Page 66 of Game of Destiny
“Me?” he asked.
“Come on, it’s me. No need for the Alpha facade, remember?” He looked at me again, sighed and rubbed his face.
“I didn’t see this coming,” he said. I had to laugh. I ran my hand through my hair and sat down on the floor facing James.
“Fuck, man. Neither did I. Amie, all grown up, Beta of a pack and with a wolf. And a mate bond. What are your thoughts about that?” I asked. He made a face that showed regret and something I didn’t want to think too hard on.
“I shouldn’t have rejected her. I was young and impulsive and the thought of living up to the standards everyone expected of Amies' mate scared me. I was an idiot. I have been able to just pretend I did the right thing. But then here she is. More beautiful than when I last saw her, how that is even possible. She is confident and carries herself like a wolf who knows who she is. And she has a wolf. Fuck. This is a mess,” he told me. His confession had several statements I didn’t particularly enjoy hearing about my little sister. But then he was her mate. I sighed. He had never opened up like this before. He had never admitted it was a mistake to reject my sister. I was worried about him. When this news would spread in the pack, it would stir things up again. Amie had been popular in the pack. As the Beta’s daughter she had helped out with most things and she was sweet and kind. Everyone knew who she was and everyone liked her. When James had rejected her, the pack had a hard time understanding why. His explanation of her not having a wolf, had confused them. James’ popularity and the trust he had from the pack had taken a hit. It had taken a lot of hard work and time to build it back up. Now I was afraid the news of Amiewould cause the pack to doubt James again. Even I could see what James saw in this new Amie. She was the living image of what Alphas dreamed about in their Luna. I had also seen how her Alpha had looked at her and how my sister’s first instinct when she got scared was to seek security with him. I sighed, this was a mess.
“I don’t think you will be able to swing this around. At least now we know why you haven’t got a second chance mate. Maybe this will be a blessing,” I tried to tell him. He shook his head.
“I need to at least try. She doesn’t wear a mark. It means I at least have a chance.”
“Just don’t go overboard in the other direction. You have suffered the consequences of your Alpha stubbornness for ten years. Let’s not do it all over again because you think you need to go the other way,” I told him. He sighed and nodded. “I’m going to call my parents. I think it’s a good idea if you call yours as well.” I told him and got up.
“Elder.” I was almost at the door.
“Yes?”
“Do you think she would have become this person in our pack if I had accepted her?” he asked me. I cursed in my head.
“I don’t know, man. I don’t know what she has been through. Maybe I can answer it when I get to know her again.”
“Sure.” I walked out of his room and mindlinked Becky to come to our room.
“Ready to tell me what is happening?” she asked.
“I will. But to save some time, I will call my parents and tell you all at the same time,” I told her and gave her a quick kiss. Just because I couldn’t not kiss her. She giggled.
“It sounds like you are going to announce you are pregnant,” she told me. I grinned at her.
“Not that far off,” I said as I dialled.
“Hi, son. How's the first day going?” my dad answered. He was sitting in his office, probably reading some book on werewolf history.
“Hi, dad. It’s up in the air at the moment. Can you get mom? I have something to tell you.” It took a minute and my mom showed up on the call. She tried to bend down beside dad, but he gripped her around her waist and pulled her into his lap. She giggled and I had to smile.
“Hi, son. Your dad said you had something to tell us,” my mom said.
“Yes,” I said and got serious. My parents picked up on my mood and sobered up. I glanced up to Becky. I had all of their attention. “I met Amie today,” I told them and heard both my mom and Becky draw a sharp breath. My dad looked like his brain had stopped working.
“You saw Armeria? How was she? Is she doing well? Is she part of a pack? Did she look like she is eating well?” My mother hurled questions at me.
“I have her number and she would like you to give her a call. But first I need to tell you something,” I told them. I could see the light in their eyes as they understood they could be talking to their daughter again.
Chapter 34
Amie
The cookies were almost gone when my phone rang. I jumped as I had been waiting for it and was on edge. I picked it up and saw someone was calling on FaceTime. I looked at Finlay. He smiled and took my free hand. I answered and my heart did a double take when I saw my mom and dad. They were in my dad’s office, it looked just like it used to, back when I last had seen it. My mom was in my dad’s lap and it made me happy to see they still acted like newly mated. They looked a little older. My mom had fine lines around her eyes and my dad had some grey strands in his hair.
“Armeria.” It sounded like a breath that escaped from my mom.
“Hi mom. Hi dad,” I said. I felt myself tear up, and Finlay squeezed my hand.
“Hi, pumpkin. You have grown up,” my dad said. I smiled despite the tears in my eyes.
“I guess I have,” I admitted.
