Chapter 2

When she got home, her mother was there with a grin on her face. Waiting to hear the good news. But the look on Avery's face made her stop in her tracks.

"Oh honey, what's wrong?" Mrs Whitetail asked, trying to reach out for her daughter but she stepped back from her.

"I'll be in my room," was all she said before racing up the stairs.

Her mother was speechless, not knowing what to make of her daughter's attitude. She knew she wasn't rejected, or else she would be going crazy by now and at least have that weird rotting smell as she died from the inside out.

The front door opens again, this time it was Mr Whitetail.

"What's going on?" She asked her husband.

"Our daughter is a rare case."

"What do you mean?"

"She asked four mates and one of them is the Alpha."

Mrs Whitetail's mouth fell open.

"Do you want to talk to her, or should I?" Mrs Whitetail asked.

Mr Whitetail made a gesture with his hand.

When Mrs Whitetail got to the second floor and was about to knock on the door, she could hear muffled screaming coming from the inside.

"Honey, can I come in?"

"No."

Mrs Whitetail went in anyway.

"Why did you even bother asking?"

Mrs Whitetail hugged her, knowing that that was exactly what Avery wanted.

"Your father told me what happened."

"Yeah. I just have to be the unlucky wolf who has four mates."

"Well, I can't say that this will be a good thing."

"Do you know of any one that has had four mates before?"

"I have heard stories."

"What happened?"

"After you bond with the person you choose to be your mate, the others just move on with their lives."

"That sounds much easier than it actually is. So tell me what would happen if I don’t choose."

"Then you all will die." Mrs Whitetail gave a sad smile.

Avery froze.

"What?" She let out after a while, her voice and lips trembled as the words left her mouth.

"Sadly, it is the law of our land."

"Law? That's just bullshit! The only thing I see here is that the fates are cruel, how can they do such a thing? It's just not fair."

Mrs Whitetail played in her daughter's hair, trying to comfort her.

"I know, but that is just how things are. Just like with a rejection, a wolf begins to decay until they die if their mate doesn't take back their words and bond with them."

‘’But me only choosing one, wouldn’t that be like me rejecting the other?’’

‘’No, the fates will provide them with a different mate.’’

Avery made a face. ‘’Why not give them a different mate now?’’ Why am I being tested?’’

‘’It isn’t a test, Avery but I trust that you will choose wisely because your mate is your life long partner.’’

Avery sobbed. "But why me? Why am I the one given four mates and have to make such a hard decision?"

After crying for a while, Avery looked up at her mother. "What am I going to do? Who will I choose?"

"Get to know these men, let them court you and capture your heart."

"But what if all of them do or don't? Then what?"

Mrs Whitetail was silent, for the first time she had no solution for her daughter.

"Everything will be fine," she finally said, hugging Avery closer to her.

"I think I should just go to bed, maybe this really is a test and the fates will appear in my dream and let me know what I should do."

But it didn't work like that, when Avery fell asleep, she ended up twisting and turning. Dreaming of dying because she didn't know who to choose.

She woke with a gasp, staring up at her ceiling. Thinking about how she will go about this, because no matter who she chose the others will die.

She thought she wouldn't choose Cruz, because he used to bully you in high school but at the same time, she had a huge crush on him and still did. If she didn't choose the Alpha, then the entire pack would turn against her. And the other two she wasn't so sure about, because one of them was a mysterious wolf who got accepted into their pack after some accident of some sort and the other was the Alpha's brother, who threw his weight around and acted all high and mighty.

"What do I do?" Avery questioned herself, then rolled into her pillow and screamed.

Not long after, she is fast asleep again. Having the same nightmare, and a fitful sleep until minutes before her alarm went off, where she woke up, feeling groggy.

She laid in bed for a while, contemplating if she should get up but the smell of food made her stomach grumble. So she got up, got ready for the day and made her way downstairs only to pause when she got to the kitchen door.

There sitting with her parents and having breakfast with them was the Alpha.

"Alpha Grey." Avery let out, shocked that he was there, gracing them with his presence.

He seemed so out of place, as he sipped his coffee with a pinky in the air, staring at her.

"Good morning, Avery."

"You know my name," she said out loud without meaning to.

"I do, I am the Alpha. I know everyone in this pack."

Avery raised a brow at him, because to her he seemed to pick and choose who to interact with. Sure he listened to everyone's complaints, but he didn't seem to care much.

Just then, Hayley came into the kitchen, yawning and stretching.

"Man, I can't believe I missed it." She folded her arms and pouted.

"So, what are you doing here?" Avery asked as she made her way to the counter to make a plate for her and Hayley.

"As you are aware, we are mates but so are three others. I'm not here to tell you to pick me, it would be selfish to manipulate you like that. I don't know how easy it is to capture your heart, but right now. I just want to make sure you are alright."

'Wow,' She thought.

Alpha Grey was so formal, yet his words made Avery's heart flattered.

"I'm not ok, and I won't lie and say that I am. This is scary, it's stressing me out, I don't know what to do and wish I could make it so that no one has to die because I don’t want to choose."

The Alpha moved so fluidly and gracefully to make his way over to Avery, where he rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't beat yourself up about it, I can't imagine what you are going through right now but just follow your heart. Don't do what you think the pack would want, or what would make others happy. Do what will make you happy."

Alpha wiped a few stray tears away from under Avery's eyes.

"Yeah, I was going to take my mother's advice and get to know you all before making my decision. I just wish I didn't have to, I don't think I will be able to live with myself after rejecting anyone."

"Good thing is, this form of rejection isn’t a death sentence. Maybe I can explain it to you better after breakfast?"

"I would love an explanation to get my mind around things, but can it wait until I'm done with work? I promise to come right to your place right after."

Alpha Grey nodded, finished his food then left.

Hayley gasped. "That was the Alpha. Is he your mate?"

"Yes, one of my mates."

Her little sister's mouth fell open. "Wow, you are so lucky to have four."

Avery tried her best to hide her emotions and continued eating her food.

When she was done, she hurried out the house without clearing the table because she didn't want to be late again. She was already on the third strike.

As she walked to the supermarket, she glanced behind her shoulder every now and then because she had the feeling of being followed.

Suddenly, someone rushed at her, tackling her to the ground.

Avery kicked and punched wildly, hitting her attacker.

"Calm down mate," a deep voice said.

She paused to open her eyes to see who it was, then closed them immediately.