"How could I have forgotten about the treaty?" Rafael asked.
He ran his hand through his hair.
"How long do we have?" scowled Elijah.
"The three major packs will be here tomorrow, starting from noon, I think." He paused. "And the vampires will come at midnight, as usual."
"Tomorrow," Rafael muttered. "That's…"
"No worries, Alpha," Elijah shouted. "Erase that look on your face. We have been preparing earnestly. I didn't want to tell you and interrupt your search… well, I was gonna call you today, but you're back already, so…"
Elijah looked like he was waiting for a scolding, and in another timeline Rafael would have. But he imagined what would have happened if Elijah had called him. He would have come back to the pack immediately and missed Julian.
He would have missed his mate.
"But you are late, though," Elijah said. "You were supposed to be here already, so what delayed you?"
Rafael looked at his Beta.
"Elijah, I found my mate."
---
It was midday, and for the first time in a long time, Julian was not scrubbing or washing something.
No, he was sitting on a flufffy soft bed.
Mistress Tonia wasn't going to burst through that door and scold him for being idle.
The past two hours had gone past in a blur.
"I have a mate," Julian whispered under his breath, running a hand through his hair.
A tall, handsome Alpha that he couldn't touch.
Alpha of the most powerful pack. A mate.
One who had another mate. Yes, he was a disposable mate.
Rafael's other mate would probably be someone… a woman befitting of him, and then Julian would be forgotten.
Relegated to his usual role.
In most of Julian's dreams, he'd find a mate, be happy, and live happily ever after. But now he was still sad.