06

« Sorry, little man. What’s your name ? » I asked softly.

« Riley, and its not a girl name, » he said sternly. I chuckled at him.

« My name’s Alex, and it’s not a boy name, » I said with a smile. He giggled and pulled my hands down so I sat in front of him instead of crouching.

« I’m three, » he beamed as he held up five fingers. I slowly pulled down two fingers as he smiled sheepishly. « I’m still learnin’. »

« It’s okay. So am I, » I replied. He smiled and grabbed my hands.

« Are you…this old ? » He asked as he pulled up eight fingers. I chuckled and shook my head. He scowled at my fingers and stuck up all of mine and five of his. « This old ? »

« Close, » I said and smiled brightly at him. He furrowed his little eyebrows and put down one of mine. He looked up at me curiously and I shook my head and chuckled at him.

« I just-I don’t know. Can you give me a hint ? » He begged. I just couldn’t resist the puppy eyes he was giving me.

« It’s more than fifteen. » He stared at me like I was doing rocket science. « It’s more than this many, » I said and his mouth made an ‘O’ shape.

He slowly lifted up one more finger so our fingers added up to sixteen, and I smiled. I nodded my head and he jumped up and down while clapping.

« I’m smart ! You all can suck it ! » He hollered. I paused and slapped my hand over his mouth. Well, not literally slapped, but you know.

« You can’t say that ! That’s bad ! » I scolded. He frowned and poked out his bottom lip.

« But bubba says it, » he whined. I raised an eyebrow.

« Who is bubba ? » And almost as if on cue the boy known as bubba came into view.

« Ry ! Mom wants you, » Greyson said as he stopped in front of me. It was then that I realized the similar features between the two. The dark hair and the cool grey eyes. Not to mention the little dimples when they smile. Brothers.

« Can Ally come with me ? » He whined. I wanted to scowl at the nickname, but decided against it. He’s three. I’m sixteen. I’ve gotta be the bigger person, not the bigger whiner.

« No. Now go, » Greyson said sternly. Riley frowned as his little dimples disappeared. I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him against my chest.

« Greyson ! That’s rude ! » I spat. His eyes widened in shock and I moved my focus to Riley. « I would love to go with you, Lee, but I think I need to talk to bubba. » He nodded and wrapped his little arms around my neck.

« I have a scar, too, » he whispered in my ear. I pulled back and stared at him in confusion. He lifted his shirt and in the center of his chest was a line that extended from to top of his torso to just above his belly button. I slowly moved my head down and kissed the scar causing him to giggle. « I think your scar makes you look beautiful, » he said not exactly pronouncing ‘beautiful’ correctly and kissed my cheek. My cheeks heated up, and I smiled.

« I think you should go find Mommy, » I said quietly. He wrapped his little arms around me once more and took off down the hall.

« He doesn’t like to show people that, » Greyson said, startling me. I snapped my head in his direction with a confused look. « His scar, » he clarified.

« Maybe he’s grown out of it, » I stated simply. I stood up and walked past Greyson as he watched me.

I’m guessing that he was eavesdropping the entire time, but I won’t make any hasty conclusions. All that I wanna do is go home and see my family.

I tapped my foot repeatedly on the hard wood floor of our kitchen. I had come home about an hour ago and school would be out in less than half an hour. I couldn’t stop thinking about Greyson.

I’m not fit to be a Luna. Why couldn’t my mate have been a rogue ? I wouldn’t have to worry about other packs.

What am I suppose to do ?

Well, I could give him a chance like a nice person, but then again what about the girls who constantly have their tongues down his throat ? He could cheat on me just as easily as I can tear a paper plate.

That was a pathetic reason to try to convince myself not to just give in to the mate bond.

I stood up quickly when I heard the door rattle. It opened up and in walked Karissa, Shawn, Austin, and Dylan.

« Geez, relax Alex. You’re gonna give yourself a heart attack, » Karissa joked as she made her way into the kitchen, and the boys went to their rooms.

« Sorry, » I muttered lowly while I clenched my fists. She grabbed a bag of chips out of the cupboard and plopped down at the kitchen table. She patted the spot beside her and I trudged over and sat down.

« What’s wrong, » she said seriously.

« Don’t you remember that I was abducted by Tyler half way through the day ? » I asked and her eyes widened.

« No ! We all thought you just came here or went for a run ! » She said as she stood up and took out her phone.

« Who are you calling ? » I questioned as I took a chip and began munching on it.

« Tyler ! Bitches get bitched at, » she replied in a duh tone. I rolled my eyes and she put the phone up to her ear. I didn’t even want to know how she got his number. She was always the queen of hacking into anything technological.

« Where’s Mr. And Mrs. Lovely ? » I asked referring to Shane and Gabby.

« Shane took Gab on a date-Hey you ! What the hell were you thinking when you took Alex… !? » She started screaming into the phone as she walked out of the room.

I took out my phone and realized that I had a missed call and a voicemail from an unknown number. I clicked on it and instantly a voice that I had missed filled my ears.

« Ally ! It’s me, Riley ! I want you to come over. I miss you, and Bubba does too-«

« Riley, » I heard Greyson’s voice yell through the phone which sent butterflies through my stomach.

« Hush, bubba ! » I heard Riley’s voice scream and a loud slap then Greyson whine out an ‘ow’. « I need you to come over and play in the pool with me because Bubba is always too busy now. I will see you later, » Riley started yelling. I couldn’t help the uncontrollable laughter that came out as Greyson argued with Riley.

« Riley, give me my phone, » Greyson said and I heard giggles and little ruffling noises along with the pounding of feet. « Riley, stop running ! Mom ! Contain your son ! »

« Which one ? » I heard a woman yell in the background and laughed even harder. I’m pretty sure there were tears.

« Love you, » Riley whispered like he didn’t want anyone to know and then the line hung up.

« Well that was exciting, » I mumbled as I listened to the message again.

« Riley, huh ? Never would have thought you went for younger men. You cougar ! » Shawn said as he wiggled his eyebrows at me. I laughed and rolled my eyes at him. « You should smile more. Looks a lot more friendly than that glare. » I smiled and nodded.