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ATTENTION!!!! THERE IS A NOTE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS CHAPTER ABOUT THE ONESHOT CONTEST!!!! PLEASE READ IT!!!!!

Excuse the Mistakes

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Dot lunged at me, her dark eyes burning with fury. I tried jumping to the right, but she caught me and knocked me on my side. I scrambled up, but Dot was ready for me and swiped her claw against my face. I hissed in pain and my eyes narrowed.

This wasn’t going to be easy. I’d just been trying to get Dot to listen to me, and when she refused, I thought the only way would be to fight her and pin her down. Obviously, I hadn’t expected that she’d come at me with such a vengeance.

I didn’t want to hurt Dot, but I needed to win.

I needed her to listen.

Dot growled at me and crouched in preparation to charge. However, I caught her off guard and sent her skidding across the ground of the clearing with a head butt to her right flank. Dot bounced up quickly and came at me again.

This time, I managed to steer clear of her, and just after she passed me, I turned around and knocked her back legs from under her. Dot squealed in surprise and she twisted her body wildly as she fell on her back.

I tried to hold her down, but Dot sunk her teeth into my front paw. I howled in pain and Dot took the opportunity to kick my exposed belly with her hind legs. A second later, I landed on my back on the ground and moaned.

Dot growled at me from across the clearing, and before I had a chance to jump to my feet, she sprinted towards me. In a split-second, we were latched together and rolling around on the ground. Suddenly, a tree appeared in our path, and we both slammed into it head first.

Dot and I detached from each other and lay sprawled on the forest floor, dazed. However, as my sense returned to me, I looked to the side and saw Dot a few feet away, her side rising and falling like normal. Slowly, I rose to my feet and with the reassurance that she appeared okay, I lunged at her just as she turned to look at me.

This time, without giving her a chance, I climbed on top of Dot and pinned her against the ground. She struggled relentlessly until she realized that no matter how hard she fought, my wolf form was bigger than hers, and I wasn’t moving anytime soon.

Finally, after admitting to herself that she had been defeated, Dot locked gazes with me. Her eyes looked sad, but also, I could see the anger. Slowly, her body returned to its human form, and I shifted back as well.

“Now will you listen?” I asked breathlessly. Dot didn’t reply, and I saw her jaw clench tightly. “Dot!” I yelled, my frustration building, “Will you listen to me?”

“Fine!” Dot cried, and she looked down for a moment before adding, “But not if we’re naked.”

~*~

I tugged my shoes on and pulled my now re-dirtied hair into a makeshift bun. I sat down on a mossy rock and stared at Eli, who was sitting on a rotting stump a few yards away and pulling on his shirt. Then, we just looked at each other.

“You wanted to talk,” I said, finally breaking the ice, “So go ahead, Eli.”

“Right,” he replied quietly, and he shifted uncomfortably. There was another couple seconds of silence before he sighed, “Look, I’m sorry for being me.”

“What the hell does that mean?” I asked sharply, crossing my arms over my chest.

“I’m sorry that I’m a rogue,” Eli said, and I just stared at him for a second.

“Are you serious?” I demanded suddenly, “That’s what you wanted to say to me, that you’re sorry for being a rogue?” Eli didn’t respond, and I rolled my eyes and stood up. “If that’s all, I’m just gonna go.”

I turned on my heel, and the twigs underneath my feet crunched. “Dot!” Eli called after me, but I ignored him. Just as I reached the edge of the clearing, however, Eli said something that made me stop dead in my tracks.

“I’m trying to tell you that I don’t want to reject you!”

“What?” I asked quietly, and I kept my back facing Eli.

“You heard me, Dot,” Eli stated, and I heard the crunch of his feet as he walked over to me. I felt his hand on my arm and let him turn me around. “Look,” he continued, “I know we haven’t had the friendliest encounters, and that’s both our faults, but there’s something about you, Dot.”

“Are you referring to my incredible charm and good looks?” I said quietly, trying to keep a straight face.

Humor was a way of avoiding confrontation for me, and this situation was getting more and more uncomfortable. I guess I should be excited because of what Eli was telling me, but I’d never prepared myself for something like this.

Eli snorted, recognizing his arrogant words from a couple days ago. “I’m referring to the fact that you’re my mate, and I can’t deny the connection I have with you. Dot, you may be tough, and at times, downright cold, but I can see the vulnerable girl as well.”

“Fantastic,” I replied, looking away and shifting uncomfortably.

“Yeah, it is,” Eli stated. “I like that girl; that girl is the reason that I want to be your mate.”

My head snapped to stare at him and I swallowed. “We can’t be mates if you’re going to be a rogue, Eli. I have a commitment to my pack as the future Alpha,” I said, and he nodded in agreement.

“I know that, Dot,” Eli murmured, “and I have my reservations about packs, and I have since I’d decided to become a rogue. However, back then, I didn’t know what it would feel like to meet your mate. I honestly don’t know how other rogues reject their mates because I don’t think I have the strength to.”

“So what are you saying?” I asked, though I felt like I knew what he was going to say.

“It means that I’m going to have to join you’re pack.

*

“Dot, you seriously need to calm down.”

“I can’t, Eli, so just drop it.”

“Okay, but—”

The door to my dad’s office swung open to reveal Fae standing on the other side. “Alpha Bo is ready for you guys,” she said, moving to the side. If Eli hadn’t been with me, I’m sure Alpha Bo would’ve become just Dad, but with a stranger, especially a rogue, my dad and Fae both stuck to formality.

