“Bull.shit. She can’t be.” Denny shook his head and looked over at me. “She was just my mate a couple of days ago. This would mean you are her second chance mate. A mate who happens to also be an alpha?” I watched him shake his head in disbelief. I had to admit it did seem farfetched.
“I can’t believe it. She was your mate?!”
Oh gods, I knew that voice. I watched as Denny froze; he turned his head as Andrea walked over.
“She is MY mate, was is Denny’s key word,” Sion looked over at me. “You are my mate. Your bond to him is severed, right?” I nodded my head glancing over at Denny and Andrea. “Second chance mates are rare but not unheard of. I think the moon goddess must have big plans for you.”
“What seems to be the problem here?”
An authoritative voice boomed. It was the Alpha King’s beta, Sam of the Diamond pack. Usually alphas outrank a beta, but this was not the case with Sam. Being the Alpha king’s beta put him above everyone else. Sam had come in place of Alpha King Wyatt. We were told he was in Elysium, the Fairy Kingdom. So, his beta was here in his place. I watched as he looked me over for a moment and then he looked up at the alphas expectantly.
“She is my mate, but she can’t feel the bond right now.” Sion’s eyes were now focused on me. I wanted to walk back into his arms. I wanted to feel his warmth. I had so many questions and I was confused. And I needed to get to the bottom of this Conrad and Sion thing.
“Alpha Scott, lead us somewhere where we can talk in private.” Sam said as he moved closer to me. He patted my shoulder and gave me a warm smile. It felt like he was looking out for me. Which was a nice feeling to have. Especially when I was so confused. He stayed by my side as we made our way through the room. I appreciated Sam not wanting to make more of a spectacle of the event. We went to Alpha Scott’s office where we could talk without anyone overhearing.
I could see Sion and Denny standing out in the hall as the door shut. I looked up at Alpha Scott and Sam. It was just the three of us in the soundproof room.
“Clover,” Alpha Scott said bringing my attention to him, “Why don’t you start by explaining what happened from two days ago…”
“Everything?” I watched as he nodded his head and I looked down at my toes with a sigh. I made sure I kept looking at the ground as I talked. I wasn’t being submissive, I just didn’t want to see their faces. When I was finished, I glanced up to see Sam nodding his head.
“So you were the child…” Sam sighed and rubbed his forehead. “We had hoped you would be safe here. That you would be able to lead a normal life.” I watched as he looked up at Alpha Scott angrily. “You should not have let your pack members know. What happened to her is just as much on you! She was to be treated normally.” He then turned to look at me with a small frown. “I’m sorry. This is also our fault. Alpha King Wyatt was worried that if he brought you into the Diamond pack that it would put a target on your back. The Diamond pack gets… well, they get a lot of attention from a bunch of different species. Some that would know what you are. We didn’t think it was safe to raise you there. We really hoped you would have a good life here.”
“I admit it, I messed up. I can’t take back what has happened. But no one outside of our pack knows who she is.” Alpha Scott said as he looked over at me. I could feel the question burning on his mind. He wanted to know if I would go with Sion.
“It’s up to you, Clover. You can choose to go with the man who claims he is your mate, or you can come back to the Diamond pack with me.” Sam gave me a reassuring smile as I stared back at him.
“I can’t keep this a secret from my mate, if he is my mate.” I didn’t know what I wanted to do about Sion, but I did know I wasn’t going to keep something this big a secret from my mate.
“No, but maybe wait until your wolf claims him as your mate? Or until you decide to stay with him? I agree with Alpha Scott. I think your wolf is going to come back. She healed you and is just taking some time to recover.”
Wow. This was really it. I was leaving the Sulfur pack tonight. The question was who I would be leaving with. If Sion was really my mate… I needed to talk with him. I wanted to know what he was thinking. I wanted to know about… about what happened between us. I was getting another chance at having a family. I needed to at least talk with him, privately. I nodded my head slowly and glanced between the two men in the room.
“I need to speak with Alpha Sion. I will make my decision after that.” I watched the two men nod their heads in agreement and then make their way over to the door. Alpha Scott stepped out, followed by Sam.
“Alpha Sion.” Sam motioned towards the man.
