Chapter 17: Chapter 17

"Hey, Leo what's up?" I said, as I recognized the voice on the other end phone,

"Hey Ana, how are you doing?" He asked, I smiled,

"I'm good you?" ,

"I'm okay, my parents have concluded arrangements, how is it on Talon's end?" He asked,

"Bane and Mira are handling it, Cain updated me, Talon isn't taking the turn of events too well, but Mira is leading the charge and she has assured me she'd handle any objections Talon may have, how about Jay?" I asked,

"He's definitely not happy about it but even he can't stop a united Alpha couple, mom and dad have made their stand clear, the pride is expecting the pack already, Jaylen doesn't really have a choice in the matter." he assured me, I chuckled, it really was a good idea to recruit the parents,

"I've already made the arrangements, the pack will be completely settled in, in five days time and I will be coming to get you the day after, Mom and Dad insist you move in as soon as possible, so please don't say no, we need you there to keep the peace between them." Leo informed me,

"alright, I understand, I'll do as they say." I assured him, Jake and Leona had agreed to accommodating the pack on the condition I moved in as well, although I already had that in mind,  he sighed in relief,

"I know you probably aren't okay with all the pushing we're doing but please bear with us okay, we really need your help with this, and mom really wants to get to know her son's mate, you moving in will make her happy and we'd all be honored to have you." he assured me and I laughed,

"I knew I'd have to be close to be able to actually do something about the situation, I already had moving in in mind, it's more like a vacation to me, so don't worry, I'm not gonna back out, I was just worried it'd seem a little weird for me to move in, I mean considering I already rejected them and naturally shouldn't be getting involved anymore, but your mom wanting me around gives me a good alibi, however I just want you to know that, I might like them but that doesn't mean I'm willing to accept what being their mate entails, pack and pride leading and all, I'm in this mostly to help smoothen things between them, so they don't end up hurting themselves, the fact that I'm their only connection right now is why Im triggering their feelings but concerning my involvement with them beyond the plan, I still haven't made a decision, I'm saying this so you can let your mom know not to get her hopes up, I'd actually rather not be dealing with all this if I had a choice, no offence intended." I informed him honestly and I heard his sigh,

"I understand Ariana, I just want you to keep your heart open, I'm not asking for anything but please don't push them away, if you end up feeling nothing for them then no one will hold you back, I promise." he said,

"okay, thanks, see you in a few days." with that I hung up and went back to finishing up my school work that was due the next day.

~Mia's POV~

"Ana....?" I whined, she lifted her gaze from the book she was reading, giving me a sharp glare, before returning her gaze to the book, Dan chuckled at my expression, we were currently in the living room, Ana was curled up on a love seat, reading one of those huge adventure books, one of the few I hadn't read yet, when it came to stories, I was a book worm as well.

Dan was laying on the couch, doing something on his phone, and I sat on another couch, with a frustrated look on my face, it was 9:30am and Leo was scheduled to come get us by 3 in the afternoon, we had just about five hours or so and Ana wasn't done packing, or at least I didn't think she was, she had packed up just one suitcase for God's sake, I don't know how she thinks that would be enough, when in my case I had packed 3, knowing fully well I still had a lot of stuff to get back at the pack house, now I know we weren't staying in the pride house forever but I liked to be prepared for anything.

"Ana...?" I tried again and she groaned in annoyance,

"what wrong did I commit against you that you have refused to let me have peace, it's a vacation, we don't even know if we'll be staying that long, I can't move my whole closet and if I need anything I'll drive here and get it, I seriously think that one suitcase is enough." she said exasperated and I rolled my eyes, still not in agreement, was I the only one taking this serious, I mean, even the three I packed took me awhile despite my early start five days ago, I had packed and repacked each suitcase because I couldn't decide what should be left behind, I didn't understand the idea behind taking only the necessities, everything in my closet was a necessity, I only comforted myself with the fact that I'd still be going to get some stuff from my room in the pack house.

"no it's not, alright, just pack one more and then I'll leave you alone, after that, then we can come back for anything else you'll definitely end up needing." I insisted, she rolled her eyes at my words but stood up with a sigh and headed to her room, I smiled in victory before grabbing Dan despite his protests and pulling him with me as I went after her.

Walking into the closet after her, I gasped in horror, looking around before turning to glare at her, she rolled her eyes probably knowing what I was about to say, I said it anyway

"all the good stuff are still in here!" I said annoyed, she sighed, "you mean the fuck me now stuff?" she deadpanned, I smirked, wiggling my brows

"exactly.", she sighed rubbing her temples

"come on Ana, you've always had the talent to flaunt that sexy bod, don't quit on me now." I grumbled, nudging her, she chuckled,

"my definition of flaunt and yours are worlds apart, notwithstanding, I'll leave it to you then." she said, pulling out another suitcase and handing it to me to pack it as I deemed fit, after which she sat down on the floor, going back to her book, I grinned excitedly, noticing my look, she gave me a warning glare and I smiled innocently, she sighed again, this time in defeat.

