Claudius' perspective
“Hey, Alpha Claudius. I didn't expect you'd be back so soon.” Gamma Logan greeted me as I marched straight into my mini bar.
Opening a bottle of rum, I quaffed half of it before speaking.
“Go and find out where this picture comes from.” I tossed the picture to him before swallowing another gulp of liquor down my throat.
“Wow, a cute pup!" Logan exclaimed in excitement as he caught the picture."But isn't this your pup, Alpha?”
My hand stopped at his words as I was about to drench myself with rum.
"What do you mean?” I turned to question him coldly.
"D-Did I...just say anything wrong, A-Alpha?" Logan's wolf cowered at mine.
"How come you know about this pup?" Ignoring the fear in his eyes, I further demanded.
"I-It's...this charm.” Logan's voice shuddered as his finger pointed at an orange flower pinned on the sleeve of the baby's clothes.
"What about it?" I knew my patience was running out.
“It's...c-crocheted by my daughter...s-she sent it to Luna Eero a-as a gift to your unborn pup...back then.”
Hearing his explanation, I grabbed the picture from his hand, squintting my eyes at the charm.
Logan was right. I used to see this little thing with Eero from now and then. But she didn't have it with her today!
Could it be true that my pup was still alive and I buried the wrong pup?!
*********
Eero's perspective
After getting seated in a fancy restaurant, I proffered my wineglass to the waiter, and then blinked my eyes as Miguel chuckled softly.
“What's so funny?” I bit my lips the minute the question slipped out of my mouth, noticing that the waiter had been gone and my glass was already full.
I must have been holding the glass in the middle for quite a while.
"Oh, sorry about that." I withdrew my hand back in embarrassment.
“Is he taking up all the space in your head?” He asked, hinting at the things that bemused me.
“Hmm?”
"The shifter back in the coffee shop on our way out of RGC." Miguel was straightforward. "He shot us daggar glare."
My body stiffened at his candidness.
“What are you talking about?” I decided to play dumb, swirling the wine in my glass.
“I could feel his jealousy and possessiveness over you, your grace. He must be a strong contender to be your second chance mate, if not a confirmed lover.”
"Come on, Eero! Say something!" My hands began to sweat as I racked my brain to come up with something to change the topic.
Yet I decided to come clean about it after struggling for quite a while. I wasn't gonna take Miguel as my mate after all. What was the point of giving him any slightest hope?
“The man you're talking about. You know anything about him?” I cleared my throat after taking a sip of the wine.
“If I didn't guess it wrong, the shifter is Claudius. He could have become the heir of Regulus.”
“Not wrong." Stopping nibbling my lips, I gazed earnestly at Miguel. "I have to admit that butterflies flutter in my stomach when he's around. But after all that happened, as you've known, there's no way he'd be my second chance mate, even if my wolf was attracted to him.”
"But that only makes you fancy him even more, doesn't it?” Lips slightly parted from the rim of his wineglass, Miguel pursued.
“Aren't you here to take a chance to be my second chance mate?" Tilting my head, I asked back. "Right now, it sounds like you'd rather play a wingman between me and Claudius.”
“Is this your way of asking me to steal your heart from Claudius?” Miguel beamed, weaving his fingers with each other. “Don't worry, I'm not gonna tell your feelings toward him to anyone. You can trust me.”
"Thank you." I grinned at him although his word "trust" reminded me how every shifter I once trusted disappointed me.
"Have you always been this polite to everyone in your life, your grace?"
"Why?" I didn't expect him to ask this personal question at our first meeting.
"Nothing. It's just there's this slight touch of sadness in you. Isn't life good enough for you?"
“Not really. But I bet you wouldn't want to hear anything about it.” Laughter slipping from my mouth, I dismissed the topic before we could even begin.
After some small talk for a few more minutes, we decided to bid farewell.
"I had a lovely night." Miguel rolled his window down after pulling over in front of the Alpha King's manor.
"Thank you for the ride." I waved at him before getting inside the manor.
“You're finally back!" Aelice stood up immediately as I stepped into the hall. "Tell me about your date with Miguel Blackthorn.”
She clamped herself to my arm with a gossipy look, a roguish arc forming on her lips.
“He seems like a nice guy.” I said faintly.
"And?"
“And he's...he's from a good family. He's good-looking too.” I attempted to muddle throuh as Aelice's grasp on my arm slackened.
"You don't like him?"
"I'm afraid not." I gave her a sorry smile. "Guess I'll have to go and see other candidates on Alpha King's list."
"A list?! They're gonna let you choose?” Aelice's arm slipped away from me completely, standing still.
"Of course I'll choose. It's my mate we're talking about. I cannot just settle for any random guy." I turned to look at her, surprised at her fussing over this matter.
But Aelice had fallen into a sudden silence, her face pale.