Once again

3. Mate

Blake's POV

Taking another flute of champagne from the table set up in the corner of the reception hall, I thought about the look in Bella's eyes. I wanted that. I wanted to look into my mate's eyes and see the same amount of love directed at me as she gave to him. She was my best friend, and I wished her all the happiness she deserves, but most importantly, I wanted to feel it too. The excitement of finding your mate, the heat that consumes your body just looking at her. The pull to have her in my arms at any time.

When I had downed the last sip of the sparkling wine, the doors behind me opened and people started to walk in. Some looked at me with distaste, some didn't even spare me a glance, some sent daggers at ruining the perfect day of their Luna. But when she finally came through the doors, she kept me frozen in my spot with her single glare. And that glare told me all: the anger, the disappointment and the small amount of understanding of my actions. For courage, I took another flute and prepared myself for the impact.

She looked beautiful in her white wedding dress, striding in my direction. I had no idea about fashion, but the dress she wore molded to her slender body like a glove, exposing her curves like pure perfection. The bodice was covered in lace and drew your eye to her slightly exposed cleavage, and the skirt flowing down freely made you think she was flying with every move she made. She looked like a real Goddess.

Her red hair, braided into a fancy updo decorated with a lot of pearls, shone like a halo in the sun rays peeking through the French windows. But what kept me still in my place were her eyes. The blue-green eyes with a hint of anger aimed at me. I was a goner at this point and even being an Alpha, I had to admit it, she overpowered me.

"What the f**k, Blake?!" Her voice and a sharp slap resounded in the whole room and people stopped to watch our encounter.

I touched my cheek and turned my head to look at her. She was on the verge of crying, holding back the tears to not show how much I hurt her. Feeling like a total d**k, I was about to respond, when her mate appeared behind her and engulfed her in his arms, but his eyes were focused on me. If looks could kill, I'd be dead on sight.

"Let's go somewhere private Honey, people are watching." Greg whispered in her ear before kissing her neck.

Another pang of jealousy hit me. I wanted that too. She reluctantly obeyed and they walked to the private room nearby and I followed them, knowing I needed to make it up to them. In the corner of my eye, I saw my family and hers following us, while Greg’s parents distracted the guests by offering beverages.

I was in a really deep s**t. If it was not my mother or Bella's father, her older brother would definitely break my legs.

"What the f**k were you thinking, boy?" Uncle Deacon was the first to ask.

Greg was still holding the crying Bella in his arms, trying to calm her down. I looked at everyone in the room. Uncle Deacon and Aunt Linda, Bella's parents, were pissed. Aiden, her older brother, was already taking off his jacket while his mate, Sandra, was trying to stop him from murdering me. My brother tried to laugh at my shitty situation but hid it. But the disappointment in my parents' eyes was what made me regret my actions. Sighing, I lowered my eyes and taking a big inhale, I faced Bella.

She had been my best friend since we were five. Not to mention, we were family on my mother’s side. She was the one person who was always by my side when I needed a friend. The one I promised to support when she decided to become a therapist against her father's wishes. The one I shared my ups and downs with. The only person beside Cam who held the high position of most trusted friend. I had one simple task to do today. To be her 'Man of Honor'. She chose me over her girlfriends and I screwed it up BIG.

"I'm sorry Bella." I began and took two steps forward to hold her hands. Greg was securely holding her in his arms, not willing to let her go or hurt her even more on their most important day. I looked at her teary eyes and sighed in shame.

"You, of all the people in the world, know that I would never hurt you." I shook my head, "But I did. And in the cruelest way ever. I walked out of the church on the most important day of your life, and I'm truly sorry for that," I tried to wipe the tear that left her eye but Greg's growl stopped me, so I took my hand back and looked at him.

"I envy you, Greg. I envy you, because you have something I don't," His hold around her waist tightened, showing me that she was his. I chuckled at his act and shook my head. "Not having Isabella, but having a mate. When I saw her all happy looking at you, I was happy for both of you. Please believe me I was, but that made me realize how badly I want to have it too. I'm sorry to ruin your wedding, or make you think I don't support you. It wasn't my intention. I just felt..." I couldn't finish my sentence, so I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths.

"I know." Her delicate hand touched my slapped cheek while she spoke. Her touch soothed the burning but it had no sparks to make it go away instantly. I opened my eyes and saw the understanding and sadness in hers.

