Chapter 73 The More Things Change…

"Why are you in such a rush my little butterfly?" Bekka asked as she was being led by the hand to a familiar vip room.

"Hehe, I have a BIG surprise for you mommy!" Mira got excited and started pulling her mother harder when she thought of what was waiting for them.

"Oh? Well if it's from my little fish I'm sure it'll be wonderful!" Bekka nodded as she increased pace to match her daughters demand.

Bekka didn't really understand what was going on.

Mira just showed up after her match and claimed that she just absolutely had to come with her to her grandmothers viewing room.

Mira began to pull her frantically and wouldn't even let her wash the blood off her body.

While she was sure that nothing was wrong from her daughter's excited tone, she still wasn't sure why she was so excited.

'Did she get me a gift for breaking that stupid milestone?' Bekka thought with a bitter smile.

Truthfully, Bekka didn't care much about the contests or the notoriety she gained from them.

Wolves aren't meant to live in cages, be they mental or physical.

She'd spent nineteen years of her life keeping her darker desires in check and stuffing them down deep inside.

So to her all these contests were was an outlet for her to vent her pent up impulses.

She'd been offered meaningless medals, lucrative bodyguard jobs and even an exorbitant amount of gold from winning her matches, however she accepted none of it.

Nothing compared to the feeling she got when she just let her mind go before a match only to regain consciousness when she was covered in blood and surrounded by corpses.

While losing control of your body would be scary to most, for Bekka it was the opposite.

She felt fulfilled.

She felt free.

When she entered combat it was as if a switch was flipped in her brain that allowed her to shed her kind and carefree persona and become something much more primal and dark.

Bekka calmly looked at her daughter's back.

Mira had seen many of her matches, and the first time she'd seen one Bekka was incredibly worried.

Even though life in this world was hard and most get acquainted with violence and death very early, the way Bekka killed was especially brutal and bloody.

And yet, Mira showed no fear of her mother in the slightest. She even commented that she was so proud of her mothers and her daddy being the coolest and the strongest of all.

Bekka was so happy to hear that her daughter didn't fear her she actually shed tears while she smothered her face in kisses.

Mira had unknowingly saved her mother.

If she'd shown even the slightest trace of fear or discomfort, Bekka would've quit the colosseum immediately and never looked back.

She would never risk one of the people she loved most coming to fear or hate her.

She would've stuffed those impulses right back down forever and never allowed them to see the light of day.

Mira's acceptance was a true blessing for her.

Nothing could've made her happier.

'Well the one thing that could is..' shaking her head to free herself from useless thoughts, Bekka finally focused on the red double doors with the symbol of the royal family engraved in gold. Two hulking guards were stationed outside as additional security.

"We're here!" Mira turned around and gave her mother a mischievous smile.

"Whatever you've gotten for me my little bean bun I'm sure I'll love it!" Bekka smiled and planted a warm kiss on her daughter's forehead.

Both the guards seeing this were shocked out of their minds.

This woman was the blood wolf?

She was so… motherly.

They each gave eachother silent knowing glances that confirmed their plan to talk about this later.

With synchronized movements, the guards opened the door for the two ladies and they promptly entered.

Inside was a lavish yet quaint viewing room with leather couches and a table lined with food with a large glass window to see the brutal contests below.

Immediately Bekka's nose was filled with the smell of hot food laid out on the table and her muscled stomach growled furiously.

She was so hungry she'd forgotten why she was here until a scent she'd almost forgotten tickled her nose.

Looking at the couches, she could see they were full with Yara and Seras sitting on one with Duke standing behind them.

Bekka's entire body trembled when she saw the occupants of the second couch.

Lisa and Lailah were sitting on either side of a man that Bekka would recognize anywhere.

He wore simple black pants with well made black shoes and a thick fur coat that was draped over his broad shoulders leaving his muscular tattooed body exposed.

His long blood red hair was tied in a ponytail and a single gold earring dangled from his left ear that matched the necklace of fenris teeth around his neck.

His purple and red eyes gleamed with an intense light that contained longing and overwhelming desire.

"Surprise! Daddy's back!!" Mira couldn't hold it in any longer and exclaimed the surprise at the top of her lungs.

Bekka did not move.

She didn't hear Mira.

She couldn't.

She was frozen in place and her mind was somewhere far away.

Yara had a humorous glint in her eyes.

She knew that out of all of her son's wives, Bekka missed him the most yet expressed it the least.

Women of the Osa tribe have an almost suicidal devotion to their mates.

This coupled with Bekka's habit of not opening up when she's hurting made the four months apart incredibly painful for her.

Only Yara could see through her facade but even when she'd try to talk to her, Bekka would just brush it off and say she was fine.

Bekka's emotions were in complete and utter turmoil.

She believed she was hallucinating again.

Seeing the one person she wanted to see the most.

She knew all she had to do was blink to make it disappear so why didn't she want to blink this time?

He looked so much more alive and radiant this time around, she almost wanted to believe it was real.

Seeing the chaotic state of her emotions, Exedra hurriedly disappeared from his seat and wrapped Bekka in his arms.

"I'm here my love. It's really me."

For a moment, Bekka did not react to her husband's touch.

Suddenly the light of understanding shone in her eyes before her voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "H-husband?"

"The only one you'll have in this life and the next."

Hearing that deep velvety voice that she loved fill her ears, the realization finally set in and her eyes began to fill with tears as she hugged him back.

"WAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!"

The sound of Bekka wailing furiously as she clung to her husband filled the room and all the occupants wore warm smiles.

Exedra simply held his wife in his arms as his body became wet with her snot and tears.

His smile was the widest of all as he saw this scene.

Deep inside he was worried that his wives had changed completely while he was away.

Even though he would still love them, he would always mourn the original personalities of the women that he fell in love with.

He wasn't completely sure up until this moment, but now he understood that even if his wives were crueler, more bloodthirsty and prideful, they were still the same kindhearted and gentle women that they'd always been.

He felt silly for thinking something as simple as time apart would change them completely.

His wives are much stronger than that.

"Y-you can't leave again! I-I don't care what it's for!!" Bekka barely managed to get the words out through her intense crying.

Fighting the urge to chuckle at his wife's adorable state, Exedra instead tilted her chin upward and stared deep into her watery eyes. "I will never leave you girls again."

Planting a soft kiss on Bekka's full lips, the woman's crying was finally halted as she kissed her husband back.

Bekka's tail began to wag so furiously that it resembled a small propeller.

Lisa and Lailah each had tears tuning down their faces as they heard their husband's words.

Bekka had actually demanded the thing they wanted the most yet were to shy to ask for.

Hearing how easily their husband agreed, they felt an abundance of warmth.

Yara was proud.

Seeing her son's monstrous level of power, she was afraid his new strength had dulled his emotions but she was overjoyed to see his love for his family was even stronger than before.

As a mother, there was nothing more she could ask for.

Seras was seething with jealousy but she was happy she got to witness her pupil's reunion with his family.

She wasn't sure what called for her to see this through until the end but she was sort of glad she did.

Seras closed her eyes and said a mental goodbye to her student before her body shimmered and disappeared.

Whether they would meet again, only time would tell.