^ Picture of Asher Wood

"Truth be told, I miss you. And truth be told, I'm lying. When you see my face, hope it gives you hell, hope it gives you hell."
~All-American Rejects, 'Gives You Hell'

~~~

*Remi's POV*

Adjusting my stance to keep myself steady, I narrow my eyes and glare at my attacker.

A fist swings at me, which I block with my forearm before sweeping out my leg to knock my opponent off his feet. He dodges my attack, delivering a blow to my side that makes me yelp as I hit the ground.

I pull myself off the ground, eyes widening when I can't see my opponent. My ears twitch, sensing someone behind me. I whip around, kicking my leg high towards his head. He grabs my ankle, twisting my leg and flipping me to the ground once more. I groan at the impact, getting ready to stand back up when he presses his foot to my chest, pinning me down.

"Give up?" He asks with a smirk.

"Fuck off," I growl, squirming under his weight.

"Don't let your dad hear you use that language," he warns me. "Kit swears you get it from me, but we both know who uses the most foul language."

I chuckle as my papa extends his hand, helping me to my feet. "If you don't tell him I got my ass kicked again today, you have a deal."

"You got it," papa laughs, patting my back. "But we seriously need to do something about how often you get your ass kicked."

"It's not exactly a fair fight," I complain. "You're twice my age, and a natural born Alpha. I won't be a real Alpha until I'm twenty-five."

"Well..." he starts slowly. "Your dad and I have been talking about that. There might be a way for us to perform a ceremony for you to receive the powers of an Alpha."

"Really?!" I exclaim, wagging my invisible tail. "How? When? Can we do it now?"

"Slow down, slow down," papa chuckles. "I said there might be a way. We're still consulting the elders to see if you can receive a blessing from the Moon Goddess. It's not certain, since this type of ceremony has never been performed before. Most Alphas naturally conceive a child, and that child is born an Alpha."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I wave him off, not caring to hear all that bullshit again about me not being a natural born Alpha. My dads aren't my birth parents, but they're still my real dads. Anyone who says differently can fuck off. "When can we do it?"

"If we can do it, we'll perform the ceremony after your eighteenth birthday."

I deflate, jutting my lip out in a pout. "But that's a year away!"

"I know, but the power that comes with being an Alpha wolf is a lot of responsibility, even if you won't be leading the pack until you're twenty-five. Your dad and I agreed that it'll be best to wait until you're an adult."

I grumble to myself, kicking an innocent rock on the ground. While I've mostly accepted my unique situation, it still sucks that I'm the only one out of my close group of friends that's not a natural born Alpha. Stone's mom is an Alpha, and he was conceived naturally, making him an Alpha wolf by blood.

Asher's birth parents were the Alphas of a pack that got wiped out in a war against a vampire clan, and my uncles adopted him when he was a baby. So even though we were both adopted, Asher at least has Alpha blood running through his veins. Gabriel isn't an Alpha, but we're not that close. He's closer to Sawyer, which consequently means I hardly spend time with him.

"Come on," papa touches his knuckle to the underside of my chin, trying to make me smile. "Your dad just said dinner's ready, so we need to head back to the pack house."

That's another thing I'm looking forward to when I turn eighteen. Access to the pack mind link. I can't help feeling left out when the adults in the pack get to use the mind link to converse, and I'm stuck with my stupid cell phone. Well, it's not that stupid. I'm able to play games on it, so it has some use.

We jog through the pack woods back to the house where my dad is setting the table. Dad and papa switch off every night on who has to cook dinner. Papa tried making dad cook every night, but dad smacked papa upside the head for trying to make him 'the wife'. A little sexist, but whatever.

"There you guys are," dad remarks once we walk into the dining room. "Remi, go get the silverware."

"No please first?" I mock, earning a murderous glare. I squeak, running into the kitchen. After gathering up the forks and knives, I start heading back into the dining room, pausing when I hear my dads talking.

"How'd it go today?" Dad asks quietly, not knowing that I'm listening in.

Papa hums in thought. "It went well."

"Theo."

"Kit."

"Don't lie," dad sighs. "You know I can sense whenever you're lying to me."

"I'm not lying! I'm just... opting to leave some stuff out."

