Chapter 23 23
LOIS
The last thing I remember is saying goodbye to my parents. They were leaving for Ezequiel and Emmanuel’s pack, whose name I still didn’t even know.
Another memory that came to mind was when I thought—or said—that I wouldn’t reject him… that it could be like with Emmanuel, that we had nothing, that we were nothing, just something we agreed to in order not to suffer or be rejected.
Of course, Ezequiel didn’t accept that halfway.
And now we were on the train. How long had I been here? I only knew that I had to get to Emmanuel, get better, and ask them to undo all of this. My parents had spent their entire lives in our pack—how could they suddenly change places at this stage? You couldn’t do that to them, certainly not.
My eyelids felt heavy, my body swayed, and that hand brushed my forehead for the ninth time in the last minute.
Ezequiel soothed me, but he didn’t make the pain disappear.
He murmured something I couldn’t understand—far from being a song, it sounded like a prayer, something of that kind, spoken slowly, between his teeth, near my ear, making me fall asleep.
Again.
Some hands woke me up, moistening my body with something, a thin coolness brushing my nipples. I was naked.
I tried to bring my hands quickly to my breasts, but it was such a slow movement, and before they could reach, Ezequiel’s hands stopped mine.
“Relax, you’ve been sweating a lot in the last few hours, and I just wanted to refresh you. I’m almost done.”
I moved my feet and looked at my legs, crossing them as if that would help. This was very strange.
“Now I’m going to turn you over.” He slid his hands under my back and gently turned me the other way.
I ended up on my stomach, my butt completely exposed.
“I’m embarrassed, Ezequiel!”
“There’s nothing here I haven’t already seen, Lois,” he said—but it wasn’t his words, it was his hands that made me tremble when they touched my butt. He gave it a small smack and I buried my face in the pillow, dying of embarrassment… and other things.
He began moistening my body and drying it with a towel. I just wanted him to finish; this was far from being a normal bath, not without other intentions.
…Or were the intentions mine?
He turned me again, started with my legs, and I squeezed them shut so he couldn’t move them. He let a few drops of water fall in that area while staring into my eyes.
Alphas…
He had me completely caught; my mind and body forgot the pain, but it was still there, pushed aside, giving space to desire.
“Lois, you’re sick, behave!”
He slid the towel over that area, and I closed my eyes, fleeing from his gaze.
I couldn’t believe Ezequiel was doing this to me.
After a few minutes of torture, I was finally ready. He put clean clothes on me, and I settled into the bed with Ezequiel at my side.
“How long until we arrive?” I asked. We’d been quiet for so long—only silence. He held my hand under the blanket, his head resting on my shoulder.
“I never thought I’d find myself in this situation,” he said, ignoring my question. “And I don’t mean sharing a mate with someone else.”
“Do Alphas never even consider the possibility of being rejected?”
“Honestly? No. I don’t think it ever crosses our minds. But that’s not what I meant. I mean this situation is new because the girl does want it, but still refuses to accept it. I don’t understand what you’re doing. You want to accept us both and then pretend we’re nothing?”
“What I want is for nothing to happen. To reach a mutual agreement where we’re okay, but… without the mate stuff, without what comes after.”
“That’s not possible, Lois. What you're asking for is impossible. You’d have to stay close for a very, very long time, and even so—do you think we’d want to stay away from you? This is all or nothing. And that’s what I’m afraid of—that you’re not ready for everything and choose nothing out of fear, out of refusing to see that this doesn’t overwhelm you. On the contrary, you might even like it.”
“I’m sorry, but what you’re asking for can’t be.”
“Therefore, I need you to reject me, Lois. I’d prefer it that way.”
There he went again with the same thing. What I was offering was much better than rejecting one or the other.
“You think that if I reject you, I’ll be fully with Emmanuel? If that’s your motive, you’re wrong. And I’m not going to reject you. In fact—” I squeezed the hand holding mine.
“Don’t do it, Lois. You have to be sure.”
He held my face, frowning again.
“Lois… don’t you dare do it like this, I don’t want it this way!”
“I, Lois… accept you as my mate, Ezequiel.”
“Damn it! Lois!”
He dropped my hand and ran to the door, fleeing the room.
Now he had to accept me… or reject me, under my terms.
The final decision was in his hands. Only he was left.
()
POV VIVIANA
I didn’t want to answer the call, because he had started asking weird questions about my behavior, but it was the first time Dad had called me so many times. Normally he’d understand I didn’t want to talk, but now he insisted.
Maybe something had happened.
I was with my friends at the café. It was packed, and if I got up, I’d lose my seat. But I had to answer now.
I was already worried.
“Save my spot, girls,” I asked. I ran toward the door and picked up the call.
“What the hell were you doing that I had to call you ten times, Viviana?” Something was wrong. His tone was serious, and not because I hadn’t answered.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t think it was important. What’s going on?”
“Who the hell did you leave Lois with?”
“What are you talking about? Lois didn’t go anywhere, she was scared. She stayed home the whole time. I don’t know what you’re talking about, Dad.”
“Viviana… they’ve taken her parents, and Lois is on her way back to Liberty University.”
“What?! At least explain it! What’s happening with Lois? Did she do something wrong? How is she ‘going back’?”
Maybe someone got angry because she was here? I didn’t think so. What was happening?
I had heard something about a fight the night she left, but nothing else—no names of who was involved.
“No! She found her mate!”
“Oh—” What a scare. I thought something bad had happened. “You’re mistaken. Don’t you remember she was rejected a couple of years ago? She already found her mate, he’s not from this university. He was older. Right now he must be around thirty, Dad.”
“Viviana, don’t you understand? She found her mate again. Lois has another mate, and he’s from the university—”
From here?
“—the heir Alpha of the Colonies District, the first pack ever formed in that region. She’ll be the next Luna of the original pack. She is the heir Alpha’s mate.”
“WHAT?!”
How did this happen? When?
“H-How is that even possible? Who is he? What’s his name?”
When did this happen to Lois?! Who was the heir Alpha of that pack?! And why didn’t I know him yet?!
“Emmanuel.”
Em… Emmanuel.
That bitch. That’s why she didn’t say anything when we asked about him! That’s why she acted so strangely!
“Damn twins!” I had no idea one of them was heir to that pack. Here, it wasn’t surprising for an Alpha to be heir to a pack, but to that pack?! One among us? And Lois got him?!
“Emmanuel.” That’s why she acted so weird that day when we asked for details! Now everything made sense.
“And what’s he doing here? Shouldn’t she be going to that pack as well?”
Why was he coming here?
“She needs to stay close to her mate.”
“But when did they accept each other?” I had so many questions. “That means they’re already mates—but when did that happen?”
“How would I know? I thought you knew. They took her family, and I think Lois will arrive at the university in a day. It’s good—it’s very good—having someone from our pack connected with that one. So I expect your relationship with Lois to remain intact and even get better. She’s now an important part of that pack, their future Luna, Viviana. You know how important that is.”
Future Luna of an important pack.
She went from being an Omega… to this. THIS.
I didn’t know how to feel about it.
She spent all that time locked up, had a connection with Emmanuel, and never told me—never said a single word. Is this how she repaid me?
I thought we were friends, but she hid something like this.
“Don’t worry, Dad. When she’s back, I’ll take care of her.”