The Game Of Quadruplet Mates
Chapter 44

The moment I saw June's wolf, I knew she was the one for me. Gold and beautiful, she was absolutely radiant, the only bright thing in these horrible sewers that I once called home.

I remember this place well. Too well. A lot of times when everything above ground got a little too much, I would slip through the garbage chute or one of the manholes and hide here. Many, many hours- sometimes days were spent in the sewers and now I was back. The sight of June in this place has my chest tighten and flutter at the same time. For what I would have given to be able to have her here on those particularly difficult days, but then the circumstance of why she's here now is what worries me.

Regardless, seeing her wolf for the first time has gravity itself shift from under me. Like all my questions had been answered, everything leading to this had been worth it and everything was suddenly possible. Right there and then, I felt so much regret because I should have chosen her. It should have always been her first but I was too late.

Far too late.

I begged for her to look at me, begged every God or Goddess for this beautiful golden wolf to glance at me, but June only looked at Ajax and I knew that it was over. For the burn of my neck- the tether that connected me to her, immediately stops like it was never there in the first place, our connection completely gone and leaving nothing.

I felt empty. I felt alone.

This mark has caused me so much pain in the last few days, a constant burn in my body that I can never really get over, that I could never shake away, but now that it's gone... I felt horrified. Because as much as it caused me pain, it reminded me that at the other end of this tether was June, my lovely June. It was part of me, a pain I had been accustomed to and without it I felt like I just lost a part of me.

It didn't hurt to lose it.

It didn't hurt that it suddenly stopped, nothing excruciating like that, but I think the emptiness is worse. The shell I have been left with is worse than any pain that could ever be.

June has chosen.

And it wasn't me.

Her wolf merely finalized this, cutting off all ties with me.

That was a different pain altogether. It wasn't physical. It was deeper, soul crushing even.

But I wonder what if she looked at me? Even accidentally? Our wolves together? Would that have changed anything? Would she know who her fated mate was?

All those questions were lost as I gazed upon her.

She was just so beautiful, so perfect and matchless that even if my world was crumbling all around me, the sight of her made my breath hitch. And it hurt. It hurt so much that she only stared at my Alpha, proving once more that he was her choice.

I should be happy that I was free of this fated bond, free of the pain and free of this connection that I never wanted, but in truth, I was devastated. Because now I have lost. And there would be no one else like June. No one else would smile brighter than her. No one else would make me laugh as loud as she can. No one else would be able to stop my world with just one look.

No one.

Tears fell from my face as I shifted back into my human form, my wolf losing the last of its strength as I leaned against the walls I spent most of my life on.

My beautiful June.

It was okay.

She had chosen right. My Alpha was the only right choice.

From the beginning, he had chosen her. Since the beginning, he had always put her first.

It was only right that they chose each other in the end.

And I was happy for them. I really am. For who else would take better care of June than him? Who else would love the Alpha better than June? They were perfect together and I can't get mad at that.

When June passes out, shifting back into her human form, I do my best to look away, to respectfully give them space. But I couldn't help but check to make sure she was okay. All I wanted to do was go to her, to see if she was truly safe, but I couldn't because I'm not her mate.

I'm not anyone to her anymore.

I'm just her Beta.

Like it's supposed to be.

I'm too shocked for words when my Alpha brings her over to me. His eyes guarded but accepting, knowing my worries and I couldn't help but nod, holding my tears back as I stared at June in his arms.

He's covered most of her with his arms but I still got to see the raw skin that's been burned off by the silver. It was more flesh than skin at this point, her body covered in angry blisters and even angrier looking scars.

How she survived the garbage chute, I will never know but she is here now and breathing and that's all that matters.

When the Alpha motions to Konstantin, who I hadn't noticed until he told me about him, I am surprised my old nemesis helped her and didn't take advantage of her like I knew the city Alpha would have wanted him to do. Seeing him now with worse burns than June and with deep claws and bite marks all over him, I felt proud.

Not because of his pain, but for his courage.

Whatever they did to him when he left the Games, couldn't have been pretty. I'm sure Cora and her father did their best to ruin every single part of him, destroying one of their own, but here he was, broken but redeemed, saving the one girl he loved. Because I know he did.

At the Games, he had already showered her with far too much attention than he would usually give and he was so attentive and caring. It was so unlike him and he had all the opportunities to hurt June.

They were in his room. She was passed out for hours. He could have done anything yet he chose to save her, risking himself in the process.

Maybe we could be friends after all. Maybe there is peace between us.

No one else in this world would know the personal horror we've faced in the city pack Alpha's hands. The torturous nights where he forced us to watch as he deviled countless women, how he pitted Konstantin and I against each other for his attention that he didn't need, how he would adore one and shun the other depending on his mood. We were his toys and he broke us.

We were just kids.

How we both acted and reacted was because of our environment and nothing more.

Taking him back to the camp that the Alpha set up right outside the city borders, everyone turned to look at Konstantin, the once famed Beta of the city pack. He was never in the raids that destroyed families. Konstantin actively kept away from that, so the army that had gathered for my Alpha didn't outright turn to wreck him further.

They all merely stared, confused at this boy that I dragged across the camp. They even saw the bruises, the brokenness that was obviously done by his own Alpha.

But he was still a city pack.

And thus the enemy.

I kept watch as the pack doctors worked on him, secretly worrying about June in the other tent. From here, I could hear her soft whimpers, her cries of pain at whatever the pack doctor was doing to her, and my only consolation was that my Alpha was there and he surely wouldn't allow anything to hurt her for too long.

