The Sun God Diaries
Chapter Thirty-One: Cunningham and Howell

In the days that followed, things have been VERY hectic at the DuBauer household with my brothers and fathers now pitching in to get things ready for the Autumn Formal masquerade ball while Dad continued to talk to the event planners that came in and out. Even the Yanez family was on edge with color coordination, security checks (for my safety), decorations, thorough cleaning, and food preparations. And as for me, I was lost in the rising number of classwork, tests, and even more visits to various packs and covens. I considered myself lucky if I was able to catch a break to text or call up my friends or one of the drag queens if I wasn’t lost in the company of my mates (even they were lost in schoolwork and extracurricular activities- their swim team was heading to state championships) for mini-dates and drop-ins at my room.

The good things that are coming out of this are the new rush of mating announcements (Travis and Sapphire landed two Alpha dragon-shifting cousins while Charissa was being courted by a Beta vampire and Mia was soon dating an Alpha werecat-shifter). And also, more announcements about my brothers’ engagements were calls for rare family time (Alyssa and Addison were finally won over by Abaddon and Azrael’s joining grand gesture by them taking the ladies to a fashion show in Milan that they dreamed to attend before dropping on their knees and proposed to them).

But it was not all easy-breezy regarding the Cunningham/Howell trio that was still stalking me. Five days before the ball, Aurora told me that a few forest nymphs heard about the trio’s imminent move to Colorado and were planning to move into a nearby suburb. And despite people telling me to sit the ball out and maybe stay in for a movie night, I was adamant in my plan to defend myself and hold my ground should the inevitable meeting begin. Even after talking with Cunningham’s brother (who warned me about what his older sister is capable of with blackmail and dabbling in dark magic with help from rogue witches), I was sure to stand my ground. And it helped that I was nearly complete in my combat training thanks to Uncle Clay, Uncle Colin, and Uncle Camden who made sure that I was skilled in shooting and mastered my shifting abilities.

All in all, things are starting to get very real for this Omega brotha and all that is surrounding him. But I was not going to be delayed or denied. I was destined to be a royal and take my place as the Sun God Wolf King.

*************

Two days before the ball, I was currently finishing up lunch with Pauly and his mom at Cohen’s Deli, grateful for catching a break in between classes and final arrangements for the ball while chatting about plans after high school. “I’ve heard that you’ve been approached by some recruits from UNLV, Colorado, and USC for college football,” I commented after I polished off my turkey on rye sandwich. “Any chance you’re wanting to go pro?”

My godbrother only shrugged, finishing off his glass of iced tea. “I mean, Colorado is closer and I could still stay at the palace since I plan to train as one of the guards,” he admitted. “But then again, Dad did tell me that I needed to start finding my mate soon.”

“Are you?” I asked. “I’ve been hearing that you’ve been busy with a few things.”

Pauly looked down. “It’s been complicated lately,” he admitted. “I’ve been having some dreams about meeting my mate and while I can feel him- and yes, my mate’s a he in case you’re wondering; it’s like I can’t track him down. I’ve been talking to some of the guys from the football team and they agreed that I need to make a move to find my mate so I can finally stop stressing out.”

His mother nodded, turning to me. “Pauly’s been even having these dreams of him and his mate meeting,” she told me. “I think that his mate IS close by- or at least he’s been trying to tell him something.”

I thought for a moment. “Well, I think you need to talk to my Great-Grandmother as soon as possible,” I suggested. “And the sooner you do that, the sooner you can find some clues on what your soulmate is trying to say.”

“That’s not a bad idea,” Pauly agreed. “I did have a couple of dreams that we were finally together and he was trying to warn me of something, but the dreams always ended before I could even ask.”

“Then you REALLY need to talk to my Great-Grandmother,” I replied, finishing off my bag of chips. “If the dreams are of a vision, then you need to get ready for what might happen.”

Mother and son nodded in unison before they stood up. “I’ll get on it,” Pauly agreed, “but I need to use the restroom before we head back to the palace.”

“Same here,” Mrs. Yanez piped up. “We’ll be back in a few.”

As soon as they were out of earshot, I took a deep breath and wondered if Pauly’s mate was either being evasive or if he was really out of state and was trying to tell my godbrother something important. All I knew was that I needed to let the Moon Goddess know of the findings and ask for Her opinion as soon as possible.

“Ah, Malachi DuBauer, the young Moon Wolf Prince. We finally meet you at last.”

