Mated: Reluctant Love

Author's Note:

Thank you for the warm reception! I am glad you have enjoyed the other two parts of this story. Please enjoy the finale along with a fun little epilogue.

Also, I just learned about the Series option - I'll be sure to correct that for any future connected stories I create here.

"Do you need shampoo?"

His soft question caught me by surprise.

I didn't know what to expect, but it hadn't been that. Of course he was being considerate. Even after roughly fucking me with his hand, he was going to care about me.

Pulling back just enough to look up, I considered him thoughtfully. He wasn't about to ask me to give him anything even after what he had just given me. Thinking about what we had been arguing about, I weighed my options. There was the heavy beating of my heart as I feared I had not given him enough of a chance. I was so determined to keep my walls up that I wasn't even considering what was on the other side.

So what if it came with mates and werewolves and more? He was there. And maybe that was worth it. Maybe he was worth it. Emotions warred through me as I tried to think. All of this suddenly felt like a very big decision.

No matter what, I still had a choice. He was making sure of that, I reminded myself. I could always change my mind.

"Yes," I told Warren at last, an answer that counted for several of his recent questions.

~ ~ ~

It was, in the end, a compromise.

Though Warren wasn't too thrilled about it, the blow job I gave him once we had washed up in the shower seemed to cheer him up a little. We dressed, me trying to be modest for some reason and him not caring one whit, and then left to go into the rest of the house.

We made it down the stairs and passed a few open doors. One had several people in there around a table. People I didn't recognize. I moved past it without thinking before turning back. "What----"

But Warren corrected my path to lead me past the kitchen and back out to the porch where we had originally parted ways over a week ago. My phone appeared out of his pocket. "You should call everyone and let them know you'll be back in a week."

Already it had been days. I frowned, worried that wouldn't go over well with Lacey and my school. Though I tried to think of what they might say, I found myself unable to take my eyes off a certain shadow on his jaw. I didn't think the lighting was right. Was that a hickey? Had I done that?

"And you're sure it can't be any sooner?" I hedged, trying to distract myself.

He tilted his neck like he was giving me a better angle to see it. My lips parted, already forgetting what we were talking about. That was quite the mark I had left on him. I didn't even remember my lips there. Maybe I should lean in and...

"Are you listening?"

"Huh?" I managed.

It was clear to me by then that Warren and I really did have a fantastical connection. What that meant, was that it scared me; I wasn't ready to promise anything about this--about us. Not yet at least.

Fortunately, Warren was generous and I wanted to take something from this. Though he made clear hints about wanting me to settle in this life with him all the way out here, I wasn't about to give up the life I had started. I only had eight more months of med school and no one was going to stop me from making that dream happen. Not werewolves and not weird bites in the shoulder.

Except I couldn't just walk away. Warren and I literally needed each other. Mates were bound. Until I went through the ceremony, we could only endure so much time without each other at our side.

If I went through this binding ceremony, then we would be really together. But we could also be apart. I wasn't ready to tackle exactly what that meant but I at least grasped it meant I could get back to my life somewhat if not entirely. So we'd do this ceremony on the next full moon----four days away----and then we'd reassess. It was all I could promise him.

"One week," he affirmed before returning inside.

I huffed but went about making my calls all the same. Lacey and my mentor, Dr. Higgins, were very concerned. Still, I'd done this my first year. I had run off for an extra long weekend just to clear my head at the beach. Apparently this wouldn't be too different. They had questions that I battered down and they seemed to finally accept that I would return----with a lot of work waiting for me.

"I promise. One week and you'll have me back. I'll catch up on everything then," I reassured them both.

Just as I was hanging up the phone, Dana stepped out. "You don't have any other boyfriends or partners, do you?" she asked abruptly.

I slipped my phone in my back pocket and raised an eyebrow. The question was an odd one since I thought it obvious that Warren and I were not only bonded but also we liked each other. Although, I knew I wasn't always good at showing my affection. It was always easier to fight than to love in my case. That was why my relationships never lasted. So it was just a reaction when I asked her in response, "What if I did?"

