Chapter 32: Chapter 32

Bonus Chapter 1:

The Checklist

Rhys’s P.O.V:

The battle had finally ended, with the minimum amount of fatalities that I never thought was possible and tonight Mikalya’s and my pack would be celebrating our victory.

A huge feast has been arranged in honour of the wolves that had fought so hard and led us to victory and everyone was super pumped about the event. Belle was preparing a huge meal for the feast and most of submissives along with a few dominants had readily volunteered for helping her out in the kitchen. I had been surprised to find out that even Zyane had readily volunteered for decorating duty and I think I briefly saw Jakia, one of my female soldiers, carrying a stack of potatoes on her back and walking towards the kitchen.

Although I wouldn’t be that surprised about Zyane’s decision considering the fact that Aya was in charge of the decoration duty, but I was pleasantly surprised to find some of my male warriors lending a hand in the festivities. In fact, I had surprised myself by volunteering to help out with some of the works. I even had a checklist in my hand on which I had scribbled out all the possible things I could help out with.

“Hey! Alpha!”

I turned to face Ruksaar who was carrying an armful of bags in each hand. “Hey!” I waved at her awkwardly as she came in my direction with the bags all flapping around her.

“Are you helping out with anything during the feast tonight?” She said as flipped her long black hair back over her shoulders with a quick flip of her head and adjusted the bags in her hand. “Or do you plan to just sit back and enjoy?”

“No, actually, I have a few things that I can do to help, but I don’t know which one to choose.” I told her as I showed her my checklist. “I was thinking photography would be a good idea. I mean, you guys will all be busy having fun, so I can volunteer to take pictures. I think I’m a decent cameraman.”

“Ah! Photography!” Ruksaar said excitedly. “I’d love to see that! Did you know Abhay was a great photographer? I mean, he was a professional, but he was just superb! He took some gorgeous photos of Mink and me back in the days.”

Ruksaar sighed and shook her head ruefully. “Those sure were some awesome days. But anyways, good luck with taking pictures. I think we even have some of Abhay’s old camera’s lying around somewhere, Mink’s really fond of them, but you can always get a new higher resolution camera from Kushal. I think she has taken after her father in collecting cameras, but she doesn’t have his talent.” And then she leaned closer to me to whisper, “don’t let her know I said that, okay?”

“No problem,” I forced a smile onto my face as I waved Ruksaar goodbye.

“Alright then,” she turned and headed back into the pack house. “Catch you later!”

As soon as she was out of sight, I took out my pen and scribbled ‘Photography’ out of my checklist and wrote down a new point at the bottom of the list:

Do not do anything that reminds people of Abhay.

I checked the next thing on my checklist.

Grab breakfast and check on the injured warriors.

And with that, I headed to the kitchen to grab a bite to eat and to complete my next task. Since everyone was busy preparing for the feast, most people have gone to the nearest town to gather ingredients and accessories, which mean that most people will be having breakfast outside. But for those of us who will be staying here to help, we’ll probably have to make our own or endure the wrath of Belle the head chef. Shrugging, I headed off to the kitchen.

****

“Rhys! Come join us,” Kushal called out as soon as I entered the kitchen. “We’re deciding the menu for tonight’s feast. Do you want anything special for your pack? We can add that to the menu.”

I walked over to the kitchen counter where all the wolf chef’s were sitting on high stools, all huddled around in a circle with a few recipe books and a notebook while Belle scribbled something on a different notebook.

“Thanks, but I was just here to grab a bite.” I told them, not wanting to get involved in menu planning. The last thing I needed was for my pack to get stupid ideas about me in the kitchen.

“There’s some poha in the pot back at the stove,” Belle said, naming a popular breakfast dish. “Go grab yourself a plate and then come grab a chair.”

Surprisingly, Belle seemed to be in a good mood. But maybe I shouldn’t be surprised after all. She was a marvellous chef and as far as I know, chefs always love it when they can feed a bunch of people. At least that’s what Tamila, the head chef of my pack house back in Jever had always told me. She would get really excited too whenever there was a party or a national holiday celebration and she would always cook up a storm.

