Chapter 28 The Only Exception

Jean's POV

"I'll be right here, alpha," I say as I wipe away the unwanted tears on my face.

Eric gave me one of his famous smiles as he knelt beside me and gave me a brotherly hug.

"Good." To my surprise, he kissed the top of my head, inviting more unwanted tears to pour out.

Why can't he be like Eric? I thought.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not in love with Eric or anything. Far from it, I actually use to hate him after he practically forced me to join his pack.

The thing is, I was never one for packs or whatever. I prefer to be alone, wolf, I always had.

And I think it was pretty understandable seeing how the people I was supposed to trust failed me. Well, my dad pushed through.

Unknown to anyone's knowledge, I was still in contact with him. But he never begged me to come back or anything. I will never fit in at home or in his pack. Worse, I'd probably be a nuisance.

I was sure that I would go against all rules and laws, particularly the right to mate.

After what my mother put me through, I vowed never to be mated or to even be intimate with any man or wolf. If I had to kill myself just not to be tied down, I would.

But all that changed when I met Eric.

I often watched him be surrounded by all these vital and powerful men, but never did he faked how weak he was feeling. He would throw a fit, cry and be a brat- he wanted his mate home, and he didn't care if it will take his life or his position.

She was beyond all that. She is his life- no question.

At first, I was secretly laughing at how pathetic he was. It has never been heard of, an alpha of two packs- strong and big pack even- to be that emotional. In normal circumstances, there would only be two causes of that kind of act.

One, to normal bonding, the male would have probably gone out and looked for a new mate as alphas must be wed or mated.

Two, he could have died- or worse, killed himself.

But Eric, being who he is, made a whole different path for him and Serenity.

He told anyone who would listen to how much he was hurting and how much he missed and loved her. Anyone who questions it will either be answered with a sarcastic smirk or a glare. Either way, Eric had assured that he will get Serenity back and secured their future as well.

Seeing how pure his intentions and faith in the bond made me realize how much I am missing in my life by giving up that one thing that made being a shifter truly special. My mate.

Since then, I have hoped deep in my heart that I will find a mate who will be as caring and faithful as Eric. Someone who will not judge me. Instead, assure me that everything will be fine.

"Everything will be alright. He doesn't know what he's missing if he turns you down." Just like that.

"He already did," I said, fighting away the tears again, holding on to Eric's arm, not wanting him to move and see me cry.

"No, he hasn't." He said firmly. He took my face in his hands and made me look at him. "He's pushing you away, yes, but let's see how far he can take to be away from the person that was meant to complete him."

I forced a smile at him, seeing the genuine look of worry on his face and determination in his eyes. I know he was waiting for an answer from me, reassuring him that I believe him.

My old self would have probably given him what he wanted to hear, maybe a sarcastic remark or an, I told you so.

But now it is different. I will have lied if I say that I ultimately agreed with him. That would lead to false hopes, and when that doesn't go well, it will lead to more pain.

Then again, I wasn't one to give up. I wanted so much to believe every word. But I know better.

Seeing that I wouldn't lie to Eric but to myself either, I did the next best thing.

"Go back to your mate. I heard from Aaron and Jake that she almost fainted."

A segue. And as expected, Eric nodded and stood up. I knew he wasn't giving up, nor was he disappointed. He was just giving to my request to be left alone to think.

"Yeah, well, she's as stubborn as you are and won't stay in bed." He sighed.

I stifled a laugh hearing the amused but frustrated tone in his voice.

"If it was you who asked me to stick in bed with you, I'd probably won't either," He gave me a questioned look, I rolled my eyes and said, "Cause I wouldn't be able to stop myself from mauling you."

Seriously, this boy is way too much of a gentleman. I thought and winked at him, making him laugh. His eyes shined with mischief for a moment.

"Well, with her in my bed, I can't say don't feel the same." He said, a blush slowly creeping into his cheeks.

I raised a brow and took a deep breath, and that's when the scent hit me. Serenity's perfume mixed with hers.

