Introspect [The Mating Games #3]
Day 2 Part 3

ORION KALLIS

“What does the Alpha king want to talk to me about?” Orion asked as he followed Denver down the familiar hallway; the same hallway that he had met his mate yesterday.

It was unfortunate that yesterday’s grand event was how they met for the first time, but it was a memorable one for sure. No doubt a story that they would tell their children and grandchildren – something which wasn’t a possibility before but very much is now.

It was just too bad that she wasn’t here today.

“You’ll have to ask him about that yourself,” Denver shrugged as he led the way. “But what I do know is that what happened yesterday has never happened before.”

“Which part?” Orion chuckled in question. “The part where I met my mate before the games started, or the part where I was told that I was sent an invitation to the Mating Games by mistake this year, and then ran into my mate a few moments later?”

“The part where a wolf was mated to a witch,” the steward chuckled from beside him. “But the second point, also.”

“And the first?” he asked, a curious expression on his face.

“Happens more often than you think,” Denver told him. “Every year we have a handful of wolves that met each other before the Mating Games.”

“How do you deal with that?”

“They still have to take part in the games to help build the bond between them without solely relying on the Mating Games, but I guess things are a little easier for them as they already know who their mate is.”

“Sounds like there’s far less pressure.”

“You can say that again,” Denver chuckled. “However, we’ve never had anyone who met their mate on the island before they were supposed to. At least not intentionally.”

“What do you mean not intentionally?”

“We’ve had a few occasions where wolves had sought out their mates when they weren’t supposed to, essentially breaking the rules of the Mating Games.”

“And they were punished for that?” Orion guessed, remembering the rules and different scenarios that Denver had first explained yesterday when he dropped by with the Hex Charms.

“Yes, because they broke the rules.”

“They’re pretty strict around the rules here, aren’t they?”

“We are,” Denver chuckled. “The issue with your situation is that we don’t know exactly where you fall on the spectrum.”

“Because I’ve broken the rules without actually breaking the rules?” Orion asked, quirking a questioning brow in his direction.

“Exactly.”

“Well, this is as far as I’ll take you,” Denver told him as they came to a stop in front of the set of double doors, purposely not greeting either of the guards as he knew Orion wasn’t a fan of them. After the role that they had played yesterday in further aggravating the situation – regardless of whether that was their intention or not – he couldn’t blame Orion for not wanting to be their best friend.

“You’re not coming in with me this time?”

“No, the Alpha king said he wanted to speak to you alone today.”

“Right, that doesn’t sound good.”

“Trust me, Orion, you have nothing to worry about,” Denver chuckled, gesturing to one of the guards to open the door for them both. “Will you be fine in heading to the grand hall as soon as you’re finished here?”

“Walk down the hallway back to the entrance and turn right?”

“That’s it,” Denver smiled and clapped him on the back before beginning to walk backwards. Jerking his thumbs up in a gesture of encouragement, he turned around and began walking back to the hall, having some steward duties that he needed to get started on.

Inhaling deeply, Orion walked through the set of double doors. As he was thinking far straighter than yesterday – there was also the fact that he feared that the Alpha king may hold a grudge against him for the attitude that he had been throwing about yesterday – he knelt on the ground and bowed his head in submission. While he didn’t regret his actions yesterday and felt like they were perfectly justified given the situation, he didn’t want to get further on the Alpha king’s bad side.

Not when he was in charge of the Mating Games.

“You can stand up, Orion,” the Alpha king called out to him.

When Orion did as he was told, he lifted his head to glance at the king. Instead of the throne that had been present yesterday – one for him and the queen – the king was sat behind a desk today.

“Why don’t you take a seat, Orion? I don’t want you standing around while we have this conversation,” the royal wolf said, gesturing to the single chair set on the other side of the desk.

“Thank you, Alpha,” he managed a small smile as he pulled back the seat and sat down.

“I’ll try not to make this too long as I know you have to get to the grand hall for today’s task,” Bernard started, putting down his pen as he turned his attention to the wolf sat in front of him. “I know that I apologised yesterday, but I feel like another apology is in order after the series of events that took place yesterday after that.”

“You don’t have to apologise to me,” Orion begun to say, shifting uncomfortably in his seat with having the king apologise to him. Even though he was entitled to an apology, it felt wrong with having someone so superior deliver it to him.

“Just because I’m the king doesn’t mean that I’m too good to accept my mistakes,” the king smiled at him, leaning back in his chair. “I also want you to know that just because things didn’t go quite to plan yesterday doesn’t mean that you’re going to be treated differently to anyone else.”

Orion smiled and nodded, trying to keep the relieved expression off his face. He had genuinely been worried that the king would hold a grudge against him so knowing that everything was fine was a huge weight lifted off his shoulders.

“I’m glad that we can put it all behind us,” he tried to hold back his sigh of relief.

“Good. Me too,” Bernard smiled. “Now, I’m hoping that we can talk about your mate.”

“Phoenix,” Orion murmured in an airy whisper, his wolf immediately perking up at the mention of his mate.

“That would be her name,” the Alpha king chuckled. “I’m sure you already know thanks to a pair of loose lips out there,” he laughed, sending a pointed look over his shoulder at the doors where the two guards were stood. “But Phoenix is a witch.”

