The Soulmates’ Crap

EVA

Estella’s been with us in the pack for a month now.

I won’t sugarcoat it. It’s been tougher than I thought it would be. As the new luna, I’ve had to deal with a lot of pushback, even though Patrick officially welcomed her.

We have to live with humans in their world. But having them in ours? That’s a different story.

Even the friendliest packs don’t want humans knowing about us and hanging around our territory. And don’t even get me started on the packs that are downright nasty to humans.

Patrick’s pack isn’t extreme when it comes to humans, but a lot of members didn’t agree with the decision to keep Estella. And they weren’t shy about showing it.

If they knew what I know, they wouldn’t dare to complain. But they don’t. They’re clueless about what’s right in front of them.

Max spends every free moment with Estella. Most of the time, he’s in his wolf form, with her riding on his back.

This has caused a lot of gossip, but no one’s figured it out yet. The age difference makes it hard to suspect anything.

The guys are just annoyed because Max acts more like a cute dog than a wolf when he’s with Estella, but he still manages to be second best in training, right after their alpha.

Even the beta can’t compete with him, and it’s not like he doesn’t try. He’s the one who’s supposed to have the alpha’s back, after all.

Patrick once told me that if his cousin wasn’t so set on following in his father’s footsteps, he would have made him his beta in a heartbeat.

“But he was a pacifist,” Patrick had said, rolling his eyes. “Until he found his mate, at least.”

That was true. Max wasn’t exactly friendly to anyone who complained about Estella. And when someone dared to call him a lap dog, well, let’s just say it didn’t end well.

That’s why he was locked in Patrick’s office for over an hour while I played with Estella.

I can tell she used to be a happy little girl. There are still traces of it behind her sad eyes. She’s adjusting to this life surprisingly well, despite the mean and suspicious looks she often gets.

The only thing that worries me is that she never talks about her family, and she won’t visit their graves.

I’ve suggested it to her several times, but she always says no. Maybe that’s normal. It’s still too soon, and Max told us how she was at the funeral.

I can’t imagine losing even one person I love, let alone my whole family like she did. Grief is supposed to last a long time, I guess.

“Is Patrick fighting with Max?” Estella asked.

The truth was yes, but with the soundproof walls, I could afford to tell a little white lie.

“No, sweetheart. They’re just talking.” I smiled.

“Then why is Max so mad?”

“How do you know he’s mad?” I asked, frowning.

“I’m mad too.”

I tried to hide my worry and reassured her that everything was fine in the office. But I couldn’t stop thinking about how unusual this was.

The bond between a werewolf and a human is always weaker than between two werewolves, especially before mating and marking, and it takes longer to form.

After mating, they’re equal because the human turns. At first, the bond is always stronger for the werewolf because of his heightened senses.

The human feels the attraction, but it can take a while to tune into each other’s moods.

Maybe it’s because she’s so young. Kids are more aware of their surroundings and pick up on emotions more easily. They’re open and trusting.

Still, I need to talk to my mom or my aunt about it if she ever decides to show up. I’ve been trying for two weeks now, but they’ve been ignoring me.

PATRICK

“You can’t keep starting fights, Max,” I said, trying not to sound too annoyed.

In the month since Estella arrived, my cousin had taken out almost a quarter of our warriors.

He seemed to lose his temper whenever someone looked at the girl wrong.

I totally got it. If someone disrespected Eva, I’d do the same, if not worse. But as an alpha, I knew this wasn’t the way to handle it.

I was planning to talk to everyone again, but I felt like I needed to talk to Max first and try to get him to see reason.

This was so unlike him, so I guessed his wolf was affecting him more than he realized.

“If they keep insulting Estella, I’ll have to keep starting fights, as you put it,” he said casually. “And before you start with the mate bond stuff, it has nothing to do with that.”

“No?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No,” he said firmly. “She lost her family. She needs protection, and instead of helping her, they treat her like crap just because she’s not one of us.”

“You know it’s not allowed for a human to stay in our territory. They see her as a threat. The only way she’ll be accepted is if you admit she’s your mate.”

“She’s a kid!!” Max yelled, losing his cool. “A kid! She’s not in a position to decide if she wants to be mated to anyone or claimed by anyone.

“I won’t make a decision that’s her right to make.”

“It’s the only way to stop them from treating her badly or calling you a lapdog,” I tried to reason. “You don’t have to act on your bond now. You’d just be protecting her from them.”

“To hell with them,” he growled. “I don’t care what they say about me. I’ll take them all down if I have to. You know I can.”

“You’d rather make enemies within the pack? Break up our unity? Just because you’re too stubborn to admit you’ve found your mate?”

“I’ll tell you again that I never wanted a mate.”

“Max, she’s here. You’re the one who brought her.”

“I’m trying to protect a kid, Patrick. If I follow your advice, it means I’m placing a burden on her that she shouldn’t have to bear. She’ll end up feeling the pressure.