"But you don't." She relaxed suddenly. "That's good. Warren was worried. He knew there was someone else but I can tell him he's fine. Or you can. That might be nice coming from you. I've never seen our Alpha so uncertain of anything or anyone before, you know. It's a little... strange."

There was that word again. I shared a tight smile. "Everything is strange right now."

A delighted laugh escaped her. "That's right."

"How did you know?" I frowned at her. "About no one else. How did you know? You can't read minds or anything, can you?"

"Not exactly. We don't really think in concrete ways, you know. It's much too abstract. It's like looking into a pond and trying to grab one of many fish swimming around. We can grab something, if we can hold onto it, but... it's a lot. And sometimes not enough."

I stared at her, the truth slowly dawning. "What the fuck?"

"Calm down, you don't need to worry."

All this time they knew what I was thinking. All this time! I started to freak out. I couldn't help it. Warren knew what I was thinking. About Lacey, about med school, about Quinn even. I flinched. Did a woman know no peace?

Putting my hands over my ears, I glared at her. "Stop getting into my head!"

What had I agreed to? Every time I thought this situation started to make a little sense, I found that it didn't. Nothing made sense.

She shook her head and put her hands up in surrender. "I'm not looking! Or thinking. I don't know! I don't know how it works. It's a skill that I don't know very well, all right? Warren is better at it. Jac, too. Jac is really good at it. The two of them are the only ones of our pack that were born the way they are," she explained.

Rubbing my face, I shook my head. I did not need this. "So?"

"So, they are the strongest of our pack. Mentally speaking, that is. Some of the others in security are really, really strong." Dana shared an impish smile before tugging my hands down. "I'm saying you don't need to worry, though. Not with me or with any of them. You can learn to block them out with time and in general, they'll give you distance. It's a skill meant to help the pack, not mess around with anyone else. Though I guess you'll be part of the pack soon, won't you?"

I hesitated. "I don't know. If I do the binding ceremony, does that count? I mean, I don't turn into a werewolf, do I?"

The smile faded off her face. She cursed, which surprised me. She didn't seem the type to curse much with her bright clothes and cheery smile. "Warren, that fool. He's a good Alpha but he's forgetting things! That man cannot use a single brain cell when he has you on his mind. Okay, sit down, you need to hear this."

Jac found us an hour later as I sat stunned with the information bestowed upon me. While Warren had hinted there was more that he needed to tell me, he had clearly been taking his time. I sat with the new knowledge washing over me. So not only would this binding ceremony make the mate bond stronger, but I would then have the chance to turn into a wolf at will. There were mentions about pack responsibilities, knotting, and more, but most of it was a blur toward the end.

"Obviously Warren didn't say anything," Jac muttered to Dana as they stood over me. "She isn't ready for it. He was probably going to give her a day or two. Maybe change and let her see what to expect. Dana..."

"I'm sorry." She twisted her hands while looking between me and Jac. "I thought I was being helpful. I didn't think about that! Oh, Warren will be furious. That wasn't for me to tell her. I'm sorry, Penelope. Can you forget anything I told you?"

My mouth dropped open. "Obviously not!"

"I'm sorry," she offered.

"Dana," I growled.

But there was Jac, crossing their arms and staring me down. "Leave Dana alone. Dana, go get Warren. Tell him what you've done and offer to make amends. I'll sit with her for now."

"You're not even sitting down," I said as Dana hurried off. I crossed my arms and prepared to argue with Jac before a thought came to mind. "Wait. Are you two bound? Like, did you do a binding ceremony?"

"No."

I frowned. "Why not? Aren't you together?"

"Of course we are," Jac said through gritted teeth. They suddenly seemed more annoyed than usual. As they looked me over, I wondered if it was something more. Hatred? Jealousy? "But Mates aren't really a thing anymore. Destined ones or Bound ones. We choose for ourselves. We were thinking Mates were just a myth when you two met at the club. The man suddenly turned into a bitch in heat, following after you. I thought he would eat you up. He nearly did with those bastards creeping on you out there."

"You were there?"

Jac scoffed. "Of course you didn't notice anyone else."

Narrowing my eyes at them, I gave a sarcastic scoff before saying, "I was drugged so I was hardly noticing anything. And why would I notice you if you weren't the one I was bound to?"

