Althena

40. Blood Test

After a very emotional night, I wake up with Mike. I don't know what to think anymore. I don't think I'm mad at Mary. She didn't know anything. My dad refused the bond on his own. He seems to regret it. I think.

"How is she?" Chris sits beside me.

"Emotional."

"Last night was hard on them."

I look at him. "Who?"

"You and Clayton. He walked out at the same time you did."

Jax sits with his coffee. "I feel bad for the kid. Found out his parents never loved each other."

Mike nods. "That would be hard for anyone to hear."

"So, they never had s*x again?" I was thinking that but said it out loud instead.

Chris shakes his head. "We're not going to ask. But I'm assuming they did. It is probably in her contract that she has to give it up when he wants it."

I watch Mike.

"Woman, I don't need a contract to give it up whenever you want it." I giggle and he winks. "Eat your breakfast."

The door flings open and Clayton sits at the table. He crosses his arms and pouts. "I live here now too."

Jax nods.

Fergus looks around. "Well, now we got both of them."

"They're figuring it out, dad. Don't help."

"I'm only here because of a contract."

"What do you mean?" Kafei gets him a plate of food.

"It was in the marriage contract that my mom gave him an heir."

"That's hardly a contract item, sweetie. Your mom makes it clear she loves you."

"So?"

"She had you because she wants you and loves you. She must have wanted children even without the contract. It's that way with nearly everyone who gets married. They will eventually want children or an heir. With your father's high profile, he must have put it in writing. But I guarantee she wanted a child."

"She had to."

"I had to as well. Fergus wanted an heir. He made it clear before we got married. I gave him 2. I always wanted 2 kids. But having a child is one thing. Being a mother is another. I love my boys. I love being their mother. Was she a good mother to you?"

"The best."

"She did everything for you because she wanted to. She was your mother because she wanted to be. I promise, the contract didn't say anything about that. She could have pretended you didn't exist after she had you. The help could have raised you. But she wanted to be your mother. That wasn't contracted. Now eat something."

He finally starts eating. "She wanted more too. But something happened when I was born, and she couldn't have anymore."

Kafei nods. "More reason to cherish you even more."

Then the door flies in. Granny and Phina barge through it.

"WE FIGURED IT OUT."

"IT'S A BLOOD TEST. GIVE ME YOUR HAND."

I dive out of the way. Jax jumps up and seems to be hiding behind his chair. He is hyper-aware of everything. Nobody else seems to care they're here.

"STOP." I put my hands out. "First. What are you wearing?" They're in floor-length black cloaks with symbols on them.

"These are our visiting cloaks. We need to be presentable while visiting other packs."

"Ok. Now, very slowly, why are you here?"

"We figured out a blood test that will say if someone is your mate."

I run my hands through my hair. "YOU ALREADY KNOW."

Granny points at Phina. "HER OLD ASS ISN'T GOING TO TELL ME. SO, NOW I HAVE TO FIGURE IT OUT ON MY OWN."

"I'm not going to tell. But I did help with the test. This should work. And if it does work, we will have a way to test everyone for the soulmate bond. Give us your hand." Phina pulls out a dagger.

I jump behind my chair.

"IT'S NOT GONNA HURT. COME HERE."

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN? YOU'RE ABOUT TO STAB ME."

"COME HERE." They tackle me and hold my arm down. I feel my hand get cut. "That's it. Now we can test your blood. Whose first?" Phina pops up.

Chris holds out his hand. "Please don't tackle me."

Phina gets his blood, and they swirl it with some of mine while they chant over the cup. Then it turns orange.

"What is orange?"

"We have no idea. We have to keep going."

Clayton holds out his hand. "I'm her brother. I better not be her soulmate."

His turns red.

"We're going to assume red means, no."

I nod. "Good assumption."

Then they do Flint. His turns green.

I can't stop staring at it. "Why is it green?"

"We don't know. We're comparing."

Jax turns blue.

"WHY IS EVERYONE A DIFFERENT COLOR?"

"WE DON'T KNOW. RELAX."

Conner's turns blue. Mike turns purple.

