"I just wanna make you feel okay, but all you do is look the other way. I can't tell you how much I wish I didn't wanna stay. I just kinda wish you were gay."
~Billie Eilish, 'wish you were gay'

~~~

*Third Person POV*

Kai splutters, gaping at the TV screen. That's the third round in a row he's lost, which is severely starting to affect his ego as a video game expert.

"Where did you learn that combo move?!" Kai shouts accusingly at the boy to his left.

Xander grins, pulling his legs to his chest. "I've been practicing."

Huffing, Kai throws his controller down. "Whatever. I'm just having an off day."

"Or maybe you're just a sore loser."

Kai sticks his tongue out at Xander, who blushes cutely. The Omega quickly looks away, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach. Since he's eighteen, Kai already knows that Xander isn't his mate, which means he shouldn't have feelings for the boy. But Kai can't help the butterflies that arise whenever Xander does something adorable.

Which is basically all the time.

Ugh, crushes are the worst.

Kai's phone chimes in his pocket. He pulls it out and looks at the screen, grinning widely when he sees who it is.

"Who texted you?" Xander curiously tries to peek at Kai's phone.

"A friend," Kai shrugs, pretending that his heart rate isn't accelerating from having Xander so close.

"A girl?"

"No."

"A guy?" Xander asks quietly. Kai pauses, and shakes his head.

"It's Frankie."

"Who's that?"

"An old friend of mine. I met them in middle school, but they moved away. Frankie told me recently that their family is moving back soon though."

Xander blinks, trying to process what Kai just said. While he's heard of people who prefer the pronoun they, he's never met someone like that before. But beyond that, Xander can't help the slight jealousy that rises up while hearing Kai talk about someone else.

"Are you guys very close?" Xander shyly prods, and Kai's lips twitch up in a smile.

"We used to be," Kai answers him. "Frankie was the only other Omega I knew, so it was easy becoming friends. I was really sad when they moved."

Xander chews on his bottom lip; the burning question on the tip of his tongue. He wants to ask it so badly, but he knows he shouldn't.

Do you have feelings for Frankie?

Pursuing his lips, Xander shakes away the question and picks up the controller again. "Another round?"

Kai glances at the clock. "Didn't you say your sister was coming by soon?"

Xander hums and nods his head. As the youngest Grey sibling, Xander has always been babied by his brothers and sister. Even though he assured his family countless times that he's safe with Kai, Lia still insisted on stopping by to check on them. It annoyed Xander only a little, but he would never say anything about it to Lia. He knows his sister is doing it out of love.

"Shit, we played right through lunch!" Kai exclaims, scrambling to the kitchen. Xander giggles at his best friend, watching the Omega dig through the fridge for something to eat. "How's leftover pizza?"

"Sounds good to me," Xander calls back, curling up into a ball on the couch.

Throwing the pizza in the microwave, Kai grabs two cans of soda while he waits for the pizza to heat up. He carries the slices to the living room, holding it out with a dramatic bow.

"Your pizza, sir," Kai says with an exaggerated accent. Xander laughs, taking the plate from him.

"You're so weird," Xander mumbles, nibbling on his slice of cheese pizza. Kai flashes him a lopsided grin before scarfing down his triple-meat pizza. He ends up with pizza sauce smeared on his lips, and Xander has to force himself to look the other way before he loses his cool.

A knock at the door makes the blonde sigh in relief when Kai hops up from the couch. The latter opens the door, revealing a girl with short, blonde hair. She smiles crookedly at Kai, who notices that her blue eyes match Xander's.

"You must be Kai," she says cheerily. "I'm Lia, Xander's sister."

"The twin," Kai deadpans, looking Lia up and down. While they both have blonde hair and blue eyes, Kai has difficultly seeing any other similarities between the girl and Landon.

"Yeah, sure," Lia snorts. "Is my brother here? He better be, or I'm going to kick someone's ass."

"I'm here, I'm here!" Xander scrambles to the door before Lia can frighten his friend. Lia's smile widens, and she crushes her little brother in a tight hug.

"I've missed you!" Lia squeals. Kai blinks, not believing this is the same Lia that he's heard about. Landon has always made her seem bitchy, but this girl is really smiley and affectionate.

"Lia," Xander complains quietly, but still hugs his sister back. "I missed you too. How are mom and dad?"

She releases him from her crushing embrace. "Don't worry about them, they're fine. Mom misses you like crazy, but that's only because we're not used to you being gone. It's not like you had any friends to spend the night with before."

Ah, Kai thinks to himself. There's the bitchy side.

The light in Xander's eyes dim, and Lia panics.

"Shit, I didn't mean it like that!" Lia quickly corrects. "I just meant that this is the first time you've had a friend to stay with, so mom isn't used to it, and... dammit. I'm sorry, Xan."

"It's okay," Xander softly mumbles. "I know you didn't mean anything by it."

Smiling sadly, Lia reaches out to ruffle Xander's hair. "I'm glad you have a friend now. It looks like you guys have been having fun," she comments, looking around the living room at the half-eaten pizzas and video games strewn everywhere.

