"You pledge to be your Alpha's concubine just to spite your mom!? Are you fucking out of your mind!?" I ask laughingly. Wondering how someone as innocent-looking as her could be so daring.
She grins like it's nothing
"Well, in my defense, I just said it. I never knew he would accept me but he did to my surprise!"
I gasp
"He did!? But what about your mate? I presume you haven't met him? He will be so mad at you!..." My countenance changes from amusement to worry when I remember how mad Thor was with me over a kiss. What are you going to tell him when he comes along?"
Her facial expression also turns serious, making me wonder if the possibility of meeting her mate is just occurring to her.
"I met him already..." She says and my eyes widen
"You did?" I say, noting she doesn't have the joyful expression that every she-wolf that just met their mate wears about them.
"Was he angry with you? He didn't reject you because of that, did he? Didn't you explain to him that it was just a joke!?" I ask rapidly
She sighs deeply.
"Oh, he was angry with me alright but not because of that. I didn't tell him... I would rather be a concubine than have such a person as my mate!"
"Oh!..." I say. I wasn't expecting to hear her say that.
"Yes..." She says and sighs again. Ash– my mate is a ruthless killer. So ruthless, shifters know him by reputation. He has even killed people from my pack. People I considered friends. How can I be with such a person!?" She says, looking like she's about to cry
"No, you can't..." I say, nodding with understanding. I'm actually at a loss for words. I have no idea what to tell her.
"He found out and was very angry with me..."
"He?..." I ask, wondering who she is talking about. "I thought you said you didn't tell him?"
"My Alpha. He somehow found out I met my mate and was angry I kept it away from him. He wanted to break up our agreement..." She sadly says, staring at the half-eaten toast in her hand.
"Although, at first I offered to be his concubine just to spite my mom. I reconsidered after I realized who my mate is."
"Your Alpha is not mated or is he?" I ask softly.
A frown appears on her face like she's considering my question.
"No, he's not mated," she replies after a while. I wonder why she took her time to answer but I can't ask her that since it's irrelevant to our discussion.
"But, sincerely, do you think it's okay to be a concubine? My mom almost popped an artery when I pledged myself to him. I don't know, am I doing the right thing?"
"If you have feelings for him and you're sure he feels the same way about you then I don't see why not. We're shifters, not humans. You said he's not mated. Even if he is, who says he can't upgrade you to be his wife? If you're sure about him then by all means do what will make you happy. I will never advise you to be with a ruthless killer! Never!"
Her face immediately lit up with a wide smile. It's as if she's been waiting for that second opinion to make her decision
"Of course I like him. He's drop-dead gorgeous and a very good kisser too." She says with a wink, making me laugh. "Plus, he is a good man. A good and strong leader. I'm very sure about him. I know he'll make me happy."
"Then by all means go for him," I tell her. I like how cheerful Victoria is. I like the fact that she doesn't allow whatever it was that led to her being put in prison to dampen her spirit.
"Uhmm, I can't tell you his name yet, hope you don't mind?" She asks
"Of course, why would I?"
"Okay. It's not that I don't trust you to keep his identity to yourself if I let you know who he is, just that apart from his Beta, no one knows yet that he accepted me to be his concubine, not even my mom, you understand."
"I understand. Don't worry about it." I say with an assuring smile and she nods back at me.
"What brought you in here?" I ask, realizing too late I'm prying into her privacy. She will tell me if she wants me to know.
"I'm sorry. You don't have to answer that of course. Pardon my nosy attitude. I shouldn't have..."
"My dad..." She replies before I finish apologizing
"My dad committed a serious offense and my mom and I were arrested because of what he did. I don't know if they're also in Council Yard Penitentiary with me. We got separated after the trial and taken away in different vehicles."
She looks down as she talks. Her sad facial expression tugs at my heartstrings
"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!..." I say, moving from my bed to sit beside her on her bed, hugging her sideways.
Apart from letting her know how sorry I feel for her, I don't know what else to say. I don't think it's right to tell her it's going to be okay when I don't know if it's actually going to be okay.
"It's okay..." She suddenly switched from being sad to smiling. "It's going to be okay. I'm not scared because I know my Alpha is capable of getting me out of here. He's influential.
"Oh, that's great then," I say, happy for her.
She nods
"What about you? What brought you in here? If your friend is influential enough to make you live this comfortably in a Council prison, then why couldn't he use his influence to get you out? I might not know you before but I doubt if you've always looked this skinny and pale. Isn't he aware that you're pregnant?..." She asks softly.
She told me about herself so it's only fair if I also tell her about me
"My story is complicated. It's so complicated, I don't even understand half of it myself."
"Oh?..." She says
I nod.
"It might even sound foreign to you but I'll make it as simple and straight to the point as possible. I'm also not going to mention names... Not because you didn't mention names when you told me your story. I don't want to mention names because it concerns rich and influential shifters, not ordinary people.
"Sure. I understand"
"Thank you... You know, just in case things don't go as expected for me. I plan to go far away from here with my baby, put everything behind me, and find a small village where I can live in peace.
"Ohh..." Her eyes narrows
"Yes... So to my story... I'm an orphan. I worked as an Omega maid till I turned eighteen. My future looked a lot brighter than what it was when I met my mate and..."
"You have a mate?" She interrupts, looking at me with surprise. I guess she's wondering where my mate is while I'm in prison pregnant with his child.
"I had a mate!" I corrects her so she will know my mate is not in the picture
"I had my future all planned out. I wanted to return to school, get my high school diploma, get into college, after which we'll get married and live happily ever after." I chuckle sadly at my future that now looks bleak
"Two days after we met, we planned to meet at his pack so he would introduce me to his family. I went to see him and got the shock of my life..." I pause then to calm myself down. I don't want to cry. I have my baby to think about now.
"What happened?" Even though she asks impatiently. She looks like she's dreading what I would say next.
"Please don't tell me you're here because he died and you were framed for his death?" She says with fear in her eyes.
"Huh?..." I say with mouth agape, amused by her wild sense of imagination. "I'm not going to tell you that because that wasn't what happened," I say and her tense features immediately show relief
"Ohh, I'm glad"
"What happened was, he didn't recognize me."
"What!?... What do you mean, he didn't recognize you!? How is that even possible when he already smelled your essence!?"
"He didn't! He embraced another woman right in my presence and called her mate!"
"But Is that even possible!? How can he suddenly forget about his true mate!?"
"Sorcery!"
"Huh?..."
"The girl he was suddenly attracted to is my arch-enemy. My Alpha's daughter. We fought a few days before that and I kicked her butt. I was later told she used sorcery, black magic to take him away from me as revenge."
"Oh boy! That is serious..."
"Yeah... The next day she came to my house with Council policemen. They had a warrant for my arrest with my mate's special Alpha's seal on it. I was arrested for the attempted murder of the Luna. They killed my adopted mother in the process."
"Wait, wait, wait... I don't understand, Alpha's seal? Luna?... Is your mate an Alpha?" She asks. Her eyes almost bulging with surprise
"Yes, he is. His Beta is the friend that has been good to me. He promised me everything will be okay soon...
"Oh my god, Ash!" She exclaims, pulling me in and hugging me tightly to herself.
"Poor baby! I'm so sorry! It's going to be okay, I promise you that. My Alpha is very influential. I will inform him about you when he comes. We're going to leave this place together."