Book 1: Chapter 40

“You know I put my foot down whenever it came to you telling me about my fated pair.”

She nodded. “Yeah. You would stick your fingers in your ears and start yelling that you couldn’t here me at the top of your lungs until I walked out of the room.”

Sam giggled and it made Aelia smile. “Sounds like Alpha.”

I ignored the both of them. “Over the years, I just thought I never had a connection. I’ve been nearly everywhere and I’ve never felt a connection with someone. I thought…I thought that you would end up telling me that I didn’t have someone. That I was destined to be alone.”

Her face fell and tears filled her eyes. “Oh Sil…” 

Walking over to me, she gathered me into her arms. As her scent and her arms enveloped me, I let myself break. I pressing into her body and cried. Cried for all the nights I held it in that I was destined to be alone. That somehow I was being punished for my sister being taken. That I was destined to be unloved for the rest of my days.

She rubbed my back and hushed me. “You were never meant to be alone, Sil. Never. How could you think that?”

“I just…I’ve been alone this whole time. I couldn’t even mark a chosen mate. I just…I thought I was being punished for losing you.”

Aelia sighed and shook her head. “Sil, our connections are something we are born with. It’s not something that can be taken away by circumstances like that. You deserve love and to be happy. I’m sorry. I’m sorry you ever felt that way.”

“I guess…I just thought…since there was no one…”

She pulled me closer. “There is someone, Sil. Someone perfect for you. I promise you. You just don’t know it yet. I know you never wanted to know and I won’t tell you now. But know you will be loved. Worthy and deserving of it. Just give it some time. I promise.”

Hearing it made me hold her shirt tight, like the old days. When I would cry and she was always there to soothe me. She always knew what to say, even if it wasn’t an immediate fix, Aelia always knew. Eros stirred and I could feel his happiness and his love for Aelia. We broke and I pulled up my shirt, wiping the tears off my face.

I turned to Sam. “No one hears of this, do you understand?”

Sam chuckled. “Yes, Alpha.”

Aelia chuckled as well, running her hands through my hair until she ruffled it. “You’re still the same.”

“So are you.”

Something flashed in her eyes, a sadness and almost defiance but she smiled at me. 

“Well, he might not want to know, but I want to know! Do I have a connection? Will I have a fated mate?” Sam asked eagerly and I rolled my eyes.

“I told you, all wolves have connections Sam, same as you. You though…” Solaris reached out and touched the air. “You have two.”

“Two? What do you mean?”

Her face looked at him sadly. “It looks like your first fated mate died. There is a connection here that has been severed.” She reached out, fairly close to his shoulder and seemed to stroke the air where she could see his string.

Tears sprung to Sam’s eyes. “No…”

She patted his head. “There is a second connection though. You still have a red fated mate, don’t worry.” She grasped the air, seemingly pulling it down to her level. “It’s newer, so most-likely your mate is younger than you are.”

I snorted and covered my mouth. Sam looked horrified though. He was only twenty-one. Which meant that most likely, his mate was still a teenager.

“You know…it might explain…” Aelia leaned back and sipped her coffee.

“Explain what? What?! You can’t just leave me hanging like that!” Sam cried.

It was really hard trying not to laugh. He was not good with information being withheld. I knew that she was withholding a lot. When Aelia touched a bond, she could see exactly who the other person was. While she was giving him some information, she already wasn’t giving him the whole story.

“You sure you want to know?”

He threw his hands down on the counter. “Yes!”

I hissed at him. “We aren’t the only ones in the pack house, Sam. Calm down. It’s four-thirty in the morning!”

Sheepishly, he sat back down in his chair. Aelia looked at me, smirking, before looking back at Sam.

“You said originally you never tested as an Omega, is that right?”

He nodded. “Right. I didn’t have super strong genes but I was never an Omega.”

“When did that start to change?”

His eyes closed. “Maybe a little after Alpha asked me to be Gamma. I was fine mostly and then one day I walked into the training field with the rest of the warriors. My knees felt weak and became jelly. I remember thinking I was crazy, that these guys were effecting me like that. Alpha said it might be because of how strong of an Alpha he is mixed with the strong genes of our Beta.”

Aelia snorted. “Let me tell you this, once and for all. No Alpha, no matter how strong, can make an Omega out of a wolf. Fuck, that’s a damn ego stroke if I ever heard one.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Alright Miss Know-it-all.”

She raised an eyebrow at me but continued. “Sam, it’s probably then that your new bond was formed.”

“My…new bond…”

“So while you were never meant to be an Omega for your first fated mate, you are for your second fated mate.”

Sam’s eyes went wide. “So you think…that if I tested now, I might be an Omega because my mate is stronger and most likely a male?”

Aelia nodded to him and I watched as physically, Sam looked lighter. Like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He sat a little higher in his chair with a brightness in his eyes.

