CHAPTER 4: Feeling is Mutual

"Well?" Phoebe prompted as she glanced at me.

"Atlas? What atlas?" I asked, blinking rapidly at her. She only huffed as she turned to flip the waffle iron, "What do you need an atlas for? You don't need an atlas. You're bad at directions. You get lost in your own room." I added my word vomit.

"I smelled his scent in your room, Dione." She said, her voice monotonous.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I mumbled, fiddling with my fingers. Exactly what I do when I'm lying.

And since Phoebe has been a friend of mine for a long time, my little actions didn't go unnoticed. The word vomit, the huffing, and the fiddling of fingers. All the clues were right in front of her. How convenient. "You're lying," she huffs as she looks over her shoulder at me, giving all her love and attention towards the waffle she's making.

Good to know her priorities.

I was contemplating whether to stick to my lies or admit the truth, when her phone started ringing. Whoever it was, he saved my life. I didn't even know I was holding my breath until the moment she answered the call. The fact that I'm not having the 'talk' with Phoebe makes me happy.

With her phone pressed against her ear, I watched her. Her face looked happy, as if the caller was someone she was waiting to call. She looked to excited, I had to smile. "Hey, Deimos!" She yelled at her phone.

My eyes widened, almost bulging out of its sockets. "Deimos!" I yelled, sure that he could hear me from the other side of the line.

Deimos is an old friend, back when we had our 'second phases' together. I'm proud to say we didn't kill each other, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't get a black eye, busted lip, and broken ankle. Deimos doesn't have much to brag, since I gave him much worse pain. His broken ribs and the scars on his back would agree.

He's a Gamma, and a reject at the same time. His mate cheated on him with another Gamma. Though he's not an omega, he was a friend to me and he didn't treat me as someone below him. He was a reject, like me, after all. He knows that in love, there were no ranks. It's either you fall deep, or not at all.

Oh, and his mate? Zelos' chosen mate, Echo. The same Zelos that rejected Phoebe. Sucks, I know. I guess that's why the three of us ended as friends. Besides the fact that we had no choice but to stay together, but because our mates were interrelated.

Phoebe's mate has Deimos' mate. My mate has Atlas' mate. Aren't we lucky?

"What?" Phoebe growls on the phone, suddenly getting all my attention. I frowned, staring up at her with curiosity.

Her face turned serious, and the atmosphere in the kitchen feels... tensed. I watched as different emotions passed through my best friend's face. Sadness, hurt, betrayal, pain, anger. Her eyes got teary that I immediately went over to her to sooth her back. I don't even know what I'm doing. I'm bad at comforting people. But I just pretend that rubbing her back somewhat makes sense.

And then I heard Phoebe sniffed. She looked at me, "You're bad at comforting."

I shrugged, "I'm trying." I said, "What did he say? Did he get hurt?"

She shook her head no. Cautiously, she lets out her phone, "Deimos wants to talk to you," she says, looking away.

I blinked for a second and my frown went wider. "What did he say?"

She was still handing me her phone, which I just stared at, "He says he's coming back next month." She says, and a smile made it's way to my face.

I was euphoric! Deimos has been away from five months for his Gamma training and I almost miss him. Gammas are to be trained in other packs, since they are the head of the force of a pack. That was one reason why he left, with occasional phone calls here and there.

The other reason was because of his mate. Being rejected made him like he wants to kill someone on a daily basis. So I guess his training was his excuse for injuring someone. Wise bstard.

But I miss that bstard. And then confusion clouded over my mind as I stared at Phoebe. "Why don't you seem to be happy at that fact?"

"Just take the damnable phone, Dione."

I didn't push the matter. I just took the phone from her hands and pressed it against my left ear. I chirped, "Deimos! You're finally coming back home!" A couple of seconds ticked by, and I had no response. I stared at the screen of the phone, and realized that Deimos hasn't hung up on me yet. I frowned, "Deimos?"

"Dione?" The voice sounded uncertain, "Is this you?"

"Of course, it's me!" I exclaimed, a smile once again makes its way to my face, "How have you been? Are you coming for a visit or are you coming for good?"

From the other side of the phone, I heard him shift uncomfortably from his position, "Dione, are you feeling well?"

I frowned at his question as Phoebe started busying herself with waffles again. My stomach growled just at the thought of waffles. "Yes, Deimos, I'm good." I said, "I hope you are, too."

"Still alive," he says, and I could feel him smile, which also made me smile.

"Good to know," I said and, without thinking it thoroughly, I added, "Have you met your second chance mate yet?" I asked, and I almost clamped my mouth shut. Even Phoebe's head snapped at me and glared. Okay, I'm sorry. I was too excited, I became insensitive. I hastily added, "Don't mind that last part!"

Deimos let out an awkward cough, but answered anyway, "Ugh, no Dione. No second chance mate of mine here."

"Oh, it's fine," I said, biting my lower lip. I was looking at Phoebe in the eye when I added, "I, uh... I found mine."

Phoebe's brows raised in shock, she looked as if she was about to pass out. Then slowly, her jaw dropped to the floor. But she said nothing. And I guess that was worse. The grip I have on my phone tightened as I waited for their responses.

I could feel Deimos' frown at the end of the line, "You seem... okay with it." He says, and I couldn't blame him. I guess I've always been against second chance mates, and he didn't expect my reaction to be like this calm when I finally found mine. I guess he expected me to suicide or something.

