Chapter 3. We Found Our Mate

~Landon~

"Portia…Portia Colby." She sighs and looks down at her ankle, inspecting the damage.

"Tia."

"What?"

"I said, it's Tia." She sighs again and tries to get up. I quickly move to her side, grabbing her hand. She pulls away at first but then places her hand in mine, and the sparks fly. My body shivers at the contact, and I have to take a deep breath to stay focused. I place my other hand on her elbow and help her off of the ground. She leans into me, trying to keep pressure off of her ankle. I know it will heal pretty soon, but it looks kind of bad right now.

"Why 'Tia'?" She turns her head to me and raises an eyebrow.

"Huh?"

"Why do you go by Tia?" She chuckles a bit, but there's no humor in her voice.

"Do you know what the name Portia means?" I shake my head. Truth be told, I never really thought about what people's names mean. "It means, well, in many circles, it means pig or hog. Shakespeare meant it in a different way, but that wasn't the intended meaning when the name was given to me." Now I wonder how the hell she knows all of that. "And how do I know that, you wonder? My father told me so. He named me Portia specifically because of its meaning. So I go by Tia."

Damn, that's just fucked up. Why would a parent do that to a child, and why tell them that they did that?

Son, what the hell is going on? Everyone is confused and waiting for you two. Both of us? I look around, but Lincoln is nowhere to be found. I wonder where he went.

Dad, it's a bit complicated, but...we found our mate. Please postpone things for us. I will explain everything later.

Say no more. Take your time, and we will talk tomorrow.

"Who was that you were talking to?" I look down at Tia.

"Just my dad. He will have to postpone the ceremony. We…we should talk."

Tia sighs and looks down at her feet. She nods slightly before looking back up at me. She's fucking gorgeous. She has big, light brown eyes with long, natural lashes. Her lips are thick and pouty. She has flawless brown skin, and her hairstyle is cute on her: goddess braids in a brown/blonde color. The coloring suits her skin tone very well. She's about 5'7 with a body to die for. She has a nice round ass and a big-sized chest, though not too big. Everything looks well proportioned with her toned body. You can tell that she still works out even though she has been away. My body is starting to respond to hers, though now is not the time for all of that.

We start to walk back toward the packhouse, and I notice Tia limping. I quickly pick her up bridal style, making her gasp.

"Hey, I can walk, you know."

"You can, that's true, but you're limping. You need to give your ankle time to heal. I wouldn't be a gentleman if I didn't try to help you along." I wink at her and notice a bit of a blush appear on her cheeks. She looks away and timidly wraps her arms around my neck. I take a deep breath, trying to savor her scent without being a creep about it.

"Where's your brother? I assume I'm fated to you both, correct?"

"I'm not sure where he is, but I'd imagine he'll be along at some point." We continue to head back to the packhouse.

~Lincoln~

I don't know how long I've been running. I stripped off my coat and tie along the way. I put up my mind block and took off. I wish I could shift, but if I shift, I will end up right where I don't want to be. I end up at the lake we have in the back of our territory. It's a beautiful lake that not a lot of people frequent. It's the perfect place to have a quiet moment.

I kick my shoes off and let my feet breathe. Running in dress shoes wasn't the smartest idea, but it's too late now. I sit close to the lake's edge and place my head on my knees. What am I going to do? If I accept Portia as my mate, that means that my brother and I will have to share her. I'm not sure that I'm strong enough for that. I don't want to get jealous or angry with my brother. Choosing the twins would have been perfect, and I'm sure that eventually, the bond would be strong there.

Truth be told, I have always had a bit of a crush on Portia; I just never told anyone, not even my brother. She's gorgeous and such a fierce fighter. I would say she may be better than her sisters. Where they have been coddled, she has pushed herself to the limits of her skills. She would be an amazing Luna.

As I sit and look out over the lake, I hear a twig snap behind me. I pretend that I don't hear anything and wait a bit. Sure enough, the scent of the person hits me, informing me of exactly who it is.

"What are you doing here?"

"You and your brother left so abruptly. Your parents wouldn't tell us what's going on, just that the ceremony is postponed."