Obeying Belle’s orders, I went over to the stove and took the lid off of the pot containing the poha. Instantly, a delicious wave of buttery, spicy scent hit my nose and my stomach grumbled in protest. I scooped out a heaping laded of the savoury goodness onto my plate and then topped it with another laded. What can I say? I was damn hungry.

Belle even had some chopped herbs next to the pot, ready to be sprinkled on top as a garnish and I took a handful of the herbs and sprinkled it generously on top of my plate. Grabbing a spoon, I took my plate with me to the table and pulling a chair closer, took a seat within the circle that had formed around Belle.

“So, any preferences?” Belle asked with her eyebrows raised and her pencil hovering over her notepad.

“No, it’s alright, really.” I told her. “You guys are already preparing such a lovely feast, I’m sure I’ll love every single dish that you make tonight. Besides, I don’t want to intrude on your menu planning.”

“Oh, that’s nonsense!” She waved her pencil in the air in a motion of dismissal. “There’s no question of intruding when I’m readily asking you for a dish idea, is it? Now tell me, what’s your favourite dish? I’ll make sure to include it on the menu. And stop being coy.”

“Oh! Okay then. I guess I really like Chicken Kabsa,” I told Belle. “It’s this chicken and rice dish from Saudi Arabia that is cooked in one pot. I think it has vegetables sometimes but it can be cooked without vegetables as well.”

“Can you give me some specifics?” Belle asked. “There are a lot of chicken and rice dishes out there and most of them can be cooked in that particular way.”

“Wait, let me check on the internet!” One of the boys sitting around the table exclaimed while taking his phone out of his pocket.

We all gathered around his phone to browse through the recipes and came up with a suitable one that Belle would be able to make without any hustle.

“Oh! I get it!” Kushal exclaimed from beside me. “It’s almost like a Biryani! I’ve read the recipe online already and they are pretty similar. I think we can make Biryani instead, right grandma?”

“Ah! Biryani!” Belle scribbled it down on her notebook. “I was thinking we needed to add another rice dish. It used to be Abhay’s favourite dish, Mink’s too if I remember correctly, but the poor boy couldn’t quite deal with the heat. I had to always tone down the spices for the poor boy.”

“What about Mikalya?” I asked through a forced smile. “Does she like spicy food?”

“Oh, yes!” Belle nodded her head, making some strands of hair come loose from her bun. “Mink loves spicy food. I think the girl can eat whole ghost peppers without blinking. Once I made this really spicy gravy one cold winter night, to warm up everyone who’d be going on patrol duty. I remember that everyone in the pack started sweating almost instantly and whining like babies. But then Mink comes in, eats her whole dish in silence, without even breaking a sweat and then walks off like it was nothing. I think Abhay would have cried if he’d had it.”

“Really?” Kushal looked at his grandmother in wonder. “I didn’t know that!”

“Of course, you wouldn’t!” Belle patted her grandson’s hair affectionately. “You were just a babe back then.”

The chair made a shrill scraping noise against the polished wooden floor as I got up hastily. “Thanks for the food, Belle, but I really should be getting back now. I’ll need to go check up on the injured members of my pack once. So, I guess I’ll see you at the celebration.”

“Sure, sure.” Belle waved at me before turning to her grandson. “Biryani it is then!”

Gritting my teeth, I placed my bowl inside the sink and went out of the kitchen and towards the infirmary. What the fuck is happening today? No matter what I try to do, people are always trying to compare me with Abhay! I mean, I get it that he was Mikalya’s first mate and he had been a great guy, but that does not mean I like being compared to him every step of the way.

Normally, I would’ve preferred just staying with Mikalya and having a conversation with her but since she had declared the celebration tonight, she has been swarmed with people who want to get her advice on anything and everything they could possible think about. Even now as I passed by her room to get a peak at her, I could hear voices from behind the closed door and one of those voices had belonged to Ruksaar. God knows what they were discussing and I didn’t have any particular interest in learning about their gossip topics, other than the fact that Ruksaar knew I’d volunteered to take pictures.

