Soren
Soren Michaels stared at his best friend and Alpha in disbelief. Sypher was insane if he thought this was a good idea. “Stop laughing, you jackass,” Soren growled at his fellow pack member.
“Leave Slate out of this,” Sypher grumbled with a roll of his eyes. “He can’t help on this one, he’s busy with other tasks.”
“Yeah, but why me?” Soren demanded. There was no way this was a good idea. That woman was a menace and in no way did he want any part of her shenanigans.
“Because, I asked for you. But if you’d rather I run around on my own, I’m perfectly happy with that too.” Gerri replied as she entered the room before turning to face the other man in the room. “We’ve not been introduced yet have we?”
“Gerri Wilder, meet Slate Moreau. Slate this is the one and only Gerri Wilder, matchmaker and hellion.” Sypher introduced the two with a laugh. “Be wary, my friend. Once she has you in her sight, it won’t be long before she’s matching you. It’s like a compulsion, she can’t help herself.”
Slate nodded slowly before stepping back slightly as the smaller woman approached with a determined look in her eyes.
“Sphinx shifter aren’t you? Interesting, I haven’t met one of your species in more years than I can recall.” She pursed her lips and looked him up and down, “Gay, straight, bisexual, asexual or?” Gerri trailed off.
Slate sputtered as Soren laughed. “I don’t classify myself as anything ma’am.”
“How do you feel about older ladies?”
“Excuse me?” Sphinx exclaimed as his eyes widened in shock. “I… um…”
“Gerri, leave the man alone. You’re scaring him.”
“Fine, but if I am your type, I wouldn’t mind spending a few hours with you. At least until I locate your mate, anyway.” Gerri nodded and smiled slowly, “Now back to the reason I’m here.” She turned and faced Soren again. “You don’t have to show me around, that’s fine. But I would like your cooperation with a few things. I’m here to match Baine. I want you to help me track down the people I need to meet. They have a date with destiny.”
Soren scowled and shook his head in the negative. “Not gonna happen. Don’t care if he,” Soren nodded towards Sypher, “demanded it or not. I refuse to help you in this instance. Anyone else sure, but not him.”
“You’re refusing an order from your Alpha?” Gerri asked with a cocked eyebrow, amusement dancing in her eyes.
“Fuck yes, I am. He can kick me out or whatever consequence he feels is fitting, but unless he forces me to his will, which I know he can do, I refuse to do this.”
Sypher sighed, “Told you he wouldn’t go for it.” He proclaimed to Gerri before turning his attention back to Soren, “I won’t force you. Slate, you have any objection to helping her find the people she’s looking for?”
Soren glared at Slate hoping the other man would understand what he was silently asking, but knowing it was useless. Slate had no idea why he was refusing, he could see the confusion in his friend’s eyes.
“Ah, yeah no problem I can do that. Just tell me who and when.” Slate replied with trepidation.
“Damn it,” Soren growled as he stormed out of the room. Interfering old biddy was trying to set his mate up with someone else. It didn’t matter that technically Baine couldn’t and wouldn’t mate with any of them. He didn’t need to be meeting other men, letting them touch him, and buying him dinner. They could still do things, even if they weren’t mates, that thought sent anger coursing through his body so fiercely it was all he could do not to scream in outrage. Instead, he stormed the few feet into the woods, quickly removed his clothes, shifted and took off to fly. The one place he always found peace. The one place he was able to be free and unshackled by the rules of the real world.
He wasn’t sure how long he’d been flying before he heard Sypher’s call in his head through their link that he was needed back home. With a sigh, he headed back to his Alpha and the tongue lashing he was sure he was due. Not that he could blame him for it. He’d refused an order from his Alpha. That was unforgivable in most circumstances, but to do it in front of an outsider and another pack member, he knew he was screwed blue and tattooed.
