Chapter 16

**Elena**

I feel very small in this room full of testosterone, they assail each other with questions. Finn and Theo want to mark their territory at all costs, which I understand because their animal instincts are coming to the surface and as alpha males, they are duplicated. Matt on the other hand is trying to protect me, he knows everything they have done to me and I think he has a hard time understanding that once the mating process is finalized, it will be impossible for them to hurt me.

"And so you're still planning to mark Elena even if Caleb doesn't want to?" Matt suddenly asks them.

"Matt!" I tell him curtly.

"No it's nothing babe, he's your friend he's worried about you." Finn tells me in a honeyed voice. A little too cheesy for my taste actually, it's not like him. "Caleb knows our intentions and we know his. I won't say any more because I have no right to speak for him." A corner of his mouth turns up and I know he's about to deliver the killing blow. "Anyway, two mates is good enough you know, it's already more than enough to satisfy her. So with three..."

"We get it." I cut him off, feeling my cheeks heat up.

Matt glares at me, his jaw clenching, "Can I talk to you?...in private."

I nod and we walk outside to the back of the house, careful to close the door behind me so they can't hear us. Like all the houses in the pack, it's perfectly soundproof, super hearing required.

Matt is pacing back and forth, running his hands through his hair, and I watch him silently from the terrace. He walks over to me, then puts his hands on either side of my face.

"I love you Elena. I fucking love you more than my life. I've loved you since I first laid eyes on you."

"Stop, please." I tell him softly as I take his hands in mine and pull them away.

He takes a step back, finding himself back on the grass. "I need to tell you everything I have to tell you. Just... let me do the talking you'll make your decision in your heart of hearts."

I nod to invite him to continue, feeling the tears fill my eyes.

"When you moved in with Arthur, he briefly told my father what happened to you and I eavesdropped. Even then I thought, 'You've got to be crazy to go after someone so hard. And then I saw you... so sweet... fragile... innocent. And you became the woman you are today, right before my eyes. I saw you blossom, grow in confidence." He pinches the bridge of his nose. "I haven't slept with anyone else since you and I..."

I look at him with a frown, he did tell me he was seeing other people but I've never slept with anyone else either. Theo was the first one after him.

"You didn't want a serious relationship so I went along with you. I'd rather have that relationship with you than no relationship at all."

I open my mouth to speak but he raises his hand to cut me off.

"I know you've always dreamed of meeting your mate but me and you are that. I've never needed a fucking bond to be attracted to you, to desire you or to want to spend the rest of my life with you." He runs his hand through his hair and I can see his eyes shine. "How the fuck can you even consider doing that with them? After everything they've done to you? Mate bond or not?"

"Matt you said it yourself...."

"Fuck that!" He yells and the door suddenly opens and I hear grunting behind me.

"It's all good. Just give us one more moment please." I tell them without turning around. After a few seconds the door closes again.

I sigh. "Matt if I had known how you felt I would have stopped everything. I've been honest with you...from the beginning. You mean a lot to me but just as a friend. This is exactly why I didn't want a serious relationship. I'm sorry."

He lowers his head. "So you'd rather break my heart than theirs?"

"I'm sorry." I repeat to him unable to find another word to match how I feel. For so long he was my only friend, my confidant, the shoulder I cried on so many times and my first. My first for so many things, the first one I trusted, the first one I told everything to, the first one I slept with and he is also my first heartbreak even though we weren't really in a romantic relationship.

He lifts his head and the look on his face breaks my heart. "I'd rather we distance ourselves, for a while. I'll still go to Arthur and take care of his business, but as for yours, I'll ask Jacob to take care of it."

"Whatever you want. I hope you get to be my friend one day."

"I'll miss you, Elena Romano." He says to me before giving me a hug. He hugs me then releases me and wipes away my tears, which I hadn't noticed. "I will always be there for you. You can always count on me."

I nod and then he walks around me to go back into the house, when I enter in turn he is already climbing the stairs. I imagine that he will take his things and leave right away. When he comes back down with his bag, I offer him to stay for the night but he refuses, preferring to spend the night in a hotel outside the pack. I accompany him to the car and I say goodbye to him.

Back inside the house, Theo and Finn are standing by the couch. They both remained silent when we entered. Theo walks up to me and hugs me, kissing the top of my head. "I'm sorry, I know he meant a lot to you."