~Ariana's POV~

The doorbell rang just as I was done changing, I was wearing a white crop top that showed off my toned stomach and belly button, white jean shorts that clung to my skin and showed off my long legs, white heeled boots and another ankara print bomber jacket with white details. Dan came into the room after taking his and Mia's luggages out and grabbed mine, I still felt it was a bit too much but Mia could be quite persistent,

"Ana we're ready to leave." Mia told me and I nodded, heading into the room adjoined to mine, which housed my huge grand piano and my collection of musical instruments, It was sad I couldn't move the piano, I picked up the cases housing my favourite guitar and my Saxophone and headed out, getting to the garage, I could see everyone was already there.

Leo still looked annoyed that an overly excited Grey had forcefully tagged along, despite his expression, I knew he enjoyed Grey's company and couldn't wait till he didn't have to pick sides between his brother and his friends, yeah, I heard from Mia they had all been close friends sometime back. I got into the back of the truck with Dan and Mia, Leo was driving and Grey took the passengers side, when everyone was settled into the truck, we were off, I pulled on my headphones and leaned against the window, shutting my eyes and relaxing for the ride.

~Jaylen's POV~

I sighed in frustration as I rolled around in my bed, I had been holed up in my room since Talon arrived yesterday, he was the last to move in, I really hated this situation, why the hell was his pack house getting renovated right now and why did we have to be the ones to accommodate them, we weren't even allies anymore, my parents were just too much, I stayed up here because if I saw him, I couldn't promise  my Lion wouldn't take control and throw him out, and I wouldn't stop him, if that happened, my mom would kill me, I prided myself on being a man who wasn't scared of anything, but whenever it came to my mom, I knew I was on the loosing side.

"Hey, you can be grumpy in there all you want young man, but when you get tired of being grumpy, then I'll be able to tell you your precious mate, Ana is inside the car that just pulled into the parking lot." I heard my mom's voice from the door, my eyes fluttered open immediately, taking a deep breath, I realized the enticing scent wasn't just a work of my imagination, standing up with lightning speed, I pulled on my jeans and sneakers, grabbing a shirt and ran out the door, putting it on on the way, my mom was standing in the hallway a knowing look on her face, I zoomed past her and I could hear her laughter even in the elevator.

I put myself in order and got out the elevator, pausing in my steps as I saw her, she was holding a case and  another was swung over her shoulder, she was laughing while trying to help Dan with a suitcase, which lucky for him, he didn't let her, taking in her appearance, I was blown away, she wore a crop top and shorts this time, her belly button and beautiful legs on display, I felt my body respond to the sight almost immediately, and I groaned at the now obvious bulge at the front part of my jean, I'd need a cold shower tonight, trying and failing to calm myself, I sighed, pulling my shirt down to hide all evidence and walked towards her.

She looked up as I reached her, giving me a small smile,

"hey..." I breathed out, still finding her beauty unbelievable, she laughed softly and I sucked in a deep breath,

"would you quit staring at her like a dummy and offer to show her to her room?" I heard my mom's exasperated voice in my mind, as she came into the room, hugging Ana and thanking her for coming, I reached for the cases she was carrying, and she handed them to me saying

"careful, they're really important to me.", I smiled and nodded,

"your room is on the same floor as Mia's and Dan's as you requested, right this way." I said gesturing for her to follow me, I had really wanted her room to be on the 7th floor, which was exclusively mine but I didn't want to offend her by going against her wishes, at least she was here, I just had to take things slowly, but then again Talon was also here, now that I thought about it, I hadn't seen him around, he would've picked up her scent by now, using my wolf senses I discovered his scent trail led into the woods, he wasn't in the building, good for him, mom had wanted to put him on my floor but I vehemently refused, living in the same building with him was bad enough, pushing the button on the elevator, I stepped aside to let her get in first before following and pushing the button for the fifth floor.

The elevator came to a stop and we got out, we hadn't met any of the pack or pride members so far, mom instructed them to stay out of sight, she didn't want to overwhelm Ana yet, I completely agreed, they didn't know who she was yet, we needed her permission to disclose it, and I didn't want anyone picking on her. Her room was right between Dan and Mia's, so she feels comfortable, getting to the door, I handed her the key card and she swiped it, unlocking the door and stepped in.

She looked around and I eagerly awaited her feedback, mom put a lot of effort into decorating, getting some hints from the stone twins, the theme was blue and silver, two of her favorite colors, we made sure to add an African tinge, both in paintings and little decorations, I had to admit, it was beautiful, but not as beautiful as her room on my floor would be, hopefully we'll get to work on that decoration soon, she turned back to me laughing,

"Dan and Mia are involved in this aren't they?" She asked giving me a knowing look and I smiled sheepishly,

"you don't like it?" I asked and she shook her head with a smile,

"I love it, it's perfect, you really shouldn't have, I wouldn't have minded the original design but I'm glad you did, thank you Jay." she replied gratefully and I couldn't help but smile at her words, she was just perfect,

"what did she think?" My mom asked in my mind eagerly,

"she says it's perfect." I thought back and I could hear her excitement, rolling my eyes, I moved inside placing the cases on the king sized bed,

"dinner is by 7, I'll come get you, there might be a lot of people, hope you don't mind?", I asked hesitantly,

"of course we could always have ours separately if it bothers you." I continued and she shook her head with a smile,

"it's fine, I'll see you inna few hours then." I nodded, hesitant to leave but I forced myself out, with the assurance that according to mom, she'd be here for a while at her request, so there was no hurry, I'd be seeing her soon, for now, it'd be in both our best interests I go take that cold shower.