Changing Fate

Chapter 17

Chapter Seventeen:

"I can't believe I'm losing another baby."  Mom sniffled into Selena's neck, before pulling back and smothering her face with kisses, causing her to scrunch up her nose in discomfort.

I tried not to giggle at Selena, knowing it would get Mom's attention back on me.  She had already spent five minutes hugging and kissing me and crying into my shoulder.  Despite her stern demand yesterday about me returning to the castle, she didn't seem as sure about her decision today.  I was though.  I woke up feeling brave, ready to face the world, or more decidedly, my mate.

After two days away, I was seeing things more clearly.  I was pissed at Finnian, no doubt, and still incredibly hurt, but I also knew he was keeping something from me.  His treatment of me just didn't add up.  I was determined to figure out what it was.  I didn't suspect we had a chance in hell of making it, but I at least wanted to know what was keeping us apart.

Although the first half of my trip wasn't exactly great, the second half was.  I had spent the night with my family.  After confessing everything, it was like a weight was lifted off my shoulders.  I figured that my family would look at me differently, treat me differently, but they didn't.  

We decided to have a family game night.  We played Monopoly, which ended with Selena knocking the board to the ground.  See?  Just like before. 

After the failed attempt at a board game, we switched to movie night instead.  Due to our competitive nature, it wasn't the first time it had happened.  We had spent the rest of the night, eating pizza and ice cream.  It made me sad that Matt and Kat were missing, but I was glad Tyler was there.  He fit in perfectly with our family.  Mom adored him and he had a lot in common with Dad and Brody.  They had already buddied up, which made Dad more comfortable with letting Selena leave with him.

We had spent the morning packing up Selena's things.  She packed more than I had, since she would be moving there permanently, not just for a couple months.  She did leave a few things behind, saying she planned on visiting often and wanted to have stuff there.

I was a little surprised that she was going with Tyler so willingly.  He didn't even really ask her to, she just wanted to.  My guess was that she was so okay with it because Kat, Matt, Dalton, and I would all be there.  Had we all been staying home, I had a feeling she would be a lot more reluctant to go, despite how much she already cared for Tyler. 

Selena and I were similar in the aspect that family was the most important thing.  It was all we knew really.  It was a difficult shift; making your mate the most important thing in your life, more important than your family.  I just hoped she adjusted completely by the time we all left.  I wanted her to be happy.

I was a little nervous to face Matt once we returned.  I found out yesterday that no one told him about my situation.  We had all agreed that it was best that he didn't know for now.  Matt had always been the most protective of the guys in my family, especially with me and Selena. It wasn't safe to tell him while he was there.  If he knew, he would no doubt confront King Finnian and probably challenge him.  That wouldn't end well for Matt. 

When a wolf challenged a King, it was a fight to the death.  He would have no choice but to kill Matt.  I knew he would be able to too, because despite how strong Matt was, King Finnian was the King of werewolves.  No one would be able to take him out on their own, not even Matt.  So, for now, it was safest to keep him in the dark.  I felt guilty that he was the only one who didn't know, but I had to protect my brother.  He'd just have to understand.  And I would tell him as soon as we got home.

Dad made the comment while he was still pissed yesterday about not wanting to be on the King's Council when the King himself could treat me so poorly, but I put those thoughts to an end as soon as they begun.  The Council position wasn't just about me, or even King Finnian for that matter.  It was for our Pack and for werewolves in general.  Dad would have a say in how things in the werewolf world were handled, and that was bigger than my problems.  So, after some convincing, he agreed to continue.  He would just have to leave his personal problems with the King at the door once he was initiated onto the Council.