by T. S. Ryder
Lucinda's eyes widened. She pressed a hand to her mouth. "Didn't they tell you?"
A ball of dread slipped into Amelia's stomach. "Tell me what?"
***
As soon as she got home, Amelia phoned her brother. She knew that he'd give her a lecture about dating men he hadn't vetted first, but she was too heartbroken to keep what had happened to herself. Her fantasies of having found not one, but two perfect men to spend the rest of her life with was shattered. She had been so upset that she hadn't even waited for them to drive her home, instead asking Lucinda to do so after the female werewolf told her the truth.
They weren't looking for a female for their alpha triad. They had already found her in Lucinda. They wanted Amelia not to be their mate, but a broodmare and nanny. Apparently, it was an Alpha's duty to have as many children as possible, but Lucinda would have too many duties herself to spend time popping out babies and then raising them.
It was no wonder they lied to me, Amelia thought bitterly. Who would agree to that?
Yet, what upset her the most was that she actually believed that she had finally met men that didn't put themselves first in everything. She had believed that before and she always ended up heartbroken. Why should this time be different? Because they were shifters? Men were men.
"Why did you get involved with werewolves in the first place?" Adrian's voice was pitched in anger when she finished telling him what had happened.
Amelia choked back a sob. "The whole true love thing sounded good. I'm tired of the losers I keep dating… I guess I just don't know how to pick them."
"No, you find one tiny flaw and decide it's a deal breaker. I'm going to call Daniel and you two are going to start dating again."
Mr. Abs? She wasn't that heartbroken. Amelia protested, but Adrian wouldn't hear it.
"You never gave him a proper chance. If nothing else, at least he won't ask you to have group sex!"
Amelia pressed her lips together. That wasn't something she could argue with. There was hardly enough room in Daniel's bed for anybody other than himself, let alone her. Unlike some others, he never cheated on her or tried to pressure her into sex while they were dating. She wanted nothing to do with Mr. Abs or his self-worship, but she had to admit that she could do worse.
Besides, she would just sit around sobbing her heart out over her shattered fairytale if something didn't happen. Maybe a date or two, even with a loser, would help her come back to the real world. It might lower her expectations for next time. Sighing, she agreed to call Daniel the next day.
She had just hung up on Adrian when her phone rang. Timothy. What could he say to make this better? Amelia turned off the phone and went to the freezer. A tub of ice-cream sounded good right now.
Make that two tubs of ice-cream. One for each broken heart.
***
The phone went right to voicemail. Timothy hung up, shaking his head. It hadn't taken the Alphas long to realize that Amelia had left early. When they called her, she had sent a text back telling them that she was tired and had gotten a ride home since they were busy. All attempts to contact her since then had failed. Timothy was kicking himself as he paced, phone in hand.
"It was too soon," he said. "We should have waited until we had sex before introducing her to the pack. I'm surprised she didn't run away screaming at the first moment she was sniffed! One or two others at first, not all of them at once – didn't I tell you?"
Xavier ground his teeth. "Something happened, Tim. Amelia isn't the kind of woman who lets herself get overwhelmed like that. A woman as assertive as she is getting overwhelmed that easily? I don’t think so. Somebody must have said something that offended her."
Timothy wanted to believe that, but he was a realist. They had always known it was a long shot that a human would accept them and their lifestyle. He knew they should have eased Amelia into it. Now they'd frightened her away, and it was doubtful she was ever coming back. This was the exact reason the council didn't want them looking for a mate among humans, and he hated that they had been proven right.
"Tim, I can see what you're thinking and you have to stop," Xavier said firmly. He grasped Timothy's shoulders. "Amelia is tough and smart. Even if she was overwhelmed, she'll come to grips with it. She's the one. I can feel it. Can't you?"
"I thought I did, but if it starts like this, we’ll end up like my parents."
"Their union was arranged; they were never true mates."
"Does it matter? If Amelia left us once, she'll leave us again."
"Tim—"
"I'm going for a run." The Lakeland Alpha pulled away and began peeling off his clothes as he headed for the door. "Don't wait up for me."