It was fine as long as everyone else was comparing me with Abhay but if Mikalya started to do the same, I swear I’m going to lose it! This gets me so frustrated, this comparison. I’m not comparing Mikalya to any of my ex-girlfriends, am I?

I sighed when I realized the stupidity of what I’d just said. Mikalya wasn't just a girlfriend, she was my mate. The past relationships that I had with my girlfriends doesn’t even compare to the mating bond that I have with Mikalya and none of those women can even hold a candle to Mikalya’s strength and beauty.

Why was I so bothered with being compared with Abhay? I knew what I was getting into when Mikalya had told me that she had had a mate before who was also the father of her child. Aya and I have come to a short understanding that we were bound to each other by one person that we both cared about. But for some reason, I haven’t come to terms with dealing with Abhay’s memories yet.

****

“Alright, spit it out!”

I turned around from my position on top of the boulder to spot Mikalya standing behind me with a neck cushion around her shoulders. I watched as she leapt up onto the rock beside me dressed in a long brown trench coat jacket and snow boots that she had paired with black pants and a black sweater underneath the jacket. Trust Mikalya to dress formally even during the festivities. But I guess I couldn’t blame her on that. I was wearing one of those high heat producing thermos in the form of a full sleeved shirt in a dark red and black pants along with snow boots. I did have a cap to protect my head from the cold though, while Mikalya just had her hair down.

“Huh?” I tried to play dumb. “Spit what out? I’m not eating anything!”

“Oh, don’t try to act smart with me.” She gave me a glare out of her icy blue eyes. “You’ve been moping around since this morning and everyone in the pack is getting irritated by it and now you even refused to show up at the party. You even made me come out to investigate even when you know I’m not well.”

“Sorry,” I apologized immediately. “You shouldn’t have come. If you wanted to talk to me, you could’ve just called. Are you alright?” I asked concerned.

After the battle with the Alphas of China, Aiden and Devon, Mikalya had gotten severely injured by a wolf from Devon’s pack that had sneaked behind her and nearly torn her head off. But what I’ve come to learn about her is that with Mikalya, I should always expect the unexpected. Mikalya was an incredibly fast healer and she was healing back to her normal strength with every hour that passed.

“That’s not the point,” Mikalya waved her hand dismissal. “Tell me what’s been bothering you. If this is about you having to leave tomorrow-“

“That’s only part of the reason,” I stopped her there. “But that’s not why I was in a bad mood today.”

“At least you’re not being difficult and accepting the facts.” She looked ahead at the snow covered woods ahead of us. “I should thank you for understanding the situation we are in.”

“No, you don’t have to.” I took one f Mikalya’s hands in mine, surprised to find them still warm. “Don’t feel guilty about it either. I think I finally get it; you and me, we’re the same; stubborn old Alphas with our own territories and our own packs that depend on us, that look up to us. I think the arrangement we came up with is fine. We get to be together, no matter how short that time frame may be.”

“Then what is it?” She asked me. “Why are you out here in the cold, alone, while everyone in inside the pack house, celebrating our victory. Don’t tell me you feel sorry for those bastards!”

I sighed, debating on weither or not I can talk to her about it. Now that I’ve calmed down a bit, the whole thing just felt silly. I was having insecurities over nothing, trying to fit into a dead man’s shoes. Abhay was gone and a lot of people who knew him would inevitably favour him, there was no way around it. But still, because Mikalya had especially come to me to find out the reasons for me being upset, I took the folded piece of paper out of my pocket and handed it over to her.

“What’s this?” She asked, taking the paper from my hands and unfolding it to view its contents.

“A checklist.” I told her, feeling my cheeks heat up as Mikalya’s eyebrows shot to her hairline as she read the checklist. “I made it this morning, thinking that I may be of some help to your pack in arranging for the celebration. Turns out, I have more in common with Abhay than I previously thought I had.”

“And only a couple of similar tastes and hobbies made you believe that?” Mikalya asked me incredulously.

“Huh?” I looked at her in confusion.

She folded the paper back to its former shape and handed it back to me. And then she turned towards me fully and looked me directly in the eyes as she spoke. “What exactly happened today? Tell me everything.”

