You're Not My Mate

The Disappearing

Aurelia POV

I wake up the next morning, alone, with someone repeatedly trying to mind link me. Ugh. It’s giving me a headache. I open up to see who it is. Marcus. 

“Uh, Luna. I’m sorry to disturb you. But.. Please.. I need your help.”

“Of course Marcus, what’s up?”

“We’re at the hospital.”

I bolt up in bed, rushing around to grab things.

“Who is? What’s wrong?”

“We don’t know. Talula collapsed or something. They’ve taken her into a room but said I can’t go in. I can’t reach the Alpha. Will you come and order them for me?”

“I’ll be there 2 minutes.”

I laugh to myself at the thought of ordering anyone, but I grab my bag and rush out of the room, straight across to the hospital. Thankfully, Cruz had pointed it out to me on one of my first days here, so I run straight there. I get there in just over a minute. Record timing, if I do say so myself. 

Marcus is waiting outside for me and grabs my hand to run through the hospital to take me to the room. The doctor is stood outside with her hands on her hips. “Gamma. I can not let you in there.” “Dr Fritz COME ON. It’s my WIFE!!” “Gamma, please quieten down or you’ll have to leave the grounds.” He flips and throws his arms in the air, growling. I sigh.

“Marcus, SIT.” And I push back on his chest. Next to Liam, I have the most amount of power, unless the Beta is in charge for Liam’s absence, of course. Marcus sits down but doesn’t look happy about it. “You need to calm down.” I order, and turn back to the doctor. “Dr Fritz. Lovely to meet you. I’m Aurelia.” She shakes my hand. “Ah yes, the new Luna.” I smile and nod. “Can you please tell me what’s going on? Why isn’t Marcus allowed to see Talula? She’s his wife.” The doctor’s face drops. “I’m sorry. It’s not me not allowing it.” I’m surprised. Who else would not allow it? “Has Li- uh, the Alpha said this?” I will kick his ass if he has stopped a husband seeing his wife. “No.” Now I’m confused. Who else has the authority? Oh.. There’s only one other person.. She nods at me as she watches my face change. I decide this is a conversation best for mind link.

“Doc, why doesn’t she want to see Marcus?”

“She’s having a consultation on something.. Delicate.”

“OK. But surely Marcus has seen every part of her?”

“Yes.”

“Can you tell me? Is she OK?”

“She is.. Fragile. I can’t tell you. Unless, you..”

“Command you to?”

“Yes.”

I bite my lip. I don’t know what to do for the best. I turn to Marcus. “Marcus, can I have a word?” He nods, and I go to sit next to him on the waiting chairs. “I’m going to tell you something, then ask you something. But I need you to remain calm. If you don’t. I’ll have to get Liam here. Do you understand?” He nods again, panic in his eyes. I take a deep breath.

“OK. The doctor says she is having a consultation on something delicate. She’s told them she doesn’t want to see you. She’s fragile. The doctor can not tell me anymore unless I command her to. This is your decision. If you want me to command her to, I will. Just know, I can’t control the outcome of what it is.” 

“Why wouldn’t she want me to see her?” “I don’t know, I’m sorry.” “Can you ask her that?” “Like I said, I can command her. But once that’s done, I can’t undo it Marcus.” He bites his lip and it kills me seeing him like this. “Will you just.. Hold my hand or something to distract me? I’m seeing red.” I nod and hold his hand. 

“Liam, where are you?”

“What’s wrong, baby? I’m just having some extra training. Why? What’s wrong? Where are you?”

He panics, obviously sensing my mood.

“I’m at the hospital..”

Before I can even finish, I can feel his breathing change. He’s obviously running.

“Babe, it’s not me. It’s Talula. Marcus called me over here stressed this morning, freaking out that nobody would tell him what’s wrong with Talula. I came over here ready to order them to allow him in. I calmed him down and had a private word with the doctor. All the doctor will tell me is that Talula has refused to see Marcus, she doesn’t want him here. She’s having a consultation on something delicate and she’s fragile. The doctor said she’ll tell me if I command her to. I asked Marcus and told him it was his choice and warned him if I command it, I can’t undo it. He agreed with me and I’m just sat here holding his hand now but he’s falling apart. And I honestly don’t know what to do, Liam.”

As I finish, he comes rushing in. Liam studies my face, nods and then comes to sit next to us. I can see both of their eyes cloud over, obviously linking to each other. And then they’re back. “Hey, you said if I calmed down, you wouldn’t call the Alpha.” I smile at his sad face. “I didn’t call the Alpha. I called Liam. Your friend.” He nods and lays his head back against the wall behind us. I turn to Liam, looking at his face, trying to study what has just happened.

“Baby, will you go find out what’s actually going on? I have a feeling that something bad..”

He cuts off and I look up to see Doctor Fritz walking towards us. Her eyes are full of tears and her face is red. Oh Goddess no. Not Talula. As wolves we heal from anything. Having one die so young is not normal. She catches my eye and nods, knowingly. 

