3. Forty- eight

~ Harper’s POV~

"You do realize that to break the bond between us, either one of us will have to complete the mating process and mark our mates," I remarked and watched as Natalie nodded her head in acknowledgment. We had just gotten back after performing the final rites of the pack warriors who had lost their lives from the battle with the rogues. Needless to say, we needed some time to regain our bearings before we mingled with the rest of the world. I had done it before when my father was fighting for his life and I still found it jarring to my being, to perform the final rites of the werewolves who lose their lives. I couldn't imagine how Natalie must be feeling as it was her first time dealing with this ceremony. And hopefully, the last time. 

"I know," she said and we didn't speak for a few moments. I sincerely hoped that it would get easier with time, performing this ritual. It certainly hurt more when I knew that the pack members were paying for the mistakes my father committed almost two decades ago. Somehow, I feel that their deaths would have hurt less if the rogues had targeted because they wanted a random pack to kill and not because they had a personal vendetta against us.  

"I can't believe that she did such a thing, you know," I declared and watched Natalie as she absorbed and processed my words. 

Natalie looked dazed all of a sudden and I worried for a moment that she might cry. "I can't believe it myself. She betrayed her brothers and helped Zara escape so that you could be with your mate. And what did she hope to get in return, for you to forgive her brothers for all the heinous crimes they committed?"

"I don't know what she expected by doing this but I will be forever grateful to her that she helped Zara escape. Her single act of courage gave us an important upper-hand in the battle against the rogues."

Natalie nodded, "And that is why I want to make this work, you know. That's is why Addison wants it to work. She pretty much sacrificed everything for the idea of mates living happily together and it would be cruel if she didn't get her happy ending."

"It would be cruel if you didn't get your happy ending," I added softly, wanting her to know that I wanted her to have a happy ending, a life to look forward to. And the best possible way for her would be to accept her mate, Addison. They would definitely have a lot of hurdles but it would be worth it to work through them and I knew she understood the gravity of the situation. 

"She hasn't asked me anything about Mason, you know," Natalie whispered into the air and if I hadn't had supernatural hearing, I wouldn't have been able to hear her. 

I swiftly got up from the desk and made my way towards Natalie. She watched me walk towards her and moved her eyes away from me when I crouched in front of her and took her hands in my own. "Addison is feeling insecure right now just like Zara has for the past few months and for a very good reason. Us having a baby together changes the dynamics between the four of us. Zara loves me and she knows that I love her, yet she had to level her home just so she could process that I was going to have a baby with you. She has had so many months to process this weird thing between us and she is finally coming around to accept it in her own way. You can't possibly imagine how Addison must be feeling right now. She recently lost her brothers and helped Zara escape because she thought that she would have a chance with her mate. I can't even comprehend how unsure she must have felt about herself and her decisions when she came to know about Mason. Moreover, the fact that I am her half-brother doesn't help matters. She needs time and reassurance from you. She needs to know the truth about what happened between us, otherwise, both of our mates will go on believing that we are in love with each other and you and I both know, how far it is from the truth." 

I watched as Natalie wiped her eyes with the back of her hands and I got up from my crouching position. "When did everything become so complicated?" Natalie whispered and a sad smile graced her face. 

"Since we grew up," I added and watched as Natalie stood up on shaky legs. 

"She is willing to work, you know, even after knowing that I have had your baby. She's willing to work for both of us." She smiled weakly and walked out of the alpha's office. 

I sighed and took the seat Natalie had just vacated. I put my head in my hands and willed my mind to reject all the unhappy notions away. As the alpha, I had performed the rites of every pack member but wasn't able to lay Ethan to rest. Because Zara was the one who had vouched for him, she would have to be the one to decide how he would be laid to rest, if his body would be transported to his family or if he would be laid to rest here. Even if she decided to lay Ethan to rest in the pack grounds, I would support her and stand by her decisions because, in the last few days of his life, Ethan and I had formed a sort of camaraderie and our shared worry for Zara had made us friends. Though our relationship was tenuous at best, I had grown to respect him and accept him in my own way. 

