Chapter 21

~Grady’s POV~

“So you’re actually…gay?” I asked him, the surprise evident in my voice.

He hesitated before answering but eventually he nodded and I just had to sit down for this one. Yeah I hadn’t known him for long but gay? It was a total shock to me.

I thought I’d be able to pick out a homosexual in any crowd, they always had a certain way of walking or talking or something of the sort but Jake had shown no signs of that.

 But then I guess you really couldn’t judge a book by its cover I mean look at me and Thomas; no one would even pin us as gay.

I looked at Jake warily. I suddenly felt uncomfortable in his presence. It was hard enough for me to sit around the same table with Carson and Laken and I wasn’t sure I was ready to befriend a world of gays. It sounded bad I know but I was just really getting comfortable with the thought of being a homosexual myself; I just couldn’t deal with even more gay shit in my life right now.

How did Thomas even find out?

“Look Grady I know this is shocking to you but I just wanted to get it out of the way from now, I thought maybe it was best.” Jake continued but I could only stare at him in silence still trying to come to terms with this interesting yet shocking development.

It’s like ever since Carson and Laken came out, homosexuals were just popping up all around me. It was disconcerting to say the least.

Finally I sighed and ran my hand through my already mussed hair. It was too early for me to deal with this shit. So I got up off the stool prepared to make my way around the counter to make a cup of tea but as soon as I passed him he grabbed my arm and spun me around to face him, then before I could even get my bearings straight his lips were on mine.

I couldn’t explain the level of shock and repulsion that travelled through me at the feel of a guy other than Thomas kissing me. I raised my hands and pushed roughly against his chest.

 “Dude what the fuck!” I shouted then wiped the moisture from my lips with the back of my hand.

Jake didn’t say anything; instead he was looking at something behind me, his eyes wide with fright. I turned immediately and my heart sped up in my chest. There stood Thomas, shirtless and seething with anger…no, not anger, something else, something…dangerous.

“Thomas, I know this sounds unoriginal…but this isn’t what it looks like.” I said nervously, my hands held up in front of me as if to ward off danger.

It was as I was standing there looking nervously at my boyfriend who had yet to utter a word that I realized something was off about him. He wasn’t even looking at me but at Jake. The muscles in his arms and chest bulged and the veins were standing up in his neck.

I took an involuntary step back when his mouth pulled up in a snarl and his hands curled into fists until the press of his nails against the rough flesh of his palm drew blood which I watched seep through his fingers and hit the floor below.

All this I noticed in under five seconds, then just like that I spun on my heel and grabbed the collar of Jake’s shirt.

“RUN!’ I shouted dragging him with me out of the room.

Not two steps away I heard Thomas’s bloodthirsty growl and Jake cried out in terror as he ran beside me.

“What the fuck is happening?” he screamed but rather than answer I pulled harder on his shirt collar forcing him to turn the corner into the hallway.

I tried not to focus on the sound of what was probably the kitchen table being thrown against a wall as I flung open the front door with Jake by my side.

“Don’t look behind you just run!” I shouted to him.

The gravel cut into my bare feet as I blazed down the street but I ignored the pain, jumped over a child’s bicycle which was lying across somebody’s lawn and almost slipped on the wet grass. I felt a tremor rack my body when I heard the wolf’s howl and I looked back to make sure Jake was still on my tail. We had to get to Carson and quick.

My boyfriend was going to rip Jake apart!

I heard the claws scraping against the asphalt not far behind me and the sound of pounding as Thomas gained on us. When we cut around the first corner I heard a few howls rip through the air and I felt like weeping. Maybe the other werewolves had heard their Beta’s growl and decided to join in the hunt. But as we ran I listened for more predators racing to catch up to us but I heard none. It was just Thomas then.

“Grady! I can’t!” Jake shouted moments later, he was slowing down, tears streaming down his face and his breath coming in gasps.

I slowed to meet him and grabbed his hand without saying a word and continued running, pulling him along with me. He was slowing us down but in just a few seconds we’d be at Carson’s quarters.

“Come on, come on.” I chanted in my mind, forcing myself to go faster despite the added weight. I had Carson’s place in my sights but knew it was too late when I felt the heat of Thomas’s wolf behind us.

‘We wouldn’t make it.’ was the thought that went through my mind at that moment and so I did the only logical thing I could think of.

I dropped to the ground and pulled Jake with me, covering his body with mine. At the rate he was going Thomas wouldn’t be able to stop in time and would pass us. That would probably give us enough time to jump up and make a break for it into the alley on the left before Thomas was able to stop and circle back.

Time seemed to move in slow motion. Above the sound of Jake whimpering beneath me another howl ripped through the air and when I looked up it was to the sight of a wolf; much larger in size than Thomas tackle him to the ground.

“Grady over here!” I heard a shout and looked to the sound. There stood Laken at the entrance to Carson’s quarters screaming for me to come his way. Without another thought I pulled off the ground taking Jake with me and ran over to the door. As soon as we were inside, the door slammed behind us and I fell to the floor panting.