"I know, Blake, why you did it. And although I'm sad you didn't wait two more minutes to walk away, I understand you better than anyone in this room." She smiled a little through her tears, fully aware of my deepest desire to experience a mate's love too.

"So, if you're not dead after I walk back to my reception, you can make it up to me." Her statement made me smile.

"I'll do anything to make you feel better." I answered instantly. She blinked a few times and smirking, she named the price.

"One," She raised her forefinger, and just like that, the stubborn and confident girl I knew was back.

"Your speech must be epic and make all the guests cry." She shot up another finger and chuckled, "And two, I want a fully paid second honeymoon next month in Belize, with all the attractions we choose, with no complaints." And just like that, I relaxed, knowing she'd forgiven me.

"Deal."

I looked at everyone around, smiling, but they weren't convinced. Bella and Greg walked away to clear her face before joining the guests. As a son of a Council member, Greg had a reputation to uphold, and to think I might anger the man whose father sent mine to prison so many years ago made me rethink my next moves. I turned to my mother and, with a simple look, I begged her not to lecture me right now.

"You made my sister cry at her own f*****g wedding! You better do more than just the speech and trip to make it up to her, or else..." Aiden sent a death glare my way before he grabbed his mate and dragged her back into the reception. Her father did the same seconds later. Linda sent me a reassuring smile before they disappeared. I was left alone with my parents and Brody.

"Blake..." My father exhaled, holding my mother to his chest. She was so small compared to him, like a little girl held by a beast. But the love they shared was indescribable, all I wished was to taste the same and I was fed up with waiting for it.

"You're in deep s**t bro, I'm surprised you're still alive." Brody finally let out his laughter, bending over while holding his stomach in amusement. We all looked at him. Me with annoyance at his lack of seriousness, my parents in disbelief at his childishness.

"Thank you for your support, dipshit." I rolled my eyes at his words. But that earned me a scolding look from my parents, with a few words of disappointment. So I shut up.

"Blake, I know you have been waiting for your mate for over four years and you're irritated. But I met your father when I was twenty-seven. Trust the Moon Goddess, she'll send her to you at the right time. Calm down and focus on your task today. You have a speech to make. Make it phenomenal." My mother said while placing a hand on my shoulder and, sliding it down, pulled the card with the speech she had written for me from my pocket, taking it with her as she left the room, dragging my father with her.

I was stunned and petrified by her action. The woman who was always by my side just took away the only thing that made me feel confident today. I had trusted her with the speech and now I was left alone with nothing. I hadn't even checked what she wrote for me.

"s**t, she's scary at times. I'm glad her anger is focused on you, not me this time." Brody's fist bumped the air in victory, before coming to pat me on my shoulder, reminding me that I was doomed before he left also with the encouraging words, ‘You got it bro’ before he closed the door.

"What am I going to do now?" I said out loud, tugging at my hair while pacing the room. The reception had already started and the only missing piece was the Man of Honor. ME.

‘Speak from your heart.’ my wolf advised, speaking to me for the first time today. He had left me to deal with this s**t all alone.

'You think you're funny?' I asked him but he only huffed and blocked me out. I was really left alone. Counting to ten and preparing myself for whatever was to come, I left the room and joined the party.

I have no f*****g clue how I did it, but my speech made all the guests cry, even Uncle Deacon and my father wiped away tears too discreetly for anyone to notice, except me. Bella smiled through tears mouthing 'thank you' over and over again. With time, people forgot about my stunt at the church and they praised me for fulfilling my task. Especially when they all saw me dancing with Bella while she was laughing her lungs out at my jokes. My lack of moves was replaced by swirling her around on the dance floor. Cam would be proud of my diversion.

I felt relieved that in the end I didn't ruin her wedding that much. I went to sleep at the crack of dawn, with aching feet and a satisfied grin. I managed to make all the guests happy but most importantly, Bella and Greg were thanking me for the great night. As exhausted as I was, my sleep wasn't pleasant and I tossed and turned almost the whole night, having a nightmare of my mate running away from me. But when I felt a soft touch on my cheek, I relaxed and all the darkness faded and I drifted away.

"Can you pull over?" My mother's voice dragged me out of my thoughts about my dream and the strange touch. What was that? The Moon Goddess from my childhood giving me signs of another significant change in my life?

