“Now I’m really dying to know. And yes, I can keep a secret. My lips are sealed.” She made a gesture of zipping her mouth.
I hesitated, not sure if I should confide in Valerie. But she had never given me a reason to distrust her, having been almost a second mother to me during the time I’d worked in the café. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot in a waiting gesture. I finally replied, “I met my mate.”
“What! Why would you keep that a secret?”
“My mate is Luke.”
“Like Lucy’s boyfriend, Luke?” Her eyes were wide open with shock.
“Yes. Lucy’s boyfriend, Luke.”
“Well, damn, this story’s more interesting than I imagined.” Just then, a group of customers walked in, forcing us to end the conversation. I went to take their orders. We had a steady stream of customers for the rest of the day, many who sat in the café, so Valerie didn’t ask for any more information until I flipped the sign to Closed.
I went to begin the closing checklist when she approached me. “I can’t lie, I may have imagined a threesome with the alpha and the beta. Please tell me that’s what happened on Saturday.”
“That’s absolutely not what happened on Saturday,” I replied.
“So disappointing.” She shook her head then continued, “So what’s the deal? I know Luke didn’t break up with Lucy because I definitely would have heard about it by now.”
“No, he didn’t.” I looked down at the floor.
“He can’t seriously be considering rejecting you and staying with Lucy?” she asked, her face concerned.
“I don’t know. I guess that’s exactly what he’s doing,” I replied, feeling defeated.
“What an asshole!”
“I mean, Lucy had him first, right? They’ve been together for years.”
“But Lucy has no right to him. He’s your mate. I can’t even believe he’s able to consider it, to be honest. As soon as I met my mate, it was like every other man I’d ever been with was wiped from my mind. I guess things with him and Lucy must have been much more serious than any of us thought.”
“I guess so,” I replied.
Thenextday,Iarrived at the temple an hour before choir practice in the afternoon. I figured that since this was Artemis’s doing, that maybe someone at her house of worship would have some answers. At this point, I was grasping at straws, hoping someone had something enlightening to offer me and a way out of this mess.
I went to the priest’s office and knocked on his door. He waved me in. He was a nice older man named Bernard, and my family all knew him well, being regulars at the temple. He gestured for me to take a seat in front of his desk while he sat back in his office chair.
“It’s always nice to see you, Jasmine. What brings you in today?” he asked.
“If I tell you something, is there any chance you would tell my parents?” I questioned him.
“Absolutely not. I take my vows very seriously, and you can tell me anything. I would never repeat anything that’s told to me in confidence.” I sighed in relief. He continued, “Is everything okay?”
“No, it’s not,” I replied, fidgeting with my hands, not able to make eye contact.
“Please, let me know what’s happening so I can try to help.”
“I met my mate.”
“That’s wonderful news. Why would that possibly be bothering you?” This reaction was becoming irritating. Was meeting one’s mate the best thing that happened to everyone except me?
“My mate’s with someone else.”
“Oh, of course. Now I understand!” He appeared as if he found the answer to a very difficult question he’d been pondering.
“You do?” I asked, leaning forward in my chair.
“Yes, this is very common. Many people have concerns that their mates haven’t been chaste when they themselves have. I am not surprised that you would have the same concern. After all, you are such a pure and devout young woman. Unfortunately, not everyone takes their worship of Artemis and their dedication to their mate as seriously as you do. But this is very common, very common indeed.”