Introspect [The Mating Games #3]

ORION KALLIS

Not that it was a race, but Orion and Phoenix were one of the first ones to finish up with the mate roulette.

“You’ve both earned your badges for today but I doubt that is a surprise to either of you,” Denver chuckled as he approached them, badges in hand.

“It definitely wasn’t the most difficult of tasks,” Orion agreed as he accepted his badge, unable to stop his lips from curling up at the corners at the small victory. So far, they were three out of three and that made him happier than he probably ought to have been.

“Thank you, Denver,” Phoenix accepted her prize and thanked the steward with a sweet smile on her face. “What do we do now?”

“You mean, since you’ve finished so early, what are you supposed to do with the rest of the day?” the steward asked, a knowing glint in his eyes.

Both Orion and Phoenix nodded their heads in union.

“As you’re a little bit of an exception to the Mating Games, I don’t see anything wrong in making another exception,” Denver shrugged. “You can spend the rest of the day together as long as you return to your apartments in the evening just like everyone else.”

Not willing to test their luck, especially since they were receiving a few curious glances from some of the groups closest to them, Orion and Phoenix thanked Denver graciously before rushing out of the grand hall.

“What should we do?” Orion asked as they trotted down the steps of the palace, glancing both left and right, wondering what they could do with the rest of the day. As she was from the island, he was more than happy to allow her complete free reign.

“I was hoping we could get to know each other better,” Phoenix suggested with a nervous smile on her face.

“I’d really love that,” he smiled softly at her, feeling just as nervous as this would be the first time that they would truly be alone together.

“I know just the place,” she called out to him from over her shoulder, a larger and brighter smile on her face now. “It’s my favourite place on the island.”

“Are you sure you want to share that with me?” Orion asked cautiously. Regardless, he continued to follow after her. As far as he was concerned, she could be taking him to the edge of a cliff and he would still follow obediently. Even if that meant that he had to walk halfway across the world.

For she was completely worth it. She would always be worth it.

Orion had no doubt in his mind about that.

“We’re mates,” Phoenix stated with a simple shrug of her shoulder. Although she didn’t bother glancing over her shoulder this time, he caught the gentle flush that spread over her cheeks. “We’re meant to share everything.”

“Then I’d like you to know that I feel very honoured,” he chuckled quietly, taking a few larger steps until they were walking step in step.

At first, he tried to ignore the way his fingers itched. When that didn’t work, he fisted his hand and gritted his teeth as they continued walking toward the entrance of the forest, but that didn’t work either. When the constant thought of it kept lulling around in his mind, slowly, slowly driving him crazy, Orion held his breath.

Holding his breath, he fisted his hand one more time before unfisting it and reaching out for hers. Just as they were kindred spirits that had finally made their way back to each other, their hands were two pieces of a puzzle finally being slotted together.

Just when his fingers grazed hers, he realised how clammy his hands were. However, he knew that if he were to retract now to wipe them dry on his jeans, he would bottle it and back out. Biting the bullet – all while hoping that she didn’t mind the light sweat even though he found it kind of gross – he curled his fingers around hers, subconsciously waiting for her to push him away in disgust.

“What are you doing?” Phoenix asked in a quiet squeak, turning her head sharply to face him. While the questioning look was present in her eyes, she made no move to push his hand away from the way it gripped hers. Let alone push him away as he had so scarcely feared.

“Holding your hand,” he stated in a quiet voice, not realising that he was holding his breath. “Is that okay?” he dared to ask, almost afraid of the answer.

Instead of answering, she squeezed his hand and continued leading the way.

It was only when they had arrived in an empty clearing somewhere in the middle of the forest that they stopped walking. When she didn’t let go of his hand despite the fact that they had stopped walking, he couldn’t keep the smile off his face.

“Is it now time for you to kill me and dispose of my body without anyone realising?” Orion chuckled, gazing down at her with such warmth and affection in his eyes.

“Don’t be silly,” Phoenix laughed softly and rolled her eyes. “There’s no way that I would be able to dispose of your body alone. You’re so much taller than me.”

“That’s oddly comforting.”

At the mixed expression on his both – a strange mix of comforted and disturbed – she threw her head back and laughed.

“So, this is your favourite spot on the island that you wanted to show me?” he whistled lowly under his breath, glancing all around to see the beauty of the place which she clearly found so endearing.

At his words, Phoenix chuckled and shook his head. Letting go of his hand, she pressed a hand on his shoulder and pushed lightly. Her gentle touch was nowhere enough to move him however, he was very much compliant. Turning in the direction that she so clearly wanted him to be facing, Orion craned his head back and stared up. At the grand sight in front of him, his lips parted in wonder.

