I stopped dreaming about Olivier, apparently that's the first phase of being rejected.
For now, I didn't care, and the moment he stood before me I would slap him till he was crying from pain.
I missed my baby boy, I needed his cuttles, his soft baby skin, his scent. I was awake, because since Théo was gone, I barely could sleep. Jean entered my room, and I narrowed my eyes at him.
"I called Pearl, Olivier and Théo arrived in Seattle."
"Are they bringing Théo back?" I asked.
"I don't think so. I'm sorry, I know how hard this is for you."
"When were you going to tell me that you were a werewolf?" I asked him.
"Never? I mean, we can't tell anyone besides or mate."
"But you knew I was pregnant from a wolf?"
"Yeah, I scented it when you opened the door when we came deliver the furniture."
I looked at him, he looked tired and pale "are you sick?"
"No. I will be fine." He tried to assure me.
"Camille is your mate uh?"
"Yeah" he sighed "how did you know?"
"It was a guess. What happened between you two?"
He sighed "We were always friends, and I really liked her. But since I didn't know if she was my mate or not, I never tried to take our friendship further. She started dating Alex, he really wasn't good for her. He was cheating on her, but she never believed me. The day I turned 18 years her scent became stronger towards me, and I knew then that she indeed was my mate. I tried to talk to her, but she refused to listen to me. We drifted apart, mostly because I distanced myself from her, I needed to protect myself. It hurt too much, every time he touched her. I felt it when they had sex..." He sighed. "It was horrible. The council gave me something to contain my wolf. The day Sarah was born was the most painful day in my life. I felt everything, but I never knew that Alex left her. Otherwise, I would have been there for her sooner."
I squeezed his hand while he whipped of his tears "I'm sorry Jean. When are you going to tell her?"
"Not yet, I'm going to ask her first on a date." He beamed at me.
"She really likes you, Jean. And Sarah adores you."
"I love them both."
"You are great with them. Everything will work out for you."
"How are you feeling Jen?"
"I miss Théo. I need him."
"I know Jen. Everything will be alright. Now, let's go, Alpha Vincent wants to meet you."
"Can I take a shower first?" I asked.
"Yes, let's go to my house."
*****
"Here is the bathroom, towels are in that cabinet."
"Thank you, Jean."
"Take your time."
Standing under the warm water I thought about Olivier. A tear ran over my cheek, and I angrily wiped it away. He didn't know how hard I worked to become who I now am. The day I said no for the first time against my parents I felt so relieved. Like a huge weight fell of my shoulders.
Someone knocked on the door "Jen, I have some clothes for you. I place them on the bed." Jean said from behind the door.
"Okay! Thanks."
After the shower I felt so much better. Jean and I walked towards Alpha Vincent's office. Jean knocked on his door and a Vincent's rough voice yelled "Entrez!" (Come in).
I entered and Alpha Vincent stood up from his chair, he was tall, like all werewolf man that I have met. His body was muscular, and I saw some tattoos peeking out from under his collar. His shoulder length dirty blonde hair hung loose, and mischievous hazel eyes smiled at me.
"Enchanté Alpha Vincent." (Nice to meet you). I said to him.
He took my hand in his and kissed the back of my hand "Enchanté Jennifer." He said with a smirk on his lips.
"Take a seat Jennifer." He told me.
"Please, Jen is fine." I told him while I took a seat.
"Now, tell me what happened with you and your mate. From the beginning." He asked.
I nodded and started to tell him everything. When I finished, he sat back in his chair and seemed lost in his thoughts. After a while I cleared my throat "everything alright Alpha Vincent?"
"Yes, sorry. You story just reminds me of my own. My mate was human too. I met her 5 years ago, and for me it was love at first sight."
I laughed and he nodded "I know but that's mostly how it goes for us wolves. I understand that for humans it doesn't work like that."
"What happened with your mate, if I may ask."
He smiled "I never told her. She was married, mother of two and looked happy in her life. I didn't want to tear her family apart. So, I left her be, let her live the life that she already had."
"How do you cope with that? Jean told me that he felt...?"
"She lived in South-Africa. So, I didn't feel her that well. But when she died 3 years ago in a car accident." He groaned remembering the pain "That I did feel., I was out for over a week."
"Oh god, I'm so sorry."
"Don't, I had said goodbye long before that."
"What did the council say about it?" I asked.
"The council is complicated. Sometimes they take decisions that are a bit... old-fashioned."
"Like?"
"Well, I got to wait 4 years before I could look for a chosen mate."
"4 years?"
He nodded "time to grief and to process what happened with your true mate."
"Losing a loved one needs time."
"It does. But they don't understand that not everyone is the same. You can't put a time on grieving, everyone is different."
"So, did you find a chosen mate?"
"No, it's not that easy to."
I laughed "tell me about it. I dated so many guys." I rolled my eyes. "You need to start dating like humans do."
He groaned "I know. But I can't do that with she-wolves. Most of them do have a mate somewhere. I only can date those that the council sent me. They are rejected by their true mate, or lost him, have a same background as me with their true mate and so on. When they know that I'm an alpha they try too hard."
"Power-hungry" I laughed. "Maybe you need to start dating humans."
"Yeah, maybe. Anyway, what are you going to do with Olivier?"
"Punch him as hard as I can. Take my son and go home to Vancouver."
