Dot," I called, and she stopped and turned around. "Thanks... You know, for telling me that."

"Yep," she replied with a smile.

"You're way more observant than most fourteen-year-olds."

"I know."

Then she was gone. Now left alone, I sighed and looked around the room. Judging from all the light entering my room through the window, it seemed like it was about noonish. Suddenly curious about how long I'd been out, I reached for my cell phone on the bed side table. Surprisingly, not even a full day had passed since my encounter with the rogues.

"Hey." My head snapped up from my phone, and I saw Bo leaning against my door frame, his hands shoved in the pockets of his sweatpants.

"Hi."

"Dot said you wanted to talk to me?" The words came out as a question, like he wasn't sure he had heard her right. I nodded, scared that if I talked I would blurt out everything I wanted to tell him in one breathless stream of word vomit. Bo hesitated before grabbing the chair from my desk and pulling it up next to the bed. He sat down and looked at me expectantly.

"You've got a great little sister," I said.

Bo raised an eyebrow. "I know that." He paused before saying, "Why do you say that?"

"Well," I answered, blushing and looking down at the closed phone in my hands, "She kinda convinced me to give you a chance... as a mate." I snuck a peek at Bo through my eyelashes to see his expression read as completely shocked.

"Wha... How did she do that?"

"She explained some things," I replied, raising me head. "She put things in perspective, and made me realize how stupid I've been."

"You weren't stupid. You had a right to be angry," stated Bo, and he started to say more, but I interrupted him.

"I was. I should've listened to your reasons for keeping being my mate from me, but I didn't, and I almost got myself killed." Bo winced, and I regretted my choice of words. "I don't really know how to explain myself," I said, flustered, "But the point is, I want to give this a shot."

"Seriously?" said Bo in disbelief.

"Why is that so hard to believe?" I asked, throwing my hands up in the air.

"No," replied Bo, chuckling. "You just seemed to mad, and I never thought Dot would be the one to convince my mate to be with me."

"You should give her more credit," I said, "She's really smart and sees things that I for one never noticed."

"Point taken," he said with a shrug.

"Can we take this slow?" I asked quietly after a moment. "The whole mate thing? Because I don't know a lot about it, and I'm still a little unsure. Plus," I said, thinking, "We don't actually know a whole lot about each other."

"Maybe we should go on a date," Bo suggested.

"A date?"

"Yes," declared Bo, now excited, "We should go on a date. But first, I need to go find Dot and thank her... like, a lot." Before I could stop him, he jumped up out of the chair and ran out of the room, a crooked and really attractive smile lighting up his features.

About two seconds later, I decided that the last couple minutes I had spent sitting in bed were enough; I was done being pathetic. Moving as slowly as I could manage and being as careful as I could, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and braced my hands on the edge of the mattress. I pushed myself up so that I was standing, and I smiled.

I rolled the waistband of the too-big sweatpants I was wearing so that I wouldn't trip on the bottoms, and then I shuffled out of the room. When I came to the stairs, I took each step with a ton of caution, and then I started down to the living room, where I guessed I would find some other people.

"Tyler!"

I turned around to see Patrick running towards me, smiling. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

"Thanks, Patrick," I said, and I gave him and awkward, one-armed hug and I made sure he didn't put too much pressure on my back.

"I know this is bad timing and all," started Patrick, and I noticed he was blushing, "But, you never answered my question. You know, when I asked if you wanted to go out with me. I know Bo's your mate and all, but I heard you weren't talking to him and stuff, so..." His voice trailed off and he looked at me hopefully.

"Oh," I said, frowning. "I'm really sorry, Patrick, but I've decided to give Bo a chance." Patrick's face instantly changed to one of hope to one of complete anger, and before I knew it, he had his hands clamped firmly on my shoulders.

"What the hell, Tyler?" He asked accusingly, and his fingers dug further into my skin with every word. The intensity and fury in his words was really starting to freak me out.

"Ow, Patrick let go, that hurts!" I cried, but he completely ignored me.

"Why would you give someone who lied to you about something like that a second chance? What the hell is wrong with you? I-" His stream of words was cut off when his hands were ripped off of me and he was shoved roughly back.

"Keep your hands off of her," snarled Bo, and he pushed me behind him. "She's mine." Patrick looked like he was going to fight Bo for a moment, but he just turned on his heel and stormed away. Bo turned towards me, and I couldn't help but notice how cute he looked when he was angry. The way his nostrils flared and his dramatic scowl was very attractive.

"Wow," I commented, rubbing my shoulders where I felt bruises forming, "possessive much?"

"Hey," replied Bo defensively, "I just got you. I'm not gonna let some other guy try and take you away." He pulled me into a gentle hug, and I found that I fit perfectly against his chest. "Did you know that Dot now considers us 'Bo-Ty'?" He asked, and I giggled.

"Yeah, it's our celebrity couple name. It's clever, right?"

"Yeah," he said sarcastically, "Totally clever."

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Soooooo tiredddddddd. Be excited cuz i stayed up past midnight to update :)

Over 600 votes?!?!?!?! YESSSSSSSSS

FYI-- Someone commented on one of the chapters with the whole "Bo-ty" thing, and i thought it was so cute and something Dot would totally say, so i wrote it in. Thanks for that :)

My dog just burped...

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