You've Got to be Kidding me

5

After some time to think things over Sky asks, "Would you please explain how the pack, I think you called it, works?"

Ellis nods once sharply then takes a seat across from her but where she can still see him as she plays with his brothers' wolves.  He goes through the structure of most packs and how they work then explains things about their pack and how they are different. "Because we aren't just a pack but also a mafia Kacey doesn't have time to be the full time alpha. Not just the mafia but we also have extensive businesses that demand much of his time. So we, all of us brothers will take turns as alpha. We take the place of the betas that other packs have. As for the mafia, Kacey is the boss and the rest of us are his lieutenants. We all have our assigned areas and we are expected to run those areas as if we are the only ones in charge. If anything goes bad then Kacey will come down on our asses, but with the decision making he allows us he doesn't have to do that very often. There are times when we will consult him how he would like something done if we don't know ahead of time.

"Since we share responsibilities as alphas our mates would become lunas while we are in alpha position. Having one mate will make things much easier for us."

"Hold up, I'm still not convinced that I'm your mate or that I even want to be. Isn't there some way to make it so that we aren't?"

"Yes, of course there is. There aren't usually any reason to do so. Mates are our other half, we complement each other so much that to look for any one else would be stupid. Once we find our mates we become very attentive, protective and even somewhat possessive. The more power a wolf has generally the more possessive and protective they are."

"Hold up, that would mean that you and your brothers would be very possessive and protective of me. Your father should have been protective and possessive of your mother and instead treated her like shit, by your own words. So the mate thing doesn't always mean a good partner. What protection is there?" Sky is now confused, if there was some way to end the pain for herself why didn't his mother do it?

Ellis looks pained and has a hard time looking at Sky. "There are those wolves that seem to have something wrong with them, like my father, or are power hungry. So in that case the mate of the one can reject their true mate and take another. In that case the chosen mate will never make them as happy as their true mate unless the true mate was abusive."

"I don't mean to be a bitch about this, I'm just trying to understand, why didn't your mother reject your father?" Sky asks pained, she knows that she is walking on thin ice with that question and hopes that it doesn't break on her.

It isn't Ellis that answers her. She hadn't noticed that Kacey had changed once more and is now standing at her side dressed only in his pants. She closes her eyes as he talks. She's not sure how she will survive such casualness about lack of clothing.

"To reject a mate requires not just the rejection of saying I reject you so and so. It requires intent as well. It causes extreme pain to both wolves once the rejection is made and accepted. The acceptance must be verbal to cut all connection. The pain is so intense that it has been known to kill wolves that do it. I don't know why mother didn't reject him. Likely because she would rather live in extreme pain and hope that he would change then nearly a sure death by rejecting him." Kacey tells her his tone clear of any indication of his feelings.

At Sky's confused look Kacey clarifies, "My father would have killed her if she had rejected him. It's as simple as that. He didn't want her, but he wouldn't let her be free either. I think at times he really truly hated my mother. At least the pain he put her through indicates hatred. 

"Most wolves wouldn't be able to do that.

"Take our wolves for example, we've waited for years for our mate to come. Our wolves wouldn't accept another female near us. Wouldn't even allow for another male around us unless we were sparring. The only ones they allowed near us was our brothers."

"Yeah, right. That might be true but there is no way in hell I'll believe that any of you are still virgins." Sky says that and then immediately looks down blushing the worst that she ever has or thought possible.

Both brothers smirk at her but it is another voice that responds. She looks and Leroy is now standing at her side but he's still not dressed. She looks away immediately but notices that Ellis tosses him some pants to put on. "We aren't, but we aren't our wolves either. Nothing stops our human halves from finding companionship."

Sky shakes her head. "What happens when one of you gets a female pregnant and you aren't her mate?"

"Like what happened with the twins, the mother will drop off the child with the father generally."

"Their mate doesn't have a problem with them having a child with some one else or the mate of the male having to raise another woman's child that her mate was with?"

"It has actually caused some big problems. Many females resented having to give up their child or having to raise another woman's child. Many have rejected their mates for that very reason."

"Yet, instead of practicing safe sex or better yet abstinence you continue just having your fun?" Sky demands. It seems to her if the mates were truly as wonderful as the brothers are trying to make it out to be then they wouldn't want to do anything to ruin it, like have a child with someone else.

"Yeah, it's something that should be taught, but wolves don't pay much attention to things like that when their hormones are high. There are many humans that have the same problem though and wolves don't generally get the STD's that humans get, so we don't pay as much attention to protection."

Sky just shakes her head. "It seems to me that most of you don't really think much of mates and it's not as wonderful as you want to make it to be. I have major trust issues and so me trusting all five of you to not hurt me like you admit your father did to your mother, I'm not sure that I can do that. 

"I won't permit any disrespect to myself, not by you or by any one in the pack. I don't think your pack will do much in the way of accepting me. From the way you reacted when you found out who my mother was I expect that they will treat me like shit. 

"I expect that the females will be beyond pissed that all five of you are my mate and they won't be able to get any of you. There will be a good deal of jealousy and dislike. It makes me question if it would even be worth it?

"I haven't had a lot of love in my life, so ending whatever it is between us wouldn't bother me." At her words all five stiffen the two that are still wolves start whining and act submissive to her. The other three look at her horrified.

"Why are Floyd and Lloyd acting like that?"

"They are afraid that you are going to reject them without giving them a chance to prove themselves. Our wolves are all acting like that inside us. It's actually rather uncomfortable to tell you the truth." Kacey replies with a grimace.

Sky sighs, "I don't want to cause any of you pain. Especially not your wolves. They, I believe will treat me like they should. It's your human halves I don't trust."

She looks at the three that are human and gently pets the other two until they are once more calm. "I need to talk to all five of you in human form, please? I do like being around the wolves and will welcome them any time." That gets the two up and wagging their tails excitedly.

"Lloyd, Floyd watch where you flip those tails." Leroy says testily as he wards off the tails from his face.

The two wolves face him grinning before changing.