Elliot
It's taken weeks and many talks with my parents, but I'm finally starting to realize that sharing my mate is reality and there is nothing I can do about it. Christian is still talking about denying fate, but I don't know how much longer that will last since she's still consuming his every thought and breath.
It must be hard for him. I feel terrible about my initial reaction; I should have never taken it out on him. It was out of his control. I hate how miserable he is over this whole thing and I hate how miserable I am at the thought of sharing my mate, who I've waited for my whole life. I'm sure fate has its reasons, but I wish I knew what those reasons were. Every time I look at Christian, my gut still churns. A part of me still wants to let my anger out on him, but I know it's wrong. I'm hoping that when I get to meet her, seeing him with her will put me at ease. For all I know, though, is he'll fight it until she's of age and refuse her, allowing me to have her myself. It will more than likely break her heart and I don't want to see her so broken either. It's a double edged sword, really.
My phone goes off and I realize I'm staring at my computer, but not doing any work. Looking down, I see a message from my mother.
*You're going to want to come to my house, ASAP.*
My eyebrows knit together. It's 4:00pm. I still have an hour left before I close the building. Before I can tell her that, another text message comes through.
*Anastasia.*
I jump up so quickly, my knee hits the underside of my desk and I hiss while I rub it and hobble toward the door of my office to get my coat.
"Cassius, you're in charge of locking up tonight! I've got to go!" I holler at my senior manager.
"I was just leaving."
I shrug. "Then tell the rest to get out and lock up now. I've got an emergency." I hurry out of the front glass doors, not bothering to listen to what he's saying back.
Jumping in my truck, I peel out of the parking lot while I search my glove box for my deoderant and cologne. I always keep an extra set in case I have a particular nasty day at work, but if Anastasia really is at my parents, I want to be smelling extra fresh. I drive through the early evening traffic while I slip off my work t-shirt and roll on some fresh deoderant and lean to the back to get the extra t-shirt I leave in the seat. I notice an old lady staring at me with her nose scrunched and I give her a smile and a wave. I probably look like a mad man dressing in the middle of traffic, but I don't have a choice! At a red light I manage to get my fresh t-shirt over my head and spray on a little cologne. I do my best to situate my hair and smooth my eyebrows in the rearview mirror and then spend the rest of the drive there bitching about the slow ass traffic that's in my way. I don't have time for this shit!
By the time I pull into my parents gate and up the driveway, I am so nervous and excited that I feel like my stomach is going to fall out my ass. I can't ever remember feeling nerves like this before. Instead of butterflies in my stomach, they're pterodactyls that are clawing to get their way out. My heart is thundering so hard that my shirt is moving with the beat of it.
I push my palm against my chest on my way up the walk, hoping that I can get it to calm down enough before I see her. My mate. My incredible, perfect mate who I've been dreaming about for so long.
By the time I hit the door, I feel like a teenager about ready to dive headfirst off of a 100 foot high cliff into deep blue unknown waters. The pterodactyls in my stomach are eating each other and I'm having such strong heart palpations that I think I'm going to spew all over my mother's prized hydrangeas. I can never remember feeling so damn excited and scared shitless at the same time. Jesus H. Christ. What the fuck am I doing?
Wiping the sweat off my forehead, I take a deep breath and enter, trying to act as fucking nonchalantly as I can. Making my way through the foyer, I hear voices toward the kitchen and make quick strides towards my mother's voice. I slow when I turn the corner and I find my mother standing on one side of the counter while my sister sits between two girls on the other side, text books and notebooks covering most of the large island. Shit. She goes to college with my sister.
Halfway to the island I stop, the smell of warm vanilla sugar and apples invading my senses. I close my eyes and breathe deep; the smell of my mate immediate calming me. It's definitely her. I can feel it pulsing through my veins. My force is practically vibrating.
When I open my eyes, I find my mother beaming at me. She knows that she's the Anastasia, too. She nods towards the one in front of her. The brunette who has her head bent down, scribbling something in her notebook. Studious. Smart, I'm sure. My sister and a blonde seem to have foregone the studying for a gab session because they're clucking away like hens.
"Elliot…"
My eyes snap back to my mother.
"So good to see you. Come meet Mia's college friends. Kate and Anastasia."
My mate's head pops up at her name, like she was in her zone and my breath leaves me. A set of the most beautiful blue wide eyes meet mine. So damn innocent. The urge to protect her is so damn strong I actually jerk at the need to hurry to her side, but I collect myself and clear my throat.
"Nice to meet you, Elliot. I'm Kate Kavanagh." The blonde has popped up right beside me, but my eyes are glued to Anastasia. Her long brunette hair, beautiful blue eyes, sweet little nose, and soft pink lips. She's got long dark eyelashes that kiss the freckles along her the tops of her cheeks when she blinks. I want to kiss them, too.
My mother steps between us, blocking my view of her. Shaking my head a little to clear the spell she has on me, I turn toward the Kate girl only to find her giving me a flirty smile. She holds out her hand and I shake it.
"Nice to meet you, Kate. Elliot Trevelyan Grey."
Kate giggles and tilts her head. "Such big strong hands, Elliot."
"Um, thanks." I pull my hand out of hers, itchy to touch my girl next.
When I turn towards the girl I really care about, I find her rolling her eyes. It makes me smile. A little sass. I like that. I like that a lot. Seeing my face and realizing I caught her, she gives me a large smile back, gorgeous white teeth showing.
