Kohl

I rush into my Father's office and slam the door behind me. My Father's Beta, Nadira, stands at attention.

Nadira is a very petite woman with flowing jet-black hair. She is Middle Eastern but traveled to our pack as a favor to Alpha Gaius. She's a fierce warrior but she has limited interpersonal skills. I've only made the mistake of forgetting this fact once.

The two of them seem surprised, though Gaius seems to regard me with exasperation.

"How dare you!" I shout at him.

The shock registers on his face again. Nadira looks from me to Gaius. Gaius' eyes turn red and he stands, his chair skidding backwards. I see that his hands elongate into claws. Nadira quickly moves between us.

"Gaius, Alpha," She says calmly, "You must keep a calm head. This has to be about his mate. You must remember that."

Gaius' claws scratch the desk as they transform back into my Father's large hands. He takes a deep breath and glares at me over the table.

"Can you leave us, Nadira?" Gaius asks.

The two of us watch as Nadira reluctantly leaves. She glowers at me before exiting the room. I watch my Father, trying to understand him. He seems exhausted. His frustration with me is apparent.

The feeling is mutual.

My Father and I have always been close. He taught me a great many things about being a werewolf and a good man. He saw the future Alpha in me and he's always groomed me in place of my Siblings, to their dismay. The two of us bump heads often but he's always won those contests for obvious reasons. For the past couple of months, even before Parker, we've been at odds. We argue about how the pack is best run, with his ideas being more outdated than mine. I want to integrate new ideals into our life and he wants to respect tradition. There is no compromise with him. He also insisted I find a mate before he'd relinquish his title to me. His interference in my situation with Parker has made everything ten times worse.

"You knew he knew and you just let me—"

"Lie? Yes. Would it have been fair had if I hadn't told him? Did you not already know?" Gaius asks.

"I am your Son!"

"And he is, whether you like it or not, my son as well." Gaius says angrily, "And you'd do well to watch your tone."

I take a pronounced breath before speaking again.

"You chose to keep a secret from your Mate. His patience is far greater than mine or yours. The two of you do share a streak of stubbornness that I'm going to enjoy watching. Think about it. Even after he learned you lied and he was your mate, he calmed your wolf."

"He did what?"

"Grey was furious. He took your argument as a rejection. He was enraged and nearly tore apart the infirmary. Parker calmed him, apologized for his words. He didn't know what he was saying when he said it."

"How did he find out?"

"Viceres, I believe. Viceres mentioned him being a mate. He strung together everything else." Gaius says with a nod, "He pretty bright for a frail human."

"Yes, I am aware. So, why didn't he say anything?"

"Why didn't you?"

Gaius' flippant comments seem to dig into me. I hate it when he is right and the more I think about it, the more I realize it's because he's right. I kept the secret from him first. I actually hurt him. I can't get the look on his face out of my mind. The two of us hurt each other and it could have been avoided if I hadn't been such a jackass.

I will never get that face out of my mind.

I've been slowly coming into my feelings for him. I began training him and the more I am around him, the more protective I am of him. The more I try to commit his mannerisms to memory. I've started to savor the feeling of his skin on mine. His reaction to me as of late is understandable now. We were beginning to like each other and now he won't even be in the same room with me.

The tough part is that I caused this because of something he cannot help.

"You made a decision to reject him. The only situation you didn't plan on is him rejecting you first. You hold no moral high ground in this situation and, if anything, you are to blame for it. The moment you laid eyes on him, you were in love. I could see it then like I see it now. It's how you were able to heal him. Just like he healed you. If you insist on carrying on with this insanity, be thorough."

"What does that mean?"

"The two of you can unite the packs. Your destinies are intertwined and far too great to be screwed up by your obstinacy. If you want your mate, then do what anyone in your position must do. If you don't want your mate, then don't prolong this."

"He won't speak with me." I explain, "He put me out of his room. He's avoiding me. I went to see him this morning and he was gone."

"Your sister and friends took him into the woods."

"They what?!"

"He doesn't have anyone here. Not even his mate." Gaius says as he sits back at his desk, "Do me a favor and shut the door on your way out, Kohl."

I growl slightly as I turn and storm out of the room. I slam the door behind me and stride past Nadira.

My Father is right. As frustrating as it is to hear, Parker's sadness and anger are well-placed. I am taking too much time deciding how to feel about him. He's my mate, human or not. Fate decided to intertwine our fates with each other. I find it ironic that the Mother brought me a mate as stubborn as I am.

She brought me someone who isn't fragile, as I assumed he was.

It's a life lesson.

Parker

I wasn't surprised when Cassandra showed up at my door this morning. I've been blocking Kohl from my life and he's too contrary to stay away completely. I expected someone to come as I have not responded to Kohl in the least. I find myself unable to confront him. I'm not usually timid in this way. It's this mate bond, I'm guessing.

