APEX - Season 2

Ch. 22: The Wrong Brother

Calla

When the shock had worn off, it struck me that I should have predicted this. Of course, my mother wouldn't care about my happiness. She was never going to let me make a choice as important as mate selection on my own, but to assuage her own guilt at forcing me into this unholy union, she'd convinced herself I'd want this match.

It never crossed her mind that I'd already found my true mate, but to be fair, I'd only just recently admitted that to myself. If I hadn't been so afraid, if there hadn't been so much else happening—a pack in need of a PR makeover, a city in need of soothing, a whole species wanting redemption to save their homes and maybe even their lives. A missing friend, a found friend turned enemy, attacks, murders—the list went on and on.

Rhys and I didn't live in a romantic comedy. There wasn't a simple formula that could be used to get us out of this jam. We weren't going to have a thirty second montage that would bring us to the point where we could see a clear-cut solution.

We weren't going to get our happily ever after.

The tears streamed freely, wreaking havoc with my make-up, and causing my eyes to swell and itch. I sat curled into the fetal position on the penthouse's couch and let myself feel all the emotions inside me. A hand touched my shoulder lightly and I knew before opening my eyes that it was my sister.

"What happened out there?" Arla asked as she took a seat next to me.

I turned over and stretched my legs across her lap, letting my silver dress flow to the floor. "You were there. You saw who they want me to spend the rest of my life with."

"Yeah, I did," Arla said. "Aamon Rawlings is a model, Calla! He's like, Hollywood level hot, plus he's from the most powerful werewolf family in Sury. You're so lucky!"

"Stop thinking with your who-ha, Arla. It doesn't matter how attractive he is, Aamon is a complete ass with the maturity level of a middle schooler. Believe me, I'm the one who's had to manage him the past few months. It was pure hell."

"Okay, but maybe he'll change once he's with you."

"Oh my God," I said, rolling my eyes. "I still have so much to teach you. If you end up in a relationship with a man, rule number one is that you cannot change that man. If you enter into the relationship thinking you can fix this or that about him and then everything will be okay, you can't and everything will not be okay. It will be a monumental disaster."

"You're being a little overly dramatic, don't you think?"

"No, if anything I'm downplaying this." Arla was one to talk too, considering that she lived for drama. "If I'm forced to go through with this mating, Aamon is going to be Aamon, now and forever more. I'm not going to try to change him. Even if I could change him, he doesn't deserve the energy that attempt would require."

"He can't be that bad. I've seen all his interviews. He saved those humans' lives back at that bookstore."

"Arla, we let him spin a bunch of nonsense because it played well with the public. Aamon plays well with the public and he looks good while doing it. That's why you see so much of him. That doesn't make him good mate material."

She blinked several times. I couldn't blame her for not understanding. At sixteen, she had little dating experience and no experience at all at dealing with men like Aamon. If only I could spare her from that for the rest of her life.

"You're better off sticking with girls, or your non-binary crush."

"Rowan."

"Right. Rowan. Stick with them. Men are a bigger gamble. Of course, in the end it won't matter anyway. Mom is just going to stick you with whoever she thinks will be most politically advantageous, true mate or not."