“C’mon Dot,” Eli said, and he held his hand out to me. Slowly, I slipped mine into his and swallowed hard at the electricity that flowed through our palms. This was intimate as we’d gotten so far.

After Eli had told me that he was willing to join the pack to be with me, we’d almost kissed, but I’d pulled away. I wasn’t ready for that. At any moment, Eli could’ve decided that he was being rash and that he didn’t want to join my pack or be my mate. I wasn’t quite ready to let myself fall for him.

Eli said he understood, even though I could see the confusion and hurt in his eyes. So, we’d held hands as he’d walked me back to my bedroom, and I found myself relishing the tingling sensation I felt every time we touched. Hand holding may be simple, but it was actually pretty nice.

Together, we entered my dad’s office and Fae shut the door behind us. She positioned herself against the wall behind my dad as Eli and I sat down in the chairs across from him, and I felt intimidated.

“What can I do for you?” my dad asked, eyeing the interlocking of our fingers. When I’d told him that I’d needed to speak to him about Eli, I hadn’t told him why. Seeing as the last time I talked to him, I had hated Eli’s guts, this hand holding must’ve come as a shock.

Eli and I exchanged looks, and I nodded at him. Eli took a deep breath and turned his head so that he was looking my dad in the eye. “Alpha Bo, I would like to ask permission to join your pack.”

“Really?” my dad asked, his eyebrows rising in surprise. “Why the sudden change of heart?”

“Dot,” Eli answered simply. “If my mate wasn’t in this pack, I would’ve been gone by now. I don’t think I can find it in myself not to claim her, but I know that she won’t leave this pack to be with me. That’s why I’ve decided to ask to join.”

“I see,” my dad replied, his eyes snapping over to me. “What do you think, Dot?”

I glanced from him to Eli, and then to even to Fae, and swallowed. “Eli and I talked last night,” I stated, “And I think that you should give him a chance.”

My dad looked at both of us and let out a long, audible sigh. He leaned back in his office chair and crossed his arms over his chest. After a moment, he turned around and Fae leaned down. I could hear them whispering, but the sound of my own heartbeat was getting in the way of actually making out the words that they were saying.

My dad obviously didn’t like Eli. He’d come in here as an arrogant jackass, who’d basically disrespected my dad, myself, as well as the rest of our pack. As an Alpha, that’d really pissed him off. So, even though my dad knew Eli was my mate, I didn’t know what he would say to Eli’s request.

There were ways around a member of a pack and a rogue staying mates, but from what I’ve heard, it resulted in a lot of ostracization from the rest of the pack. In addition, as future Alpha, if Eli and I stayed together and he was denied acceptance, I might have to step down and give the Alpha position to Troy. No offense to my little brother, but he’d probably be the most ADD Alpha in the history of the pack.

“Okay, here’s what’s going to happen,” my dad said, snapping me back to the situation at hand.

“Yeah?” Eli asked, his body tensing up with anticipation.

“You’re a great fighter, Eli,” my dad stated, “You don’t really need any training and I think you’d be a good addition to this pack.”

“Wow,” Eli breathed, “Thanks!”

“I’m not done yet,’ My dad replied, his eyes narrowing. “I said you’d be a good addition, but I can’t allow you to join the pack if I don’t trust you, which I don’t.”

“So what does that mean?” I blurted, and my dad pursed his lips at me in annoyance.

“It means that you, Eli, need to prove to me that you can be trusted and won’t desert this pack when things get rough,” he explained deliberately. “I need to be able to count on you, do you understand?”

“Yes sir,” Eli replied, his voice void of any sarcasm or mocking. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” my dad grunted, “You can go now, but I’d like to have a word with my daughter.”

Eli glanced at me, and I nodded at him. Reluctantly, he rose from his chair and Fae escorted him out of the room, leaving me alone with my dad. “So,” I said, “that just happened.”

“Yes it did,” my dad confirmed, his mouth set in a firm line. After another silent moment, he said, “I meant what I said, Dot. He needs to prove that he can be trusted if I’m going to let him in this pack.”

“I know,” I murmured, “I understand why.”

“Good,” he said, and then he got up from his chair and walked around to my side of his desk. “You’re taking this much better than I did when your grandfather told me that your mom had to prove her worth to the pack.”

“Really?” I asked, suddenly intrigued, “What did you do?”

“Oh, I was a brooding teenager,” My dad replied with a chuckle, “I was a complete ass to him as my father, and then disrespectful to him as my Alpha.”

“That sounds awful!” I replied, grinning.

“It was,” he agreed, and then he shrugged. “I just cared about your mom so much, and that blinded me to what was important for the pack. That’s why I think you’ll make a great Alpha; you put the well-being of your pack before yourself.”

“Thanks,” I whispered, a feeling of pride spreading throughout my chest. Overcome with emotion, I boosted myself out of my chair and wrapped my arms around my dad, taking him by surprise. After a second, though, I felt his arms wrap around my shoulders.

“I love you, Dot.”

“Love you, too, Dad.”

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SOORRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYY!!!! Believe me, guys, I hate no new update as much as you.

Just and FYI, I'm currently updating on one of my high school's computers. I'm slightly paranoid that they're currently watching my screen, WHICH IS REALLY FUCKING ANNOYING THAT THEY CAN DO THAT WHENEVER THEY WANT!... Sorry... rant done now.

ONESHOT MESSAGE: To all of the people planning on entering, Wednesday is the due date. If you wouldn't mind, if you're going to enter, could you please let me know that you are. Either shoot me a message or comment. A lot of people like the information chapters in this story and IDKIAR, but I don't know if that means that they're entering.

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