We were forty minutes away from the airport to go back home, when mom suddenly asked my father to stop. And when he didn't do it immediately, she stormed out of the halting car to vomit at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere. Scared about her well-being, we all unfastened our seatbelts and hurried to her side.

My father grabbed her hair in one hand while the other rubbed her back as she emptied her stomach of all its contents from last night, making us all turn our heads at the stench of digested food. I took a look at Brody for answers but he was as shocked as me with no clue about what was going on.

"Don't look at me." My mother said between retching, taking a deep breath before another barf left her mouth. On instinct, I took out my phone and called Bella. After stuttering a description of the situation, she gave me the address of the nearest hospital in the area and I told my father to take mom inside while I took the driver's seat. I watched the road vaguely, mostly focusing on the back seat, watching my mother pale on my father's lap, breathing shallowly while Brody cried, clutching her hand.

My father softly brushed her hair, saying sweet, encouraging words to her, while holding back his own tears of terror of my mother's state. When we turned onto the gravel road of the public hospital Bella told us to go to, I sighed in relief. The confirmation that the doctor was aware of our species was a big convenience and I sped up once the small gray building came into view.

We arrived at the hospital in record time. Bella did well and the people were waiting for us with the stretcher and the necessary equipment, like we were VIPs. They took my mother from my father's arms with force to place her in the bed. He followed them into the room he was able to enter, but the moment they told him to stop and let the doctors do their job, he lost his s**t.

He ripped all the seats in the room like they were made of plastic, screaming her name over and over again. I stood in my place, shocked. I have never seen my father raging like a bull ready to tear down the whole place. Brody tried to approach him but dad pushed him away like a rag doll. He flew away and landed at my feet with a loud thud.

Immediately, I helped him stand up and took him out of range of our father's wrath. Not knowing what to do next, I escorted Brody out of the room and let him go once we reached the other side of the corridor, but he latched onto me for support. The sound of demolition echoed in the air. All the staff were scared of entering the waiting area. If that's how you feel when your mate is in danger, I don't want to experience it myself.

"She'll be fine, tell me Mom'll be fine?!" Brody's shaking body escaped my hold and he kneeled on the floor sobbing. I was at a loss for words. I was praying she'd be fine, but she didn't look fine. I shook my head at my own thoughts and advanced on Brody to calm him down.

"She'll be fine. She probably ate something that made her puke." I wasn't sure if I was assuring him or me. But the thought of my little brother crying made me step into my ‘big brother’ shoes. I held him in my arms while I tried to understand the situation.

At that very moment, the doors opened and the nurse came out, bringing with her the hint of a smell that made my wolf agitated. It came from the opposite corridor from where my mother had been taken. I watched the interaction between the medical personnel. The nurse's head shook a disappointed 'NO', informing them that the patient had not made any progress, and that silent conversation lured me into wanting to know more.

Looking at the reception desk, I was curious. What were they talking about? Torn between my mother’s condition and the alluring scent, I fought so hard, despite my wolf telling me to dive in. I strained my ears to hear the conversation in mom’s exam room. But that smell made me loosen my grip on my brother and look in the direction of the door.

I let him go, and closing my eyes, I inhaled the scent again. Fresh freesias and spring wind took over all of my senses. It was fragrant, so delicate and faint but my body responded to it immediately. I left Brody abruptly and walked in the direction of the door like I was enchanted. The smell leading me to the edge of our existence. My wolf, proud and unbreakable, begging to take the next steps.

And in that trance, led by a power I couldn't resist, I reached the white door. I didn't hear the voices behind me to stay away or did I decide to ignore them? Nurses were saying it's forbidden and Brody shouted at me to not leave him alone. But the scent was compelling me to follow, and I did.

I opened the doors and sniffed the air. Through the small crack, the scent hit me tenfold. With the doorknob still in my hand, I saw that the ward had no name written on the panel, no one was waiting outside sobbing at the state of the person behind the doors. No one was around to look after the person inside. But my wolf told me to f*****g widen the door and enter. So, for the first time in my life, I did what he asked. And the smell hit me double with the swing of the opening door.

It was mixed with meds, but it was the best scent of my life. And when I looked at the person lying almost dead on the bed, my mind, my wolf and my mouth finally said one thing I had anticipated and waited my entire life to say:

"MATE."