"Maybe you need to give him a chance. Date him."
"That's what I wanted. That is what I asked him."
"I know. Sorry. Are you calling the council?"
"I don't know." I sighed and blushed when my stomach growled loudly. "Oh my."
He stood up "come, let's go."
"To where?" I asked while standing up and followed him.
"You will see."
He took me to a restaurant in town. He ordered for me because the menu was in French. We had a nice dinner and evening. We talked about family and their expectations; we understood each other well. He got a lot of pressure from his parents when he was young, because he was their only child and further Alpha.
"Do you like being the Alpha?" I asked him.
"Not every day, but most of the time yes, I really do. I'm lucky that I have a good Beta and Delta, and their mates help a lot too."
"So, you are the only one without a mate?"
"Yeah, and kids too. My parents are quite disappointed that I haven't children yet."
"But you need to find a mate first."
"True, but they thought that I would pick out a girl on the first day that I was allowed to."
"Haven't they tried to set you up?"
"Of course, they have." He rolled his eyes.
"I know the feeling; I have dated a lot of boys that my parents picked out. Mostly from business partners. The typical good boys. They often where, till mommy and daddy were gone."
"I can relate." We both chuckled.
I went quickly to the bathroom while Vincent paid for our dinner. Afterwards we walked back to the pack house. It was cold and he gave me his coat. "I don't need it," he told me when he placed it around me.
"Always warm?" I smiled at him.
"I'm a wolf, we are never cold."
"What does your wolf thinks of taking a mate that isn't his fated mate?"
"He's not entirely happy about it, but we lost her, so he also knows that we have no other choice. And I only will accept a woman when he's wants her too."
"Have you someone in mind?"
"Maybe."
"I hope for you that you will find somebody to love."
His eyes glanced over for a moment "Pearl, Colin and Antoine have arrived" he told me after a while.
"They have?" he nodded.
I took his hand and pulled him with me "let's go. I missed them."
They stood outside the packhouse waiting for us. "Pearl! I missed you." While I dropped Vincent's hand, I rushed to her and wrapped her in a hug. "How are you?" I mumbled.
"Fine, how are you?"
I shrugged "how is Théo?"
"Good and safe. Even though Olivier took him away, he will take good care of him."
"I know."
Afterwards I said hi to Collin, who wrapped me in hug too. "Thank you," he whispered in my ear. I smiled at him. Then I stood before Antoine.
"Antoine." I said and he smiled pulling me in his bulky arms.
"Jennifer, I protect you." He said and gave me a kiss on my head.
"Je sais Antoine." (I know) I murmured against his chest.
"Let's go inside." Vincent said.
*****
The next two days Antoine didn't leave my side. He didn't say much but his presence helped me a lot.
"Why did your mate reject you, Antoine?" I asked him while he took a seat on my bed.
He looked at me for a moment, his eyes always full of sadness. He pulled his shirt of and showed me his back. I gasped "Antoine? What happened?" I asked when I sat behind him on my knees.
"Mon père." (My father)
He flinched for a moment when I gently touched his scars "I'm not going to hurt you, Antoine."
"Je sais." (I know)
"How old were you?" I asked him when I followed all the scars on his back, I assume caused by a belt or even a whip.
"5." he said softly.
I choked back a sob and wrapped my arms around him from behind. "Why?"
"Ma mère était human." He sighed (my mother was human) "she died trying to protect me against a rogue."
"He blamed you for her dead?" I asked.
"Oui. He preferred me dying. He always said that they could have another child."
"You were replaceable, and his mate wasn't."
"Yes, and he was right."
"It's true that his mate wasn't replaceable, but so are you, Antoine!" he stayed quiet, so I asked again "then why did she reject you? For the scars?"
"No, she just heard the gossip. That my father abused me. She thought that I would be the same."
"She is your mate. Did she talk to you?"
"Nope, she saw me, recognized me and rejected me."
"She didn't deserve you."
"That's what Olivier and Mattéo said too."
I stood up and stepped before him, placing my hands on his cheeks and I looked in his warm sad gray eyes. "One day you will meet someone, and she will love you with all her heart. She will see you for who you really are."
A tear slipped out his eyes and I whipped it off with my thumb. I stepped between his legs and wrapped my arms around his neck, his head on my stomach. I tried to comfort him, and I felt his body shake when he cried in my arms. "I'm here for you too Antoine." I said after a while.
"I know."
"What happened with your father?" I asked after a while.
"I don't know. Olivier and his parents came to visit our pack often, and one day they took me with them. I was nine at the time."
"They saved you from him."
"They did." He pulled his shirt back on.
"What did the council say? About your mate rejecting you?"
"She will be punished, and I need to "grief" for a year before I start looking for a chosen mate. Unless I would want to give her a chance."
"Do you want to give her a second chance?"
"No, she never gave me one." He said cold.
"I understand. Odd that you need to grief for a year too, it's like Vincent but he got 4 years."
"He told you?" He asked surprised.
"Yes."
"We need to grief the loss of our mate. In a way it's important, because our wolf needs it. He never would accept another woman as my mate. He would forgive her in a heartbeat."
"So, I can do whatever I want, and Olivier would forgive me?" I smiled at him.
"Probably. Are you going to give him a chance?"
"Maybe." I shrugged.