"So, you must be Anastasia, I reckon?"
She gives me a nod and offers me her soft delicate hand. "Elliot."
I shiver.
I don't think that there is one inch of my body that didn't erupt in goosebumps at that voice. The way she said my name gave me an instant half-chub. Fuck. This is going to be harder than I expected.
When my hand comes in contact with hers there's a spark. An actual spark that causes both of us to pull back for a second before our hands meet again and I clasp her small cold hand in mine. I'll warm it up, babydoll.
"I prefer Ana. Nice to meet you."
My lip pulls back up into a one-sided smirk. "Okay then. Does Ana have a last name?"
I get her to giggle and I actually groan. I'm fucking embarrassing myself.
"Steele."
"Well, pleasure to meet you, Ana Steele."
She bites the corner of her bottom lip and a sweet blush covers her cheeks as she gives me a shy nod.
I wonder if she can feel this between us. I know she isn't wearing my mark, yet, but certainly she would feel some sort of pull to me, wouldn't she? Fate would make sure of that.
"Elliot, stop eye fucking my friend and keep your hands to yourself."
I jerk my hand away from Anastasia's and scowl at my sister. "Watch your mouth, little sister. I was being polite."
"I'm an adult, I'll speak how I please."
My mother clears her throat. "You know I don't appreciate swearing in this household. It's rude. It's also rude to bicker with each other when we have guests."
Yes, guests.
My eyes flick back toward Anastasia and I find her still watching me. When I give her a smile, she seems to catch herself and turns back to her textbook. I can see her cheeks heat up again, though. She can't hide that from me.
Christian
I fly out of the back of my Audi SUV as soon as Taylor puts it in park. My mother left me a worrisome message about a family emergency and left out any fucking sort of detail before proceeding to ignore my phone calls when I tried calling her back.
Hustling up the walk, I enter, slamming the door behind me before I start calling out for my mother.
"Mother? Mom! Where are you? What the hell is-" I stop in my tracks when I notice a group of people in the kitchen.
"Oh, Christian, you're here."
"Your voicemail... tell me what that was about? Where's Dad?" I take a deep breath, trying to calm my heart rate now that I know my mom is safe and looks happy. I get hit with the most incredible smell and look around, actually paying attention to the room for the first time.
"I'm sorry, honey. Just a misunderstanding is all. Your father is fine."
I lock eyes with the beautiful brunette with sky blue eyes next to Elliot. "Anastasia."
The girl looks confused. "Yes?"
A puff of air leaves me. Holy shit. Holy fucking shit.
"Do... do I know you?"
I shake my head. My brain seems to be misfiring and I've lost my words. I clear my throat, finding my bearings. "Sorry, no. My mother left a message mentioning your names. Just a lucky guess." I lie. Mom never mentioned anything about them. She did mention that something was happening at home and I needed to rush over, but that was it. I didn't know that the something was my mate that I'm trying to get over. How am I supposed to get over her now? Pale skin, long dark hair, pretty little mouth, and bright blue eyes. She's perfect.
I don't share, though.
I rip my eyes off of her to look at my brother, who is standing beside her with his hands in his jean pockets, rocking back and forth from his toes to his heels, looking like he just snatched the last cookie from the jar.
The sudden anger that flows me is like hot lead. It burns and it's heavy.
I look away.
"I... I need a drink."
Mom takes my arm and escorts me toward the dining room, where the bar is located. "Come on, I'll help. I didn't mean to scare you with that message, Christian."
Once we step into the dining room, I slide the barn style door closed and scowl down at my mother. "You knew if you said it was her, I wouldn't come! You manipulated me into coming!" I whisper harshly at her, angry.
"Christian, honey, you need this. You can't run from her. You need to know her so you can make an informed decision. It's only fair to both of you." She steps over to the bar to pour me a drink and I yank at my hair.
"You don't dictate when, where and how I see my mate!"
The barn door slides open and turning, I see Elliot step in and slide it closed behind him.
"This should have been my decision. It should have been on my terms! You pushed us together when I wasn't ready!"
Mom hands me my drink. "Stop fighting this, honey."
I shake my head. "I don't share."
Elliot snorts.
"Shut up!"
"Christian." Mom gets my attention again. "You have to face this. I am sorry that I did it this way, but it's important. I saw your reaction to her. You knew. She didn't utter a word, but you knew."
My palm finds my abdomen right at the bottom of my sternum before I realize.
"Your force. It's getting your attention."
I shake my head. "I don't want this shit."
Mom shrugs. "Tough. Both of you are going to have to navigate this. You've got a little over two years to figure this out before she gets her marks and you have to explain yourselves. I asked her and Kate to stay for dinner tonight so I can ask questions. I want to know if she has any idea of her background. I have a strong possibility she has no idea. She said her father died while her mother was pregnant."
No father.
I take a sip of the whiskey she poured me and take a second to think on it. Should I stay? Do I do this to myself? I scratch at my five o'clock shadow and look over at my brother.
He shrugs. "Just stay, man."
"Fine."
Mom gives me a large smile. "Great! Now, let's introduce you to the girls properly and then you two can have a seat back here so you aren't hovering before dinner." She eyes Elliot and I have a feeling that he might have been a little too forward with her already.
He cocks an eyebrow at her. "Okay, but the door stays open."
The comment makes her laugh. "Okay, Elliot. If you want to stare at the back of her head like a creepy old man, you go ahead."
