Our Surprise Mate

**~Hazel~**

I haven't seen Val and Tae since we mated three nights ago. I never told them, but staying in our bedroom was very painful for me because Val's scent was overpowering. Even the cotton balls couldn't keep her heavenly aroma away, but she needed me and I refused to let her down. I can't take that risk again, so the next morning I told them not to come to the cabin. I can only trust myself to an extent until I'm back to normal, which is supposed to happen this afternoon. I'm nervous as hell, but I'm not worried about myself. I'm worried for Eden. I have a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach that she's going to do something crazy. She isn't being herself today. I hope my gut is wrong.

"Eden, talk to me." She stops wiping the same spot on the counter that she's been scrubbing for the last fifteen minutes.

"Talk about what, Haze?" I can tell she's avoiding eye contact, and it's ticking me off.

"Everything is going to be okay. We'll keep in touch, and the borders should be opening soon, so we can see each other as often as we want. I convinced The Royals to expunge your record so you wouldn't face punishment. Life is good, and we should be happy. You're still going to be my best friend." I know things will be different, and being back with my mates will be hard for her. I can't deny how strong our connection has become, and it doesn't help that she still feels the mate bond, but once she finds her second chance mate, everything will fall into place. Her ability to respect my mates while she fights the urge to claim me for herself should never go unnoticed, and that's exactly how I got her record expunged. She's doing the impossible while fixing what she did to me, so excuse me if that makes me a pushover in anyone else's eyes.

"Yeah, I know. I have a lot on my mind and today's a big day. I want to be selfish, but I love you enough to let you leave if that's what you truly want. It hurts, Haze. So fucking much." She rubs her hand over her chest as if her heart is physically breaking. I want to wrap her up into a tight hug, but that would only make matters worse for her- she made that clear last week when she said she would rather not touch me if she can't have all of me. I can't be mad about that. I need to remember she feels for me the way I feel for Val and Tae, so I understand.

"I love you too, Eden. That's why we're going to find your second chance mate, and you're not going to feel this hurt ever again. Okay? We won't stop until we find her. Or him?" I try to lighten the mood.

"Ew, I would never mate with a male." The look of disgust on her face cracks me up.

"Well, I never knew I was bisexual until I saw Val. You never know who you could be fated to, and since I have multiple mates, I believe you do too." She's still looking at me like I'm insane.

"I tried having sex with a man once. I couldn't get past how ugly his penis was, so I left. I refused to let it touch me. I can't believe people put them in their mouths sometimes." Now she's looking at me like I'm gross for having oral sex with my mates, Tae more specifically.

"And how many women have you had sex with?" She's told me a dozen stories tht took place before our world was split up into territories. Thinking about it gets me excited to travel and meet different people like she used to do.

"I have no idea. Surely, not more than one hundred." My jaw nearly drops to the floor. One hundred women?! I know she's been alive for a long ass time, but holy shit. I also have to quickly ignore the unexpected ping of jealousy I feel when I think of her being intimate with so many other women. We've never talked about her being with other people before, so I didn't realize how it would feel to imagine it.

"Wow. I don't think I even know one hundred women." I take a sip of my lemonade and swirl it around the ice.

"I'm joking, Haze. I've only been with two. Once I started having visions of you, I never touched another." There's a truth in her eyes that hit me like a truck. This shouldn't make me feel so relieved. Eden was loyal to me before I was ever even born. Hell, before my grandparents were born. Why did I have to meet her too late? A part of me feels like we could have been great together, and I would have made an arrangement with Val and Tae so that we could all make it work. They would never allow it now, and I can't disrespect them by asking them to consider it. I do love Eden, but we can never have anything more than a friendship. I'm already committed to Val and Tae, so their feelings must be my priority, or it could damage our bond. I feel like I'm obligated to give Eden a chance because she is technically my mate, and it isn't her fault we didn't meet at the gala. I also feel extremely guilty for feeling that obligation because I love Val and Tae with every fiber of my body. It makes it easier for me that I can't feel the mate bond with Eden, but it's still unfair to her, and that doesn't mean I couldn't develop the same feelings for her. I already have to put up a wall just so I don't catch those feelings. That's the hard fact that I keep trying to ignore.

"I can't believe you waited for me. I'm sorry, Eden. I'm sorry all that time was wasted when you could have been enjoying yourself." She could have stayed occupied by other women until we finally met so that she still felt some kind of pleasure all those years, but she didn't. She loved me so much that she didn't want to touch another woman. A love like that should make me feel honored, but instead, I feel heartbroken.

Eden shrugs her shoulder, "I would do it all over again. It was always supposed to be you, Haze."

Rebeka chooses that moment to barge into the cabin, but I don't take my eyes off Eden. My heart is at war with my mind, and I don't know which one will win. Eden deserves to be loved back. She deserves to have the woman she waited hundreds of years for, and she deserves all the forgiveness I have given her because she's done more than enough to earn it. So why does my mind keep fighting with logic? *You completed the bond with Val and Tae, Hazel. Are you willing to damage the bond by being with another person? Leave well enough alone and help Eden find her second chance mate after you get your life back!*

"Looks like I interrupted something important," Rebeka mumbles as she places an unlit candle in front of me and another in front of Eden. "This is your chance to call your loved ones just in case one of you dies. I'll give you five minutes because I have other things to do this evening."

That Rebeka is a real fucking peach. I get up and go to my room to call Val and Tae. They should be together now that voting is all over and The Royals have all came to an agreement on the border issues and new treaty agreements. It didn't take them long to answer, but I made the call short and sweet since I was on a tight schedule. I don't plan on dying today anyway.

I changed into a pair of sweat pants and a loose t-shirt so I wouldn't have to rescue my past self in my pajamas and go back to Rebeka and Eden.

"Alright, let's get started." Rebeka motions for me to sit on the floor, where we make a perfect triangle. "You have only fifteen minutes to do what needs to be done. You have better odds if Hazel handles her past self and Eden handles her past self. You do not want to handle past Eden, Hazel. She will be ready to fight both of you because she'll think someone is impersonating you. Your past self is also much weaker than who you are now- no offense. Be careful with yourself and let Eden take the lead. Here's a timer. It will go off when you're down to five minutes left."

She hands Eden a timer that is set at fifteen minutes. "Start the timer right when you arrive. Do not forget! These candles were made specifically for each of you. I will be the one to put out the candle on my end. If you die, your body will come back to me, and the fire will go out on its own. If you survive, you will come back to me alive, and we will get you back home from here." Rebecka lights the candles, and we all join hands. "I'm sending you back into the Redwood Forest one minute before you met each other. May The Fates be with you."

We close our eyes, and Rebeka begins speaking in a language I'm unfamiliar with. Maybe it's Latin, but it sounds like a dead language. The next thing I know, the familiar scent of leaves and fresh soil fills my nostrils, and a cool breeze kisses my skin. Eden's hand is still in mine when we open our eyes, so I give it a tight squeeze. I'm scared. A lot more scared than I thought I was going to be because this is no longer just a plan. It's happening, and every move we make from this point on is a matter of life and death for both of us.