“Yes, I heard,” he pursed his lips, a focused expression on his face. “I have to admit that I was, still am, very surprised to hear that my mate is a witch.”

“I hope that’s not something that you’re going to hold against her.”

“No, of course not!” Orion denied, shaking his head frantically as he didn’t want the Alpha king to get the wrong end of the stick. “To be completely honest, Alpha, and I hope I’m not over indulging here, but I’m just so grateful about finally being granted a mate. I genuinely believed that I would die alone but even if I didn’t think like that, I still wouldn’t hold anything against my mate.”

“But what you’re trying to say is that you didn’t know that witches and warlocks exist.”

“Yes, exactly” he sighed in relief, having surprised even himself with his peculiar behaviour. “Forgive me for my ignorance, Alpha, but I thought all wiccans were forced extinct by the vampires.”

“Who were then forced extinct by us werewolves for all the havoc and chaos that they caused.”

Orion nodded but stayed silent, eager to learn more about his mate. Even if it meant learning the history of her and her people; a species which he didn’t even know existed until yesterday.

“I guess you could say that the wiccan tribe that we have living among us is a tribe secret,” Bernard chuckled at his own joke. “When there was that dispute with the vampire and wiccan royalty, the vampires went on a killing spree, as I’m sure that you already know.” He did, as supernatural history was pretty detailed at his school. “My ancestor, my twenty-sixth great grandmother who was ruling at the time, opened up the island for a small group of wiccans to hide in. While her army wiped out the vampires, it was far too late. The witches and warlords on the island were the only ones to survive.”

“Why are they still on the island?” Orion asked curiously, thinking back to all the times was they were taught that werewolves were the only species to survive that great war centuries and centuries ago.

“They were very vulnerable at the time and back then, even werewolves weren’t a fan of witches. By allowing them off the island, there was the fear that the remainder of their species would be wiped out. At first, it was for preservation but now it’s their home.”

“And only the island knows of their existence.”

“Yes, and now you, too.”

“How have you managed to keep them a secret for so long?”

“The island is like a family. It doesn’t matter that some members of this family aren’t like us.”

“That’s a very beautiful way of thinking.”

“I like to think so,” Bernard all but beamed at him. “In exchange for their protection, the head of the clan swore to serve the royal family.”

“And how do they serve you exactly?”

“They help out with the Mating Games,” his smile tipped higher at the corners, even more so as he noticed the understanding dawn on Orion’s face. “There’s also a few other things like the protective barrier around the island which keeps it off the maps of the humans.”

“The Hex Charms?”

The king nodded and said, “They’re a marvellous creation, aren’t they? And far more advanced than what the humans are using. What is it now? iPhone 11?”

“12,” Orion murmured, subconsciously patting his phone in his pocket. He had thought for it to be very advanced, but that was before he arrived on the island discovered the superior technology.

“If there were only a few of them when they were taken in, how many of them are there now?”

“Today, there’s about two hundred wiccans in total. More witches than wizards which makes reproduction a slight issue, especially because witches aren’t as fertile as werewolves.”

“Does that still apply to a witch and a werewolf?” Orion asked curiously, humming while in deep thought. While he had nothing against the notion, especially since he was just grateful to have a mate, he couldn’t help but wonder what life would have in store for him as a witch and werewolf match was unheard of.

At least, to him, anyway. He couldn’t speak on behalf of the island because just as he had learnt, there were clearly a few secrets that they were keeping from everyone else.

“Honestly, I have no idea,” Bernard shrugged. “There has never been a werewolf witch pairing before, just as there has never been a werewolf human pairing.”

“It appears that we have something in common.”

“That we do,” Bernard chuckled. “But you’re already doing so much better than me. When I found out my mate is human, I’m embarrassed to admit that I was a bit of a jerk, but I’m glad that you’re not taking the news in the same way.”

At that, they both chuckled.

“I look forward to replaceing out more about their rich history,” Orion murmured in a quiet voice, his face starting to hurt from smiling so much. The more he learnt about her history, the more appreciative he became of his mate. To know that she came from such a rich, powerful background was truly beautiful, and he couldn’t wait to learn more about her and her ancestors.

“I’m glad to hear that but there’s just one more thing,” Bernard called out to him before he could get up, clearly having something further that he needed to say. “I understand that things will be different for both you and Phoenix as you already know who your mate is, but I still expect you to participate in every single task.”

“Yes, my king,” Orion agreed and nodded his head respectively.

“Good, I’m glad that we’re both on the same page,” Bernard clapped his hands gleefully. “You can leave for today’s task now but just remember, the same rules apply to both you and Phoenix as they do to all out mates participating in the Mating Games.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Thank you, Alpha,” he bowed his neck in submission before rising to his feet, moving to let himself out.

The moment Orion was out of the office, he spared the two familiar guards from yesterday a brief glance. Without so much as a word to them as yesterday was still very vivid in his mind, he made a point of sending a disapproving look to the both of them before rushing down the hallway; eager to get to the grand hall as he knew his mate would be waiting there.

His mate. Just the mere thought of it brought a large smile on his face.

How could he not smile when he finally had something to be hopeful about?

-

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Layla Knight

05.06.2021