Stopping outside of my door, I hear Catie and Madison laughing. I pause, wondering why my door is shut but then shrug it off and open the door. As I walk in, Caties and Madisons heads snap in my direction, and I notice both of them are smiling at me. I shut the door behind me and pick up a stray piece of clothing laying on the ground and toss it into my dirty clothes bin. "What are you guys talking about?" I question, sitting next to them on the bed.

"I'm just telling Catie about everything that happened when she was away." Madison states with a small smile. I nod in response to her and look at Catie, crossing one leg under my thigh.

"A lot of shit definitely happened when you were away." I state, adding exaggeration by widening my eyes and nodding my head. "Anyways, so Catie how was your trip?" I question, looking at her. I'm resting one elbow on my knee, twirling my hair between my fingers.

She smiles and scratches her head slightly before responding, "It was really good. I got see see a lot of pretty scenery and see many family members that I haven't gotten to see in a long time." She sits back further on the bed to lean against the wall. "We went pretty far away, so the weather was a bit different than here and I just got to run around and see new things." Catie has a big smile on her face. She goes more into detail which causes her to talk for while. Catie has always been someone who explains a lot, sometimes when she's telling a story she'll go so in depth about the color of her clothing that day and if it has a certain design on it.

She tells us about certain things that happened with her family members and other people she just met on the trip. I do notice the weird pause between her story when she was in the middle of a sentence, and then she changes it to a different part in her trip.

"That sounds really cool." Madison says with a grin, "I'm glad you had a good time Cate." I nod, showing Catie that I agree with Madison. I am glad that she had a good time with her family, but I feel like there is something that she's not telling us.

"Thanks, you guys." Catie smiles, looking down at her phone. She scoots towards the edge of my bed, sighing, "It's getting pretty late, I should probably head out." We all get up, gathering all of her things to make sure she doesn't forget anything. When we're sure she has everything she came here with, we all walk down the stairs. Madison opens the door and Catie walks through, waving at us before walking away.

"Get home safe!" I yell, causing Catie to smile at us before disappearing and a moment later we see she's shifted with all of her belongings attached to her. We watch her retreating form before shutting the door and heading into the kitchen. Opening the fridge, I ask, "Want a water?" Madison nods, and I grab two ice cold water bottles from the fridge and toss one to her. She fumbles to catch it and it makes a soft 'thunk' when it hits the floor. Lazily, she bends and picks it up, and it slips through her fingers causing her to drop it again which I laugh at. She bends a second time and picks it up.

I hear the volume of the television in the living room being turned up, and Madison and I look back and forth at each other. Curious, we grab our water bottles and turn down the hall towards the living room. Madison takes little sips of her water and we see the light flash against the empty walls, showing the corner of the living room.

"Oh!" The tv exclaims. I groan already knowing what show is on. I paused in the entrance of the living room, leaning against the doorframe and going back to each of the three faces.

Justin is stretched across the couch with a beer in his hand, while Cameron and Tyler are on a different couch with empty bottles scattered in front of them. Cameron is sitting back with one arm over the back of the couch and a beer in his left hand resting on his knee. Tyler is sitting hunched over with his elbows on his knees and hands clasped together, with his drink set in front of him. I look over to the coffee table next to Justin and notice an 18 pack of Coors Light and a 24 pack of Corona. My nose scrunches up and I hear Madison scoff at them.

I notice Justin side eye us before taking a swig of beer and readjusting his head to look at the television. I look around the big living room, searching for any sign Beverly was there and even looking back in the hallway.

"Where's your girlfriend, Justin?" I sneer, cocking my head to the left. His face stays expressionless and he doesn't look at me when he answers.

"Not my girlfriend." He scoffs, eyes stilled glued on the tv. "Just someone to have in bed. Not the best, but she's up there." He just gives vague answers.

I cross my arms, still leaning against the doorway, "Why did she say she was going to be in your life?" I question. Out of my peripheral, I see Tyler turn his head in Justins direction. Justin just shrugs, brushing me off.

I use my index finger and thumb to squeeze the bridge of my nose and shake my head at him. Madison isn't paying attention to Justin or I and just walks into the living room and sits next to Tyler. I glance over and see Tyler is already staring at me and I hold his eye contact. He has a confused expression and ends up breaking the eye contact. "The Simpsons? Really?" Madison complains staring at Justin who doesn't spare her a glance. I watch as she looks away and frowns at the television.