I moved until my back was against the wall and drew my knees up to my chest, then covered my ears with my hands trying the block out the sounds of the vicious growls and tearing of flesh I could hear coming from outside.

Beside me Jake lay curled in a ball, his body wracking with sobs as he bawled his eyes out.

………………………………

~Carson’s POV~

He was a mess.

“Thomas you need to calm down.” I told him as he paced the room.

“Yeah Thomas you really need to chill.” Laken spoke up from behind me and I frowned turning to face him.

“Laken I told you not to come in here.” I admonished.

“Tough.” he said and moved around me to sit in the chair opposite Thomas.

I shook my head and ran my hand through my hair in annoyance. I was blessed with the most stubborn mate in existence; the only member of my pack who refused to obey my orders.

“I shoulda just given him what he wanted then maybe he wouldn’t have been forced to go to that little bastard.” He said referring to Jake.

“Thomas he told me it’s not like that. Jake kissed him not the other way around.” I assured him but he wasn’t listening.

He stopped suddenly and walked over to the only window in the room.

“What the hell was I thinking? He asked me for one thing and I shot him down.” Thomas said almost in whisper, then he rested his head against the window pane and closed his eyes.

“What did he ask you for?”Laken questioned when Thomas said nothing more.

“Laken.” I said his name in warning and he fell silent.

I looked to my Beta once more. I could still feel the tension coming off him in waves which told me he still hadn’t calmed down to the point he needed to be. My mind drifted to what Jessie had told me. Apparently Grady was withholding sex from Thomas unless Thomas agreed to ‘bottom’. The little brat.

“No Thomas, no one should force you to do something you’re not comfortable with, especially not a mate. He was wrong.” I told him confidently then watched at he raised his head and looked out into the courtyard once more.

“No he had every right to ask, I haven’t been fair to him, I should’ve just let him top me.” He responded and that angered me.

“Wow Grady wants to top?” Laken exclaimed but I ignored him.

“You’re a dominant you don’t bottom, Grady will just have to accept it.”

“Maybe we could try that sometime Carson.” Laken spoke again and it didn’t take a genius to figure out what he meant.

“No.” I told him firmly, giving him a look that said drop it.

He deflated a bit and I turned back to my beta.

“Now listen Thomas, Grady will get over it, what u need to focus on right now your apology to your mate and to Jake, you chased them through camp and scared them half to death.” I explained.

“Apologize to Jake? Apologize? I’m gonna rip the little shit apart!” he roared and I saw Laken flinch.

I held my ground however and realized he wasn’t just saying that, the glint in his yes confirmed my fear; he was going to kill Jake. He actually wanted to kill the human boy.

“No you’re not. This was all just a misunderstanding and you owe him an apology Thomas.” I told him adamantly then took a step closer to him.

I needed him to look at me so that he could tell I was one hundred percent serious about this. I couldn’t have members of my pack going around slaughtering humans because of senseless personal vendettas.

“Carson he’s trying to take my mate away from me! My mate!” he emphasized.

“He has no idea you’re with Grady, he was just acting on human instincts when he kissed him and Grady was just as surprised so you need to let it go.” I said adamantly.

He turned and walked over me until we were standing toe to toe and he said in a low deep voice; “When I see him I’m going to tear him limb from limb, you won’t even be able to recognize him when I’m done. No one takes what’s mine.”

To the ordinary man he would sound intimidating and deadly but to me he just sounded like someone who was hurt and confused.

When I didn’t say anything he turned to the door.

“I forbid it.” I announced right then and he froze.

“Go fuck yourself.” He told me without turning to look at me and I bristled.

I’d never had a member of my pack disrespect me in such a way before and it wasn’t something I planned on getting use to.

“As your Alpha I forbid you from hurting Jake and from leaving this room!” I shouted. He spun around to face me, his eyes blazing and his chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Grady is mine!” was all he shouted as if that simple fact spoke for itself.

 “I’m aware, but you’re not thinking straight…Jake doesn’t deserve whatever it is that you have planned.”

“He deserves everything that’s coming to him.” He replied and turned once more to leave.

“You walk out that door and you’re a dead man.” I said, my glare as icy as my words. I was dead serious.

“I don’t care.” he answered without looking back or even faltering in his step, so before he could make possibly the biggest mistake of his life I took three long strides and gripped his shoulder spinning him to face me.

“As your Alpha I should kill you for giving me these injuries.” I said indicating my bandaged arm. He had bitten into it earlier when I’d tried to stop him from attacking Jake., “But as your friend I’ve forgiven you. Now listen Thomas, if you disobey my orders I will have no choice but to punish you. You will be stripped of your title as Beta and you will be executed before you pack for your blatant disrespect and disobedience. Is that what you want for yourself? At least think of Grady, about what that would do to him”. I said.

He’d gone over the edge. I never thought Thomas had this level of indiscipline in him but I knew firsthand what having a mate did to you. The type of person it turned you into and so I could easily forgive him for it but there was only so far I could go.

We stood in silence as what I said finally began to sink in. The anger slid right off his face only to be replaced with dejection.

