"That Hugo..." Cora was the first to speak as she ground her teeth, glaring daggers at the innocent door. "... I will kill him if my adorable husband got in trouble because of him."
"Gosh. This is the problem when the law enforcer is trying to catch his brother-in-law." Alice waved as if she figured out what was going on. I glanced at them and it seemed they all understood... but I didn't get the gist of it.
"Ah, right! You don't understand." Sally clapped, making me turn my head in her direction. "Brother Garrett is a warrior serving the emperor. So, you see, he was one of the people who lead the other werewolves to hunt brother Hugo and the mad pack."
"But instead of catching the culprit, brother Garrett came in here with brother Hugo, the person he should catch!" Teresa added to clarify.
"In other words, that also makes brother Garrett an offender. So, brother Dan came to rescue them!" Priscilla chimed in with her finger up. "If Father catches the two of them, he will surely hang them at the main tower."
"My gosh... my poor husband getting deceived by that despicable Hugo." Cora sighed as she dragged her feet back to where she initially sat. "Did he miss me that much that he would disobey Father's orders?"
She cupped her jaw as she sighed helplessly once again. It seemed that she didn't know whether to feel happy or angry about it. I could only smile weakly, as this place was unpredictable and lively. It was like there wasn't a single dull moment in this place.
"Did you say Daniel is the crown prince?" I asked out of plain curiosity, seeing them all nod. "Then, why is he helping Hugo and Garrett even though he knew the emperor is on his way to catch them?"
"Oh, dear. That is because he is Dan." Alice chuckled while covering her lips with the back of her hand. "Our eldest brother is the kindest and is too lenient with us. Although there might be another reason, I'm very sure he is only avoiding Hugo and Father confronting each other until both of them calmed down."
"Ohh..." I nodded in understanding while my lips formed a circular shape.
"Brother Hugo should stop worrying brother Dan that much. Brother Dan is the eldest and is still didn't have any mates. At this rate, he will grow old alone." Sally pouted as she clicked her tongue.
"Why is that? Is it because of Hugo's action towards the mating season?" I asked her with a tilted head. Alice and Cora and a few of their brothers were already married. So, I was a bit curious why Daniel, the eldest, hadn't married yet.
"Hmm. Because he hadn't found the one," Alice explained while rubbing her chin with a finger. "To us werewolves, the second we lay our eyes on our destined mate, we already know it by instinct. It doesn't matter if it's the first time we meet. You might not understand since humans undergo the process of courtship to fall in love or not."
"That's right. Most of the werewolves couple is love at first sight." Cora nodded, closed-lipped. "We can be attracted to others while growing up, but once our destined mates are right before our eyes, we cannot deny the fatal attraction, the maddening desires, and fervent feelings to be with them."
"Take sister Alice, for example!" Sally exclaimed excitedly. "She had a lover before meeting her husband!"
What...? I gazed at Alice and she shrugged with a weak smile on her face.
"Come on, Sally. Don't embarrass me in front of Rinnie." Alice chuckled before she breathed out. "It was like a curse to us, Rinnie. One day, we love someone we can give the entire world. But once some stranger we never even thought we'd meet in this lifetime, things just get... strange."
Her eyes lowered and softened, smiling weakly. "It was like magic. The feelings you had for another just suddenly disappear. Or rather, instead of disappearing, they get overwhelmed by our instincts. That is why some werewolves stayed away from affairs before they meet their destined mate to avoid such problems from arising."
I bit my inner lower lip as I studied Alice's eyes. It was not like she was regretting her decision to marry her destined mate, but by the looks of it, it was guilt for causing another person's heartache. Although it was not her fault to leave her lover for another, it was still... unfair.
"What happened to your lover?" I blurted out before covering my lips, thinking that I was stepping out of my bounds. But Alice just chuckled while shaking her head.
"Obviously, since he is a werewolf, he understood. But even so, it was sad that all the memories we built together went all down the drain. Years later, I heard he met his destined mate and is now living a happy life," she explained with a smile. "Although I am already married, I still want to know how he was because of my conscience. I'm just glad he finally met someone who would love him just as intensely as he does."
I hung my head low and forced a smile. "But what if he was a human?" I inquired. Alice's previous lover before her husband was a werewolf, so he also got his happy ending in the end.
But what if he was a human such as me? What if he was a human who didn't have a destined mate where everything else faded? Where his pain of losing the love of his life to another would mean nothing once that destined mate comes?
"Sister..." I raised my head when Teresa called in a worried tone. I looked at all of them and they all looked at me with the same worried expression. Even though we didn't say it aloud, one could tell I wasn't Hugo's destined mate. And the main concern was, what would happen to me if ever Hugo somehow met his destined mate?
I smiled and chuckled. "I am fine," I said reassuringly before I took a deep breath. "It may or may not happen, but I move on easily. I will just be sad, for sure. But it's not like I won't understand the werewolves' circumstances."
That was the truth, but... there was a part of me that wasn't entirely sure about it.. What would I do if Hugo met his destined mate? I couldn't imagine it right now and even if I tried, it was just a blur.