Chapter 22

Stacy’s POV

A girl! All these hot guys, and we get stuck with a girl. I wasn’t happy. I will be talking to Mason about this. He will have to fix this for me. Otherwise, he will have to deal with me and trust me; he will not like it if I’m not happy. Plus, I saw him flirting with all the new girls. He’s lucky we aren’t mated yet. Otherwise, I would have a thing or two to say about it.

“Stace, where are you” my brother called me. I knew it was just to rub it in my face that I had to move out of my room for a while. We had thought it would be a guy, so mum had already told Jaxon he was going to be uprooted from his room, but now it’s a girl; mum thought it wouldn’t be as nice for her to stay in my brother’s room and I agree! But why does it have to be my room?

“What do you want, Jaxon? I am busy, you know,” I say. I had been staying in the dining room as the guest room was being decorated. It hadn’t been finished in time for Miranda to stay in, so lucky for me, I get to stay here on a blow-up mattress, and she gets my bed. To say I was not impressed was an understatement.

To make it worse, the party yesterday was a disaster. Once again, that bloody Ayla stole the show by being half beaten to death. I must admit I did enjoy that sight a little. I wish I had more time to get to know the new guys and make Mason Jealous. We may not be dating, and he may not know we are destined to be together yet, but I know! I can feel it.

“I’m heading over to see Jacob; mum said you have to help Miranda run some errands. She had a few things she has to do being a representative here,” he said with a smile. Goddess, I hated his smug, stupid face.

“Well, I can’t; I promised I would go over to the pack house and see Mason”, I retort, inspecting my nail beds closely.

“Stacy, your dating Jacob, not a mason and frankly, he’s not into you. It’s so easy to see,” Jaxon stated plainly; it actually hurt a bit.

“Don’t be a dick; you don’t know what destined mates are like with each other”, I growl. “Your just jealous, you don’t have a girlfriend or a destined mate, and you just wanna hurt me.”

“You’re the only one doing the hurting, Stacy; since you got this stupid idea of Mason being your mate in your head, you have been a right bitch to Jacob”, He retorts

“If he’s that upset about it, then why don’t you date him, Jaxon, and get off my case” he had pissed me off. I wasn’t being a bitch to Jacob; I couldn’t help it if I wasn’t destined to be with him. He’s great and all, but he’s not Mason.

“Whatever, you better tell mum you’re not going to be around then”, he shouts back and laughs. He knows I’m in for an earful now!

Slipping on my shoes, I tiptoe out of the dining room and through the back door in the kitchen. I'll be free if I could just get out of the house before mum sees me. I squeeze the handle and pull the door towards me.

“Hold up, young lady, I need you to help Miranda today”, she states. I stop to look over my shoulder and face my mother’s hands-on-hips and stern stare. I already know I have no choice now. That didn’t mean I wouldn’t give it a bloody good go anyway.

“Ugh, mum, please no, I’m busy. I already made plans,” I whine at her. “I said I would go and finish the plans for the party on Wednesday, and I also promised to go and visit poor Ayla, you know how I like to check on her. She struggles with friends as it is. I am the only friend she has” I pull a sad face.

Generally, if I bring Ayla into things, my mum gives in; she feels sorry for that skank. Goddess knows why. I heard it’s something to do with the fact she’s adopted and by the Alpha, no less. Apparently, mum dated Michael before he bonded with Laura. Everyone thinks she still has a thing for him, but surely not as she’s bonded to dad? Even though they don’t act like other bonded couples.

“Poor girl, I do hope she’s okay. It’s just dreadful that this happened to her. She’s a sweet girl, and you, my darling, are an angel for being so kind to her all the time; I couldn’t be prouder of you” my mother kissed my cheek. “Well, how about taking Miranda with you. I know she’s a bit older than you, but she doesn’t know anyone yet, and I have to work. She needs to get a few things done today; I told her you’d be happy to help” my mother reached for her bag and keys, readying herself to leave. “Remember, darling, helping others eventually helps you.”

“I hate that saying; it had been preached to me my whole life”, I screamed inwardly, but all I could do was smile sweetly. Right now, I needed to keep my mother happy it was only a couple of days until my birthday. I couldn’t afford to upset her and lose my big party.

“Fine, oh, and mum Jaxon said before he left that he wants to help out as much as possible too, so give him a message or a call with a few things he can do too; he asked me to pass the message on” I smirk “There you go brother, enjoy that one.”

Ayla’s POV

I had the best dream and didn’t want it to end, but I could feel someone trying to wake me.

“Go away,” I say to myself. “If I keep my eyes shut, I could force myself to stay asleep.”

“Ayla, I can see you are trying to force your eyes to stay closed” I heard his voice now; he sounded amused. “We can’t lay here all day; we already stayed all night!”

Shifting my position, I feel hands around my waist; I’m not in my bed or even on the sofa.

“Wait, that’s Aiden’s voice,” I tell myself. Instantly I’m awake, and he’s laughing.

“Wow, now that’s a quick change around”, he sniggers.

Everything that had happened in the last forty-eight hours came crashing back to me like a tidal wave. Aiden was my mate, and so were Axel and Archer. My heart rate picks up, and I want to scream from the rooftops. My life was forever different now, and I loved it.

“Good morning, beautiful; nice of you to join me,” he says right next to my ear, kissing my cheek and sending butterflies to my belly. Every inch of my skin tingled when he touched me, and I craved it. Being near him was driving me mad.

