Harry

I kept on crying from the moment I left the dining room and for the entire car ride back to our home town.

Lucas tried to cheer me up, to console me or at least validate my feelings but nothing could stop the tears from falling down my face. I thought I couldn’t be any sadder after what happened to my pack, it turns out I was dead wrong.

There can always be a new low.

I have spent so much time dream casting my mate ever since I was a teenager, but never in my wildest dreams could I have anticipated this revelation. I didn’t think I’d be mated to a murderer.

Though he only acted in revenge, I cannot say I can overlook taking thousands of lives for one Alpha. No life equates that amount of loss, not even an honorable man such as Alpha Barnett.

Not surprisingly, my parents were there to welcome us back into the pack house. Lucas and I entered the place quietly. Immediately, they saw my tears and assumed the worst. I mean, they assumed I hadn't found my mate over there. If only…

Mom hugged me and I basked in her comforting embrace. My dad glanced over at me with a saddened expression on his face. Lucas just stood there next to us quietly, giving me time to tell them my shocking news.

“I’m sorry you didn’t find your mate yet. I’m sure the Goddess has a plan for you.” My mom told me in a nurturing tone, trying to console me. At this, I cried louder.

“I’m afraid that’s not the issue.” Lucas said in a low tone, confusing both my parents.

“What do you mean by that? What’s the issue then?” Dad asked him, puzzled.

Lucas stared at me for a moment in silence. I was still hugging my mom, with my back turned to him, but I could feel he wanted to give me the opportunity to share my news.

“I did find my mate over there.” I stammered, sobbing. I parted from my mom’s hug and looked at my confused parents.

"That's great! So why are you crying?” Mom asked me, baffled. My dad kept staring at me equally confused.

“Because my mate is the worst possible person from that pack.” I declared, crying some more.

Both my parents are still looking at me intrigued by this news. We walked to the living room to take a seat and talk further. But my sadness is becoming so evident that even the unsuspecting people passing by looked worried for me.

My dad closed the door and the four of us sat on the couch.

“Now, can you tell me who this mate of yours is and why is he so bad?” He questioned me, intrigued.

I tried to speak but my tears are speaking louder than ever. My mom caressed me for a moment, troubled by my reaction. My dad stared at Lucas for a response since I couldn’t enunciate from all the sobbing.

“His mate is Landon Barnett.” Lucas stated in a somber tone, seeing as my dad was getting impatient at the lack of information. Both of my parents gasped in shock.

“But neither of you are omegas!” Dad exclaimed, baffled by this news.

“That point was raised by the mates, sir.” Lucas commented, awkwardly.

“I don’t understand. Why would you be mated to the Alpha of our enemy pack?” Dad continued, making me hiccup from crying so hard. I was impossibly sorrowful by this troubling pairing.

Lucas glanced over at me with a saddened expression. Mom was still caressing me while processing the news.

“The only reason I can think of for this pairing is that technically she paired the second son to the Alpha so that our two packs would cease the animosity and work together towards peace.” Mom declared, ever so wisely.

“Yeah, that point was also raised, Luna.” Lucas spoke, respectfully.

“Except now you can’t become Alpha of our pack like I wanted you to because you’ll be the Luna of theirs.” Dad said, frowning in annoyance.

Lucas gave both my parents a poignant look, but said nothing.

“What?” My dad stared at the both of us, expectantly.

Again, Lucas turned to me to give them the news.

“I rejected him as my mate.” I informed them, tentatively.

My parents gasped once again in absolute shock.

“What the hell! Why would you do that?” Dad reprimanded me in a furious tone.

“He killed half our pack, including our family and Jessica!” I defended myself, irritated that I even had to argue the obvious.

“I understand that, son. But can you imagine the work you could do as Luna of their pack? We would never have to fear them ever again.” Dad argued, irritated at me.

“Isn’t that the point of our trip? To negotiate peace? Why would we fear them again?” I rebuked, mad at him.

“I can’t believe you spent years trying to find your mate and when you do, you reject him!” Dad shouted at me, fuming.

“Do you think this decision was easy for me? How could I ever accept that murderer as my mate?” I yelled at my dad, eyes glowing in rage.

“Because he is your mate, that’s why! And now not only can you not be his Luna, you can’t ascend as Alpha of our pack either. Basically, you have condemned yourself to a lifetime of misery and loneliness!” He jabbed at me, eyes also glowing in anger.