“Our way of life is alien to her. And what if she rejects me or her uncle comes to claim her? The pack will despise her even more, and I can’t guarantee I won’t kill someone.”

“Out of all the scenarios you just mentioned, which one scares you the most?” I asked.

“Every single one of them.” He sighed. “I’ve grown attached to her. She’s a sweet little thing. I can’t stand seeing her hurt or in pain.

“My wolf is already smitten with her, though. That’s why I often shift when I’m with her. It soothes him to have her that close. If I don’t, he gives me hell.”

“You’re in love with her.”

“I care about her a lot, yes,” he clarified. “But she’s just a pup.”

“She’s your mate.”

“Patrick, it’s already hard enough to separate my feelings from those of my wolf. Don’t make it any more difficult,” he muttered.

“It’s going to get more difficult, you know,” I said sympathetically.

He let out a breath.

“I know, but I can’t handle thinking about it right now.”

I nodded in understanding and let him go to Estella, who was outside playing with Eva. I could feel the hostility toward my cousin rise.

I would use all my authority to suppress it, but unconsciously Max had stirred up more trouble than he ever intended.

His blatant disregard for the concept of soulmates. His promiscuity with almost every unmated female.

The rumors that a girl was rejected by her mate because she had been with Max, and his decision to bring Estella, a human, to live in the pack.

All these incidents were working against him.

The fact that he’s the best warrior we have and that he’ll be an even better doctor was doing very little to ease the tension. Competition is in our nature.

I rubbed my temples to soothe my headache.

When the door opened softly, I knew it was Eva. She was the only one who could come and go as she pleased because there was never a time when I didn’t want to see her.

Just the sight of her and her sweet smile was enough to lift the weight from my shoulders, even if it was just for a moment.

We hadn’t fully mated, and I hadn’t marked her, and every day was a struggle, especially now that she lived here and slept in the room next to mine.

It was getting too hard to take it slow with her, and our wolves were already frustrated. Yet, in my heart, I knew this was the right thing to do.

She approached me gracefully, and pulling my chair back, she straddled my lap. I grabbed her by the back of the neck and kissed her deeply.

My wolf purred in contentment, and I felt just the same.

“Maybe we should,” she said softly after we broke the kiss.

I looked into her eyes, and I knew what she was talking about.

“We agreed to take it slow, didn’t we?” I teased, kissing her nose gently.

“Yes, but you know as well as I do that a pack trusts its alpha and luna more when they are fully mated as tradition demands.

“How are you to make them listen to you if they think you are as unconventional as Max? They will have every reason to question your impartiality.

“The last thing we need is a mutiny within our territory that will render us easy prey to rogues and rival packs.”

“I know, but I don’t want to rush into it just because we have to. Maybe I’m a bit like Max on that one. I don’t want to do it for the wrong reasons.”

I felt her grinding lightly on me, and I groaned.

“If you think about it, maybe it’s just the right excuse to do it,” she whispered in my ear before she kissed me, making me lose myself in her.

UNKNOWN

She liked it here. It wasn’t like home, and most people were mean to her, but it still felt nice to be here.

Leslie and Howie were so kind to her, and Max played with her all the time when he was home.

When he wasn’t at home, she was a bit lonely, but Eva had said she could go visit anytime, and so she did.

She didn’t see much of Patrick, but whenever he was around, he would hug and play with her.

Both Patrick and Eva looked different these last weeks. Estella noticed they both now had some strange marks on their necks.

They looked painful, and she asked Eva about it one day, but she explained it didn’t really hurt. She said it was the way werewolves showed their affection to their chosen one.

“Like a wedding ring?” Estella had asked, confused, remembering something she had heard somewhere.

In another lifetime.

“Exactly,” Eva beamed. “We don’t get married in our world, you see. We have a partner, though, and we stay with them for life.”

“How do you know you will stay with someone for life?” she asked thoughtfully.

“Well, there’s some kind of magic going on here,” Eva said and then hesitated for a few moments before she went on to say, “After we are born, we are given a soulmate by the Moon Goddess.”

“Is she like a fairy or something?”

“Sort of, yes.”

“And what is a soul…?”

“Soulmate. It’s like a husband or wife but much, much better. After we’ve grown up enough, we can sense the person who is destined for us through our superpowers.

“Then we give marks like these to each other”—Eva pointed to her neck—“to secure our bond and to let others know we have found our mate… soulmate, I mean.”

Estella nodded her head though she couldn’t fully understand how this thing with soulmates worked. Then a thought crossed her mind.

“Max doesn’t have a mark, so he doesn’t have a soulmate yet, right?”

“He does, sweetie, we all do, but Max… let’s just say that he hasn’t found her… yet.”

“So can he be mine till then?” she asked hopefully.

