EMILY
"Why did our wolves never recognize each other as mates until now?" Reece inquired, his serious gaze on me.
"I don't know," I replied, idly playing with the small stone I had picked in the cell.
Since we arrived at his pack, he had the others thrown in different cells but had personally thrown us in a different cell. So it was just Reece and I in this cell.
"But mates are meant to recognize each other,"
I sighed defeatedly, "I do know of that. But why we could not recognize each other? I don't know,"
Silence folded in on us. We were drawn into our respective world of thoughts. I wondered what life had left for me, what my future would be like. I had lost the only home I ever knew, lost the only family I had, even though they had hated me when they were alive.
"I'm sorry,"
His tone was low and defeated.
"For what?" I asked, my brows furrowed.
"Your father and your brother, Julian,"
I sighed. An indistinguishable mixture of feelings swamped me, my eyes stung and my head pounded. I tried to swallow the tears but they fell before I could even stop them.
"It's okay," I say in a quivering voice.
"It's not okay, Emily. It's okay to grieve,"
Since our hands were no longer bound, he moved closer to me and held my hand, squeezing in comfort. I dropped my head on his shoulder and bawled my eyes out.
The thing was; I did not know how to react to their deaths. I was sad that I was never going to see them again. Also, I was angry over how they'd treated me badly while I held on hope that they'd someday change and begin to treat me as a member of the family rather than an annoying stranger, they had died.
They died without love for me in their hearts. They died still remaining who they were to me. I did not know if I should mourn them or be angry and disappointed.
"I don't know if I'm grieving or just plain angry," I finally told him when my sobs had died down a bit, enabling me to talk.
"What do you mean?"
"Unlike you, I am not sure which to do." I sniffled and wiped my cheeks. "You know how they were with me. How they both treated me like a stranger than family. Maybe I never was to them. I accepted and cared for them still, hoping that someday they'll finally regard me as a Langston. But..." I broke down again and sobbed louder.
The werewolf who was ordered to guard our cell gave me a strange, irritating look. I paid him no mind. Reece did not either.
"But they died without ever loving you,"
Reece completed for me, totally getting my point. This was why he was my best friend. He knew everything about me. Understood my feelings better than my own family.
"Am I a bad person for not fully grieving as I should? I mean, they were family, regardless,"
"How you feel is entirely normal. Anyone in your shoes will feel the same. They never treated you as a Langston which I always say was a very cruel thing to do. Don't blame yourself, Emily,"
"Okay, I guess I needed to hear somebody say it,"
"I'm glad I'm that person," he nudged me, in an attempt to cheer me up.
I passed him a teary smile of gratitude, "I'm sorry about yours too. You were close to him,"
He gave a small sombre nod. "Yes, I was,"
"I'm sorry,"
"It's okay. You didn't kill him. Our mate did,"
The last sentence came out dripping with venom, especially when he mentioned mate.
"I wonder how the Moon Goddess could fate us to such a despicable werewolf?"
"I don't know too. I mean the guy's evil," Reece's vein popped from his neck, showing how enraged he was. It was my turn to squeeze his hand to calm him down.
"It's okay, Reece. Let's just think of our future and what would likely happen to it,"
That was a very heavy thought that I could not decipher at the moment and I saw from his expression that he was also skeptical about the future. We were imprisoned by our mate who was the worst Alpha in the history of Alphas. So young, yet so mean. So handsome, and yet so vile!
"What is your wolf saying about our mate, Reece?" I resumed, placing my head on his shoulder, our hands still clasped.
"He is angry but he thinks he's attractive,"
"Ilaya thinks so too,"
He chuckled, "How much more can our wolves betray us?"
I spread my lips in a smile. "They're shameless!"
"Having a cuddle session without your mate?"
There he was, his presence overwhelming the cell, even when he was not yet in it. My wolf reacted to the strong pull of the mate bond, and so did Reece's wolf from the way he was staring at the Alpha.
How did he get here without giving away the sound of his footsteps? And how did he act so aloof and distant while Reece and I almost drooled at his presence? Was he not feeling the pull of the mate bond as we did?
"Do you have no regard for an Alpha?"
That shiver that came from hearing the dark tone coursed through me again and instantly brought me to my knees.
"Alpha!"
"Alpha!"
Reece had joined me too. Was this how the mate bond worked?
"You may rise, my mates!"
There was the taunting again as if he was mocking us for being mated to him. As though we were not worth being his mates.
He opened the cell and came in as soon as we rose. He strode towards us, slow and somewhat threatening. I gulped, unsure of what to expect. Ilaya was doing a mad prancing in my head as his scent filled my nostrils. He was close, so close!
"Do you want to know why you both never felt the mate bond until I came into the picture?"
How did he even know about what Reece and I had discussed? Has he been here the whole time?
He raised both mine and Reece's chins, staring intently at both our faces. I was hot all over from his touch on my skin. There was nothing sensual about it but I tingled all over.
This mate bond was stupid.
"Because a triple bond needs the third person to be activated. So, without me, you both can't be mated,"
And I couldn't hate the haughty, smug expression on his face any more than I already was.
