Warring Mates

“Honey, are you awake?” My mom opened my door, peeking her head inside. I laid on the bed. The same spot as every other day these past two weeks. “Your dad and I want to talk to you.”

I forced myself to sit up, fighting the nausea that worsened with the movement. “Did Eros find something?”

She shook her head, and a strand of hair escaped her loose braid. “I’m sorry. He doesn’t know it either.”

Great. Two weeks to waste. We couldn’t find anything in the library, and now Eros didn’t find anything either.

I dropped my head against the headboard, a soft groan escaping my lips at the impact. “What did you want to talk about?” They only visited me to see if I was still alive or to force me to talk about what happened.

She sat down next to me onto the bed as my dad leant against my dresser. I squirmed under his watchful gaze. “About a couple of things, but first...” She handed me a necklace. The surface was smooth, and I loved that it was shaped into a fox tail. I turned it around to see the backside. My fingers glided over the strange symbol. It was carved into it, the edges rough. “We want you to wear it at all times.”

“Okay.” I placed it around my neck. If it would make them happy and leave me alone, then I didn’t have a problem with it.

“We also wanted to let you know that Collin is leaving,” my dad started. I didn’t show any emotion. We had talked a little in the first few days, but it soon became clear that his presence did nothing to relieve me of this ache. After that, I yelled at him to leave me alone. He did. He never visited me once. “And that you will be leaving with him.”

“I’ll be what.” My head whipped to him. They couldn’t do that. “I’m not leaving.”

“Yes, you are.” The determined look in my dad’s eyes told me they wouldn’t change their mind. “We discussed it with Collin and he is fine with it.”

“I’m not leaving,” I gritted out, but my voice sounded weak. Like the rest of my body. Sitting up was already too much, and this talk was draining me fast.

“Get dressed. Collin is waiting downstairs.” My dad pushed himself off my dresser and left the room.

“Mom,” I tried. “Don’t do this. I don’t want to leave.” My home, my memories, Lachlan... They were all here.

“I know.” Her fingers touched my cheek, caressing it. “But you’re not getting better here. If anything at all, it seems as if you are doing worse with each passing day. You haven’t even visited his grave yet.”

“So you are forcing me to leave.” A lump formed in my throat.

“We think that a change of scenery would do you some good.” She stood from my bed. “We will wait for you downstairs and don’t think about running away. We have the Seven looking out for you.”

I clenched my jaw. There went that plan. Not that I had the energy. I would be surprised if I made it to the grand hall. “I’ll be there in fifteen minutes.”

After my mom left, I trudged to the bathroom. My eyes flickered to the mirror and my hand went to my face. This girl... I didn’t recognize her. My raven black hair looked dull, my eyes sullen. I had lost a lot of muscle and when I pulled off my shirt, I could count my ribs.

I clenched my eyes shut, turning my head away. It wasn’t this bad when Collin rejected me two years ago. I still had my routine back then. Eat, drink, training, sleep and repeat. Now... There was nothing except for an empty pit that was swallowing all my energy.

With a tired sigh, I went into my walk-in closet to dress into something comfortable. For Collin alone, the trip would take two days at most, but since I couldn’t shift, we had to go on horses. Three days alone with him. Well... not completely. The seven would come too, at a safe distance. My own personal guards.

“Lexi?”

My braws drew together upon hearing Ace’s voice. “What are you doing here?” I asked as I opened the door. He stood in his combat attire. A black, tight-fitting shirt and matching combat pants. A dagger was strapped to his thigh, but knowing him, he would have hidden a dozen more on his body.

“Making you an offer.” He stepped into my room without asking.

I closed the door as I said, “A what?”

“An offer.” His eyes held a hint of amusement. An emotion I thought he wasn’t capable of.

“I thought you hated my guts.” We hadn’t seen each other since that conversation, but before that he made it clear he didn’t like me or Remy.

“Do you want the offer, yes or no?”

I shifted on my feet. “Depends.” My gut told me he wouldn’t ask anything ridiculous, but he was Ace. The one who protected the supernatural world, and moreover our kingdom.

The corner of his mouth tugged up. “Since we will guard you, I wanted to know if you would like to join our trainings. It is that you are mated to Collin or I would have asked you onto the team.”

That I hadn’t expected. He wanted me. This small little devil in his team. I didn’t trust it one bit. “What’s the catch? Did my dad put you up to this?”

