Third Person’s POV;
“What?” Olivia asked in shock
“What the hell!” Eva asked angrily.
“How dare you!” Nova added in rage.
“Have we forgotten the part that I was a hunter back then?” Mike asked, he was a bit offended too.
Some guys nodded in understanding while the girls were still looking at him in disbelief so he continued,
“At that time, even when I was moving with them, my brain was still stuck on the beautiful yet helpless girl that I was leaving behind. With each step I was taking away from her, I felt like my soul was leaving my body. The distance was making my heart go crazy. At one point, I felt like if I took another step, I will surely die” Mike explained the emotions he was feeling at that critical moment.
“It was at that moment; that I made an excuse that I left something behind and moved back while others were still fighting with werewolves” Mike explained and everybody was listening diligently.
Levi was irritated with the narrated tale so he decided to intervene.
“And I told you, it was dangerous to go back as the werewolves’ number was increasing but you said you would be fine and we should go ahead and then you betrayed us like her” Uncle Levi said looking straight at his brother while pointing an accusing finger at Rose.
“What do you mean, Uncle?” Rose asked looking murderously at the pointed finger.
Mike gave his brother a menacing look and Levi immediately removed his finger from her direction but he was still angry.
Mike looked at his daughter with soft emotional eyes as he explained the rest of the truth.
“Sugar, what he means is that I grabbed your mother and brought her to this very house, and treated her in the very same basement like you did with Elijah. Although I wasn’t a doctor like you, I did volunteer during an earthquake so I knew a thing or two and thankfully it worked” Mike said as he looked lovingly at Mary.
“Wow, that means history repeated itself. I did the same you did years ago” Rose said proudly.
“Don’t sound so excited” Oliver said bitterly.
“27 years ago, to be precise” Mary said and then added,
“I asked him why he was saving me, he didn’t answer rather he just asked me one thing” Mary paused and looked at her husband in astonishment.
“What is it?” Everyone asked in unison.
“How can I save you?” Mary repeated the words Mike asked on that fateful night.
“Really? How did you answer?” Mark asked excitedly like he was listening to an enchanting werewolf romance story.
“Remove the bullets from my body and I will be okay” Mary said making Rose gasp.
“That’s what Elijah told me the other night” Rose whispered under her breath but her mother heard it clearly.
“Silver bullets are toxic for us and wolfsbane is our personal poison” Mary explained to her.
“I somehow managed to remove the bullets and she fell unconscious for three days straight. I was scared that she might have died but thankfully, she was breathing yet her heartbeat was low but still it was beating and that was more than enough for me to take a sigh of relief that she was still alive” Mike narrated feeling every emotion that he felt in those days. The anxiety was too much for him to handle.
“When I woke up, he was right by my side. Fidgeting in stress and hovering over me in worry. He didn’t let anyone enter the basement for days, I don’t know how he managed to do that. The first thing he told me when I got stable was that he needed answers. I thanked him first and then answered each and every question that he had” Mary continued the tale.
“So, after that? You went away?” Mark asked in wonder.
“I had to but I promised him that I will repay his kindness” Mary replied.
Rose couldn’t help but think about the similarities between the two incidents. She felt her heart filling with warmth just by the thought of Elijah being her mate.
“Where was Alpha King Cole at that time?” Eva asked angrily.
“When you were attacked and bleeding?” Nova completed in similar emotions.
“He was taking another dying werewolf towards the safe place before I was shot and I don’t know what happened after that. When I went back after being treated by Mike, Alpha King Cole was more than happy to see me alive. He hugged me as tightly as possible and I hugged him back but something had changed” Mary said with a strange expression.
“What?” Rose was the first one to ask.
She kind of knew this feeling. She glanced at Oliver by the corner of her eyes and then at her mother again.
“I wasn’t feeling the same. I wasn’t attracted to him anymore. His touch disgusted me and my wolf too. I wanted to run away from him as soon as possible. When he touched me, I felt like punching his face. The feelings that I had for Alpha King Cole for years has completely vanished from my heart. And lastly, I just couldn’t stop thinking about your father” Mary explained and the emotions were hitting too close to home for Rose.
“Oh My God!” Mark screamed which startled Oliver standing next to him and the rest of the cousins too resulting him in earning a string of curses from his cousin,
“You bloody banshee” Oliver smacked his head for screaming unnecessarily again.
Rose didn’t laugh this time as she was lost in her own thoughts. She can clearly compare her own situation to her mother’s, and the answer she was looking for was right in front of her. She was feeling exactly the same.
Before she met Elijah, she had a huge crush on Oliver but the moment Elijah came into her life, her feelings for Oliver completely evaporated exactly as it happened with her mother and Alpha King Cole.
“I decided to visit the lake to clear up my mind and have some fresh air but guess who I met when I reached there?” Mary continued,
“Dad?” Rose answered correctly.
“Yes, I met your father sitting in front of the lake. He had the same questions and emotions in his eyes as I had. We were staring at each other for a while before we were unknowingly taking steps toward each other. Just right there and then, I understood what it was. It was the soulmate bond. After meeting my soulmate, I was unable to fall in love with another man even if he was King of werewolves, he meant nothing to me in front of my mate” Mary said honestly smiling at her mate.
“Without saying a single word, we hugged each other” Mike completed the tale of their happily ever after.
Rose felt her eyes tearing up. She felt the same when she met Elijah today. She wanted to jump in his arms and never separate from him. Her heart started to race just by the thought of being in his arms again.
“At that time, we knew, we were doomed. We knew we couldn’t live without each other” Mary said looking helplessly at her daughter who unfortunately is in the same situation as them back then.
“And then we decided to run away from all this bloodshed and rivalry” Mike said with a sigh.
“So, you ran away just like that?” Oliver asked in disbelief.
“Nope, I packed my stuff and left an apology letter to Alpha King Cole before running away” Mary explained. She could still remember how hard it was for her to move away from her friends and family.
“And I told them that I am moving away with the love of my life and they shouldn’t dare to follow or I won’t spare their lives” Mike said simply which made everyone shocked including his own children.
“And they got scared?” Theodore asked in amazement.
“Yup. I was the most powerful back then” Mike answered truthfully.
“Then how did you and uncles patch up?” Rose asked in confusion but Levi decided to answer to her.
“Well, at first, they were not living very well on their own. It was a year later when werewolves found their location. They only had Mark back then. Werewolves tried to kill them off after Mary betrayed the werewolf King Cole.. ” Levi said enticing Rose and Mary on purpose.
Uncle William cut him off and proudly said,
“At that time, we saved them from werewolves and patched up again”
“Wow Dad, you did?” Eva asked proudly.
“We had to! He is our brother after all” William answered boastingly.
“Yeah, and our dear William was again unconscious for another two days after that fight” Mary said earning another round of chuckles.
“You know the rest” Mike replied.
“I must say, Aunt Mary, you made a mistake!” Eva announced in a disappointed tone.
“What?”