Lucy’s POV
The milk in my hand had gone cold already, but it didn’t stop me from finishing up the rest as I listened to the Gamma tell her own story about being someone’s second mate.
She had been the Beta to Daven’s predecessor, Flynn, as they had been friends long before Flynn became the Alpha. In all those years prior, they had simply been best friends, and thought nothing more of their relationship, until Olga turned 18 and started to feel a strong pull to Flynn. Sadly, it was at this same time that Flynn also had his second awakening, and found the woman that eventually became his Luna. So, Olga didn’t even get the chance to express how she felt to him. Still, her affection for him never wavered, and she continued to stand by his side.
Five years after Flynn got married, there was a terrible fire that started in the barn beside their home, burning food items and other important goods. No one knew how Flynn’s three year old got into the place, but by the time Flynn had received the news about the incident, it was too late for anything to be done about his son. All he found at the scene were ashes, charred bones, and melted flesh.
This devastating incident created a tear in the relationship between Flynn and his mate, and not long after, she openly rejected him, blaming him for the death of their son..
“Can you imagine?” said Olga with a pained scoff. “Blaming your spouse for the death of a child when it wasn’t his fault in the slightest bit. The young boy had a negligent nanny, and she hadn’t been watchful enough of the boy. He wandered off into the barn and was unfortunate to have been there when the fire started.” A sad look crossed her eyes. “The remains . . . were a horrible sight. Flynn wasn’t himself for months, which was to be expected. I was glad he hadn’t been completely alone then, because I would likely have lost him too.”
They started spending time together again like they used to, and as time went on, Olga’s affection for him grew even stronger. It was then she realised that she didn’t only feel the mate bond to Flynn, but that love had blossmed in her heart even when it didn’t seem like they were going to end up together.
“At that time, I already knew that what I felt for him was deeper than a simple mate bond. I loved him deeply. And from what I knew about nate bonds, I knew that they didn’t just drop out of midair without orderliness. A mate bond is like a spark created between two rocks. The spark doesn’t merely appear on it’s own, but forms based on the compatibility between both parties involved.” She cleared her throat. “That’s why a lot of mates find out that they are not only physically attracted, but have some level of emotional attachment that grows and blossoms. A mate is not just a person that meets your physical, external requirements, but also one that you can have a good future with. But in no way does this mean that things will always be perfect, like in Flynn and I’s case.”
I nodded, very much invested in her story now and eager to hear the rest. I could relate with what she said regarding the emotional attachment to mates as well. As much as it made physical attraction heightened, my mate bond to the triplets also made me long for a deeper connection with them. And I might not have thought so far ahead yet, but in some little moments of wandering thoughts, I could see myself having a home with one of them.
Olga continued her story. She and Flynn bridged the gap that had been formed by their Alpha-Beta relationship, and started to find their true friendship once again. Eventually, after close to a year, Flynn told Olga that he was stepping down as Alpha. She didn’t try to stop him, because Flynn wasn’t the kind of person to make rash decisions. After he stepped down, and Daven was sworn in, Flynn told Olga about his strong feelings towards her, and how he had always thought it had to do with them being good friends. But since his first mate rejected him, his head had gotten clearer, and he could feel that what he felt for Olga was beyond mere friendship, to which Olga confessed same.
“That was the first time we kissed, and it was as though the world had fallen away and left just the two of us. Something clicked in my heart and in my mind, and I just . . . knew. I felt it resonate so strongly within me from that simple kiss that Flynn was my soulmate.” Her eyes went up to the ceiling, and she let out a contented sigh. “In the end, what helped us find ourselves again, wasn’t the mate bond, but the fact that we had built a relationship beforehand.”
“So what are you trying to tell me?” I asked the woman, looking for some direction.
She looked at me. “I’m letting you know that in the end, only you can really choose who you want to be with, mate-bond or not. The mate bond doesn’t manufacture emotions like love, it only intensifies what already exists.”
–
Olga’s words filled me with a few answers, and even more questions. What was I now supposed to do regarding my connection to the triplets? It was obvious that I couldn’t have continued to ignore them or run away. I had to determine what I wanted, and stand on it.
First, I had to keep my primary objective intact. Setting my people free was the most important thing I had to do, and it wasn’t right that I had gotten sidetracked by something so trivial. People were counting on me, and I couldn’t afford to let them down.
On the way back to the palace, I took a litte detour to the mines, hoping to catch a glimpse of some of them before I went back home to remind myself of what I was fighting for. As usual, I had to hide behind a boulder so that the guards there wouldn’t be able to see me.
This particular evening though, the darkness made it a little difficult for me to see completely. I switched my vision to my werewolf-enhanced one, and everything started to look so much better.
It was so strange to see the mines filled with more women than men. They hacked away at the wall with pickaxes, embodying great diligence. I could smell the dried and moist sweat on their bodies, and many of them looked so dirty and tired.
Seeing them like this made me remember just how distracted I had been for the last couple of days. I still hadn’t found anything of interest to my people yet, amd it wasn’t fair. I needed to get my hands on something that would guarantee their freedom.
With a deep, invigorating breath, I walked out of the mines before a guard would come to where I had been standing and raise alarm.
On getting home, I started to walk as fast as possible to my room. As I went down the hall, a distant howling caught ny attention, so I went over to one of the fashioned openings in the wall that overlooked the lush greenery blooming outdoors.
Three large dark wolves were running through the grass side by side, away from the villa. I didn’t need anyone to tell me that they were the triplets, and that I was watching them take a run through their true wolf flesh.
Wolves’ espesssions weren’t as easy to read as humans’ but one could tell from their lithe, powerful movements that they were indeed having fun. Every once in a while, one of them would leap over the others, releasing a short but loud howl that sailed through the air in frenetic waves.
I stood there, losing track of time, simply watching three werewolves have fun under the silver blanket of moonlight.