Two Mates, One Heart

Chapter 2 Messages and Mistakes

**JAKE'S POV**

I ran until my paws were bleeding. Until my lungs burned. Until I couldn't run anymore.

Then I shifted back to human form and collapsed against a tree, not caring that I was naked and alone in the middle of the forest.

Two mates.

Mia had two mates.

I pressed my hands against my eyes, but I couldn't unsee it. The way she looked at Ryan. The way Ryan looked at her. The mate bond pulling her toward him just as strongly as it pulled her toward me.

I loved Mia. I'd loved her since we were kids. I'd dreamed about tonight—about finding out she was my mate, about finally being able to tell her how I really felt.

But I was supposed to be her only mate. Not... not half of a pair.

My wolf was howling inside my head, furious that I'd left our mate. But my human side couldn't handle it. What kind of Alpha—and I was training to be one—shared his mate? What kind of male wolf accepted that his mate had feelings for someone else?

"Jake?"

I jumped at the sound of my dad's voice. Alpha Marcus stepped through the trees, carrying a bag with clothes. Of course he'd tracked me. He was the pack Alpha.

"Son, put these on. We need to talk."

Silently, I pulled on the sweatpants and t-shirt he handed me.

"I know you're hurting," Dad said quietly. "But running away isn't the answer."

"What am I supposed to do?" My voice came out harsh and bitter. "Go back and watch Mia bond with Ryan? Pretend I'm okay with sharing her?"

"You don't have to pretend anything. But you need to give her a chance. Give yourself a chance." Dad sat down on a fallen log and patted the spot next to him.

I sat, but I didn't want to hear this.

"The Moon Goddess doesn't make mistakes, Jake. If she gave Mia two mates, there's a reason."

"What reason? To torture me?"

"To teach you something. Maybe about sharing. Maybe about trust. Maybe about love being bigger than you think it is." Dad looked at me seriously. "Do you love Mia?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then why are you here instead of with her? She needs you right now. She's probably terrified and confused. And you abandoned her."

His words hit me like a punch to the gut. Oh God. Mia. I'd left her standing there in front of everyone. She must be so hurt.

I stood up quickly. "I need to go back. I need to apologize. I need to—"

"Slow down, son. Think about what you want to say first. Think about whether you can really accept this situation." Dad's expression was gentle but firm. "Because if you go back and promise to try, you can't run away again. That wouldn't be fair to anyone—not to Mia, not to Ryan, and not to yourself."

I sat back down, my head in my hands. Could I accept this? Could I really share Mia with Ryan Cross?

Ryan was a good guy. Quiet, but strong. He'd lost his whole family to rogues. He worked hard in training. He never caused trouble.

But he was my competition for Mia's heart.

Except... the mate bond didn't work like that, did it? If the Moon Goddess chose both of us, then we weren't competing. We were... completing something together.

I didn't understand it. But maybe I didn't have to understand it. Maybe I just had to trust it.

"I'll try," I said finally. "I'll go back and talk to Mia. I'll try to make this work."

Dad smiled and clapped me on the shoulder. "That's my boy. Come on, let's get you home."

But by the time we got back to the pack clearing, the festival was over. Everyone had gone home. I ran to Mia's house, but her dad answered the door with a cold expression.

"She doesn't want to see you," Mr. Chen said flatly. "You've done enough damage for one night."

"Please, I just want to apologize—"

"My daughter is heartbroken because of you. Come back when you've figured out what you really want." He shut the door in my face.

I tried the mind-link next. All mates shared a special mental connection once the bond started forming. "Mia? Can you hear me? I'm so sorry. Please talk to me."

Nothing. She was blocking me out.

I tried again the next morning. "Mia, I was wrong to run. I was scared and stupid. But I want to talk. Please?"

Still nothing.

For three days, I tried to reach her. I sent messages through the mind-link. I left notes at her house. I tried to catch her after training, but she always left before I could get there.

She didn't want to see me. And honestly? I didn't blame her.

On the fourth day, I was sitting in my room, staring at my phone, when I made a decision. A terrible, cowardly decision that I'd regret for years.

I couldn't stay here. Every time I saw Mia, it hurt. Every time I thought about her with Ryan, it hurt. The whole situation was impossible, and I wasn't strong enough to deal with it.

I went downstairs where my parents were having coffee in the kitchen.

"Mom, Dad... I want to go to Alpha training early."

They both looked up in surprise. Alpha training was a three-year program where future Alphas and Betas learned leadership skills in another pack territory. I wasn't supposed to go for another year.

"Are you sure, son?" Mom asked gently.

"I'm sure. I need... I need to get away. I need to clear my head."

Dad frowned. "Running away again won't solve anything, Jake."

"I'm not running away. I'm... I'm giving Mia space. Space to figure out what she wants without me confusing things."

It was a lie. I was totally running away. But my parents must have seen how desperate I was because they didn't argue.

"If that's what you think is best," Mom said sadly. "I'll make the arrangements."

One week later, I stood in my packed bedroom, looking at the duffel bag on my bed. I was really doing this. I was really leaving.

My phone buzzed. A message notification.

From: Mia

My heart stopped. Finally, she was talking to me. With shaking hands, I opened the message.

