The warriors came back they secretly informed me that this the first time that no males were sent home this year. We are also told that there are more females to males at this year's gathering and a list of names is posted at the door of those who will be sent home. While it is uncommon, it's not impossible for the female to be older than the male. When that is the case, it's generally only a year at most. And even if a female is older than his mate the mate pull is so strong that it won't let you reject your mate. It takes a lot of will power and strength to reject a mate. And even if you reject your it means you are rejecting the other half of your soul, because of that even if you choose another mate you will never feel content. I am not sure if I have that will power in me that's why I simply want to leave this place.
As soon as the gate of the bunkers opened I sprint my way to the list silently praying my name is there, I scan the list for what it seems like hours but my name is nowhere to be found I checked it again and again just to be extra sure but luck is definitely not on my side. I huff in annoyance and feel Emma by my side. She is also following my lead we both are desperate to leave this hell. After making sure that our name is not on the list she pulls me away and we take a seat near the entrance of the bunker. And sit quietly for few moments doing nothing but staring in an unknown direction for god knows how long. My mind is numb thinking and playing of all the possible scenarios of how to run away from this place. I am not ready to submit to my mate, I need few more years of my life to live independently. Being mated to someone means, if your mate accepts you he will cherish you and make you feel wanted and loved for the rest of his life but according to me it also means that you are going to be tied to be someone for the rest of your life and doing household chores or taking care of kids. I do want all of that but when I feel ready for all of it. I am not ready for that responsibilities yet. I can't help but think of what's gonna happen tonight?
We watch as girls make their way out the door. Many are crying and many of them just seem lost, but it's hard to tell if they are tears of joy, relief or disappointment. If they are disappointed then I want to shake them badly and I want to shout that they are lucky and can have my mate as a gift, I'd be happy to trade but one hard look from Emma tells me to keep quiet in this situation. I scan the swarm of girls that are still present in the room and see that Victoria is indeed still present. To my surprise, she is talking to few low rank warrior's daughters and omegas. She didn't really strike me as one to mingle with anyone but Alphas and Betas and high ranking warriors. But it's a good thing if she's talking to them, maybe I judged her too quickly, maybe she's not a bad person but just a little crazy.
I try to listen their to their conversation but unable to do so due to too much echo and noises from outside and inside the bunker as well. So I turn my attention to my new friend Emma, who's continuously bouncing her knee and biting her nails as a clear sign of nervousness or fear maybe. I place me palm on her bouncing knee, and try to stop her and divert her mind from the current situation.
"Hey, what's wrong?"
She shakes her head to signal nothing but not liking the way but not liking the way she is acting, I press on, "I' am going to keep annoying you till you tell me so just spit it out." I said to her.
She looks back at me with worried eyes, "What if my mate is a bad person? What if he thinks I am too weak? What if he reject's m-''
I cut her off before she can continue her final question because I know what she's thinking even I am having same thought as hers but I can't tell her that. "First off, the Moon Goddess would never pair someone like you with a bad man. You are too kind , and if she did you know you have the power to change him for the better. Secondly, for anyone to assume you to be weak is an i***t, you may not have the biggest frame or a scary frame but even a blind person can realize that you are strong both mentally and physically. Your mate will not reject you, I promise you that. The second he sees you and smells your scent, you will be the most important person in his life. So keep these thoughts out of your head because they would only increase the stress levels and your blood pressure which is neither good for your heart and kidney's and lungs and everything else. And also stress only makes you look ugly, so any kind of irrational thoughts won't do you any good. Understand?" She nods slowly and I give her a hug.
"Also if he does reject you, I'll hunt him and then kill him painfully."
I add the last part just to make her laugh and succeed, because I need her laugh and silly babbling to keep me and my mind wandering off to my own negative thoughts. We talk some more and I start to see her calm down and relax. We both make it a promise to find each other before the festival is done.
Emma is relaxed now but I am not, I am smiling on the outside but my mind is in a huge chaos . I will only relax when all of this drama is over.