Mates Conquer Everything, Right?

“She is something,” I say, watching her leave through the door.

“She is something all right,” Igétas comments under his breath.

“So, her explanation cleared a lot of things up,” I tell Igétas and think back to the moment I needed backup in the canteen. She knew I needed help and she gave it to me. She truly is the power of the Pack.

“I’m glad,” He kisses my forehead and I melt in his arms. “Now ask your question about mating, my Violet.”

Him calling me by my name gives me the tingling feeling I had missed so much.

“When do you think it is our time to be together and take things to the next level?” I try to ask about the mating again.

“I think it has been our time since the moment I met you. It is long overdue. But I need Vasil back and I want to be fully recovered. So, I hope it can happen in a couple of days, if that is okay with you?”

He asks and I try not to jump into his arms. God, I need him. I don’t have a wolf but I am still a woman. Still, I don’t feel completely recovered yet, so we should probably wait it out.

“That will be perfect.” He kisses my forehead again and leads me back to the couch. We cuddle and talk about today. It helps a lot. Him telling me how proud he is and how I was a badass woman. Still tired from being poisoned, we go to bed early. I call my mom to tell her everything is fine and that I love her. I need to hear those words back. Still not knowing if they will understand my decision to stay here, I end the call. I’ll tell them another time.

Igétas and I enter the meeting with Tharros and Yolanda. They are already sitting in their usual spots, the Alpha and Luna chairs. It looks like they arrived early on purpose, to sit in their assigned seats.

“Morning,” Igétas greets his brother and his sister-in-law. Tharros grunts an inconclusive response, but Yolanda greets us back.

“How are you feeling?” I ask her. I must say that she doesn’t look like a woman who was held hostage and tortured.

“I am recovering, thank you for asking.” She gives me a shy smile and looks over to her mate.

“Tharros?” She prompts him almost in a motherly way.

“Violet, I must say that what you did for the pack yesterday was more than I ever thought you could do.”

I look up at Igétas. Is this an apology? Tharros isn’t even looking into my eyes. His eyes roam the room which is filled with books and electronica for meeting purposes.

“If this is you telling my mate you are thankful then you’re doing a shitty job.” Igétas grunts.

This is going in the wrong direction. I need to say something.

“It is okay, it is a good thing you didn’t make me a member of the pack. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to do what I did.”

“You’re welcome,” he says and he just flicked the irritation-switch in my head.

“I wasn’t thanking you. Igétas, would you like to start?” I ask him, wanting this awkward meeting to start.

After twenty minutes of talking, there is still no solution. Tharros wants to stay Alpha, which isn’t a surprise. What is a surprise is Yolanda who is very neutral and acts like Switzerland. She knows when it comes to a fight, Igétas will win. Tharros lost the faith of the pack. Well, a lot of people don’t trust him anymore. It is time and he isn’t seeing it.

“I’m going to get coffee, does anyone want some?” I stand up and look around.

“Will you put poison in mine if I ask for one?” Tharros asks and I roll my eyes.

“No, I won’t. But your comment makes me want to spit in it.”

“I will go with you,” Yolanda tells me, and we leave after asking our males to act nicely.

“Is it pointless to talk?” I ask Yolanda, who shakes her head.

“I hope it’s not. Our wolf side cannot deal with power loss. They want to fight for it, even when the human thinks it is a bad idea.”

“Are you telling me that there will be a fight even if we talk it out today?”

“I am telling you that there isn’t a lot in this world that could make you give up your role as Alpha without a fight.”

I look her over, she seems to be more confident. “You aren’t afraid of losing your Luna role.”

“I never really felt like a Luna. My pack respects me and I love them. I want to care for them, but I started as a Luna very young. It was a job I wasn’t fit for. If I was a Luna appointed today, I would be a great one. Just like you are a great Luna now.”

“What do you mean?”

She gives me a shy smile and starts making her coffee, “The energy within you makes people like you. I don’t mean your Luna-courage, which is also a great indicator of why you would be awesome at it, I mean that your personality and instincts are dead on. You were literally born to be a Luna. I needed to grow into my role.”

“I don’t think everyone will accept me.” Even thinking about some of the warriors being my protectors feels strange.

“They are old-fashioned but they will learn to live with it. Igétas will see to it when you are Luna.”

This is the first time I’ve talked to her, and she is such a wise woman. Tharros doesn’t deserve her.

“Will you help me? If I become Luna, would you train me?”

She gives me a smile and tilts her head. “Tharros can be killed by your mate in battle for the Alpha role. Even if he lives, he will probably want to move.”

“That makes sense.” We take our coffee and walk to the meeting room. We hear them talking, we both sigh and giggle together at the suffering we’re enduring.

“I don’t want to go in.” I tell her and she nods, pointing to another door. “Let’s go in there.”

We move to a different room which is two doors down and take a seat.

“What kind of room is this?”

“This is the strategy room, for battle planning and so on.” I take a seat next to her.

I look around the room with more than ten maps on the wall. “Is that the pack’s map?”

“It is,” she says and moves to it. Pointing out the hospital and the gas station for me.

A lightbulb switches on in my head. I shake her by her shoulders, not able to disguise my excitement.

“I know a way out without fighting!”