Chapter 19 - The dating game.

If this was the way things were going to go, I wasn’t going to be able to deal with it for much longer. They weren’t just making my life difficult, but they were also drawing far too much attention at school. Lilith is the perfect example of a human finding out about what we were! If Carlo kept this up, I would be forced to tell Lilith the truth!

There had to be some ground rules, surely! I decided that Carlo’s parents had been thinking about a plan for long enough and that I needed answers. Something had to give in this situation, and it sure as hell wasn’t going to be me. All my life, I have stood back when others called me weird or a freak. I was done doing that! I found my parents in the general sitting area and explained that I needed to speak to Carlo’s parents.

They didn’t look very happy, but agreed that they would go with me. Carlo’s parents looked incredibly uneasy as we asked them if we could all have a sit down, but I no longer cared who was uncomfortable. I was being put in a very difficult position thanks to all of them, and I either wanted out or I wanted to know what to do.

I explained to all of them what was happening at school and that I didn’t think it was good for any of us, and they had no other choice but to agree. Everyone knew that strange things had happened in this part of the country, but no humans had concrete proof and if Carlo and Enzo were going to carry on the way they did … Well, the humans would soon have proof that werewolves existed!

All four parents had to agree with me that the rivalry between the two males would only get worse over time if we didn’t put a stop to it soon. That was when Carlo’s parents asked me one question. I thought had an easy answer, but when it actually came down to it, I had trouble answering them.

“Who do you love? Which way is the mate bond pulling you?” I tried to take my time and think about each of them, but although Carlo was the one who rejected me, I still felt a pull between us. Throwing my hands in the air, I tried to explain.

“I’m sorry to say this, but I hate Carlo for the way he humiliated me my entire life, but he was the first one the moon goddess chose for me, and I sort of feel a responsibility to give him some kind of chance, but would that be fair to Ezra? I mean,” I couldn’t sit down and got up to pace back and forth with my arms crossed tightly over my chest. “The moon goddess saw fit to bring Ezra into my life. We didn’t feel our bond instantly like I did with Carlo, but we did both feel it. Believe me, when I tell you that if I knew what to do, I would have done it already.” Four sets of eyes stared back at me.

It was the worst possible position anyone could be in. We all knew that as soon as one of the males marked me, it would be over for the other. All wolves could feel a bond, which was the pull that brought two wolves together, but it was the final mating and marking that kind of sealed the deal. Until that happens, anything could really happen …

“Okay, the only way that I can think of you to make an informed decision is if you spend one on one time with each of them. Really get to know who they are and see for yourself who you feel more drawn to.” Carlo’s mom was the first to give me advice, and it wasn’t bad advice. I wasn’t really looking forward to spending time with Carlo alone, but like I said. I had to find out why I was still feeling the bond between us even after the way he rejected me.

In fact, I owed it to all of us to make sure who I wanted to be with. It would be a sin to choose one of them now and regret my choice later in life. The suggestion Carlo’s mom had made most sense, but how were we going to divide my time? I hadn’t completed the thought when my mother suggested we set up a couple of rules.

“I would suggest the first one should be that they leave you alone when you are at school. I would hate to see your grades dropping because of this.” It seemed as though everyone could agree on that rule, which lifted some of the tension from my shoulders. Before we could carry on, I felt that I should be making notes on the rules and I ran to my room to grab some paper and a pen.

By the time I returned, it seemed the four of them had some idea of what could work and I listened as they explained their plan. Each male would get the chance to arrange a couple of dates. When I was with one, the other was not allowed to intrude on that time. Dates should not interfere with my homework, but I also can’t use homework as an excuse to avoid either of the guys.

I could agree to that much. They, thankfully, agreed that if I had any issues with either of my future mates, I should immediately speak to one of the four parents and they would handle it on my behalf.

“Lastly, sweetheart,” My mother turned bright red and I had the feeling I wasn’t going to like what she was about to say. “We all feel you shouldn’t get physical with either of them until you are sure which one you are going to pick. It will only complicate matters more.”

“That is something I can definitely agree with!” I didn’t want to get into the middle of some love tryst! Or at least, that was the way I saw things turning out if I slept with both of them or just one! With the rules set out, I looked at the four grown-ups sitting in front of me and I sighed. “I take it you have some idea of a time limit you would like to put on this dating thing. I mean, I can’t be stringing them both along for the next couple of years.” I wished the earth would just swallow me already, since this wasn’t going to be the end of it all.

I still had to go on these dates and I honestly couldn’t think of anything Carlo or Ezra could do to impress me. Carlo, because he had been such a beast over the years, and Ezra because it didn’t seem as though he had any money, but that wasn’t my problem, according to the parents. Arranging the dates was up to the boys and making sure I had fun was their responsibility.

With all the rules decided it was time to inform Carlo and Ezra. They didn’t look happy when they joined us, but I was sitting between all the parents and I read out the rules. Carlo had a lot to say in between until his mother silenced him. She explained to both of them that if they broke the rules, she would come down on them like a ton of bricks and, for the first time, I really saw her in a new light.

She was a lot tougher than I thought and I carried on with the last of the rules. Since we decided on a month for this dating thing, the parents suggested that we give each of them ten dates, and that it would at least give me ten evenings of peace. To make things fair, they would alternate and then give me one night off. I felt happy with the outcome, since it meant I could still go to the movies with Lilith.

Now all I had to figure out was what I was going to tell her about the little incident at school today. She wasn’t going to fall for anything stupid. I would have to have a really good excuse. I thanked everyone for their time and left without even arranging who would go first in this entire dating game!