Choose A Mate

CHAPTER 12: I HAVE TO CHOOSE A MATE
~ Gabriel's POV ~

I was awakened to a firm knock on my bedroom door. I groaned and rolled over to check my clock. It said 9:00am. Rubbing my face with both hands, my groggy vision was seeming to get clearer. There was another knock on my door. Rolling myself out of bed, I slipped on a pair of sweatpants. Taking my time, I stretched my arms and shoulder muscles while walking to my door. I unlocked it and walked away.
“It’s unlocked” I said with an unintended hatefully groggy voice. Tanner opened the door and stepped inside, shutting the door behind him. I walked to my in-room kitchen and started my coffee pot. I always pre-set it, so it is ready in the mornings.

Turning back to Tanner, I passed him up and went into my bathroom.
“Good morning sleeping beauty. You look like you had a good night’s rest. Where were you yesterday? I thought we were going to go for a run in the evening. Kelly said you decided to stay in your room for the rest of the day, so I didn’t bother you.” Exiting the bathroom, I stepped back into my kitchen.
“Yeah, I had some things on my mind. Mika was driving me crazy, and I just felt like I needed to have a minute to breathe.” Tanner stared at me, knowing it was something more than that. He was my best friend, and he could always see right through me.
“Would any of this have something to do with the way that you growled at me in the dining hall yesterday?” Not answering his question, I poured my coffee. I looked up and offered a cup to Tanner.
“So, you’re not answering me now. Come on Gabe, you know you can come to me with anything. You know I won't judge.” Tanner had a comical personality, but when it came right down to it, he got serious when he needed to be.

I decided I wasn’t ready to talk about my attraction to Harper just yet. I am going to ignore it until I can’t anymore. If it is a simple crush, it should fade away. Normally I would smash a girl that I thought was attractive, and never look back. Not Harper, she has been through too much. There is no way I would do her like that. Something tells me she wouldn’t let herself be used like that anyway. The mere thought was causing my body to heat up, already betraying me this morning.
“I’m just overworked, I guess. I am preparing to take over as Alpha. Mother and father are pressing me harder every day to choose a Luna. Samantha is clingy more than ever. And I still must decide on what I am going to do with Preston during training. If he wasn’t such an asset on the field, I would kick him out of training and put his ass in the kitchen.” Tanner nodded
“Preston is a good fighter, but if he can’t start treating the women better something will need to be done.” I already knew this; I know I am just prolonging the inevitable.
“I feel like the women really benefit from training with the males. It gives them a real challenge. They deserve to be treated with respect and Preston is walking a very fine line. His dirty mind has him doing all sorts of disrespectful things to our female fighters.” He has even gotten physical a couple of times when the women grow tired of his disrespectful banter and constant cat calls. When one of our girls smacked him straight in the face and gave him a bloody nose, he punched her back. I am glad I wasn’t there to see it. Tanner was in charge that day. I will be handling it though. Disrespecting a lady was something I will never stand for.

My thoughts went back to our female warriors. They are decent fighters, but they need to be pushed harder. I think they lack inspiration. Samantha is well trained but not on the level I would like to see her as a head trainer. Unfortunately, she is the best we have for the women right now. My mind went back to the conversation that father and I had with Harper yesterday. I really hope she brings all her enthusiasm to the field. She is little but I can tell she has willpower that never gives up. I can’t wait to see her getting settled in. She may be exactly what we need to line the women out. Right now, our male warriors were carrying our pack. We are strong, in a fight we would be hard to beat, but we can be better. That is the thing, we had to keep getting better. From what I heard in some of the meetings with other packs, trouble could be finding its way to our border all too soon.

My phone started vibrating on my bedside table. Rolling my eyes, I already know who it is. Tanner walked over and lifted my phone to read the caller ID. amusement fell on his face
“Samantha is calling you.” I breathed out a sigh and lifted my arms up, placing them behind my head, arching my back in a stretch.

He handed my phone to me. I didn’t want to answer it, but I knew if I didn’t, she would just keep calling. If I turned my phone off, she would keep trying to mind link me. I swiped my thumb to the right of my phone screen to answer the call.
“Good morning, Sam.” Her giddy voice was a pitch higher than I could handle this morning.
“Morning baby, I missed you last night. Are we still going out today?”

