Chapter 5

Cormac

She has been the focus of my dreams, clean and not for years now. The problem is she is my best friend’s sister and, even though Bram might trust me, I will never be good enough for her. Now, knowing she is my fated mate, she should also know. Her dad is an Alpha, and her mom is an alpha level Luna. They have their own clan and have always loved me and treated me like one of the family.

As I touch her hand, she shutters, and my bear roars to know this is his mate. Yet, when she looks at me, she shows no effect on the nearness. I lean down to smell her neck and tense. “Rye, what’s wrong? What did you change into?” I saw her wolf but her smell is off almost reptilian smelling. She stiffens and does not answer. I turn her around so fast she looks a little green.

“Rye, answer me. Your smell is not right. Maybe it is my nose; I can smell an unknown shifter class on you. Do I smell like that too?” We are still in our robes and I guide her to the locker room to change.

She leans in and smells my neck. Then her eyes widened. “You are a bear, Cormac. A warrior class.” She does not seem repulsed by it and looks a little impressed. However, the happiness of finding her mate does not register with her. Maybe my luck has turned, and they gave me her as a worthy mate, but I am the one deemed unworthy because she did not see me. Another cruel trick of fate is to have a mate that does not recognize you.

“Cormac, I turned into a red wolf and Raven into a white tiger. I always knew we fought like cats and dogs. I just always thought I would be the cat.” I rub her back, reassuring her that all will be okay. I just cannot get over her smell, though. Something is not right. That thought is cut off when the Tora Clan and Lyall Clan Alphas come up and Ryeleigh jumps away from me. They say we have only minutes to change, and we will all meet up at the Joint Alpha house with all celebrations being cancelled for the time being. We go to our locker rooms to change, but this was not the way it was all supposed to happen.

Walking out of the locker rooms Bram is waiting in the hall, he turns and gives a half man hug and says, “Man, bro, thanks for helping my sister. She looked really freaked out. I do not even know what is going to happen now. Can you believe the Amory is dead?” I will not tell him yet, but his sister is my mate. I feel like her and I need to talk first, especially after she seems not to recognize me as her mate.

“No problem, dude. I am wondering who the new Amory will be, and if it will be one of our classmates. They will have no training time and be thrown into a war. I hope it is not me.”

Bram is stunned. “Do you really think that could happen? Damn, maybe it is you.”

“Ha. Really, man, you think they would choose the orphaned son of a whore and a rogue as the Amory? No, he will have to be chosen from better stock than me. We have never had a female Amory, maybe history is about to be made.”

“Maybe it is me,” Raven says, coming out of the girls’ locker room while she tackles Bram. They have always had an interesting relationship. Not quite siblings, but so much more than friends.

“God help us,” I mumble. But seriously, Raven is too emotional for that kind of responsibility.

“I heard that, and you will pay,” Raven says as she jumps on my back, and we all start laughing. Ryeleigh turns to us back in her ceremonial dress, shocked.

“Are you kidding me with this? We just lost our Amory, and you think it is an appropriate time to joke about who’s next? This is a time to prep for a war, which is what happens during the shift of power if we are not careful. Plus, we have an unexpectedly high number of rogues, and seeing what happened today, someone had to have planned this, and we need to prepare.” Raven walks up to Ryeleigh and rubs her arm.

“I’m sorry, Rye. I really did not mean to jest; I am just freaked out, and joking is how I handle stress. You okay? You don’t look good, and you smell funny.” Her comment reaffirms my earlier thoughts. I look at Bram, and he seems to agree that something is not right with his sister.

“Why do you all keep telling me I smell bad? I have a really terrible headache and do not feel right. But please, do not tell the Alphas. They have enough going on. It is probably all the stress and the change. Plus, during my shift, it got so bad, I blacked out for a second,” she says as she hugs Raven.

“And look at us, Rye, we switched animals. Has anyone looked for their mark? I think mine is on my back.” Raven is wearing a dress, otherwise I think she would pull up her clothes to make us look for it. Showing the group mine is on my leg, I looked in the locker room. I was so shocked I almost blacked out. I am an Alpha and could not have been more shocked. My mother had no Alphas in her line. I must have gotten it from my dad’s side, whoever he was.

“Mine is showing alpha too, but it looks different from my dads. I will need to show him, and have the Elders decide. Come here and let me check for you.” Raven goes do her and she discreetly looks with a smile. She rights Ravens dress and faces her.

“You are an alpha and your mark is clear. So the three of us are alphas, a bear, wolf, and tiger. Marshall was an Elk but I do not know his level. He left with his family right after the ceremony.” It was expected to have more alphas marked at this ceremony because of the number of Alpha children in the ceremony.

We all get into our cars and drive to the Alpha Ranch. I am riding with just Bram when he looks over and asks, “So, when did you fall in love with my sister?” I gape at him. How does he know I have feelings for her?

I try to play it calmly, but my beating heart rumbles. “Not sure what you are talking about. A blind man would see how beautiful she is, but she is your sister. And I know I am not good enough for her.” He looks at me all knowing, and he probably is. Shifters can communicate telepathically within the clan, but Bram and I know each other so well that with one look, he had it all figured out. “Okay, Bram fine, I have had a crush on her for a while. And then today, in the fire, I saw her, but she blacked out in hers. If she never saw my bear, does it mean I am still her mate? I do not know man, but I do not want to get my hopes up. I never thought I would have a shot with her. But Bram, you need to keep the secret till I talk to her. She doesn’t seem right, and I will not stress her more.” Slamming on the brakes, the car throws me into the dash. Realizing what I just said, I look at Bram.

“That is the coolest thing ever. That means you are part of our clan. But wait, she is a wolf, so the same clan? I do not know how it all works, but that is outstanding. You need to tell my dad. Oh, and my mom. But leave out the shit about you not being worthy. There is no one else I would rather be my sister’s mate. Really, I am so happy for you, but I will keep your secret till you talk to her.” I silence him because he is going to plan my life, but I have not even talked to Ryeleigh about it.

“Stop, please. Did you not hear the part where I said she does not remember? Meaning, I recognize her and so does my bear, but she just sees me as the same kid she always has. Let it go, bro, until her animal recognizes me, we will have no future. I just need to talk to her when she is feeling better.” That reality will crush me if I let it. I need to just think about one emergency at a time. I am an Alpha warrior breed now and will need to train to join a war that may have just started.

We finally reach the Alpha house, where we meet up with Ryeleigh, Raven, and Marshall. Ryeleigh seems to have gotten worse. She is being held up between Raven and Marshall. My inner animal hates to see Marshall touching her. She should be like my little sister, yet she has never been in that role. Raven has always held the role of my little sister, and it made it worse that Raven knew my genuine feelings for Ryeleigh or at least suspects.

I walk up behind the group with Bram in toe. At that moment, Ryeleigh slips through the grasp of her friends and drops to the ground, hitting the dirt hard. Everyone rushes to her side, screaming for the Alphas or a medic. When I reach her, I realize her smell is stronger than before. It is a mix of all four factions with reptilian. I have never smelled a reptilian shifter before. They do not exist on Earth but do in the other realms.

She is burning up. Without thinking, I pick her up and run into the house. “Bram, get a medic. No Alphas yet if you can help it. She doesn’t want to bother them.” Bram looks worried and he may not have a choice about the Alphas when Ryeleigh’s mom rushes over. I cannot hear much as I am running inside, but I hear Bram tell his mom all Ryeleigh’s symptoms. And a gasp comes from the older shifter. I wonder if she is thinking about what I am.