486 A Seeker’s Dilemma
“When… Oh, you mean the backstabbing? Hmm, that’s a difficult question,” he responded thoughtfully as he visibly wrestled in search of an answer to this question.
To Madeline, this answer shouldn’t have been too difficult, possibly because she expected him to simply say ‘yes.’
“Luna Katie told me to forget about it and move on. Helping her with the future she intends to bring upon this world… but it’s not as easy as it sounds,” Kyle, who almost always acted on impulse, was suddenly thoughtful.
“But that’s beside the point. I don’t know if I can say I had the chance to regret what I did. Luna Katie… sort of robbed that opportunity from me and skipped straight to forgiveness and redeeming part.”
Madeline tried to understand his words but there seemed to be something missing. Kyle wasn’t saying he regretted what he did. She sensed no malice coming from him… but she also couldn’t understand how someone switches sides without feeling regret for the actions they took while on the enemy’s side.
“Perhaps you don’t understand the question. When you think back to that time, do you… cringe or feel bad about what you did?” Madeline asked.
“Hmm, would it make you more comfortable if I said that I did?” Kyle gave her a weak smile.
“Maybe…” she sighed.
“I can offer an explanation for what I did and I can admit I was making the worst mistakes in my life but I would say I regret what I did. Back then, I was one of the Rogue King’s most trusted spies.
.....
I had power… and I even had the protection of the most dangerous werewolf in the world. I was born a rogue, trained to be a spy and sent on an assignment. To me, nothing I did was wrong.
I won’t force myself to feel regret for something I thought was right at the time. But I won’t deny the fact that I made mistakes.”
“Oh! You… grew up as a rogue?” Madeline asked suddenly.
Kyle smirked, “Yes… yes, I did. And I must say, I’m glad to have kept myself alive until this moment.”
“Oh, have you found worth living for?”
This brought Kyle a bit of confusion, “I’ve found you. What else?”
“Huh!” Madeline suddenly panicked, “What do you mean? No—don’t tell me.”
“You can’t feel it, can you? The mate bond?” Kyle asked, crestfallen. He must have suspected it since Madeline hadn’t shown any signs before.
The colour drained from the girl’s face and she froze as Kyle studied her, “Mate bond? What mate bond?”
The Seeker felt something invade her mind… a consciousness she’d never felt. It wasn’t hostile but its presence did not go unnoticed.
“Hmm… Your wolf doesn’t even acknowledge it. But she won’t deny it either. Am I missing something here?” Kyle asked.
“Yes… you are. You’re missing a lot. I can’t sense my mate… At least, not until I’m marked by them,” Madeline replied, taking a step back. Kyle quickly closed the gap.
“Well then, let’s get on with…” Kyle held the girl by her shoulders. His words were drowned out by her yelling and squirming…
His motions were swift but gentle. But when she struggled, he wouldn’t feel her resistance. Almost like she was barely resisting him… and yet the vein pulsing down her forehead spoke a different language. Madeline was indeed struggling against him.
‘She’s so… weak and frail.’
“Stay away from me,” Madeline fought against the man’s iron grip. Despite his firm grip on her shoulders, he didn’t hurt her like her instincts said he would.
“Hey, stop struggling. You’ll hurt your—”
“Step away from her,” a cold feminine voice interrupted Kyle, freezing the two of them. Standing a few steps above them was an emerald-eyed delta. Crysta looked like she could kill Kyle with her glare.
“This isn’t what it looks like,” Kyle started.
“You heard what Madeline said. She asked you to stay away from her and that’s what you will do,” Crysta replied with the same cold tone.
Kyle turned to face the girl in his arms. She had indeed asked him to stay away from him. Whether it was because she feared his touch or simply because she got caught in the moment was beyond his comprehension.
And staying away from her was the last thing he wanted to do. This wasn’t looking good for him.
How could he start explaining something that was so one-sided? While he held her, sparks flared where their skin touched and he felt the urge to hold her in his arms even more…
But those emotions and urges weren’t reflected in her eyes. He came off as someone who was harassing her instead… and he could see that.
‘This sucks!’
The beta alpha gently let the frightened Seeker go and bowed slightly, “I’m sorry if I frightened you.”
“N-no, it’s fine. You just—”
“Come with me, Mady,” Crysta interrupted the girl and pulled her away from the beta alpha. To Kyle, she yelled, “And you! Just stay away from her if you know what’s good for you.”
Kyle merely clenched his fist and suppressed a frustrated growl. A delta was telling him what to do. Ordering to stay away from his mate who couldn’t even feel the mate bond. How was he supposed to get around these circumstances?
Since becoming a beta alpha, this was the first time Kyle had found something he wanted… something he wanted for himself. So close… and yet out of reach.
This was his second attempt at talking to Madeline… and it had ended in failure. Each time, he was met with more mysteries. She couldn’t feel the same pull that drove him to such lengths as he did… and she had the most beautiful grey eyes he’d ever seen in a wolf.
‘Was a wolf even supposed to have grey eyes?’ he wondered to himself. Then again, he’d also never heard of a wolf that couldn’t feel the mate bond. For some reason, he believed her… and not because the mate bond was wrong… but for reasons he wanted to find out from Madeline herself.
