Alpha, Not

Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Avery

My life feels like it's been turned upside down right now, with my thoughts rattling around in my head like loose change in a tin can. Nothing makes sense anymore; nothing is what it appears to be; nothing is as simple as it was before all of this happened. My old bullies are back in my life - I have a foot-shaped bruise on my chest to prove it. They not only bother me at work, but now they're showing up where I live to wreak havoc. Although that guy, Teagan, did say that he and his men would patrol the area and keep an eye out for me, which is somewhat good news.

The biggest concern in my life right now is what I should do about Pete. He's already become a huge part of my life and I really do like him, like, a lot. But how do I deal with my feelings about what he did to his former mate? I can't just forget what he told me, it's just too real. The Alpha said that Pete's not like that anymore, but can I trust him about that? While he's never been anything but kind and gentle with me, if he was able to do that to the person that their Goddess supposedly made just for him, what is he capable of with someone like me? I just don't know what to do.

I've seen him stop outside the diner a few times since his confession, but he hasn't come in. After pausing at the window for a moment, he walked on by. He's actually giving me the time I asked for; to think about it all. I appreciate that, although I do sort of wish he would come in. There's a part of me that misses him, and the time we spent together.

Beth has been asking why Pete hasn't been coming around the diner lately, but I haven't been able to say anything. I just told her that we had an argument and I'm taking time away from him. It's not like I can tell her what he told me; anything I might say about it would potentially start a conversation that would inevitably lead to revealing he is a werewolf, and I promised the Alpha I wouldn't say anything to anyone about that; I've always done my best to keep my promises. If only I could talk about this with someone... wait, what about Teagan? I just need to talk to someone, to get everything off my chest, and that person doesn't necessarily have to be human.

***

Since I don't have a way to get in touch with anyone from the pack - I don't have a phone number for anyone in the pack except Pete - I'm standing next to a tree in the park across the street from my apartment building hoping that Teagan might come by. He said he would be patrolling the area and keeping an eye out for me. Maybe he'll notice me and come over again. I don't feel comfortable driving out to the pack uninvited; I don't have a car anyway, so the point is moot.  Besides, the only people I know there are Pete, the Alpha and Teagan. I'm sure that the Alpha would be too busy to take time to talk to me, so here I am, in a park, at night, waiting for a werewolf to drop by. Crazy I know, right?

After a while, I figure that he's not going to come by, but as I start walking back over to my apartment, I see someone walking towards me out of the trees. I can see that he's wearing only a pair of shorts, and then I see that it's Teagan.

"Hello Avery," he says when he's close enough to talk without yelling. "Are you out here waiting for someone?"

"Hi, Teagan," I answer, suddenly nervous; maybe he isn't interested in listening to someone else's problems. "I was kind of hoping you would come by tonight. Would you mind if I asked you some things?"

"Not at all." Teagan assures me. "I'm pretty sure that the Alpha and Pete told you all about us, so I don't think they'd mind if I answered your questions."

"Actually, I really wanted to talk about Pete, and everything that they told me. If that is all right." I pause a moment. "I just don't have anyone else I can talk to about it since I don't know any other werewolves. Is that okay?"

"Sure, that's okay and I understand." He says, pointing to a bench not too far from where we were standing. "Is there anything specific you'd like to talk about? But first, just so you know, I won't tell you anything about Pete that you don't already know. We werewolves are pretty open about a lot of things, but we still value our privacy. If your questions are about his private life, you'll have to talk to him."

"I'm not sure if I have any specific questions, really." I admit. "I won't ask about Pete's private life; I just don't know what to do and I don't have anyone else I can talk to about all this; I promised your Alpha I would keep your secret. It's just that so much has happened lately, and I don't know who I can turn to for advice."

"Should I forget about all the things Pete told me, and give him a chance? Or should I forget about him and move on? And how am I supposed to deal with all this information about the supernatural? I don't know if I can deal with all of it; I'm not able to sleep, and I feel like I'm going crazy, and there's nothing that I can do about it."

He let me ramble for... I don't even know how long; it was a long time though. When I finally stopped spilling out all my thoughts, I was calmer than I had been since finding out about werewolves and mates and Alphas and Betas and rogues. I felt better, simply from getting it all off my chest. Teagan was also a good listener - but I hadn't stopped talking, so maybe he just never got a chance to put in a word edgewise.

Teagan

"Listen, Avery. I know this is all new to you, and frankly, I think you're handling it all pretty well given that it's all stuff you thought was only found in fairy tales. Let me just tell you that I've gotten to know Pete fairly well over the last year, and he's actually a decent guy deep down. He did cause a lot of heartache for a lot of people, and he hurt some of them pretty badly too; but he's trying to make up for it as best he can."

"I can't tell you what to do about your relationship with him; that's between the two of you. I do think you should try talking to him about it. I know he's concerned about you, and he asks about you when we meet up."

"I'm willing to listen, when you need someone to talk with about everything. I know it's a lot to digest, and that you sort of got pulled into our world without any warning at all. That being the case though, if you had continued dating Pete you would have been introduced to our world eventually anyway, because even without his wolf, Pete is still a part of our pack."

Avery needed someone to talk to and it seems that I'm the one he chose. I can understand why that is. It's not like he can talk about werewolves to any of his human friends; they might even think he's crazy. I figure that it would probably be best if someone from our world was there for him when needed. That way our existence would remain hidden, and he could get his concerns off his chest.  

That only addressed his concerns about the supernatural though. There wasn't anything I could do about his concerns about Pete's past history. I am in no place to talk about Pete, especially when it turns out that I would be talking to his cute boyfriend, who I might be slightly attracted to. There is no way that I'd make a move on him or anything right now though, with everything between him and Pete still unresolved. Not to mention that Pete and I have become friends since he joined the pack and started training with us. If their relationship ends, then maybe I might ask Avery out. I wouldn't want things to get weird between me and Pete though.

"There's one more thing I wanted to tell you, Avery, that I almost forgot. Those three men who were bothering you the other night, they won't be causing you any more problems. It seems they've packed up everything they own and moved out of town. That's one thing you won't have to worry about anymore."

I gave Avery my phone number and told him to text me when he wants to talk.  I also explained that I don't carry my phone when I'm on patrol, so if he were to text while I was out on patrol, it could be a while before I saw it, but that I would get back to him.