I smiled and nodded toward the house. He had taken him as hers and the other way around. Eric truly did love her, even after what that hunter did to her.

"Go on. I'll see you later." I urged, seeing how he was getting lost in his thoughts, probably thinking of her. I just hope he isn't having a rerun of last night in his mind cause that would have really been weird and inappropriate.

Thank goodness, he simply agreed and walked back to the house.

I turned and looked back at the forest and sighed.

Get yourself together, Jean, sheesh. I scolded myself.

I would say that he's just a guy who doesn't matter, but that was clearly a lie.

He did matter.

He is my mate, or rather, was my mate.

With the sound of things last night when I was helping mama Elena heal him while Siam, Jake, and Aaron talked to him about Tasha, it was evident that he was in love with her.

The way he described her spoke about her abilities, even how she was probably handling things at the moment. Every word raised Tasha up in his imaginary pedestal.

I kept a neutral face, not wanting the boys to notice my indifference, or, let's just say, I don't want them to see me in general as I openly check out the bruised and wounded boy they brought in with Serenity.

For some reason, his healing was prolonged, which worried mama Ellena. So we had to heal him both magically and physically.

Mama Ellena did the magic. I did the physical. It wasn't as if the connection and pull between us needed oil to heighten the flame. I can feel it strong enough to make me run to my room and lock myself up after the nth time that he flinched and moved away from me.

I didn't say a word about the whole ordeal of healing him. Seeing him not wanting to look at me or the way he made a face when I was standing too near him, probably because he smelled my scent.

I don't really know or care anymore.

Either way, the pain was there. And it will never go away.

The sad part is, Eric had hoped and waited. I did the same. Eric had Serenity back, while I will never have him.

I had never had anyone, except for my dad. I know you are probably saying that I should just go back to him and live like a princess with all the money he was making.

But my anger and disappointment to my so-called poor excuse of a mother, and he understood that.

And as much as he wanted me to be with him again, he can't. Like every other fully mated shifter, to be away from their mate can weaken them to the point of death.

With what is happening, I would happily welcome death.

The disappointment and pain caused by my mom cannot equal what I was feeling now.

There was no reason for me to live anymore.

"I can't believe you're still here." I shrugged and didn't answer. "Should I guess, or will you be telling me?"

I had no answer. Then I heard Aaron sigh and sit in front of me, staring and catching my eyes every time I try to look away. Then he shrugged again and stopped blocking my sight.

Instead, I pulled a handful of long grass and let it go, letting the wind pick it up and blow it away.

Aaron lay down on the ground beside me, waiting for a good fifteen minutes before I broke the silence.

"What's wrong with me, Aaron?" I asked.

"Aside from being aggressive, weird, and foul-mouthed?" he asked. I glance over at him and saw him grin, making me chuckle.

I laughed and threw some of the grass at him, "Yes, aside from that."

To my surprise, Aaron sat up, looking severe, and faced me, "What is really bothering you, Jean?"

I looked down on the ground running my hand over the grass. "Nothing, just wondering."

"Well, like I said, you are aggressive, weird, and foul-mouthed." He said, "Just like how Serenity is stubborn, Anna is way too strict, and Cam is irritatingly close to perfect."

I chuckled, "Wow, you just compared my bad traits to three girls' bad traits. That makes me feel so much better."

"I never said they were bad traits." He pointed out. I looked up at him, confused. "Serenity keeps us level-headed when she's stubborn, Anna keeps us straight by being straight, and Cam makes us better." He said. "Just like how you keep us out of trouble by handling situations your way, you being weird makes us see the bigger picture, and your foul mouth, well, I'm pretty sure that we wouldn't want to be on your bedside."

I had to laugh at how he looked so confused by now as well.

"I'm not really sure why you're acting up like this, Jean, but whatever it is, you should never say that you are the problem."

In an instant, my good mood made a sharp turn, "That's pretty hard when all the people around me just keep on judging me."