And because she was Mikalya, the only female Alpha in existence and my mate, I told her everything. How I had made the checklist so I could do something for the pack; how I’d volunteered to take pictures only to learn that Abhay had been a photographer and a great one at that; how I’d tried to be helpful in the kitchen but ended up learning that Abhay and I both liked the same dishes and how even while picking out clothes to wear for the evening, I learned that I have the same sense of style as Abhay and we even had the same favourite colour.

But after I’d poured my heart out to Mikalya and stated all the reasons why I was upset, Mikalya simply burst out laughing.

“What’s so funny?” I asked harshly. I tell her sincerely what’s bothering me, open my heart to her and all she does in return is laugh at my misery?

She did have a nice laugh though, the deep and throaty kind, and this was indeed the very first time I’d seen Mikalya actually laugh in front of me. It made me want to wrap my fingers around her hair and haul her in for a kiss so I could take her laughter inside, trap some part of her in me that will make me miss her less when I leave for my pack tomorrow. But Mikalya was injured from the battle and any wild things that I had planned for her will have to be pushed back to another date until she had completely recovered.

“Ow!” She said in between her laughter as she brought her hand to the back of her neck and rubbed at a sore spot. She then sighed and shook her head before turning to face me once again, a smirk playing on her lips. “Oh, Rhys! Your jealousy is adorable.”

“Why would I be jealous of a dead man?” The words were out before I could stop myself and I regretted them instantly. Mikalya didn’t deserve this shit from me. Abhay was her mate, just like she is mine, he had a special place in her heart and I shouldn’t, couldn’t, disrespect him.

“Exactly.” Mikalya said instead, that same smile still playing on her lips. She didn’t feel offended but there was sadness in her eyes as she spoke about Abhay. “Abhay has been dead and gone for seventeen years. You have nothing to lose even if my packmates mention him. And who says you two are similar? I can guarantee that I have never seen two people who could be so different from each other.”

“But-“I tried to speak but she cut me off.

“You like photography? So does Kushal, so do millions of other people around the world.” She told me. “You like Biryani? So do people all over Asia and also in foreign countries. You like jeans and T-shirts, well guess what? Almost seventy percent of men all over the world like to wear jeans and T-shirts and so do several women! My pack are comparing you with Abhay sometimes because they understand that he is no longer around and as my mate, you’ll be around for a lot longer than Abhay had been. And since we didn’t exactly get off to a great start, I’m guessing they’re finding ways to get to know you better and comparing the two of you makes them feel like they can like you better that way.”

I took everything in and tried to understand what she was trying to tell me. “So, you’re saying that your packmates are deliberately trying to find similarities between me and Abhay so they could come to terms with me being your new mate?”

“Exactly.”

“And what about you?” I asked, praying that she wasn't doing the same. “Are you finding similarities between us so you can like me better as well?

“No, I’m not.” Her answer was immediate, without any hesitation. “And that’s because I know there’s hardly any similarities between the two of you. You are Rhys Valkyer, Alpha of the WildRain pack and Abhay was Abhay, just another exceptional human being. No two people can ever be the same. And I’m starting to know little things about you that are making me like you for the person you are.”

“It’s a start.” I told her, happy that Mikalya has started to consider me her mate and that she has started to like me for who I am.

Our story isn’t like any other mating story where there is usually a huge power difference between the male and the female wolf and where the attraction is instant. Mikalya and I are both powerful Alphas and even though we had known about the mating bond almost instantly, there had been no attraction between us from the beginning, at least not like what I was used to seeing.

We’re growing together. Learning to like each other for who we are. I know we have a long road ahead of us, but I’m sure one day, we’ll be able to stand side by side not as two strong Alphas, but as partners, as true mates. And I’m glad that I made that little checklist this morning, because if I hadn’t, I wouldn’t be feeling even closer to Mikalya than I had this morning. And as we walked back into the pack house, hand in hand, to join the celebration of our victory, I knew that surrounded by our friends and family, we will grow stronger with each day that passes, until one day we make history by being the first ever mated Alpha pair.

