“What?” standing there, I waited to hear what Jensen just said again. I was sure I’d heard him wrong.
“Carly’s moving in this weekend. She was talking about quitting school… so Dylan bribed her to finish her last year, by offering up our old room.” Jensen watched me, waiting for my reaction.
“Fuck. Why did you go along with it, Jensen? You know I work hard to avoid her. How the hell am I going to do that with her living in the same fucking house?”
“Dude… why are you fighting this? You know she’s your destined mate. She’s totally in to you. She has been for three years.”
“You know why. I don’t want her to throw away her life to become a shifter. She deserves the chance at a normal life… and if I take her as my mate, you know she will have to make a choice and change. I can't do that to her. I won’t”
Jensen ran his hands through his hair, “Paul… don’t make me force you to give in. You know I don’t like to pull the alpha card on you. Dylan is just itching to make you. Have you even asked her what she wants?”
“Asked who? Dylan? I don’t have to, she tells me every chance she gets that I am screwing up.”
“What… no, not Dylan you moron. Carly. Why don’t you ask her what she wants? You might be surprised in what she says.”
“I know what she’ll say. She’d jump at the chance to be mine – it’s not like she hides her feelings from me… or anyone for that matter.”
“Well, I know she’s getting tired of waiting around on you. In fact, we told her to get out there and date.”
He quirked his brow at me, watching me stir uneasily as the words left his mouth. My wolf was bristling at the sound of Carly with another man, but I couldn’t say anything if I wasn’t going to man up and make her mine.
“Good. That’s what she needs to do.”
Laughing as he spoke, “Right… that’s exactly what you want for her. Damn you're as stubborn as my sister. You both refuse to accept fate when it’s staring you in the face.”
“Whatever. We can’t all have what you and Dylan have.”
“Yes, you can. If you stop running from it. Anyway, do you think you can help us move our stuff this weekend? Then help Carly get moved in?”
“Yeah. I’ll help. It’s not like I would tell my alpha no. Especially the female alpha. I don’t want to see her mad anytime soon… I’m pretty sure Mike still hasn’t recovered from the last prank he pulled. I still have an aversion to toilets.”
I shook my head thinking back to Dylan’s outburst when I had put a balloon in the toilet. It didn’t go quite like I planned, and her temper caused some painful memories on my backside.
“I bet you do. It was funny though – even if your ass paid the penalty for that prank.”
I looked around Jensen’s shop, admiring how well he had done for himself in the last three years. He and Dylan were barely twenty-one and they both had thriving businesses.
“You and Dylan have done well for yourselves. Are you excited to be getting married this fall?”
He and Dylan got engaged soon after they learned they were each other’s destined mates. It was a scary start to their relationship since my pack alpha, at the time, had kidnapped Jensen to get to Dylan. But it backfired when Carter, the packs beta, turned against him, helping Dylan bring him down.
That’s how we became a big pack family. Dylan and Jensen are both pack alpha’s and Carter is their beta. It worked out well, I just didn’t expect to find my destined mate in a human. But Carly – she’s different. And as much as I want to avoid her, it’s not going to last much longer. No matter how hard I try.
“I can’t wait. And to think it’s only two months away. Dylan is driving me crazy with wedding plans. Hell, I’d marry her right here in the shop if I had my way. But she wants the big fairytale wedding – so that’s what I plan to give her. Haven and Roxy are going to transform the waterfall into a romantic setting for the ceremony. Speaking of the wedding, did you get fitted for your tux?”
“I did. I went with Carter and Chris. We are all squared away for the big day. I’m just thankful Carter is the one walking with Carly. I don’t think I’d have the willpower to keep my hands to myself.”
“It’s pretty ironic Carter is walking with Carly and you're walking with Kai. That girl is just as stubborn as you. It’s fitting you’ll be the one walking with her.”
Of course, Carly was Dylan’s maid of honor, and Carter was Jensen’s best man. Me, Chris, Mike, and Joe were groomsmen. Dylan had Kai, Roxy, Tessa, and Haley as bridesmaids. It was coincidental that Kai and I were paired to walk down the aisle together – we were both being stubborn about our destined mates.
I was more relieved than I was willing to let on though. If it had been one of the other guys walking her down the aisle, I might have flipped out
“Whatever…I’ll see you at the house.”
I rolled my eyes as I walked towards the exit. Jensen waved as I closed the door behind me. He was right – maybe I was being stubborn, but it was for her.