"Odd. I specifically remember you getting into a whole lot of trouble for doing that when we were dating."

Papa chuckles nervously. "Trust me, it's nothing like that. Remi is getting better, I promise."

"Okay," dad says unsurely. "But don't try lying to me again or I'll make sure you have blue balls for a week."

"Woah, woah, baby. Let's not do anything rash," papa begs, making me roll my eyes. He's so whipped when it comes to my dad. "I'm sorry. Come here, please?"

There's silence for a moment, and then I hear the sound of lips smacking and quiet moans. I nearly vomit in my mouth and barge into the dining room.

"There are children here!" I scream, making them jump apart.

Papa smirks while dad blushes furiously, smacking papa's arm. Shaking my head, I finish setting the table so we can finally eat.

***

School the next day is fairly uneventful. I pass the time by playing games on my phone under my desk, or balancing the pencil on my nose. You know, the truly best way to make time go by faster during class.

My next period is gym, and it's somehow both my favorite and least favorite class.

My favorite, because I love getting to run around and burn off energy. Also, I share the class with Asher and another friend of mine, Jamie.

Least favorite, because Satan incarnate is there too.

I'm not sure which brilliant mind in the administrative office decided it would be a good idea to put me and Sawyer in the same gym class. The coach is always having to break up our fights. Either I start it by throwing a dodgeball right at his face, or Sawyer starts it by using his magic to trip me during laps.

"Hey, Remi," Jamie greets me softly as I get changed in the locker room.

"Hey!" I grin at the faerie. I met Jamie our first year of high school. He's the only friend I've made that's not a wolf, so I find all of his stories about his tribe really fascinating. Well, except for the fact that Jamie talks quietly, and it takes him ten years to get a single sentence out.

Jamie starts to get changed into his gym clothes as Asher waltzes into the locker room, with Sawyer and Gabriel not far behind. Asher joins me and Jamie, while Gabriel sticks close to Sawyer. I catch the way Gabriel and Asher shyly glance at each other, and my lips twitch up in a smile.

"He's totally going to be your mate," I say lowly, and Asher blushes.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Cut the bullshit, everyone knows you're in love with Gabriel."

"Shh!" Asher covers my mouth, glancing over at Gabriel to make sure he didn't hear. Gabriel seems oblivious, pulling his t-shirt over his head as he gets changed. I lick Asher's hand, making him yelp and pull his hand away.

"Oh, come on," I whisper. "I'm your best friend and cousin. There's no way I wouldn't know about your obsession with the Omega from your pack."

Asher sighs wistfully, looking at Gabriel with longing. "I'm trying not to get my hopes up. Having a crush on someone can only lead to disappointment. What if when I turn eighteen, my mate is someone else? If I allow myself to get carried away, I'll just end up crushed."

I pat his shoulder sympathetically as he continues to watch Gabriel in a daze. Before I can figure out something wise or helpful to say, the voice of the devil cuts in.

"Can I help you with something?" Sawyer hisses, eyes narrowed at my cousin.

Asher straightens. "Excuse me?"

"You've been watching my friend get changed like a pervert. Don't you have any shame?"

"Sawyer," Gabriel whispers frantically, tugging on his sleeve with wide eyes.

"Sawyer, just shut the hell up," I snap at him. "It's none of your business."

He tilts his head to the side. "None of my business? I'm in a locker room full of men changing their clothes. Isn't it my duty to say something if there's a pervert checking out innocent guys?"

"You have no clue what you're talking about, so shut the fuck up about it," I growl, grabbing Asher and Jamie by their wrists. "Come on."

I drag them towards the door, not caring that Asher hasn't changed yet. All I want is to get as far away from Sawyer as possible, before I attack him. Apparently, the witch has a different preference because he opts to speak up again.

"Fag."

I freeze, my rage flaring in me. Turning around, I lock my eyes on Sawyer as I growl loudly.

And I lunge.

~~~

That ending reminded me of the end of chapter 1 of IOTH

I was smiling so much writing about Theo and Kit. My parents 🥰

And in case you didn't understand:
Kit = dad
Theo = papa
I had a poll on my Patreon, and papa won as Remi's name for Theo

Thoughts?? Predictions??

BTW - After chapter 5, updates will be posted to patreon first and then Wattpad a few days later

Until next time!
-Gumbie