I looked up and saw two young men that looked one or two years older than I was. And with them was a sleek and promiscuously-dressed blonde that was looking down at me with a smirk on her face while her eyes were glowing gold in anger. I felt myself transform into Amon-Re’s human form and composed myself. “Do I know you?” I asked with my voice deep, crossing my arms.

“You ought to have known me since I’m the one who’s been sending you those letters,” the blonde female drawled.

And then I remembered: I was in front of the femme-fatale with a nasty jealousy streak. “You must be Alyssa Cunningham,” I replied, keeping my voice steady. “And these must be your bodyguards.”

“In the flesh,” Alyssa cheered. “And these guys with me are none other than Dawson and Ryker Howell, the Alpha twins of the Red Fang Pack of Laramie, Wyoming. And they...are the mates that you need.”

“Charmed to meet you, our lovely boy,” the brunette on the left purred, extending his hand. “I’m Ryker Howell. The one on my right is my twin brother Dawson. And might I say that you look very seductive as your Sun God Wolf’s human form. It’s all the better to finally meet you at last.”

I turned to the other male brunette who had a blank look on his face. “And you?” I asked him.

The young man named Dawson only nodded. He must be the strong and silent type, I deduced to myself.

Stand firm, yet stay alert, I heard Amon-Re’s voice in my head. There’s more than meets the eye.

Right, I replied. “So, why are you three here?”

Alyssa grinned. “Straight to the point, aren’t we?” she teased. “All right, we’ll bite. I’m here to finally see you, Your Grace, and to kindly tell you in person to leave the Magnificent Eight Alphas alone. They are MY boyfriends, my real true loves. Not yours, but mine. And I brought over the Howell twins to finally meet you so they can make their case to get you to ditch those thirteen gods and bond with them.”

I arched my eyebrow, noticing that Pauly and his mother were at the back of the deli with my godbrother glaring at the trio. “Is that so? Do tell.”

Ryker smirked, he and Alyssa sitting down and placing Mrs. Yanez’s purse on another table. “We do, and we shall. My brother and I have been watching your every move since we saw you shift on your birthday,” he replied. “And once we learned of you being the Sun God Wolf King, we knew that you were the perfect fit for us. The idea of you being bonded to thirteen mates doesn’t really sit well with me, but that’s my opinion. Anywho, Dawson and I think that you should ditch the thirteen twerps and be with real men. Let us treat you like the prince you need to be, my sweet boy. And don’t worry about them because Alyssa will take good care of them and make her into a proud female Luna.”

“We know it’s not easy for us to hear, Your Majesty, but it’s for the best. We all heard of the legendary prophecy about the Sun God Wolf and how you are fulfilling the role,” Alyssa added. “Be that as it may, I think you should be okay with just one or two mates. Your dad is a special case with him being a Moon Wolf and his brothers- or fathers or whatever- since you guys are the biological descendants of the Moon Goddess Herself. But I think you can bend the rules a little and reject the thirteen mates. They can’t give you pups as I can. They’ll only see you as a toy and cast you aside.”

She smiled softly. “I’ll tell you what. Dawson, Ryker, and I will be at the Autumn Formal ball that your family’s hosting. We will expect your answer and will want you to reject my original boyfriends, the Sons of Enya, and even Olodom the son of Sorunos,” she suggested. “Let me be the real woman to make those thirteen sex gods on a stick and you can have Dawson and Ryker as your mates.”

“It’s for your own good as well as for the good of all the female Omegas all over the world,” Ryker wheedled. “And besides, I hate to see your friends get hurt or even maimed. And your future siblings-in-law are no use to your brothers if they’re dead/.”

Ryker grinned widely, his smile not reaching his eyes, and it made me want to punch him right in the face. Nobody threatens my crew and gets away with it. And nobody threatens my future in-laws and lives.

“Ooh,” Alyssa mockingly winced. “We didn’t mean to go there, but the threat remains. Either leave the thirteen boys and accept the Howells instead...or have a lot of blood on your hands. I meant what I said. I deserve to have more mates than you ever will, no matter what the fucking Moon Goddess has prophecized. Damien, Ian, Ivan, Vincent, Isaiah, Nathaniel, Yavier, Richard, Olodom, Galen, Aivox, Veronique, and Cyler- they belong to me, not you. Reject them and accept Dawson and Ryker...or pay for your sins.”