"Tim!" Xavier called after him.
Timothy ignored him, shifting as he leapt through the front door. Right now, he didn't want to think. He just wanted the dirt beneath his paws and the wind in his face. He wanted to leave all his memories and hopes and dreams behind and focus on reality.
Chapter Four
Compromise.
Amelia ground her teeth as Mr. Abs began cursing up a storm because the idiot on TV didn't catch the stupid ball that all the other idiots were running around trying to get.
It was like no time had passed since she broke up with the idiot on her couch a year ago. 'Looking good, babe. Why don't we stay in?' meant 'Why don't you cook me dinner while I watch the game?’ She had insisted that he take her out to dinner, and after some back and forth, they had agreed on ordering in a pizza instead. That was compromise.
"Babe, get me a beer."
But was this compromise? Amelia tucked her legs under herself. What exactly had she been thinking, consenting to 'date' him again? Oh, right… the two Alphas had lied to her about their intentions, and she wanted something to distract her. Mr. Abs wasn't doing the job, though. All he was doing was make her miss them even more. Xavier and Timothy would never order her around like this.
It doesn't count that they lied about what they wanted from me.
"Hey, where's my beer?"
"I don't have any beer."
"No beer?" Mr. Abs looked shocked. "Sheesh, I thought you were gonna be ready for a date."
Her brother's voice flittered across her mind. Don't be so picky and learn how to compromise. Seriously? Was holding out for someone who didn't treat her like a waitress being picky? What was she supposed to compromise on? Her standards, her self-worth? Was she supposed to learn to just lie down and take disrespect? Or was she supposed to be so grateful that he didn't treat her like a sex doll that she happily did everything else for him?
The funny thing was, Adrian had once gotten into a fistfight with Mr. Abs over the way he treated Amelia. But he seemed to have forgotten about it. Or maybe he decided he had overreacted.
"Maybe you can go to the store and pick some up."
"I joined AA," Amelia sarcastically replied.
Mr. Abs stared at her. "You don't have to drink it."
This had been a bad idea. A terrible idea – quite possibly the worst idea she had ever had.
No, the worst idea I ever had was leaving the packlands before I actually talked to Xavier and Timothy about what Lucinda told me. I'm an idiot.
More of an idiot than Mr. Abs.
"Babe, quick, make me a sandwich."
Okay, maybe not quite.
"You have half a pizza right there."
"I gotta have a sandwich at halftime or my team will lose! Now make me one! I got fifty bucks riding on this, do you want me to help pay for the pizza or not?"
Grinning, Amelia got to her feet. She wasn't angry at Mr. Abs. No, she was too angry at herself to bother with him. What an idiot. Well, her brother would be hearing an earful about this experience! It was a shame she hadn't thought to film the exchange… Even Adrian wouldn't be able to argue that she should keep dating Daniel with evidence like that.
He'd probably excuse it because of the game.
Amelia got the squeeze bottle of mayo out of the fridge, along
with a slice of processed cheese, salami, and a handful of lettuce. She grabbed the bread on her way back to the living room. She would make a sandwich all right…
Mr. Abs didn't even notice that she had come back in – until she slapped the cheese and salami to his cheeks, squeezed half the bottle of mayo over his head and stuck the bread to it.
"There." She smiled as she admired her work. "You're a sandwich."
***
It took a while for Amelia to get Mr. Abs to understand that she had made him a sandwich, just like he asked. He then took all the pizza and left, as though he was actually doing something that would bother her. She would have just thrown it out anyway. He'd put sardines on the pizza.
Sardines.
After she had reclaimed her home, Amelia took a moment to tidy it up, more as an excuse to delay calling the Alphas than anything else. After the way she ran away and then refused to take their calls for two days, she wouldn't be surprised if they didn't want to talk to her again. After all, Alphas couldn't have a mate that believed everything she heard! And didn't Timothy say he wanted someone he could talk to? Instead, she ran. How was she ever going to apologize?
