Choose Me (BoyxBoy)

18

"So tell me, who are your favourites in the famous Zalhab house?" Oliver asked Vince from the passenger seat, glancing in the rearview mirror to catch the sight of Lucy sleeping. The male driving next to him smiled slightly at the question, a small chuckle leaving his lips. They had been driving for a few hours now, with some stops, and were on the final stretch; having reached the borders of the state and driving through the mountainous roads in the region, the winter announcing its grand entrance with its decoration of snow across the trees. Despite the weather, Vince had opened his window, the fresh, cool air waking him up, welcoming him home. 

"I don't have favourites." He grinned, "There's our Alpha, Noah, we are really good friends, he is like a brother to me." Vince glanced over at Oliver who smiled slightly at that. He didn't pretend there wasn't a small shift in Oliver's attitude. When they left early this morning, Oliver seemed quiet, more so than usual, but his demeanour remained one of gentle kindness and Vince couldn't help but crumble at every warm smile thrown his way. "There's the second in command, we call them Beta's still, I know, old fashioned."

"Typical Zalhab." Oliver teased, "What's his name?"

The older male thought about the beta of his pack for a moment. It had been a while since he had seen him, and yet, whenever he thought about him, his heart grew heavy. Daniel and Vince had once been great friends, they had no secrets between them, but naturally once Daniel had found his mate, Kieran, they had grown apart. There was no maliciousness between them, never had been, but Vince's heart was heavy because about a year ago Kieran had died in a horrible accident from the harshness of Winter, the stupidity of drivers and the unfairness of the spirits. At least, that's how Kieren described it. Vince had been there at the funeral and had seen a broken man, without purpose. The unfairness lied mostly in that Daniel, as a Beta, could not just leave the pack and start a new, he was allowed his fourty days of mourning, but even during those he had to help Noah. When he last saw Kieren before he left to find Oliver, he remembered Daniel giving him a small, hopeful smile, and a warm hug as a parting gift. 

"Daniel," The warmth in his voice shone through for his friend that had been through so much, "He is nice, but uh, he lost his mate last winter in an accident and hasn't been the same since, but I'm sure you'll still like him. He used to be my best friend."

Oliver's face shone with a look of sympathy. Losing a mate was supposed to be the worst pain for a wolf, second to losing a child. Oliver only knew of the pain of losing Dallas, and he could not begin to imagine the pain if he had died, or if Vince suddenly died, because even if his feelings were growing slowly, Vince and Oliver had a connection that was soul-deep, according to the ancient texts and teachings bestowed upon them.

"That's horrible. He is still working?"

Vince shrugged slightly whilst he drove. They were nearing the house now. "I think it's all he has."

The younger male sighed gently, frowning at the thought of witnessing someone living in that kind of pain. "Okay," He said, wanting to change the subject, "Who do I want to avoid?"

"There's not many to avoid but my pack is more traditional, and you might find it hard."

"How so?"

"I don't want to create expectations, but just stand your ground if you need to." He pulled into the long driveway of the house that was more like a separate, private road. Lining the road there were masses of beautiful old oak trees that joined above the road, forming a natural archway for those arriving. The whiteness of the snow on the leaves and banked on the sides of the driveway made Vince feel right at home, a small smile forming on his lips as the house soon came into view. It sat upon large fields of land covered in forest, but ran for miles and sat in the centre of a clearing was a French-Chateau style house that seemed too overwhelmingly large to belong in this area, rather in some sort of European historical town where a noble family once lived. Everything was impeccably clean, and despite the snow, all the shrubbery was perfectly trimmed, and the snow neatly scraped. Vince caught sight of some young wolves playing in a nearby hill, but when seeing the car they promptly ran to the trees, probably due to not knowing if they were human or wolves and not wanting to get in trouble for their openness. Typical teenagers.