Jenny's POV
I really wonder sometimes what goes on inside my mates head. Most of the time he is a fantastic Beta and many of the pack, especially those who came from the Lightfoot pack, look to him as Alpha. But he has a childish streak that causes him to upset the packs balance and bring rivalry's out. This baking contest, for example, where he deliberately lit a match between the best baker of the Swift Runners and the Lightfoot.
"So, what do you need to talk to the elders about?" He grinned.
"Don't ruin the surprise." He saw the annoyed look crossing my face. "Ok here's the heads up. I was talking to a pack member. She has been rejected by her mate." My blood ran cold and I couldn't help gasp at the thought of how that must have felt.
"Is she ok?" He nodded.
"Yes… but that's not where it ends. She was rejected twice more." I pulled over into a parking spot by the town hall reserved for us.
"You're fucking with me." I couldn't believe this. He shook his head.
"No, honest to goddess, this she-wolf has been rejected three times. Which is what I need to talk to the elders about." I turned the engine off and pulled the key free. I couldn't help but cover my mouth with a shaking hand.
"I thought you were meant to die if… Is she in pain? Do we need to get her anything?" He shrugged.
"She seems fine and healthy… a little distant maybe." My mind raced.
"It's Charlie isn't it. I knew there was something wrong with her…" He grinned and shook his head.
"Nope." He gave me a light kiss then jumped out the car.
"Wait, get back here!" He shot me that carefree childish grin of his as he skipped around to look at me but continued on his way inside the town hall. I cursed and got out the car. I pressed the button to lock the door and walked after him trying not to look as annoyed as I felt.
The town hall was busy but was noticeably growing quiet as many of the younger children had been taken home. I spied Mathew heading into the judging room and followed. Inside I was pulled towards the cakes first. After what seemed like forever, we finally got to taste them judging not only the look, height, width, evenness and thickness of filling.
As we decided a winner in this first category I kept shooting glances at Mathew and he grinned every time. We eventually moved on to the rest of the entry's in the pie, tart, jelly and jams sections.
Finally, when I couldn't face another sweet treat we came to an end. I heard Mathew make a quick announcement that he needed the attention of the elders after we announced the winners. There was a few noddes and two of the elderly ladies took seats. Saying they'll wait here for him to return.
Mathew and two others left to make the announcements to the contestants that were waiting. Slowly I turned to the two women as another three older women entered. Truthfully I didn't know why some of them were called elders as Roxanna was in her fifties.
"Is this something important?" I looked around as Sue, the oldest woman in the room, asked. She had a pleasant manner but I knew she would rather be at home.
"It involves the health of one of our pack members… I don't know much Mathew wouldn't tell me more than it involves the mate bond." She nodded and sighed slowly pulling a mobile out of her pocket and squinting at the screen.
"Oh, to be young and playful." She giggled. Doris a woman I had little to do with, as she was from the Lightfoot pack, sighed and placed a hand to the table as she propped up her head.
"Really now, I wish that rascal would hurry up. He's always been so impulsive and immature." She shot me a gaze. "I really thought you'd have been able to pull him in a bit more." I was about to object when two more of the elders walked in. It was Sebastian and Ross. These two were like royalty in the pack as each had been a fierce warrior in their prime and held a lot of authority. For some strange reason they really seemed to like the way Mathew operated and had given him their full support.
"Now, now. Doris." Ross smirked. "He's the beta and hasn't done anything to deserve scorn. This rather sudden baking contest has brought the town together. After the winners were announced even the competitors are on friendly terms." Sebastian took a seat and winked at Roxanna. It was no secret that the two were lovers after her mate was killed, nine years ago, and Sebastian never found his.
"Thank you all for coming!" Mathew jumped in through the door and grinned. "I have a lot of questions about mate bonds that I need answering." Doris shook her head.
"Then you should ask that Richard fellow at the hospital. He was doing research into mate bonds." I nodded and Mathew grinned.
"My next stop then… But have any of you heard about a werewolf surviving three rejections?" I saw the looks that spread through the room. Even the elder who just walked in seemed to be taken aback by the question. The elder that just entered was named Dom and he had been in a few different packs. He and his wife were known as Gypsy wolves as they roamed the world before settling down in our pack to have kids at a later stage in their lives. He cleared his throat.