**Mia: Jake, I know you're confused. I know this is hard. But please don't shut me out. Can we talk? I miss my best friend. I miss you.**

**Mia: I've been thinking a lot about what happened. Maybe the Moon Goddess knew what she was doing. Maybe we're supposed to try this together—you, me, and Ryan. I'm scared too, but I don't want to lose you.**

**Mia: Please answer me. I love you, Jake. I've loved you since we were kids. That doesn't change just because Ryan is also my mate. My heart is big enough for both of you if you'll give it a chance.**

Each message felt like a knife in my chest. She was trying. She was being brave. And I was being a coward.

I should have answered her. I should have told her I was leaving. I should have been honest.

But I didn't.

Instead, I turned off my phone, picked up my bag, and walked out of my house before the sun came up. My parents drove me to the training facility in the Northern Pack territory. The whole drive, my wolf was howling inside me, begging me to go back.

But I didn't listen.

---

**MIA'S POV**

He read my messages.

I could see the little "read" notification under each one. But he didn't reply.

For two whole days, I stared at my phone, waiting. Hoping. Praying Jake would answer.

On the third day, Luna Sarah came to my house. One look at her sad face and I knew.

"He's gone, isn't he?" I whispered.

She nodded. "Jake left for Alpha training this morning. He'll be gone for three years, Mia. I'm so sorry."

The world tilted. Three years. Jake would be gone for three years.

He'd read my messages—messages where I poured out my heart, where I admitted I loved him, where I begged him to give us a chance. And he'd left anyway.

He'd chosen to leave me.

The mate bond in my chest felt like it was ripping in half. The connection to Jake was still there—I could feel him distantly, like a radio station that wasn't quite tuned in. But he'd shut me out completely.

I didn't cry. I was too numb to cry.

"Mia, sweetheart—" Luna Sarah reached for me.

"I need to be alone," I said quietly. "Please."

For the next two months, I went through the motions of living. I went to training. I ate when Mom made me. I pretended everything was fine.

But inside, I was breaking.

The worst part was seeing Ryan. He tried to talk to me every single day. He was patient and kind and everything a mate should be. But every time I looked at him, I thought: If you hadn't been here, Jake and I would be together.

It wasn't fair to Ryan. None of this was his fault. But I couldn't help how I felt.

One day, I overheard my parents talking in the kitchen. I was supposed to be upstairs doing homework, but their voices carried up through the vents.

"This two-mate thing is an embarrassment," Dad was saying. "People won't stop talking about it. About her. Maybe it's better Jake left. Maybe Mia should reject Ryan too and just live a normal life."

"Tom, you can't mean that," Mom protested weakly.

"I'm serious, Kim. Having two mates is unnatural. It's wrong. Our daughter should focus on normal things—school, training, finding a nice career. Not this... this mess."

I pressed my hand over my mouth to keep from sobbing out loud.

My own father thought I was an embarrassment. A mess. Something wrong.

That night, I made a decision.

I couldn't stay in Silverpaw Pack. Everyone looked at me like I was broken or cursed. Dad was ashamed of me. Jake had abandoned me. And Ryan... sweet, patient Ryan deserved someone who could love him with her whole heart, not someone who was hung up on the mate who left.

I needed to start over somewhere new. Somewhere I could just be Mia, not "the girl with two mates."

The next day, I went to see Luna Sarah.

"I want to leave," I told her. "I want to train somewhere else. Somewhere far away from here."

Luna Sarah looked sad but not surprised. "Are you sure this is what you want?"

"I'm sure. I can't... I can't breathe here anymore."

She studied me for a long moment, then nodded. "I have a sister in Moonlight Pack. She runs a training program for young trackers. I can talk to her if you'd like."

"Please."

Two weeks later, everything was arranged. I would leave for Moonlight Pack the following Monday. I'd finish my education there and train to become a tracker—someone who could find lost wolves and follow scent trails across long distances.

I still had one thing left to do.

I found Ryan in the forest where he liked to practice fighting moves alone. When he saw me, his whole face lit up hopefully.

"Mia! I've been hoping you'd—"

"I'm leaving," I blurted out. "I'm going to Moonlight Pack to train."

The hope died in his eyes. "Leaving? For how long?"

"I don't know. Maybe three years. Maybe forever." I couldn't look at him. "Ryan, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry. You deserve better than this. Better than me."

"Don't say that." He stepped closer. "Mia, I know you're hurt because of Jake. I know you're confused. But we can work through this. I'll wait for you. However long it takes."

"That's not fair to you!"

"I don't care about fair. I care about you." His dark blue eyes were intense. "You're my mate, Mia. The Moon Goddess chose you for me. I'm not giving up on that."

Tears rolled down my cheeks. "I can't be your mate right now. I can't be anyone's mate. I need to figure out who I am first. Please understand."

Ryan was quiet for a long time. Then he pulled me into a gentle hug. I could feel him shaking—trying not to cry.

"I'll wait," he whispered into my hair. "No matter how long it takes, I'll wait for you to come home."

I left Silverpaw Pack on a rainy Monday morning. Mom cried. Lily cried. Dad didn't even come out of his office to say goodbye.

As the car drove away from the only home I'd ever kn

own, I looked back one last time. Ryan stood on the edge of the pack territory, watching me leave. Even from a distance, I could see the sadness on his face.

I turned away and didn't look back again.

It was time to start over.