Page 48 of Her Second-Hand Mate

Two doctors testified today, explaining to us the physical and emotional damage done to this female by the aggressive fertility treatments she was subjected to, her time in the dungeon, and the drugs she had to take to manage the pain inflicted upon her by her mate’s cheating.

I now know what happened to aunt Maureen – I had a first-row seat to how that type of thing destroys a person. I can’t believe Mother and Father sent her back to her mate. It’s no wonder she never came to see us again. I sent her a letter, you know, after you sent me her address. She hasn’t written back yet, and I wouldn’t blame her if she never does.

Back to the trial: the dead Alpha (I don’t want to even write his name, I hate him so much) was taking a lot of wolfsbane in order to be able to do all of these heinous things, so he severely damaged his wolf and his mating bond in the process.

Luna Regina finally testified today. It was truly heartbreaking to see how much she blamed herself despite being completely justified in what she did. I think you can guess which way I voted.

Another thing that was heartbreaking was seeing how stricken Agnes looked when she heard about what her disgusting mate had said about Regina.

I will not write all the details of her testimony here because I think I cried enough for one day. I will say that she was faced with an impossible situation, and she found her way out of it. It was remarkable, but she doesn’t see it that way. She felt like a failure and she wanted to die, it is clear as day.

And I understand where she’s coming from, in a way. The mate bond is of paramount importance to our kind. But I think it was her mate who should have thought of that first.

Regina said today that she’d been afraid Henry might force himself on her (I think I might have gasped “Oh my God” when I heard that, but everyone was too stunned to care), and thenthe North Carolina Alpha said that something like that was impossible, that a male couldn’t rape his mate. Then the King’s brother explained to him that he was wrong – I’d never thought about this before. I always used to think that mates wanted each other all the time. I'd never considered that one might refuse the other in bed.

Regina also said that just because someone was your mate, it didn’t mean he was a good, loving male, and it didn’t mean you should forgive and forget if the wolf didn't exhibit genuine remorse. I wasn't sure what Nana would think of that, so I kept it to myself.

Finally, we voted and Luna Regina was found justified in her actions. I couldn’t hide my smile when the verdict was read, I was so happy for her. Now, she’s free to live the rest of her life as she wants.

The Crown also punished the Elders who sanctioned the breeder, her mother-in-law for assaulting her, the guard who let others assault his Luna in the dungeon, and in the end, they dismantled the entire Spruce Mountain pack. I never heard of something like that being done.

What will happen to those wolves? Can you imagine your pack just being gone one day? It sounds awful, but they kind of deserve it for what they did to their Luna. I hope I’ll manage to be objective and unprejudiced to any of their wolves who might end up in my pack.

I’m finishing this letter right now because I want to give it to Eden before they leave tonight. We are flying back in themorning, after Dominic’s meeting with the King. Now, I'll have all night to be nervous about the flight.

Give my love to Evie,

Love,

P.

11

On the flight back, I couldn’t get Luna Regina’s words out of my mind. Was my mate a good, loving male? Were we only right for each other physically: genetically compatible to produce optimal offspring, to perpetuate a strong Alpha bloodline, but maybe not suited for having dinner together at a romantic restaurant? What was mating supposed to be, originally? Just an evolutionary necessity or a meeting of the souls?

Dominic and Theo were silent as well, so there was no pressure to sound normal. I could be in my head as much as I wanted to. What would I do if I wasn’t pregnant?

Now that I had a clear image of how infertility could ruin a mating, I couldn’t stop obsessing over it. On the other hand, I also had the image of Grace and Elliot’s mating, the five pupless years, and the endless love and tenderness he had in his eyes whenever he looked at her. I clutched my mental coat tightly to hide how much I coveted a love like that.

I felt thick, sludgy jealousy coating my insides like it did whenever I was in the presence of love. I had to admit to myself that my mating with Dominic wasn’t strong enough to withstand adversity, and that was a sad and sobering thought.

???

The week after the trial, Dominic and I did a good job of avoiding each other. Before, I would have minded, I would have wondered. Now, I was glad to be left alone.

He was having nightmares he didn’t talk to me about. I kept remembering how strong Regina had been, how composed, how she took matters into her own hands and dealt with an impossible situation. Compared to her, I was still a pup, weak and emotionally dependent on a male who didn’t really care for me.

Luckily, my friends were back, and we met for lunch at Grace’s house to catch up and exchange gifts belatedly. She was due to have the pup any day now. I told them all about the trial, since everyone was interested in the scandal of the century even though most of it had already been reported in all the papers. But I also had something else to say.

“I think I’m pregnant,” I said quietly, and they all squealed excitedly.

I wasn’t even completely sure yet, but I had to tell someone.

“How long has it been since your heat?” Mira asked, ever the nurse.

“Three weeks, so next week I’ll know for sure,” I said.

“Oh my God, I am so excited,” Charlotte said and her eyes were misty, “you were born to be a mom. Wait till Anthony hears about this!”

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