“Training for what?”
Mom shook her head at her answer. “Fighting.”
Her eyes went wide with shock. “That wasn't a joke? I'm going to have to fight to the death? I've never been in a fight in my life. I wouldn't begin to know what to do.”
My arms immediately went around her and pulled her close to comfort her.
“It's okay. You're a lot stronger than you know and there's a chance no one will challenge you.”
“A really small chance,” I thought then quickly apologized knowing she heard my thoughts.
Mom studied us curiously then dismissed it. There was no way she would suspect the strength of our bond.
“Okay, Kelsey, I need you to go to work. There'll be enough questions and comments regarding the both of you being out this morning, so for now, I need you to lay low and maintain your normal schedule. Right after work we need to meet up and start your training immediately.” She pondered that, “I don't want it to look odd or disrupt your routine incase anyone is watching you.
“Do you think they are?” She was suddenly stiff in my arms.
“It's certainly a possibility, or will be once they get a whiff of you, so try to steer clear of people in general. And whatever you do, don't let anyone hug you.”
“Lily and Elise are the only two that would dare come that close.”
She nodded. “We'll have to let them in. They can help with your training. In fact, I'll call Elise and ask her to go home with you this afternoon. I don't think that would look too out of the ordinary. I know your good friends already. But where to practice unseen?” She was more or less talking to herself at that point.
“Kelsey's den is plenty big enough and private. If you run over, Mom, no one would suspect a thing. Her car would be in her driveway and by all appearances proceeding through life normally.”
“Great idea.”
“Is that okay with you, sweetheart?” Kyle asked, surprised by the flicker of unease in her eyes. “What's wrong, babe?”
“It's just last time Elise and Lily were in my den it was... hard,” she sighed, embarrassed.
I kissed her temple. “That was my fault. With me not there, you'll likely be okay, especially now that we've bonded.”
“Mated,” his mother corrected. “Don't confuse the girl, son, there's a very big difference between mating and bonding. Though I suppose you are technically bonding mates at the moment, still, not bonded.”
We both looked at her with guilt written all over our face.
“Do we tell her?” The small voice I loved asked in my head.
“Not unless she puts two and two together and all out asks. Don't lie to her, though.”
Kelsey nodded her head that she understood.
Mom's eyes were huge like she couldn't believe what she was seeing right in front of her.
I sighed, “Looks like we may be telling her after all.”
She smiled sheepishly, “She's very intuitive.”
I snorted, “I think all moms are.”
“So,” I finally said aloud, “I think that'll be a good plan to start. You and the girls can get her training going and I'll be by tonight. We'll go for a run and head home.”
“But I don't think we'll be getting much sleep,” I told her slyly through the bond, remembering how it felt to have her beneath me. My wolf practically howled in delight.
“Kyle,” mom scolded me, “you know you shouldn't be around her. You can't take her back to your house. You need to keep your distance until it's all sorted. It's for the best.”
“Mom, you know I can't do that.”
“He's tried, even before the, uh, m-m-mating,” Kelsey stuttered, clearly nervous. “He'll just spend the night in the woods and be completely miserable without sleep, and too grumpy to live with.”
“Hey!”
“What? It's true. You're horrible to be around without your beauty sleep.”
“Me? What about you? It was like waking the dead trying to get you up this morning.”
“Maybe, but I'm going to sleep regardless. And besides, once I'm up, I'm up. You mope around like a zombie for half the day, snapping at everyone, when you aren't getting proper sleep.”
I opened my mouth to protest then shut it knowing she was right.
My mother actually laughed out loud.
“My my my, this is going to be quite fun to sit back and watch the two of you. I always expected my boy to take a meek mate. Someone caring and nurturing and catering who would stroke his ego. You, my dear, I never even saw coming, but how he needs someone capable and strong enough to dish it back at him and keep that big head of his grounded.”
After the plans were finalized, I dropped Kelsey off at the office. The story was that her car broke down and I was helping her get it repaired and would take much of the day to do it. It wasn't any surprise to anyone. I loved tinkering with cars and had skipped work on more than one occasion to do just that for others. It would also explain why her car was currently at my house and why Elise was taking her home. I'd see to it that her car was back home before they got there.
In the meantime, I quickly changed and headed back to my parent's house in preparation for the Pack Council meeting. A part of me was dreading the outcome of the meeting, but like my mom had said, what's done was done and nothing they could do or say would make me less mated at this point.
The Pack Council was comprised of seven men, including my dad. They were all older, except for Cole Anderson who was only a few years older than me. Ambrose, Saul, Mallick, Quinton, and Neil made up the remaining board members. No, they didn't have last names. Until about two decades ago when it became trendy and safer in the digital age, shifters rarely held last names outside of the pack name. As far as they were concerned, they were all Westins. But an entire town of Westins would look a little odd to the outside world. It never used to matter, but with credit cards, and electronic IRS forms and so on, it was determined necessary and most of my generation had begun choosing their own names for just such purposes. Sometimes it got a little weird, like one Miss Willow Flowers or Christine Canine. That one had nearly started a riot, but she'd batted her long dark lashes and flashed her perfect pearly white smile and the board had dropped it. It was hard to say no to Christine Canine when she set her mind to something. But whatever.
