Chapter 8 - Mate reveal
1497 Words
#musicvibe - While your lips are still red, Nightwish
*
Tyson POV
The invisible force holding me up against the wall didn’t hurt me, but I wasn’t all that comfortable either.
I squirmed against the wall, cursing myself for losing control like that.
When I saw Valeria hugging another man, I saw red.
Before I could stop myself, I lunged at the man and realized that he looked to be in his late teens. I was surprised that Valeria would date someone younger than her.
What seemed to be her boyfriend, turned out to be her brother, and I immediately felt stupid.
"Well sh*t." Dax muttered. "We gotta learn to think before we act, because this just got real messy."
My heart sank when Mr Sampson asked if Valeria was my mate.
Should I lie?
"Don’t you dare deny our mate." Dax growled.
I sighed in resignation and nodded.
“Oh.” Sam raised an eyebrow before her eyes widened and she stared at me.
“Oh!” She said again.
Valeria frowned.
“What’s a mate?” She asked.
Mr Sampson sighed.
“Put him down.” He muttered.
Valeria lowered me down until I was standing on my feet again and looked at me expectantly.
“What’s going on?” She asked.
I cleared my throat.
“Can we talk in private?” I mumbled.
Valeria nodded.
I walked her down to my office and shut the door behind us.
We sat down in the two armchairs placed in front of my desk.
“What’s going on, Tyson?” Valeria asked again.
“Umm-” I hesitated. “You know that Lycans have heightened senses, right?”
Valeria nodded.
“So, because of that, we are able to sense our mate.”
Valeria frowned.
“What exactly is a mate?”
“Basically, it’s like a soulmate.” I explained. “The mate bond binds our souls together and once we meet, the bond activates, making it hard for us to be apart.”
Valeria nodded, her eyes on me.
“So that’s why you’ve been saying that you want to see me again.” She muttered. “Because the mate bond wants to keep me close to you.”
I nodded.
“I’m sorry to say this, but I don’t really feel much of anything.” Valeria shrugged.
I reached out my hand.
“Give me your hand.” I instructed.
Valeria took my hand and sparks trailed up my arm.
“Do you feel that?” I asked. “The tingling feeling in your hand?”
Valeria nodded and her eyes glowed white as she stared down at our connecting hands.
“It feels like an electric current.” She mumbled. “But the energy flowing between us is different from static. It's…weird."
I nodded.
“That’s the mate bond you’re feeling. It binds us together.”
“You will feel it more once I mark you.” I added.
Valeria stared at me.
“Mark me?” She repeated.
I nodded.
“I bite your neck.” I said. “It will solidify the bond and you’ll be able to feel it just as much as I do. The mark will show to others that we belong together.” I explained. “I belong to you, and you belong to me.”
Valeria stared at me, a flash of fear crossed her face.
“H-How do we make it stop?” She asked.
My heart sank.
“We can’t.” I replied. “It’s for life. We can’t really do anything about it.”
Tears welled up in Valeria’s eyes and I instinctively reached out a hand to wipe a stray tear away.
Valeria recoiled away from me and got up.
“I can’t do this.” She whispered. “I have to go.”
Before I could say anything, she bolted out the door.
I rushed after her and caught up with her in the sitting room.
Valeria marched up to Mr Sampson.
“May I be relieved of this assignment?” She asked curtly.
My heart sank into a bottomless pit in my stomach.
“No! Valeria, wait..." I pleaded.
Valeria didn’t reply. She just stared at Mr Sampson, waiting for a reply.
“You are relieved, on one condition.” He said and held up his index finger.
“What?”
“You are actually considering what he’s offering.” He replied softly.
I looked up at Mr Sampson in gratitude while Valeria stared at him in shock.
“But how could I…?” Valeria trailed off while tears ran down her cheeks. “I can’t! Not again.”
Mr Sampson put his hand on her arm and I suppressed the urge to growl at him for touching her.
“It’s not the same, dear.” He whispered. “Go, but please think about it.”
Valeria nodded, before turning and walking towards the elevator.
I started going after her, but Mr Sampson’s voice stopped me.
“Please, your majesty, let her go and think things through.”
I forced myself to stand still as the elevator doors opened.
“Please, don’t go.” I whispered.
The elevator doors closed behind her, and I felt like the air had been sucked out of me.
“I’m sorry, Ty.” Kayden mumbled and put his hand on my shoulder.
“I don’t really know what I did wrong.” I gasped.
“Out of curiosity, what did you tell her about the mate bond?” Sam asked.
I explained what happened in the office and I saw Mr Sampson, Sam and Aidan exchange glances.
“Sh*t.” Aidan muttered. “I think you went about it from the wrong angle.”
I frowned.
“How?” I asked.
“Humans are different from she-wolves.” Mr Sampson explained. “Where a she-wolf would find comfort in the idea of belonging to someone, Valeria sees it as a kind of imprisonment.”
Garret, Kayden and I looked at each other in confusion.
“Why wouldn’t she find that comforting?” Garrett asked. “Belonging to someone is comforting, you know that you’re always protected and worshiped by your mate.”
“It probably is for someone that grew up with the idea of a mate bond.” Sam replied. “But humans don’t have mate bonds. We belong WITH people, as in everyone protects each other instead of having a physically stronger male protecting a physically weaker female as it is in a wolf’s nature. So when being told that we belong TO someone, it sounds like ownership to us. That strikes a chord with Valeria particularly.”
“Because of her powers?” I asked.
“Yes.” Mr Sampson nodded. “But that’s only part of the story.”
“Then tell me the rest of the story.” I pleaded.
Mr Sampson shook his head.
“She should tell you that herself.” He muttered. “But for now, give her some time to think things through.”
“Do you really think that she’ll consider being my mate?” I asked.
Mr Sampson pursed his lips.
“She will.” He said. “But not because I told her to, but because she will feel the pull of the mate bond. I just hope that she isn’t scared enough to ignore what her body is telling her.”
I had tons of questions and felt really confused about everything that just happened, but there was no time for those questions. Mr Sampson, Sam and Aidan excused themselves to keep working on the new security system.
I sat down on the sofa, feeling dejected.
What if she didn’t come back?
I shook my head and saw Kayden and Garrett sit down too.
“That was intense.” Kayden sighed. “What are you going to do?”
“I need to find out more about her.” I replied. “Something has happened to her and I need to know what.”
“Maybe it’s connected to her powers.” Garret said. “Those kinds of experiments on humans are illegal in the UK, or anywhere else in Europe, for that matter. If she was trapped in an illegal science operation, then she could be traumatized from that. I mean, she had nightmares last night and the night before that.”
“Possibly.” I agreed. “But why would Mr Sampson let her work for MI6 if she was suffering from trauma or PTSD? He seems really familiar with her struggles.”
Garrett snorted.
“With her powers, he could make up any excuse to have her in the field.” He said. “I mean, she just flung you against the wall! I have never seen anything like it.”
“Me neither.” Kayden replied. “I will do some research on her to see if I can dig something up.”
“Thanks.”
- Writer