"Xander's awesome!" Kai chimes in. "It's been great having him keep me company. Goddess knows my brother would've been freaking out if I was left home alone all week."

Lia's happy grin returns. "I guess that's a shared trait among older siblings. We tend to be overprotective of our baby brothers."

Xander blushes, ducking his head down in an attempt to hide his reddening cheeks.

"Can I use your bathroom?" Lia directs her question towards Kai. "I downed a twenty-four ounce root beer on the way here."

Kai points up the stairs. "Second door on the left."

Lia nods, brushing past the two younger wolves and trotting up stairs. Kai raises an eyebrow at Xander, who smiles apologetically.

"Sorry," Xander mumbles. "She can be a lot."

Kai shakes his head. "You shouldn't be apologizing. I just wanna know why you let her talk about you like that."

The blonde tilts his head. "Like what?"

"Xan, are you serious? She made a jab at you for not having any friends!"

"She wasn't trying to be mean," Xander defends his sister. "Lia's just like that. She says things without thinking. I'm used to it."

"That doesn't make it okay. If she says something that makes you feel bad, you should tell her."

Xander falls silent, not wanting to start an argument. This is one of the ways that he's very different from Kai. Where the Omega is bold and freely speaks his mind, Xander isn't confrontational. He prefers to just let things go, instead of causing unnecessary fights.

A second knock raps on the door, and Kai furrows his brows. They're not expecting more of Xander's siblings, are they?

When he opens the door, his face instantly lights up at the sight of his close family friend.

"Ronnie!" Kai cheers, opening his arms to give her a big hug. Ronnie grunts, pretending to be bothered by the show of affection, even though she secretly smiles and hugs him back.

"Hey, shortstack," Ronnie greets him. "Ryland asked if I would check on you two."

Kai rolls his eyes. "Of course he did," he sighs, ushering Ronnie into the living room. She wrinkles her nose, taking in the messy state of the room.

"This place looks disgusting," Ronnie remarks dryly. Pulling a band off her wrist, she ties her silky dark hair into a ponytail. "Come on, we're cleaning this shit up."

Kai goes to protest, but the stern glare Ronnie casts the boys has both of them glueing their mouths shut. They quickly get to work, gathering up the trash and stuffing them into bags. Ronnie snatches a can of air freshener, spraying it in the living room and kitchen. Her nose wiggles as she sniffs the air, and an unfamiliar scent hits her nostrils.

"Is there someone else here?" Ronnie demands, her eyes already flashing protectively. "I smell a wolf."

"That's my sister," Xander hastily informs her. "She's upstairs, in the bathroom. Actually, she's been in there for a while so maybe I should check if she's okay—"

Right on cue, the three hear feet thudding down the stairs.

"Holy shit, I learned my lesson from drinking root beers that big!" Lia shouts as she walks down to the living room. "Goddess above, sorry about—"

Her words catch in her throat. The scent of huckleberries and brown sugar fills the air, and her eyes lock on the woman standing across the room. With her deep brown hair pulled into a sleek ponytail, hazel eyes, and curvy frame, Lia can't believe how gorgeous this woman is.

More than that, she's left speechless when her wolf, Odessa, begins to howl.

'Mate!' Odessa cheers, and Lia's cheeks heat up.

Ronnie stares with wide eyes at the extraordinary blonde that just walked into her life, flipping her world upside down. Already, Ronnie knows her sweet scent of cherry blossoms and snow will be her favorite thing. She's confident that she would've been attracted to the woman, even without the confirmation of her wolf.

'Mate,' Valeria growls in a low, husky tone. Desire pulses through Ronnie as she stares intensely at the blonde angel.

Xander and Kai look back and forth between the two, not quite understanding what's happening. That is, until Ronnie marches forward and grabs Lia, slamming their lips together.

Lia's eyes widen as she pushes against her mate. They just met, after all; isn't this moving too quickly? Ronnie tightens her hold on Lia, deepening the kiss until the blonde's eyes are fluttering shut and she's melting in Ronnie's arms. Their bond makes Lia feel warm and safe, and she begins to reciprocate the kiss.

Kai's jaw is dropped, with Xander mirroring his shocked expression.

"Uhh... Ronnie?" Kai calls out hesitantly. His voice snaps Lia out of her trance, and she quickly detached from Ronnie's lips. Her cheeks burn dark red as she covers her mouth.

"Lia?" Xander timidly says, and Lia looks at him with horrified eyes. She can't believe she just did that in front of her little brother!

"Lia," Ronnie repeats with a low purr lacing her voice, making Lia's pupils dilate with need. "Looks like I finally found my mate."

~~~

I loved reading your comments, predicting who the couples will be. I can't remember every comment, but think only one person predicted Lia and Ronnie were going to be mates

I know a lot of you were wanting Xander and Kai to be mates, but they are not. Kai was already eighteen when he met Xander, so he would've known right away if Xander was his mate

They will both have their own mates though, so don't worry 😚

Thoughts??

Q: Would you rather be mated to Xander or Kai?
[This is hard for me, cuz Xander seems like he would be a good sub, but Kai is such a bratty bottom. It's so hard to choose!]

See you next time!
-Gumbie