When I walked into the room, all eyes turned to me. I watched Saul take a deep breath and shake his head in disappointment.
“She better be worth it, Kyle.”
I couldn't erase the grin on my face if I'd tried. “Oh, she is.”
Cole chuckled. “You see the tattoo I gave her?”
A growl slipped out as I tried to control my jealousy that this wolf had touched my mate and marked her, even if it was with my picture.
“I take that as a yes. Tried to talk her into making it black, but she said she wouldn't have it any other way.”
I couldn't help but grin a little sheepishly. I did love that Kelsey had chosen my wolf to adorn her body, even before she knew it was me.
Ambrose cleared his throat, “God, son, we can smell her all over you. You could have at least taken a shower before you came.”
I know I blushed. They thought they were just smelling her scent on me, they hadn't figured out it was our combined scent they were smelling. Newly mated pairs shared the same scent much stronger than at any other time. It alerted other wolves to the fact that they were mated and potentially volatile in the early days post consummation.
“I take it this is why you're here today? Are you finally ready to take a mate, Kyle?” Neil asked solemnly.
“Gentleman,” my father interrupted, “we have a bit of a sensitive situation here. And this is, as always, in complete confidence of the Council. As you know, Kyle has been quite vocal about allowing the lone she-wolf trespassing on our land to stay. Not just stay but left alone. Kelsey's been here for more than two years and has finally come forth and relayed her story to me. It's a hard one to hear, and my heart g
oes out to the girl, but Kyle's protection of her throughout this time has been entirely selfish in nature.”
That got a few mumbles and whispers.
“That's not exactly news to any of us single wolves, sir. Kyle's marked his scent around her property and been in more than one scuffle over her.”
I snorted, yeah, that's true, but then Dad and the rest of the Council had been entirely unaware of that, so I gave him a half-hearted glare thanking him for ratting me out. It just made him laugh again. He was certainly enjoying me being in the hot seat.
“Kyle, while you youngins may not be surprised by it, I can assure you there will be plenty of pack members upset that you've chosen this particular she-wolf. And she would need to be properly prepared for challenges before you dive in and do something crazy. As always, we, the Council, would like the opportunity to meet with her and trial her to verify she is indeed a compatible mate for you. In the meantime, we'd ask that she be reassigned to a new office and you keep your distance from each other. If you are certain, we'll move through the process as efficiently as possible.”
Another growl escaped as my wolf grew agitated.
“I'm sorry Saul, but that will not be possible.”
They certainly were not happy with my blatant defiance.
“Kelsey Adams is my mate. My one true mate. This is not a matter of compatibility.”
Their disappointment quickly turned to shock.
“But you've been in her presence for over two years, Kyle. How is that even possible?”
“You should have known immediately.”
“It's near impossible to find a true mate and not act on it. Two years, Kyle. I'm sorry but she cannot be your one true mate.”
“Hush down, now and hear it out,” my dad calmly spoke. “Kyle came to me almost immediately upon meeting Ms. Adams. He did know immediately, but given her unique circumstances he chose not to act upon it. We considered telling you all, but as we were unsure of what to do with the girl, and Kyle was making no advances toward claiming her, I opted to keep this to myself.”
“I thought she was denying it or that she couldn't feel our connection. I didn't know she was just even more stubborn than me.”
That gained a snicker from most in attendance.
“Look, Kelsey wasn't raised in a pack. She didn't even know shifters were real. She grew up in the human world.”
“A late bloomer then?” Mallick guessed.
“No sir.” They all quieted down. “Kelsey changed for the first time when she was twelve years old. She was alone and running for her life after two wolves attacked and killed her parents in front of her and then attacked her. She honestly thought that since she was bitten and had no real knowledge of the shifter world, that she was a werewolf.”
Grumbles began around the room at the thought. Anger over a young pup having no pack. Frustrations over the human portrayal of werewolves. And heartbroken for a little girl alone in the world going through change with no guidance.
“She's been running ever since, keeping this huge secret to herself all this time.”
“Kyle, that's the craziest story I've ever heard!”
“No,” Cole spoke up, “it makes sense. It fits with everything she shared with me too. The tattoo she got covers the damage done by the wolf. She confessed her fear of wolves and a little about why. It all makes sense, even hearing Kyle is her one true mate. The tattoo she drew herself and brought to me. Of course, I immediately recognized it as Kyle's wolf. Even tried to convince her to change it knowing the shit-storm something like that could cause, but she was adamant, it had to be his. Now it makes sense why. At the time, she simply told me it was the only wolf in her life she hadn't feared. I don't think she knew at the time why.”
I smiled at him, slightly jealous that she had opened up to him like that, but trying to contain it. Cole Anderson was a good guy and I knew there was nothing between them.
