Mates of a Human

Part Six. Chapter Six. Alex

The girl sighed and stroked her rounded stomach, clearly she was further along than I, but if she hadn't been such a slender girl and wearing clothing that hugged her body without looking trashy, I probably would not have noticed her bump.  However, the way she echoed the action I had subconsciously found myself doing for the past few weeks would have revealed her secret to me regardless.

"Hannah," she said, softly, looking at her sister with slightly pained eyes.  "Can you stop that.  Michael was never yours in the first place, why dredge up the past?  Are you not seeing Kyle now anyway?"

The older woman just pouted.  It caused her to appear as if she was the child rather than the other, who due to my knowledge of werewolves must be at least eighteen, marked and pregnant with her mates pup as she was. This pack was too conservative and old fashioned for her to be unmated and pregnant. 

"But clearly that boy isn't Michael's mate either," she sulked, her arms crossed about her chest, not ready to let go.  "Michael's mate was a cat from the neighbouring Pride, not a human.  Yet I can smell Michael mated him at some point."

"Really?" The younger girl sniffed the air and also frowned.  But her thoughts were clearly different from the other as she said; "The Alpha said that Michael was returning to the pack, though and is to wed Alpha Rider's daughter.  She will be his Luna.  So how can he do that if Michael has a mate?"

"I don't know," Hannah sighed.  "Maybe the cat is dead?"  Even though I felt this wasn't true, my stomach curdled at the thought and I felt bile rising in my throat.  I swallowed it down.  I couldn't afford to lose what little food was in my stomach now!  "Anyway, why is some strange female from another pack going to be our Luna?  If Michael needed a wife, there is a perfectly good candidate standing here!"

The pregnant girl shook her head at her sister.  I wondered if I should enlighten them, tell them that Eric was not dead, that I was also the mate of both of them.  But glancing down at Evangeline's belly, I felt that I should not.  If they were caught by the Alpha, there would be consequences enough, what they did not know could not hurt them further.

"You two should go," I suggested, causing their eyes to snap towards me.  "It wouldn't be good if you were caught here talking to me."

"Don't tell me what to do, human!" Hannah replied, haughtily, her disgust regarding my species evident.

"Hannah," the other girl sighed and tugged at her arm.  "You know he speaks the truth.  We really will get into trouble and I have brought Gabriel enough problems as it is!"  My ears perked up at her words and I suddenly recalled Michael's brother speaking of this girl before.  She was his mate! All the more reason she should go, keep her little pup safe.  Gabriel was the true Alpha-in-waiting of this pack and the baby could well be his heir.

"I just think that a human slut who clearly sleeps with many shifters," Hannah continued, having clearly discovered Eric' scent upon me, but not aware of who it belonged to, "should not speak with me so!"

"I do not sleep around," I sighed, tired of her unpleasantness. My hand drifted down to my stomach, but I resisted the urge to stroke it.  "And even if I did, it would be no business of yours.  Now I suggest you turn that pretty, ignorant tail of yours and return to your family."  The woman looked as if she wanted to retort, but the younger girl squeezed her arm and shook her head.  Hannah flicked her hair back over her shoulder dramatically with a huff and flew back up the stairs.  She did not stomp, though I suspected she wanted to, for she'd easily have been caught if she did.

"I'm sorry about my sister," Evangeline whispered to me through the bars, confirming their relationship. "She once had dreams of becoming Michael's mate and his Luna, but obviously that was not meant to be. I pray to the Goddess every full moon that she will meet her mate and forget about her past, but it hasn't happened yet."

"Don't worry about it. It's not a problem." I let go of any bad thoughts I had towards the other woman.  She had clearly stewed in her own pot of self pity for a while, I did not need the stress of letting her get to me.  "I had an unrequited love once too."

"But not anymore?" She asked, tilting her head and glancing down at my hand, which now rested upon my stomach.  My hand flinched away and hid behind my back, but the damage was done.  "I won't tell anyone.  There are few whose noses are sensitive enough to pick it up and mine only is due to my own pregnancy, I think.  Besides, there aren't many here who would believe me, 'a pregnant male?' They are very narrow minded here, distrustful of anyone and anything that is not from this pack. It is why too few find their actual mates and end up just choosing someone suitable from the pack.  I was expecting to do the same until I turned eighteen and we, Gabriel and I, found each other.  It opened our eyes on how shallow our little world had become."  The eyes that had turned distant due to her own musing once more fell upon me with clear attention.  "Is it Michael's?"

I nodded, my babies were both Eric and Michael's no matter whose DNA they were proven to carry out of my mates.  Both men had claimed them regardless.  I didn't elaborate further, in my own way, I still felt the need to protect her and her pup just as much as my own. She was definitely Luna material, it would be all to easy to spill everything to her.  I could also see the wheels turning in her mind, a slight frown marring her brow as she thought about things.

"I am glad for him," she said with a smile.  "I don't know much about him, Michael, of course.  Only what Gabriel has told me.  He said that his father had trained Michael to be the perfect Alpha after himself, though at that time, there was no words about marriage or mates or luna's.  Gabriel had planned to try and become Michael's gamma.  It's hard to believe, but Gabriel said that he had been more brains than muscle at that time and not interested in following the same gruelling work out that his brothers undertook everyday. 

"And then one day, the Alpha was called to the border and returned in a foul mood.  He said that Michael had been convinced by the one who he had chosen as mate to leave the pack and that he was no longer welcome here.  Hannah hinted that that was not all there was to it, but the Alpha had demanded the silence of anyone who was there.  She had happened to be close by, the Alpha was unaware, but she knew to keep her mouth shut.  And so Gabriel was trained to become the next Alpha, but then he met me and lost the position."  Her face fell at the thought that she had caused her mate's downfall.

"Don't," I said, aching at the clear sorrow.  "It wasn't your fault.  The Goddess believed that you two were ideal mates and Gabriel clearly loves you or he would have rejected you."

"Rejection?"  She looked confused at the concept, but that might be due to the fact that few here met their Goddess given mates.

"Hmm," I replied.  "Although the Goddess might chose for two people to come together, does not mean she takes away their will to agree.  If one of that pair decides that their mate is... not for them, they can chose to reject that person.  But rejection hurts." I subconsciously rubbed my chest as I recalled that pain, though it was a mere flicker of a memory, nothing to what I could recall a few months ago if I thought about it.

"Were you rejected by your unrequited love?" She asked, sympathetically.  Her eyes remained downcast as she asked, but I was startled.  Yes, this girl was a brilliant Luna, could clearly draw more from a person than they might wish to share, but I indulged her for now. 

"No," I replied.  "I was rejected by someone else, but both situations came before I met Michael and Eric."  The names slipped from me before I could stop them and I bit my tongue before I could possibly reveal more.

Fortunately I did not need worry about spilling my life story to her.  After a few minutes of silence, she bid me goodnight and went on her way, so I could finally breathe a sigh of relief.

And on the breakfast tray the following morning was a small tub of vitamin pills alongside two boiled eggs, toast and a glass of freshly squeezed orange juice.

Author's note; to everyone, your comments have been duly noted and while I don't wish for the emotional rollercoaster I seem to have made you suffer, sometimes the drawn out way I tend to write is partially as their are hidden plot points and partially as I haven't actually planned the next bit!  But all is well, the plot shall now move on a bit x