--------End-------

Bonus Chapters 2:

Against the Odds

Aya’s P.O.V:

It’s been two days since the battle ended. Two days since we won the battle and saved our lands from being tainted by those evil bastards. Two days since my mother nearly had her head ripped off by a wolf and still survived the attack. Two days since I first transformed into my wolf.

Never in my life had I imagined that I would ever transform before my eighteenth birthday. Several members of the pack even had their doubts that I’d ever transform into a wolf at all, considering the fact that I was only a half-breed, a half-human, half-wolf hybrid. And there had been instances in history where the child born from such parents had never been able to transform even though tests had shown that the wolf genes had been the dominant factor in them.

But something had happened that day. When I’d seen that wolf jump on to my mother’s back like a coward from behind her, I had lost it. A red haze had taken over me and I didn’t remember much else of how I got to my mother, except that I had made it to her just in time and that once I had, I had transformed into a wolf and I had been able to rip that bastard off of her before he could severe her head.

The transformation however, had been like nothing I had ever imagined it would be like. My mother wasn't usually the type of woman who was used to freely discussing everything that a girl needed to know, that much I had learned at a very young age. Whatever girly details that I needed to know always came from Ruksaar and Belle with the occasional input from Mira while mom always shied away from the topics. I didn’t really blame her though, we had a huge pack and she had the responsibility of nearly four hundred and twenty nine wolves on her shoulders. But the topic about my transformation into a werewolf? Well, that was one thing that my mom had explained to me in vivid details. She had explained how the transformation worked, how the bones in our body shifted and how there was a blinding light engulfing our body as the human melted away and made place for the wolf. She had made me want to become a wolf desperately.

My mother had never once lost faith in me. Even though I’m half human, my mother has always been confident that I will turn into a wolf on my eighteenth birthday. She had herself turned into her wolf counterpart at the age of fourteen, under some dire circumstances and she always told me that I shouldn’t have to go through that. Her confidence in me had always surprised me, especially since I had always seen her as this huge figure with a huge responsibility. I still remember listening to the stories of her youth, about my dad, as I lay next to her on the bed with her arms around me. She might be busy the whole day, but mom always made time to tell me stories at night.

I specially loved the stories about my mom and dad; how they met, how they fell in love and how excited my dad had been to meet me. But when mom would talk about the time he had died, she would get all sad and quiet. It got better with time but I don’t think she could ever love anyone the way she loved my father.

But now there was Rhys Valkyer. My mom’s second mate and an Alpha wolf. It was difficult to picture someone else in my father’s place, especially Rhys since we hadn’t exactly gotten to a great start. I’d even been the one to shoot the guy with a silver bullet when we first met. But I think he has grown on me, on all of us for that matter.

Especially during the battle, I’d been able to see a new side of Rhys. He’d been with my mother every step of the way and he’d been there to catch her when that wolf had nearly ripped off her head. Even now, during my mom’s recovery, he had never once left her side. I’m glad she has him now. My mom can get too worked up sometimes and she often forgets to take care of herself. At least now I’ll rest assured that she will always have Rhys by her side to take care of her.

So with Rhys looking after my mom, I left her room in peace and headed back to mine to get some rest. She had finally woken up after two days of being in a coma and no matter how much I’d told myself that I was a big girl now and I won’t cry, I’d simply burst into tears as soon as I’d seen her wake up. I had been so scared for her as I had watched over her helplessly while she healed. Rhys has been a great help and has assured me that she will wake up soon, but I couldn’t help but worry.

He had worried about her as well; I’d seen it in his eyes as we had waited for mom to wake up and yet, he had made sure that I never missed a meal and that I was properly rested. I’d bonded with him on some level over the past couple days and I think we had come to some sort of an understanding. He was my mom’s second mate and he planned to stick around. I couldn’t exactly consider him a father figure since he was much too young for that, but I guess he could be like an elder brother or an uncle? Both of those relationships sounded extremely awkward but we were wolves, we lived for centuries and maybe someday, it wouldn’t be so awkward between us.

“Hey, choti (little one)!”

I stopped just a couple doors away from my room as Kushal jogged over to me from the direction of the kitchen. “Hey!” I called out to him as he came to a halt in front of me and panted to catch his breath.

