“Selene and Marie grew up together,” he explained, a softness entering his expression that was only there when he spoke of his mate. “Not sisters by blood but by soul. Like you, Samara, and Cali.”
I waited.
“Her past is complicated.”
That drew a grin out of me. “One thing she and I already have in common.”
“You’re not wrong,” he agreed with a smile before his mouth twisted like he’d just bitten into something sour. “We might give the Moroi shit for their arranged marriages and constant scheming, but at the end of the day, it’s not like we’re much better. Selene has been used as a bartering tool by her pack since she was sixteen. That was the first time she was sent to a different pack.”
My stomach churned. I might have been promised to the Alpha pack when I’d been fifteen, but the agreement had been that I wouldn’t join them until after I attended Drudonia, at which point I would be twenty-one. Pack dynamics were complicated. They didn’t always involve sexual relationships, but that was the norm.
It was usually for everyone’s benefit that members were promised to other packs. It gave them a better chance of finding a mate, or mates, but typically, even if this had been arranged when they were as young as I’d been, nobody actually joined the packs until they were adults.
There were a lot of unspoken rules in place. The Alphas didn’t meet me in person until I was at Drudonia, and even then, it was only briefly. In most circumstances, there was also an adjustment period where either party could dissolve the agreement. I hadn’t had that option.
The question was, had Selene?
“What were the terms?” I asked.
“Nothing in her favor.” Remy’s expression tightened. “Look, you know my life revolves around Marie, she is my everything, but even I can acknowledge that Selene is beautiful. Those looks, however, come with a price.”
“They make her a highly sought-after bargaining chip,” I said, disgust rolling through me.
Remy nodded. “But she’s never fit into any pack she’s joined. At this point, she’s been in five packs, and every single time, she has returned to her family so they can trade her off again.”
I frowned. “Five? What happened?” The crease between my brows deepened. Remy said Selene had grown up with Marie, and I knew his mate was fifth generation like me and Remy, although she was older than us, in her late twenties, whereas Remy and I were twenty-five.
Our generation was five generations removed from the original magic that had turned us into Velesians. The oldest were in their fifties. None of us knew how long we would live. I’d met older Velesians from my generation though, and they looked like me.
It wasn’t unheard of for someone to join a pack only for it to not work. When that happened, they would simply return to their original pack and try again, but five failed pack transfers was a lot in roughly a decade.
“Selene’s story is her own to tell,” he said slowly. “She hasn’t confided in me why her time with other packs has never worked out, and if she’s told Marie, my mate is keeping it to herself. There are small things I’ve picked up on over the years . . .” He shook his head. “I don’t want to speculate. I’m just telling you because I want you to give her a chance, Rynn.”
“I wasn’t planning on stabbing her as soon as she walked through the doors,” I said dryly.
“You’re not exactly here by your own choice.” Remy’s dark eyes bored into me. “It can be difficult to help others when it feels like you yourself are drowning, but every time Selene goes to a new pack and returns, there’s something a little more broken in her eyes. I can’t stop her from being traded to another pack . . . so I made sure she came to this one. To you.”
An aching loneliness bit at me. I tossed the bread roll back to Remy and dropped my gaze to the worn surface of the kitchen work table. “Things are improving. Slowly.” I traced my fingers across the tabletop. “It’s never going to be amazing, and it’s not like they’re my mates or anything. But they’re still my pack. Maybe Selene can be their mate.”
The Moroi might have been new to the concept of mates, but the Velesians weren’t. It was a step beyond a mere relationship, and not every Velesian found their mate, or mates.
Given that none of the Alphas were interested in me like that nor I them, we’d never go down the path to determine if we were mates. But maybe they’d try with Selene.
Again that loneliness threatened me. If Selene was their mate . . . where would that leave me?
Something smacked me in the head, and I jolted before seeing the roll hit the table. “What the fuck, Remy?”
“Oh, sorry.” He gave me an innocent look. “Did I interrupt your pity party?”
“I’d forgotten how annoying you can be.” I glared at him. “It truly is remarkable that Marie hasn’t smothered you in your sleep.”
“This pretty face?” He pointed at himself. “Marie would never. Also, maybe you’ll be one of their mates some day. You don’t know. It’s not like they hate you or anything.” He paused, tilting his head from one shoulder to the other. “Okay, Warrick probably does, but I’m only saying that because he hates everyone other than Cade, Bastian, and Ryker. But Cade is reasonable and no doubt sees you as a useful asset, and Bastian probably wants to fuck you. I’m not saying they love you or even like you, but it’s not hate, so that’s a win.”
“Wow, thanks,” I deadpanned.
“And then we have Ryker,” Remy continued as he reached over to grab another bread roll. He took a bite and then started tossing it up in the air and catching it. “Definitely doesn’t hate you,” he said around the mouthful of bread. “Pretty sure he wants to ma?—”
“Shut up, Remy!” I snatched the roll he’d thrown at me and hurled it at his face.
