Chapter 7
SEVEN
Harriet drove me home since Ben had his first workout for soccer tryouts after school. He let me know he would probably be back by five, so he'd be there when Mom and Dad returned from work. I needed him with me while I filled them in on the dumpster fire that was now my life.
Harriet offered to stay with me until everyone came home, but I needed to be alone for awhile.
She didn't argue; she just squeezed my hand before I exited her car and told me she'd be at my side first thing tomorrow at school.
I wasn't sure what I'd done to deserve a friend like her, but I thought it may have been worth moving here and being rejected by my fated mate just to have met her.
I spent the couple of hours of solitude laying on my bed, sweatpants and tank top having replaced the uniform, listening to Billie Eilish’s soothing tones through my earbuds.
I tried to shut out the outside world and all thoughts of the events of the day while I focused on my wolf, soothing her with words and power.
I still felt a little nauseous, and my chest ached with an echo of the earlier, sharper pain, but overall I thought I was fairing okay.
Ben came home around five and jumped straight into the shower in our shared bathroom. I heard Mom and Dad come in through the back door about fifteen minutes later. Ben stopped by my room after his shower and gave me a sympathetic look. It was time.
"Hi!" Mom said as we filed down the stairs. She and Dad were relaxing on the couch, snuggled up together. "Come sit and tell us about your first day." She patted the cushion next to her.
I took a seat on the other side of the sectional, sprawling out in the corner. Ben plopped into the recliner next to the couch.
I took a breath. "So, um," I started. "Shit." I dragged my hands down my face. I didn't want to break my mom's heart, but there was no way around this.
"Mave met her fated mate today at school," Ben said, trying to help me get this awful conversation started.
"Honey! Oh my Moon! Are you sure? You really felt it? A true fated mate?" my mom squealed excitedly.
I just nodded at her. "I'm sure. We both felt it."
"Honey, that's amazing!" Mom moved to come hug me, but my dad stopped her.
"Mave," he said, staring at me intently, "If that's the case, why do you look so sad?"
"Because he rejected me, Dad."
Mom gasped, her hands flying up to her face. She was immediately tearful. "He... he what?" she whispered.
"Who was it, Mave?" Dad asked, anger leaking into his tone.
"Knox Monroe."
Dad barked out an incredulous laugh. "Of course it was. The Alpha's son. The Moon sure put power with power on that one. And he just said no? Right away?"
I nodded. I went on to explain the series of events—Knox's excuse regarding wanting a better match for the good of the Pack, the public rejection in Gym class, and his gross behavior the rest of the day.
I skipped over the mean-girl bullshit, but I did mention Mason and Thad's not-so-subtle attempts at damage control after the fact.
"Honey, I mean, you could sit him down and explain to him that you're not really an omega wolf?" Mom suggested. "Explain our unique circumstances. He might change his mind then?"
I shook my head emphatically. "Not happening, Mom. He showed me his true colors today. I have no desire to ever mate with a wolf like that. I don't care that it was fated. He could come crawling to me on his hands and knees, begging me to take him back, and I would spit in his face."
I hoped.
"I just... I just can't stand the thought of you hurting over this for what might be a long time. The fated mate bond is a really big deal," Mom said, leaning over to pat my hand. "But perhaps you're right. He didn't really behave like the kind of wolf I'd want for your mate."
"Can you guys tell us more about the bond?" Ben asked. "I think we know the basics, but it's so rare that we've never known anyone with a true fated mate. The rejection caused Mave actual physical pain. It was awful."
I rubbed my chest. Talking about this was definitely causing me pain, if only because it was pulling my focus away from counteracting the bond.
"Yes," Dad responded. "My great-grandfather was a fated mate to my great-grandmother, and I've known stories of a few others in my day.
We're all obviously more familiar with chosen mates, which are how most wolf mate pairs happen.
You fall in love with another wolf, and you have a mating ceremony under the full moon.
The Moon does bless chosen mates with some 'mate magic' as it were, but it is nothing like the power of a Moon-selected fated mate bond.