Kushal and I had been best friends ever since we were in diapers. He’s two years older than me but that hasn’t stopped us from being friends. In fact, we are the only two wolves that are similar in age. Everyone else is either wayyy older or wayyy younger. He also acted like my older brother at times, sticking up for me when I needed him and also scolding me whenever I did something wrong. And judging from the way he was looking at me now, I’d guess he was disappointed in me about something.

“What is it?” I asked frowning. What could I have possibly done wrong to make him feel disappointed?

“Have you been avoiding Zyane recently?” Kushal asked outright and the guilty look must have shown on my face because Kushal pointed an accusing finger in my direction. “You have, haven’t you? But why?”

“You know why!” I snapped at him impatiently. I’d told him all about the mating bond and about Zyane’s little escapade near the Jharna. I was actually surprised he was even asking me why.

“Choti, how many times do I have to tell yo that running away from your trouble don’t always end well?” Kushal shook his head in exasperation. “The guy looks miserable! At least talk to him.”

“But how?” I asked. “I don’t even know what to tell him! I can’t just go up to him and tell him, ‘sorry dude, I don’t feel the mating bond, so you can go your merry way. Bye!’”

I waved my hands in the air in a mock gesture of goodbye while Kushal sighed.

“Look, whatever problems you guys have, I’d like ou both to just solve it yourselves without getting me involved.” He said. “I can’t be your middle man or your messenger anymore, this is getting too personal. The next time he asks me about you, I’m sending him your way straight up, so be prepared!”

With that, Kushal stomped back the way he had come from, leaving me dumbfounded and weary. Just great! Now I’ll have to deal with the devil face to face. What could possibly go wrong?

*****

“I’m coming!” I called out as I stepped out of the bathroom and reached for the door. But as soon as I opened it, I regretted not checking who it was beforehand.

“Can I come in?” Zyane asked from outside the door with his hands tucked inside his pockets in a nervous gesture.

I sighed. It was finally time to suck it up and face the music.

I moved out of the way to let him into my room and closed the door behind him to give us some privacy. Zyane walked in nervously and took a look around the room before he settled for the seat on the windowsill. For once, he wasn't wearing the turban kinda think that the Arabs like to wear and I could see that his hair was a dark brown in colour and he wore it a bit longer than Rhys did. He also didn’t look as old when he was wearing the turban-thing and the moustache didn’t bother me as much. Overall he looked younger and different, but the fact remained that there was still nothing between him and me.

“Do you...feel...anything at all?” He asked hesitantly, but he cut right to the chase. No greetings were spoken and no pleasantries were needed.

“No.” I told him frankly. “Is that normal?” I asked a little hesitantly. It wasn't easy learning that I was different but to find out that I was a freak on top of everything else...that wasn't something I was looking forward to.

“In a way, yes.” Zyane said with a sad smile. “It’s just that, the roles are reversed in our case.”

“What do you mean? How so?” I asked frowning.

“You really don’t know much about the mating bond or about mates, do you?” He asked, but there was no mockery in his voice. Just genuine curiosity.

“No, I don’t.” My mother thinks that I’m too young and I believe the same as well. I’m not even legally an adult yet so thinking about mating and settling down with someone or even having pups was out of the question for me. I wanted to live my life freely, to explore the world and become my own person. There’s so much out there that I haven’t seen, so much that I haven’t discovered about myself and about the world. I don’t want anyone tying me down before I have had my opportunity to do everything that I wanted to do.

“Would you like to know why you can’t feel the bond between us?” Zyane asked then, snapping me out of my thoughts.

“Yes,” I said instantly, eager to learn more about it. “I would like that.”

“Well,” Zyane scratched the back of his head awkwardly before explaining. “You see, there is usually some difference in power or ranking between a mated pair. The male is usually of a higher rank than the female, which is usually why the females are the first to feel the mating bonds and the attraction is almost instant. But sometimes, if the male is a lot higher in rank, like if the female is a normal submissive and the male is an Alpha or a beta, then it is possible that the male won’t feel the mating bond at all. It’s simply because of the rank difference...at least that’s one of the reasons the mating bond doesn’t come into play. But I think, in our case, it’s the exact opposite.”

