6.

~Xyana~

"I can't feel my mates," I say out loud, the distress in my voice, evident as I pace the room I'm assigned to.

Breakfast was hectic and I don't even blame any of my mates if they're upset. If the Moon goddess deemed it fit to give me second chance mates, that only means she understands perfectly that right now, I'm so alone with no one in the world to turn to.

But I'm failing them; I'm failing my mates; I'm failing the Moon goddess, and it's all because of Juno, my wolf, who has refused to do her job.

"How long do you plan on shutting out our mates, Juno?" I ask her. She yawns and stretches out a bit, acting unconcerned. "Juno?"

'As long as I wish.' she snaps.

"You're pushing them away. Their wolves are trying to connect with you and you're shutting them out."

'So? What should I do with that information?.'

"But you're a part of me for crying out loud. We ought to be working together, hand in hand." I try to make her see things from my own perspective.

'The Moon goddess forbid that I would work hand in hand with you.' She spits out.

Her words got to me, upsetting me so much that I snapped, "but that is your duty! You are supposed to be my other half!" Then I mellow down and continue in a softer tone, breaking into a sob. "Juno I have no one in this world. If you make our mates reject us, we're going to be all alone. I don't even have anywhere else to go. The Moon goddess has given us a second chance. Why do you want to mess it up for us?"

What I said must have triggered something in her because her next words hit below the belt. 'If you have nowhere else to go, maybe you should join your mother. You killed her anyway.'

Then she burst into a cynical laughter, mocking the hell out of me. I'm not about to defend myself. If she wants to go down this route again, I don't plan on letting her drag me along. But I was tearing up badly.

A knock came on the door. I wipe my tears as quickly as possible and croak out, "come in."

Dion walks into the room. When he sees me, he stops and frowns. "You're still upset. Gosh, Xy-Sunshine, I sincerely apologize for this morning. My brother can be a mess when he wants something."

I nod and flash him a smile that I can swear he knows is very fake. "It's fine, I understand," I reply.

"How are you?"

"I'm okay, please sit." I point to the empty mattress since theres no chair in the room.

"Thank you. I guess we've officially welcomed you to the Gurreo-Valley pack." He chuckles. "It's very beautiful, calm, and accommodating here. You'll love it, I promise you. Besides, I plan on making it more fun for you. How about we start today? I'd love to take you out for a little sightseeing in the evening. But only after the doctor runs his check and approves." He winks at me.

"I..." I pause and try to rephrase my words. "I would really love that."

"It's a date then."

"It is." I smile. "Also, thank you for the warm reception so far." We both burst into laughter since we already knew the amount of sarcasm in that simple sentence of mine.

"You're so pretty, and even prettier when you're happy," He remarks, making me blush.

"Thank you."

He paused, frowned, and stared at me for a few seconds before speaking, "I can feel your wolf pushing mine away."

I sigh, "She can be like that sometimes."

He shakes his head, "that's crazy. What can we do to make her feel safe and open up to us? Is there something I can do?"

His care warms my heart. I shrug. "I think she'll come around. This is a new pack, so she just needs time to adjust." I lie comfortably, praying that time will indeed heal Juno and make her come around. But even I know that might never happen.

Dion nods and stares ahead. "You know, at some point in my life, I thought I was Mateless. Not just me, all of us. But then Gaston found his mate and we became hopeful. Years later, our hopes start to dwindle. My brothers and I searched for our mates everywhere we could think of. I guess your wolf has the right to be mad at us. We left her waiting and wanting for too long. However, I promise you, my wolf, and I won't stop working hard to prove to both of you that we're worth giving a chance."

He grabs my hand gently and plants kisses on my fingers. "Now that I've found you, I'm never letting you go. You're the most beautiful thing to ever happen to me, Xy-Sunshine. I think I fell in love with you from the moment I set my eyes on you."

