When We Were Mates (Demetra and Emris) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Emris

“M…Mate!?”

I rest back against the pool table, arms folded as Silver processes the bomb I just dropped.

“Yeah.”

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that we all thought didn’t exist? The one and only mate you have

in this entire world? The mate who should rightfully be Luna of the Black Covenant Pack?”

He steps closer, head tilted in that way that’s both Beta questioning his Alpha and brother calling me an idiot. Usually, he knows everything about me. This? Th

one

et I kept locked down tight.

“Yes.”

“When did you find this out?”

“Since she turned eighteen.” I confess.

He’ll know soon enough anyway. Once the Council of Bonds starts chasing me to reject her, he’ll be the one buying while I figure out how to chase Demetra back

Chase Demetra back?

me time

I’m fucking stupid. I keep saying that without thinking about my family, my son. But I already chose Elena for Milo’s sake. Already married her, made her Luna.

Now, I want to be selfish in this second chance the moon goddess has given me.

I’ve already seen what five years looks like without a fated mate. Unhappy. Fighting packs for some kind of relevance because I had none at home. Finding no one to confide in the way I used to have Demetra. I’ve asked Elena for a divorce before when she got sick of my emotional and physical absence in her life.

She never agreed. And I didn’t care, because whether she stayed or left, Demetra still wasn’t in my life then.

But all of that actually changes if I can get Demetra back. I’ll talk to Milo. I’ll talk to everyone in this family to suck it up.

“So you kept her a secret?” Silver’s voice pulls me back. “Why?”

“Why the fuck do you think!”

“The Alpha seat.” He says it flat.

“Regan is older. Dad didn’t leave a will for which of us should be Alpha….you were uninterested, so it was between us. The elders knew I was powerful, but they thought I was unstable.” I push off the table.

“Being a hybrid alone was enough to qualify me but they knew I was mad. Fucking mental in the head. I needed them to see I wasn’t a complete beast.” I stop, look at him. “I thought a picture of me having a mate would make them go ‘hmm, so he’s got a heart after all. What do you think they would have thought if I chose a mate whom mom let the whole world know was the daughter of a whore?”

Silver doesn’t say anything. He doesn’t have to.

As my Beta, he knows. As my brother, he already knows what the elders said about me back then. The patch over my eye. The rumours that ran ahead of me…what I did those who insulted me. Of course the elders were afraid to put their lives in

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Chapter 49

my hands one day.

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That’s why I wanted the Alpha seat so badly. To prove I was stable. That the broken boy wasn’t living inside me anymore.

“So what’s the plan now?” Silver asks quietly. “You have bonded Elena. You have a son.”

“I know that.” My voice hardens. “I love Milo. And one day he’s going to have his own mate. I already made the mistake of trading mine for the Alpha seat. I’m Alpha now. I can do and undo things. Nothing’s stopping me from going after her.”

“You want to… chase her back?” Silver laughs slowly, looking away now that he’s heard the only other part of my life he didn’t know about.

“Is there something wrong with that? Is there a rule in the pack that says I can’t—”

“Maybe you’ve forgotten that her dad is Alpha Ronin!” He’s almost yelling now. “You’ve wanted to know what happened to Dad since forever. We’ve hated the Lion Pride Pack since forever. You know…no wonder Regan keeps asking what’s wrong with you.” He jabs a finger at me. “You were the one Dad’s death affected the most. Yet—”

“Demetra was born in our pack!” I cut him off. “I knew her before Alpha Ronin even knew she existed. The hate and renege I have for that bastard doesn’t involve her.”

“Oh, is that what you told yourself when you snuck her in here? Because don’t think I’m stupid. You guys were close enough to imagine that you’ve been banging.”

“Like I said.” I straighten, pulling my Alpha authority around me like a cloak. “I’m Alpha now. Doesn’t matter what elders say. I make the laws. I don’t have anything left to prove.” I tilt my head. “What did you come in here for anyway?”

The subject changes. He can question me all he wants, but he won’t get to the point where he asks if Demetra will even take me back.

Because I don’t have that answer yet.

“The territory.”

“What territory-”

“The fucking territory we’ve been fighting Slade over for the past year?” Silver’s voice is smug. “Like you said, I greased the judge’s palms and he ruled in our favor. Paperwork came through this morning. That land is ours now.”

I chuckle in a satisfied manner. I knew that judge liked his pockets heavy so I made sure they were. Simple math cause every man has a price.

“You sure you wanna do this though? That’s the largest farmland the Lion Pride Pack owns. Without it, there will be food shortage in their pack.”

I already know the numbers. We’re talking thousands of acres. Crops as far as the eye can see…corn, soy, wheat, vegetables that feeds half their territory. It’s the land that supplies their own supermarkets and their own people.

“I don’t give a fuck. If Slade gets down on his knees. Bows his head to the ground. Apologizes for the barghests and the whistles, drags his deadbeat dad out to do the same… and finally gives our pack an explanation of what happened to our father?” I pause. “Maybe I’ll have mercy on them.”

Silver raises an eyebrow. “Mercy?”

“By mercy, I mean they’ll get to purchase their own crops from their own damn farm. I’m not giving the land back. I’ll do this for every year, every season until they gotta come to ME with their hands out for what used to be theirs.”

Silver stares at me like I’ve lost my mind.

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Chapter 49

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“So let me get this straight.” He holds up fingers. “You’re gonna attack the Lion Pride Pack’s territory. Take their biggest asset.” Pause. “And chase Demetra to be with you again?”

He puts his hand on my shoulder.

“Yeah. You’re gonna lose her.”

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