Twisting Her Fate
Chapter 11

Titan looks in the revision mirror, his eyes focusing on Arlo. Arlo doesn't pay attention, just looking out the window. Leilani notices the look, she wraps her arms around Arlo's waist, holding him tight.

"You will be going to the Aquamarine pack"

Arlo's whole body stiffens as soon as the word is said, the atmosphere is heavy within the vehicle. None of the squad have returned to their original packs in all these years and they had no plans on rekindling relationships with people that cared nothing for their

lives. Arlo will be the first one.

Arlo handles it well, just burying his face in Leilani's hair and closing his eyes while Leilani holds him tight like she is trying to hold him together. Arlo isn't that fragile, they are a long way off the people they were and the pieces have long since been repaired and reinforced. But he allows Leilani to comfort him as he tries to think about what it will be like to return.

It is not long before they arrive at the airport and are sitting on the plane flying to their next destination.

***

Connor wakes with a start, instantly tightening his arms to replace he's holding nothing. He places a hand on the bed beside him and feels the cold sheet, suddenly feeling very cold within himself.

The sun is streaming through the gap in the thick curtains as he lifts his watch and looks at the time. Connor is not much of a deep sleeper or even much of a sleeper in general. Usually struggling to go to sleep and to stay asleep, so the fact that he slept till midday is beyond his comprehension.

The fact that Leilani and her clothes are now nowhere in sight fills his whole body with a sort of emptiness that he was not expecting. He has had his share of one-night stands and never has he had that feeling of loss before. His heart clenches slightly as he pushes himself up on his elbows, the quilt slides off his naked body. The pleasure of the night still burned in his brain. The touch of her fingers still branded on his skin. The sound of her voice, her moans and the way she screams his name like he has never heard before. His somewhat boring name sounds amazing out of those pink lips as her head tilts back, exposing her neck, giving her all to him.

Connor clenches his fist and hits the sheets that are still infused with her scent. How could he not wake up? How could she just walk out without so much as a good bye?

He looks over at the bedside table and sitting just beside the lamp is a notepad. He picks it up, reading it and laughing self-deprecatingly. Mate? He has been searching for six years with no results and now he is not sure whether his mate could ever live up to the expectations of the nameless girl, even after everything that was felt the night before, she still didn't even leave her name.

He throws the notebook back on the bedside table and walks with a near aggressive briskness to the shower, making his way through rinsing off the stickiness of the night before, but the small space is full of memories with her, her wet skin under his palm, her white blonde hair stuck to her flesh.

Pulling on his fresh set of clothes. Connor packs up his bag and walks toward the door to leave. He glances back at the note left and grits his teeth before turning back. Ripping the piece of paper off the pad and folding it neatly and placing it into the secret compartment of his wallet before sliding it back in his back pocket of his jeans.

He knew what the night was, so he has no business being annoyed at her. It's just that he didn't want it to end that way and he can't help but feel a little alone. He has never really suffered from the affliction of being alone, he likes his own time, he enjoys being solo, but suddenly, alone seems very lonely. It is not a nice feeling.

Connor walks out to meet the rest of his pack members, packing up the car ready for the six-hour drive back to the pack. He keeps silent the whole way and the others know better than to ask how his night was.

Connor has never been so thoroughly satisfied yet left so unfulfilled.

***

At the airport, Leilani disembarks with her brothers and they hire a seven-seater car. Titan and Andrea have flown back to base. They only travelled because they were worried about Arlo's reaction. They still have more groups to train, but to them, Leilani and her group are the special team. They were trained for a particular purpose so they always have to check in.

Leilani sticks close to Arlo on the flight, on the walk, in the car. Arlo rubs the top of her head, laughing gently.

"I am fine Lani"

"Of course you are. Maybe I am not"

Arlo laughs holding her closer.

"Fine you win"

Leilani looks up at him, her stormy blue eyes shining with victory. He looks down at her with his emerald green eyes shinning in amusement. He runs a hand through his deep red hair as he looks at his brothers, who act like his guard.

Arlo is actually fine. If he was going alone it would be a different story, but he has the best backup in the world. There is not much that could worry him.

They stop at a hotel, they will face the Aquamarine pack in the morning, there is no rush and they could all use a wind down after the night that was. As soon as Leilani is alone in her room, her thoughts are filled with Connor.

She is in regret with the way she left things, but at the same time, she knows she did the right thing. He is the perfect man, a man that she can see herself loving, but she is in no way able to do that, settle down. What about this life, her work, her family? At the end of the day, he has a mate out there, so even if she gave all this up, he could leave her the next day and then she would be left with nothing.

Connor was never meant to be hers.

It is better that she got out of there before she got so intertwined that she would have no way of extricating herself. Leilani stands and walks down the corridor knocking on a random door. She doesn't care who, she just needs company, she loves all her brothers equally. Levi opens the door in only boxers.

"Can I sleep with you?"

Levi looks at Leilani's forlorn expression with a sad smile. He hates seeing Leilani sad. She always shoulders the most out of any of them. "Of course"

Arlo walks up behind Leilani and Levi nods him into the room. The three lay down in the bed together, the two boys on either side of Leilani.

"Do you ever wonder what will happen when we replace our mates?"

"Was he?"

Leilani laughs slightly, resting her face on Levi's naked chest as Arlo holds her from the behind.

"Do you think I could escape so easily?"

The boys think back to the big alpha.

"Probably not, but you did have good chemistry"

"We had insane chemistry, that is what has me thinking. I have never entertained the idea. Growing up I assumed I would get rejected, but since the training, I haven't even thought of it as a possibility, but what happens when the six of us replace mates? Do you boys have your mates travel with us? Then what about me or will we dwindle in numbers until there is none"

Levi can only whisper.

"I truly don't know"

"I love this life, but can I live it forever?"

"Are you saying you are ready to try and replace your mate?"

"I won't ever actively search. I am not ready to give up all of this. I was treated so badly before. Now I live the life I want to live, what if I replace my mate and I am treated badly again?"

"We will kill him"

"True, scratch that, I will kill him myself"

Levi kisses her forehead.

"That's my girl, don't stress about things, just deal with it when it happens. You could twist yourself in knots with scenarios and none of them could come to fruition or you could be hit with the biggest curve ball"

"When you are right, you are right. Do you think it is strange that the six of us are twenty-one and none of us have found our mates?"

"When we are meant to, we will, maybe for now, we are meant to be doing exactly what we are doing"

"But isn't that what is normal in our world? Mate, breed?"

"Lani, I think we had the tag of normal stripped away from us long ago"

"Did we ever have it?"

Arlo laughs.

"We may not be normal, but I love what we have"

"Are you worried about seeing your twin tomorrow?"

"What? Little Mr perfect?"

"The one and only"

"I feel nothing about seeing them. They stopped being my family the day they left me at the gate. I don't even think they are my enemies, they are nothing, they are less than strangers."