QuirinaI didn’t realize how… suggestive my offer sounded until I’m alone in a closed room with my mate. He must’ve thought that I wanted him up here for sex.How is he going to get changed? We can’t stay in this room all day!Will he be offended if I deny the mating process right now?I’m not ready to have sex. Especially with my parents knowing that we just came up here and they would think about what we’re doing if we spent the entire day alone.My shoulders are incredibly tense and I’ve learned that I don’t hide my emotions as well as I always thought I did because soon, Bryce is chuckling and telling me, “Quirina, we’re not doing anything. Relax some, okay?”I nod and breathe out, “Yeah, okay.”He smiles and walks over to me and rubs his hands up and down my arms in a soothing manner as he says, “Everything’s okay.”I nod again, trying to get his words to really register in my head, but before I can respond, my door bursts open. “Rise and shine sleeping beauty! I can’t wait to he
QuirinaBy the time I got done telling Annabelle everything, there’s a knock at my door and Franklin comes in. He gives me a knowing smile and states, “You met your mate.”I nod with a small smile, “I did. Alpha Bryce Lake.”“Do you believe now that you’re meant to be a leader, Q? Even the moon goddess destined you with an Alpha.”Annabelle frowns as she looks between us, this is normally the kind of conversation that we have in private. But I don’t mind talking about it in front of Annabelle. It makes it all feel more… real I suppose.I say, “I don’t know what’s going to happen. He seems hesitant to move from his pack.”Franklin’s eyebrows raise and he says, “But you can’t give up yours either.”I breathe out and shake my head, “I mean, technically, I could. Felicity has Alpha blood in her veins-”Before I can continue talking Annabelle interrupts, “Felicity is 13 years younger than us, Q. The pack is ready to transition under a new leader, you can’t give that up.”“You guys know I c
QuirinaWe all stand in the foyer awkwardly. Bryce, Hiro, and Rowan all look uncomfortable as they look at us. Franklin glances over at me and Annabelle looks at the floor as she wrings her hands together. I say, “Excuse me for just a moment.”I rush into the kitchen to find Hazel getting all of her food together and I ask, “What was that?”She turns to look at me with a frown and asks, “What do you mean, Quin?” She’s the only one that calls me that, when we were kids she couldn’t pronounce my name right and called me Quin-ra. As we got older she eventually shortened it to Quin.I say, “You come out of nowhere see some strangers with us, you don’t even greet them and instead ask what was wrong with that guy.”She breathes out and softly shakes her head, “You wouldn’t get it, Quin.”I cross my arms, slightly annoyed by her attitude and say, “Try me.”Hazel glances up, her eyes meeting mine. It’s rare for her to look you in the eyes, her eyes are a mix of her parents ice blue and hazel
QuirinaIt isn’t hard to find my parents. Even with them being as busy as they are, they are normally in some of the same spots of the pack house. Their bedroom, their gigantic office it’s bigger than they’re bedroom. They have it that way since both of them work in there, they don’t like to be separated for long. Or they’re in the living or dining room.They just ate and it’s the start of a new day, so the likelihood of them being in their office is high. As I walk towards their door I notice it’s open and I can hear their voices as they talk to their Beta, Charlie, and their Gamma Phillip. One of the weird things growing up in a pack is that even if the higher ups aren’t all related, the relationships we have with one another seems like we’re one big family. Most of the time it’s nice, sometimes it’s weird. I recognize not all other packs are the same way that we are.I walk into the office and I’m not surprised to see Harper and Isadora sitting next to their mates. They smile over
BryceI haven’t seen Quirina since after breakfast and right now, I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. It’s mid-afternoon now and so far I’ve been able to evade my siblings, but I know it’s only a matter of time before my luck runs out. I’m walking along a trail now trying to clear my mind when I hear my sister, Peyton’s aggravated voice as she yells, “Bryce!”I look in the direction of her voice to see Connor and William following a bit behind her. William’s eyes roam over me as if making sure that I am safe before saying, “You’ve delayed us leaving.”“Where is your mate?” Connor spits the word ‘mate’ out of his mouth as if it’s poisonous. I shrug, “She’s busy.”“We need to meet her before we leave.” He glowers at me as he speaks. I huff, “I understand, but I’m not sure the three of you are ready to meet her. Especially with these attitudes.”Peyton rolls her eyes and asks, “How long are we going to pretend like you aren’t rejecting her?”My eyes narrow and I respond,
QuirinaThe day has flown by and I haven’t seen Bryce since breakfast, I’m not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. He’s given me no reason to doubt him, but we’re still so early on in our relationship that it’s hard for me not to have any doubts. It feels like at any moment the rug will be pulled out from under me.I walk down the stairs, determined to find where he may be at. But as I walk down the stairs I see two men standing at the bottom of the staircase, and both of them show a resemblance to Bryce.My eyebrows furrow softly upon seeing them and one of them makes eye contact with me and softly bows his head. It is such a small tilt of the head that it was hard to even notice it and he says, “Quirina Stone, we were honored to be invited to your party, but we are afraid that it is time for us to go.”Tons of people have ‘officially’ said goodbye to me today, but most people care about the impression with my parents more than they do with me. Although, I can’t say that I blame pe
QuirinaMy mouth feels dry as I hear that Peyton’s mate’s scent is on me. It could only be two people, Tony or Franklin.A part of me hopes that it’s Franklin, but then again, Bryce didn’t seem too keen on his siblings. Would Franklin be a good match for her?I nod, “Of course, follow me. I just left our future Gamma, Franklin.”Bryce’s eyebrows raise and it’s obvious that he’s pleased with the thought of his sister being with him. Bryce is by my side as I walk and Peyton is a few feet behind us. As we walk I say, “Your brothers came to say goodbye to me.”I glance over at him to get a small glimpse of his expression. He doesn’t seem very pleased by it and he asks, “How did that go?”I shrug, “It was fine. They just wanted to give me a formal good-bye and see if I was happy about meeting my mate.”This causes him to have a cheeky grin and says, “Well, I hope the answer was obviously.”I roll my eyes as we go into the kitchen and I see Franklin with his head in the refrigerator. I say,
BryceMy heart is racing as I rush to find my sister.Tony Brooks… I know very little about him. I’ve seen him at a few gatherings, he’s older than me, but not by much, he’s probably the same age as my sister. My brothers had already made their mind up about him before I even became Alpha of the Fourth Lake Pack.But the more I think about things, the more I realize that there’s only one reason that my brothers wouldn’t approve of Tony Brooks. He must be one of them, one of the ones who abilities. And if my sister knows this… she probably isn’t taking it very well.I don’t know where she went, I went to her room, but she wasn’t there. I huff and run a hand through my hair, maybe I should’ve just stayed with Quirina. But then I hear my sister’s voice, oh so soft like she’s trying to keep quiet as she asks, “So, are you going to reject me?”My hands ball up into fists at the thought of any man hurting her that way. PeytonMy life has always been ruled over by my parents or my brothers.