I stormed out of the living room, ferociously mad. I didn’t need to hear this from my own father. I know what I signed up for when I rejected my mate. I am not stupid, but how could I be mated to him?

I cried for hours inside my room alone. I didn’t think I had any tears left to cry over this, then my father made it worse. I skipped dinner since I wasn’t remotely hungry. Honestly, I don’t know how I’ll ever bounce back from this.

Later that evening, Spencer knocked on my door. I didn’t want to see anyone, especially from my family, but I couldn't refuse his visitation. He is my best friend.

“Hi. I heard you had an interesting trip today.” He greeted me, tentatively. He walked inside and took a seat on a chair inside my room. I returned to lying on my bed, but remained with him in my eyesight.

“Who told you?” I quizzed him. It’s not like I had told him I was going over there, how does he already know about it?

“That’s not important, Harry. The important thing is how are you doing? Do you need anything? Can I get you some water… or vodka?” He snickered, causing me to laugh inadvertently.

“Vodka sounds nice right about now.” I mumbled, glancing at him with a defeated expression.

“I’m sorry for who you were mated to. But if by any chance you rejected him on my account, don’t. That’s not what my mate would’ve wanted and certainly not what I want.” He declared, much to my surprise.

I lifted myself up to a sitting position on the bed and shouted at him.

“What? He killed your mate! How can you say that? How can you forgive him that easily?” I am gobsmacked by his attitude towards my mating.

“Who said anything about forgiveness? I don’t forgive him, I never will. But this isn’t about me or even my mate, it’s about yours and your happiness.” He countered in a raised voice.

“How can I be happy with a murderer?” I rebuked, aggravated.

“The same way Jessica was.” He argued, surprising me the most so far.

“What?” I gasped in shock, horrified by his implication.

“Your brother had someone killed. He made that decision. It’s not for us to debate whether he was right or not in taking that life, the results of his actions speak for themselves. But that never changed how his mate felt about him. She loved him, murderer or not.” He said, incisively.

I gasped at his reasoning. Honestly, I never would have seen this coming. Not from a mile away…

“She was already bonded when he took that life. She had no other choice.” I rebuked his line of argument.

“You’re right, she didn’t. But do you think that would change her decision to accept him as her mate?” He raised an eyebrow in question.

I thought about that for a second, but the answer was obvious to me.

“No, it doesn't.” I conceded. She loved my brother. Though that grew from the time they were bonded, I am pretty sure she would never have rejected her mate. Especially not the future Alpha, but that is a minor point for Jessica.

“I’m not saying he is perfect. I’m not saying what he did was right, of course it wasn’t. What kind of psychopath kills thousands of people because someone killed his father…” He commented, gesticulating his revolt.

“Exactly!” I agreed enthusiastically. Finally, we are on the same page about it.

“But he’s still your mate! He was made for you, flaws and all.” He insisted.

“Flaw? A flaw is when someone chews with their mouth open. Murder is not a character flaw. It's psychopathy.” I refuted, angrily.

“Are you calling your brother a psychopath?” He countered, making me gasp. I grabbed a water bottle and gulped down intensely. This conversation is not going how I thought it would. Especially not with him, of all people.

“No, but my brother only killed one person.” I growled at him.

“Murder is murder. One person, one thousand. It is still murder.” He stated, annoyed.

“Stop comparing my brother to that psychopath! It’s not the same!” I shouted at him, livid.

"You are right, it’s not. Your brother had no reason to kill an Alpha werewolf of a powerful pack. Your mate only reacted to that action. He didn’t seek to annihilate us, he wasn’t even in power at the time. Not until he was forced to drop out of college to run his pack after his father died.” He argued, getting a rise out of me.

“Why are you defending him? He killed your mate!” I shot back in an accusatory tone.

“I’m not defending him at all! He’s an asshole. I’m defending your right to be happy and mated.” He rebuked, throwing me for a loop.

“I really thought you’d be on my side…” I teared up, inconsolable.

Spencer got up from the chair, came to the bed and hugged me.

“I AM ON YOUR SIDE. That’s why I’m saying what I’m saying. You shouldn’t care about any other person’s opinion of your mate. You shouldn’t even care that he killed mine or your brother’s mate. My point is he is YOUR mate. If anything, you should spearhead him towards a path of redemption, but you can’t do that if you reject him.” He argued very wisely.