"So maybe you smell like a whore, are you one?" he whined. "I wouldn't lie and say I doubted you before. But I made the effort of getting to know you and your story, and I can tell that you are way better than any high ranked or socialite she-wolf I know," he pointed out, "Mind you, I'm not talking about Serenity, Anna or Cam, we all know how perfect they are."

I laughed again and nodded.

"My point is, if you are so bad, then why are you with us?" he said. "Why do you think Eric and Siam are so fond of you? Even Jake." I raised a brow, "C'mon, Jake starts a fight with everyone. Even Cam isn't an exception to his stubbornness."

I laughed again and shook my head, "I don't know how you do it, Aaron."

"Do what?" he asked.

"Make anyone feel better about them," I said. "I mean, look at me, I'm not really the perfect girl to be seen with."

He raised a brow and looked around. "Does anyone has a problem being seen with Jean?" he shouted.

"Aaron!" I pulled him by his shirt to shut up.

"What?" he asked. "I'm with the prettiest single she-wolf in the pack and whoever disagrees has to deal with me!" he shouted again.

I rolled myself and hid my face between my legs, and laughed. After a while, Aaron and I laid on the ground, staring at the sky.

"That's much better." Aaron says, "See? It isn't so bad."

"What isn't?" I turned to him and watch him staring at the sky as well.

"You still find a reason to laugh. I guess it isn't that bad," he looked my way, looking worried, "right?"

I forced a smile and then reached toward him and gave him a kiss on the cheek. "Thanks, Aaron."

He smiled back and sat up.

"Anyway, c'mon," he said.

"Where are we going?" I sat up.

"Out," he said. "I know the perfect remedy for your sulking." He rolled his eyes.

"And what is that, Mr. Know it all?" I teased.

"Ice cream." He says with a duh.

I laughed. "Then ice cream it is."

We stood up, and I start to walk to the house.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Getting money," I said, giving his duh back.

He smirked, shook his head, and pulled me by the arm toward him, putting an arm around my shoulder. "This one is on me."

"Great," I rolled my eyes, letting him pull me, "the first time you actually date a girl, you become a cheapskate."

He looked down at me with a raised brow. "Who said it's a date?"

"C'mon, you're treating the most beautiful single girl in the pack," I pointed out, "that's a plus to your bragging rights."

He laughed, "I guess I can say the same to you, being asked out by the most handsome single wolf in the pack."

I laughed hit him playfully on the chest. "Yeah, no thanks, I'm good in the bragging department with just this." I swung my arm over my body.

"Is that so?" he says, smirking. I nodded. Then he picked me up and tossed me over his shoulder, making me laugh.

"Put me down, Aaron!" I screamed, thrashing around my legs and hitting his lower back with my fist.

"Not until you say that you need me and my awesomeness to up your own awesomeness."

"First, you tell me I'm the most beautiful girl here, now I'm awesome?" I teased. "Wow, you are on a roll here, A."

"Yes, well, I was born to please." He says, with a hint of double meaning.

I laughed and hit him at the back of his head, "You know I'm not that kind of girl."

"I know." He said, "I just want you to know that any guy would like to be in my place right now and that they're crazy not to think that."

I grinned and stayed still, not knowing what to say.

"You still alive there, J?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling. "Yeah, I am A."

I laughed as Aaron, and I walk into the front door of the house after we spent the day in town. Our ice cream date became a movie date after I practically forced him to watch the Chipmunks movie.

He was whining and stomping all the while he was online to buy tickets, but halfway into the movie, he was laughing at me for cooing and awing at every adorable moment.

"And it's just impossible for a kite that size to be able to drag a chair, six chipmunks, and a man," he argues, still holding the remaining popcorn we had.

"Just let it go already, A," I said, rolling my eyes and still laughing at him.

"No!" he snapped, "It completely defies science and making the future generation dumb."

I couldn't help it. I laughed harder.

"Well, someone seems to be in a better mood."

I looked up and saw Cam standing at the top of the stairs with a girl.

"Yeah, well, this little guy here just made my day," I said, ruffling Aaron's hair.

"Little guy?" he snapped, "Who you calling little guy? I'm far from little, and I'd be happy to show you that."