For example, I can sense in a vague sort of way a very strong emotion in your mother, like if she was in grave danger I would probably know, and if she died, I would also feel it.
Chosen mate magic also increases fertility.
"But fated mate bonds connect the two wolves in a much more visceral way.
You'll feel drawn to your mate whenever you are around them.
Your mate's touch can calm and center your emotions and your wolf, and you may even be able to feel your mate's lust and arousal.
The bond also promotes empathy between the mates.
On very rare occasions, fated mates can mind link in wolf form, like you and Ben can.
Your mate will also be possessive of you, and you both will be capable of a deep and everlasting love.
As you know, divorce is a thing even amongst wolves, but it would be very rare in the instance of a fated mating. "
"But is an outright rejection rare then, too?" I asked. Of course I would be a freak among freaks.
"I'm sure it's happened before, but we wouldn't really be able to know for certain," Mom replied.
"Two strangers being thrown together by the Moon probably doesn't always go as smoothly as we may all fantasize, but I have to imagine most wolves presented with a fated mate would at least make a go of it.
" She frowned. "Knox must be pretty ignorant of the realities of the bond.
I think he'd have had his priorities in a different order if he really understood. "
"Yeah," I said, sullenly. "I'm not sure if he is feeling how fucked up the bond between us already is since he was the rejector and not the rejectee, but what I imagine should be at least a pleasant, happy feeling instead feels like it's rotting inside of me."
"It's the taint," Dad said. "Any mate bond can be tainted by disrespect of the mate, abuse, or just failure to tend to it with love and trust. I imagine you are just feeling that times a thousand. It's not just disrespect of the mate, but also disrespect of the Moon."
Great. I was glad my parents were able to shed some light on what this all really meant for me, but none of what they said was cheering me up in the slightest.
Ben asked the million-dollar question. "Can a fated mate bond ever truly be severed?"
"I honestly don't know," Dad responded. "I have to imagine that it could be tainted enough to fade into something no longer resembling a true bond, but I'm not sure whether there's ever been a situation where two fated mates would want the bond severed."
"Glad I can be a trailblazer in that regard, then," I said. "I do not plan to let this thing eat me from the inside out until I am locked up in a psych ward on a Prozac drip. I'm going to figure it out, Dad."
"You seem like you're doing okay, all things considered," he said, eyeing me. "Are you pushing power at the bond?"
"Yeah. It's the only thing that's helped keep me from either running to Knox's side when I see him or vomiting all over my shoes."
Dad nodded, looking thoughtful. "I've always suspected you may be one of the most powerful Alpha wolves we've had in the family in many generations, female or not. I think that is going to get you through all of this."
He released Mom, and she came over to my side of the couch to snuggle me into a hug. Ben jumped in the pile and snuggled my other side.
"Can you imagine Mave as Alpha Mate of the NWLA Pack, though?
" Ben said, laughing. "I don't really see you as the type to let your mate run things while you sit on the sidelines, and I don't really see Knox as the type to like, co-rule?
I bet you would have a fighting chance at beating him in a dominance challenge anyway. It would be super awkward for him."
We all laughed at that. He had a point—not only were we trying to live our lives away from the pack politics, meaning I had zero interest in mating with or being a pack leader, but it probably would've created some real problems if I had wanted to be Alpha Mate.
No Alpha wants a dominance challenge from their mate, and we would've butted heads enough that it probably would've come to that.
Dad left the room briefly and returned with a tray of whiskeys. He passed them around so each of us had a glass. Best dad ever.
"So now the question is," he mused after he reclaimed his spot on the couch, "how long until Alpha Monroe finds out about this? I know the Hayes boy is on a mission to keep it quiet, but I just don’t see how the story doesn’t make its way back to the Alpha.
Every shifter kid in school saw what happened. "
Ugh, fuck, he was right. I was probably delusional in thinking this would just go away eventually, or that some name-calling and embarrassment at school would be the worst of my problems as far as pack interaction went.
"I think the boys at least will keep it quiet until they decide they have a real reason not to," Ben added. "Right now Mason seems pretty embarrassed by how Knox handled the whole thing. He won’t want the leadership to hear about it."