As soon as he’d shifted and dressed he went in search of Sypher, he knew better than to put off a summons. He’d learned long ago it was better to get it over with and face the consequences. Putting it off only made things worse. It’s how he’d found himself packless, friendless and running for his life all those years ago. He owed Sypher too much, to disrespect him like he’d done earlier. Now all he could do was hope for the best and if allowed, attempt to explain his actions and pray it was enough. He didn’t think he could handle being thrown out of another pack. Especially one that had embraced him as completely as the Phoenix Pack had.
“Hey, Soren,” Daegan called out stopping him in his tracks a few feet from the front door of the main house.
“How bad is it?”
Daegan smirked, “You’ll be pleasantly surprised to know he’s not mad at all. He told Gerri she was insane when she’d put in the request. He told her you’d refuse, you just reaffirmed what he’d already said. You’re not in trouble at all.”
“I’m not?” He repeated in shock.
“No, come on let’s get in there before he gets mad you’re taking so long.” Daegan winked and opened the front door. “Just try not to get too pissed off when you hear why you were called here for this meeting. He only wants what’s best for you. Keep that in mind, if you can.”
For some reason, his words didn’t give him much comfort. In his experience, if someone was waiting outside to walk you in to see the Alpha, it meant bad things. Hopefully this time he wouldn’t get his ass kicked and dumped on the side of the road though. He squared his shoulders, pushed back the negative thoughts of his last pack and followed his Alpha’s mate inside.
“You calm now?” Sypher asked as soon as they entered the room.
Soren wasn’t sure how to respond so he nodded slowly as he gazed about the room expecting to see a tribunal of pack members ready to deliver his final verdict but surprised to see the room empty.
“Sit down,” Sypher instructed as he pointed to a chair across from a couch he was headed towards. “We need to discuss some things.”
Here it comes, he thought. Leave it to Sypher to drag things out and make the process as slow and painful as possible. He tried to keep his emotions under wraps but wasn’t sure how well he was succeeding. This pack meant too much for him to lose it and he was panicking on the inside too much to control his fear.
“First off, get that look off your face. I told you the day I offered you a place in this pack that I’d never send you away unless it was for some major offense against the pack. Talking back to me today and refusing to help match your mate doesn’t fit that bill. If you’d done any different I’d have been shocked. I only wish you’d trust me a bit more. We’re your family, your support and that you actually thought that would change bothers me a lot. Your blood pack was nothing but toxic assholes, don’t put us in the same category as them.”
Soren sighed and leaned back in his chair. “I know, I'm sorry. I just….”
Sypher cut him off, “You weren’t thinking. You still expect everyone to reject you like they did. I get it, really, I do. But you need to stop that and accept that we’re not all like them. Your mate would never reject you either, but you won’t even give him a chance. Did you know that Annie was talking with him today, and he was joking with her that he thought you were a figment of this town’s imagination because he’d never seen you.”
He cringed at the words that tore a hole through his battered heart. Baine deserved someone as good and pure as he was, not an ugly beast like him. Baine was a pegacorn, two of the most beautiful and noble creatures to ever exist. He was a hulking monster, people had used their likeness for centuries to scare away evil. No way could the epitome of good belong with something of his ilk.
“Your mate is struggling to cope with everything that’s happened to him. Did you stop to think maybe just maybe he could use your help to heal? That maybe he’d help you heal too?”
Daegan leaned forward and placed his hand on Soren’s arm, “He’s my best friend, my brother and I want nothing more than to see him happy. Right now, he’s a shell of the man I knew before that witch entered his life and kidnapped him. You think you’re not good enough for him for some reason. But take this into consideration, and remember it’s coming from a former non-shifter here. When we were kids, he used to talk about finding his mate, the one person the fates had placed here for only him. Someone made especially for him, the yin to his yang. You were created for each other.”
Soren climbed to his feet and shrugged, “Yeah, well sometimes the fates screw up. He deserves better. I hope Gerri can find someone who will make him happy, but it won't and can’t be me.”