"What? It's a cool show." Cameron replies coolly, finishing his beer. He adds the bottle to his collection and reaches for a new one.

"It's a stupid show." Madison pouts, crossing her arms over her chest like a child. I walk across the room and take a seat next to Madison, avoiding glancing at Tyler. I wont lie, The Simpsons is definitely not one of my favorite shows either.

Cameron shakes his head disapprovingly with an amused smile on his face as he turns the volume up.

After two long episodes with Homer, Bart, Lisa, Magee, and Marge, those of the pack that haven't eaten trickle into the dining room for dinner.

There's a very awkward vibe throughout dinner, both of my parents and brother stay quiet most of the time. The room is filled with many different conversations at everyone else chat with each other. My mother and Madison talk to me a couple times, but then chat quietly with others. My brother with his beta and third, my parents, and Madison chat among themselves with some of the other pack members. I just stay to myself, silently eating. Once I finish most of my plate, I excuse myself from the table and leave to be alone in my room.

Once I'm back in my room, I shut the door and just fall onto my bed. I lay on my side just staring at my wall, thinking.

~

"Hurry up Allison or I will leave without you!" My brother roars, banging on my door. Justin and I still haven't talked anything out because he's being stubborn.

I finish the last bit of makeup and make sure my hair is perfect with not a strand out of place. I stop myself in the middle of it and wonder why I'm even trying so hard for him. I take in a deep breath and fling my bag over my shoulder and open my door, walking directly past Justin. I meet Madison at the door and we walk out to the car with Justin trailing behind us. We both slide into the backseat, pulling the door shut after us.

It seems like Justin has decided to do something nice considering recent event, and is giving us a ride to the school since my car is in the shop. Honestly, I'm really surprised he's even doing this for us.

"Thanks for hurrying up." She says sarcastically."Since when do you wear this much makeup?"

I look down at my hands, wondering if it looks like I tried too hard. I wish I could turn around, take this off and do my normal routine, but I know it's too late. I look out the window, sighing, "Since I want to try something different." I mutter after not being able to avoid her question.

But I know she knew the real reason is because of Mason.

~

I quickly exchange my science books for my literature books and shut my locker with a couple minutes to spare. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up and I get the feeling someone is staring at me. A feeling of nerves and butterflies rush through my stomach and I come face to face with my devilishly handsome mate.

He has a grin covering his face as he slowly looks me up and down. I get squeamish with how intense his stare is, and I hold my books against my chest. Feeling an intense amount of nerves in my stomach, I move past him in the direction of Ms. Woodhams class. He makes me feel so nervous I never know what to actually say to him, and instead I find myself walking away.

I know that he is following me because I hear his footsteps, and the feeling of his presence gets closer. I stop in my tracks once I feel his big hands wrap around my waist. My back is facing towards him, but I feel his lips nest to my eat and his jagged breath fans my cheeks.

"Hello gorgeous." Mason whispers in a husky voice.

"Um hi." I keep my eyes trained on my feet. My nerves are on fire, he sparks something inside of me that I never knew was there. This feeling is intoxicating.

Mason wraps his long arm around my shoulder and dips his head close to my ear again. I glance around the halls and notice girls glaring at me and gossiping to others about us.

"Who's his new whore?"

"He'll be done with her in at most a week Mer, you can get with him again after."

"She's not even pretty." I hear people whisper to each other. My teeth grind, feeling a bit of embarrassment when Mason snaps me back to what's happening between us.

"I've been thinking since we're mates, you should start getting comfortable with my pack house and start packing your things." He states, staring at me.

I'm a bit taken aback at this statement. My heart is racing and subconsciously I know exactly what he's saying. I stare at him dumbfounded.

I wave my hand and step away from him, "Why would I need to get comfortable at your pack house and why would I need to pack my things?" I question, staring directly at him.

"You don't think I'm letting my mate stay away from me, do you? I want you near me so I know if anything happens and if anyone tries to touch you." He says, staring at me like I should know this. The thought of leaving my pack terrifies me. I've always known that there was a chance I'd have to leave my pack, but I never thought of it being this soon or the possibility my mate would be hated by most people in my pack. I'm only 18, and the thought of leaving what I've known since I was born, terrifies the shit out of me.

"Why can't I just stay with my pack?" I question with my eyes going wide.

"First, I need my mate." He smirks, moving a piece of hair out of my face. "Second, like I said, I wanna make sure that nothing happens to you. Third, if we're going to make this work we need to fully do this, and fourth, you're mine, and I want you there with me."

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