“Liam, I think she’s..”

He jumps up and stands on the other side of Marcus.

“Baby, move back. Now. Before he’s told.”

I shake my head so slight that it can barely be seen. The doctor comes to stand in front of Marcus and coughs. His eyes shoot open and he sits up. “What’s up, all sorted? She OK? Can I see her now?” His eyes dart around trying to find her and my heart sinks for him. The doctor closes her eyes briefly and then reopens them.

“I’m sorry Marcus. We tried to do everything we could. I’m afraid Talula... Has passed. She’s with the Moon Goddess now.” What happens next I could never in a million years have expected to have come from Marcus. His roar was so loud, for a second I thought it was from Liam. He starts to shake on the chair, growls ripping through him. “AURELIA, MOVE OUT OF HIS WAY.” I freeze. Then stand up straight in front of Marcus and look in his eyes.

“Do not shift. You NEED Marcus now. Not your wolf. Can you hear me? You shift now. And you’ll hurt me. I need you to stay Marcus. I need you to stay.” He keeps shaking and Liam goes to push me aside. I shoot him a warning glance.

“He is GRIEVING. Do NOT touch me.”

He looks taken aback at my tone, blinks and backs off from me.

I squeeze between Marcus’s legs and hold his head in my hands. I pull on my best Luna voice and just hope it will be enough. “Marcus, look at me. You need to focus now. Look at me.” His eyes open and he looks me straight in the eye. “Stay there.” I lean forward and rest my forehead against his, and show him all of my memories of him and Talula. Them dancing around, playing, kissing and chasing each other around the garden. I show him them cuddling together and falling asleep wrapped up in each other. I can feel his body starting to stop shaking. His breathing starts to ease. I step back. 

“Doctor Fritz? I need you to knock him out for me.”

“Yes, Luna.”

She hurries over and injects something into him. I turn to Liam. “Put him in a bed.” He nods avoiding any eye contact with me, lifting Marcus. A male nurse rushes over to help hold Marcus up and get him into a bed. When he’s out cold, I turn to the doctor. “OK, Doctor Fritz, you need to tell us everything. Now. There’s no way a wolf in her 20s should die like that.” She looks glum. “OK, but not here.” She calls for a nurse to sit with Marcus and guides us into another room.

“What I’m about to say, can be kept just for our ears. I can change the paperwork if you want me to.” She starts, and we both nod at her to continue. “Talula has been trying to kill herself for quite sometime. She was very unhappy. She’s been in and out of here so much the last 3 months, and I tried everything to get Marcus to realise but he just couldn’t see it. She was Marcus’s wife and she loved him very much.. But I don’t believe they were mates. Today she came in with wounds so bad.. From trying to rip off the mark Marcus left on her. That’s why she didn’t want to see him.”

I blink. “Wait, I’ve never heard of this happening. I thought mates were for life? I don’t understand..” The doctor bites her lip. “From what Talula has told me. She had enlisted the help of a witch to get Marcus to believe she was his mate. She wanted to be with a higher ranking wolf... And thought Marcus was a good fit for her.” I nod. “This is why he couldn’t sense that she’d died just now?” She nods. “I expected to come out to the hall and see you both trying to wrestle him. When he was asleep, it cemented the truth. They weren’t mates.”

I groan. This is awful. “OK, thank you. Is there anything else we need to know?” She sighs and hands over a note. “Talula left this for Marcus. I don’t know what it says, or if you want it. But, please let me know what to write in the report. If you want it changed, Alpha, Luna, I will.” “Thank you, Doc.” Liam stands to shake her hand and turns to me. “What the f**k?” I put my head in my hands. It sucks being a Luna right now.

Liam POV

I can’t believe it. Less than an hour ago I was busy shopping for some nice bits for our room for Aurelia to feel more at home. Now I’m sat with her trying to process all of this. Hearing her snap at me earlier.. Her protectiveness over Marcus.. I stop thinking when I start to sense Aurelia’s upset.

She turns to look at me with tears in her eyes. “Promise me that’ll never be us. We are mates, aren’t we?” I can see the fear in her eyes. She was always so worried that this wasn’t real and that she’d end up back with her family again. Seeing her so worried and sad, I can feel my eyes threatening to well up to. “Come here, baby.” She rushes into my lap and I wrap her up in my arms. “I want to keep you here forever. Keep you safe.” Being able to hear and feel her cry is awful. She pulls back after a few minutes. “I’m sorry. I’ll get into my Luna face now.” “Baby, you are a Luna. You handled that amazing out there. If it wasn’t for you, I’d have probably had to attack Marcus.” She nods, but still looks glum. “Baby, this isn’t normal OK? This is something I’ve never heard of. I need to let Cruz know, he’d want to be here, and I need to consult with the Elders.” She nods at me again, when I go to stand she grabs my hand. “Wait. Don’t go.” I smile and pull her close. “OK, you get Cruz here, I’ll mind link the Elders.” 