Eventually, she grabbed her cellphone and called him. Communication was important to him, so reaching out to him first seemed like the best idea. He answered quickly, but his voice was cautious. Amelia bit her lower lip.
It's not too late. One freak-out isn't the end of the world.
"I'm sorry," she said, even before hello. "I'm sorry that I left the way I did, and I'm sorry for not calling. Is Xavier with you?"
"No," Timothy replied. He was panting, as though he had been working out. Well, with his physique, of course, he had to work out. "He's in a meeting. Why did you leave, Amelia? Why…? Did we scare you off?"
If what Lucinda said was true, wouldn't she have told them that she revealed their secret? Already, Amelia knew it wasn't true. She could have kicked herself. "No. It's not that. I'm just an idiot. Somebody said…"
Timothy's voice turned soft. "What did they say? Who was it? What happened?"
"I don't want to talk about it over the phone. Can we meet tomorrow? I'll drive out to the packlands, if that's okay. I just… I just really need to talk with you."
Timothy paused a moment. "I'm actually almost at your house. When you didn't call back, I got worried…"
Amelia flinched, but at the same time, she beamed at his concern. How could she have ever thought that the Alphas were like the other losers she dated? "No, that's fine. That's great. I'll see you soon."
After she hung up, Amelia looked around her home. It would be the first time either of the Alphas were actually inside of her house, and what seemed tidy enough for Mr. Abs suddenly looked like a disaster.
She flew around the house, trying to make everything perfect, at least on the outside. So what if that meant that books got shoved into the closet instead of going back on the shelf, or if she pulled her couch over a pile of pizza crumbs instead of bringing out the vacuum cleaner? He wasn't going to snoop through the house.
After the living room looked decent enough to welcome Timothy in, Amelia turned her attention to getting herself ready. She had gone for comfortable and cozy for her date with Mr. Abs, wearing a nice-looking T-shirt and a pair of jeans that weren't awful but didn't really help her figure, either. Dashing to her room, she yanked out a pair of shorts with the image of a unicorn bedazzled across the butt and a V-neck tank top that showed off so much cleavage that it had been banned from her brother's house.
She was just swiping on some lip-gloss when the doorbell rang. Holding her breath with nervousness, Amelia rushed to answer it. Maybe she should have worn something that wasn't so sexy. She didn't want Timothy to think she was trying to seduce him into forgiving her. And what if he wanted to go for a walk?
But when she opened the door, she didn't find her Alpha.
It was Mr. Abs.
"Daniel, what are you doing?" she snapped at him, her hand instantly rising to cover her cleavage.
He looked her up and down with a gleam in his eye – one she didn't like. "I understand why you were so upset with me, babe."
"Because you're an asshole who won't stop calling me babe?"
"Nah, it's because you were feeling like I was neglecting you… but don't worry, I'm here to make it all better."
He grabbed her and kissed her full on the mouth with his stinky, disgusting sardine breath.
***
Timothy wasn't lying when she said that he was almost at her house. But it wasn't exactly like he had been driving. He hadn't intended to go anywhere near Amelia's house when he took his usual afternoon run to clear his head. Somewhere in the woods he had decided to see if he was correct when he supposed that, despite the drive from the packlands to her town taking two hours by car, it would actually only be an hour if he went straight through the forest rather than twisting and turning with the road.
He'd been fifteen minutes away when he got Amelia's call. His heart had leapt and for a moment all he wanted to do was run to her and pull her into his arms, kissing away whatever fears she had. It had taken some strength to answer the phone first.
Yet, he had decided to take it slow. He wasn't going to assume that she was going to ask for them to take her back. Still, he hadn't been able to suppress his hope and kept thinking about what Amelia might say to him when he arrived at her place. Nor could he stop the daydreams about how overwhelmed she was by the strong sense that she belonged with the pack.
So, when he emerged from the trees dressed in the simple sweats he had brought with him on his run, the sight that met him tore his heart out.
