BYRON

Julien’s mother, Queen Eleanor, permitted our betas to patrol the manor’s surroundings. Thinking of how she looked at us,  as we explained the situation, I knew she didn’t like us. On the other hand, her mate, King Henry, did not seem displeased with us. Leaving me full of hope, thinking maybe he would accept me as Julien’s mate. I sighed. ‘Julien looked so gorgeous today…’

“I can see why we don’t have a treaty with the merfolk,” Mason said, interrupting my trail of thoughts. “Queen Eleanor doesn’t like us at all.”

“I know. She was killing us with her eyes.” We laughed.

“Also, I didn’t know the prince was a mute.” He said, confusing me.

“Mute?” I asked.

“Yeah, he was using sign language.” 

“Really?” Thinking about it, Julien didn’t have his notepad, but it looked like he was talking with his parents when we arrived.

“Yeah, if you hadn’t skipped sign language class,” Mason said with a sarcastic smirk, reminding me of my past. “You could have understood what he was saying.”

As future beta and alpha of the pack, Mason and I had to learn multiple languages; sign language was one of them. But my little dumb past self was too lazy to go to the sign language ones. If I had gone, I could probably talk with Julien more. But…

“But he is not mute. His voice is beautiful.” I said, thinking out loud. 

“How do you know that?” Mason asked, looking both: confused and curious.

“Well…” Wandering my words, not wanting to tell him about Julien yet.

“Well, what?” He asked, flinching his eyes. Giving me a suspicious look and waiting for me to spill the news. I sighed. ‘He is my best friend. He needs to know.’

“Umm…”

“Just tell me, Byron, stop being a tease.” He stopped on his track and grabbed my shoulder, making me stop. He was impatient.

“He is my fated mate,” I answered, smiling proudly. “I met him after the full moon ceremony.”

“That’s good news, man.” He patted my back with a big smile. “Where did you meet him?”

“In the lake, he goes swimming there every full moon.” I smiled, thinking back to when I met him.

”So that’s where you were. Well, what a coincidence. I’m glad we both found them.” He smiled at me proudly.

“Wait, what do you mean by that? Did you find yours? Who is it? Do I know them?” Mason laughed at me and started to walk fast, leaving me behind and ignoring my questions. I followed him, still asking about his mate.

When we arrived at the pack, I lost sight of him. Sighing, I went to my dad’s office to report to him about our visit to the merfolk manor. Knocking on the door, I listened as he permitted me to enter. Dad was sitting at his desk, going through some papers.

“So, how did it go? What did Eleanor say?” He asked, looking up at me.

“She wants to see the merman. She didn’t believe us,” I approached him, standing in front of his desk. “But she gave us permission for the betas to patrol around the manor.”

“I see, I’ll tell Layton about this tomorrow,” He sighed taking his reading glasses off. “Eleanor can be difficult, but let’s just hope that merman wakes up soon.” I nodded.

He dismissed me and I went home. In our pack, it’s a custom to leave our parent's home as soon as we turn 19 to find our mates and start our own families. As I entered my house, I noticed a strange scent in the air. Ignoring it, I headed to the kitchen. I grabbed a cold beer from the fridge and walked to my room. As I opened the door I heard a familiar voice.

“I was waiting for you, Alpha~” Laying on my bed was Tiffany, she was wearing sexy red lingerie. Spreading her omega hormones all over my room, trying to seduce me. 

“Tiffany, I’ve told you many times,” Leaving my beer on my desk, I gave her a serious look. “I’m not gonna mate with you.”

“But Byron, we are perfect for each other.” She came up to me, hugging me and trying to kiss me. Gently, I pushed her away.

‘Not mate. Go away.’ Boris said angrily. I sighed.

“You are not my mate and you will never be Tiff.” Tears formed in her eyes as I said that. “You deserve someone who appreciates you, and that someone is not me.”

Crying, she picked her clothes from the floor and left the room. Picking my beer, I laid down in bed. Getting lost in my thoughts, thinking about Julien. I knew he was not mute, I heard his voice when I met him. But I also haven’t heard him talk, not since he left the lake that day. Analyzing how he made signs to his parents when that Wimbledon dude was visiting them. Remembering when I asked him the reason for throwing me into the lake on the day we met and how he moved his hands back then. I realized he was trying to answer me with signs. ‘Oh, I’m so dumb.’

‘Yeah, you are.’ Boris said, making fun of me. ‘Shush!’

Getting up from my bed, I sat in front of my laptop on the desk, looking at the screen and thinking about where I should start. I have always been told I’m a fast learner; if I have the right motivation. A way to talk with my mate was enough motivation for me to learn this language as fast as I could.

Determined, I searched for all the videos and information I could find about it. Taking all the notes I could; practicing the movements and gestures. I remembered all the basic signs and decided to take a break. Hungry, I went to the kitchen looking for something to eat. Unfortunately, my fridge was empty with no food to be found, not even leftovers. There was just ham, cheese, and bread. I did what any hungry and lazy person could do in this situation; I made myself a ham and cheese sandwich. 

Finishing my food and grabbing another beer from the fridge, I went back to my study session. Hours passed and it was getting late, but I was distracted trying to learn everything I could. My eyes started to feel heavy. I yawned. And without realizing it, I ended up falling asleep in front of my laptop.