Chapter 42
The bed shook as Thea tried to stifle her sobs. The pillow was wet from all the tears she shed in
silence. “Hey, darling, what’s wrong?” Kai said.
The triplets caressed her until she could speak.
“I didn’t shift,” Thea finally said. “What if I’m human?”
“Then nothing changes,” ric said.
“You’re still our mate if you’re human,” Conri said. “We love you no matter what.”
“Can a human even be goddess gifted?” Thea said.
“I don’t see why not. If werewolves can have humans as mates, which they do all the time, the goddess
can choose humans to be gifted,” ric said.
“I have two werewolf parents from long lines of werewolves. Alphas at that. Why wouldn’t I have a
wolf?”
“Maybe it’s too much magic for one person to handle?” Conri said.
“You could still shift. It doesn’t have to be the day you turn eighteen,” Kai said.
“Have you ever heard of anyone shifting if they didn’t on their birthday?” Thea said. The triplets were
silent. “ This is why I didn’t feel the matebond before like you guys did. I don’t have a wolf. We have to
tell your parents.”
“Why? What do you mean?” Conri said.
“They may want to cancel the mating ceremony,” Thea said.
“Not a chance,” ric said.
“They love you,” Conri said.
“It’s not up to them who our mate is,” Kai said.
“Let’s just tell them and see what they say,” Thea said. The four showered, got dressed, then made
their way down to the Alpha’s office. He was already in there with Luna Ada and Thea’s parents.
“Are you ready for tonight?” Luna Ada said. “Hmm. Those bruises should have healed by now.”
“Alpha, Luna, Mom, Dad,” Thea said. Her voice broke. “ Before you say anything else, I have to tell
you. I didn’t shift. I think I’m human.”
They all looked at her, thinking, mind linking. She realized she would never mind link with them, with
anyone, and suddenly she understood the people who talked about broken hearts. She felt sharp pain
inside her chest. A heaviness settled on her. It made it difficult to stand upright, to breathe, to move.
Tears spilled over. She wiped her cheeks, but the tears wouldn’t stoping.
Her mother jumped up, hurried over, and wrapped Thea tight in her arms. This was the first time any of
their parents had seen Thea cry.
“Mom, I don’t have a wolf,” Thea said, sobbing. The pain in her voice reached everyone in the room.
Their hearts ached for her.
The triplets could feel her emotions through the matebond, and tears fell from their eyes. Their wolves
howled and whimpered in their minds.
“I don’t know why, but this must be the will of the goddess,” Alpha Ulric said. “I know it hurts, but do you
still feel up to the mating ceremony tonight?”
Thea turned her head to face him but stayed in her mother’s embrace.
“You still want to go through with it?” Thea said, voice shaking.
“Of course. Nothing has changed. You’re my sons’ mate. Being human doesn’t change that.”
C0pyright ? 2024 N?v)(elDrama.Org.
“You’ve already taken better care of this pack than most Lunas with wolves ever do,” Luna Ada said.
“You’re a strong leader. Nothing has changed.”
“We love you no matter what, my daughter,” Beta Walter said. “We don’t know everything there is to
know about goddess gifted. Maybe they don’t follow the same rules as everyone else. I do believe you
have a wolf, but she’s not ready toe out yet. Even if she neveres, nothing has changed.”
“Maybe this is why you have three mates,” her mother said. |
“Because I’ll be a liability my whole life?” Thea said, fresh tears falling.
“We still don’t know the extent of your magic,” Alpha Ulric said. “Or much about goddess gifts at all. It
could be that the gift takes the ce of the wolf. It could be that it takes longer for your body to mature,
and your wolf wille in the future. It could be any number of things. We just don’t know. One thing
we all know is that you strengthen this pack. The moon goddess herself came and blessed you and the
room of men who swore their lives to protect yours. I know it hurts right now. I can’t imagine not having
my wolf. What did the goddess say to you during the ceremony?”
Thea took a deep, ragged breath to calm her crying. Her voice still wavered. “She said to be patient,
have faith, follow my instincts. My path won’t be easy, but I’m the one who has to walk it.” Living in the
werewolf world as a human wouldn’t be easy. It would be impossibly painful.
“Let’s go by that then,” Alpha Ulric said. “Be patient. Have faith. I don’t know what’s in store for you all,
but you need each other. The mating ceremony will go on as nned.”
Thea nodded.
“Are you okay, dear?” her mother said.
Thea nodded, and her mother let her go. They both moved back to their chairs, but Conri pulled Thea
onto hisp. He held her tight against him. She didn’t try to move to her seat like she usually would
have to show respect in the Alpha’s office. She needed thefort of her mates. Kai and ric moved
to either side of them, and each grabbed one of her hands.
