Ever Cynical

Chapter 54- Remote Voting Part Two

Jacob POV

When the email came in to vote on my brother's new pack joining the council, my answer was obviously yes. I was beyond thrilled he'd finally found his mate. He had never said anything, but it was clear to us all that he was suffering. It wasn't common with normal shifters outside of the Immortals to wait over maybe thirty to fifty years at most for your mate. Most of us find them, or for those that have second chances, long before twenty-five. At first, I'd given the email a cursory glance, but then I read all the information they'd given on Anais. Immortal royalty? Holy s**t. I grinned. Way to go, little bro.

Maybe I should have been bothered by how quickly he'd cleared out of his room in our pack house, but knowing how much I loved my own mate, how could I possibly have taken it personally? It was good that he'd been head warrior rather than taking the ranked position I'd long ago offered him. His own unit clearly missed him, but as a pack everyone was very happy he'd found his mates. Multiple was nearly unheard of for bears, but only Maya Preston, the woman on Erik's unit seemed skeptical.

I already knew she had a thing for him, but she'd been able to hide it. She also had not found a mate yet, like her brother Miles and their fourth member, Nash Robbins. I sensed that they were meant to follow him and find their own mates among Celtic Moon. I was a bit worried that Maya would cause trouble or even deny her mate because of her unreciprocated crush on my brother, but I had no doubt that Kieran and their Luna could handle her. I'd heard the power in her voice.

No way would I ever try to take that woman on, regardless of her mates. I'm not stupid.

When Erik had texted me to let me know he was safe, and had accepted his mates, I was thrilled. He was a good person, and worked hard to support his people. The only person I knew personally that was equally loyal? His mate, Kieran. I didn't know Anais yet, but if Kier wanted her, she was a good one. Maybe some people would frown upon her wanting to give full disclosure before mating, but I thought it showed her integrity. While not every shifter accepted their mates, there were plenty that did only to be surprised by the kind of person they'd ended up with. We, as bears always did, but this did not mean that we thought it was perfect every time.

What we had a problem with was people interfering with the bond that were not part of it. If the mates themselves made the decision to reject each other, we could get behind that. But manipulating, stealing, et cetera, was totally against our laws. This is part of what had me so annoyed with Maya. Ugh.

Weirdly enough, I heard about some wolves searching for a wolf named Simone Allard. It was the same last name as Anais, but the picture hadn't looked like her either. Just to be safe, I'd messaged Erik to be on alert. He'd replied that they were probably sent by one of the factions trying to capture his mate for breeding, though they still weren't entirely sure why.

Breeders? In this day and age? It was against every shifter community's laws!

Anger boiled through me as I looked up the links Erik had sent. This Donato and Ludolf had literally been trying to find her or her offspring for centuries? It was the most off-putting thing I'd ever seen. It was clear to any shifter they wanted to use her as a breeder, which was disgusting on its own. What was also clear was that she had evaded them, and they wanted her back, in any condition, as long as she was alive and able to breed. It made me shiver, and I immediately notified my pack that anyone looking for Anais was an enemy, to be brought in and questioned.

I fully planned to address this s**t at the next council meeting.

How on earth had nothing been done yet?

Lamorna POV

My lovely tea was disturbed by a ping on my phone. Many supernaturals used them, but we often preferred our internal options, like mindlinking. Being part of the Elder Council, though, technology was a necessary evil. That, and my wonderful allies. Fae weren't really the type to fight, but we were great supporters. Healing and using shields, things like that. I flicked a finger, making a nearby vine grow a few inches.

Outside a soft rain was lovingly caressing the gentle hills of Somerset, England, that held our home. It wasn't a place that required much in the way of combat.

My youngest son, Jothan, was really the only general among our army that had strong attacking skills. Mostly due to his extremely powerful earth elemental, but it was something he'd taken the time to learn. When I'd asked him why, he simply replied that he needed to, and had no response when I pressed him as to why. I loved my Sugar Bean, but sometimes being a mother was such a conundrum.

Sighing, I decided it was best to see who needed what. I didn't want it to be urgent and I just... waited. Opening my email, I saw an email from the Elder Council. Remote voting, hmm. Glad I wasn't going to need to travel, at least, not immediately. I was pleased to see that Kieran had indeed applied to join the council after finding his... oh my, two mates. I'd received notification from him about one, but two was even better. Ooooooh, a bear. Oh my. I have a wild imagination, and all sorts of things flew through my brain before I shook my head, grinning, and voted yes.

