Wendell would have arrived earlier but he didnât want to get accused of trying to get an advantage over everyone else for being who he was. It didnât help that Bernard had set him up at the last Mating Games by doing exactly that so now, all the stewards expected the same sneaky behaviour from him.
They werenât wrong, but it was slightly frustrating on his end when all he wanted to do was help out.
his wolf chortled, amused by his humanâs frustrations.
Wendell denied but his argument was weak. Anyway, itâs not like youâre not interested in finding out mate.
his wolf told him.
Wendell all but whined.
he agreed. While as wolves, they had free will and were able to make their own choices, they were all creations of the Moon Goddess. That meant that their destiny was already planned out for them and it was the choices and decisions they made that took them down different paths in life.
To explain, waiting to meet his mate as destined by the Moon Goddess would take him down one path in life while going out of his way to find her now, before the start of todayâs task would take him down another path. Every other decision he made in life would affect his life journey but at the end of it, they would all be up in the skies with the Moon Goddess. Just as she had destined for all of them.
Wendell chuckled and rolled his eyes. As much as he loved and appreciated his wolf, the creature was far more mature than him. Most of the time this played out as the voice of reason but other times, like this particular time, Wendell wanted to be told to act brash and without thinking of the consequences.
Just when Wendell and his wolf had come to a consensus that waiting to meet his mate was probably the best idea â meaning that they would need to head back to the apartments as todayâs task wasnât set to start for at least another half an hour â a familiar steward approached him.
âI understand youâre eager, Wendell, but you canât be taking advantage like this,â Heather sent him a pointed look, a firm look on her face with her arms crossed over her chest.
âI wasnât trying to take advantage,â he tried to deny but understood how simply being here was very incriminating.
âRight,â she hummed, not for second falling for his act. Because she genuinely believed that he was pretending now. âI think itâs probably best that you head back to the apartment and when itâs time, Iâll come and get all of you.â
âYes, Iâll do that,â Wendell agreed, turning around with a flushed look on his face.
his wolf made fun of him.
Wendell rolled his eyes but couldnât help but laugh at his wolf. It wasnât the first time that the beast had allowed him to make a bad decision and reap the consequences. Apparently, it was his way of schooling him.
he scoffed before taking off into a run toward the forest behind the palace.
Even though Heather had instructed him to head back to the apartment, Wendell was far too fidgety for that. His very being itched to find his mate. To set eyes upon her. To get to know her. Unfortunately, he couldnât do any of that until the start of todayâs task which wasnât for some time now.
To pass the time, he could think of no better way than to go for a run. Besides, he hadnât been out on a run today, anyway so essentially, he was killing two birds with one stone.
his wolf murmured.
Chuckling, Wendell stripped his clothes and left them on a trunk near the entrance of the forest. That way, he wouldnât risk getting his clothes dirty while he was running through the forest. It also granted him more freedom than tying them around his paws as that would probably still get them dirty and then require an outfit change. Something which he may or may not have time for.
The moment he was in his birthday, Wendell dropped himself to the ground. Instead of his fingers pressing into the dirt, it was his paws as he began off in a run.
his wolf asked in a quiet voice, allowing his human counterpart to lead todayâs run as he could sense that Wendell really needed this.
his wolf chuckled.
Wendell replied, a thoughtful expression on his wolfish face.
his wolf chuckled.
The conversation between man and beast continued for a considerable amount of time.
Wendell didnât have a clock of him so wasnât sure what time it was. However, he did know that it had been quite some time since he had left the palace. Not wanting to risk being late, he decided to begin heading back. Now, if he arrived early then he could always head back to the apartment to pass the time.
Once he arrived back at the spot near the entrance, he shifted back into his human and began getting dressed. He pulled on his socks and dress pants, quickly followed by his leather loafers before reaching for his shirt. As his fingers worked on the buttons, doing one up at a time, he glanced up casually.
Wendell wasnât sure what he was looking for, he was looking for anything, but he ended up setting eyes on a sleek black car â typical of one of the many cars that the palace owned â pull up outside the palace. He smoothed out the collar as he continued watching; not sure what exactly was demanding such attention from him.
When one of the doors opened, he watched as first, two men exited and then two women. The men were dressed like him, smart and in a suit while the two women looked like they had just stepped off a catwalk. They were both dressed so elegantly that he couldnât help but admire their fashion sense.
Even more so when he felt the strong connection to this group of strangers.
There was no doubt that they were at the palace for the same reason as him â for the Mating Games. What he did doubt, however, was the reason as to why he couldnât look away.
his wolf hummed. Thereâs just something so captivating about this group of wolves.
Wendell asked thoughtfully, watching closely as the group of four spoke to their steward.
his wolf told him in hushed tones, almost as if he was concerned with being overheard.
A few moments of silence passed as both Wendell and his wolf continued watching the group, patiently awaiting their turn to head into the palace for todayâs task.
Could it be that one of the females is our mate? he finally asked in a small voice, voicing aloud what he had been thinking from the very first moment that the group stepped out of the car.
I think itâs very possible, his wolf agreed.
Wendell added.
Wendell grinned widely at his wolfâs admission, especially because it aligned with his. However, a moment of panic washed over him as he watched the group finally move to disappear into the palace.
his wolf assured him.
Those few words were enough to make him feel significantly better.
Even though Wendell knew that he had technically broken the rules by finding his mate â even if it left him with a choice between two â before he was meant to, he couldnât bring himself to regret it.
How could he when he had just set eyes on his mate for the first time?
his wolf said.
Youâre right, Wendell agreed.
he chuckled, finishing up on the last button of his shirt before he tucked it into his dress pants.
Taking heed of his wolfâs advice as he wanted to avoid the risk of punishment by Bernard and the Moon Goddess â more the Moon Goddess as it wouldnât be ethical for Bernard to personally punish him himself â Wendell waited around a few moments.
Once he could see them no longer, he stepped out of the forest and began casually walking over to the entrance of the palace like nothing had happened.
Like he hadnât just found his mate.
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https://www.patreon.com/LaylaKnight Layla Knight 06.06.2021