Granny smiles at everyone. "Thank you for the first test. We're going to assume, red means no. Also, purple is the soulmate bond. We're going to work on figuring out what blue, green, and orange mean now." They walk out.

I heal everyone's hands then sit in my spot. "That was stressful for some reason."

Kafei smiles. "You have your mate, sweetie. The blood test was just to put your mind at ease. And now everyone can use it. It'll be a good thing. And it's a good thing for you. You know without a doubt who your soulmate is."

I lay my head down and bounce it on the table.

Clayton says, "Wow, you're being dramatic about this. You were going to marry him anyway."

Conner cracks up laughing. "She has more than 1 mate. They're trying to find them."

"HOW DOES HE KNOW?" Chris jumps up and gives me the dirtiest look while he points at Conner.

"I HAVE NO IDEA."

"Mike told me in the woods that day. After the rogue. He was shocked. I got it out of him though." He gets some eggs.

"HOW COULD YOU TELL?" I jump up and throw my cup at Mike.

"RELAX. I was in shock and had to say it. Conner doesn't care. He swore secrecy until I could figure out how to tell you first."

Chris crosses his arms. "Well, do you know it's 4?"

"He only said multiple. Not a number."

Clayton burst out laughing. "Watch it be Darmon."

I jump up and scream, "I WILL KILL EVERYBODY."

He laughs harder.

Mike puts me in the seat. "It's going to be someone you like. Don't worry about that idiot."

Chris nods. "We know that red means no and purple is the soulmate bond. So, nobody here is your soulmate. That's all we know for now. That's a start. We'll be fine. OH. Maybe it was that sexy alpha on the beach."

Conner pops in my head. His sexy chest and eyes. That wink.

"HEY." Mike shakes his head. "No."

Clayton finally pulls it together. "Our family is so damn weird."

"Let's go to the beach." Chris stands up.

"Sit down." Mike rubs his face. "No more beach."

"OH s**t. WE HAVE AN EVENT IN 2 HOURS. I FORGOT." Clayton jumps up and throws his spoon.

"2 hours is plenty of time. What are you doing?"

He walks towards the door as he explains. "It's an opening for events in the Green District. It's a big event every year. Every pack on that side of Central makes an appearance. And it's fully formal for royalty." He pulls me out of the chair and drags me with him. "We have to get ready."

I get pulled right into a helicopter and off we go.

We land and I can't speak. My mouth is open and everything. I have never seen places like this. They are castles.

"Welcome to the Palace District. Be in shock later." Clayton pulls into a palace. "We live here. When we're not in Central anyway. We have houses and properties all over. You should get used to that."

Mary is suddenly standing in front of us. "I'm glad you made it in time. Clayton room 1. Althena room 2. The servants are there to help you. Are your dates on the way?"

He shrugs his shoulders. "Maybe."

"Did you ask anyone, Clayton?"

"No."

"Thena?"

"Mike is my forever date. I don't think he knows where I am."

"I'll send for him and find Clayton a date."

"Thanks." Clayton pulls me again. This time down a hallway. Then he pushes me into a room. "Get ready in here."

I turn around and there are 4 women staring at me. "Hi."

They spring into action. I have no idea what is happening. I get different clothes put on me. Someone does my makeup while someone else does my hair. It's a very fast blur for me. Then I'm standing in front of a wall of mirrors.

I look like a princess. The dress is a floor-length princess gown. It's yellow and white. It's tight on top, but the shoulders are slightly puffy. The neckline is a princess cut. It really shows off my boobs. I have 3 different necklaces. So many bracelets. My hair is pulled back into some kind of weird elaborate bun. Little curls pop out here and there. The earrings are yellow stones with diamonds around them. They hang about half an inch off my ear and are a little heavy. They match my rings perfectly.

"This?"

"Is something wrong, ma'am?" A lady shakes the dress a little.

"This is me?"

"Yes, ma'am. This is a formal event for royalty."

"I just..." I stare at myself completely lost. I never...

Clayton pulls me. "Shock later. They are meeting us there."

I stare at myself in the helicopter. Clayton stares at his phone. Then we start to land.