Another Half

“Mate,” the alpha a few feet away said, pointing at Blade. “You’re my mate!” He looked shocked and elated at the same time.

Blade lowered her arms from her fighting stance and stared at him. She felt dumbfounded herself. Her mind raced with a torrent of conflicting thoughts.

Could it be?

No way! Nick had been her mate, and he had dismissed her. Neglected her, and ultimately rejected her in the most humiliating way possible.

This was either a mistake or a nasty distraction on this alpha’s part. He wanted to confuse her. He was cheating. This was supposed to be a fair fight.

You’re not supposed to play with people’s feelings during a fight. You wait until after you’ve beaten them.

Blade didn’t have a mate, and it had taken her a long time to accept her lonely fate. And she was fine with it. She had Andy, her baby.

Talon? She asked her wolf.

But Talon remained silent and stared at their opponent in front of them.

It’s true, Talon finally said slowly. I can feel it. I can sense–something.

More than anything, Talon sounded just as deeply confused as Blade felt.

He is our mate, but I don’t know how or why that’s possible. Best be careful, Blade. I don’t quite trust whatever this is.

Blade was going to resume the fight, but the smell was too much to ignore or discard as purely coincidental. It seeped into her nose with force, stirring one of her most precious memories. Roasted marshmallows and melted chocolate with hints of a smoky campfire. Her eyes stung with tears. She remembered the satisfying graham cracker crunch between her teeth and the hot, gooey marshmallow and chocolate on her tongue. The opponent before her smelled of tranquil summer evenings eating s’mores with her brother Joaquin and their cousins while they had listened with rapt attention to their grandfather’s spy stories around a roaring bonfire.

But what about Andy? Talon’s worried voice in her head asked. Even if she was his mate, the muscled beast before her would never accept Andy as his own. His alpha’s pride would expect Blade to discard her baby as Nick had demanded. Was she willing to give Andy away?

Blade sprinted toward him and took advantage of the alpha’s confusion as she jumped feet first and slightly rotated in the air. Her feet landed squarely on his massive chest and she kicked him back with all of her strength. She finished her mid-air rotation and nimbly landed in a crouch, both hands on the floor before her.

The alpha flew back several feet and landed on his ass once, and then again before landing on the floor on his back and head.

Blade had executed a perfect dropkick by even Uncle Danny’s ridiculously high standards. In her mind’s eye, she saw Talon give her a high five.

Proud, was all her faithful wolf said.

But Blade couldn’t take time to celebrate and she stood up.

She noticed that the elite warriors stared between her and their alpha, completely silent. Blade hadn’t heard the slightest gasp. She also noticed that the training center was almost full of pack members that had seen their alpha get kicked down like a pup.

And then she saw something that truly worried her.

The alpha smirked.