Resisting My Mate (Book 2 of the Complicated Mates series) Editing

Chapter 13

Dedicated to coryonline189 who wanted to see a little of his favorite character.

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Arianna

I was dreaming. I had to be.

Not only did my body have that light, airy, floating feeling, but I was sitting on the branch of a tree staring at a ten year old version of myself while she sat on our porch swing talking with…daddy Tristan.

Sitting in that tree I started to tear up just looking at him. His warm brown eyes that always looked at me with unconditional love, his dirty blonde hair that he tried to grow out but would cut the minute mom started fussing about it, and his big bright smile that never failed to bring a smile to my own face whenever it appeared. He was the best dad a little girl could ask for. At that time daddy Devin was always really busy with pack business, and because he and mom weren’t together then, we didn’t live with him and I only saw him once in awhile. He made an effort to be in my life, but with our unique situation, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do. Daddy Tristan always filled the gaps that were left. He taught me to ride a bike, how to ice skate, and how to throw a mean right hook.

The memory before me began to play out, and I watched in awe wondering why I was remembering this particular day. “Daddy, are you sad that you’re not mommy’s mate?” my young self asked while swinging her feet back and forth.

“What brought this up?” he asked.

“We were learning about mates today, about their feelings and stuff, and I was wondering if you wished you were mommy’s mate so she would have those feelings for you instead of daddy Devin.”

I watched as he looked down at my little form with tenderness in his eyes and answered, “No honey, I’m not sad that I’m not your mommy’s mate. You might not understand this completely right now, but the love I have for your mom and she for me, is far bigger than any love she may have for daddy Devin. Having a mate is a beautiful thing, the goddess has chosen someone who is perfect for you and will put you before all others. What your mommy and I have is exactly like that, the only difference is, we chose it for ourselves. We love each other because it just feels right. We fell in love all on our own with no interferenc from fate, and to me that makes it very special.”

I remembered more and more of how I felt when having this conversation with him. I was a little confused, but I got the message. Love was an amazing thing if you found it with the right person. Somewhere on my path through puberty, I had lost sight of that.

“I don’t think I want a mate.” my younger self said. Daddy Tristan was the only other one besides Adam that knew of my aversion to a mate.

“Why, because boys are rotten made out of cotton?” he joked with me, tweaking my nose.

I watched as a smile lit my little face before I said, “No! I don’t want him to hurt me like daddy Devin hurt mommy.”

He brushed a hair behind my ear, “Oh baby girl, I worried telling you the truth would have this effect on you. I’m sorry for the mistakes of mommy and daddy Devin’s pasts, but you can’t let that stop you from seeing all the amazing things about having a mate.”