“She didn't. She said she had felt something strong since day one but had fought against it knowing she could never allow anyone close enough to know her secret. And I had stubbornly been waiting for her and facing rejection after rejection anytime I attempted to reach out. Which is why I didn't come forward earlier with my feelings.”
“A true mate?”
“This does change things.”
“Kyle, if she is your one true mate, the Council will not intervene no matter who she is,” Quinton assured me.
I smiled and let out a breath I didn't realize I was holding.
“Thank God, cause we've already consummated our mating.” I blurted out.
“What?”
“Without notifying us first?”
“How could you?”
“Kyle, that's a blatant disrespect to the Council.”
And so they got their two cents worth in and voiced their disappointment with me, but they couldn't knock the grin and happiness off my face for anything. The only thing I had heard loud and clear, no intervention. There would be no consequences for going against protocol. As mom had said, what's done was done.
“I'm sorry,” I said, not really sorry. “Two years I waited for any signs of reciprocation. I could not control myself once I knew she felt our connection too.”
“Speaking of connections. I think it is important to note that with the prolonged mating period of the two came a deeper connection faster than we are used to seeing in normal mated pairs.”
What was he doing? Dad had said not to tell anyone about that, so why was he blabbing now.
“They can already sense each other’s feelings and general locations, same as other mated pairs in the two to five year stage. I've never seen anything like it, though they have spent every day for the last two years together and I believe on some level their wolves began bonding even prior to the mating consummation. Because of this I would petition the Council to consider lowering the challenge time.”
Murmurs and shocked whispers began again.
“Sir, it's Kyle we're talking about. She-wolves from at least three packs, possibly further, will wish for the opportunity to challenge. And as you know, we've already had several inquiries into compatibility for Kelsey. It is possible Kyle could face a few challenges himself from within the pack.”
“I am well aware of all of that, Neil, but we also must take into consideration that challenges are only accepted in the first four months to ensure bonding has not begun already, and clearly in this case it has. Do you know what it would do to my son if his one true mate were to die in challenge?”
They all nodded solemnly.
“I'm sorry, Kyle,” Ambrose started and I knew I wasn't going to be happy with what he was about to say, “but we can not wave the challenges. However, in light of the situation, I make the motion to lower it to only one month. With immediate notification, that is time for anyone to arrive and make their wishes known and we will accept challenges in any manner, not just in person. I think it has to be that way to keep peace amongst the packs and give opportunity to those seeking it.”
The others nodded in agreement.
“I second that motion,” Quinton piped in.
I rolled my neck, feeling the tension building. One month. Okay, we could handle one month.
“We must also ask that the two of you keep a distance from each other during this month to hopefully stall the bonding process you've already started. It's for the best, Kyle,” Ambrose added.
“I'm sorry, sir, as I already told my father, that is not an option.”
The older man sighed and nodded in acknowledgment.
“So, all that's left is to set a date of notification.”
“The sooner the better, sir,” I told them just wanting it all passed us. “Sunday. There's already a pack meeting being held. Announcements to the other packs can be emailed on Monday to expedite. The sooner this is all over, the better.”
“That soon? You're certain the girl will be ready?”
“Kelsey may not have been raised in a pack, sir,
but she's a fighter, she's super fast, and I have full confidence in my mate.”
“Sunday it is then.”
“Thank you.” I stood and shook hands with each of them thanking them for their time before leaving.
The weight of the world seemed to be holding me down as I thought ahead to the next month. I was confident I could hold my own in any fight, and even more confident that few, if any, would dare to challenge me. But Kelsey? Could I just stand there and watch her fight to the death, for me?
Kelsey
Chapter 19
My biggest concern of the day was Elise and Lily. They had said don't let anyone get too close because they could smell Kyle's scent mixed with mine, but I was supposed to ride home with Elise, so did she know already? If not, surely, she would once in the car alone with me.
Lily had the bigger mouth of the two, though, and was more likely to pick it up in the office. So all afternoon I listened for the clacking of heels in the hallway, unable to concentrate on anything remotely considered work.
When I finally did hear the click-click-clicking of heels in the hallway, I immediately grabbed the phone and began talking into it. I motioned to it and waved Lily off. I knew it wouldn't keep her away, but it was the best I could do. Three times this occurred and each time stressed me out even more.
I decided to retreat into Kyle's office during the afternoon break. Lying down on his couch, surrounded by his smell helped calm me a little. When Lily barged into his office with that 'ah-ha, I found you' look on her face, I cursed myself for not thinking of locking the doors.
“Hey, Kels, what's wrong?”
“Headache,” I lied, not bothering to get up from my sprawled out position on the couch. Maybe she'd think I was sick and stay away.
“I take it big brother isn't coming in today?”
I immediately sat up, realizing how out of character it must look with me being in his office so intimately. I hadn't even thought about it until now.
One True Mate (Westin Pack Book 1) Page 14