.......
“Mady, are you alright? Are you hurt? Did he hurt you?” Crysta asked the girl once they were back in the Sirius common room, checking her over for any signs of injury.
Honour sighed and dropped into the sofa, grabbing her book once more and turning to the page she’d stopped at.
Bree closed the door behind them and stared in silence.
“I’m fine, Crysta. He didn’t mean to hurt me,” Madeline shook her head feverishly.
“Then what happened out there? You seemed panicked,” Crysta asked, worry etched on her face.
“I’m fine, Crysta. He just caught me off-guard is all,” Madeline tried.
“If he makes you feel uncomfortable, we can make sure…”
“No, Crysta. It’s fine. I can handle myself around him,” Madeline cut her off.
“Then why was he forcefully holding you when we found you? You were already panicking before. He looked like he was about to harass you,” Bree stepped in.
“Well… That could have been sort of… my fault,” Madeline turned a light shade of red.
Crysta stopped in her tracks, confused by this statement. Something wasn’t right here. She also noticed that she hadn’t really paid attention to the last thing Mady had said, “Did you say you could handle yourself around him?”
“I think you should let Madeline explain what’s happening,” Honour sighed. The delta nodded in agreement and allowed the Seeker to relax, taking a seat before she started explaining.
“Kyle thinks that… I could be his mate,” Madeline admitted with a tinge of red on her cheeks.
Crysta’s jaw nearly dropped. She didn’t know much about Kyle, to begin with. He was a very powerful beta alpha capable of a lot. She also knew about his former transgressions. But she didn’t know what kind of person he was now.
Alpha Cole seemed to trust him and he hadn’t conducted himself in any questionable manner yet. When she’d seen Madeline struggling against him, she’d jumped to the worst conclusions.
Despite the staggering difference in their power, he respected her wishes and let go of Madeline without much resistance.
“Is he?”
“I don’t know. Seekers can’t feel the mate bond of their own mates,” Madeline replied.
“Can’t you just check who his mate is and figure out if that’s you?” Honour suddenly asked.
“That’s a good idea… but it’s happened more than once for the Seeker to see nothing when they try finding out who someone’s mate is. Sometimes, it’s simply because that person’s mate is still too young or probably unconscious at that time, so finding them becomes harder.
So even if I tried to check him, I might come up with nothing.”
“Or, you could come up with his true mate’s face and guide him to the right person that’s definitely not you,” Honour suggested.
“Yeah, that would be nice,” something about this suggestion didn’t sit well with Madeline. What if Kyle wasn’t her mate after all? What then?
“But you forget one thing… I don’t know how to use those powers yet,” she hurriedly defended.
“Oh yeah… That’s right. You need to test it out on someone and figure out how it works. Try checking who Crysta’s mate is,” Honour suddenly threw her book away and stared at her friend in childish anticipation.
Madeline and Crysta turned a deep shade of red. Crysta’s somewhat military facade suddenly crumbled, “H-Honour… can we stop getting these wild ideas?”
“Oh, come on, Crysta. You must be curious. You’re twenty years old already. Two years too old,” Honour shook her head like a disappointed elder, “That just won’t do.”
“What about you? She could try it on you,” Crysta rushed, pointing fingers.
“I know my mate. It’s Drake. You, on the other hand, should…” Honour stopped speaking when she noticed the room had gone deathly quiet.
The three girls were all staring at her—like hungry wolves that had found their prey.
‘Oops!’
The storm began…
“How long have you known?”
“Who revealed it first?”
“Have you guys kissed yet?”
“Has he marked you?”
“Why hadn’t you said anything?”
“How far have you guys gone?”
“Aren’t you mad that he didn’t say goodbye this morning?”
.....
Honour was covering her ears trying to block out their questions. At once, she yelled at them, “One at a time, please!”
“I have an idea. We should take turns, starting with me…”
“No fair! I want to go first.”
“Madeline first, then Crysta and finally Bree. I’ll only allow one question each,” Honour ordered.
Madeline sat back, thinking over her question for a moment, “When did you find out?”
“Are you crazy, girl? You were supposed to ask her how she found out. We need the juicy details,” Crysta whined, shaking Bree in disappointment.
Honour stared at her friends dumbfounded.
How was she supposed to answer this question… or any of their questions at that? She’d wondered the same exact thing herself. She knew Drake was her mate. But when was it that she had actually come to this realisation?
This answer eluded her, “I’m not sure. I guess as we spent more time together, it became more and more obvious.”
“But you’re not eighteen yet,” Bree pointed out, keeping Crysta at an arm’s length as she massaged her temples.
“I know… but I’m not a normal werewolf either,” she sighed.
Bree was right… she wasn’t eighteen yet. For some unknown reason, the goddess kept the definite pull of the mate bond away from the werewolves until their eighteenth birthday.
However, it wasn’t unheard of for two wolves who got along so well to turn out to be mates once they were of age. Sometimes the connection between two people was so powerful that it was undeniable that they would end up as mates…
And most times, it would come true…
Most times.
And besides, she had plenty of mystical ways to prove Drake was her mate… ‘Mystical ways indeed! When did life get so complicated?’