I looked away from Phoebe's intense stare, finding the floor as an interesting sight. "Well, I kind of am, honestly. I'm glad I found my second chance." I mumbled under my breath.

Since we're all werewolves with heightened senses, it was no surprise when they still heard me. "So..." Deimos cleared his throat, "Who's the guy?"

A second ticked by.

"Atlas," I sighed, and I think Phoebe is going to pass out in front of me, "He's also a rejected mate of Eris."

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but..." there were more uncomfortable shifts on Deimo's part, "Isn't Eris your true mate's chosen mate?"

"Yes."

"And you're telling me that your second chance mate is the true mate of the chosen mate of your true mate?"

"Uh-uh."

"And you're fine with this?"

"I honestly am," I answer, nodding my head even if I know Deimos can't see me. I had to keep my eyes away from Phoebe as she burns holes into my head.

"So, you're going to accept your second chance mate?"

I cringed almost immediately, "Goddess, no!"

There was silence. Without seeing the both of them, I could feel the frowns that masked their faces.

Deimos cleared his throat, "I'm at a lost here..."

"Well, I don't like second chance mates. And Atlas seems to agree with me on that matter," I chuckled awkwardly, "He wants Eris back, I want my Kratos back. We could work together as a team, getting our soul mates back. Then we could live happily ever after."

Phoebe gave me a disapproving look as she puts the waffles on two plates and started bathing them with maple syrup. It was so satisfying, I feel like I was watching an erötica movie or something. The sight was simply a turn on.

I can also feel Deimos' disapproving look, "Dione, defying fate can backfire. You, of all people, should know that."

"It would work," I insisted, "I already talked to him and he agreed. Well, sort of agreed. But we're going to help each other."

As Phoebe sat on a stool in front of the counter table, Deimos asked, "You do realize that it would be hard to resist your second chance mate? That it has the same effect as your soul mate?"

"But not as strong," I pointed out, and I heard Deimos sighed in frustration, "Besides, I feel good about this plan. What could possibly go wrong?"

Well, probably everything.

"This Atlas guy was just rejected, right?" I could feel the gears in his mind turning as Phoebe dug in her tower of waffles. My mouth watered at the sight, "Weren't you rejected months ago?"

"Three months ago, yes."

"Why did Eris reject her mate just now, when she's been with Kratos for three months?"

I shrugged my shoulders, even if Deimos can't see the simple gesture, "Maybe they only met recently. We don't really have a certain schedule when meeting our mates, Deimos."

Phoebe forked her food quite forcefully. It clashed against the ceramic plate, and I winced with every scrape. But I didn't say anything, because her face didn't look pleased with me for the moment. She has the resting bítch face on, and I'd rather keep my limbs intact, thank you very much.

"She's angry, isn't she?" Deimos asked, referring to Phoebe who might kill me if I so much as blink, "I honestly am, too. I'm disappointed in your decision. Mates are precious, and yet you... I just... I don't feel good about this." He adds, his hesitation can be heard.

"You worry too much," I chided, trying to lighten up the mood, "Just take care, okay? Your training ends in a month, and I prefer you going back in a complete set. The same set when you left."

Since Deimos is a Gamma, he's sent to different packs for training. It was great for him, since he channels all his anger and pain through combat. However, sometimes he does things on impulse when he's angry. And I'm concerned at the possibility that his arm will be cut off after he picks up a fight from a wolf of higher rank.

Ego. It's a male thing.

I could feel Deimos smile on the other side of the line, "I still have ten fingers, two hands, two feet, ten toes, and two heads."

"Good. Just please use the head on top of your shoulders more."

He let out a wolfish laugh, the kind of laugh that I missed. His laugh used to echo around this house, lightening our moods up. His laugh is just so rare, all you can do is listen and be amazed at how beautiful it sounded.

Really, why would his mate reject him?

Deimos and I finally ended the call after a few more words. Then I went to the stool beside Phoebe. I was about to dig in when Phoebe cleared her throat. I looked up at her, and she had her arms crossed over her chest, "Atlas, huh? I knew I was right."

My shoulder slumped, "Sorry I panicked. I don't know how to tell you... but then I was caught in the moment, and I knew I had to tell the truth sooner or later."

"You're rejecting him."

I blinked, "I don't want him, he doesn't want me. The feeling is mutual, so I'm not rejecting him."

"You're rejecting each other."

I frowned, "No, we're only going to help each other find our happiness. Isn't that what second chance mates do? Bring happiness to their broken hearted soul?"

"Yes, by being together," Phoebe hasn't moved, her eyes stoic, "Not by rejecting each other."

I sighed, "You saw the guy. He wants Eris as much as I want Kratos. We're doing each other a favor. We're doing this for us."

"No," Phoebe shook her head, "You're doing this for you."

"He wants Eris back, Phoebe! I'm doing him a favor by getting them back together!"

"For your benefit," Phoebe spat out, and I almost flinched, "Because you know it's going to hurt the both of you in the end, especially Atlas. You know Atlas is as broken as he is already. You know his wound is still fresh, and hurting him again isn't going to help him heal."

"His mate will heal him!" I reasoned out, but Phoebe only huffed in annoyance. "Why are you so mad at this?"

"Here you are, given a second chance mate. While I'm here, waiting for that same chance. But what do I get?" She snapped, abruptly standing up, her stool scraping against the marbled floor, "A news telling me my mate is having a second pup with his chosen mate!"

I stared up at her, my mouth agape.

"I hope you won't regret anything in the end." She finished, before storming off to her room.