“That’s my favourite spot,” Phoenix murmured in a low voice, trailing her hand down his arm. As the scent masking spray still hadn’t worn off yet, he couldn’t feel the tell-tale electric tingles of the mate bond that everyone spoke so fondly about. However, that thought was quickly wiped from his mind when she pressed his palm against his and laced their fingers together.

“How are we going to get up there?” Orion asked, turning his head away from the mouth of the cave to glance down at his mate.

“By climbing,” she grinned up at him. And with one last tight squeeze of his hand, she let go and took off running.

At first, he was rendered paralysed with panic at the sight of his mate running away from him. After the first few seconds, he was able to force himself out of it.

When the sweet, melodious sounds of her laughter reached his ears and he spied her glance over her shoulder with a large, playful grin on her face, he knew that he didn’t have anything to worry about. Even though his wolf was numbed, his instincts kicked in.

At the sight of his mate running away from him, clearly wanting to be chased, his growled loudly. He dropped himself into a low, crouching position on the ground before he began running after her. In absolutely no time, Orion was able to catch up to Phoenix. Crouching low once again, he scooped her up in his arms and threw her over his shoulder as he continued the rest of the way up to the top of the hill where the cave was sat tall and proud.

“You didn’t have to carry me all the way up here,” Phoenix protested with a small smile on her face as he finally let her down; her feet now planted firmly on the ground.

“I wanted to,” he insisted, his lips stretched into what now felt like a permanent smile.

“Thank you,” Phoenix said, reaching a hand up to tuck her hair behind her ears. “It usually takes me nearly an hour to climb all the way up here but with you running, it barely took ten minutes.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” he couldn’t help but grin, subconsciously puffing his chest out at the attention and flattery from his mate.

Sparing him one last glance, Phoenix moved around him to step toward the edge of the hill. His first instinct was to reach out and grab her in fear that she would fall over the edge and hurt herself, especially since she didn’t have the advanced healing of a werewolf. However, when she dropped herself to the ground and crossed her legs in a sitting position, turning to glance over her shoulder and pat the spot next to her, he knew he didn’t have anything to worry about.

“This cave is my favourite spot because it overlooks the ocean in a way that isn’t done anywhere else on the island,” Phoenix turned to tell him in a small, quiet voice, an even smaller smile on his face. When he didn’t protest, she shuffled closer to him, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder.

At first, his body was stiff simply because it had been such a long time since he had been on the receiving end of such touch and affection before. The last time he had had any sort of touch like this was when his mum had hugged him for the last time before she had eventually passed. But even then, it was nothing like this.

Nothing could ever compare to the touch of a mate.

“Thank you for bringing me up here,” he murmured in a quiet voice, turning his head to brush his lips against her forehead.

“We’re mates,” Phoenix whispered to him, the both of them gazing out at the gentle back and forth of the ocean as it toyed with the sand of the beach. “From now on, we share everything. The good and the bad.”

The good and the bad, he couldn’t help but think to himself. While he agreed with her, Orion wasn’t sure if he was ready to share all of his bad with her.

It was simply far too much for him to handle most of the time so the last thing he wanted was to burden his mate all of his insecurities and issues. They may be destined to spend the rest of their lives together, but he had only met the woman. The last thing he wanted to do was kill her spirit and bring her sadness with all the baggage that he carried around with him each and every single day.

Orion was forced out of his thoughts when he felt a hand press against his cheek; cupping his face. Before he could turn to face his mate, a warm, friendly light flashed before his eyes. In the span of less than a moment, he went from feeling depressed with his overbearing emotional baggage that he feared he would never be able to rid himself of, to as calm and relaxed as the ocean was as it waded back and forth gently.

“What was that?” he asked in a small, mystified voice once he was able to think past the warm, comforting feeling. “What just happened there?”

“I showed you that I care. That I will always care,” she whispered back in an equally small voice; her words very much caring and heartfelt. “And whenever you’re ready to speak about your bad, I will be here to listen.”

“Thank you,” Orion whispered back in an earnest tone, turning his head to place a firm yet gentle kiss against the crown of her head.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything, Orion,” she whispered back, leaning over to rest her head on his shoulder again. “We’re in this together now.”

“Together,” he murmured quietly, testing the word on the tip of his tongue.

It was just one word yet it made him feel like he was on top of the world. The fact that he was currently sat on the highest point in the entire island was pretty ironic, further adding to the warm feeling spreading all throughout his body.

And to think that in the span of two or three days, his whole world had turned upside down.

Who would have thought it? Certainly not the pessimistic Orion from three days ago.

-

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Layla Knight

12.06.2021