They were not happy and neither was I. Before they could snap off another remark, however, the door opened to reveal Warren. He was stiff and not happy. He tilted his head for Jac to leave before grabbing a chair to bring it around to face me.

"Let's talk," he started.

Sure, now he wanted to chat. Anger stabbed through me over all he had done and not done. "Let's not."

Only when I tried to direct my chair away from him, Warren grabbed it back. I couldn't fight him for long over the chair since he refused to budge. Huffing, I finally settled down again and crossed my arms to prove I wasn't happy about this.

"Pen."

"Warren."

He rubbed his forehead. "I know I should have said something. But you have to understand this is... new territory. This is all new. To you as well as myself. You have to understand. I don't know what I'm doing here. No one does. I never thought I would be with another human, let alone mated to one. I'm writing the playbook as I go so it's not going to be perfect. Can you just be patient with me?"

"You're turning me into a werewolf," I said through gritted teeth. "You couldn't mention that before I agreed to any of this?"

Maybe a lifetime of being ill would be worth it. Anything not to be bound to someone like him. He was holding secrets and not avoiding telling me anything. It wasn't fair. All I was doing here was waking into traps set for me. Even if he didn't think he had set them, he sure wasn't helping. How could I spend another minute with someone who I couldn't trust? I couldn't consent to something that I didn't know about.

"Pen." He leaned forward to grab my knees. I couldn't move away. "Being a werewolf won't change much in your life, I promise."

"What about the full moon?"

"It's a powerful time of the month," he said reasonably. "But it's not like the movies. Remember how I said you always have a choice? I meant it. There is freedom in this. There's power. And there's me. That's not... that isn't too awful, is it?" he added after a moment.

Even as I sensed a small ounce of vulnerability in those gorgeous eyes, I huffed. He made it hard to stay mad but I needed to. He couldn't keep doing this to me. "You aren't telling me everything. Even if you do, how can I trust that it's everything? None of this makes sense. I don't like it and right now, I don't like you. So you can take all your almost-apologies and romantic ideas to shove them right up your----whoa!"

Warren scooped me up to deposit me on his lap. We rocked back and I fell into him, allowing him to tighten his grip on me. Though I wrestled to free myself in his grasp, I couldn't escape. His grip tightened and held me close. He was everywhere to overwhelm me. His scent, his breath, his heat, his beating heart. Mad as I was, I couldn't bring myself to fight dirty. I wasn't ready to pinch or slap him. So I gave in, leaving a glare for him.

"What do I need to say to make you want to stay?" He murmured. His lips brushed against my ear, making my stomach clench. I closed my eyes as though I could block him out. "Pen. Penelope. Talk to me. I want to help."

"Then..." a shaky breath escaped me. I tightened my grip on his arm. "Tell me everything."

His tongue brushed lightly against my earlobe. I couldn't hold back a shiver that time. It only gave him cause to hold me closer. Even as I told myself not to give in, not to think about him, he made it clear I wouldn't be allowed to do such a thing. He shifted me higher onto his lap where my thigh pressed against the hardness of his cock. Silly things happened in my stomach when I thought about how close we were together.

Warren talked me through the ceremony then, his lips caressing my ear and his hands roaming my body. I tried to focus and ask questions but the man was cheating in his own way. It took me time to digest his words.

They'd turned a few people before and would treat it very much the same way. A bite under the full moon. As mates, he'd bite me again while intertwined under the stars. When he teased about it being public, I nearly fell out of the chair and he promised it would be private, just the two of us.

I didn't remember much more than that. It wasn't long before my hand was creeping beneath his waistband and he had two fingers playing between my inner thighs.

Just as my breathing picked up, the door opened. We huffed and removed our hands before looking over.

"Dana thought you might have killed each other," Jac said bluntly. "Supper's almost ready."

Whirling over to Warren as he clutched my elbow, I frowned. "Who else is here?"

"Everyone. The whole pack, of course. They want to meet you." He flinched when I smacked his shoulder. "I was getting to that but dinner seemed a fuck less important compared to everything else."

"But it's the pack. If I'm going to be one of them..."