I hit him on the head.

"How rude, Aaron, really." the girl beside Cam said.

"Aw, c'mon, princess," Aaron whined while he massaged the part I hit.

The girl shook her head and walked up to me, smiling.

"Hi, you must be Jean," she said and held out his hand. "I'm Serenity."

"Oh, Uhm," I looked at Aaron and Cam, no knowing what to do, so I did what I usually saw onTV, knelt down, "I-"

"What are you doing?" she asked, taking my hand and pulling me back on my feet, while Aaron laughed his heart out.

"Uhm, sorry, I don't know how I was supposed to act around... well, you."

She stifled a laugh, "Well, kneeling is listed under what not to do. Along with calling me princess or goddess, or kissing my hand and bowing, or letting me get away with anything since I always do get away with anything anyways." she wiggled her eyebrow. She lent out her hand again, "Again, I'm Serenity."

This time, I grinned and shook her hand, "Jean."

"I heard so much about you," she said, pulling me toward her and linked our arms together. "Heard you whipped the boys in place and stuck beside Eric the whole time I was away."

My eyes widened. Was she asking me if I was flirting with his mate?

"Whatever you heard, they are nothing but rumors. I promise I'm not that kind of girl."

She grinned, "I know, also, I know that because of you, the boys had practically stopped hooking up with girls. Or maybe I should just say a particular little guy stopped his player ways."

I giggled and glanced at Aaron, who rolled his eyes and threw popcorn toward us.

"Yeah, well, Anna told me a lot about you too." I said, "And I thought you wouldn't want to come home with your boys all trashed."

"You thought I would come home?"

I gave her a questioned look, "Eric was waiting for you. I saw how much he missed you. Ind having your wolf with him linked him to you. That meant that he felt what you felt. So the emotion was twice strong."

She grinned and nodded. I looked forward and noticed that we were on our way to the war room.

"We aren't allowed here," I said.

He then gave a mischievous smile, "You're with me now Jean, I'm not actually a fan of rules."

I returned her smile with a smirk, "I can see that, aren't you suppose to be in bed?"

"Not you too." she whined, "I've been locked up for half a year and had barely seen the outside except during the night time, and I'd probably go crazy if anyone, even if it's Eric, who locks me up for my own good." she rolled her eyes, frustrated of hearing the same reason.

I stifled a laugh and nodded, "Well, then consider me your partner in crime."

In an instant, she lit up, "That's what I was waiting to hear!"

"I'm not sure you want to do that," Cam tells me.

"What? It sounds exciting. I like exciting."

"It's like signing your own death wish," Aaron said, earning a glare from Serenity.

"Don't listen to him. He's a cry baby." Serenity said.

"A big baby whines a lot, too," I said, making her laugh.

"Your brother wouldn't like this partnership," Aaron says.

"And so would Eric, Liam, and Jake, but hey! What's done is done." she then turned to me, "You do know that you can't back out from this, right?"

"Who said anything about backing out?" I raised a brow at her as she smiled- satisfied.

"You girls are crazy, and with Anna being the one who can hold you down in full mom mode right now, I'll have to step in and grab the reigns," Cam said.

"Nooooooooo..." Serenity whined, "Caaaaaaaammmmmmmm?"

"Yes, Serenity." Cam corrected, "I'd be damned if we lose you again and have your brother and mine go all crazy again."

She shrugged and just gave in.

I guess there are just some things that not even her can control.

"No!" we heard someone shout, "I will not let this wait that long!"

We heard someone shout from inside the war room. And with how my body reacted to his voice, I was pretty sure who it was.

"No! You said a day! Serenity promised-" he was cut off, "Where is she anyway?"

Serenity sighed and walked up to the war room and heard the boys talking.

"...you have another business here before we can go and leave for Tasha."

"No." Cole said, "My business is Tasha, just Tasha. If you can't help me, tell me. I know the way out, and I can just look for her myself."

"You have already made the first contact with her. You can't just leave her without telling her why her mate is leaving." Eric says.