I calmly stood up, finally fed up with being stuck with this trio of clowns that make me spew with their scents of old perfume. “Thank you for telling me all this,” I said calmly, my voice steady. “I know that you three have made a long journey just to see me.”

“We have,” Ryker piped up as he and the other two stood up from their chairs. “And believe me, babe, you’re so much better with me and my brother if you learn to give us a chance. We’re so much better off for you. We want you to soar with eagles not flap around with teenage chickens who-”

BANG! BANG!

Alyssa screamed, backing away from Ryker as his arm was bleeding. “What the hell?” she screamed, turning to me with anger in her eyes as I aimed my Magnum pistol at her. “Are you fucking crazy?!”

“Crazy? No. Pissed? Yes?” I hissed, keeping my aim steady as the other customers looked on, the manager already making a beeline for the office to call my parents. “Let me make this clear as day. I’ll put up with you all belittling me for being an Omega. But I won’t take kindly to threats against my friends and future in-laws. And for the record, I already have accepted the mate bonds with all thirteen mates, so your little proposition is dead, tootsie roll! I can’t blame you for dressing like a fucking rejected candidate for Victoria’s Secret or Playboy. But that doesn’t mean you can threaten other Omegas- male or female- to stay away from what’s rightfully theirs all willy-nilly. And so you should have known, the mating bond is never to be joked with since rejecting the bond can be deadly and even criminal. Hence the Zallenda brothers’ demise. So to be real, this is my answer: HELL TO THE NO! I will NOT reject my mates so you can use your fading charms to put out just because you’re a reckless hoe who makes the Red Light District in Thailand look like schoolgirls. And knowing you, they are more responsible than I know you are.”

The crowd laughed at that, Alyssa’s face turning beet red with race as Dawson looked down and Ryker staggered to his feet, keeping his gunshot wound from bleeding.

“And in case you didn’t know, bitch, I plan to mate with my TRUE mates, not with the Howell twins because unlike you, I have self-respect. So we will see each other at the ball in two days, Cunningham. And I will stick to my guns and stick by my real mates,” I continued. To the Howell brothers, “And no, I do not like to be seen as a trophy to be claimed as anyone’s prize, so I cannot accept your offer. Now, leave or else I will turn y’all into centerpieces for the family dining room at the palace.”

Ryker hissed, yet keeping his smirk. “Damn, baby boy,” he said as he grabbed more napkins to stop the bleeding. “You shooting me like it’s no tomorrow only makes me want you more. I get it now. You’re offended and high-strung thanks to the threats. And I’m sorry for that. But know that no one ever says no to Ryker and Dawson Howell of Laramie, Wyoming. We always get what we want. And we want you.”

I cocked my gun, aiming right at the arrogant Alpha’s head. “Well, there’s a first time for everything,” I said lowly, “because I believe that I just did. Now, leave. Or the next bullet goes to your head.”

Ryker snickered. “Until the Autumn Formal, love,” he teased. “You’ll make the right choice.”

“Or else,” added a pissed-off Alyssa before she and Ryker left.

Only Dawson stayed behind. I pointed my gun at him. “Leave now if you value your life,” I warned.

He held up his hands. “To be real, this was a giant mistake,” he replied. “And I know better than to mess with a mating bond or a pissed-off Omega.” With that, he followed the others out the side door and I watched them disappear into thin air.

I took a deep breath as everyone applauded, Pauly and his mother coming to my side. “I can’t believe that I did that,” I breathed. “What was I thinking?”

“Dude, you needed to stand your ground,” my godbrother reminded me. “And you shooting that asswipe proves that you have balls.”

“Well, no one threatens my family or friends and gets away with it,” I commented, putting my gun back into my jacket pocket. To Mrs. Yanez, “Are my family-” Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“They’re on their way,” she replied. “I have a feeling that the Autumn Formal is going to be memorable with those three there.”

“You and me both,” I agreed. “Right now, let’s head out and wait for my fathers. I have a feeling that I won’t be seen at the ball anyway. It’s a pity because my custom-made Armani tuxedo is arriving tomorrow.”

“You’ll be fine, Malachi,” Mrs. Yanez assured me as we collected our things while janitors silently cleaned up the spatters of blood. “You just remember to trust in Her plan, your family and friends, and yourself. All things happen for a reason.”

And I believed her. But I had a feeling that the formal was going to be full of surprises. And if I was correct, I was going to face a lot of heat in the future.

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