Chapter 47 Chapter 47
The following day, Suki awoke with a warm and hopeful feeling in her chest. Her father had truly listened to her. He heard everything she had to say and agreed to her request of getting to know Brendan more before making her choice for her mate. It was almost too good to be true.
Last night, when father and daughter parted ways from Brendan, Machiavelli promised his daughter that he would do better to be more in her life and spend time with her just as she desired for as long as she could remember, and they would start by having breakfast together. She didn’t have high hopes that it would stick, but she appreciated the thought.
After freshening herself up and getting dressed for the day, Suki rushed downstairs with a huge grin on her face. Upon entering the dining room, her smile faltered ever so slightly as she locked eyes with Reynard, sitting in his usual seat – found right next to hers – on the dining table.
“Rey? What are you doing here?” asked Suki as she walked into the room closer to him, looking back and forth between him and her father, who sat at the head of the table.
“I invited him to join us for breakfast,” her father stated.
He stood up and embraced her in a tight hug. “I hope that’s okay?”
She beamed, “Of course! You know I love it when you’re here.” She leaned into his touch as he held her face and admired her. ‘He knows, Rey,’ she said through their mental connection. ‘I told him everything about you… about Brendan.’ She pushed her memories of the night prior through their bond to bring Reynard up to speed on the situation.
‘I had a feeling something might have happened,’ he replied softly. ‘That must be why he invited me. I think he wants me to convince you to avoid Brendan.’
She sighed, but then kept hold of her smile and sat down in her seat.
Suki’s father watched the two carefully before speaking, “Please, help yourselves to the feast and dig in. The chef made all your favourites.”
They all ate in silence for a while. Even though Suki and Rey could talk through their bond, both of them avoided it, feeling Machiavelli’s eyes on them now and then, as if he was hoping they would do just that.
Eventually, he finally broke the silence. “So, Reynard, you are fully aware that you share Suki as a mate, correct?”
Reynard cleared his throat as he almost choked on his bite. “Yes, sir, I am.”
“And, being the impossible and mad situation it is, you’re just okay with it?”
“Dad…”
He frowned. “No, sir, I’m not okay with it. I’m sure you’re aware how much I’ve cared for your daughter most of my life. I would do anything for her, anything at all to make her happy. Finding out she was mated to me was the best thing I could have dreamed of, but then finding out she was also mated to the Rogue… It almost destroyed me.”
Suki frowned. ‘Rey… I’m sorry.’
Under the table, he took her hand discreetly and squeezed it, his subtle way of saying it’s okay.
Machiavelli continued questioning him, “So why did you not report this issue? Never in history has there ever been a single record of a werewolf being bound by two bonds. Surely you were suspicious of some kind of foul play, no?”
“At first I was suspicious, and if I’m being fully honest, I still am.” He sighed, “However, I trust Suki, and after hearing Brendan’s story, seeing how he and I are connected through this horrific event, I’m willing to give him the benefit of the doubt for now.”
“As I mentioned before, Father, we believe that this isn’t a coincidence. We think this is connected; we just need more answers from Nighttide,” Suki contributed.
“I see,” he clasped his hands together, listening thoroughly.
Reynard’s head lowered into a singular nod. “Don’t get me wrong, sir, if anything happens in the slightest that leads me to believe he’s misleading Suki, believe me when I say that I will personally handle it with great prejudice.”
Leaning back in his chair, Machiavelli gripped his coffee cup and smiled proudly. “I wouldn’t expect any less from the greatest warrior in our pack.” He looked down at the table and exhaled, “I am trusting that you will protect her. I sense great darkness coming, and I’m afraid my daughter is going to end up in the middle of it. I don’t want that.”
“Dad, I’m not a little girl anymore; you can’t always worry about me.”
His face softened as he looked at his daughter. “You could be a mighty warrior, and I would still worry about you, my dear. You are my child, the only thing that matters to me is your health, safety and happiness. I know you think I brought Reynard here to help convince you to choose him, and, yes, maybe deep down I do want you to choose him. Truthfully, I wanted to see his thoughts on the situation, and I wanted to know that he would be there for you.”
Suki looked up at Rey and smiled before looking back at her father. “He’s always been there for me, just as I have for him. We won’t let each other down.”
“She’s right,” Rey added, “whatever she needs from me, and whatever you want me to do to ensure her safety, I’ll do.”
Machiavelli gives the pair a respectful, singular bow. “Thank you, both of you, for allowing me this moment for some reassurance. I’m sure you know where my opinions lie, Suki, but you’ve proven to me through your maturity, your clear and concise argument that you deserve this chance. Do not waste it.”
“Yes, sir,” she replied, bowing her head to her father.
Then, her father hummed a somewhat disappointed sigh. “I’ve reached out to Nighttide; it’s rare for them to respond to any enquiries sent their way, it almost never happens, but I specified how urgent this meeting would be for the preservation of the werewolf race. For now, it’s just a waiting game. Both of you will need to be prepared to be on standby at anytime if they do extend an invitation, do you understand?”
They both looked at each other and nodded once before looking to Machiavelli and saying in unison, “Yes, sir!”
✧ ✧ ✧
Minutes felt like hours, hours felt like days and days felt like weeks. Suki had lost track of how long she waited for a response from Nighttide, extending an invite to them to get some answers about the traumas lurking in the shadows.
She tried to keep herself busy; she would volunteer in the hospital, in the town hall and in the library. She trained under Cassandra’s supervision, aiding in honing her skills of stone magic, with more failing than succeeding, but improvement nonetheless.
On quieter days, like today, she would even research alongside Erin, scouring through countless historical journals and grimoires to find any sort of evidence of someone experiencing two mates, but there was no such luck. Erin would jokingly whine about how difficult Suki was for potentially being the first ever werewolf to bond with two mates. Suki would laugh along with her friend, but ultimately wished she wasn’t, so she could get a better idea of what to do.
How could I pick? She constantly questioned. The Moon Goddess never makes mistakes, so if the goddess had chosen two mates for Suki, surely that meant she shouldn’t pick… right?
She slammed shut a journal that she had already read three times over and huffed, “This is useless, we’re not getting anywhere with this.”
“If I have to read another useless journal, I think I might die of boredom,” Erin mumbled, resting her head on the table.
Suki sighed, “Talk to the Elder witches.”
“Are you serious?” questioned Erin, her eyes widening.
She nodded. “We’re getting nowhere. We now know why I bonded with Rey and Brendan, but I still have no understanding of what a dual-bond means and what I am meant to do being connected to them.”
Erin swallowed, wary to ask, “Do you want… them both?”
Turning rapidly to face her friend, Suki blushed. “I…” she shook her head. “It’s not possible. If one of them marks me, that finalises the bond and severes any other ties for any other potential mates. No second chance bonds, not unless the sealed bond is broken by death.”
Pursing her lips, thinking hard. Erin hesitated but eventually spoke her thoughts, “The Moon Goddess is not cruel, she wouldn’t make you choose. Unless…”
“Unless the choice was essential for the situation we’re currently in,” she exhaled. “It makes sense. Why else create two bonds? Rey and I were best friends growing up, and I spoke with Brendan the day he infiltrated Moonstone with his brother and those men who killed Rey’s parents.”
“So maybe you need to pick the right guy to save this unknown threat against the werewolf race?”
She nodded, but then exhaled loudly, “I don’t know. It doesn’t feel right even just saying it.”
Before Erin could say another word, Suki’s phone bleeped, diverting their attention. Pulling out her phone, she glanced down at the message and jumped up from her seat, astounded to see the message that read from her father.
MACHIAVELLI: They’ve agreed to a meeting. You leave tomorrow.