jorja smith, don't watch me cry.

"Time has stretched far enough, Lerato. You have to say something to him, what could he possibly be waiting for?" Amanda said, seriousness dripping with every word and facial expression.

She, of course, sounding off on Micah taking so long with marking or mating. A moment ago I thought I was upset but she has taken the cup, she is fuming much more than I am.

"And what is up with him and the east border?" She adds.

"He happens to know Marc." I shrug.

"Marc knows him!?" She yells getting to her feet, "We have to go speak to him!"

"Do you think I'm a fool? I've already spoken to Marc. He doesn't know Micah, Micah knows him."

"Huh?"

I rolled my eyes, "Marc is a dead end, sit back down."

"What if it's that Maddy girl? What if she's the problem here." Amanda side eyed me.

"I've contemplated it but by now he should realise whatever he had with her is nothing compared to what we have. Nothing. Micah is not stupid, she can't be the reason. I've just... I've just got to ask him myself." I sighed.

"How will you even accomplish that with him only showing up when he texts."

I can't give her an instant answer, she's right. How would I contact him? It's been five days since I last saw him and every time he messages me, it's always a blocked number. I can't save it.

If I'm being honest, I'm getting pretty fed up with him too, if he isn't going to let me in after here, I don't know what I'll do but all I know is it's now or never. I need him and I'm tired of lying to everyone in my life.

What I'm also tired of is looking like a complete idiot, I can tell every time I confide in Amanda she's worried a bit but mostly confused. I can tell she doesn't trust him, maybe she even thinks I'm making him up at this point. I sound and seem like an idiot just accepting this weird relationship.

It's not how mates treat one another or even behave, especially since I'm of Alpha blood. I should be marked and mated already.

"I don't know but I have to take a chance. I have to do something, I have to get his attention."

"Lerato, we don't even know where his Pack is."

"Yeah, but he must be somewhere by the east border."

"Small issue with that – we don't know what Packs are there." She pointed at the two of us.

"Well, let's go find out."

We exited my house and made our way to my parents' house, they would definitely have a map or two laying around. Okay, not laying around but they would have them in the house. Plus, they aren't around so getting into my father's study will be easy and require no lie.

I opened the front door with my key and headed up the stairs with Amanda hot on my heels, "Is this considered breaking in?"

I made a face, "What?"

"Are we breaking into the Alpha and Luna's home?"

I pushed the study door open, "I can't believe you were confident enough to repeat that question." I chuckle, "No, this is not breaking in, it's my parents' home that I opened with my key."

"They don't know you're in here."

"Would you like for me to link them?"

"No!" She shrieks and I laugh.

I don't know when Amanda will snap out of this slight fear of my father, he really treated her as a daughter and has never raised his voice at her – even when we were both in the wrong.

I know neither of them would have an issue with me being in here, my father just would've questioned why I needed a map. So, entering his study without his knowledge was the only way to go about it.

Finding said maps in one of these drawers I walked over to the couch and sat down, Amanda reluctantly took a seat beside me. Not happy that I wasn't taking the map with me to my place but instead even taking the liberty to sit at the scene of the 'crime.'

"According to these maps," I begin, twisting and turning it.

"Oh goddess, you can't even read a map." She grabs it from me, "According to this map, there's open land beyond the eastern border. The only owned property belongs to the Royals."

"What? That can't be right." I snatch it back.

Taking a look, I see that she is indeed telling the truth. There's the meadow and then the Royal territory begins. To the left is another pack but that's a bit further away from the eastern border. Meaning he could only be coming from the Royal City.

I looked up at her and she was searching through the other maps, her face letting me know that she is only finding the same conclusion with them all.

"You're mated to a Royal." She spoke.

"We're not certain, we know the Royals' names and there isn't a wolf named Micah." I try to defend.

I don't know why it scares me to be mated to a Royal but it does. It both scares and excites me, I would live in the Royal City. My pups would be royalty, I would birth royal pups. But I would also be away from my family and I don't even know what my day-to-day life would consist of.

On the other hand, I would finally have all my questions answered, after years of repeatedly hearing 'I don't know Lerato' I would actually receive an answer.

"Maybe you heard his name wrong?" I gave her a bored face.

"Amanda, are you okay today? You surely are saying the least intelligent things today." I get up to put the maps back in their places.

Amanda stands and stretches, preparing to leave. Once I've put the maps back and am facing her she lifts up her middle finger. I chuckle, she waited for me to look at her just to respond, what a child.

◇

The following day I awoke to loud cheers and noise. So I automatically knew something great had happened, there was a buzz in the pack link and as soon as I sat up in my bed I knew that something exciting was happening.

I grabbed my phone so I could check my Twitter, I knew my timeline would let me know if something was indeed happening.

Just as the bird had disappeared and my app had opened, the dark blue greeting my tired eyes, I felt sick to my stomach. I dropped my phone on the bed and ran to the bathroom, immediately emptying my stomach contents into the toilet bowl.

Thanking the heavens I had an afro and either way, it was safe behind my doek so it wouldn't have bits of puke on it.

I spat the last bits out, cursing the feeling running throughout my body. It ached, it ached so bad I wanted to personally ask the Moon what my body was trying to tell me.

Sure, I said I don't know much about the body side of wolves but I know when it's trying to tell you something. I just wish I knew what this meant.

I let out a small scream, cradling my stomach, I dropped to my knees the moment I tried to get up. I withered in pain for a bit before my body decided I deserved to keep living.

I stood and quickly brushed my teeth, not knowing when the next round of pain would hit I made my way back to my bed. I couldn't possibly make it to the hospital like this.

'Doc, I don't think I'll make it in today.' I linked my co-worker, Kea, the human side Doctor.

'No one's going to work today. Haven't you read your paper? King Theo found his mate.'

I let out an agonising scream as that final sentence rang through, my body shaking out in pain. I was blinded by pain, I couldn't answer, I couldn't do much. I could feel the darkness trying to swallow me so I sent out a link to my brother.

'Come quick.'

Blinking my eyes open I'm met with Anathi's worried eyes, "Oh thank the Moon."

He mutters as soon as he sees my eyes flutter open. I searched the room only to find Anathi and Amanda as the only other bodies here. I immediately knew something was wrong, Amanda's eyes were filled with worry and dread. Her hands behind her back wringing whatever it was she held out of my line of sight.

"What is it?" I asked, "Why are you looking at me like that?" I directed my question at her.

"We know why you passed out." Amanda began.

"Are you still in pain?" Anathi adds.

"Not quite, everything feels alright." I said slowly, still apprehensive.

"Now, Amada's going to hand you the morning paper and I need you to please stay calm."

Amanda brings her hands forth, from behind her back and cautiously walks towards me holding the morning paper. She walks as if whatever is on there might harm me and remembering the sharp pain I got when Kea mentioned the paper before I passed out, I worry that it might.

"Kea was speaking about this before I passed out." I whisper.

I take the paper out of Amanda's outstretched hand and unfold it so that I can read the text. In a bold font I see,

"The Royal Family is pleased to inform each of you that King Theo has found his mate. All details of the Ceremony will be released shortly, we hope to see the ranked there to celebrate the union of Motheo and Madeline. The event will be televised for all to enjoy. In celebration of this joyous day, we deem today and every day of this month following this a public holiday." I read monotonously.

"King Motheo Micah. King Micah. Michah. Mi –" I lunged forward and cried into my brother's arms.