Introspect [The Mating Games #3]

WENDELL ZERONE

When he woke up, he wasn’t sure if all of that was real. If it was, then he had somehow managed to sneak into his bedroom in the palace. On top of that, Troy was next to him so it couldn’t have been real.

“Did that really happen?” Troy questioned aloud from beside him, sounding just as unsure as Wendell was feeling.

“I’m not sure,” Wendell hummed in response before he turned over onto his side to face his mate. Reaching between them to cup his face, he gently stroked his thumb across Troy’s cheek; craving skin to skin contact more than anything else. “I felt so real,” he whispered, his lips tugging down at the corners.

“But it wasn’t,” Troy insisted, leaning into his touch. “I think that’s the whole point of the task. To test us against our worst fears and make it feel so real.”

“My worst fear is that my parents would react how they did just then. But how is it yours?”

“It’s my worst fear as well,” Troy murmured, confirming it. “Not just not being accepted by people for my sexuality, but not being accepted by my mate.”

“I’m sorry,” Wendell was quick to say, feeling bad for the way he had reacted the first few days of the Mating Games.

“You don’t have anything to apologise for. You reacted pretty tame compared to all the scenarios I had concocted in my head,” Troy chuckled. “And we need to remember that what just happened is just that. A scenario that had been imagined. Nothing else.”

“But also nothing more,” Wendell murmured.

“What do you mean?”

“That was, is, my worst fear for a reason. I’m still afraid that my parents would react like that. That they wouldn’t approve.”

“And what will you do if that were to happen? Hypothetically,” Troy asked, his poker face in place despite the curious glint in his eyes.

“Then we’ll do the same thing that we did back there.”

“You’d give up your Beta position for me?”

“And so much more.”

“I would never ask that of you,” Troy denied, shaking his head.

“It’s a good thing that you’re not asking then,” Wendell chuckled, closing the distance between them to press his lips against his mate’s. What started off as a featherlight touch quickly turned deeper and deeper until Troy was straddling him, bracing his arms on either side of him. Wendell reached up and cupped Troy’s face, slanting it to deepen the kiss, his curling already curling around his.

It was only when a knock sounded on his door that they sprang apart. With wide eyes, Wendell glanced over his shoulder at the door, sensing for it to not be any member of his family.

“Who is it?” Troy asked, pushing himself up into a sitting position on the bed.

“Heather,” he said, moving over to get off the bed and let the steward in. “What are you doing here?” he asked, holding open the door

“I’m sorry I don’t have time to come in. I have so many of these things to do,” Heather smiled, slipping a hand into her purse.

“What things?” Wendell asked but his question was answered when she dropped two metal objects into his hand.

“Congratulations and I’ll see you both tomorrow!” she smiled and waved before disappearing down the hallway.

Almost stunned by that very quick interaction, Wendell closed the door and turned around. He opened up his hand to spy the two badges that he had just been handed. At the sight of them, Troy smiled and reached out for one of them.

“I guess it is some sort of small consolation that we passed the task,” Troy murmured, studying the badge as he leaned back against the headboard, moving over to make room for Wendell.

“It still sucks,” Wendell sighed as he moved to sit on the bed next to his mate. “I’m glad that we won but that all felt so real.”

“It truly did,” Troy murmured. “I felt sick to my stomach thinking that you had given up your Royal Beta position for me.”

“I would do that and so much more,” he turned his head to face his mate, needing Troy to see the truth in his eyes.

“I appreciate that. I truly do,” Troy sighed, moving to rest his head on Wendell’s shoulder. “But I don’t want you to give up anything for me. I just want us to live a normal life like everyone else. Is that too much to ask for?”

“It shouldn’t be,” Wendell denied, turning his head to rest it on his mate’s. “And it won’t.”

“How can you be so sure about that?”

“Because tomorrow, you’re going to meet my family,” Wendell spoke with so much conviction that he surprised even himself.

Introducing Troy to his parents had been something that Wendell was truly concerned about and while this still remained a fact, it wasn’t quite as strong as it had been previously. Even though the previous task had brought his greatest fears to what he believed to be nothing short of reality, Wendell now felt somewhat better about. At the very least, he was relieved that he had been through it already once before.

This way, if things did end up going awry when he finally introduced his mate to his parents, a male instead of a female like they were expecting, he would be prepared for it. Wendell sincerely hoped that it wouldn’t come down to his parents making him choose between his mate and his role…but if it did, he knew what he would pick.

A thousand times over as there simply wasn’t any other option.

“Do you think you’re ready for that?” Troy asked in a small voice.

“Not really,” Wendell admitted honestly. “But I think this is the sort of thing that I won’t ever be ready for. I’ll just have to rip off the band-aid and hope things go well.”

“And if they’re not?” his mate continued to ask. Not because he was trying to be negative, but because he wanted to make sure that Wendell knew what he was doing. Troy was making sure that Wendell was mentally prepared for all that could happen tomorrow or more importantly, something that he wouldn’t come to regret in the near future.

“Then I’ll plan to forget all about it while we go visit your family back in England.”

At that, Troy couldn’t help but chuckle as he said, “That’s a bad plan. My family, by the way, are stoked to meet you.”

“I’m really glad to hear that,” Wendell grinned, giving Troy’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I hope my family react the same way.”

“Since they’ve never given any indication of otherwise, I’m going to say that we probably don’t have anything to worry about.

Sighing, Wendell hummed in agreement as he closed his eyes and allowed himself to enjoy this blissful moment with his mate. He hoped that tomorrow would be just as blissful as it was now, but with how big his parents were on keeping the position in the family by producing an heir – either a male or female, it didn’t matter. Unfortunately, that was something that Wendell wouldn’t be able to do now.

He had previously thought that this would bother him but very quickly – after some initial fears which he was now embarrassed to look back on – he came to the conclusion that with Troy, his life was so full. If they ever wanted to expand their family, then they could look into adoption.

Wendell just hoped that his family would feel the same way.

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Layla Knight

24.06.2021