To Bloom Again

8

Theo

Violet's introduction to my family hadn't gone well by any means, after she almost suffocated the meal had ended rather abruptly. My mother had gone after father and they were still arguing now in the early hours of the morning by Duncan's report. I had been awake all night as well. After being checked over by the doctor Violet was given a clean bill of health. Maya had made her a cup of tea with honey and sent her to bed, she was currently in the room across the hall from my and Maya's suites.

It was strange feeling the pull of a mate bond again, after losing Penelope I had resigned myself to being mateless. It had been difficult existing with only half of my soul but I had done it with the help of my family. They had supported me through the time after her death when I wasn't able to function. Eventually I had turned my grief into motivation but it had been a long journey from where I was after her death to where I was now. An alpha who governed the pack well without a mate by my side.

It was heartbreaking but also a blessing to have been gifted with a second mate. On one hand I would be able to live happily with a mate by my side, but on the other hand everything Penelope and I had felt was suddenly rendered worthless in the long run. The mating may have been a good one while it lasted, but there were other lifetimes where it wasn't and that was painful to realize. Hearing that Violets mate was still alive and well pained me greatly, It wasn't that I wished him dead but it wasn't what I had expected. Upon hearing her story I instinctively felt the need to protect her from her own pain, but at the same time conflicted. If her first mate was alive, even if she had rejected him there was still a bond between them. While he seemed to not be bothered by it in her story the news at dinner made me question that assumption. I had looked into my records afterwards and confirmed my father's words.

I knew that I needed to contact Alpha Alexander and tell him of Violets whereabouts, but I was selfish and wanted Violet to myself for a while until I was sure of the standing between us. I sympathized with her old mate for feeling the pain of a rejection, but I also felt he deserved what had happened for hurting his mate by being with another. I knew these conflicting feelings were present because of the bond between us. Even so I wasn't sure what to do about the situation. Perseus had suggested that I wait and contact the Alpha in a month or so after Violet was recovered from her injuries and the wolfsbane faded from her system. It seemed like a good idea, but I also knew the pain of losing a mate. Even if Violet was actually alive that Alpha had almost gone crazy without her and I didn't want to risk another packs well being because of my own selfish desires.

I leaned back in my in my chair with a long sigh clasping my hands loosely behind my head. I couldn't make a big decision tonight, not the correct one anyway. I would give it two weeks just long enough for Violet to regain her wolf fully. I wouldn't make any sort of decision before then. This way we could get to know each other before anything irreversible happened.

Violet

I could feel him thinking. Even in my sleep the matebond had flowed between us carrying his conflicted emotions to me. I had gotten maybe two or three hours of restless sleep before I had given up on the idea altogether and decided to read. There was a bookshelf in my new room, it had mostly decorative knick knacks adorning the shelves, but I had seen a poetry collection as well as an old play script on it as well. With the pillows propped up behind my back I sat on the bed reading the script in an attempt to distract myself from the bond.

I realized it wasn't working when the second act ended and I couldn't remember the main characters name. I groaned softly tossing the book gently to the side and throwing a hand across my eyes yawning as I did so. I had almost forgotten how hard it was to ignore the bond. After two years of doing it with Alexander you would think I had mastered the skill, but even then the days and nights had dragged on slowly and painfully. I had half a mind to march across the hall where I knew Theo was to demand that he go to sleep because I was exhausted.