Chapter 19 19
POV LOIS
Five days had passed since I’d been home, and meanwhile my parents had been forced—we had been forced—to borrow money to pay for my blood, which was a brutal blow for the three of us. But survival through loans was normal for us. Though this last one put us in a very tight situation, having to work even more.
We all took a second job, while Alpha Joseph expressed his disappointment in me—because I hadn’t been what Viviana needed, and because now his daughter was alone in a university full of horny Alphas, as he liked to call them.
But the work, the debts, or the Alpha’s anger were nothing compared to the overwhelming need I felt for Emmanuel, and I’m talking about a need that went far beyond the physical.
I even dreamed about him.
The last two days I’d had a high fever, and the first time it happened I went to my parents, until finally we had to go to the hospital in case it was a reaction to my last transfusion. But it wasn’t. It wasn’t that at all.
“Does the rejection still hurt?” the doctor asked. She knew these things—rejection could cause physical symptoms, discomfort. But it wasn’t that.
It wasn’t a rejection. It was the absence of my mate. I needed his touch, his closeness.
“I’m fine. It stopped hurting a long time ago.”
We were alone; I was an adult and attended my appointments without my parents.
“Doctor, I have a question.”
This “mistake” was persisting, and my connection to Emmanuel was intact—but the distance was beginning to hurt.
“Can you… find a mate a second time?”
“Do you mean second chances? Finding a second mate?”
“Yes.”
“In general, there are very few documented cases. Usually what happens is that someone is rejected, heals, and learns to love again. Love comes in many forms, but all of them are valid.”
“I know that, but… can it be a mistake to find your mate a second time?”
“I already told you, Lois. Why would you think it’s a mistake? It’s called luck, being fortunate. With so many rejected wolves out there, having a second chance is a blessing. A wolf needs their mate—it’s an unbearable feeling to be without one. Having another opportunity makes you lucky.”
Lucky…?
If this bond stayed—if it continued—how was it lucky to have a mate who accepted me… if distance ruled between us… and Emmanuel hadn’t come?
It wasn’t luck. It wasn’t fortune.
Not if he didn’t come for me.
Forty-eight hours had passed long ago, and he never arrived.
That night I felt terrible, and my negative thoughts didn’t help.
I didn’t tell my parents, because I already knew what it was.
In the morning I felt awful, unable even to go to work; I barely managed to get out of bed.
Everything hurt, as if my body were falling apart from being so far from my mate.
By mid-morning my parents returned home… but it wasn’t just surprising to see them arrive at such an unusual hour—it was the people who came with them.
Alpha Joseph, Luna Mónica, the entire council, the three Betas with their mates, and the president of the Omega Rights Association.
What were all these people doing in my house?! They didn’t even fit inside!
What had I done now? Was I in trouble?
I saw them all as soon as the door opened. They parted… and at the back… there he was…
His eyes widened with shock when he saw me. I didn’t look well, but I felt instantly better just by seeing him. His scent hit me like a dessert placed right in front of me, and I ran straight to him. His arms wrapped around me and immediately I searched for his lips, not caring who was here or what any of this meant.
But his hands gently pushed me back after the sudden kiss I gave him—even though I expected his lips to respond.
Why wasn’t he happy to see me? Why did he look so shocked?
He held my hips carefully, and then touched my forehead with one hand before pressing me to his chest.
“Lois… I’m… Ezequiel.”