Eva’s face lit up with surprise, then she laughed, her hands coming up to touch her cheeks.

“Sure, sweetie, I think he can be yours until then.”

“Great. Can I tell the others?”

Eva’s brow furrowed. “What others?”

“The older girls. They’re a pain. They’re always trying to chat up Max, and they’re mean to me.

“But if they’re not his soulmates and I can keep him until he finds her, I can tell them to stop bothering him.”

“If they’re being mean to you, I’ll have a talk with them too.”

“That’s okay. I can handle them.” Estella grinned.

“Eva,” she called out again after a few moments.

“Yes, sweetie?”

“Do you think she will like me? Max’s soulmate?”

Eva pulled her into a tight hug and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

“She definitely will,” she whispered.

MAX

As tough as it was, I kept my promise to Patrick, and I stayed out of trouble. Not that I was the one usually stirring it up.

I was constantly being provoked, but I did my best to keep my temper in check. The struggle only lasted for about a week, though.

After my cousin completed the mating with Eva, which honestly caught me off guard because I thought they had decided to take things slow, he called for a public meeting with the entire pack.

He attended this meeting with Eva, who stood by his side, quietly supportive.

I was taken aback when I realized the reason for the gathering was Estella. Sure, Patrick had told me he would handle it, but I thought he’d do it in a more subtle way.

But it seemed he wanted to set things straight once and for all. He told them that Estella would stay here for as long as she needed to, and they should treat her with respect.

To those who dared to accuse him of risking our secrecy by letting a human into our pack, he replied, “If I thought the girl was a threat to our community, she wouldn’t be here.

“I would find another way to help her. But even my father, whom you all respect, agreed to give Estella shelter in her time of need.”

“It was just for a few days, alpha,” one argued. “But she’s been here for almost two months. It’s not the same.”

“No, it’s not,” he admitted. “But only because at first, my father wanted to do it the human way. It didn’t work out.

“That’s why we took her back until we find some relative of hers.

“Despite my instructions when Estella arrived here, I noticed that many of you didn’t treat her properly. You even turned the pups against her.

“I’m warning you for the last time. This won’t be tolerated. Whoever hurts the child or makes her feel unwelcome will have to face the consequences.”

“You’ll punish us for some human?” a woman’s voice sneered.

I didn’t recognize her, but feeling the negative vibes from the entire pack made my wolf furious, as if I wasn’t angry enough myself.

“I’ll punish you for disrespecting my command,” Patrick’s voice thundered with authority, and in that moment, despite my anger, I felt a surge of pride for him.

“I’m your alpha, and if you don’t trust me to keep you safe, you’re free to join another pack if they’ll have you after I inform them of your disrespectful and malevolent nature.”

That shut them all up.

Everyone knew that the only valid reasons for leaving your pack were to be mated to a member of another or if your alpha died and there was no true successor.

That usually happened during war time when packs were destroyed or forced to disband.

“My luna and I care for the girl, and in collaboration with the human authorities, we’re doing our best to return the child to her world.

“You’ve surely heard the rumors about your luna, and I know some of you believe them to be true,” he said, squeezing his mate’s hand.

“Are they?” someone asked hesitantly.

“Yes,” Eva replied calmly, speaking for the first time, and the crowd gasped. “They are. And Estella is no threat to us.

“With my alpha’s permission, I’ll say that I’m greatly displeased by your behavior toward a child, human or not, and of your disobedience toward our leader.

“This meeting should have never taken place, and my powers should not have been used as an argument to make you do what is morally right.”

The crowd bowed their heads in shame and were dismissed shortly after that.

After that, other than a few dirty looks from a bunch of stubborn fools, Estella was left alone. I wasn’t, though.

The girls kept coming but with a different approach than before.

Now they were commenting on what a perfect mate I would be, for if I cared so much for a human pup, there was no question about how devoted I would be to my own.

Some of them were under eighteen and hoped I was their mate (as if I wouldn’t have sensed that).

Others were my age or older and hadn’t found their mates yet, so they didn’t mind getting into my bed.

They practically dragged me into secluded corners, trying to touch and kiss me, and the thing was that though I did enjoy it, and to be honest, I did need it as well, I couldn’t do it.

One reason was my wolf’s constant nagging that I shouldn’t be cheating on our mate. The other was that I felt guilty.

I was still Estella’s only friend, and every time I came home, I found her waiting for me expectantly.

It felt wrong to take time away from our games just to hook up with a random girl who meant nothing to me.

Lately, whenever I've come home, she's looked at my neck anxiously and then smiled. I've tried to ignore it, but curiosity eventually got the best of me.

“What’s with you always looking at my neck, little one?” I asked while tickling her.

She giggled, and, burying her face in my chest, she answered in a muffled voice, “I’m making sure you don’t have a soulmate.”

I froze.

“Why?” I asked.

“Because if you don't find her, Eva said I get to keep you.”