I watched my friend as he sat across from me on the bed, completely baffled by his words. After a moment, his point is finally sinking in.

“I can’t believe you of all people would be his champion. I thought you’d be right here with me, hating on him.” I commented, legitimately baffled by this.

“Oh I hate him with all my might! I hate him for taking my gorgeous mate away from me. I hate him for completely derailing my life and taking away any chance of happiness for me. I hate him. I hate him. I hate him!” He spoke with a fierce conviction that took me aback by his strong demeanor.

I gasped at this, wide eyed.

“But he is NOT my mate, he is yours. And I love you too much to see you sad for the rest of your life. There’s already plenty of that going around, trust me.” He concluded, smiling at me.

“Well, I guess thank you for putting your very strong feelings aside for my sake. I appreciate that.” I said after a while. Spencer kissed my forehead tenderly and got up from my bed.

“I wouldn’t be a good friend if I didn’t put your happiness ahead of my personal feelings. If we were humans, I’d say hell no. But we only get one mate in life and if I had no choice in accepting my hot delicious gorgeous mate, neither do you.” He snickered, playfully.

“He was very gorgeous. I can’t tell you how I envied you for being mated to him.” I confessed, blushing.

“I know. I noticed how you used to look at him.” He announced, causing me to blush more in embarrassment.

“Thanks for stopping by. I love you, Spence.” I got up from the bed to open the door for him.

“I love you too, Harry. I want you to do what’s best for you and only you.” He winked at me before he left my room.

I confess I did not see the conversation going this way. Though I don’t know if I completely agree with him, I can certainly appreciate his strong feelings in regards to my happiness.

I drifted off to sleep faster than usual after all this commotion. The next day, I woke up early and took a long bath, dwelling on the recent events. I dreaded going into the dining room for breakfast but after I skipped dinner last night, I was hungry.

“Good morning.” I greeted my family in a somber tone. I don’t know how my father’s mood would be today after yesterday. Everyone greets me back, but they’re all unusually quiet.

“I’m sorry for losing my temper yesterday, Harry. It was wrong of me to question your decision.” My father stated after some nudging from my mom.

“Thanks, dad. I’m sorry for disappointing you.” I replied, lowering my head.

“You could never disappoint me, son. You did what you thought was best for you. I just hope you don’t live to regret your decision.” He spoke in a somber tone, exhaling a deep sigh.

I could tell there was more he wanted to say, but he held his tongue for my sake. At least for now.

“If you ask me, you made the right decision. He killed Jessica.” My brother interjected in a sour tone.

“Because you killed his father. He didn’t wake up one day in Austin and said: ‘hey, let’s provoke a war by killing their pack’s Luna’.” I shot back in a snarky tone.

The entire table gasped at my outburst, but I am not holding myself back.

“Harrison!” Dad reprimanded me, raising his voice.

“Am I lying?” I shrugged, impatiently.

“We were already at war. I just thought I finished it.” My brother argued, defensively.

“Right. In all your months old experience as Alpha, you somehow thought killing a beloved, well respected figure in a cowardly attack would end this decades old war?” I snarled at him, sarcastically.

My parents were baffled by my attitude, but I am done with kid gloves. Aaron should have stayed quiet today, at the very least out of respect for me.

"That's enough!” Dad yelled, eyes glowing in anger at the both of us - mainly me.

“I won’t have this divide among my family. That is enough of this subject!” He continued, growling at us.

I stayed quiet and ate my breakfast. My brother kept glaring daggers at me that would have lesser men cower in fear. But I am mad. At this whole situation, but especially at him for piling it up.

If anything, he is my brother. He should have said what Spencer did, not reinforcing my point. I don’t necessarily agree with my best friend, but I love him for putting my needs ahead of his own grief.

That is a remarkable feat, indeed.

After breakfast, I took my car and went to Spencer’s parent’s house where he was staying after Kevin’s death. I figured we could do something together, cheer ourselves up a bit. Even if our situations are vastly different, I am glad to have someone in my life like him.

I only wish that my own mate wasn’t the reason behind my best friend’s grief.

The first thing he asked me was how I was feeling. I told him I had a lot to think about, but right now we should be each other's support system. He agreed wholeheartedly. Like me, he has no more tears left to cry.

A|N: Poor Harry.

Something wicked this way come.

Love,

Léo.