We walk back into Marcus’s room and sit next to his bed. I can see Aurelia’s eyes cloud over for a while and then Cruz comes running in. He grabs Aurelia and pulls her into a hug, and then surprises me by hugging me. “Man, I love you guys. I’m devastated.” Aurelia turns to me then. “I have Cruz here, if you need to consult the Elders. I’ll be OK. But, what am I telling Marcus?” 

I run my hand through my hair. Do we tell him the truth? Do we lie? Both are going to hurt him. “I’ll stay here. I’ll mind link the Elders. It’s me who should bear the wrath of this, not you two.” I sit back and link to all of our Elders. The Elders are the oldest wolves in our pack. They’re a mixture of Alpha’s, Beta’s, Gamma’s, Warriors, Doctors, anyone of importance. I relay all of the events to them and wait for their advice. There’s a lot of commotion, talking back and fore.

“Alpha Kustoff. This is something rare. Very rare. But not impossible. It is possible that a witch cast a spell strong enough that would seduce Gamma Marcus to have believed Talula was his mate. This should have worn off over time which means she’d have had to keep having that spell cast. And I wonder if this is what was making her scared enough that she would take her own life? What does the note say?”

“I don’t know. We don’t know whether to open it.”

“You need to open it and read it to us now.”

I gulp and look around at Marcus, still out cold in bed, Cruz who’s beyond pissed but upset too, and Aurelia. My poor baby, she’s besides herself. She’s holding the note turning it over and over. I learn over to her. “Baby, I need to read it to the Elders.” She looks at me for a second, chewing the inside of her gums, and then nods. I take it off her and open it.

Dear Marcus,

I don’t know how to write everything I’ve done in one letter. All I can say is, I am sorry. I did not come from much growing up, my family are all Omegas. We lived in a small hut. No money. 

I don’t say this as an excuse. More, to give you a background to my reasoning. One day, I met a witch. I asked her to help me make someone of higher blood fall in love with me. She gave me a potion and told me with that potion, I could make anyone of Gamma level fall in love with me. She told me she would return for her debt when I was married.

I did love you. I do love you. But I wrongly made you believe that we were mates. We were not. I’m so sorry. When we got married, the witch returned. She told me that my debt was to give her my first born child. Which is why I’ve never been pregnant. I have been careful to avoid it.

I can’t bear to keep this up any longer. Not when I know how much you want a pup. I can’t take that from you any longer. I’m sorry. I tried to remove the mark to let you go. But if that doesn’t work. I have enough wolfsbane to kill myself, and release you. 

I hope you find your mate, and it’s not too late.

All my love.

Talula.

I read the note to the Elders. Once I’m finished, I lean back. Aurelia dives on me to grab it and read it herself, with Cruz rushing over to read it behind her. “What a f*****g lunatic.” Cruz announces to the room. The Elders had it right.

“Alpha Kustoff, it is certain. You need to tell him the truth. Would you like us to send his parents?”

“I’ll wait for him to wake, tell him the news, and then I’ll call them over.”

“Yes, Alpha.”

I cut the mind links and put my head in my hands. Why the f**k would someone do this? 

“Liam. His mark is disappearing.”

My head bolts up so quick I swear I almost break a bone. Me and Cruz bend down close, and sure enough the mark is disappearing. “It died, with her.” We all turn around to see Doctor Fritz enter the room. “Luna filled me in.” Aurelia looks guiltily at me but I rub her shoulder.

“I thought you should know. She did in fact inject herself with so much wolfsbane, we didn’t stand a chance. I’ve never seen that amount of wolfsbane, in my entire life. It was enough to take out at least 3 wolves, never mind 1.” I nod at her. “When Marcus comes around, please let me know if you need any more.. Help.” “Thank you.” She nods at me and walks off. 

Aurelia climbs into my lap, holding me tight. Cruz sits on the other side of the bed, his head resting on the bed, next to Marcus. 

“I love you, so much sweet baby. Please don’t cry.”

“I don’t know who I’m crying for. I’m crying for her, for being a young, foolish girl who didn’t think through the consequences. I’m crying for him, for being tricked all of these years. And how devastated he’s going to be when he wakes up. I’m crying for us, and for me, because I never want to lose your mark. I want it to be there forever”

“Oh baby, it will be. I’m not going anywhere.”

“We are real aren’t we? It’s not a dream? Because I did dream about running away. And then you found me that day and we were mates. And I thought it was destiny. It is destiny isn’t it?”

“Yes, sweet baby. We are destiny. And we’ll marry, have pups of our own, and we’ll live together forever. And I promise to make you happy, everyday of your life.”

She sniffs and rubs her face in my t-shirt. I chuckle quietly and hold her close to me, closing my eyes. I try and think what I’m going to say to Marcus when he wakes up. How do you tell someone that their mate and marriage have all been a sham?