“I don’t want to lose my beta Thomas.” I told him softly with a pat on his back and he nodded. “Now sit the fuck down and calm yourself before I have to do something drastic.” I continued.

When he only looked at me I spoke again.

“That’s an order.”

 He gritted his teeth and failed to meet my eyes but dropped himself down into the couch next to Laken who sat biting his bottom lip nervously.

“Laken get up. We’re leaving”. He scrambled to his feet muttering a soft goodbye to Thomas who said nothing.

“I’m sending Jessie over to talk to you.” I announced once more before I exited the room with Laken who had slipped his hand into mine.

“Poor Thomas and Grady.” he said.

I only nodded.

Minutes later I entered Jessie’s office. She was sitting around her desk shuffling papers around and when she saw me she shot up out her chair to greet me.

“You can go talk to him now.” I told her and she nodded without a word, gathered up a few papers and a pen and was out the door. I had the distinct impression I made her nervous.

With her gone, I looked around the cluttered room for a bit then flopped down onto the love seat, putting my head in my hand. What a day.

“Seriously though Carson I think maybe we could try it.” Laken said sinking into the seat next to me.

“Try what?” I asked him.

“We should switch it up sometimes; I wanna see how it feels to top.” He said and I sighed in annoyance.

“Don’t you have school to go to or something?” I asked rather than answer the question.

“It’s Sunday. So what’d you think?’ he asked again.

I could only look at him in disbelief…I swear to god if Grady caused my mate to start withholding sex from me because of this I would kill him myself.

………………………

~Jessie’s POV~

“Come on Thomas, do you really think Grady would have done that to you? He loves you.” I told my Beta.

“Love and lust are too very different things. Maybe I pushed him too far.” He said.

“No Thomas, not Grady. Don’t you trust him?” I asked again. I just couldn’t believe it had gotten to this point.

“Of course I do but lust can drive a man to do stupid things.” He said again and I noted that he hadn’t looked at me even once throughout our entire meeting.

“He told me he didn’t instigate it and I believe him. No one can fake that kind of sincerity and when you speak to him you’ll see for yourself.” I said.

“Fine, then tell me where he is so I can go talk to him.” He said and I cursed my earlier words.

He’d been trying to get that bit of information out of me ever since I popped through the door but I’d received express instructions from The Alpha himself not to give Thomas that information and I wasn’t about to disobey him.

“Come on Jessie, I just need to apologize. I want to see that he’s okay.” He told me, almost pleading but I didn’t crack.

“When it’s deemed that you’re stable enough to leave then you can see him but for right now we need to make sure you won’t go crazy on him when you see him ok?” I asked.

I was speaking to him as I would a child and by the frown that graced his face I could tell he didn’t take too kindly to it.

“I’d never hurt Grady. The only one who deserves a punch or two is that fucking Jake kid.” He said maliciously.

I could sense the deep rooted anger in him at just the mention of his name. I was going to have to find a way to work him through it because no one wanted to see Jake hurt and I knew that when he was in his right mind he’d feel the same way too.

“Well you’re not allowed to touch Jake and the moment you accept that and move on to forgiving him or at least abandoning all this hatred you feel toward him then you can go.” I told him with a friendly smile.

It was things like this that made me sometimes fear having a mate. I never wanted to feel this kind of possessiveness for anyone, to get angry beyond the point of reason simply because someone kissed my mate. No way, I was fine by myself. I’d seen what this mating thing did to a person and I wanted no part of it.

“Just tell me where he is Jessie that’s all I’m asking. As long as I don’t lay eyes on Jake he’s fine. I promise. I just want to see Grady. It’s been hours.” He said.

“Which is exactly why you can’t see Grady, because he’s with Jake right now and that’ll be a problem if you go over there.” I spoke, shuffling the papers in my hand.

It wasn’t until I felt the air around me shift that I realized my mistake and I quickly tried to fix it.

“I mean, not with with Jake, they just have them in the same room…f-for protection.” I stuttered when I caught sight of the look he was giving me.

Shit shit shit

“Where are they?” he asked again, this time not pleading. This time he expected and answer and I shot up from my seat in fear.

This was not the Thomas I was accustomed to. This guy standing before me was ready to kill.

“T-Thomas, please, I promise you they’re not doing anything, Carson is there with them. They’re just there for their own protect-” I was cut off when Thomas erupted from his chair and slammed into me, pinning me against the wall to the far side of the room.

I was too shocked to do anything but stare, my mouth hanging open, my heart pounding in my chest and my entire body trembling in the face of his violence. He was clutching my shoulders tightly and pressing me roughly against the wall.

“Where is my mate?” he asked, this time his voice cold and deadly brooking no argument.

I had never been more afraid in my life.

                                                              AUTHOR'S NOTES

THERE YOU GO SEXY PEOPLE! ENJOY!

WANNA THANK EVERYBODY WHO SENT ME MESSAGES,  AS WELL AS THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN COMMENTING AND VOTING, YOU GUYS ARE AMAZING!

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-DoUbLe.A

-unedited