Filed To Story: Falling for the Alpha As a Student Novel
She didn’t have to elaborate; I knew what she was asking. She wasn’t sure how it was possible to have two possible mates. Alex was her mate, but then he rejected her. But rejection doesn’t completely sever the mate bond; at least not yet. So, she shouldn’t be able to get another mate yet.
But now Ethan was here, claiming to be her mate. It was obvious that her wolf also recognized him as their mate. It was all so confusing, and I had to take some time to wrap my own head around this as well.
“From what it looks like, it seems as if the Beta is a second chance mate,”
a voice said from the doorway.
We all turned to see Luis and Becca standing in front of us. It was Luis who had spoken, and his words took us by surprise.
Of course, I had heard of a second chance mate. But they were extremely rare.
“A second chance mate?”
Kay was the one who asked, sitting on one of the love seats.
Luis nodded.
“It’s possible,”
Luis stated simply. “I don’t know much about the situation, but Miss Brianna has two wolves fighting over her. Both claiming to be her mate.”
“I thought the mate bond had to be severed before a second chance mate is granted,”
Becca asked, furrowing her brows together.
“Not always,”
Luis said, glancing at her. “If the moon goddess feels it’s deserving, she can grant it earlier than that.”
“She is the goddess,”
I shrugged, glancing at Bri’s pale face. “She can do what she wants, and it does seem like she gave you a second chance mate.”
“But why not take away the mate I already have?”
She asked, her voice quivering.
“Perhaps she wants you to choose for yourself,”
Luis suggested. “Or rather, wants your wolf to make the choice.”
A thought came to me at that moment.
“My mother always told me to trust my wolf because my wolf will never steer me wrong. You have to trust Amira. She knows what’s best for you both. She loves you and wants to protect you. She wants to protect her mate as well; she already knows who her true mate is. Just let her tell you…”
Bri looked at me for a long while; she blinked away some of the leftover tears before swallowing hard.
Then, her eyes hardened, and she nodded as she stood to her feet. I stood with her, ready to fight whatever battle she wanted to fight. But before we could say anything more, the door swung open, turning all of our attention.
“Hey, guys.”
I stood, staring at the person in the doorway with my mouth practically on the floor.
I couldn’t believe who was standing in front of us.
Lila’s POV
“Rachel?”
I breathed, staring at my friend from across the room. She stood at the doorway, leaning against the frame as if it hurt her to stand straight, but she tried to play it off cool. “You were released from the hospital?”
“Looks that way,”
she said in return, narrowing her eyes at me.
“How are you feeling?”
I asked, stepping toward her. Everyone else was quiet, almost awkwardly so.
“Like I was stabbed in the stomach,”
she said almost bitterly. After a moment of being shocked, she cracked a smile, showing that she was mainly joking.
“I’m really glad you’re back,”
I breathed, placing my hand on her shoulder and not wanting to hurt her any further than she was already hurt.
Becca on the other hand didn’t give her that same courtesy. She rushed past me and threw her arms around her, nearly knocking them both to the ground.“I can’t believe you are here!”
Becca cried. “I’m so happy!”
Rachel gave me a wary look as Becca hugged her; it confused me because I knew how close they had gotten this year. With me being with Enzo all the time, they were left alone often and bonded. They were becoming very good friends; but in this case, it was almost like Rachel hardly recognized her.
After a brief hesitation, Rachel finally lifted her arms and wrapped them around Becca, returning to the very awkward embrace.
“We weren’t expecting you to be here,”
I said, narrowing my eyes at her. “Are you sure you’re feeling up for a banquet?”
“Of course,”
she said, plastering a smile on her face. “Alpha Jonathan was kind enough to provide some hospitality. So, I’ll be staying here for a little while.”
That was shocking to me. I knew Rachel wasn’t the biggest fan of Alpha Jonathan, none of us were. Now that Rachel had cut ties with her father again in the hospital, I thought she’d cut ties with Jonathan as well.
But as if on cue to my thoughts, Raymond enters the room, making my heart fall deep into my stomach.
“Oh, hello, Lila,”
he said, giving me a smile that made me feel uneasy.
“Raymond…”
I said in a greeting, glad that my voice didn’t quiver. “What are you doing here?”
He raised his brows and then placed a hand on Rachel’s shoulder. She looked lost. Her eyes were practically hollow; what was going on with her?
I couldn’t be the only one to notice this. I looked at my friends and saw that Becca’s eyes were furrowed together and Kay looked pale.
Okay, so I definitely wasn’t the only one who noticed this.
“Why wouldn’t I be here? Alpha Jonathan is my business partner so naturally; I would come to his banquet. Not to mention my daughter is here, so I’m here.”
Rachel said nothing, she just looked at me.
“I thought Rachel cut you off,”
I said, still looking at Rachel. “I thought you argued in the hospital.”
This made Raymond laugh humorlessly.
“She would never cut me off,”
he said, squeezing her shoulder so hard I was surprised Rachel didn’t flinch in pain. I was flinching for her. “Sometimes we argue, but I will never allow that to come between my relationship with my daughter. Isn’t that right?”
He asked, looking down at her.
She nodded without hesitation.
“He is my father,”
she said, giving me a plastered and non-Rachel smile.
“Lila bean!”
My mother said as she rushed into the living room.
I was relieved to see her, and I instantly melted in her arms as she wrapped me in her motherly embrace.
“Your father just filled me in on what was going on,”
she breathed, hugging me tighter. She then turned to Brianna and wrapped herself in a hug. “Hi, dear.”
I had almost forgotten that Bri was still there; I was surprised she didn’t slip out of the living room to go to her mate. But she stayed fairly close to me.
“How are you doing?”
My mother asked for only her ears, but I still heard her.