Relief and gratitude washes over me. I blink continuously, pushing back the tears that are threatening to escape from my eyes. Someone actually wants me and is willing to work hard to gain my trust.

He's not calling me fat, he's not worried about my body. He sees all of that and sums them up as 'beautiful.'

'A little cheap attention and you're going bananas.' Juno mocks me.

Dion plants more kisses on my fingers, distracting me from my bitter wolf. Next, our heads are moving closer. My whole body is on fire. I'm literally yearning to have him hold me, love me, kiss me, fuck me... 'No, that's too much.'

When we are barely an inch or two apart, he directs my eyes to meet his gaze by placing his index under my chin.

"Dear Goddess! You are perfection, my Sunshine."

I was elated as I willingly offered my lips to him, shutting my eyes and surrendering myself to him. A crash sounding somewhere across the room jolts me back to reality.

I opened my eyes and saw Clifton blocking me from Dion after hurling him across the room. "You must be nuts if you think I'll let you touch my mate when we're yet to sort any of this shit out." He says, pointing at Dion.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" Dion yells, charging at him.

I don't know how it happened, but the next minute, I'm in between the two men, preventing them from engaging in a brawl.

"Xy is my mate, Clif."

"If she's your mate like you say, why can't you reach her wolf?" Clifton asks in a mocking tone.

"Because we failed her wolf, you Dummy. Her wolf waited for us for years. We didn't find her early enough. She's probably mad at us, and it's only right that she's mad." Dion spits out.

Clifton's shoulder eases down and he rubs at his temple. "Shit." He mutters, just as Alpha Gaston pushes into the room through the open door.

"What is happening here?" His deep Alpha voice reverberates in the room.

The two brothers turn to him and bow slightly as a form of greeting. "Alpha." Clifton murmurs. "Nothing unusual." He replies simply.

Gaston frowns at his brothers. "What is wrong with the both of you? Is this how you treat your mate? After all those years, I thought you wanted this. Maybe I got it all wrong."

"I've always wanted this," Dion replies. "Clif is just being an ass. And I swear to the Goddess, If he stops me from being with my mate again, I would challenge him to a fuckin duel."

"Fucker." Clifton hisses out.

Alpha Gaston turns to me, "How are you, Xyana?"

"I'm fine," I reply.

"I'm sorry about all of this. Your Mates can be a lot, and surely you do understand that your wolf refusing to connect with theirs is enough to drive them crazy." He says and I nod, acknowledging that I understand that fact.

"I understand." I verbalize it as well.

"So what's the plan? What do they need to do to get your wolf to give them a chance? By now, you should already know that rejection isn't an option."

"Time..." I trail off. "She needs time. We'll get there, eventually." I tell him, hoping he will agree while I take the time to plan how to leave the pack and where I can possibly go. Since It's now becoming obvious that Juno has no intention of coming around.

"Then it's settled. You can take all the time you want. If that's what you need to get on the same page with them. While at it, you can get to know them better and hopefully, you might get your memories back. It would be nice to seek your family's consent before your marking. And we can only do that if we know who they are or the pack you come from at least" Alpha Gaston says. He turns to his brothers, "do not upset her. If she needs time, you will give it to her. You are to take cues from her, not the other way round. Do not overwhelm her." He warns and I feel like hugging him and shouting my appreciation.

He turns and walks out of the room. A fuming Dion follows, but not without giving me a forehead kiss. .Such a gentleman.'

Once he shuts the door, Clifton draws closer to me and tells me in a clear tone. "I don't buy Dion's excuses for your wolf. That's bullshit. I know she's hearing me right now. So, I need her to know that she is going to speak to my wolf, eventually. It's either that or I'll make a drastic decision we'll all live to regret."

"What are you saying?" I query him, alarmed. But he offered me no answer. "What decision are you speaking of?" Still no answer. "Clifton!" I shout his name for the first.

"Yes, baby." He answers, leaving me standing in the middle of the room as he walks away, shutting the door behind him.