“Hi, I’m sorry. Did I fall asleep on you?” I mumble, hiding my face, too embarrassed to look him in the eye.

“You did, and it was perfect, but we do have to get up, see how you’re healing and what we need to do next” he ran his fingers through my hair, moving stray strands from my face; no doubt I looked a mess and smelt even worse. Yet he wasn’t complaining.

“Have you heard from your brothers?” I ask, my voice sounding rough.

“Yeah, they sent me a mind message earlier on. It was very distant, though, but I got most of it. They will be with us soon, so we better move” he caught me up.

Standing up for the first time in just under two days was weird! My legs felt like jelly, and I wasn’t sure if I remembered how to walk. I wasn’t in as much pain as I was yesterday, though. I was able to take a couple of steps unaided as well. Aiden was right there, ready to catch me if I fell. After a couple of tries, I had it. It mainly was the dizziness that was stopping me, not the pain. I hadn’t eaten in two days either, and my body was screaming at me for food, and so was Bria.

“Hello Bria, yes, I know we need to eat! Trust me, that’s the first place I’m going after going to the loo!” I tell her, and I hear her chuckle in my mind.

“What are you smiling at” Aiden wondered. I look over to him and beam. I love having my wolf.

“Bria is hungry,” I tell him and take a few more steps towards the door.

“Me too!” he moans. “Let’s go before all the good food is gone.”

The walk to the kitchen took a bit longer than I wanted, but at least I was doing it myself. My body ached more than hurt now; I felt tired and bruised. I really couldn’t wait to be done with this healing. Thank the Goddess for werewolf speed healing is all I can say.

The kitchen was surprisingly busy when we arrived. Aiden had pushed the door open for me. As soon as everyone saw it was me, the room fell silent. This certainly wasn’t something I wanted to get used to. I hated being the centre of attention.

“Ayla, you’re up! How are you, darling” Laura came rushing over.

“I’m fine, just a bit achy and tired but nothing much now, really”, I try to reassure her, but undoubtedly, she will continue to fuss.

The rest of the occupants of the kitchen started to move simultaneously. There was the cleaning staff, the waiters, and all the household help. Laura was organising them all; they must have been using the kitchen as a meeting room this morning.

“Here, Ayla, come and sit here. Are you hungry! Yes, you must be. I’ll make you something! Anything you like, you just say, and I’ll make it” Ellie scrambled from her seat and started grabbing everything she could find out of the cupboards; it was funny to watch, even though I knew she was only trying to help, I couldn’t help but find it funny.

“Thank you, Ellie, anything at all will do; I’m starving… umm, could you please make enough for Aiden, Axel and Archer, to please” I sheepishly ask. No one knew of our bonding, apart from Michael and Laura.

“Yes, of course, love”, she answers but looks for approval from her Luna; I see Laura nod, and Ellie gets on with it.

“Right, the rest of you know your tasks for the day; let’s get going, shall we” Laura claps, and everyone gets moving. She’s a brilliant Luna, kind, caring and understanding, but everyone knows not to underestimate her and always to do as she asks; when she asks, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of an angry Luna, especially one who needs to be in control of all situations.

“Have you heard from Michael?” I asked her; Aiden had told me he was helping his brothers look for information on their situation and that he had been with them the whole time.

“Yes, he will be up shortly, and they have a few things to discuss with us”, Laura answers but doesn’t turn around; she was busying herself with sorting the already perfectly organised counter. She refused to look at Aiden; I don’t think she knew what to say to him. They had both believed him to be guilty, thanks to Mason until I proved him wrong. Thankfully I haven’t had to see Mason yet, but I can’t say I’m looking forward to it. I know Aiden will want to kill him!

Seated around the large table in the kitchen, I waited for Ellie to cook the food and for the boys to arrive. I was anxious to see them yet so fully excited it felt as if they had been away for weeks, not only hours.

Aiden must have sensed my rising impatience as he laced his arms around my waist. Instantly I relaxed back into him. Honestly, I'm sure nothing felt better than being near him, any of them, but right now, I have only really spent time with Aiden, and he was exactly what I needed. I wanted to say more to Laura, but there wasn’t anything to say, and I felt drained from walking.

It hadn’t been more than five minutes when the first signs that my other two mates were on their way. I couldn’t explain it, but I could feel them drawing closer. I heard them sooner than I usually would have, now that I have had my first shift. I couldn’t stop the smile from spreading across my face when I heard them, and even more so when their scents reached me. It was like my body reacted before I was even aware. My pulse had quickened, and I was on my feet before I knew it. I had reached them before either had stepped foot in the kitchen.

Axel had lightning reflexes and a good job, too; the moment I was within his reach, I threw myself at him; I was wrapped in his arms before he could say anything. And damn, it was good.

“Well, hi! I have missed you too,” he declared

“You were gone for so long”, I grumbled but smiled. I could feel Archer moving up next to him. I untangled myself from Axel, did nothing more than a half-turn, and fell into the waiting arms of my third mate.

“Hey Beautiful, you okay” He held me closely, stroking my back as he spoke.

“So much better now”, I admit, loving the feeling I got when all three of my men were here together. I was so lost in the moment I hadn’t noticed Michael standing behind them, watching the scene unfold before him until he cleared his throat.

“Glad to see you up and about, Ayla. Shall we go to the kitchen? We have a lot to discuss” Michael walked towards the door, not waiting for an answer.