Chapter 20
Ayla’s POV
I remember the night I found out Theo was my mate… One of the best nights of my life because the person I loved I was blessed with was my mate. There’s nothing more I could’ve asked for. I always worked my ass off to get into medical school, for werewolves, it’s a lot harder because you don’t just learn the anatomy of humans but also werewolves. It was tough, my parents sure didn’t sugarcoat anything, but I still wanted to become a doctor, I wanted to take away the suffering and pain of others, help them out when injured, and assure them it will all be okay.
One thing I never signed up for was being the mate of alpha, to become his Luna. It was safe to say things started going down the hill since Roman left. After Natalia got sick it just kept getting worse. I was assigned to her situation along with other doctors and students. Not a single one of us had an idea. Theo spoke to me about becoming Luna a few times, but I kept avoiding that conversation. I didn’t want that life, I had enough as it was, and I could tell we were going through a rough patch.
“Hello, sweetie,” I greeted as Theo walked into the apartment and watched as he took off his coat.
“Hey, Ayla,” He greeted and walked over to kiss my cheek then watched as I cut the vegetables.
“How was your day at the office?” I asked, putting down the knife to focus on our conversation.
“Difficult. How did your last exam go?” He groaned, taking a seat across from me.
“I over-studied but very good. It feels good to finally have a break, even if it’s only for a month,” I chuckled, it felt like this weight was taken off my shoulders the moment I handed in the papers.
“That’s good. I’m proud of you,” He smiled and reached for an apple in the bowl “Any updates on the illness?”
“Nope, I read in the group that we’ll be running different diagnoses,” I informed him, I could tell by the look on his face it bothered him a lot. I wish I was able to help, his mother's case has every doctor and future doctor stunned.
“I hope you people can find something; this is stressing my father out so much. I’ve never seen him like this,” He mumbled, biting into the apple.
“Well, we got taught that when dealing with a wolf it’s not just the one person that’s sick but also their mate who’s by their side,” I said, cutting the bell peppers.
“Makes sense,” He shrugged. We then both remained silent. I put away the vegetables and washed my hands then turned to him and saw he was staring at the apple.
“Something is on your mind… Let it out,” I finally said, thinking I’m ready to have this conversation.
“It’s just that uh you are supposed to be by my side,” Theo pointed out, his icy blue eyes focused on me.
“Am I not by your side?” I raised a brow at him, a slightly offended tone used.
“Well, I’m handling the job of two right now. The alpha and the Luna, you’re supposed to be the one handling those things,” Theo replied, shrugging almost as if he didn’t care about my opinion. Like I was doing nothing around.
“Theo, I do not want to be a Luna. I want to be a doctor and you know that. You assured me I could be what I wanted to be,” I made clear to him. I admit I raised my voice a little, but I wanted to be sure he understood me.
“That was before I realized how hard this really was,” Theo sighed and ran his fingers through his hair.
“So, what do you want me to do?” I threw my hands in the air.
“To step up to your responsibilities,” He replied, simply.
“I love you more than anything but just not enough to give up on my dreams,” I chuckled and walked to fill my glass with more water.
“Are you serious right now?” He frowned, walking up to me.
“Yes. When was the last time I managed to have time for us, our families?” Theo asked. I froze, unsure what the answer was. It seemed like so long ago… But what did he expect? For me to do everything?
“Oh, so I’m supposed to sweep in and take care of your job so you can come home and relax?” I raised a brow at him.
“I’m not asking you to be there all day damnit,” He scoffed and walked away but I went after him. “You know what, forget it. All I wanted was for you to do the scheduling, but I’ll just ask Maria, she seems very eager to do it,” Theo made up his mind and removed my hand from his shoulder, how dare he speak of Maria. He knew I didn’t like her, but it was his assistant. ‘She’s good at her job’
“Theo—“ I called out, hoping to change his mind. Planning was something I could do and was good at, he knew that.
“No, forget it, you just go shower, have dinner and relax,” Theo spoke, gathering his phone, keys, and notebook. Was he leaving again? He just got home.
“What are you going to do?” I asked but got ignored. “Theo, where are you going?” I asked again and followed him out to the front door.
“I have shit to take care of Ayla,” He unlocked the door.
“Are you going to Maria’s?” I asked, a hint of jealousy on my tone but I didn’t care.
“Going over to hers is on the list somewhere,” He shrugged. “Have a great night Ayla, don’t bother staying up,” He added, kissing my cheek, and took off without giving me the chance to say something, Damnit.
Tessa’s POV
I was told Theo was back in the office, I found it weird given it was his time off, but this was my chance to go ask him about Roman. Oh, how I miss that idiot. I worried if he was alive, he stopped the contact completely and I also haven’t heard anything of Skylar. The last I know was that they were on the human ground. I wondered if he gave in and became one of them, maybe no other pack wanted them…
I took a deep breath then knocked on Theo’s door, I walked in without giving him the chance to respond and took a seat in front of him.
“Theo, we have to reach out to Roman and let him know about the situation with mom,” I said, watching as Theo looked up from the book.
“He made his decision years ago and he also stopped the contact with you did he not?” He reminded me and went back to reading his stupid book.
“Yes, so?” I raised a brow at him and lowered his book.
“We are not the ones that are supposed to go begging for contact, Tessa,” Theo rolled his eyes and leaned back into his seat.
“Why are you so fucking stubborn?” I groaned, slamming my hand on the table. Every time I want us to contact him Theo comes up with some fucking excuse as to why it shouldn’t happen. He was too proud, apparently Roman should be the one making contact first.
“Listen, Tessa, I have a lot of things to do. Is this what you chose as the topic for ‘wasting Theo’s time’?” He warned, pointing his index finger at me.
“Fine. I think it’s time we let the packs know about the illness. Maybe someone from another pack experienced something like this before,” I sighed and tried making him see the other side of this solution.
“I will not repeat myself another time: This is supposed to be internal; I don’t want anyone from other packs knowing about it,” Theo reminded me. I found it all stupid, we had to get help, but he was refusing to do so even if I tried to get dad to weigh in it would be pointless, all he cared about right now was mom.
“You’re being stupid but have it because Theo’s the alpha right,” I shook my head and got up.
“Tessa—" He called out, but I was already out the door.
I knew he didn’t want to let the news out, but it was our only hope. What if some other pack has dealt with something like this before and found a cure? Will we have to pass that opportunity just because Theo’s feeling too proud to ask for help? I also wanted to spread the news in hopes Roman would hear about it and come visit mom, us. I’m not the only one who misses him, but I was the only one brave enough to admit it.
I knew one way Theo would never guess the news came from me… Edith. Edith was my friend and as sweet as she is there was a small problem with her. She was unable to keep secrets. I knew it was wrong, but I ranted to her about the situation seeking comfort but also knowing that she’d spread the news. I may have forgotten to tell her not to tell anyone. Not that it makes a difference… Within a week every other pack knew that Natalia Santoro, former Luna of Silver Moon, is suffering from an unknown illness.