Chapter 7: Mate

Today, Rachel gets permission from her floor supervisor to work with Carol. Oliver has some other work to do and has already informed them that he will not be able to see Carol. When Rachel reaches the 25th floor, she's surprised to find out that only Carol and Helen clean the whole floor. It's so big. A bit ago, Oliver tried to appoint some more janitors to clean the floor, but he couldn't do anything because of Lexie's stubbornness. She even accused him of cheating on her with Carol, which was why he was trying to help her. She even threatened to commit suicide if he still supported Carol. Her paranoia is the reason Oliver is out of the office today. She sent him and her father on a business trip so that she can make Carol completely disappear from the world today.

In the morning, Carol goes into the office and receives much more work from the person in charge as per Lexie and Camilla's instructions. When Rachel is caught heading up to the 25th floor, she is given a stern warning and sent back to her own floor. Grandma Helen was given a holiday, but because she wants to see Carol, she drops by in the afternoon—a fortunate decision because that was the moment Lexie planned to kill Carol with her magic.

When Helen suddenly appears, Lexie has to hide. Right at that moment, Carol reaches her limit, and she faints, falling to the floor.

Meanwhile, Oliver is coming to the realization that he doesn't feel comfortable going on a business trip with Lexie's father. He wants to break up with her, even though he thinks that she is his mate. He figures that it's better to be alone forever than to have a mate like Lexie, so he cancels all his meetings and heads up to the 25th floor to meet Carol, who is much more interesting to him because she may be his brother's mate. When he reaches her floor, however, he finds Helen crying for help with an unconscious Carol in her lap. Oliver immediately picks Carol up and carries her to the infirmary.

Lexie, who sees all this, realizes that she cannot execute her plan today. But she still has time—and a backup plan. She will make Oliver mark her today.

But what she doesn't know is that Oliver has already decided to reject her.

After Carol is admitted to the hospital, the doctor tells her to rest for a full week. When she protests, Oliver threatens, "Carol, take two weeks off and only come back after that. If you disobey me, I'll fire you. And you do know that I have the power to fire you."

Carol only sees truth in Oliver's eyes, and she gulps, knowing that she shouldn't misbehave. So she nods his head, and Oliver heads back home after he spends a few more hours with her in the hospital. He has many things to sort out.

Meanwhile, Helen takes Carol to her own living quarters after she is discharged from the hospital. Rachel, who heard about the incident, hurries to Carol's room after putting in a request for a two-day leave so that she can look after her friend. Helen leaves Carol in Rachel's capable hands so that she can enjoy the rest of her holiday.

Oliver, who has wrapped up most of his work, decides to visit Carol's room at 7 p.m. with some dinner. By the time he reaches the room, he finds that his wolf is behaving differently, like it wants to come out. Oliver already took a run this week, so it's not time to shift yet. What is his wolf's problem? Oliver keeps it under control and enters Carol's room. As soon as he sees Rachel, he is struck dumb. He's never seen such a beautiful woman before…

But what is he thinking? He already has a mate! So Oliver controls his emotions and heads further in to greet Carol. He sets the dinner down on her nightstand, and they all share the food. He can feel Rachel's eyes on him, so he turns his head to meet them.

Because of Oliver's sudden movement, Rachel startles, and her knees give out. Before she falls, Oliver catches her with one hand on her waist and the other holding her right hand. They both stare at each other for a long time. Carol doesn't want to interrupt them because she knows that something is going on. Soon, she hears them both growl, "MATE."

"What?" Carol is shocked because she knows what a mate is. "You already have a girlfriend. How could you say that Rachel is your mate?" she asks. This outburst makes the two come out of their dream world. Rachel straightens herself and goes to the kitchen, asking for space. Oliver doesn't like how she is avoiding him, so he becomes angry, but he knows that this is not the time to get angry. Instead, he follows Rachel into the kitchen, and Carol tags along behind him, wanting to protect her friend.

"Rachel, listen, I was with her because I thought she was my mate," he explains.

"So you are already mated?" she asks.

"No, no, no," he instantly denies. "Even though I've been with her for almost seven years, I haven't ever wanted to even touch her, and I've never loved her. Maybe that's because subconsciously, I never considered her as my mate. I am totally pure. You are my only love. You know that as soon as I saw you, I fell in love with you. I hesitated because I thought Lexie was my mate," he explains.

"What? Lexie? You are the famous Prince?" Carol asks.

"YOU ARE THE PRINCE?" Rachel exclaims and faints.

Carol asks Oliver, "Are you really the Prince? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I'll tell you the reason as soon as possible. But right now, I can't explain anything. Even if I did, you would not believe me," he says. Carol doesn't ask any questions after that. Oliver waits for his mate to wake up, holding her hands tightly. After one hour, Rachel slowly stirs. Oliver is anxious and tense, afraid that she will not accept him. When Rachel gets up, she looks at Carol, who understands and leaves, closing the door.

Then, Rachel turns to look at Oliver. He is still holding her hand like his life depends on it. "Now you can explain," she tells him. So he explains everything about how he found Lexie, the woman he thought was his mate, on his 16th birthday and how he never mated with her because of his subconscious feeling that something was wrong. Rachel is delighted to hear that Oliver hasn't mated with another woman. She knows that he has never even touched Lexie because if he did, she'd be able to feel it. Now, she completely trusts Oliver…her mate.

Oliver looks at her nervously. "So, will you accept me as your mate?" Rachel nods her head shyly. "Then can I mark you now? I don't want any other man to look at you. So this is the mate pull I never towards Lexie. I should have known something was wrong. I am totally blind," he mumbles, frustrated. "Can I mark you?" he asks again. Rachel blushes red and nods again. "I'll mark you now. You will get tired. Can you wait two more days to mark me so that I can get Lexie out of the picture? If she gets suspicious, she may attack you and Carol. I want both of you safe." Oliver wants his mate's approval before he does anything.

Rachel understands his concerns, so she gladly accepts his request. She knows that Oliver will not betray her. "But Oliver, when you mark me, my body will choose which side of me will dominate,  so I'll be weak for two or more days. Don't get frightened, ok? It is absolutely not your fault." She wants to warn him so that he will not feel guilty. "I may become a powerful witch and weak wolf, or I may become a strong werewolf and a weak witch—or, because you are royal, I may become both a powerful witch and strong werewolf. And one more thing…please take care of Carol, too. She is weak and doesn't have anybody to protect her."

Oliver looks at his mate with his mouth wide open. He is happy that he has such an amazing mate who cares about her friend so selflessly. "Ok, I'll take both of you to my house because it has lots of rooms. One next to mine is also empty, so it will be easy for me to care for you both. Now, let me mark you."

He doesn't wait for another second. Holding Rachel tightly, Oliver marks her. She bites down her scream, not wanting Carol to think that something else is happening. As soon as the marking is finished, she falls weakly into Oliver, and he lifts her bridal style to carry her out of the kitchen.