He guffawed, shaking his head. “I don’t take orders of no one. Not even your dad.”

“Didn’t you agree to guard me?” That was an order.

“Smart-mouth.” He ruffled my hair. “Right now, I am investigating those creatures as they are not only a threat to this kingdom but also the rest.”

“And they want me.”

“Exactly.” He crossed his arms, leaning against my door. “And since you are the princess of this kingdom, it is also my duty to keep you safe.”

That made sense. Through me they could gather information about those creatures.

“Then why? Why add me to the team?” Everyone on his team had to go through immense training and more importantly, they had to gain his trust. Something that could take months. “There is nothing special about me.”

“On the contrary.” His face turned serious. “With the right training, your gifts would make you almost invincible. Not to mention, you have the instinct to help your people. Even if your parents won’t allow you yet.”

“And that makes me a good fit for your team?”

“You’re adventurous, don’t care for the rules. In fact, from what I’ve heard, you love to break them when you feel the need to protect your kingdom.”

My mind brought me back to that day into the woods. Zak had caught us and my dad gave me an earful about how irresponsible I was. But there was truth in his words. Whenever my kingdom got threatened, I wanted nothing more than to protect it.

“I kinda love to break the rules anyway,” I added. I had a habit of not listening and ignoring orders.

He let out a chuckle. “Your dad was no hair better at that age.”

I smirked like a cheshire cat upon that knowledge. I hadn’t known about that. Guess I will need to do some research, find some blackmail.

“So, you’ll train me?” I asked, walking out of my room. The corridors were quiet. Everyone felt the heavy silence of another threat of war.

“Only if you are up to it.” His eyes peered into mine, and I never felt so vulnerable before. It was as if he knew exactly what was going on with me.

“I want to, but...” I looked to the ground as my feet guided me closer and closer to the grand stairs.

“But you don’t have the energy,” he finished for me.

I sighed. “It feels as if my body is dying.”

“Did it worsen after you refused to see Collin?”

“I... I don’t know. Maybe.” Whenever I was around him, I didn’t feel her, but now that I thought about it. The sickness worsened faster when I no longer saw him.

“We will see if you get better with this trip,” he said before disappearing to Goddess knows what as I descended the stairs.

My heart skipped a beat. Collin looked outside the window, his hands in his pockets. He looked breathtaking. A grey t-shirt hugged his muscles. The sun graced his face, making his hair appear golden as it laid tousled on his head.

As I walked to my parents, he turned to me. A pained grimace flashed over his face. So far from trying to hide that I wasn’t feeling sick.

“Be safe,” my mom said to me as she hugged me one last time, and my dad squeezed my shoulder in a silent goodbye.

I didn’t answer, and neither did I glance back as I followed Collin to the horses. Three, four, five horses... I counted them again, but the number stayed the same. Five. There were five horses.

“I think we miss a horse,” I said as I walked to the magnificent black mare. We were with six. Not five.

“You’ll be joining me,” Collin said. He stood beside me, petting the horse's neck.

I gave him a funny look. “No, I am not.”

“If you can mount the horse without help, you’ll get your own.” Collin stepped aside, giving me a bored look. Though the slight tug of his lips told me otherwise. He enjoyed this, because he knew I would lose. That bastard.

I scoffed. “This is easy.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure, darling,” Evie taunted from her horse. “It’s pretty high.”

“Shut up,” I grumbled. She was right. The horse was slightly bigger than me, and my muscles already begged me to take it easy.

Collin pressed his front against my back, his hand on my hip as he placed the other on the saddle right next to mine. “It’s nothing to be embarrassed about if you can’t mount it on your own.”

I blinked back the tears. I hated to depend on others. “I’m not weak,” I mumbled brokenly.

“I know.” He pressed a kiss against my head. “But you need help and there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Reluctantly, I nodded my head, and he helped me onto the horse. His firm arms caged me in as he grabbed the reins. We sped into the woods as the four remaining of the Seven divided into two groups. Ace and Santos rode in the front with Evie and Rokan behind us.

The trees blurred by; the wind rustling the leaves the only noise. Everyone stayed silent. The Seven were looking out for danger, and the only interaction I got with Collin were his hands brushing my thighs now and then. I didn’t care for it. There was nothing left of my feelings for him. It actually made me wonder if it was just the mate bond that made him feel this way. That without it, he wouldn’t love me. Another difference with Lachlan. He loved me even before the mate bond was established between us.

