Page 17 of Resisting Fate

“Hailey!” is shouted. I jump up, looking over to where the sound came from.

Max is standing there looking at me concerned.

“Sorry, I was thinking. I didn’t hear you come in,” I say with a fake smile.

“I was shouting your name; you didn’t hear me for the last five minutes?” he asks in frustration.

“Well, now I see you. What is it?” I snap, instantly irritated with him.

He puts his hands in the air in a surrender motion. “Whoa, I just got back and wanted to see how you were doing.”

I let my shoulders drop and let out a sigh. “Well, I’ve been better; but I’ve also been a lot worse,” I tell him with a weak smile.

“Talk to me,” he says, walking over to me with a sigh and sitting next to me.

“This whole mate thing is a lot more complicated than you guys let on,” I mumble. Part of me feels weird for having this conversation with him.

He chuckles at my words, but it sounds pained. “Yeah, it all sounds magical and wonderful growing up, but it looks like it’s more of a cluster fuck than we ever realised.”

I nod my head in agreement and let out a snort. “You’ve got that right.”

“How are things with… your mate,” he asks, his voice cracking.

I look over at him and see the pain in his eyes; he looks sad at the words.

“Okay, I guess. Confusing, but Pen is right. I need to talk to him. I can see why they call it “the pull” because it is pulling me towards him, no matter what I do,” I admit softly.

“If you want to get away from him, fight the pull, I will help you; but I don’t know of anyone who has not claimed their fated mate. The gift is too precious,” he says, looking at me like he really would do anything I would ask of him.

Penelope said something along the lines of the same thing. It’s good to know I have great friends in my corner.

“Even if I could get away from him, I wouldn’t. I think my wolf would rebel at the idea anyways and force me to shift and return to him,” I say with a laugh.

“Are you still have trouble controlling her?” he asks, looking concerned at my words.

I shake my head. “The only time I am not in complete control of her is when Isaac is near, and we know why that is. I’ve gotten pretty good at shifting. It’s starting to feel normal instead of feeling like a million ants are under my skin,” I say with a laugh.

“I’ve never heard someone describe it that way,” he says laughing.

“I think that’s because you are all born with it. It’s different when you are changed, from what I can tell. Getting used to another being in my head is a lot too, but it’s also comforting. It’s like I have been missing something my whole life and it was finally clear what it was,” I tell him.

“That makes sense,” he says, nodding his head at my words.

Penelope comes back in the room. I honestly didn’t even notice that she left. We all talk about everything, except the new pack members that Max brought home.

I know they are waiting for Ryker to get home to discuss it.

It’s pretty late when Ryker walks in. His hands are full of food. I’m guessing Pen told him we were there, so he picked up enough for all of us.

I didn’t realise how hungry I was until I smelled the food he brought. One thing that is definitely noticeable about my change is my increased appetite. The shifter metabolism is quite fast.

We sit and eat before Max tells us about the new pack members.

All of the women and children had decided to come. The pack houses they all lived in were shut down. Max suggests tearing them down since they hold nothing but bad memories. Maybe then we can sell the land or decide to do something else with it in the future.

Ryker agrees, and they start making the plan to get all the houses demolished. He wants to hold a pack meeting to vote on what to do with the land. That’s one thing about Ryker; he wants everyone’s opinion instead of just doing what he wants. He doesn’t consider something like this to be only his decision.

“I don’t see why we would need to keep it though. It’s too far for us to expand on. I can’t see anyone wanting to live that far away, but we can hold onto it until the vote,” Ryker says.

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