I frowned, leaving?

"No one is leaving." Siam says, "I don't think Anna would want you to leave. She just found you after all."

"I didn't come here to be mated, nor do I want a mate." Cole sneered.

The whole day with Aaron seemed so long ago now, and I was back to sulking.

"Well, too bad cause it an already deal." Jake snaps, "So quit being a baby and suck it up."

"I am not sucking up to anything as low as mating. I decide who I want to be with, and I do not want to be with her!" he snaps. "Have you smelled her? Have you seen her?"

I stepped back from the door, not wanting to hear anymore.

"Jean?" Serenity reached for my hand and pulled me back beside her.

"I'm sorry, I can't be here-"

"Jean is he..." Aaron asked.

"Please, I don't want to."

Without letting me answer, Aaron burst into the room and walked up to Cole. He grabbed him by the collar and slammed him up on the wall.

"Aaron!" I called out.

"You don't even know her, you little piece of sh*t!" Aaron shouted at him as he shook him and slam him again on the wall.

But Cole punched him in the face and kicked him on the gut, making him fall back, and Cole slid down on the ground.

"What the-"

"Stop it!" Serenity snapped. Eric grabbed Aaron and Jake grabbed Cole, pulling them apart before they could even lunge at each other again.

"Aaron!" I walked up to him and checked on him. He had a cut lip, and the edge of his lips was starting to bruise.

"See? And you want me to mate her?" Cole points at me.

I frowned and walked up to him and slapped him. He stood there, mouth open, surprised.

"I'd appreciate it if you don't hurt my friends and my family," I said. "I respect the fact that you don't want anything to do with me, but you have no right to hurt those who actually care and love me."

With that said, I walked back to Aaron, who was as surprised as Cole, and I gave him a smile.

"I think that's much better than just laughing out loud," I said. He grinned and nodded. "Anyway, c'mon. Let's get you cleaned up."

I glanced over at Cole, who was glaring at Aaron now, so I pulled Aaron by the arm.

"Jean." I turned to face Serenity, who was looking at me proudly. "Mama Ellena just left for the old kingdom last night to get some medicine. She said you were the best student she had since my mother. I was wondering if you can help me out."

"Oh, Uhm, sure," I said.

"Great," she says, "meet me in Liam's room in an hour. I think it's time you meet the whole family."

This time it was my turn to be surprised.

Aaron was sitting on one of the tables in mama Ellena's healing room, swinging his legs on the edge while he rants about Cole and how much he wanted to break his nose and some other parts of his body.

"I would have broken his arms and smashed his mouth for talking like that about you..."

The whole time he was giving a breakdown of what he would do and why there was just one thing in my mind.

Serenity was going to heal Liam... she's waking him out of his coma... is she even that powerful?

"She is right." Aaron broke into my thoughts.

"Huh?" I asked, dazed.

"I said she's right." he repeated, "Mama Ellena." he pointed out when I gave him a questioned look, "You are the best among her students. Hell," he snorted and grinned, "you're even better than Serenity."

I raised a brow, doubting if I should even be compared to her.

"Trust me," he shrugged, "you don't want to be healed by an angry Serenity. She'll snap at you and hurt you more."

He gave a shiver, obviously talking about a specific memory.

"Yeah, well, I can't really blame her as you guys seemed to have your moments of stupidity," I said, keeping a neutral tone.

He stiffened and frowned at me. "Are you mad cause I gave a piece of my mind to that poor excuse of a mate of yours?"

I rolled my eyes as I continue to clean his bruise. That would leave a mark, I thought. And it would probably piss off Aaron more.

"No," I said, "I'm just saying that you can't always deal with things like that. What if he was stronger than you are?"

He gave a cocky snort.

I glared at him, "I did say what if, didn't I?" it was his turn to roll his eyes, which I brushed off and continue to what I was doing. "Anyway, like I was saying, not everything can be resolved by force."

He shrugged, "I know..." he mumbled.

"Then why did you do that?" I snapped, moving away and throwing away the cotton balls and other stuff I used.