I hadn't wanted to leave Zara alone during such a time, when she was grieving for a dear friend. I had felt her pass out from the emotional exhaustion and I had held her in my arms while she slept and mumbled incoherently. It had felt so amazing to be able to hold my mate after so long. Even though the situation was less than ideal, my wolf felt at peace. The image of Zara barreling down the stairs of the pack house flashed through my mind and the realization that she had been in such a hurry because she wanted to be close to me, to make sure that I was safe sent a pleasurable tingling straight to my gut. If it would have been up to me, I would have never left alone. If it hadn't been my duty to perform the final rites of the pack warriors, I doubt anyone would have been able to make me leave her.

A part of me couldn't wait to go to her and be with her while another part of me didn't want to see her grieving, didn't want to see her hurt and her tears. I wanted to be there for Zara, I realized, I wanted to be the shoulder she could cry on. So, I got up and walked out of the alpha office towards the alpha quarters where Zara would still be sleeping in my bed. 

All I wanted to do right now was to slither in beside Zara and breathe in the amazing scent of my mate while enveloping her in my arms. I wanted to feel her body snuggled into mine and I wanted to put my arms protectively around her, like I had been wanting to do for many months. I wanted to placate my wolf that our mate was finally here, with us, and that we were never going to let go of her. 

I could hear the steady beating of Zara's heart from the other side of the room and hesitated before entering the room. Suddenly, I wasn't sure if she wanted to be with me right now. I turned the door knob and entered the dimly lit room, my eyes immediately focused on the petit figure on the bed. Zara was sitting on the bed, leaning against the headboard looking tired, her hair is mussed up and my heart soared at how amazing she looked. All I wanted to do right now was go over there, pull her to me and plant a log kiss on her lips. It was fortunate that she wasn't a werewolf and didn't have supernatural hearing otherwise she would have picked up the slight spike in my heart rate. 

When her eyes met mine, I felt like reeling. I suddenly didn't know what to do, what to say, were to sit or how to breathe. One at a time. I walked towards Zara, wanting desperately to be in close distance with her and sat down beside her on the bed facing her. "I'm so sorry," I whispered and took hold of her hand, hoping that she wouldn't reject my touch. Pleasurable tingles danced on my skin and I nearly groaned out loud. God, how much I missed these tiny little sparks every time I touched Zara, my mate. 

"I thought you'd be here when I wake up," Zara whispered and caressed the calluses in my palm with my thumb and I nearly lose my self-control because of the simple touch. Did she have any idea about what she doing to me?

"I had to perform the final rites of the pack warriors who died in the battle." Her thumb stopped caressing him and I felt her stiffen from the corner of my eyes. My eyes flew up to her face to find that she was already looking at me. "Also, I wasn't sure you wanted me here."

Neither of us spoke for a few seconds and she once again resumed caressing my palm with her thumbs. I wanted to do so much more than that. I wanted to lie down beside her and share my body heat with her. I had no idea if she was ready for that because I knew that we couldn't possibly go back to the way we were before everything went to shit. It simply wasn't possible. It was only just a few months ago and yet; it feels like a lifetime ago. 

"So, Addison and Natalie are mates," Zara whispered and I stared at her in astonishment. How did she know that? My surprise must have been clear on my face because she told me that she had found Addison sitting by her bedside when she had taken up. 

"Yes, they are mates."

"How is that going to work out, since Natalie is your Luna?" I could practically feel Zara's nervousness radiating from her and I logged to pull her into my arms and ease her worries. Before answering her, I got up from, walked around the bed and settled myself close to her. Our shoulders were touching and I waited and gave her the chance to move away from me. I took her hands from her lap and held them in my own, tracing the lines in her palms and enjoying the tingles that travelled up and down my spine because of that simple touch. 

"They are going to make it work. Both of them want to be with their mates. Natalie doesn't want to be deterred by the fact that Addison is the sister of the rogues who have been targeting us for months and Addison doesn't want to be deterred by the fact that Natalie had had a baby with me. They still have a long way to go but they want to work on their mate bond and have a relationship." I explained and tensed as Zara moved away from me, only to get closer to me and put her head on my shoulder. Feeling exuberant and bold, I slid one of my arms around her body and pulled her closer to me. 

"I want to work on our mate bond too," Zara whispered and her words felt like a zap of electricity racing down my body. I didn't need to see her face that she would be blushing right now. Feeling overwhelmed, I plant a butterfly kiss on her forehead. 

She sighs and settles against me. There were still a lot of things we needed to talk about. Ethan's final rites, Mason, what happened between me and Natalie, but for now, I was content with lying next to her and enjoying her being close to me. With Zara, my mate.