Chapter 102: Chapter 102

Game of Destiny Chapter 102-1 “Relax, Finlay told me and put his arms around me. I sighed and leaned against him. “Better. If this is stressing you out this much, we can always cancel the call. I can call your mother,” he said as he gently rubbed my back. I smiled at how casually he talked about calling my mother. A couple of months ago, I hadn’t spoken to her years, and now he talked about calling her like he had done it all his life. I loved it.

“No. It’s okay, I’m nervous, but I want to do it,” 1 told him. “You will be there so it will be fine.”

“And I will put an end to it if it gets out of control,” he reassured me I nodded. It was just after dinner and almost time for the call with my aunts and uncles, and mom and dad. We had decided to take the call from our home and we had asked the pack to give us a couple of hours for an important call. Our closest people knew what he call was about and I had received a lot of support and advice from all of them.

“Did you ever meet uncle Mark?” I asked as we settled down on the couch.

“Yes, briefly. He was still Alpha when I went to my first Alpha meeting, but there was so much going on with my old pack and me settling in as Alpha, I didn’t talk to him,” Finlay told me. I nodded, was understandable It had been years before the two of us had met, the Eagle Forest pack would have held no special meaning to him. I took out my phone. Finlay placed his hand on my cheek and made me look at him. “I love you,” he said and kissed me, “I love you, too.” I gave him a kiss back and then took a deep breath and answered the incoming call.

“Hello,” I said as I saw the screen. I had expected three pictures with each mated pair in one of them. Instead, they all sat at my parents‘ kitchen table and my dad was walking back from where they had set up the phone.

“Hi, Armeria,” my mom said.

“Oh look at you, Amie. You are the spitting image of your mother,” Joy said, she had tears in her eyes. As did Sally. Mark had an expression I couldn’t read. I didn’t know if he was upset or angry, or a mix between the two.

“This is Finlay, my mate,” I told them.

“Hello,” Finlay said. They all greeted him and there was a pause, “I have so many things I want to know, but I don’t know what to ask first,” Joy said and smiled.

“Let’s start with what my parents have told you,” I suggested. It turned out, my parents had been tight lipped. I did the last ten years. No details. Sometimes Finlay jumped in when he thought I skipped important parts or didn’t put enough emphasis on things. It helped me relax, as he made it feel like our usual banter.

a short recap “You spent four years with humans, green bean?” uncle Jonas asked. He looked a little pale at the thought.

“I did. They were really kind. Well, most of them. There is always a bad apple or two,” I told him.

“We appreciate you getting her out of that place, Alpha Finlay,” uncle Mark said with a serious face.

“I knew there was no other way,” Finlay told him. I had noticed when he addressed the former Alpha, he was colder than with the others.

“I can see why the two of you are mated,” Sally said with a giggle. Both Finlay and I grinned at her comment.

“It was lucky that she agreed to mate with me. Our pack would have rebelled if I had tried to introduce another Luna,” Finlay told them and gave me a kiss on my cheek. I giggled, but then I saw the look on everyone else’s faces and the mirth vanished right out of me.

1/2 of Chapter 102-1 What’s wrong?” I asked. Finlay noticed my changed mood and looked back at the screen as well.

Nothing,” Joy told me. “It’s not something worth talking about. We re here to talk about you.”

“Mom?” I asked.

“The mood in the pack has taken a turn for the worse the past week Word has spread about what happened at the Game and there are those who think James let the pack down, again, for losing you a second time. His own mood hasn’t made things better,” Mark told us.

Chapter Comments 1 POST COMMENT NOW L SHARE 212 Game of Destiny Chapter 102-2 “Cindy made a move on him and ended up in the cells,” Jonas said in a low voice.

“I’m sorry,” I told them. Part of me felt it was my fault.

‘Don’t feel guilty, Red. This is not on you,‘ Finlay mindlinked me. He was right and I tried to take comfort in that...

“You don’t need to apologise,” Mark told me.

“You certainly don’t,” my dad agreed. The two of them shared a look. There was an underlying hostility between them I had never seen before.

“This is James‘ doing and he has to sort it out. I’m sure he will, it will just take a little time for him to heal,” Joy said.

“Is it okay if I ask a question?” Jonas asked. I smiled and didn’t tell him he already had asked one.

“Sure.”

“Why did you leave? I’m not accusing you, or saying it was the wrong thing to do. I just want to understand,” he asked. I moment to think about what to say, how honest I should be.

“You don’t owe them an explanation if you don’t want to tell them, inlay reminded me. I was grateful to have him on my I did want to tell them.

side, but “That night I heard you, uncle Mark, and dad arguing in his study. Then I heard mom and aunt Jane at odds with each other.

Even Elder was arguing with James. I felt it was all my fault. If I had been stronger none of it would have happened. So, I thought the only thing to do to save all of your friendships was to remove the piece that caused it all. Me. That’s why I left. Today I would have handled it differently, but I was young and in pain.” I could feel a faint echo of my feelings as I sat down to write my goodbye letter. It wasn’t as painful as it once had been. Now I knew my decision had led me to Finlay and to my new pack.

“I’m sorry. You were never meant to hear that,” Mark told me. I nodded.

“I know you didn’t intend to hurt me,” I said. I felt Finlay tightening his hold around me. Was that why he had been so standoffish towards uncle Mark? Because Finlay saw what Mark had said as betraying me? He was so sweet it was hard for me to see his more fierce side.

“I didn’t. I was trying to protect my son, but I can see how the outcome was different from my intention.” I knew it was hard for former Alpha like Mark to admit he had made mistakes.

a “It’s all water under the bridge, uncle. If I hadn’t left, I wouldn’t have ended up working at the diner and then Finlay would never have seen me when he stopped for lunch and I would never have met him. That would be a far bigger tragedy,” I explained. My mom smiled and nodded. My dad looked proud, as did Finlay. He took my hand and kissed it.

“It would have been the biggest tragedy of them all,” he agreed. He was doing a good job at making me swoon.

“We hope the close relationship between me and all of you, along with my family, will enable us to build an alliance in the future.

We also know James will need some time, so, we will leave the door open for when you feel the time is right,” I said.

“Even after what he did on the last day of the Game?” Mark asked, they all looked surprised.

“Well, I won’t lie. It did upset me, and my temper did run away a little.” Finlay chuckled at my statement and I shot him a look, which only made my dad start to chuckle as well. “But, we can overlook it. The Game has a way to get under your skin and there was a lot happening. We don’t expect miracles overnight.”

1/2 Chapter 102-2 “We don’t hold any grudges, Finlay clarified. The people on screen Hodded. We talked a little longer, but I realised I had far less to say to my aunts and uncles than I had expected. Sad as it was, I had et go of those relationships and even though I enjoyed seeing them, they weren’t as important as they once had been. When we hung up 1 sighed and relaxed back against Finlay. He engulfed me in his arms.

“Was it a good conversation?” he asked.

“It was. I feel like I get to tie up a lot of loose ends, which feels good. It also helps me see who is important to me.”

“And who is that?” he asked as he nuzzled my neck.

“You. Our made up family with the top tiers and your aunt and Ramses. The pack. My family. Your mother.” I counted them out.

“My mother?” he asked.

“Yes.” I ran my fingers through his hair as he rested his head agains my shoulder.

“I can live with that. It was a good list.”

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