The intruder sits next to me and places a hand on my arm. In the past, this would please me, this personal contact. Today, it just feels so wrong. It feels as if I'm cheating on my mate. I sigh and turn to Aida. I take in her perfect coif and her manicured nails. Her makeup is always done to perfection, but she uses too much around the eyes. Her perfume is always loud and piled on. Her dark brown eyes bore into me, imploring me to make her feel better. I just can't seem to do that.

"Everything is fine. It's just that something came up, and we have to deal with it."

"Something came up? What could have possibly come up just as you were about to be sworn in as Alpha?"

I close my eyes. I know this will keep going until the truth is out. Aida has never been known to let things be. Then, if she gets information that is too much for her, she's devastated.

"It's just…just something. Please, we don't need to do this now." I open my eyes and see tears start to form in her eyes. She's always emotional, though I would imagine half the time, it's fake.

"Why don't you just tell her what she wants to know? There's no point in hiding it. We are to be the Lunas of this pack, are we not?"

Ah, Adela. I should have known that she wasn't far behind. Wherever one is, the other is close by. I put my head back down to rest on my knees. I didn't come out here to be interrogated. I just wanted to be left alone so that I can think.

"Please, baby. Tell us what's going on." Aida softly kisses the top of my earlobe, letting her tongue graze the tip, which pisses Brutus off. He wants to rip her tongue out for touching me with it. I struggle to keep him at bay. They don't deserve the punishment. It isn't like any of us knew that this was going to happen.

This may not be the best way to do this or the best time, but the truth needs to come out. I stand up and look between Aida and Adela, who is standing behind her. I run my hand across my jaw, sighing deeply. "We…we seem to have found our mate."

Adela looks pissed, and Aida looks heartbroken. Fuck, this is too much to take in right now. I have so much to consider.

"You two are rejecting her, right? You love us and told us we would stand next to you. She's going to be rejected. RIGHT?!"

Always straight to the point, that Adela. What am I supposed to say? I can't tell them yes because I know for a fact that Landon will not be rejecting her. I can't tell them no because that would create a shitstorm that no one wants to deal with right now.

"Things will…work out. Just give us time to get there." I turn and walk away, unable to take the looks anymore. I can hear Aida sob, and Adela comforts her. I slowly walk away from the pair, heading back into the forest. I still need time to think and figure out what I'm going to do.

~Adela~

What. The. Fuck. This can't be happening. Who the fuck is their mate? It has to be someone who was at the ceremony, but who? It can't be someone in our pack. They have been back from their training for about a year now. When they returned, we started to see each other again, and they told us that they planned to make us their chosen. Dad was ecstatic when we told him the news. He always said that we were meant for greater things. He is proud to be a warrior, but his princesses deserve better. And we do deserve better. We are smart and amazing warriors. Dad trained us personally, and there isn't really anyone who can defeat us.

Aida lays her head on my shoulder and cries softly. She has had this dream for a long time of being mated to Lincoln. She has always had a crush on him and dared to call it love. I always thought the twins were attractive but wondered if I were to be mated to someone in my own pack. There's never that guarantee. I prefer to be the Luna here since I know everyone and vice versa.

Truth be told, we found our mates while the twins were off training. Aida and I were in a neutral territory shopping together. We met two best friends at the mall and immediately knew they were our mates. After speaking to them, we realized they were warriors in their pack but not head warriors or even up for any promotions. They didn't even want more. They were content in their position, seeing no need to get more. That didn't work for me; it wasn't enough. Aida couldn't handle the fact that Lincoln wasn't hers. We rejected the two and left the mall. We only ever told our dad, and he told us that we did the right thing. There's no one else for us other than the Alphas. We have to make this work.

Dad?

Yes, Honey? Are you and Honeybun okay? Do you know what's going on?

Lincoln told us. We have a problem.

Just tell Daddy what it is, and he will fix it.

Lincoln said...they found their mate. My father growls through the mindlink, causing me to shudder.

You two get home. I will handle it.

"Come, Aida. Let's go home." She lifts her head and looks at me with damp eyes.

"But what about them? What do we do?"

"Nothing. We do nothing. Dad said he will take care of it." That perks Aida up, and I help her to her feet. We walk home, hand in hand.