Amelia stood on her front porch. Her back was against the wall, and she wore skimpy, sexy clothing. And a man was with her, body to body, gripping her hands as he kissed her. The passion in their kiss was evident, even from this distance.
So that was the truth of why she left. Amelia had somebody else. She had strung him and Xavier along, all the while knowing that they had no future together. What was her game? Was she trying to get money from them? A snarl tore out of him and he stalked forward–he was not going to be used in such a way!
Amelia and her mate didn't even know he was there until he yanked the man off her and tossed him down the steps.
Chapter Five
Amelia was just about to knee Mr. Sardine-breath between the legs when he abruptly stopped kissing her. No… he didn't stop kissing her; he was ripped away from her. She gasped as Timothy hurled him down the steps, the man landing in a crumpled heap. The Alpha's shoulders were tense, his fists trembling as he stepped down towards Daniel.
"No, don't!" Amelia gasped out of instinct, afraid that the Alpha would hurt Daniel. He was a loser but didn't deserve to be injured. Besides, Timothy might be arrested for assault.
Timothy ripped his arm from her grasp so fast that her palms stung. His black glare turned to her. Amelia hadn't yet seen the Alphas in their Wolf form, but she could see the Beast hovering just beneath the surface of Timothy's consciousness. A low growl rose in his throat, causing her to step back. She knew he wouldn't hurt her, no matter how angry he was, but the feral look in his eyes kicked her adrenaline into overdrive. The growl stopped as soon as she stepped away and Timothy swallowed hard.
"It's not what it looks like," she said, staring at him pleadingly.
"You could have told me you were having someone else over, babe," Mr. Abs said as he got to his feet. He leaned against the fence, wheezing. "Dude needs some anger management classes, though."
"You were here to see her?" Timothy snarled, whirling on him again.
It was almost worth it to see Daniel flinch and draw away. From the look on his face, he was about to pee his pants. "Dude, we were on a date when all of a sudden she freaked out at me. I thought it was because she wasn't getting enough lovin', but now I see—"
"That's not what happened!" Amelia clenched her hands as she glared at Daniel. It wasn't enough that he was an asshole, but he had t
o ruin her chances of reconciling with the Alphas as well? "You are a disgusting—"
"Save it." Timothy held out his hand, his eyes narrowed. His expression was hurt, betrayed, but when Amelia tried to explain, he just shook his head and backed down the steps. "The council was right about humans. Whatever you hoped to get from us—"
"Timothy—"
He turned and leaped towards the trees, his clothes bursting off him as he shifted mid-air. Amelia ran after him, calling his name, but he was gone before she reached the bottom of the steps.
She clutched her tank top closed over her breasts. Her lungs felt like they were collapsing. She wanted to slap herself for being stupid enough to have left the two of them.
"Well, babe, since he's gone—" Mr. Abs put his hand on her butt, squeezing.
Amelia whirled. Crack! Her palm stung as it flew against his face. Daniel stumbled back, a surprised look on his stupid face.
"I told you to leave. Leave means go. Get off of my property and out of my life! You are a self-absorbed loser who doesn't care about anything except for how stacked your abs are, and it is very unattractive."
Mr. Abs stared at her with his jaw hanging open for a long moment. A red flush came over his pale features and his hands clenched. His eyes narrowed. "You know, I was only doing your brother a favor by dating you. I can do better than a fat cow like you."
"Great, go find yourself a dog then," Amelia spat back.
He grabbed her arm. "Hey—"
"Get your hands off me before I call the cops."
Daniel released her and backed down a few steps, holding up his hands. "I got better things to do than debate this with you. But you'll be sorry! When you call crying to take me back again, I'll be all, 'Sorry, babe. I've got a new girl.’ You'll be sorry!"
Amelia rolled her eyes and ignored Daniel's infantile ranting. She hurried into the house to put on a pair of running shoes and grab her keys before she headed off into the forest. At first, she could see Timothy's trail easily and followed it, hoping against hope that he’d regret his haste, and turn around so she could explain. But soon the footprints disappeared, and Amelia knew that if she didn't turn back, she'd end up lost.