Interstellar
10

The house had been silent for too long and Stella left the library, uncomfortable that the last thing she had heard was Nova’s soft sobs. She silently, gracefully, walked to the guest suite. The door was wide open but the room was dark. She could make out Leon, standing against the back wall, staring at the ceiling as if it contained the solution to all his problems. Nova was sitting on the bed, her back toward the door, curled up with her head resting in her hands. Both were quiet, contemplative, unsure of how to move forward. Stella entered the room and first made for her mate, pulling him into her thin arms until his chin dropped to nestle on top of her head. He wrapped his arms around her waiste and held her tight. He made no sound and no other attempts to move, just accepted her comfort.

Nova peered through her fingers at the pair and threw herself back on the bed. She had known Stella would be impacted, but the realization of it didn’t fully sink in until she saw the pair’s silent embrace. Nova alternated between guilt and the chock that she had yet to be run off their territory. She, in that moment, fully understood what Cohen meant when he said she would be problematic. It wasn’t an insult or a character attack on Nova, but rather it was a deep understanding of his Alpha.

Stella fently withdrew from her mate and sat beside Nova on the bed, resting a small hand on Nova’s knee. “I want to help you, Nova. Leon wants to help you. Can you let us in, just a little?”

Nova’s mind swarmed with the cacophony of experiences that lead to her leaving her pack. What was the acceptable starting point, if there was one at all? The abusive ex-mate that beat her until she lost her cubs? The way their intimacy, once beautiful and full of love, had turned into nightmares? The jealousy between the men, the warring for Alpha, that left more bodies than remained in the pack? Bears are typically solitary creatures and do not do well in packs. But for Nova, and for many of the women she had previously known, they wished for more. Nova wished for a family, for the children she’d lost, for a mate who loved her as dearly as Leon loved Stella.

“I don’t even know where to begin. How do you pinpoint where your trauma began, when the reason everything happened in written into my existence, into my blood? We tried to re-write it. Selfishly, stupidly. We tried to change, but we weren’t meant to-” Nova’s breath hitched and she couldn’t continue.

“What did your pack try to change?” Stella’s voice was soft and caring. She gently squeezed Nova’s knee.

“We tried to be together. A group of us, young women waiting for our first cubs, built a small community. We were lonely and we wanted to create a territory where other solitary shifters could co-exist without the need for a hierarchy. We attracted mates, we began having cubs, but then the men wanted more. They wanted power, more women to themselves, more cubs of their own. Some of them,” Nova struggled to continue. Leon moved away from the wall and sat on her other side. He did not offer physical comfort, unlike his mate. “They couldn’t handle it, the thought of no one in charge. My mate couldn’t handle it. I lost every cub I conceived, all before I got to meet them. All by his hands.” Nova sobbed, tears streaming down her cheeks. She continued speaking, for no other reason than to get her story over with as soon as possible. “He was so wrapped up in his struggle to be Alpha that he truly believed all our cubs were results of infidelity. His distrust in his peers was so strong that he couldn’t even trust me. Any comforts I offered were scorned. Unless he won a fight, then he took what he wanted regardless of my grief. I lost siblings to him, I lost cubs, and eventually I almost lost my life. He did not see me as his mate, or even a woman. He saw me as the punching bag he could fuck after I was beaten and bloody on the ground.” Nova’s eyes had gone dark, distant, as she’d relieved each assault, each miscarriage, each death of a loved one. Her body felt every old trauma, each bruise and broken rib, each heartache, as if they were being inflicted again.

Stella and Leon made eye contact over Nova’s prone, shaking body. Tears glazed Stella’s cheeks, but Leon offered only rage. His hands were balled into fists at his sides, his jaw clenched tight enough to define each muscle and vein in his neck.

“I want a mate of my own who loves me, trusts me, wants to raise his cubs with me. I want to keep my children around, to maintain relationships with them, for the rest of my life. I want everything I’m not supposed to have.”

The Alphas held a full conversation with just an exchange of knowing looks. Nova did not choose to share more, and they would not push. After nova began to regain her composure, her sobs reduced to long, steady breathing, Stella motioned for Leon to leave. His displeasure was evident, but he did as his mate bid of him.

“Nova, you can have all of that here. You can have a mate, your cubs, and a home for your family line in perpetuity.”

“As if Leon would allow that. I have put him through a lifetime of grief, as he has for me. All in less than a week. I don’t want to consider his reaction if I replace a mate within the pack to settle down with.”

Stella let out a short, sad laugh, “You speak the truth. But you also misunderstood. We would open our home to you, permanently, if you would have us. While I am certainly attracted to you, I won’t lie and say it’s love. Maybe someday, but not now. But for Leon, he can fall in love in the blink of an eye. Even despite that, what he feels for you is special. It’s what he feels for me, and that has never happened before. We went from strangers to mates in days, conceived our first pup within a month. He knew that we were meant to be together from the first time we met. I know it’s hard for you to believe, but he knows your meant to be a part of our family, too.”

“How can you be so sure, so ready to share your mate? Even though you offered, it feels so disrespectful to you.” Nove had been too shocked to say anything when Stella first offered. As she continued to speak, Nova only had more questions. “I have never heard of an Alpha with two mates. Multiple partners, now that’s a different story. But two claimed mated? No way that would be accepted.”

“Nova, he already marked you as his second mate. No one has objected, and I’m fairly certain the entire pack knows by now. Mina likes to talk to people, you know?”

Nova remained quiet for a few minutes, prioritizing her questions and concerns. “I thought being claimed was supposed to be some magical thing, but it just felt like a bite.”

“Think of the bite as the wedding ring. It’s a public gesture, but you still need to sign papers.”

“And what are the papers?”

“A ritual asking for Earth Mother’s blessing. If it’s meant to be, you will feel like you’re being physically bonded to him. So, take some time, think about it, and please don’t leave without speaking to one of us first. We would love to have you in the family, but if you do this you won’t be able to leave afterward.”

“Is that part of the bond?”

“No, that’s just Leon.”