Ch. 4 A Proposition

Clayton’s POV

“Well that was a shit show.” My little brother, Cary, chuckled darkly as we walked upstairs together after the dinner party.

“Which part?” I snorted at him. “The part where our dear older brother acted like an epic prick all night? Or maybe the part where Mallory showed up looking like a damn Goddess, making me drool all over myself? Or better yet, the part where her fucking Alpha boyfriend showed up and had his hands all over her all night, making my wolf insane with jealousy?”

“Yeah, Roan was losing his mind too. But I’m not worried about the boyfriend.” He shrugged as if it was an easy obstacle to overcome. “We’re Alphas too, and we have history.”

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I shook my head in disbelief. “You’re right about her having a history with us, a terrible one. We tormented her for most of her childhood. She couldn’t get away from us fast enough when she left for the academy. Meanwhile, she meets her Alpha prince charming there and he’s probably been treating her like his queen for the past two years. We never should have treated her so badly all those years!”

“So, we’ll just have to start treating her like a Queen too. Prove to her how sorry we are and how much we’ve matured. Give the asshole Alpha a little friendly competition.” He says like it’s the simplest solution in the world. 

Cary flopped down on my bed, stretching out and propping his hands behind his head. His confidence truly amazed me sometimes. Admittedly, the three of us had pretty big egos and none of us had any problem getting girls, not that Colt tried anymore. But something told me winning Mallory away from her boyfriend, or even getting her to trust us enough to consider it, would be a bigger challenge than we’d ever attempted before.

”I think you might be a little too sure of yourself.” I professed. “And even if we could win her over, it would be a lot of work. It’s not worth the effort for just another lay.”

“Maybe I don’t want just another lay.” Cary said, making me blink in surprise. He’d never actually dated a girl in his life.

“Are you serious?” Had I entered some kind of alternate universe? That couldn’t be my real brother talking.

“Why not? I mean, who wouldn’t want her? She’s fucking gorgeous! She’s obviously talented and smart. And she’s always been the perfect combination of sassy and sweet.” He sang her praises. “If I’m being honest, I think I’ve always wanted her. I just didn’t know how to act on it after the way we treated her.”

“Yeah, me too. And you’re not wrong. Anyone would be lucky to have her.” I admitted. “But she doesn’t have her wolf yet. What if she leaves us for her mate. What if it’s him?”   

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.” He answered nonchalantly, shrugging again.

“Colton would never go for it.” I reminded him of our brother’s current “Darcy hung the moon” philosophy.

“We’ll see!” Cary said with an evil smirk.

I was about to argue but my father's voice in my head cut me off.

“Boys, I want to see you in my office in five minutes. Family only, Colton.” He linked all of us, but specifically made sure Colt wouldn’t bring Darcy, which I was sure went over like a lead balloon.

When we entered dad’s office, Colt was already there, leaning against the wall next to dad’s desk with his arms crossed over his chest. The pissed off look on his face left no doubt as to his current mood. Meanwhile, dad was sitting behind his desk with mom sitting in his lap, ruffling his hair through her fingers, the picture of tranquility.

“Good, you’re all here. Have a seat please.” He said politely, but it wasn’t a request. “Your mother and I have something we want to discuss with you.”

Colton made no effort to hide his aggravation but complied, knowing he didn’t have a choice. An Alpha’s order was an Alpha’s order, dad or not.

“What’s this about dad?” I asked, anxious to get to the point. It couldn’t be anything good, Not when we got called into the principal’s office like this. 

“Wasn’t it great to see Mallory again?” Mom answered my question with one of her own.

“Yeah, it was great!” Colt dead-panned. “Did you call us all here to rehash dinner or was there something important you wanted to talk about?”

“That’s enough, Colton!” Dad barked. “You will show your mother some respect!” 

Colt nodded curtly and mumbled out an apology. 

“Actually, Mallory is the reason we called you here. We have a proposition for you and would like you to hear us out.” Dad said.

“What kind of proposition?” Cary asked warily.

“We’d like you to spend some time with her. See if you’re compatible together. And hopefully, one day she’ll become your Luna.” Mom laid out their idea.

“No!” Colton growled immediately. 

“We aren’t finished son.” Dad’s patience was clearly dwindling. “We aren’t forcing you into anything. We just want you to give it a chance. You heard about her accomplishments at the academy. She would be a strong Luna for this pack. If things were to work out, I would hand the Alpha title to you as soon as your union was complete. But if you find you aren’t compatible, you can continue to wait for your fated mate.”

“Did it escape your notice that she already has a boyfriend?” Colt pointed out. “And I have a girlfriend who I already intend to take as my chosen Luna.”

“No!” I protested. “You know we can only have one Luna. If I’m going to settle for a chosen mate, it’s not going to be her.”

“That’s a no for me too!” Cary agreed. “Actually, not just no but FUCK NO!

“Alright, that’s enough!” Dad cut us off. “Clay and Cary, your feelings on Darcy are duly noted. What do you think of our proposal regarding Mallory?”

“I don’t know.” I told him honestly. “I’ll admit she’s amazing and I’m intrigued by the idea of getting to know her again. It seems like she’s changed a lot, for the better. But I have concerns.” 

“Which are?” Mom Prompted.

“Well, Colt has a point, she does have a boyfriend and they seem happy together. What makes you think she’d even give us a chance? And even if she did, what if we aren’t fated mates? What if she finds hers or we find ours? Someone might get hurt if that happened”

“I agree.” Cary voiced his opinion. Mom and dad both nodded in acknowledgement.

“We would never try to keep you from your fated mate.” Mom started. “But finding her isn’t guaranteed and you couldn’t do better than Mallory for a chosen mate. Besides, you never know, maybe she is meant for you.”

“Or maybe she’s Nathan Richardson’s mate.” Colton argued. “And maybe Darcy is meant to be our chosen mate.”

“Colton, I know you care for Darcy, even believe you are in love with her. But I would caution you not to mistake love for what is really only attractive because it’s safe.” Mom warned. “Finding something real requires risk but anything worth having is worth taking that risk.”

“That’s not-” He started to protest again, but mom interrupted him, raising her hand to quiet him.

“I’m not trying to convince you son. Just asking you to search your own mind. Now, as for Nathan Richardson, I’m almost positive what Mallory feels for him is nothing more than misguided admiration. I’ve seen true love plenty of times in my life and that is not it. I’m less sure how Nathan feels but if Mallory doesn’t feel the same, their relationship is doomed to fail anyway.” Then she winked and added, “All’s fair in love and war after all.”

“Your mother and I are not expecting an answer here and now. We just wanted to plant the seed and give you some time to think about it. We will give you the room so the three of you can talk.” Dad said, then lifted mom in his arms and swept her out of the room.