Mate Massacres

Chapter 5

I hope everyone had a great Christmas/ happy and festive holidays! :D

- Sian

Krey hovered outside the dining hall, hearing the chatter and laughter among his people. If he stepped into the room, every person would stand and bow, then try to talk to him. Krey wished he could slip in unrecognised.

Not anymore.

He quickly turned and headed back to his bedroom. He was good at avoiding people, except for his mother. As soon as Krey's head touched his pillow, his mother knocked, waited ten seconds, then popped her head into his room.

Krey felt her eyes on him as he pretended to be asleep.

"I've just watched you come in here. You're fooling nobody," Krey's mother, Makena said.

"Well I am," Krey muttered, hearing his door shut and steps approach his bed.

"Are you resting for a little while, or is this you for the day?"

Krey didn't move or make a sound, giving her the answer. The bed dipped next to him, and Krey turned around to face the wall.

"You can't hide from your duties forever."

"I can, and I will." Krey scowled into his cushion. "Get out." The duvet ruffled next to him as his mother snuggled close. Krey felt her arms around him and was pleased she couldn't see his frown softening.

"Your cousin Victoria had the dream last night. I spoke with her on the phone before breakfast. She dreamt of a young man, tall, dark, mysterious," his mother said, changing the subject and finding any excuse to talk. "She said, in their dream, they were at some sort of meeting or party or gathering. I think they'll meet at the annual gathering next week." Makena waited to see if Krey would respond. He didn't, so she asked, "When do you think you'll have the dream?"

"Never." Krey could feel her brown eyes burning into the back of his head.

"Every wolf has the dream about their mate. That day will come for you too, no matter how unlovable and heartless you seem to be."

"Thanks," Krey muttered, just looking for a reason to argue. His heart of coal was no secret. Krey didn't care for a mate because they would only make his life harder. Krey targeted the mates of his enemies because mates were their weakness, every time.

"Well, it's true. You're only nineteen. You have four more years to find your mate." All werewolves between the age of eighteen and twenty-three eventually dream of their mate. Werewolves never dream at night, so the mate dream was a big deal. "Gosh. I remember the first time I saw your father. He walked up behind me and whispered in my ear that he had dreamt of me. Still to this day, I remember his smile when I turned around."

The colour drained from Krey's world. He uncoiled his mother's arms and threw his legs over the side of the bed, sitting up. Every time, he thought, every damn time.

His mother sat up too, sighing. "The human got escorted off the premises this morning. Didn't he? I don't smell him here anymore. That omega- what's her name? Francis, right? She seemed very sympathetic for him."

"The human broke in," Krey muttered. "What did he expect? A cup of tea and a phone call to his parents?"

Makena scoffed. "I watched the CCTV footage with Francis this morning. The human was chased. Francis liked to think that he broke in for a reason. The fence tripped for the first time in years, moments before he climbed over. Someone was looking out for him last night."