Walking away from Tanner to get more privacy I stepped into the hallway and shut the door. Tanner didn’t know that I had been letting Sam sleep in my room lately. I guess the pressure from my parents was getting to me. I know I need to pick a mate. I like Sam, and she is attractive. We recently started getting intimate with each other. I thought maybe I could eventually love her. After yesterday I knew loving Sam wasn’t possible. The thought of sharing my bed with her now feels so wrong. I had to get off this phone.
“Yeah, I was tired. I turned in early.” Her words came out seductive,
“Oh…baby you should have let me give you a massage. You know how good I am with my hands.” I shut my eyes tight and squeezed the bridge of my nose with the fingers of my empty hand.
“Uhm…well I have a busy day. I’ll talk to you later, ok.” her disappointment is evident.
“Ok, I’ll see you in training then I guess. I will be visiting the nail salon today. I am getting my nails done for the eclipse celebration. I am so excited, wait till you see me in my dress!” Exclaimed Samantha as I walked back into my room.
“I am not sure if we will, I have a lot of things I need to help my father take care of.” It wasn’t a complete lie. I did have things I needed to take care of, but this was me just trying to avoid her until I could figure out how I really feel. I don’t want to lead her on if our relationship isn’t going to lead to anything. Everything seemed to make sense until I met Harper yesterday. Mika never acted like that over Sam.
“Oh no… maybe I should have a word with your father. You know how much he loves me. I’ll let you go. Kelly is here to do my hair.”

Before I could reply she hung up. I slid my phone into my pocket and looked up to see Tanner giving me a questioning look.
“What the hell was that!? Did I hear her say she missed you last night? Please, tell me you took my advice and kept your distance from that girl. Gabe, I thought you didn’t feel that way about her.” I cut him off mid-sentence.
“You know I have to choose a mate. Mom and dad are pressuring me every day. It all started to become too much. I still don’t have a mate.” His mouth was hanging open,
“Gabe, I thought you were waiting for love.” He said trying to be funny by giving me his best puppy dog eyes. I finished my coffee and decided I needed to get dressed for the day. Tanner stopped my train of thought
“OH… I forgot to tell you! You missed it yesterday. Sam being the bitch she is, through thick shade at Harper.” Snapping my head in his direction, I could see an excited look on his face. How was he excited about that? Harper was our newest pack member. I want to make sure she is welcomed and comfortable.
“What the hell Tanner, you just let her? What happened? Is Harper ok?” I was feeling my anger boiling up at the thought of Sam saying something hateful to Harper. Tanner stepped back, surprised by my reaction.
“Yeah man, she is a little firecracker that one. She is little but she doesn’t care to step up to anyone by the looks of it. I had to drag her up the stairs to keep Sam from hurting her.”
“What do you mean, did Sam try to hurt her?” I can’t wait till I see her. She knows better than to treat members that way. Especially new members, my father even mind linked everyone telling them to make Harper feel welcome.

Tanner replied to my question,
“Well, no. I was afraid she would though, Harper didn’t hesitate. She took a step forward getting right in Sam’s face with her little finger about to say something when I dragged her up the stairs. Her face was so red I thought she was going to explode.” Mika came to the surface of my mind; he was hearing the conversation.
“He touched her, she’s ours! I told you he would touch her. You never listen!”
“Mika, what is with you? Stop talking about Harper as if she is our mate!”
“What if she is?” Mika asks.
“If she is then say it already! I want to know for sure too. Aren’t you supposed to be the first to know?” Feeling agitated I let Mika answer.
“I don’t know for sure. I know that Harper is the closest thing to a mate that I have felt yet. Not only that, but Harper is also a hell of a lot better looking than Samantha. We should kill her for insulting what is ours.”

With that comment I pushed Mika back. I was amused by the thought of Sam almost getting put in her place.
“What did Sam say anyway? It must have been bad. You should have let Harper have her way.” I grinned at Tanner and his face had a shocked expression.
“You know how Sam is. She pretty much called Harper a rogue and labeled her a charity case. What do you mean let Harper have her way? Have you seen the size of Harper? Sam could have hurt her.”