Mate
1324 Words
Chapter 4: Mate
I quickly went outside i looked at my warriors, they were still standing, some injured and some dead.
One of the eldest come to me.
"We've won this war, my queen."
"Yes but Austin won't rest until I am dead."
"Then we will fight besides you until our last breath."
"I know you will, take the injured to the doctors courtyard, and we will bury our warriors with the respect they deserve." I Ordered.
The next morning my pack was busy cleaning, cooking and attending the injured warriors. Some were busy training as always.
That evening, I went to the lake beyond the forest.
It was the place Luke and I used to visit when we were young.
He found me sitting beside the water.
“You knew I would come.”
“Yes.”
“How?”
“You always come when I need you.”
He sat beside me.
For several minutes, neither of us spoke.
Then he said, “You loved him.”
I closed my eyes.
“Yes he is my mate.”
“Do you still?”
I thought about it.
“I loved the man I believed he was.”
Luke looked at me.
“And the real man?”
“I don't know him.”
He nodded.
The moonlight reflected in the water.
“Stella.”
“Yes?”
“I need to tell you something.”
His voice was different.
Serious.
“I never stopped loving you.”
My heart stopped.
I looked at him.
He continued.
“I left because you chose Austin. I thought loving you meant respecting that choice.”
"Luke…”
“I watched you become smaller every year.”
My eyes filled with tears.
“You don't understand.”
“I do.”
“No. I gave up being the Silver Wolf because I wanted to be loved.”
He reached for my hand and we touched for the first time in Five years, we actually touched.
My wolf suddenly screamed inside my mind.
Mate.
I froze.
Luke stared at me.
“What happened?”
I couldn't answer.
My wolf's voice came again.
Our true mate.
My wolf trembled.
Him.
“Stella, do you feel what I am feeling?"
And when his eyes met mine—
my entire world changed.
Because Austin had never been my true mate.
He had only been my first mistake.
And the man standing before me was the one my wolf had been waiting for all along.
"How is this possible?" "I,very know you since we were young."
"You were about to turn eighteen when you got married to Austin, you said you too have mated when I first told you that I love you."
"Think about it Stella there was always a connection between us, I’ve always felt it and somehow I thought you've felt it too."
"I did but then my wolf howled at Austin as my mate when I first saw him"
"I thought the feeling I had was just a feeling because we spent too much time together."
"And then I saw you and Chelsea hugging, but that doesn't matter now."
My wolf was trembling inside me.
Not with fear.
With recognition.
Mate.
The word echoed through my mind again.
I stared at him.
His gaze remained fixed on mine.
Then his expression changed.
Surprise.
Recognition.
And something dangerously close to relief.
“Stella.”
“You never needed to become smaller to deserve love.”
His thumb brushed gently over my knuckles.
“You should have been loved exactly as you were.”
A tear escaped.
He wiped it away.
I whispered, “Why didn't you tell me?”
“Because you were happy.”
I laughed bitterly.
“I wasn't.”
“I know that now.”
His fingers intertwined with mine.
“Then let me give you something you should have had from the beginning.”
“What?”
“Choice.”
He leaned closer.
“If you don't love me, I will walk away.”
My heart pounded.
“But if there is even a small part of you that still remembers what we were…”
He stopped.
I looked into his eyes.
There was no pressure.
No demand.
Only patience.
I moved closer.
Our foreheads touched.
“I remember everything.”
His breath caught.
Then he kissed me.
It wasn't desperate.
It wasn't possessive.
It was gentle.
Like a promise.
Like coming home.
When we separated, I whispered:
“I think I've been waiting for you for five years.”
He smiled.
“Then don't make me wait another five.”
As we stood there we heard foot steps approaching, we turned around.
The old warrior who use to fight with my father for year appeared Chris.
He looked at me.
“I have been searching for you.”
“Why?”
His jaw tightened.
“Because your father asked me to find you if anything happened to him.”
My heart stopped.
"But you disappeared after my father's death."
"I had to I knew too much,"
"Your father told me to find you if you ever come back home, there are things he wanted me to tell you both, mostly you Luke."
Luke stared at me with confusion written on his face.
"What do you mean by that?" I asked.
" Is there a place we can talk to in private, I don't want anyone else to hear what I am about to say?"
"Yes please follow us." Luke finally spoke.
We went to my father's chamber.
“Your father discovered what the Blood moonlight family was searching for.”
“The Blackthorn Wolf bloodline.”
“Yes.”
I swallowed.
“What is so important about that blood?”
"That where Luke was born, your father was killed by the Blood moonlight soldiers years ago, and your kingdom was destroyed, your wolf packs were forced to escape, some killed and some enslaved by the Bloodmoon pack."
"You mean to say my father was Lord Kael the king of the West?"
"Yes my Lord."
Luke went totally frozen, he looked shocked and confused.
"If my father knew about this then why would he keep quiet?"
"Because Austin's father and other packs were threatening him."
"Luke's bloodline and your bloodline should never meet."
"What is so important about our bloodline?" I asked.
"You do know that he is your real and true mate right?" He said referring to Luke.
"Your names are written in the stars, you're destined to be together. "
"I am confused, I thought Austin was my true mate."
“I know Austin was never your true mate.”
The room became silent.
Luke looked at me.
I couldn't meet his eyes.
Chris continued.
“The bond you had with Austin was created through an ancient ritual.”
My stomach twisted.
“What?”
“He wasn't your fated mate.”
“But I felt the bond.”
“So did he.”
Chris walked closer.
“But it was manufactured.”
I shook my head.
“No.”
“Stella.”
He lowered his voice.
“Your father warned me about this.”
I remembered the letter.
Do not trust the king.
My hands tightened.
“Why would Austin do that?”
“Because your bloodline carries a power that can only be awakened by a true mate.”
I looked at Chris.
“And what happens when it awakens?”
He glanced at Luke.
Then at me.
“It depends on who your true mate is.”
My heart began pounding.
Chris eyes remained fixed on mine.
My wolf suddenly stirred.
Him.
I stepped backward.
“No.”
Chris frowned.
“You know.”
“I don't.”
“You feel it.”
I shook my head.
“I can't.”
“Why?”
“Because I just left my husband.”
Luke's expression tightened.
"Don't call him that."
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