15.

*Oh my Goddess!*
I squealed into the pillow, the sound muffled as I held my face in there for a few moments right before I felt Leia's sharp and bony elbow nudge me in the ribs, hearing her annoyed and sleepy groan.
My lips were forming the widest grin anyone had ever seen though as I pulled my head back and turned to look at her, my mind still replaying that message I'd read on my phone only moments earlier.
*Good morning, beautiful.*
I let out a dreamy sigh, too fucking dazed to even care about anything at all in that specific moment as I absently stared at my cousin Leia's grumpy face, her hair a wild and tangled mess and her gaze still narrowed as she stared back at me from her pillow.
"You still reek of pack wolf you know," she muttered with annoyance, turning her face to bury it in her pillow.
"Can you please go take another shower now that you're finally up? It's driving me crazy," her words came out a little muffled but I understood very well everything she just said, a light giggle escaping me as I said in reply,
"Well then you should avoid getting in my car at all costs. It's even worse in there,"
It reeked of David and Nathan too. Now I had to keep the windows down for a whole month and maybe even consider washing the interior before anyone else from my family had a chance to get in there. They would surely freak out if they did.
"Ugh," she grunted with aggravation and shoved a hand under my pillow, taking me by surprise as she snatched it from under me and them slammed it over my head, making me let out a hysterical laugh.
We started to wrestle and I threw myself over her, struggling to hold her down with one hand before I held a thick strand of my own hair with the other, tickling her nose.
She started to squirm and squeal and I let out a maniacal cackle, enjoying this way more than I should.
"Aagh! No! Get off of me!" She shrieked, making me laugh again.
"Why? Don't you like my new perfume? It's called eau de my mate," I said with amusement in my voice, taking but a few moments of blissful unawareness before I lastly realized what I just said, my laughter instantly dying out.
Shit.
She quickly shoved me off of her and I let her, my heart already pounding inside my chest as I met her shocked stare, both snapping our heads towards the bathroom door as it suddenly flew open and slammed against the wall with a bang, revealing Archie's equally distraught expression.
He was wearing nothing else but a towel around his waist, white foam flowing from between his lips as he held his toothbrush in one hand and his towel with the other, staring back at me as if I'd just announced that it was the end of the world.
"Y-you've found y-your..." Leia's lips trembled as she struggled to form the words, her wide eyes becoming glassy with unshed tears.
Shit shit shit.
I instinctually made myself smaller under their horrified gazes, feeling my own wolf whine inside of me with apprehension even though we actually didn't do anything wrong. Maybe I was wrong for accepting to hang out with the pack wolves at school but it wasn't my fault who the Goddess chose to pair me with. It just happened. It didn't matter if they liked it or not. And there was nothing I could do about it anyway.
"And he's a-" she paused to swallow, her voice still laced with pain and sorrow as she continued,
"A pack wolf?!?"
I blinked and shifted my gaze to Archie, watching him slam that door shut and close himself back into that bathroom before I averted my attention back to Leia, watching those tears spill over her cheeks before she slapped a hand over her mouth, struggling to contain her sobs.
"Holy Goddess, Jessie..." she looked at me as if I was freaking dying or something, that damned bathroom door flinging open again as Archie strode back inside the room fully dressed now.
"Oh my Goddess, let me see!" He practically lunged at me with a pain and desperation in his eyes I didn't understand, taking a firm hold of my arms before they started to frantically inspect my body for any injuries or marks.
"Did he hurt you? I swear to the Moon, if he did he's gonna be so fucking sorry!"
"Where's the mark?" Leia pulled at the collar of my baggy t-shirt while Archie pushed my hair away from my neck, both poking and prodding at me like a pair of concerned parents.
"There is no mark!" I half shouted at them, sick of their prying hands and glances so I pulled myself away and scurried backwards until I had my spine plastered against the plushy headboard, warily staring between them like a cornered animal.
"What? What do you mean there is no mark?" Leia frowned, both staring at me as if I'd gone crazy.
"Exactly as you heard it. There is NO MARK," I firmly told them, putting an emphasis on those last two words. Why was that so hard to believe? I-I mean, yeah I knew why they had such trouble believing it but- shit! I almost hissed under my breath, already feeling so fucking overwhelmed.
"Wait...how did you...Are you sure he's your mate?" Leia asked after a calming sniffle, wiping those wet cheeks with the back of her hand whilst Archie regarded me with a concerned frown.
"His wolf pushed to the surface and called us out, Leia," I answered with a hint of impatience laced in my tone, anxiously dragging a hand through my hair.
They both fell silent after that, continuing to peer at me with those saddened and mournful looks on their faces as I sat there and dragged my knees closer to my chest, blowing out a tired sigh. *So much for that happy moment.*
I still didn't even know why I'd actually gotten so excited over that little message. It wasn't like I had accepted for whatever this was between David and I to continue. Hell, I hadn't even given him that answer he was so desperately still waiting for but for the life of me, I didn't feel strong enough to reject him either.
"Well at least he didn't mark you -thank the merciful Goddess for that- but his scent is actually very potent from what I can sense. You took three showers last night for the Gods' sake and yet you still reek of him," Leia said after a moment with a small frown, making me blush a little as I remembered the way I'd so boldly plastered myself against David's hot body and kissed his cheek yesterday before I climbed in my car and drove away, leaving him standing there with an awestruck look on his face.
"What is he, a warrior? I smell fighter blood in his scent," Archie said as he pushed himself closer to me and let his wolf take an inquisitive sniff, his gaze turning glowing golden as he regarded me for a long moment of stretching silence.
I thickly swallowed, knowing that there was absolutely no point in trying to hide the truth anymore -now that they both knew about my current predicament- and with a defeated tone I lastly mumbled out,
"He's actually a Beta."
"The future Royal Beta."