Chapter 25 - What started it all…

17 years ago….

The Seer was a wise young woman, with a streak of mischief, she was a meddler and was always cryptic in delivering her message, she often enjoyed speaking in riddles and watching the person struggle to find the meaning in her words and then watching from afar as they fvck up repeatedly. She knew what she told them to be true, but she was purposely vague so as to create drama, twisting some of her words and changing others to cause confusion. This gave her great entertainment as she followed the paths taken by those who had the misfortune to request her assistance. The Seer was in fact incredibly gifted, her sight was never skewed and always found a way to come to fruition, no matter how the targets acted to either bring it to pass or to thwart destiny. Her anger stemmed from the assumption others made that she was there to serve their purpose. She had been beaten for delivering bad news, accused of malice by those whose futures showed misfortune, and this had made her bitter.

In the case of the Delta of Twin Lakes she was particularly watchful, she had actually spoken plainly with him, not twisting her words into riddles, she had sensed something in the man that came to her holding the small bundle, a desperation and a darkness that were at war with one another. The Delta had summoned her, forcing her to travel for 3 days to reach him in a secluded place. She was angry at the audacity of a mere Delta ordering her the way he had, but on reading his aura she determined her anger, though well-placed, would be better kept inside of her. Taking the squalling child into her arms, she had closed her eyes and breathed deeply, allowing the sweet child's essence to wrap itself around her, giving her the vision. She had been vague, knowing as she did the reactions that others had to her visions.

Her eyes opened, and the Delta could see the change that had come over her. No longer were her eyes black and coal, now they shone a brilliant ice blue, she blinked, and the black orbs returned before she spoke. She lay the child gently into the man's arms and locked eyes with him, so he might see her honesty.

"I see a man in her future. He will be the Alpha of the pack, but he will not come to the position naturally, he will not be an Alpha's son. I see a Beta, a Beta given the position at the time of the Alpha's death. The Alpha will have a daughter, and she could take the position of Luna if her mate is of Beta rank. The Beta will earn his position thanks to his honest and caring nature, as well as a grand gesture that will secure the trust of the Alpha." 

The Delta paces the length of the room, deep in thought, almost indifferent to the child in his arms, he mutters to himself, and the seer, tired from her vision, slips away from the building, beginning her journey home without another word.

The Delta continues to pace, muttering to himself before he stops abruptly and calls angrily for his mate to retrieve their child.

Maddie - 

For as long as I can remember, I have been told that Ace would be my mate. I was told so candidly that I was convinced he was going to be my fated mate. Daddy sat me down when I was 8 years old and told me about the seer. He told me word for word what she had told him, which seemed to indicate that he was correct and Ace and I were destined to be together. He reminded me every year about the vision. Daddy was strong and a great Delta, he was my world, my mother was broken. I had known that for almost as long as I had known about Ace and I. I vowed I would never succumb like she did. She was weak-minded. She had lost herself after I was born. According to Daddy, he told me she couldn't handle the birth and in her struggle to birth me she lost her mind. 

When I was 10 years old, our Alpha met his mate and everything changed. Daddy was moody and secretive, he would travel more and leave me with my mother. Then the Luna had a small accident that resulted in her going to the doctor, and it was declared that she would never be able to carry a child to term. At the time, I didn't understand the words, but Daddy became happy again, so I was happy. 

When I was 13 years old, Ace started to come around to see us, his parents were neglectful (busy with their Beta duties I suppose) and my mother, who was a shell of a woman, had never recovered from whatever it was that ailed her. After Ace started spending more time with me, we discovered that we had a lot in common. We were both determined to rise from our current standings within the pack. Being the Beta's son, he was well-trained. 

At 16 years old, I found out that Daddy had poisoned the Luna, so she would not be able to have children, determined as he was to see me in my rightful place as Luna. He wanted to eliminate any possibility that she would have the daughter the seer had foreseen. I was also 16 when Ace and I took our relationship to the next level and began discovering our shared sexuality.

When I was 17 years old, I was devastated to discover that Ace was not my mate, but we were close, we shared everything, our hopes and dreams, our secret desires and our hidden selves. He quickly told me that Cassie was his mate, and we decided together that he would keep her as a sidepiece until she gave him a son, the plan being that she would serve me and when it was confirmed she was with child we would fake a pregnancy, so everyone would think it was mine when it was born. I didn't want to birth a baby, I didn't want to risk it with my mother's history and her blood in my veins.

After discovering that Cassie was his mate, Ace changed, he was distant with me, he wouldn't touch me the way I wanted, he became more aggressive, more impatient for his own pleasure. I didn't have anyone to talk to about this, since nobody knew we were not mates, everyone thought we were fated for one another, and we seemed perfect for each other.

After one particularly odd encounter with Ace in his office, I vowed to try harder to find enjoyment in his pleasure, but I also had the idea of sharing him, so he could take out the worst of his frustrations on the others. I broached the subject with him and was pleased when he actually heard me and did as I asked. He even let me watch him with some of them, which I enjoyed immensely, and once he was done with them, he was always more than happy to take me, and when he did take me he was always the way we were before. Then he began buying me this perfume. It smelled lovely, and I was touched he would think of me that way. Neither of us were particularly thoughtful, so his gift touched me deeply.

Allowing Ace to have others by himself has given me a chance to spread my wings a little and discover what really works for me, and so long as I only use the lowest ranking members, he doesn't seem to mind. The only time he gets upset with me is if we are together, and I forget to wear the perfume he gave me, which makes me feel special, like he wants that perfume especially for me and that he uses it to reign in his more violent tendencies.

Ace may not be my fated mate, but he is perfect for me, and I am perfect for him. Daddy was right.