The Mate Deal

Chapter 23

We kissed for a while.  I was unable to even think of anything other than this reality.  Right then and there where I trusted Tyce.

And the mind link worked.  It was weird at first, but we could speak without breaking the kiss.  It was clearer that it had been just a few minutes before.  With each touch, I could see into his mind, it seemed.

“I’ve been waiting over a year and a half to do this,” he murmured mentally.  Much to my surprise, I realized I had as well.  I’d wanted this since I turned eighteen.  Ever since I’d discovered Tyce was my mate, I’d been craving this.  I was just really good at suppressing my feelings for so long.

But now, all that was coming undone.  All the walls I’d put up were coming crashing down.

“I love you, Steph,” he said gently into my mind, over and over.  Each time he repeated it, I felt a thrill go through my body, a feeling of serenity and safety in his arms.

I melted back against the tree and continued to kiss Tyce, wishing it could last forever, knowing it wouldn’t.

“Tyce, I’m sorry.”

“What are you sorry for?  I’m sorry for everything, Steph.”

I didn’t have to tell him, because I knew he could feel my forgiveness.  How could I continue to hate him?  Why would I?   The past is in the past now.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice more grateful than I’d ever heard it.

My hands played with messy his hair, my fingers twirling a few strands.  The storm, which had lightened up for the past hour or so became heavy again, and rain was pouring down on us.  It was the most movie-worthy scene ever.

“Steph!”  I nearly curled away in fear of Tyce, but then I realized the strong, hateful voice wasn’t his at all.  “Steph, what are you doing with this guy?”

I broke the kiss and turned towards Matt, standing on the front porch, staring at me like I’d gone insane.  Which he probably thought was the case.

I looked at Tyce, not knowing what to say.  “Oh right, him.”  He looked at me, his face questioning.  “Steph, what is with this guy?  He said you two were engaged.”

I looked down, dropping Tyce’s gaze.  “We sort of are.  But it’s not…” I expected him to try and walk away, but he just stood there, waiting for an explanation.  “Let’s get out of the rain,” I suggested, and I looked to Matt.  “Can we have the car keys?”

“Sure.  But I’m not letting you go anywhere alone with this creep.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off.  “I’ll go get Renee.  Besides, we ought to go get the pizza for Mrs. King.”

I sighed.  “Sorry,” I whispered to Tyce.  “He’s… very… protective of me.”

“So who exactly is he?  I mean, I understand that it’s been a while, but have you really fallen in love with another guy so soon?”

“What?  No,” I shook my head violently.  “No, it’s nothing like that.  Tyce, just give me a minute to explain.”

Just then, Matt and Renee came out and they got in the car, sending me and Tyce to the back seat.  “Hi, Renee,” Tyce greeted cheerily, but she just scowled at him.  He looked at me in confusion and shrugged.

“She has never liked you,” I reminded him.

“Well, I suppose I deserve that,” he laughed slightly to himself.

We all sat down in the car, and I realized that it wasn’t good to be sitting on these cloth seats.  Tyce and I were soaked from the rain, which could ruin the seats.

Matt put the keys in the ignition and after a moment the car was flooded with heat.  It wasn’t until then I realized I’d been freezing.  I was shivering, my teeth were chattering, and when Tyce realized this, he put his arms around me to try and warm me up, however that didn’t help much since he was just as cold as I was.

“I’m fine,” I told him telepathically.  “I’ll warm up in a few minutes.”

“Can someone please explain what’s going on,” Tyce asked a moment later after no one told him.

Matt looked at me, as if he were trying to say “It’s your call.  Tell him what you want.”

I sighed.  “Tyce, this is Matt.  We met about a month ago at a play.…” I went on to tell him about the mate deal.

“And then, he met Renee, and found out that they’re mates.  Now, it’s all ruined, and we don’t know how to fix things,” I told him, finishing the story.

“Uh huh.   Why don’t you just come clean about it?”

I looked at him in shock.  He wasn’t the type to suggest honesty.  I’d hardly ever known anyone who lied more than Tyce did.  “You know why we can’t,” Matt snapped.  “Would you trust an Alpha that lied to the whole pack?”

I could tell from the way Matt looked at and talked to Tyce that he felt nothing other than disgust and loathing for him.

“Well maybe you shouldn’t have involved Steph in all of this,” Tyce shot back.

“Well, she did agree to it,” Matt reminded him.

Tyce looked at me, his eyes begging me to deny it.  I couldn’t blame him for not believing.  The girl he’d known before I’d left wasn’t fearless.  She wouldn’t have agreed to do something so reckless.  I just nodded silently at him.  I had been stupid to think this mate deal would ever work out in the first place.

“This is a lot to take in,” Tyce said through the mind link.  Then, as if something had been funny, I started laughing.  I don’t know why.  Maybe I had snapped for a minute, but I just kept laughing and laughing like a crazy person.

“So… there’s no getting out of it,” Tyce asked after I finished my fit of laughter.  “You two are getting married?”  He looked pained and saddened by the thought of it.

I shook my head.  “No.  There has to be a way out of it.”

“We just have to figure out what that is,” Matt said.

Renee was sitting quietly in the front seat, deep in thought.

“Any suggestions,” I asked her, and she just shook her head.

“Wait, I got it,” Tyce exclaimed after a while.

I looked at him expectantly.  “What?”  He looked at me and smiled.

“Well, Steph, you are the one with the acting scholarship.”

I looked at him confused.  What could he be saying?  “Are you suggesting we pretend to get in a fight or something, and I just leave?  Tyce, these people think we’re mates.  They wouldn’t buy it.”

“No,” Renee said, catching on to Tyce’s idea before me or Matt could.  “But, let’s say you didn’t get in a fight.  Maybe something happened to you and you couldn’t come back?”

“Like what,” I asked.

“Like death,” Tyce answered for her, and I looked between the two who were actually smiling at each other.

“You’re going to kill me?”

“No,” Tyce said.  “Think about it, Steph.  You are the one with the acting scholarship,” he repeated.

Then, I realized exactly what they meant.  It all hit me and I was furious that I hadn’t thought of it earlier.  It could be tricky, and everything would have to be just right r we’d get caught.  However, it seemed to be the only way out of it.

I was going to have to fake my own death.

[A/N: so, what do you think of these twists?  So, any recommendations for how Steph should die?  Should they get caught, do you think?  Do you like Tyce?  Please, tell me what you think!  I’m dreadfully sick and today is the third day in a row that I’ve missed school.  Light up my day by voting, commenting, and recommending this to your friends, please!  And yay!  Almost 7,000 reads!]