“That…makes sense.”

“I mean, there isn’t a way to prove it unless you get tested and then meet your mate. But that might be what’s happening.”

Sam nodded but he smiled softly. “Thank you, Solaris.”

“You’re welcome. I’m happy to provide what I know for people who want it.” She, at first, glared at me but then her eyes softened.

We lapsed into a quiet for a while until we heard movement inside the pack house. Meredith walked into the kitchen and yelped, stunned that all three of us were here. She looked at Aelia and narrowed her eyes.

“Everything okay, Alpha?”

I shrugged. “It could be better. If you could help, we are needing to keep an eye on Nate. We had some…issues last night. He might be a little more reclusive than normal. It’s okay for a couple meals in his room but eventually he needs to come out.”

Meredith nodded. “He’s okay, though?”

“He should be. Thanks to Solaris.” I nodded to her and looked over at my sister.

She was slightly flushed and she smiled.

“Well, I’m glad someone else is looking out for these boys. It’s hard work doing it alone.”

Aelia laughed. “Sorry Meredith, you’re on your own with them. They are way too much of a handful.”

Meredith laughed. “Goddess, don’t I know it. Considering it’s nearing five here, you guys want some breakfast?”

I looked at Aelia. “Will you stay for a bit?”

She nodded and grabbed her coffee, getting out of the way of Meredith who all but shooed her away. Aelia sat between Sam and I. Sam leaned in and whispered to her.

“Does Meredith have a mate? She’s been an enigma to us.”

I reached around and pinched Sam. “Don’t ask about other peoples lives, Sam. That’s rude.”

“Are you mated, Meredith?” Aelia asked and both of us looked at her, panicked.

Meredith turned around and smiled. “Mated for over 35 years now. Three kids all have moved on as well. Youngest just moved to one of the neighboring pack with his mate. Bit of an empty nest now.”

Both Sam and I’s jaw dropped as Meredith just answered Aelia’s questions with ease. She always half-answered us or somehow managed to change the subject when it came to her own life. For years we have no idea if she was even mated, let alone that she had kids.

“Well, you’ve got three children you take care of anyways. So it can’t really be that empty.” Aelia chuckled and I realized she was talking about us.

Meredith laughed as well. “You’re right. I might as well see them as my kids, they whine enough for it.”

Aelia smirked as she looked at me out of the corner of her eye, sipping her coffee.

“Oh shut up, Aelia. You don’t know the half of it.”

As soon as it left my mouth, I froze. Sam, Meredith and Aelia turned to look at me. My heart beat widely and I could feel my face turn red.

“Sorry. Slip of the tongue.” I mumbled and turned away.

“Sil, it’s okay. I mean, technically I am still Aelia. Meredith can know.”

A pan dropped and Meredith dropped the pan she was holding on the floor. Reaching down, she hurriedly picked it up and turned around to wash it. I looked back at Aelia.

“I’m sorry. Your scent…it screams that you’re my sister. It’s hard to ignore. Plus with Nate…I just…slip of the tongue.”

Aelia leaned over and brushed her nose against my cheek. The simple action filled my eyes with tears. It was a simple gesture we used to do to each other. At one point or another, someone made fun of me for kissing my little sister and so I stopped doing it. Aelia eventually not only figured out what happened but created a way that wouldn’t be kissing. A simple brush of a nose on my cheek.

“I said it’s okay, Sil. Don’t worry about it. Just be careful around Nate. He’s in a precarious place right now.”

I nodded but I still felt bad. Meredith also looked completely shaken by our interaction. A phone started to buzz and Aelia pulled her phone out of her pocket. She wrinkled her nose. Pulling it up to her ear, she quickly pulled it away.

“Where the hell are you?! We wake up and you’re gone! So is my car! What the hell, Sol?” Noah yelled over the phone and Sam chuckled.

“I asked you this morning if I could use your car. You said it was fine. You knew I was leaving.”

He growled. “You think I was awake for that conversation? Goddess, Sol, you know me better than that. Where are you? I’m coming to get you.”

“Noah, I’m fine. Really. I’ll be back soon. I’m up at the pack house. I’m alright.”

“Sol, Finn is in hysterics right now. He thought you left to go die alone. He started to throw up and he hasn’t gotten up off the floor.”

Aelia’s face fell and I rubbed her arm. “I wouldn’t go off to die alone. You would know me better than that. I would never do that to you two.”

“I’m running up. I’ll grab the extra clothes from my Jeep and I’m driving you home. Do you understand?”

“Oh, suddenly you’re ordering me?”

Noah growled and Aelia pulled the phone away from her ear again. “Now, Solaris. Be ready to leave.”

The phone went quiet and Aelia sighed. “So much for breakfast.”