CHAPTER 13

Emily couldn't help but clench onto her dress as she walked over to the large brown and heavy doors that led into the dining room where her parents were, not yet having their breakfast but waiting patiently for Emily to tell them the news about her mating ceremony. Wanting nothing more than to hear it first hand from her.

She took in a sharp breath as she walked into the dining room where she caught the attention of everyone sitting at the table.

It wasn't just her father Valentine and Margret sitting at the table that morning, but also Valentine's beta, an old man nearly the same age as Valentine himself. Two men all waiting for the day they can finally step down and leave the duty to the younger healthy and strong children of the pack.

Valentine smiled at Emily who shot her eyes to the ground in embarrassment as her cheeks flushed red from all the memories and all the confessions and had to make.

She had never told her parents about her love for Jason and desperately tried to hide it from them as they would find it 'weird', since Jason was always older than her and had always been by a significant number.

But it wasn't too bad for Emily, she didn't mind at all about his age. Sure he was thirty six as she was now twenty five, but that didn't mind to her. In fact, it only made her love him even more.

She pulled the seat next to her mother who smiled brightly at her despite her reluctance to show her true self.

"Good morning mother." Emily said in a mummer as she bowed slightly. "Good morning father. Good morning Mr. Roderick."

"Good morning." Margret chimed out as she clasped her hands together and giggled under her breath. "I heard word a certain man attended to you last evening."

"Oh..." She cleared her throat as she glanced away.

"Now now, let's eat first or else Shell lose her appetite." Valentine grinned to Margret who chuckled and nodded a she turned to the food and began to serve her own portion sizes of fresh soft bread, thin slices of beef, a scoop of corn and peas and countless veggies and biscuits with some nice hot cup of cinnamon tea, her favorite tea.

Emily glanced at the countless food items on the table and pouted her lips and she glared up at her unknowing mother who was too busy to notice. She didn't want to be asked so hastily about it. It needed time for even her to accept to herself that her truth had been unraveled. She reached over to the slices of beef and some scones with a wide mug of milk and coffee only to have her mother snatch she mug from her.

"No you don't Emily," her mother hissed a she poured for her plain milk and honey instead, handing it to her. "The likelihood of you carrying our grandchildren is very high as I even had you after my mating ceremony. We're very fertile women, so coffee is like a poison to the baby, you should know better."

"But I'm not pregnant..." She frowned a she watched Mr. Roderick take her mug instead, taking a large sip of the milky coffee and sighing out in admiration at the creamy feeling on his tongue.

"Wow. That's a good cup of coffee Emily." The beta chuckled as he raised the mug high. "It's very creamy, the bad thing is that it's too sweet for my own good." He chuckled but took more sips anyway while she watched in dismay.

Emily ate her meal quietly as the rest remained ghost-like throughout the entire time, making her feel nervous but glad that her mother wasn't bombarding her with questions about last night whilst eating.

Emily finished her last buttered scone and sighed out at the satisfactory she had just felt in her slightly bulging stomach. No doubt she had just enjoyed the breakfast than non-ever. She never liked to over eat but when she felt like it, she would not hold herself back even if she wanted to. She just enjoyed being free once in a while.

"So." Her impatient mother chuckled as she slowly folded her used napkin and placed it on the center of her plate before tangling her fingers together. "Are you going to explain to us?"

"W-Where should I start?" She stammered as her cheeks heat up, almost getting her to glance away in shyness.

"From the moment we left you in the lounge." She pointed out and her father nodded his head vigorously to show his agreement.

"Well I stood there for a while." Emily started as she began to twirl her finger around a small strand of hair that fell over her shoulders. "Maybe an hour just looking at the clock, I didn't know what to do or say so... I just watched the clock and wondered if I was going to fail you two again. Like I always did." She frowned, getting her parents to frown in pity as well. "Then Jason walked in talking about his wife Melanie, he said some things, I won't say what they are because it's not my place to say anything if he didn't tell you. After a while I got out if the lounge to look for Melanie who introduced me to Kelvin, a man also looking for a mate.... But he's not always in the pack but mostly in the city with the humans. And uh... Kelvin took me to one of the rooms and wanted to unite us, but, I had to tell him to stop because I felt traumatized again, as the other times. The memories kept coming back and that's why I've failed you countless times. He began to force me but Jason stopped him and chased him out. He walked in to comfort me and I got a bit carried away and mated him instead." She bit onto her lip as she looked up from her laps to glance at everyone on the table.

To her surprise, none of them seemed surprised by the news she had just given them. Rather, they all seemed to have already known about it.

"Aren't you going to ask why Jason?" Emily asked confused and her parents simply smiled as the beta chuckled and took the remaining contents of the milky coffee down his throat.

"You trust Jason more than anything." Her mother began as she tilted her head to the side. "It was only natural that things progressed that way."

"Besides, Jason is a very good man. I'm sure he's intentions weren't to just use you. He may not be the one you will marry but at least he's going to help you to trust people more. Soon enough you'll find a worthy husband whom you'll love." Her father explained only to have her frown deeply as she stared at him displeased.

"Jason is the only man I'll ever know to love, father." Emily said with sadness drowning her throat. "I don't want a replacement." She said with a clenched jaw, getting her father to sigh out slowly as the Beta glanced around awkwardly.