Our Surprise Mate
21-Rebeka

**Valentina~**

Hazie has been gone for five weeks. She communicates with us all the time with a new cellphone Eden got for her, which surprised the hell out of us. She's too far away to mindlink, so we frequently talk on the phone. I hate not being able to feel her or smell her scent while I fall asleep. Tae is always gone, working with the Royal Kings from other territories to ensure Hazel is unharmed, as she is not a threat. Sleeping without both of my mates is making me more depressed every day. Carlie and our parents have been as helpful as they can be with Lucas. I haven't been as patient as I should be for him, so I feel like I'm failing as a mother. This depression is taking over my mind, and I don't know how to handle it anymore. What Eden did to Hazie is unforgivable, in my opinion. Tae and I haven't had time to lean on each other as we deal with the emotions of what happened to our mate. No matter how civil and helpful Eden is trying to be, it still doesn't take away the permanent destruction she caused for Hazie and us. I look at Lucas, and my heart shatters for her. She wanted to have babies and experience her journey of motherhood, but Eden ensured that dream would never happen. Eden came up with an idea to change her back after wearing out any possible cures, but the plans aren't set in motion yet. I wish I could be there for her. Leaving Lucas behind isn't possible, though. Hazie is still a new vampire, so her bloodthirst is at an all- time high, and asking her to come back home to see me would be selfish and reckless for our people here.

One thing I know for certain is my Hazie is a strong queen. Once she's passed this new stage and establishes self-control, I think she would do fine back here. The thought of her drinking blood grosses me out, but I could get over it if I could have her back. She's been depending solely on animals and regular foods so that her thirst for other people won't be as severe later on, but we don't know how long it will take for her to build the restraint. It could take months or even years before she is safe enough to live in our territory. I hope whatever Eden has planned is successful because I can't stand being away from her this long.

I had the chance to talk to Eden on the phone once. That was the perfect time for me to thoroughly cuss her out and talk sense into her. She never tried to argue back or defend herself. It made me even madder that she didn't challenge me because I wanted another reason to kill her. I hate that Hazie has developed a form of protectiveness over Eden as they spend more time together. I understand Eden feels a mate bond, but Hazie only has a friendship with her. It worries me that she will eventually start to feel that strong bond if she's with her long enough.

Tae said there might be a slight change in the treaty between all the territories to prevent another war. The Full-Blood Royals and Hybrid Royals have been plotting together under everyone's noses. After two hundred years, they want to open the borders. They argued the world was never supposed to be divided this way, and they feel the mortals are becoming too power-hungry, which isn't wrong. Since the borders went up, they've felt untouchable and have taken advantage of our protection. They have always considered themselves superior even though they are the weakest link. In all honesty, I would vote in favor of opening the borders if I knew my people would be safe.

Who am I kidding? Not even a Full-Blood can take on a Lycan. We would be safe because we would start warrior training at a younger age and make a few changes to our territory's defenses.

I think if we lay down new laws and allow traveling among other territories legal with certain restrictions in place, it could be a good start to a new life for everyone. A lot has changed in the last two hundred years. The laws we currently have in place are outdated, so my vote will be with the Full-Bloods and Hybrids. Tae is still indecisive, but I can tell he's considering it. A week from tomorrow, there will be a Royal conference to discuss the new treaty, and voting will take place right after.

My phone rings, and Hazie's name flashes across the screen, so I quickly answer.

"Hey, baby. How is your day going?" I plop onto my bed to get comfortable.

"Same shit, different day. I miss you so much." The sadness in her voice breaks my heart.

"Let's video chat so I can see your beautiful face." She was hesitant to video chat with me the first time because she has changed in appearance since becoming a hybrid. I hate to admit it, but she is even more flawless than before. Her eyes shine brighter, and her features are slightly sharper. She has a dangerous angelic look to her now. My dirty secret is I want her to bite me. I heard it's euphoric when a vampire feeds off you, especially if it's your mate.