“There is a lake up ahead. We can take a short break there,” Ace said as he slowed down.

“Will it be safe?” Collin asked, urging his horse to walk beside him.

“As long as we are in the woods, we aren’t safe.” Ace glanced at me. “But we don’t really have another choice.”

I grumbled at him. “I not tired.” All I had to do was sit. There was nothing exhausting about that.

“You need to rest,” Collin said in my ear.

“Fine.”

He stiffened behind me, his hot breath fanning my neck as he slowly breathed out. I didn’t object for once, and it made him angry. I couldn’t do anything right. Luckily, the lake soon came into view. The sun bounced off the crystal water, and a deer ran away as soon as it noticed us. But as I watched the flowers, he made no move to get off his horse.

“I though we were going to take a rest,” I said, watching the Seven disperse.

“We are,” he said after a while. He helped me off the horse, and I clung onto his arms. My legs trembled from sitting into that position for too long. Taking a deep breath, I forced my legs to work and walked to the boulder. I sat with my back against it, the cool surface giving me some energy.

“Here.” He handed me an apple.

I scrunched up my nose, but ate it nonetheless. If I didn’t, he would give me another lecture. “Thank you.”

He sat down beside me, his legs brushing against mine. I made no move to shift my position. “Ace told me about his offer to you,” he started.

I ignored him.

He sighed. “How about this? You ask me questions, and I promise to tell you the truth.”

I contemplated about his offer. “Anything?” Maybe I liked this game.

“Anything.” He gazed into my eyes, holding out his pinky finger.

“Pinky promise?” Involuntarily, I let out a chuckle. “What are you? Five?”

He cracked a smile. “Quite the opposite.”

I snorted and accepted the pinky promise. If my memory served me right, he was almost three centuries old.

“First question.” I leant back against the boulder, my head against it as I looked at the clouds above me. There were so many I wanted to ask. It dizzied me. “Why?” I asked, turning my head to him.

He tilted his head, a line forming between his brows. “Why, what?”

“Why not just give up on me?” I didn’t want to mate. My beast was gone. And even if he still felt the mate bond, he would be better off with somebody else. “Ouch!”

He had pinched my arm, a scowl on his face. “For someone who is smart, you are acting very stupid.”

I clenched my hand, fighting the urge to punch him. It wasn’t a ludicrous question. “I’m not stupid.”

“I loved you more when you still had that fire.” He came closer to me. “That stubbornness that didn’t make you back down.”

We breathed in the same air, our energies clashing. A shimmering rage against a level-headed wolf. He had changed. Staying calm whenever I drove him to insanity. Caring for me even when I didn't want him.

My eyes darted to his lips that were inches from mine. "Just answer the damn question," I hissed, pulling back from him.

“You’re different—refreshing.” He paused for a moment. “You soothe my wolf, challenge me.”

His answer angered me. "You only like me because of the mate bond."

"Love," he corrected me. "And no. It is not because of the mate bond."

"I don't believe you."

"When I first met you, I hated you," he said, and I shifted my body towards him. "You were a shifter, and my wolf and I couldn't handle that. He blocked the bond with his hatred for the shifters."

"What changed?" I whispered, placing his hand into my lap.

"Seeing you." His other hand clenched on his leg. "Every time you were near, my beast would watch you. At first he wanted to kill you, but over time he enjoyed it—watching you. At that time, it was just me who was being stubborn until a few weeks back."

"You got jealous." I stopped tracing the lines on his hand.

He smiled, a brief chuckle leaving his mouth. "I am not proud about it."

"And the bond?"

He stayed silent, and I looked at him to see him deep in thought. "When my beasts hatred for your diminished, I could feel it again, but not like before. My own hatred for you was shadowing it."

I processed his words. His wolf had blocked the bond. "Is the same happening to me? That my beast is blocking the bond."

"It can. The shock of her second chance mate dying could result from that. Plus the fact that I was the one who stopped you."

I licked my lips and looked back at him. "She is angry at you."

He cast his eyes down. "Furious would be a better word for it."

"Could you still feel your wolf when he blocked the bond." My fingers trailed over the smooth skin of his palm.

"Yes."

My shoulders sagged. If he could still feel him, then there was something else wrong with me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah." I let go of his hand and hid a yawn behind my fist.

He pulled me against his chest. I resisted his hold, but soon slumped against him. His body heat was welcoming, soothing the aching in my body. "Get some rest before we leave again."