Chapter 27: The slip up

Despite her love for gossiping and passion for spreading rumors, Valarie felt guilty for being the reason Xavier was restless about his relationship. However, she thought it was best for him to just tell everyone and stop keeping it a secret.

Valarie was about to walk away from the two brothers, Ian and Xavier, when she saw Mitchell approach the house they stood in front of. Behind her were Leo, Edward, Red, and Drake, who had slept over at their place.

“Oh, you’re back!” Valarie said as she rushed over to Mitchell. “I wanted to speak to you about Xavier’s mate,” Valarie blurted out before she could catch her words. She froze in place as she realized what she had just said.

Valarie wanted to say something about the girl from last night, but her words got mixed up, and she had said Xavier’s mate. She slowly looked towards Xavier as he shot her daggers with his eyes. His face was stern, and his eyes were slitted. Xavier was giving her the look that said she better fix her slip-up. But it was too late; everyone had heard her complete statement, and they all wanted to know more.

“Xavier, you’ve found your mate? And you didn’t tell Mum?” Mitchell said as she walked towards Xavier and placed her soft palms on his cheek. She was happy for him, and she couldn’t hide it.

“I was looking for the right time,” Xavier sighed. He looked past his mother and frowned at her, signaling for her to keep quiet and not say anything more.

There was nothing Valarie could do at this point other than just continue with what she had already started.

‘Well, it's not like they weren’t going to find out anyway,’ Valarie tried justifying what she was about to do. She looked away from Xavier to avoid his angry gaze as she narrated to everyone her findings.

“Mitchell, the girl you saved last night was Xavier’s mate,” Valarie stated, and immediately there was a gasp from everyone present as they quickly turned to look at Xavier with wide eyes.

Mitchell let the news sink in as she processed every detail of the girl in her head. “But she’s a human,” Mitchell said.

“That’s what she made us believe, but we’ve seen situations where supernatural energy is suppressed,” Valarie continued. “You said she was possessed by a demon and she narrated everything that happened to her to you.”

“Where are you going with this, Valarie?” Xavier questioned. He didn’t want to think that Valarie was implying Sage was more than what she put herself to be.

“I went to the library and got some books about demons. I found out it is not possible to recall what a demon has done with your body when you have been possessed. You only have memories of what happened before and after being possessed. Only a few people have vague images of what happened. From what she told you last night, it seemed like she had an astral projection and was able to get back into her body. However, it is impossible to carry out reintegration as an individual.”

Xavier and others listened carefully as they waited patiently to know what it was Valarie had discovered. “Sage isn’t just a normal girl; there’s more to her,” Valarie concluded as she kept silent and watched everyone process everything she had just said.

Although everything Valarie had just said might be true, Ian thought Valarie was trying to paint Sage in a bad way for everyone. He had told her to not say a word about what she had found unless she could prove it, but no, she had let her mouth push everything out without a filter.

“How did you know what Sage told my mother?” Ian questioned. “You don’t exactly have sharp ears like we do, so you were eavesdropping.” Everyone disliked the part of Valarie that did not understand privacy and secrecy.

“And so what if she was? Her eavesdropping got us useful information,” Red snapped. Red was supporting Valarie because it was through Valarie that she found out that Xavier had found his mate - and also who it was.

“Oh, so it's cool now for Valarie to go around poking into people’s personal lives so long as it’s not you,” Xavier retorted.

Red couldn’t believe that Xavier was acting this way towards her all because of a strange girl from school.

Mitchell quickly noticed the swift change of moods and decided to clear the air. “Everyone calm down, Xavier. I think what Red is trying to say is, if it’s for a good cause and it would help our mission progress further, then Valarie isn’t wrong.”

Valarie stood behind Mitchell, away from Xavier's gaze. She was the reason all this argument was happening; if only she had just listened to Ian and kept quiet.

Xavier could tell from the looks everyone gave him now and then that they didn’t trust Sage. And from what Valarie had told them all, they seemed to have labeled Sage as one of their enemies. He had the urge to defend Sage and clear her name, but it would look like he was siding with a stranger over his family. He needed everyone to trust him, especially since he would take over the role of an alpha in just a few weeks. Without saying much, Xavier put it down as one of his goals, to find out who Sage really was and clear her name.

'what if she really was an enemy?' Xavier questioned himself. 'would I still go out of my way for her and betray my family?' this should not even be a question for Xavier in the first place, but he felt a strong attraction toward Sage and it wasn't just physical attraction, it was something deep from his heart.

Xavier sighed before opening his mouth to speak. “Whether Sage is an enemy or not, it doesn’t matter. We have a much bigger mission at hand, and it’s not to confirm someone’s identity.” Saying this, Xavier had to lock away all his emotions and make a decision that would sit well with the majority. It was mentally draining to put down one's feelings; his only motivation was if his dad could do it, then so could he.