"Oh. I guess. But it's just the pack," he protested.

I glared back at Jac who shrugged. "Men," they said before returning inside. As usual, they were determined to be of no help.

~ ~ ~

Thankfully, supper flew by. I met the pack. There were Betas and Omegas and more I didn't understand. It was too many little details that they promised would make sense in time. Just keeping track of names was hard enough.

Most of them had come together from other packs, outcasts across the continents for one reason or another. I realized that Warren had become the leader through strength and wisdom. And it showed when he was around them. The longer we talked and ate around a giant table, the more I began to relax at his side. Everyone welcomed me eagerly, their eyes watchful and intrigued.

They held my interest as well. These were decent people from all walks of life, bonded and a new sort of family. I hadn't had a lot of that before meeting Lacey. The thought of becoming part of this was more exciting than I wanted to admit.

~ ~ ~

On the days leading up to the new moon, I phoned my friend to keep her in check. Lacey was frustrated but thankfully understanding, just reminding me constantly that I had told her I would be home soon.

Thank god something was comforting. I started to grow nervous without knowing what to expect once everything changed. Though I interrogated everyone I met to make sure Warren hadn't misled me, my anxiety never faded. This was all so bizarre----and yet I realized on that fateful morning that it already felt like home.

This had happened bit by bit. Jac and Dana and the rest of the pack had accepted me without objection. They wanted peace and a family, a place to live. And now they wanted me here. Especially Warren. Between all of that, and my anxiety, I found myself considering this place home as well. It unnerved me more than I cared to admit.

"What is it?" Warren asked when he found me in that rocking chair only a few hours before sunset. "I was looking for you earlier. Have you been here all day? What's on that mind of yours?"

"Aren't you going to read it?"

He sat down, grabbing me in a smooth motion to land back in his lap. I didn't protest this time, resting myself against his back. "I'm not reading your mind, Pen. Talk to me, won't you?"

"I don't... I'm worried about what is going to change." I sighed and watched as he intertwined our fingers. As annoying as he could be, Warren was still learning and trying. He'd come into his role as a strong Alpha without training or real experience. Now, he was learning about the history he had never really experienced as a werewolf and he was always learning to be in a relationship.

It was Dana and another, Harry, who shared that Warren had enjoyed many flings but nothing serious before he became the Alpha. Learning to share and trust was not something that came naturally Warren; he was used to carrying the burden. for everyone. It annoyed me to realize how much it made sense.

While this brought some comfort, it left me wondering about where I belonged here. "I keep thinking that nothing will ever be the same."

He kissed my bare shoulder. "Life changes every day. That's just how it is."

Scoffing, I shook my head at his cryptic words. "You're awful."

"You're sexy, so I think we make a fine fit."

That absurdist comment made me laugh. Shaking my head, I gave him a look. "You're just trying to distract me."

"Isn't that what you wanted?"

So I couldn't really fight that, it turned out. A distraction would definitely help me with the knots in my stomach. I bit my lip and then nodded. Though I expected this to turn out like it had the other day, our hands all over each other, he instead relaxed further in the chair and told me about his childhood.

Warren was raised in the Ozarks in a small pack, violent and selfish, before being kicked out at sixteen. Desperate to find a new way of life, he made his way to Florida where he joined another pack and started to make a life in Miami. But the Alpha there knew his potential and knew the risks, forcing him out in the next three years. This time, Warren took several of his friends with him. They'd started wandering for years taking odd jobs and collecting a pack all on their own. It wasn't the way things were supposed to be, but their packs had never tried to help them or educate them. All of this had to be done on their own and now they were a large pack, successful, and settled out here in the mountains.

"They're lucky to have you," I murmured.

"Mhm." His hand crept up my waist to caress my breast. My eyelids fluttered shut, the heat warming me inside and out.

Maybe Warren was reading my mind. He always found the right thing to say, to make me laugh, to help set me at ease. The adoration I felt for him might be somewhat grudging but I could never deny my feelings. I felt the connection between us growing stronger, especially today. The full moon was already creeping into the sky by this point. It made me ready to meld my skin into Warren's to ensure we would never be apart.