Chapter 34
Tanner’s POV
I got my hair cut and a nice clean shave in the nearby city, and I even stopped to get my favorite cologne as well. I had not brought it because I didn’t want Taylor to be any more excited at me being there and looking good, and thinking that it was for her because it wasn’t. I am only doing this for my beautiful angel, my mate, Gabi.
Just saying her name makes me happy. I came back to Crimson Shadow, and I don’t know what I have done wrong lately, but I see Taylor coming out of the dining room with four girls with her and when she sees me, she makes a beeline to me with her little friends in tow.
“Tanner, you look so handsome. I appreciate you getting a shave and a haircut just for my party. But I thought you looked better earlier with your hair a little longer. I wanted to run my fingers through it when we got to dance tonight”, Taylor tells me, and I had to fight back the grimace I wanted to make at her comment.
“I am sorry Taylor, but I will not be able to dance with you. I have met my mate, and I do not think that she would be happy with me dancing with you tonight. I hope you have a wonderful night though” I said, and I turned and walked away. I heard a crash and I turned back on the curved stairwell to see that Taylor had thrown her cell phone into the decorative vase on the table at the entrance. Taylor is shaking with fury, and I am glad that my Luna can hold her own in a fight, as Taylor is angrier than I have ever seen her, and her friends are backing away from her. I saw her mom coming towards her and Taylor leading with a lie as she said, “My phone slipped from my hand mom. Can someone go and get another phone for me for the party tonight mom? I need it. I have something important on it that I will need to show you and dad as soon as possible”. Taylor knew I had stopped on the stairs, and she gave me such an evil smirk. I have no idea what she is planning, but I know it won’t be good for me. I continued up the stairs, as I would not allow Taylor’s petty, spoiled ass to keep me from my mate, and I headed straight to my parents’ room. I will need some help tonight.
I saw Stone heading down the stairwell above me and I stopped him to quickly talk to him. “Stone, Taylor just threw her phone into the vase at the entryway table and broke it. I had just told her that I wouldn’t dance with her, as I had found my mate here today. Taylor is furious and planning something and I may need your help as I already know that whatever she has planned will be really bad for me. I am going to talk to my parents, but she just totally lied to your mom about what just happened with her phone, and I am sure she won’t miss a beat lying to both your parents if needed. I am serious as a heart attack. I will not take on Taylor as a chosen mate. I want my own actual mate that I already love”, I told Stone.
“Calm down Tanner, it will be OK. I will back you up. You swear nothing happened when she let herself into your room the last time you were here?” Stone asked me.
“Stone, I swear to you, by the Goddess, that I woke up when she got into my bed naked. I kicked her out and she got dressed and left. I bet she took pictures of me before she woke me up, and that is why she needs a new phone”, I told him, and he nodded in agreement.
“I bet you are right. She has been telling anyone who will listen that she is going to be the Luna in the Blood Rose pack for the last two months. I was coming down as mom was sending me to get the new phone. I will go through it, and her cloud, and if I do see something concerning you, I will let you know when I get back. You are right. She is a very good liar, and we may have to get dad to Alpha command her to tell the truth about it if she tries to break you two up. Congratulations to you Tanner, who is the lucky lady?” Stone said to me.
“Her name is Gabi, and she is from the Ever Green pack,” I told him.
His mouth dropped open, and he stumbled back two steps and was clearly stunned. “I am going to go get the phone now, this is really going to be a problem. That secret that I was telling you about earlier”, Stones said, and then stopped speaking and dragged his hand through his hair. Stone said, “I am going to have to get with my mom and dad when I get back home with her new phone. We will have to talk. I don’t know what is going to happen”, Stone finishes and then runs down the stairs and I heard the front door slam behind him as he exits.
I frown, as I don’t like hearing that this will be a problem, and continue up the steps. Those are not words that you want to hear from your neighbor and someone that you have a treaty with and have had a good relationship with for the last 20-plus years. I headed right to mom and dad’s room and knocked. I heard mom call out “Come in” and I entered their room and filled them in on what had just happened from when I entered the packhouse until I got through talking to Stone.
“We are going to have to keep our eyes open tonight, son. I know you didn’t sleep with Taylor, and if we need to, we will fight for your mate. I just don’t want to have to break the alliance that we have had for almost a hundred years, for a selfish young woman’s whim. I agree with Stone, we will stick with you on this and if we have to flex and make him use Alpha command to get her to stop lying, we will do it”, my dad said to me, and my mom nodded her head in agreement, and I sighed in relief. I don’t want to go to war with them, but our pack is bigger by at least 300 wolves, and we have 160 more warriors than Crimson Shadow does. My wolves are also highly trained. We will not lose this battle, they will have to get her to tell the truth, by whatever means necessary. Because this will not end well for them.
I finally relaxed and I headed into the adjoining room and saw my sister on the bed on her phone and my brother on the desk and watching the video of him with Gabi, sparring. I come closer to watch it as well and I am impressed with her moves. Gavin moves over so I can see better, and the video ends when she looks out at where I was and runs away.
“I don’t know why she left, but she is a total badass. I have not enjoyed getting beaten up before in my life, but I would totally let her do that again”, Gavin said and started the video again. He jerks up as he hears the growl leave my throat and the door between the rooms flies open and my mom comes in, followed closely by dad. “What happened? What is going on?” They both said at the same time. Gavin was backing away from me and pointed to his computer with his hands up to keep me calm as he said, “I was watching the video of me sparring with the new female trainer from Ever Green, and all I said was I didn’t know why she ran away, that she was a total badass, and that I would love to fight and lose to her again” Gavin finished and was now behind our parents.
Dad smiled really widely and looked at me and said, “You didn’t tell them?”
“I didn’t have time to before Gavin started talking shit,” I told dad.
“I think that you should, they will both be really excited about it,” mom said and came to put her arm around my waist, and we stood facing my family.
“I met my mate today, kind of,” I told them.
“What do you mean, “kind-of” Tanner?” Alicia asked me as she got off the bed and put her phone down.
“I mean I finally found her on the property, and when she sensed me, she took off running. I was told that I was her second chance mate, and she is skittish, so I had to go slowly. I guess her original mate did a number on her”, I told them.
“I am so happy for you Tanner,” Alicia told me and gave me a big hug.
“Holy shit, you mean you are mated to that beautiful girl I was sparring with?” Gavin asked me and I growled at him again.
“Sorry, but she is hot. Man, you are the luckiest guy in the world, Tanner”, Gavin said, and I happened to agree with him.
“I agree, I am really lucky, Gabi is beautiful, but we are probably going to have a problem tonight,” I told them and then filled them in on what happened.
“I swear if I had to, I would kick her ass on her birthday. I am sure she took pictures of you, Tanner. Did you at least sleep in clothes, Tanner?” Alicia asked me, rolling her eyes at me.
“Yes, Alicia, I did. I had my sweatpants on. How in the hell could I have known that a 16-year-old would do that? I was spending the night because I was up late speaking with her father. She shouldn’t be sneaking into strange men’s rooms around the packhouse. My door was locked, what else could I have done?”, I told her, and I was frustrated, as I knew how conniving she was, and I ran both my hands through my hair. I am going to need to catch Gabi quickly and let her know what happened before Taylor realizes that she is my mate and tries to ruin this for me.
I swear to the Goddess, if Taylor thinks that she can do this to become my Luna, she is dead wrong. I will never be with her, ever. I can guarantee this though, that if she plans on going through with this, either her father, Alpha, commands her to tell the truth, or I will go to war with their pack and then cut all ties with them. Because there is no way I am letting that spiteful girl take my Goddess-given mate away from me, without a fight.