Charlie
"Presley wanted to know if you'd be willing to hunt with him before the full moon ceremony?" I asked Mateo.
"Oh?" He raised a brow at me, stabbing his fork into his lunch from the cafeteria. "Isn't he like busy or something? Doing alpha shit or something."
"Mateo, he wants to send you to another pack." I frowned, prodding at the chicken on my plate. I didn't want to eat it. I was more hungry for something sweet, like strawberries and possibly some whipped cream.
"Why would he do that?" The dominant wolf asked.
"I don't know because he's walked in on you invading my space more than once." I crossed my arms, furrowing my brows in disappointment.
How couldn't Mateo see how he had been affecting my relationship with Presley? "Look, I didn't do anything wrong." He held his hands up in a defensive manner. "I just was sleeping both times. It wasn't like I was fucking you like he used to with Persephone."
I furrowed my brows, "What?" I asked, swallowing back the bile that had begun to rise in my throat.
"Yeah, didn't you know?" Mateo raised his brow, now intrigued. "They used to fuck when they were teenagers or something. She and her mate were going to ask Presley sometime soon if he'd be willing to be the sperm donor to their child."
I had never thought to ask Presley about his past relations because I had known that it meant little to nothing. I knew that he wouldn't have cared if I had been pure or not when we first consummated our mateship. I bit down on my bottom lip. Confused if I should be upset or not. Or even if I should hold some type of grudge toward Persephone or not. I hadn't minded her, she was typically kind to me, and I could see the way she treated her mate too. But the nagging feeling... The what if's couldn't escape my mind. What if they were still sleeping together?
No...
No... I couldn't think of that. I trusted Presley. I needed to trust him. I knew he loved me. I knew that the touches, the kisses, and the hugs he gave me were his ways of telling me he loved me. The excitement he had when he found out that we were going to have a pup was something almost euphoric to think about.
My mind was going back and forth between the good and the bad about Presley.
We had agreed it would have been best for him to remain silent about his past sexual partners. I told him I didn't want to know. I was his forever, and he was mine.
"You okay?" Mateo asked, taking a bite of his food.
"Why does that even matter to you?" I snapped at him. "Why does anything about Presley matter to you? He's my mate. You and I are meant to be friends, and friends are all we will ever be. So why do you think it's okay to pry into what my mate and I are doing?" I let out a deep breath. I could feel my face heating with anger.
"I'm just looking out for my best friend," Mateo replied simply. "I just want what is best for you always."
"Okay, and my mate is, and always will be, the best for me," I responded, shaking my head in disbelief. "He will always have a permanent spot in my life."
Pack members started to look over to our table, and I shut my mouth, stopping from continuing with the argument. Mateo's reddish-brown eyes bore into me, and he didn't try to utter another word, realizing he had just pissed me off.
I got up from my seat, grabbing my plate. "I hope you take Presley up on the hunting trip." I responded. "Because honestly, I don't think we can be friends if you and my mate can't get along. Presley will be my priority, no matter what. If you can't come to an agreement with him. Then I will agree with him to have you removed from the pack and transferred to another."
Mateo sat there. His mouth opened, shock present in his features. He shook his head for a second, snapping out of it. "Okay, I'll go on the stupid hunting trip."
— — —
I felt like steam was coming out of my ears I was so upset. Who did he think he was? Bringing up something that was for Presley to share and for him to share only.
So what if he and Persephone used to fuck around? They're both alphas by nature. I didn't know when this all happened, but I'm sure there was an explanation that only Presley could tell me. And that was his business to tell, not Mateo's.
I didn't know why I had tried so damn hard to keep him as my friend because since Presley and I had gotten home. Had I been oblivious beforehand? Was he always like this? Badmouthing my mate, and I just let it roll off?
I slammed down my wet rag on the counter. I had been furiously cleaning, waiting for Presley to get home so I could talk to him. I was just so frustrated.
I needed answers, and I needed them as fast as possible because I knew I would come up with conclusions in my head that would be completely false, and all it would do is hurt us. It also didn't help with the raging emotions in my body either.
I wish I had taken my mama up on the trip they were taking today with Emilio, but I decided to stay home for whatever reason.
I heard the keypad to our door beeping, and Presley walked into our apartment. He immediately focused his eyes on me, giving me a gentle smile. That smile was enough to wash away the worry I had possessed.
"Hey, baby," He shut the door behind him, kicking off his shoes as he did so.
He joined me in the kitchen and came up behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist. He put his hands on my still-flat stomach and kissed my neck where his mark lay.
"Hey," I replied quietly, putting one of my hands over his.
"How was your day?" He mumbled in my ear.
"Um..." I paused, not knowing how to respond to that question. "Can we talk?" I turned my head to look at him.
"What's wrong?" He rubbed his hands up and down my stomach.
"It's just that someone told me that you used to be with Persephone?" I looked up at him with sad eyes.
Presley let out a sigh and picked me up, and sat me down on the counter. "We did. We were around seventeen and eighteen at the time. It was completely platonic with no strings attached." He nodded. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but I didn't know if you wanted to talk about the people who I had been with previously."
I nodded in agreement. "I really didn't because I know that it was before me. I know you told me that you really didn't think that you would ever find your mate, and I get that you were an alpha with needs that needed to be met."
Presley grabbed both of my hands and held them together in my lap. "I probably should have at least told you about Persephone, and I'm sorry."
"No, don't be," I responded. "Did they really ask you to be their sperm donor?"
His eyebrows furrowed. "How did you know that?"
"I was told by someone," I replied, looking down at my lap. "Is it true?"
"It is. They just sat together with me to ask me this morning. I did plan on talking with you about this tonight...." He replied, shaking his head. "I could have sworn that no one was around."
"Mateo told me," I responded quietly. "I'm sorry he got into your business."
Presley's chest rumbled. "That's really not his business to tell. Persephone and her mate obviously can't have a child together because they're both women. They asked me because they felt a bit more comfortable asking me than getting a random sperm donor from the human sperm bank."
"I understand." I nodded. "I'm fine with it. I was upset learning that bit of news from someone else."
"I promise you, until the day I die, and this mark you put on my neck is there. I will never do something for you to feel betrayed." He lifted both of my hands up and kissed both of them. "I love you, and I love the baby that is in your stomach." He pressed his hand to my belly. "You're mine forever and always."
"As are you mine." I leaned down and kissed Presley on the lips. "I think I can agree with you sending Mateo to another pack now... He's been kind of off since we got home."
Presley nodded in agreement. "He shouldn't have known that information about Persephone and Sophia. I honestly don't care about him knowing about her and me when we were younger. Many pack members know. But that's just downright wrong that he knew about them asking for me to be their sperm donor."
"I agree." I nodded.
"Okay, I'll look into nearby packs and see if they need a translator." He leaned up and gave me another kiss. "Now, let's get ready to go to my parent's for dinner. Shall we?" Presley picked me up off of the counter and sat me down on the floor.
A/N: Sooo, I just got done with the first chapter of the epilogue. Things are about to pick up here now. Just letting you guys know you can get up to chapter 40 on Patreon right now, and you can gain access to I think it's 7 chapters of Rowan, Erin, and Karsen's story. I'll also be adding the first chapter of their little spin-off on here. Just a heads up.
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