"Okay, one sec." She hangs up to video call me. I can tell she just got out of the shower because her chocolate brown hair is wrapped in a towel, and she has a red spaghetti strap tank top on. Her skin is like a porcelain doll, smooth and creamy. Her canines are sharper than before, but I find it incredibly sexy.

"I swear, you are more gorgeous every time I see you." I try not to think about the things I want to do to her body. My sex drive has been through the roof since being separated from her and Tae, so I've been suffering in the orgasm department.

"I don't feel gorgeous. I feel like a monster after my last feeding. I seriously lost control this time, Val." Hazie struggles with ethically killing her prey while hunting because she rages out. Eden showed her a quick way to put them out of their misery before she feeds, but she keeps skipping that part and drains the life out of them.

"These things take time, babe. Don't be too hard on yourself."

"It was different this time. Eden decided to hunt with me, and after she fed on a buck, she accidentally got cut by an antler. I wasn't able to resist the smell of her blood, and I attacked her. I almost drained her, but she finally fought me off. That means I've taken ten steps back, and my craving for human blood is more intense than ever. How will you ever be safe around me? Your scent was irresistible to me before. I couldn't imagine what I would do if I could smell you now." A stray tear falls from her eye. I hate seeing her upset.

"Well, that's what she gets for changing you in the first place. You're not a monster, Hazie. You're new right now, but it won't be like this forever. We have time, and we will wait as long as we need to." I want to wrap her up in my arms and take away her worries.

"Hopefully, Eden's plan works out so I can go back to normal. She wanted to see if there was another way before asking Rebeka for help, but it doesn't look like there is another option." Hazie takes her hair down and brushes through it. Every move she makes is elegant, even something as simple as this.

"What exactly is the plan? I knew she had something under her sleeve, but you never said what it was. How would Rebeka help?" I know Hazie wanted to have all the details before talking about it just in case things don't go as planned. Rebeka is the other female Tribrid, but she's the meanest one. I don't know if she's not had some dick in the last five hundred years, but she could use one.

"Rebeka masters time manipulation. When she visited the cabin, she said it's dangerous to mess with time the way we want to, but she would be willing to do it. I can't believe she agreed, though. She told Eden she was stupid for taking this risk for someone who is supposed to belong to her in the first place, and if I were her mate, she wouldn't let me go." Yeah, that sounds like something Bitchy Beka would say.

"Well, hopefully, this works out. What makes it so dangerous?" It seems simple to me; turn back time and make different choices. Boom, problem solved.

"It's complex. We must go back in time after we met in the forest, but before I get turned. There's a very small window for us to work with. If we confront Eden's past self, she will want to fight. If present Eden kills past Eden, it will be stamped in time, and there will be no way to reverse the death, which means present Eden would die too. Same rules apply to me." Hazie sounds more worried about Eden getting killed than herself. I guess it shouldn't surprise me because my beautiful mate has a heart of gold.

"That makes me scared. Don't try to be a hero, Hazie. You never asked to be put in this situation, so don't do anything crazy if Eden is getting killed. I need you to come back home to me. Okay? We have a family to build and people to lead." I know my words are falling on deaf ears. Hazie wants to fix this without anyone dying, especially not an enemy that has become a friend. Of course, she's mad at Eden for what she did, but her gentle heart is too forgiving.

"Eden basically said the same thing this morning. I couldn't imagine standing back as someone dies, though. What kind of person would that make me?" Telling her what to do is a waste of our time.

"It would make you a smart person. It would make you a living person. It would make you-" She cuts me off.

"Okay, I get it, but it would eat at me and drive me crazy. Let's talk about something else now. We still have a couple days before Rebeka can come back here to help us anyway." I'm sure Rebeka has nothing more important to do; she's just putting it off.

"Alright, I'll leave it alone. Is Eden at the cabin right now?" Sometimes she leaves to get necessities or to give Hazie private time.

"She left about an hour ago. I'm not sure when she'll be back. Why?" She smirks as if reading my mind.

"Because I want to have hot phone sex with my lover without distractions." A flirtatious smile replaces her smirk. She slowly removes her tank top, exposing her full breasts, and starts teasing her nipples. Hazel Grace is a goddess.