Chapter 96: 96-Finding My Mates
Clementine:
"What do you mean by you have two?" Ian asked, making me turn my head to look at him. He stared at me with his grey eyes like they were shooting lasers. I had a feeling the statement would get some harsh and quizzical glares, and some might even taunt me for lying. It was strange in our world for a she-wolf to claim she had two fated mates.
"I have another mate," I said, and Ian squeezed one eye shut. I walked back to the bench and sat down, holding the baby close to my chest. The baby was starting to fall asleep again.
"You rejected Haiden and now you have another mate? Is that what you’re saying? Because then I have to tell you, you’re lucky to find a second chance mate," he said. "She-wolves don’t usually get second chances. They have to be picked after that or live alone."
It was rare for a she-wolf to have even a second chance mate, let alone a fated mate.
Before I could tell him how wrong he was, I noticed he wasn’t done. He was smirking from one corner of his mouth, which made me expect a snarky comment.
"What?" I asked, annoyed by his silent smirk.
"No, I’m just thinking about Haiden. He must be so pissed." He laughed, raising his head and jerking his eyebrows twice. His body language was attractive, I must say. His facial expressions were even charming. But he was an arrogant asshole.
"What’s so funny about it?" I asked, narrowing my eyes at him.
"No, it’s just that he acts so superior because, you know, it’s really uncommon for someone to fall in love at the academy, let alone find a mate. People either come with their mates or lovers, or they don’t get along well," he said, causing me to roll my eyes.
I didn’t say it out loud, but I knew why he thought that. Because it would be so hard for someone to fall in love with him, he assumed everyone was the same.
"Well, for your information, I have not rejected Haiden."
As soon as I said that, his smile faded. His eyebrow returned to its place, and his face started to twist in confusion.
"Then how do you have two mates? Are you going to choose a mate while you have a fated mate?" he asked, making it clear the idea blew his mind.
So then I did it. I wanted to blow his mind.
"Ian, I have two freaking fated mates, two alphas." I held up two fingers, then quickly put my hand back under the baby.
"That’s not possible," Ian said, shaking his head. He got up, put the baby back, and stretched his arms and back.
"I know it’s not possible. It’s never happened before, but it’s happening to me," I argued, angry he was taking it lightly. I really needed someone’s opinion because Yorick didn’t care to find out why.
"Fine. Who is the second alpha?" he demanded, hands on his waist, his eyes judging me. I kept staring at his face, wondering if I should tell him. Ian was not someone I trusted. For all I knew, he could use this to taunt Yorick or Haiden. My silence made him start smirking.
"See? I knew it. You’re trying so hard to be special, Clementine, but you’re not, sweetie." He hunched down, hands on his knees. When I hit him with silence, he straightened up again.
"What about your girl? Did you meet her?" I questioned, tilting my face as I noticed an odd reaction from him. His body suddenly tensed. He didn’t even look at me and hunched down to check on the baby.
"I’m not going to talk about my personal life," he muttered quietly.
He was slowly returning to his usual arrogant and annoying self, which made me wonder if when he said he was only being nice because he was tired, it was true.
"What about you? Where did you learn to take care of babies? You don’t seem like one," he challenged, turning to look at me while straightening his back.
"Well, I’m not talking about my personal life with you either," I shot back, and he just rolled his eyes. I got up again and stared at the road.
"Ian, we have to go back," I insisted. Finally realizing we were wasting too much time sitting here while others were still back there.
"And do what? Get killed?" he scoffed.
"We already secured the package. We might as well wait for the train to arrive and just board it. Who knows, maybe it will come today. It’s a matter of little babies. They’ll be sending the train frequently. It just sucks that none of us really focused on when the trains would come back," I explained.
He began tapping his chin, clearly not understanding the urgency in my tone.
"Ian, when I was leaving that shop, Yorick was under attack. And before that, Haiden and Troy were under attack by the white squad," I told him, watching him shrug.
"So, do you expect us to go back and fight for them? If they were under attack, then I’m pretty sure they’d be dead by now," he said, showing no care in the world.
It irked me so much. How could someone be so nonchalant? Did he not care about anyone in the world?
"I have to go back. I can’t waste too much time here." I finally decided that now the sun was up, I could look around carefully. I even have some baby food with me now. So I wanted to go back and see if any of my squad members needed my help. No, I didn’t want to believe they were dead.
"It’s your wish. I’m not going to stop you," Ian said, stretching his legs out and putting the baby down on the bench again. He held his hands behind his head in a resting position while shaking his leg.
I took a deep breath and put my baby down just so I could grab a few things needed for the child’s care. I expected Ian to stop me from taking the food, but he didn’t. So once I had enough food and necessary stuff packed in the black shopping bags that were neatly tucked in my bag for discarding the used diapers, I started moving back the way I had come.
I was going to find my squad mates, hopeful that all of them were alive. At least two of them were, because I didn’t feel my mate bond breaking.