Mates of a Human

Part Four. Chapter Four. Michael

I was one of three sons raised as an Alpha, but when it was apparent that I was the strongest, quickest and brightest of the three of us, my father soon began to temper me to take over the pack.  I could have easily become obsessive like my older brother, Adriel or arrogant and spoilt like my younger brother Gabriel... actually I probably was to an extent.  But, according to my paternal great grandmother, I had one other trait that apparently was good for an Alpha, although not all Alpha's had it.  A protectiveness over what I deemed mine.  The downside of this trait was my super territorial nature, that outstripped even my father.

Regardless, I was raised to be fearless, which is why I did not fear the fact that a brute of a tiger was my goddess given mate, why I did not shy away from declaring it in the face of my angry Alpha father and why I did not fear stepping forward into a new and unknown future without the pack.  So why the hell was I shaking like a leaf in front of my telephone as I called Alex's parents?

Eric leaned over me as we sat in front of the desk of our study, the phone before us on loud speaker.  The phone began to ring, once, twice, a third time, when it suddenly connected.  "Hello?"

My palms had grown sweaty while we waited and my throat turned dry as a woman answered the phone.  "Hello, is this Mrs Rivers, mother of Alex Rivers?" I said, my voice sounding as if it had been parched for days.

An image of my old headmaster burst into my brain with a snigger of a large cat and I glanced up at my mate, who bit down his lip and laughter.  I rolled my eyes heavenward, but a smile crept upon my lips and I found the tension in my body easing.

"Yes it is," the woman replied.  "Who am I speaking to?"

"Forgive me," Perhaps I ought to have introduced myself first?  This sort of courting is all very new to me.  Shifters usually just turn up at their future in-law's home and declare that their child is their mate.  Both sets of parents would help their children find a home or build a new one, usually insisting on a house with several bedrooms for future little ones.  The happy couple would move in and there was a high chance of pregnancy within the year; should the couple be heterosexual.  Job done.  At least that was how it was done in the Pride.  "My name is Michael Haze and I am here with my husband Eric Quinn, we are your son's mates."  Alex had already told us that he had spoken briefly to our parents about us.

"My son has mentioned you both," she responded.  "I cannot say I was very happy with the news, but my son insists that you have no intention of hurting nor rejecting him."

"We adore Alex," Eric interrupted.  "We found it hard to believe that his first mate rejected him in the first place."

There was a pause on the other end of the phone, which seemed to last for several minutes, but it was probably only a few seconds.  "Alright," she said, finally.  "I'll accept this declaration for now.  He did seem happier when he visited us last, but I'll warn you as I warned him.  Please make sure to use protection during sex, unless you are prepared to deal with the consequences."

Eric and I glanced at each other confused.  Was she worried that there was something wrong with us that could be passed on to Alex or was there something that we didn't know about Alex?  My goddess, was he sick?  "Um.. no need to worry," Eric decided to say after we mentally agreed to speak with Alex later.  "We haven't fully mated with him, yet."

"Why not?"  The woman was a very blunt person.  Alex did say that she was a doctor and we did tend not to beat around the bush when it came to certain matters, but I couldn't help but wonder what sort of bedside manner his mother had.

"Actually, that was sort of what we wished to discuss with you," I advised her.  "We wish to hold a small marriage ceremony in front of Alex's friends and family, before we place our marks on him.  We want to make our bonding as special as we can for him."  This was also something that we had not done before.  The King or the Alpha simply sent of the paperwork declaring all of the newly mated couples to the government every three to six months, so they received the same rights as people who married through ceremonies.  The only difference between a married and true mated couple after all is the chance of divorce is severely lacking for the latter.  But Alex is human.  It's not like he might not have dreamed of getting married one day, so we would give that to him.