Kieran was a sweetheart, though fierce. The best kind of alpha, frankly. Knew his own strength but never shoved it in anyone's face. Treated everyone equally. My visits to his pack with my mate had been lovely. Jacob's pack was quite upstanding too, so with those two running a pack together, my, my. I was a little surprised that it was two males with a female, with none being twins or something. Multiples having a single mate was common, but random multiple mates was extremely rare.

In fact, I seemed to recall a book of grandmother's about it.

Oh well, I'd look for it later, when my tea wasn't piping hot.

No rush.

Tianlong POV

I'd known something was special about Anais when I met her, long ago, I'd just not had time to process it being mid-coronation. To see she had mated with Kieran settled something in my soul. Why I felt that way was a mystery, but it was clear these two were destined for something important. When the notification came in from the Elder Council that not only was Kieran applying to take the empty spot, he'd also ended up with another mate, a male alpha bear, besides Anais, I immediately approved it. Once done, I began to turn the information over and over in my mind.

Then, I went digging in my scrolls. My grandfather had liked to tell me stories of his youth, but he was three thousand years old when he told me. My own father was getting to be about fifteen hundred years old. Both were still alive and vigorous. Like many shifters, we stopped aging and didn't really die unless something specific killed us. Werewolves and Werecats were the only ones that died naturally after four or five hundred years on average. They could live longer, but seven hundred was pretty much the max, with the exception of the Immortals and Lycans.

For some reason, the mating combination was tickling my brain. I felt like I was on the verge of remembering something, but the necessary synapse was simply not firing. I sighed. I linked my grandfather, who was likely off cavorting with my grandmother.

Old perverts.

Grandfather, I have a question about Immortals, can you come to my office please?

Silence.

Grandfather it's important, I growled in my dragon's voice.

Don't you growl at me, boy. Fine, I'm on my way. He huffed.

In a few minutes, there was a knock on the door, before my grandfather walked himself in. He sighed as he sat down across from me. He tapped his fingers on the arm of the chair, clearly annoyed that he'd been summoned. He may have declined to take the throne, but he was just as arrogant as you'd see in a king anywhere. I include myself as well, despite my attempts to be fair and balanced. It's why my mate Anlian was so necessary.

To remind me that humility is also an important characteristic.

"Well?" He intoned insistently. "What was so important that you tore me away from my mate, child?"

"What would you make of multiple mates?" I ignored him calling me a child for the greater good. I had to hook him first into caring about the situation. One eyebrow went up.

"Twins or whatever, right?" He said casually, pretending he was not interested.

"Nope, two unrelated men and one woman." I quipped, and his other eyebrow joined the first one as he sat up straight.

"What race?" He seemed intrigued, good. It made his memory better.

"Ah, a bear and two Immortals." I revealed. He gasped and leapt out of his chair.

"Are you certain? Absolutely certain, Tianlong?" He exclaimed, pointing at me. I grinned.

"Feel like visiting my ally Kieran Blake to meet him and his mates?" I waggled my brows. "I suspect they need your knowledge, grandfather."

"Absolutely! When do I go?" He was like a kid in a candy store, practically vibrating with exhilaration.

"Today is as good as any." I smiled widely.

"Book me the private jet, I don't have time to wait at the airport!" He huffed.

"Done." I said, texting my pilot as he zoomed out of the room.

Fabian POV

I stared at the wall with my daughter's portrait and sighed. It had been rough since she'd found her mate and left home. Our beautiful and ancient Devon, England, estate felt incredibly empty. My mate had retreated to her rooms, rarely to be seen. I understood her depression, but I hoped that soon enough Elisabeth would bounce back from our daughter's leaving. We'd only managed to have one child so far. It didn't mean we could not have more at some point, but it wasn't easy for vampires to conceive. Most times, they were born to one human parent and one vampire parent, becoming fully vampire when offered the blood of their vampire parent.

As my mind drifted, I heard a notification on my phone. Hoping for a distraction, I was pleased to see that after announcing he'd found his mate earlier in the week, Kieran had applied to the Elder Council to fill the spot that those of us who knew him had long hoped he would. Odd that he mentioned two mates. Had he somehow acquired a second in the last few days? Lucky bastard! I immediately approved it. Kieran was a great alpha. Perhaps he'd balance out that git Ludolf.

I ran upstairs to share the news with Elisabeth, hoping to brighten her day, perhaps distract her a little.

Can you believe she actually laughed about him having both a male and female mate?

See, Kieran was already making things better!