I frowned at Zyane’s statement. “But how?” I asked him. “What are the odds of me being stronger than you? I’m just a normal juvenile wolf with no ranking in the pack hierarchy yet. The only duties I’ve ever received are for patrolling the borders.”

“That might be true,” Zyane told me. “But you are strong. You just haven’t grown into your powers yet. I’m pretty sure that one day, you’ll become a strong Alpha and lead your pack with grace, just like your mother does now.”

“Thanks...I guess,” this time, it was my turn to be awkward. An uncomfortable silence descended upon us as Zyane and I stood staring at the floor, unsure of what to do next. That was until he suddenly spoke up.

“Reject me.”

“What?” I stared at Zyane dumbfounded as he made the request. Reject him? What did he mean?

“Reject me.” He repeated. “End this bond between us before it starts suffocating me and I do something stupid once again.”

I didn’t need a reminder of how the first time of him being ‘stupid’ had gone down. It had left me traumatized and Zyane had ended up spending two whole days in the dungeons without food or water or any kind of contact with any other wolves. I could only imagine how that would’ve felt. Wolves are social creatures, to be without contact with anyone from our pack drives us crazy after a while.

“Are you sure that is what you want?” I asked him, even though I knew he must be going through hell right now.

“Do you see yourself mated to me in the near future?” His sudden question threw me offguard.

Did I see myself mated to him in the near future? Do I see myself mated to Zyane at all? The answer was simple and yet, it was the most difficult answer I ever had to give.

“No, I don’t.” I told him sincerely. “I just can’t see myself mated to you in the future or ever. We just don’t work.”

Zyane nodded his head like he understood what I was trying to tell him even though I didn’t quite understand everything myself. I had turned into my wolf counterpart before my eighteenth birthday, maybe that’s why the bond never came into place? But at the same time, I felt myself cringe at the thought of mating this early in my life.

“Then you have your answer.” He said at last.

Zyane’s P.O.V:

As a teenager, I had once heard my friend joke about how we could just reject a potential mate if she wasn’t up to our standard. I mean, Mother Nature had given us so many options to choose from so why not settle for the best out there, right?

Even then, Rhys would scoff at us and tell us to be thankful for the fact that we had been given a choice at all. But then he’d go and take part in every kind of debauchery possible. I hadn’t been one to complain about Rhys’s lifestyle because me and my friends would do the same things and then some. But as we’d all left our teenage years behind, our views on having a mate had changed drastically.

Today as I stood in front of my potential mate, waiting for her to reject me. I knew this was punishment for all the hearts that I’d broken, all the sins that I’ve ever committed.

“Alright then, here goes.” Aya told me in a strong, confident voice and I braced myself for the words that would tear my heart out of my chest and shatter it into a million pieces. “I, Alaya Carnell Raichand, reject you, Zyane Hudson, as my potential mate, from now on and forever.”

The words felt like a physical blow as the mating bond snapped in half and degenerated. My wolf whimpered inside my mind and I bucked under the force of the roaring pain inside my head. But it was finally over. My one sided mating bond with Aya was finally gone.

“Zyane?” Aya’s concerned voice was right next to me. “Are you alright? Did I do something wrong?”

“No.” I told her through gritted teeth as the pain reduced to a dull throb. “You did everything right.” And my wolf will forever blame me for breaking the bond between us.

But that was alright, it was better than knowing that the person I considered my mate felt nothing for me in return. This was for the best. “Thank you, Alaya Raichand. It was nice meeting you.” I told her truthfully and opened my arms for a hug.

It was an awkward embrace but I was glad she didn’t reject it. And as she came into my arms, I memorised the shape of her as I held her, took in the milk and saffron scent of her soap before letting her go. The way she was now, it’ll forever be branded into my soul.

And as I left her room, left her forever, I knew that a part of me would always belong to her. And when we meet again, in a month’s time, I was sure that I wouldn’t feel this ache in my heart where she was supposed to be.

----End----