Seconds later, I'm proven right:

"You're hurting her!" He bellowed, his anger shaking the tent I was in.

The pack doctor that he chose, a female as predicted, cowered in his anger. "I'm doing my best to-"

"Do better!" The Alpha snapped impatiently. "That's my mate you're hurting."

I know the pack is surprised by how well our Alpha is treating June. He's never been like this. He was emotionless and showed no interest in a mate for so long and suddenly, June came and it was all over. He was a different man.

Time passed as I sat in that tent and I was surprised when the Alpha sought me out. "June's with her father."

"Of course," I said, feeling awkward.

"You two have a lot to talk about when she wakes." He tells me, his expression unreadable. "I don't know what happened in the sewers but I know something happened and I want it out of the way as soon as she is able. Talk to her. Get her decision in all of this and let's put it behind us whoever she chooses."

My lips parted, unable to string words together.

For the first time, his guarded walls crumble, leaving emotions I've never seen in him. "If, by some chance, she chooses you, I want you to know that I'll accept it only because it is you and I know you would never allow anything to harm her and that you'll treat her well. If she chooses you, I promise that I won't do anything and that I'll respect her decision."

I know it took a lot for him to say that, but I didn't know how to voice my emotions, so I simply nodded, my hands shaking.

"The doctor says she will be fine. Since it's silver, some will scar." The Alpha informs me, changing the topic quickly. "But otherwise, she's safe. What about this goof? Is he going to survive?"

"Still a goof," I managed to say. "But the same. His burns are bad but he will survive... Alpha,"

He looked up from glaring at Konstantin. The Alpha looked slightly disappointed he was going to live. "Hmmm?"

"My father, the one the Alpha killed, I found out that he has a brother." The Alpha and I never really spoke about our life outside the pack. The rare times we did, it was what it was... rare, so telling him this felt different. It felt I was telling a friend. "It turns out that it is June's father."

I did not know what to expect from his response, but placing a hand on my shoulder and squeezing it in comfort was not even a possibility in my mind. He hated any kind of physical touch, that much I know. But here he was. "I'm glad that you finally have the family that you deserve. A proper one."

He didn't say it but he knew what it was like for me and the genuine happiness on his face made me want to burst into tears.

With one last pat on the back, he turned away. "I'll let you know when she wakes."

I stayed in that tent for a while, gathering myself and trying to get my emotions in check. I focus on the sounds of the camp, the boxes of supplies getting lifted, the Delta screaming orders and the march of werewolves happening around us.

I thought of June's wolf then. Beautiful and golden. I know she's from the farm pack but her wolf was a city pack color and it was such a rare color too... no one else in the pack had that, but I've heard stories of times where we did have gold wolves. Regarded as the color of Kings and Queens, the golden wolves ruled the city pack until they were no more.

They were seen as Gods with their golden coats, a symbol of purity. Could June possibly be a bastard of a really ancient line of werewolves or am I just overthinking too much?

It didn't take long for the Alpha to call me, letting me know June was awake. I think I knew before I even saw her- I knew she wouldn't choose me, just like I didn't choose her.

Because of the look on her face when the Alpha left the tent to give us privacy... it was all I needed to know that it was over between us.

And it was okay.

It hurt but it was okay.

And then when we were rushing to get out of the tent to see who had come, seeing my mother walk out of the cover of the trees with her army... she was the real Beta, a general in command of the city pack's army. She was the one that carried out attacks on farm lands, the one who tortured and killed. She wanted me to be the same.

Beside me, I feel June freeze at the sight of her.

"Mom?" I found myself saying, but she didn't look at me.

She looked at June. "Hello, little one."

June took a step back, her face filled with such horror.

"I thought I left you to die in the woods. It seems cockroaches really do survive anything." My mother's eyes turned to slits at the sight of June and I immediately brought myself forward to protect her.

"Mom..." She whispered, which only made things even more confusing.

"I'm not your mother, stupid girl." The demon of a creature rolled her eyes. "Even after all this time you call me that. You were a prisoner of war and nothing more."

What?

They knew each other?

How?

How did June know this monster?

The Alpha finally moved, breaking free from his own shock. He had my mother in a chokehold, cutting off her air supply, but she only smiled at him, that vile look that I know so well.

Her guards didn't even come to help.

They knew she could handle herself.

"Kill me and the little Luna won't ever see her friend again." She taunted, grinning widely. "What's her name again... Larissa was it? Yes. The Alpha has her now, took her when they took you, assurance you know, and he's willing to do everything he promised to do with your Luna to her. This time, he's angry and I'm sure Jeremy knows what he does when he's angry."

June screams, enraged. "Don't you dare!"

"And what are you going to do? Wait for me like you did all those years ago?" My mother continued, each word like a silver to the heart for June. "I watched you for the first few hours, you know... I enjoyed the show seeing you try and look for me, waiting like a little baby."

"How do you know June?" I replace myself asking, my voice loud as it traveled through the space between us.

Her bored eyes landed on me. "You've always been so slow, Jeremy. A disappointment, as per usual. She's the old Alpha's daughter. The one that we overthrew. We kept her as a prisoner, a possible leverage, since we took her as a baby in her dirty mother's dead arms. But she was getting old and she cried too much so I tossed her away the first chance I got."

I turned to June.

Long ago, our family were mere Betas under the rule of a powerful golden Alpha. He mated with a farm girl at the Games when the city pack was all about pride and power and blood, but choosing a lowly farm girl... it was bad for the name. Bad for reputation. So my mother and uncle killed him, taking over and destroying all that he had.

Including his family.

I just didn't know he had a daughter.

And I certainly never thought it was June.