"Not three…" He muttered. "There was a male who was rejected twice before he settled down with the humans and took one as his mate." Mathew nodded. Doris gave a little sigh.
"Old Margret that use to live in the Lightfoot pack lost her first mate, rejected the second and was rejected by her third… She still lives in an aged care home in the human town. She always said the second and third mate bonds were lesser than the first." Sue sighed.
"The mate bond is still rather rare. It's not common for someone to find their mate let alone reject them but it does happen for various reasons." I could see this wasn't what Mathew had hopped for.
"So the verdict at the moment is two is normally the limit but three is possible?" Sebastian sucked his lower lip loudly.
"The legend of the mate's bond is that the Moon Goddess herself crafts the two lovers for each other. They're meant to be your soul mate, your other half and it's your lifes mission to find them. To deny them is to go against the will of the goddess herself." He took a glass of water from a tray on the table.
"And that's what results in death?" Sebastian nodded at Mathews question.
"Yes… I would have to assume so. It could be possible that the one being rejected is given more chances because it wasn't their fault… but…" He trailed off and we all nodded.
"Is there any more to this?" I asked and he shook his head.
"If there is, I don't know it, but there is mention of it in the history of our people. In the beginning when werewolves were localized it was a common thing to find your mate and these bonds were used to solidify or create new alliances and so the werewolves grow strong." He sipped the water and looked to the others as Sue whispered in the corner. "However, human history gets in the way and many werewolves were taken as slaves because of their beauty and strength in comparison to humans. This led to the wider spread of our kind to America, Asia and even Australia now. And the mate bonds became rare if not forgotten as traveling the world was impossible back then." I watched as Mathew assimilated the information.
"This is true but in recent years the mate bond is becoming more and more accepted and wolves are actively looking for it." Roxanna smiled.
"That's why at the end of each month we hold the Luner dances. To allow unmated wolves the chance to find their mates." I nodded again then looked up as the door opened and Doctor Richard walked in. He gave a wave and hung up his phone slipping it back into his pocket.
"Sorry for the intrusion but my grandmother called and told me to attend." My gaze swept to Sue as she waved holding up her cell phone with a delighted smile.
"I love this technology stuff don't you?" She looked at the screen. "Although these dam tile things are so distracting…" I smirked and Richard nodded.
"I was filled in on everything you've said and its all correct. But… there is more to the legend I dug up. It speaks of breaking the mates bonds." He sighed.
"It doesn't sound like it'll be good." He nodded.
"If the mate bond is broken, either by a death or outright rejection, then the two werewolves involved will suffer from… Side effects. These side effects mentioned are like a wild card you have no idea what you're going to get. The most common wild card that occurs is death, literal death where one or both wolves die. Then there's death of the personality as part of the affected literally dies." He waved a hand.
"So, after one rejection you could die?" I asked and Richard nodded.
"Yes. It's the most common side effect. You destroy the bond and part of yourself. The second rejection you're highly likely to die as I surmised through my research that you don't get the same wild card twice." I nodded but Mathew had a grin on his face.
"So, it's like a game of Russian roulette, the chances are high you're going to die but you can statistically dodge the bullet." Richard laughed.
"That's a rather an adept description. Yes, statistically you could avoid the bullet but there'll still be consequences." He took a deep breath "Some of which I don't even know how to begin to understand. And there's mention of something being taken something gained. But it has horrible sounding effects in itself." I blinked.
"What?" He shrugged.
"I still have no idea, I'm working from old diary's in foreign languages or just in really old English… its rather fascinating though." He looked to Mathew.
"Could you ask this wolf to come to the hospital sometime so I can study the effects that had taken place? I might be able to find out more." He nodded.
"I'll see what I can do… But I have another question." I could see Richard grinning.
"Don't leave us hanging" Mathew smirked.
"Is it possible for someone to have two mates at the same time?" The room went silent and Richards mouth dropped slightly.
"Wow… we certainly have some strange pack members…" I nodded and rubbed my face. This was already lining up to be an all-nighter.