Therapy for the Supernatural

5

Cheryl decides to finish up in the living room. She puts on her earrings as she does introductions. "Matt, my next door neighbor and best friend Shelly. Shelly my friend and soon to be alpha, Matt."

Shelly gives Matt a look over and then does a double take, "Well, wolf man you aren't half bad looking. Cheryl has told me a lot about about you. You keep wanting to take her out and she shoots you down." Shelly looks over to Cheryl and gives her a smirk. Cheryl just rolls her eyes in return.

"Shelly, you're his mate." Cheryl tells her friend and it's her turn to smirk at the shocked look on Shelly's face. Shelly isn't a wolf or human. She's a witch. She's familiar with what a mate is, but had never expected to find herself one of a wolf.

Shelly has had some very bad experiences with wolves. It's how she met Cheryl. She was getting help dealing with the trauma she experienced. It was only after that they found out they were also neighbors. They soon became very good friends.

"That's not possible," Shelly says her face drained of color.

"It's possible, just highly unlikely," Cheryl corrects her friend.

Witches used wolves as familiars. Wolves didn't like being used like that so there wasn't much good blood between them. There is currently a treaty between the two. Wolves could become a witches familiar, but only if they give consent first. And on their part, wolves cannot bite or otherwise mark a witch without her consent unless it's under self protection from said witch.

The fact that the next luna of the pack is a witch will be interesting to see. A witch has never been in such a position of potential power before. A pack has never willingly been a part a witches life before.

"Shit, Cheryl, the pack will never accept her." Matt says after he's able to accept what the words are that are being spoken. That and the scent of witch settles inside him.

"Deal with it. You're good with people Matt, you'll be able to get them to accept her. She's good people. You should introduce her to the pack next week at the celebration." The pack loves to party and uses any excuse it can. But summer solstice is one that almost all the packs celebrate.

It's one that Cheryl has made sure to not go to for the last three years. It's the anniversary of her parents funeral and all the drama that went with it.

Matt has been trying to get her to come back every year to no avail. He gets a wicked look in his eyes now. "I'll introduce her next week, if she's willing, if you come to the celebration. She's going to want to know more than just me there."

Cheryl looks over to her friend and sees her pleading eyes. Already the pull of the mate bond is finding a hold in Shelly. Although it will not be as strong as if she were a wolf.

Cheryl narrows her eyes. "We need to talk," She hauls Matt to her room and shuts the door.

"Just what the hell is your game?" Cheryl hisses at him, to angry to yell. "You know that I don't want to go back there."

"It's your home. It's time you came back." Matt says no amusement apparent. "You are part of the pack whether you want to be or not. You haven't requested release and I wouldn't give it to you until you had another pack willing to take you in. Believe it or not you are a valued part of the pack."

"Not. You and your father were the only ones sad to see me leave. Your father mostly because he loved my mother. You because for some reason you wanted to pursue me." Cheryl gives a bitter laugh, "Like I said once you found your mate you dropped me like a hot potato. I don't have a place in the pack, not really."

Matt holds her face gently, "You will always have a place in the pack, Cheryl. Shelly is my mate, there is no denying that, but I do love you. Please, come back to the pack."

Cheryl shakes her head. "I have vampires for clients, they wouldn't be welcome on pack lands. I have clients from packs that our pack is hostile with. I can't just drop them because you want me to come back."

Through the closed door they hear the doorbell ring. 

"My date is here, I need to go. Matt, you should take the time to get to know Shelly. She's  a wonderful person and will make a great luna if you can convince her. She's had a really bad time with wolves. You are only the second one she's able to be around without flipping out. You might want to work with her on that."

With that Cheryl walks away from Matt and opens her bedroom door. She pastes on a fake smile as she goes to meet her date for the night. Now more than ever she wishes she could cancel her date, but she can't.

Her date is dressed in a tailored suit that hugs his lean physique. It looks very nice, and as handsome as he is for a human he just doesn't cut it for her.

"Caden, this is my friend Shelly that opened the door for you, her boyfriend Matt. Shelly, Matt this is my date Caden." Cheryl gathers her clutch and places her keys inside. "Lock up behind you, when you leave. I'll talk to you later." Cheryl tells the two before she leaves.

She somehow doesn't have a very good feeling about this night.

Why, oh why, did she agree to this date? She hasn't ever really gone on dates. She was too busy to do more than go to some group dates while she was getting her degree.

She has kissed, but never had a serious boyfriend. She couldn't even count Eric as that even though she should have been with him forever.

Life has a funny way of working out though.

She just hopes that things won't be as bad as she thinks they will be.

She keeps her thoughts well behind her fake sociable mask. She thanks Caden as they go to the venue. She keeps the fake happy look on her face even as she mixes with people she'd rather never see again.

After two hours she's finally had enough and manages to pull Caden away and get him to take her home.

Caden walks with her to her door. She opens it to find her apartment trashed. Caden takes out his phone and calls the police.

Matt alerted to her distress through the pack bonds sticks his head out of Shelly's door. "What is it, Cheryl?"

"Someone broke into my apartment. Did you lock up when you left?" Matt has a copy of her key as does Shelly.

"Yes, Shelly even made sure before we left." There is little doubt as to what he was doing with Shelly.

"The police are on their way. You want me to stay with you?" Caden asks with concern.

"No, Matt and Shelly will stay with me. Thank you." Cheryl really couldn't wait for him to leave.

"Okay then, if you are sure." Caden wants to go back to the party. There was a cute red head that made her interest in him very blatant.

"Go, I'll be hours with the police I'm sure." With that Caden was gone.

"You can't stay here alone." Matt says with finality.

"Where else will I go? I have no interest in hearing you and Shelly having bed fun."

"Cheryl-" Matt starts saying.

"No, Matt, she's your mate, I'm not judging. I think she'll make the perfect luna. She deserves a good person like you as her mate and you deserve a good person like her for you." Cheryl says to keep him from saying anything he would regret later. Especially since Shelly is right there.

Matt clenches and unclenches his jaw. "Fine, but you can't stay here." Matt takes out his phone and makes a call. He walks down the hall and into Shelly's apartment so that Cheryl can't hear him.

Shelly is holding Cheryl as they wait for the police to show up.

Shortly Matt comes back. "You'll be staying with Eric at his hotel room. It's a large suite and has two separate bedrooms. He'll be there for protection for you. I know it's not ideal, but unless other arrangements can be made you'll need to stay with him."

Cheryl takes the information he wrote down and places it in her clutch automatically. The shock of everything just piling up.

She hardly hears Matt as he tells her that he'll take her to the hotel once the police get down talking to her. She just nods.

How the hell had she gotten into this situation?