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"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything about this."

Both my mate and I look at Alpha Satura with desperation. We are standing in front of her desk, in her office in Regulus Manor, asking her to talk some sense into our other mate.

"But, you must be able to talk some sense into him," Felicity protests next to me.

"I'm sorry, but I spoke to him when he made the decision and, Asper, you of all people know that Altus is as stubborn as an ox. He's not going to change his mind."

"What about Mare?" I ask. "Have you spoken to her about all of this?"

Satura looks surprised for a moment and straightens her shoulders. "No, I haven't. She made her agreement to mate with Altus and become Alpha Female, that was the end of it."

"Altus won't even consider the idea of being with us while Mare is in the picture. He feels indebted to go through with his promise. If Mare backed out, he would be free to be with us," I urge her.

I can see Satura hesitate at my words and I go for the kill. "Please, Alpha. If she heard this from someone she respects, someone she looks up to, she might break the agreement."

She holds up her hands in exasperation and sighs. "Fine, fine! I'll speak to her, alright? But do not expect her to listen to me, she has made her decision. The two of them seemed pretty confident in it when they came to me all those years ago."

"Thank you for trying," I tell her.

"Don't thank me yet. Look, I'll call her round now, why don't you two wait next door?"

I open the side door and lead Felicity through to the connected office. She takes a seat on one of the sofas and pats the space next to her, encouraging me to come and sit with her.

"Do you think Satura will actually be able to convince her?" She asks me.

I shrug and consider it. "I don't know. Mare never liked me. I know that one of the reasons she agreed to Altus' proposal was to spite me, she knew I didn't like the idea. Perhaps, now she has moved on from her dislike of me, she might be more open to breaking the agreement."

"I just can't understand why someone wouldn't want to be with their own soulmate."

"Mare has a deep-rooted fear of rejection because she was raised in the foster-system. She had no idea of her lineage until she shifted and Satura was alerted that there was a young shifter running wild in her area. She was brought into the pack and adopted by two of our members, but she never got over the rejection."

Felicity's eyes fill with sympathy as I tell her of Mare's background.

"If I had to guess, she is probably scared of rejection from her real mate, so has chosen the easy option of having one that will never truly love her, and therefore cannot hurt her like her own mate could."

"That's so awful."

"I know."

"But what about Altus? This cannot purely be out of anger over a choice you made five years ago."

I hesitate to tell her more, and I can see her spot the reluctance on my face before I can hide it. I should have known better, Felicity is my mate, she can read me better than I read myself sometimes.

"What else is there, Asper?" She directs the question clearly, leaving no room for vagueness.

I scratch the back of my neck and decide to share with her. She is Altus' mate, too. She has a right to know everything about him.

"I told you that there wasn't anything sexual or romantic between Altus and I, and mostly, there wasn't. But, shortly before I made the decision to take over the scout role, we kissed," I confess to her.

Her furrowed brows raise in surprise but she makes no comment, leaving me to continue.

"He freaked out. We were on a run together and we shifted back. We were messing around, chasing each other and whipping each other with our clothes and it just...happened. I grabbed him, we fell, I landed on top of him and I kissed him without even thinking about it."

I go quiet, replaying the scene in my mind. We were so happy and carefree back then. I remember not even thinking it through, I just acted on impulse. We were laughing and I thought about how happy he made me and that I wanted to show affection in some way. Next thing I knew, I was kissing him.

"For a moment, he kissed me back, but then he shoved me off. I was surprised because he'd kissed me back at first, but then realised that he wasn't comfortable so I told him we could forget about it. He got so angry and defensive. He kept telling me over and over that he wasn't gay, he was never going to be gay and I wasn't to try pulling that shit again."

"Asper..." Felicity whispers my name in a pained tone. "I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. I know it wasn't him speaking. It was his own insecurities getting the better of him. Altus' parents are dead, but they were conservative homophobes when they were alive. That shame was instilled in him as a child and it's hard to shake something like that. He refuses to acknowledge that we are mates because that would mean admitting to himself that he is gay. Mating with Mare proves that he is not in his eyes."

"That's...tragic. I feel so sorry for him and for her. And for us. How are we supposed to get him to accept who he is?"

"I honestly don't know," I tell her. "But getting rid of this stupid agreement with Mare is the first step. It makes him available to us. Then, my only plan is to shower him in support. If he realises that we will love him regardless, he might learn to love himself, too."

She smiles softly at me, her eyes shining. "You're amazing, Asper, you know that?"

I grin at her. "Oh, yeah? I might need some convincing."

She grins, playing along with me. "Okay, and how am I supposed to do that?"

"A kiss might work."

"Might work?"

"Give it a try and you'll see."

She leans in and kisses me without a moment's hesitation. I close my eyes and savour the feel of my girl's soft lips on my own. Instantly, my body reacts to her touch. I'm insanely attracted to this woman.

In my mind, there is no gay or straight. I wouldn't be able to tell you what I identify as. I guess some would label me as bisexual, but I'm not fussed about labels. I like who I like, I love who I love. There is no question of whether I prefer Altus or Felicity. They are at complete equals in my head. It would be like trying to compare your favourite fruit to your favourite top; no comparison.

All I want is for the three of us to be together. I want Altus to stop fucking around and making shitty decisions. I want him to own his feelings and realise that no one gives a shit about his orientation. His parents were the only homophobes in our pack and they were not liked for their narrow-minded views. They're gone now. He's free to be with who he wants.

The door opens and we both pull apart. Satura pokes her head into the room.

"Mare will be here any minute, but I thought you might want to know that Mel is going to be arriving back in town tonight. She's back from her trip."

She closes the door behind her and Felicity gives me a puzzled look. She looks adorable with her plumped lips in a cute pout.

"Who is Mel?"

"Mel," I take a deep breath and answer her, "Is Altus' sister."

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