Sion stepped into the room, shutting the door behind him. His eyes were locked onto mine as he inched closer towards me. I could feel my heart rate racing and my breathing was more ragged. I needed to stay strong. He stopped just in front of me. His eyes were wandering over my face as he studied me.
“Clover… can I… can I hold you for just a moment?”
I swore his voice quivered slightly at the end. I wet my lips and nodded my head absentmindedly. Like a snake, his arm wrapped around me, bringing me flush against his chest. His head came down to rest on top of mine. His nose was buried in my hair, and I could hear him breathing in deeply. His arms and body seemed to relax as he held me. As if I was able to give him the calm he needed. But I understood this feeling. I felt it with Denny before the rejection. Maybe I really was his mate.
“Clover I-“
I immediately interrupted him. I needed answers not to get swept away by him. He did it to me before so I knew just how capable he was. I pushed back slightly on his chest and looked up at him.
“Alpha Sion… not Conrad?” I arched my brow up and plastered a serious look over my face. I needed an answer about this. This was the first obstacle we had to get through before we even began discussing the whole mate bond. I watched his lips purse together and he nodded his head.
“I guess I have some explaining to do.”
“I guess I have some explaining to do.”
I squeezed my fingers together as I braced for impact. I wasn’t sure what he was going to say; the night we spent together had been special to me. I was afraid I was going to feel hurt again after he explained, then on the other hand I knew it was silly. It had been a one-night stand, a lot of people don’t even know the name of the person they slept with. Hell, some probably don’t even remember the other persons face.
However, even knowing this… I guess it meant something to me. Something more than it should have. I always assumed it didn’t matter to him but to hear it confirmed would be harder. I guess, deep down, I liked to pretend that I had been important… that what we had was different. I needed to pretend that I wasn’t the only one who thought it was special. I looked into his hazel eyes and was already inwardly wincing. I knew it was coming… I knew he was going to say it was how he hooked up with others. And I had no right to be upset about it because this… this was my issue… not his.
“Conrad is my beta but also my best friend. Being the alpha of the Chance pack, I had a lot of attention on me. There are a lot of people who want to get close to the alpha. However, no one cares to be close to the beta. Before I became the official alpha, I pretended to be Conrad and he posed himself as me. I wanted to have a sense of freedom before the weight of my pack rested on my shoulders. I wanted to see people for who they were instead of what they wanted from me. That night with you… it was me. I was just hiding behind another name but everything else that happened then… was real.”
I watched as his eyes burned a hole through me. This was not what I was expecting him to say. I began to chew on my lip as I listened to him sigh. He tilted his head to the side and looked up at the ceiling, rubbing the back of his neck.
“I didn’t make what happened between us a habit… I don’t want you to think-” He looked down at me and a soft smile reached his lips. “That was special for me. I felt like I was connected to you then and maybe I was. Maybe I was always meant to be your mate… and then you broke my heart.”
My mouth parted in shock. I broke his heart? I watched as a crooked grin reached his lips. “What do you mean by that?” I asked and listened to his quiet airy chuckle. I was still trying to wrap my head around him saying it had been special to him too. I didn’t understand it. Maybe if we had been mates from the beginning but I ended up Denny’s mate first. This didn’t make any sense.
“I woke up and you were gone. I fell asleep holding you and woke up to an empty bed. I looked all over for you but couldn’t find you anywhere. Packs had left the hotel and I didn’t know which pack you belonged to. Why did you leave like that?”
I bit my inner lip and looked up at him. Here I was thinking it didn’t mean anything to him, but I was the one who did the typical one night stand mad dash. I made him feel… used. “I just figured it was best not to make the situation awkward. I snuck out before you woke up to save both of us from an uncomfortable situation.”
“I wanted you… I thought maybe you didn’t want me.” His hazel eyes pinned against mine and it felt like he was looking into my soul. “It felt right being with you. I always looked for you after that. Anytime I went to visit a new pack… and now I finally found you. And as luck would have it, you are my mate… if you will have me.”
“I can’t feel the mate connection.” I whispered quietly and watched him nod his head. Why did I just say that? i***t. He already knows I can’t feel the mate connection, and that makes it sound like I’m not interested. I am the product of someone who doesn’t know how to socialize. Ugh! Speak up you i***t!
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