I was attracted to him the moment I saw him. It didn't change much. I was put off by the way he ordered me around. I disliked him just as he did me. I realize now that it wasn't dislike that caused the fissure between us. It was attraction. Neither one of us knows how to deal with our attraction to each other.

I have no clue what to do with the information that I'm someone's mate. I barely know what it means. I'm not some werewolf aficionado and I don't know the vernacular. I do know that mates are supposed to be in love with each other instantly. Mates are people who can't live without one another.

I don't know if I feel like that.

I'm not sure he does, either.

I watch from a small spot I've made from myself inside the shade of the trees as Cassandra, Jasar, Eliza and Akari are splashing around in the water. I smile at them as Akari dunks Cassandra underwater. I watch as Cassandra swims to the shore and walks out like a supermodel. She heads over to me and falls beside me.

I wait for a moment until she sits up on her elbows.

"We're having fun! You should join us." Cassie says with a smile. She watches me curiously before sighing. She sits up completely and nudges me, "It's not a crime to admit you—"

"Don't." I say angrily.

"Do you ever ask yourself why it pisses you off so much?" Cassandra asks. Her eyes linger on me before she laughs, "Of course you do. You are trouble."

"I'm the trouble?" I ask.

"You do know that my Brother literally fights off feelings he doesn't understand, right? He's so focused on becoming the Alpha, he just can't see straight. Well, that was before you showed up. Now he can't see straight because of you. I do believe he lives in a tunnel."

"Yeah, doesn't do me any good."

"Okay, you need to know the truth about our family." She says with a sigh, "My family was normal once. As normal as werewolves can be to you. It was the Alpha, his wife and their three kids."

"Three?" I ask.

"Our youngest Brother, McKennon. Mick. He was such a good kid. He was one of those kids who is so smart but he's just a terror," Cassandra says causing the both of us to laugh. When the laughter dies, she is somber. She looks down at the ground, "McKennon was a Mama's boy. He never really got along with our Father and one night the two of them fought. Mick was smaller. We thought he was an omega for the longest. My Mother tried to get in the way and she was fatally injured. Mick was a good kid. He was also a rebellious teenager."

"He killed your Mother?" I ask. She nods at me and I take a deep breath, "Where is he now?"

"I don't know. Gaius made him rogue. He cast him out of the pack."

"Kohl?"

"Distraught. He was angry with Gaius for a long time. I believe he still is. He looked for McKennon but he couldn't find him."

"So, I give your Brother a pass because bad shit happened to him? Bad things happen to all of us." I say with a bored expression, "My whole world changed. I moved away from my Family. I—I trusted him without even understanding why."

"Would it help if he said sorry?"

"No. It would help if he meant it."

"Maybe one day you'll see Kohl. Truly see him. He deserves someone like you to put him in his place." Cassandra says as she stands, "My Brother is a lot of things. But he cares, just like you do. God, when I said this was going to be fun, I had no idea. The drama is wearing thin, though."

I laugh as I stand. The two of us look up when a grey wolf strides towards us. I stir. The sight of him makes me want to run the other way. I don't run. I'm not a runner. I stand very still and watch as the large wolf turns into an even larger man.

A nude man.

Kohl stares at me but I'm not feeling very talkative all of a sudden. He's the only man that can make me want to run in the opposite direction. I don't want to run.

I want to walk.

Jasar throws a pair of black swim trunks to Kohl. I push past him and disappear into the trees. I know he'll follow me but I need to gather my thoughts before I say one word to him. I need to digest everything before I speak with him. I somehow feel it wouldn't do much in the way of helping me interact with him.

I stop when I feel Kohl's large hand grasp my arm. I recoil from him and he holds his hands up in surrender.

"Hey, look, I'm sorry." He says softly, "I just want to talk."

"About what?"

"You're going to make this hard, huh?" Kohl says with a sigh, "I need to apologize. I hurt you. Unlike you, I knew what you are to me."

"Does this have a point?"

"I'm trying to make it." Kohl says angrily, "I was wrong. There's one person in this whole world at this very moment and for the rest of my moments that I never want to hurt. That it would cause excruciatingly painful to both of us. That's you."

I stare at him. I'm more confused than I've ever been. I'm also a bit angry. He comes out here with his apologies and his sweet words and I'm supposed to let everything be okay. Nothing about any of this is okay, including our situation.

"Am I supposed to go weak for you now? Is this the point where I admit that I feel something for you? I don't understand how we're two halves of the same soul but you could make me feel like I'm not worth it."

"I never meant—"

"How'd you expect me to feel? I don't know what to do here."

"Me either." He nods, "What if we figure it out together? Slowly. Take our time."

"Do we have time? There's a reason I'm out here and not back in the city."

"Okay, slow is relative."

"Fine. We figure this out together. Just don't get your hopes up. And no likes." I say with a shrug.

"Okay."

"Okay."

"So, you'll join me at the summit?"

"The what?"