“Tonight, at the ceremony, you will wear ceremonial robes,” Alpha Ulric said. “I’ll say some words. We’ll
leave the stage, you each will mate and mark Thea, then you’ll face the crowd while they celebrate.
They’ll be on a high from the surge of magic. The pack will go on the ceremonial hunt. Thea, you’ll
need to stay out of the woods where Delta team can keep an eye on you.” |
“Yes, sir,” she said, trying to hold back more tears as she thought about all the pack activities she
would never be able to experience without a wolf.
“Marking is painful for the first few seconds, then it’s quite nice,” Alpha Ulric continued. “The more open
you are, the more the magic of the bond will flow to every member of the pack. Don’t hold back. Put
your heart and soul into it. As your bond to each other builds, reach out to the pack. No one has ever
seen a mating ceremony with more than two people, so I’m not sure if anything different needs to
happen. Follow your instincts. I have a feeling the goddess will guide you.”
“Yes, sir,” Thea and the triplets said together.
“Most markings are done in private because they only affect the two people marking each other. An
Alpha’s mark affects the entire pack. It’s not a test for the new Luna and Alpha, but it does give the
pack an indication of the kind of leaders they will be. If they can include the pack in their intimate
moment to share the magic they have, the pack grows stronger. Everything an Alpha and Luna do is for
the pack. Even when you have pups, those pups are their future leaders and protectors. The pack will
do anything for their Alpha, Luna, and their pups. You’re honoring everyone in the pack by sharing this
with them, and they will love you for it.” He went on a while longer exining things.
“We’ll have you separated for the rest of the day. We want to make sure you’re ready to go for tonight.”
Thea wondered if the real reason for keeping them separated was so they didn’t identally mate and
mark each other before the ceremony. “Your mother and Luna Ada will help you get ready, Thea. Sons,
you’ll be spending the day with Beta Walter and me.”
“Thea, you can have a little time to yourself right now,” Luna Ada said. “We’lle to get you in a little
while.” Thea left the Alpha’s office. Her guards looked at her, concerned. She knew they could feel her
emotions.
“I didn’t shift. I’m human,” she said, looking down. She turned, made her way to her room, and looked
at her phone. She had a lot of happy birthday wishes. She texted thanks to everyone who wished her a
happy birthday and shifting day, tears falling the whole time. “Thanks for the birthday wishes. I didn’t
shift. It looks like I’m human,” Thea texted to Misty. |
Misty called right away.
“Are you okay?”
“Big no,” Thea said.
“I can’t imagine how you feel right now.”
“There’s a lot of feelings going on. I’m shocked and confused. I’m embarrassed. I know I would tell
someone else that it doesn’t change who they are, and we still love them, and they’re still part of the
pack and all that, but I don’t feel that for myself. I’ll never be able to join all the pack activities I’ve been
looking forward to my whole life. I’m heartbroken.”
“I’m so sorry,” Misty said.
“I’m afraid I’ll be weak for the rest of my life. A human can’tpete with a wolf. I’m a liability to the
pack.”
“No one sees you as a liability,” Misty said.
“They put me under house arrest for not being shifted. Will I be under house arrest my whole life?”
“I don’t know.”
Thea took a deep breath in. “On the bright side, the triplets are my mates. At least, that’s what their
wolves say. Maybe that’s why they were sure before, and I wasn’t. I don’t have a wolf to tell me they’re
my mates. I do feel a stronger connection to them and more tingles. They set the mating ceremony for
tonight.”
“Oh, goddess. When you’re feeling like this? I’m sorry,” Misty said. “I mean, what am I saying?
Congrattions on confirming they’re your mates. That has to be a Telief.”
“It was at first. Now I don’t know how I’m supposed to be a Luna or a mate without a wolf. I can’t mind
link. I can’t mark them.” |
“The triplets want you no matter what. Being human won’t change their feelings for you. You could still
shift, though.” :
“I’m not banking on it,” Thea said. “I need to adjust to this new reality, ept it, get over it. I’m just so
disappointed.”
“Where are the triplets now?”
“They’re with our fathers. I think they’re keeping us away from each other, so they don’t mark me
before the ceremony.”
“You don’t even have them tofort you right now?” Misty said. She sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t know if
you’ll shiftter. I don’t want to give you false hope. I’m going to do some research and see if I can find
anything onte shifters.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you going to be okay tonight? This should be one of the best days of your life. I’m sorry it’s marred
by not shifting. Do you think you can put a pin in your pain and enjoy the mating ceremony?”
Thea breathed in deep. “I’ll try. I’ve never felt like this before. I don’t know how not to want to shift and
have a wolf.”
“You’re going to be Luna,” Misty said. “You’ve always been a selfless person. You glow when you’re
helping others. Think about your pack, your Alpha mates, and what you can do to take care of them.”
“Yeah,” Thea said, thinking. “I have responsibilities. I need to figure out how to fulfill them without a
wolf.”