"Cause..." he mumbled again.

I faced him and crossed my arms over my chest, tapping my feet waiting for him to continue.

He tossed his hands in the air, frustrated, and jumped down the table. "Did you even hear what he said?" I frowned, remembering every word. "And just thinking that he was the reason you were sulking? C'mon Jean! You're way better than that." he snapped.

"So maybe we somehow got through your walls, and you learned to trust us." he continued. "And it's exactly that reason that I wouldn't just stand there while he degrades you like that."

I can feel my eyes heating up, tears swelling. So I shook my head and pushed it back. For some reason, even after learning to trust the Royal family, I didn't want them to see me cry. Thinking that they'll laugh at me or throw me away for being weak.

Then I heard Aaron shrug.

"Look, Jean, don't get me wrong. It's not like I'm in love with you or anything cause I know that isn't the case, especially with that jerk being your mate", he says more calmly. "But like I said earlier, he doesn't know you. The real you. He has no right to judge you like that. I won't let him do that. You've earned my respect, just like how Cam and Anna did. I won't let anyone hurt you in any way." he stepped up and hugged me. At that moment, the remains of the walls that they've slowly broke down crumbled along with my tears.

"I know what it feels like to be alone. I don't want that for you", he whispered. I hid my face on his chest, shaking as I let the pain of rejection take over me. "I know I seem to be enjoying being the only single guy in the group, yeah, it is fun, but do you really think I'm happy? Genuinely happy?"

I looked up at him, and only then did I noticed how his eyes seem to reflect the cold within him. Something that you wouldn't see if he wasn't near enough to you, near enough to really know.

"So, just let me do this for you, Jean." his eyes pleading. "Eric sees you like a sister, even treats you like one. And I know that I don't see you like how Siam sees Anna, no offense," I chuckled and nodded, "it's just, with you, it's like I see myself. You lost yourself in the past, but you've changed- for the better. And I don't, no, I never want to see you lost, hurting, and doubtful in the future. Cause I know that that's what I am in right now. And the blow is twice as painful for me, ok?"

I nodded and continued to cry in his arms.

"I know this would sound stupid." he says with a sigh and pulled me off him and lowered his height to meet my eye, "But you can't give up just like that."

I swallowed the lump on my throat and let him hold my gaze.

"This is your mate." he said, "He may not like or want you now, but he will need you."

"Need me?" I asked.

"He is Anna's brother, which means he has alpha blood in him. And alphas are meant to accept their mates, whether they like them or not." he continued, "The reason he isn't healing properly cause his wolf refuses to."

"What do I have to do with it?" I asked.

"He refused to heal him cause he rejected you." Aaron explained, "By refusing you, he also refused your wolf."

"Oh..." I said, understanding now.

He snickered, "Oh is right," he said, then turned serious again. "If he breaks this bond and angers his wolf, he may lose his wolf. To lose his wolf means half of him is missing, and when that happens..." he frowned, hesitating to continue.

"What is it, Aaron?" I forced myself to ask.

"He could die," he said. "You wouldn't though, you would feel the loss. Your wolf knows why you were rejected. She knows your real story. I doubt she can blame you for anything..."

At that moment, I felt my wold give a low howl, assuring me that Aaron spoke the truth.

"But still," he said, "the cold and the hollow feeling, it will always be there."

I stared at him, thinking of all the things he just said.

"You need to fight for this... this is fate, it's just a little complicated", he said.

I had nothing to say, geez. I don't even know how to respond to what he just revealed to me.

"You'll have your happy ending, Jean. I'll see into that", he said.

Hearing him fighting for something that I was supposed to fight for made me realize how wrong I was saying those things to Eric.

I wasn't wrong.

It was a moment of weakness that almost made me take a step back from what I thought of mates.

Maybe I did once promise never to mate, scared of being hurt.

But finding him, knowing what it felt like when he was near me and not saying bad things about me, he was actually tolerable.

Tolerable enough for me to take a chance.

Take a chance on him.

It may only happen just this once, but then, he'll be my only exception.