The Alphas' Mate.

Seven. (2021 Update - Small Edit.)

Seven.

The previous night, I had been up late with Levi and Cosima, trying to explain why Juliet and I had gotten married. Still, the longer I had thought of every way possible to tell them without risking myself, Juliet, and having my past brought up. Finally, I felt myself clamp up, unable to say a word to them. We had sat there for hours, in silence, until I had passed out from the lack of energy.

When I did manage to wake up not even an hour later, the girl had left my room, not uttering a single word to me. Walking down the stairs, I had bumped into Ezra, who in turn just glared at me as she continued her way down as well. I had only come to the assumption that the girls had told her.

Closing my eyes, I could feel the burn from how dry my eyes had been. The tears wielded up from this as I forced my eyes to open. How long would this last? I asked myself as I finished walking down the stairs, avoiding the other pack members. Making a beeline for the kitchen, I could only try to figure out how to explain to the girls why we had been married without revealing the whole truth.

"Gods, I sound so verbose in my head," I muttered lowly when I was close enough to Matt, even if it hadn't been needed. Resting my elbows on the island, I placed my head on my hands and just stared at the tiny swirls of the island. I was far too emotionally tired to function properly. Then, forcing these emotions back, I lifted my head to see Matt gazing at me with deep concern.

It had been a look I hadn't seen in years, but the longer I had looked into his eyes, I could see that there was an agitation hidden. Of course, he had been agitated with my behavior and lack of self-control. Still, I knew all too well Matt had been more agitated with what Juliet had mentioned yesterday.

"Juliet, how is she?" I asked, trying to break away his agitation from his inner demons. Allowing my eyes to drift over his body. Matt's body had seemed to grow with more tension as his hands clenched into a tight fist, his knuckles turning an unnatural white. He licked his lips before he released his fist and gave out a low sigh. The education really did wonders with controlling our emotions, I thought with heavy antagonism.

"The doctor says she is stable. If anything, she should be walking around in a few hours. I do have some concerns, though, her wounds; Romeo, Juliet could've died if she hadn't reached out for you, using that." Matt had emphasized the word that. I knew exactly what he had meant. That had been something dangerous I had learned from a very young teenage witch named Ruby. It had been something that the entire Victoria pack learned. It was our secret weapon and always our last resort to retreating if it had been needed.

A look of concern contorted my features as the realization of why she hadn't been awake yet slammed into me. She used that, and it had ended up draining off too much of her energy. A heavy sigh escaped my lips as I looked down at the island, then back up at Matt, who gave me a sad smile. Matt and I had literally just talked about this, and I only understand it now.

Was I going to be okay for the rest of the day? Another sigh escaped my lips as the strong smell of coffee consumed my senses. Looking away from the island, I found Matt with a coffee mug in his hand. The sad smile was still on his face. He could obviously sense and see how this bothered me.

"Hey," Matt started, forcing my attention away from the mug of coffee, "You guys were married for what, two years, and together for four or five? If she was able to survive a strenuous relationship and marriage to you, she could survive exhaustion." I rolled my eyes and reached for the mug of coffee. Matt made it seem as though I was the one who was causing the problems in the relationship, when in fact, it wasn't.

"One, she's alive. Two, I protected her the entire time of our 'relationship'; three, you kept sending me off for stupid training and other problems. Finally, her entire race made things much more difficult. I can't be held accountable for any of that." Matt rolled his eyes as he took a sip of his coffee. He knew I was speaking the truth; he just didn't want to admit that I had just said was entirely accurate.