After my argument with Azriel, the silence of the infirmary had become unbearable. I only lasted a few hours before I demanded Dr. Hershel permit me back to my chambers, which after much convincing he relented to.
I was lying on my bed, kicking my legs up idly when a knock sounded at my door. I had been so consumed by thought that I hadn't heard it the first time, and it was only the second knock that caught my attention. I wondered who would want to see me now, after everything that had happened.
My organs liquified. What if Zion was behind that door, getting ready for another round of tongue-lashing? Or what if it was Azriel, bearing news that I must leave the pack immediately? You deserved the latter, I thought miserably. When the knock sounded again, I got up, shuffling towards the door. I figured there was no point in delaying my doom.
I palmed the knob, its cold tantalizing touch doing nothing to calm my racing heart. Slowly, I opened the door, surprised to find who was waiting there. My jaw dropped.
"Raina?" I sputtered, gawking at the golden-haired girl in disbelief. She nodded, looking slightly confused by my reaction. "I-- I thought you had been sent to the outpost with the others!"
Her green eyes widened momentarily before she shook her head with a regretful sigh. 'Not me," she muttered. "I've been selected to stay in the Court. It means that I--" she trailed off, swallowing. "It was luck of the draw. Omegas and Thetas are often to made to rotate about the territory in our lifetime; we rarely come back to the court. I guess I was lucky to be chosen to remain here -- for now at least."
I nodded, eyes stinging. I blinked back my tears, stepping aside to let Raina in. She nodded, and by the way she stared at the ground, I wondered if she was holding back her own tears, too.
For a while, we stood in silence. There was a certain heaviness in the air, a crippling sadness that wrung my gut painfully. Unable to take it, I sat at the foot of my bed, plastering a fake smile to my face as I regarded Raina. "I assume you heard?"
Raina nodded, smiling despite the sadness in her eyes. "Yes, I heard... the whole court knows..."
I bit the inside of my cheek, and Raina glanced down again. I hadn't forgotten the wary stares that had been sent my way during my trek to this room. I had gotten so used to everyone's kindling acceptance, that it gave me whip-lash being stared at like an alien again. Not only had I destroyed my relationships with the two most powerful men here, but I had ruined my reputation as well.
"I think you did the right thing," Raina muttered. I glanced up, shocked. "Azure deserved it," she continued, holding my gaze this time. "She needed to be put in her place. She treats everyone like dirt, especially us Omegas. I'm glad you handed her ass to her, I really am."
If it weren't for the determined gleam in her eyes, I may have just thought she'd been saying it to make me feel better. I simply nodded, staring at my clasped hands.
Silence ensued again.
"Did you fall out with Zion?"
"And Azriel," I added. Raina gawked at me.
"What?" she stammered. "What happened?"
I shook my head, rubbing at the ache in my temples. "I got too carried away with my words," I explained, trying my all to fight the tightness in my throat. "I was angry, and I accidentally upset him. I really didn't mean it--"
I stopped, bottom lip quivering. Raina quickly rushed to my side and rubbed the small of my back. "He'll forgive you in good time, Kyra," Raina assured quietly. "You just need to give him space. Alphas have a lot of stressors, and they break sometimes, too."
I snorted. "Yeah, in maybe a hundred years he'll forgive me."
Raina smiled. "That's fine. We live far longer than a hundred years."
I turned to look at her, eyes wide. "'We'?"
She paused, before bursting out into laughter. The noise itself was enough to quell the miserable storm within me, just a bit. "No-one ever told you?"
I furrowed my brows, shaking my head. Raina giggled. "Us werewolves live for much longer than any human does, Kyra. I thought your human television shows would have told you that!"
My eyes widened. "How long?"
She shrugged. "Two-hundred and fifty years, give-or-take. But that's just for us red-blooded wolves -- True Alphas live for much longer."
"How much longer?"
She shrugged again. "It varies. They're semi-immortal -- so anywhere from six-hundred to eight-hundred years."
I gawked. "And how old's Azriel?"
"Oh, he's young. Only three-hundred-and-fifty."
Young?
"Then why does everyone look like they're in their twenties?" I asked, aghast. Raina shifted in her seat.
"I assume you mean we look like humans in their twenties. We age much differently from humans. You see, werewolf age is categorized in three ways: pre-prime, prime and post-prime. I, for example, am pre-prime," she motioned to herself. "I look younger than many other werewolves here, and that's because I'm only fifteen. The next stage is Prime, which would be you, Lord Azriel, Lord Zion..."
"But how?" I stammered. "How can I be in the same category when they're so much older than me?"
"Because they're not," Raina explained. "Well, maybe in the mathematic sense, yes, but in the werewolf world, a Prime 100 year-old-wolf is considered just as old as a Prime 18-year-old wolf."
I nodded, though not fully understanding it. "And what about post-prime?"
"They're our elders," she explained. "Though you may not see many of them. You see, once a wolf exceeds a certain age, it will begin to rapidly age -- usually at around the two-hundred-and-forty mark. At that point, they're considered Elders."
I blinked. "So a werewolf only spends most of their life as a Prime?"
Raina nodded. "Correct."
I gazed at the wall, trying to take in all this new information. Raina seemed humored by my dumb-founded reaction.
"Do you know what a mate is?" she asked, poking me in the side.
I gave her a sideways glance. I'd heard of werewolf mating -- at least in werewolf shows and books. I wasn't sure if the same applied here. "I think so, though I can't say I'm fluent in the topic."
Raina gave me a half-smile. "What do you think they are?"
I pondered. "Well, in the books mates are two werewolves destined to be together. They would do this weird marking thing, and... a werewolf could only ever have one mate. And they could sense their mate upon meeting them. Oh, and, a Moon Goddess chooses the mates?"
Raina barked a laugh. "That's what they tell you? What kind of sappy romance shit is that? And a Moon Goddess? Please--"
I frowned as Raina continued to giggle, slightly disgruntled. "Then what are they?"
"Well," Raina began. "A mate is, as you said, someone you're destined to be with. But that's where similarities end. The first difference is that it is possible for a werewolf to have multiple mates."
I raised my brows. "Multiple mates?"
She nodded. "And sometimes, in unfortunate cases, someone may be mated to someone who isn't mated back to them. Those are known as dud mates, and are often the cause of many heartbreaks. It's not as uncommon as you'd like to think."
I scowled. "What other differences are there?"
"Well, that thing you said about a wolf knowing their mate as soon as they meet them; it's not quite how it works. Mate attraction is developed over time, and it is only a certain point in the development in which one can 'sense' another as their mate."
I nodded. "So like a surprise egg."
She gave me an exasperated look. "Yeah, like a surprise egg, whatever that is," she added with a snort.
We continued to talk about werewolves and mates and other jazz. Turns out Raina was much more of a romantic than I initially thought, and she seemed to go doe-eyed and dreamy every time I mentioned the word 'mate'.
Before long, the sun and had sunk below the horizon, and it was time for Raina to do her palace chores.
I felt a strange sadness wash over me as she stepped off my bed. Once her hand was on the door, she paused, turning to look at me.
"Don't feel so put-out, Kyra," she said quietly. "Everything will get better in good time; trust me."
I nodded, and though I felt slightly lifted by Raina's kind words, I couldn't;t help but feel that things weren't going to get better. In fact, I had the sinking suspicion that they'd only get worse.
******
Sorry if this chapter was a little boring y'all... had to infodump somewhere 😭😭 It gets better in the next chap I promise <3
Anyways... what do you guys think of the aging and mating mechanics? I hope it's not too alien from what you're used to