If I Were Allowed To Love You

Twenty

"I love you, Theo," Melissa smirked, and Theo smiled mockingly back at her. "I do. But I'm about ready to fall asleep."

"It's way past your bedtime, isn't it?" Lucas teased as he kissed her temple. "We should get going to the house."

"You both found a place to stay?" Ryan questioned.

"Yeah, we're going to stay in town during our off season. Normally, we'd stay with the group, but since we've recently gotten engaged," she giggled as Lucas kissed her nose, "we've decided it would be best to be on our own. And since Lucas's aunts still live here, and I have the trailer, we figured it would be great to stay here for a while and spend time with family we don't often get to see."

"I look forward to getting to know you both better," Lucas quickly added, sincerely polite. "She talks so highly of you both and considers you her family. I hope to feel the same way soon."

"We do, too." Ryan nudged Theo's shoulder with his. "Right, Theo?"

"Of course," he stated, staring at his brother, appalled. "Why wouldn't I? This is the love of Melissa's life we're talking about." He smirked at Lucas. "I'm just going to keep an extra close eye on him."

Ryan laughed and patted Theo's back, patting it extra hard. "I have a good feeling he isn't going to do anything to hurt her. You don't have anything to worry about."

"Do I?"

"Will you both shut up?" Rolling her eyes, Melissa said, "We'll have to have you over for dinner sometime soon. How about the day after tomorrow?"

"Not tomorrow?" Theo questioned.

"We have a lot of things to do. Settle in and such."

"Is that what we're calling it now?" Ryan scoffed, smirking.

Playfully glaring at him, Melissa held her chin up high and said, "Sure. Let's go with that."

Laughing, Lucas kissed the top of her head and began to walk away. "I'm going to grab our bags. I'll meet you at the car in ten."

"Got it." She turned back to the boys and said, "In all honesty, we actually have a lot of cleaning to do. The trailer is absolute mess. It's probably infested at this point."

"What happened?" Theo slowly asked. Everyone knew of the sudden disappearance of her father, but no one knew why he was gone. A part of him was worried that Melissa didn't know anything about it.

"Dad moved to Florida five years ago, but since the trailer means a lot to us both, he left it in case I ever decided to come back home. He wanted to make sure I had a place to stay. Plus, there's a lot of mementos in there. We need to sort through them and figure out what's worth keeping and what's not."

"We can help," Ryan suggested. "It sounds like a big job for the two of you. We'd be more than happy to help out."

"I don't want to-"

"Oh, come on. I've seen all your underwear already," Theo smirked, and Melissa slapped his shoulder.

"That's not what I'm talking about!"

"Ignore him," Ryan stated, giving him the side eye. "I would love to help you clean up. It sounds like a big job for just two people, especially if it's been five years since it's been occupied. It might be easier to clean out with an extra pair of hands."

"That would be really helpful, actually. Thank you," she smiled.

"I'll help, too," Theo stated. "In all seriousness, I will actually help you. I won't go through your underwear drawer again."

"Why were you going through her underwear drawer?"

"Period," Theo and Melissa stated at the same time, and Ryan dropped it at that.

"I'll see you both tomorrow. You know the way there, right?" Melissa asked as she walked backwards towards the parking lot.

"I got it," Theo said and waved goodbye as Melissa ran to her car.

The moment she was out of earshot, Theo glared back at Ryan. "Why would you make me willingly put myself through that sort of torture? I haven't had the time to get over my mate yet. I can't see him now."

"Whether you like it or not, you're going to be seeing him more often with Melissa in town. It'll be healthy for you to learn to start getting along with him. No matter what, they're our mates. They were put into our lives for a reason, and maybe we're just the wolves who get mates that are meant to be our friends instead. Now that Melissa is back in my life, I don't want to lose her again. I want to keep her close, even if it kills me inside. She might need me, and Lucas might need you. It's important that we be there for them."

Theo sighed. "Because we're they're mates. I know." He faced the parking lot and sighed. "This is going to suck so much."

"I know it will." He wrapped his arm around Theo's shoulders and began to walk towards the parking lot. "I know."

^^^

"So I was up all night thinking about this-"

"Theo," Ryan warned.

"It's not going in the direction you think it's going," he promised, smirking. "But I've heard of second chance mates."

"That's a myth. There's no such thing as a second soulmate."

Theo scoffed. "Well, I know that. But it got me thinking. What if I decide to pursue someone else instead? Someone who is okay with being my second?"

"Your second?" Ryan deadpanned.

"Think of it! Lucas was supposed to be my mate, but he's with Melissa. If I can't be with him, why can't I be with someone else?"

"No werewolf will want to be with you. They all want to be with their mates or no one at all."

"Then I'll be with a different species. Someone who knows about the guild."

"Theo, I know you're broken hearted about your mate, but finding a rebound is not going to work."

"How do you know?"

"Because rebounds are just rebounds. Have you ever watched a movie with romance in it?"

"I don't care. I didn't even have the chance to pursue my mate. That was stolen from me. You at least had a few moments with Melissa. I'm not going to have anything with Lucas. And if he's going to be in my life, I'm going to need someone who I can make out with since I can't kiss him. I want to be with someone, so dammit, I'm going to find someone to be with."

"You could always date a mermaid."

Ryan knew Theo needed to get the anger out of his system. He'd get upset once he realized he couldn't force his feelings for his mate onto someone else and could never be happy with a rebound. He'd go through the stages of denial soon enough and come to an acceptance with like himself. But after seeing Melissa and getting his hopes up, he seemed to be back in a depression.

He cared about his mate more than himself. He was willing to ignore the desire to be with Melissa and mark her, because he knew she was happy with Lucas. They really were in love, and they were excited to spend the rest of their lives together. As much as it hurt to let her go, he knew he needed to. He hoped that by spending time with her he'd be able to discover his limbo with her as his friend and be able to keep her in his life as a close, platonic friend. And he hoped he'd learn to control his urges to kiss her and ignite the bond.

"They look more for a practical partner. Wanting someone they can fall asleep beside but not caring so much about the romantic side of it all. They do if you do, but-"

"Perfect," Theo stated, smiling wide. He'd get over his mate in no time, but even he knew it was a lie he'd never believe.

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