Maximus' P.O.V

My eyes flutter open as the bright light of the outdoors invades my retinas making me grunt in aggravation as I slowly adjust to my surroundings. I look around in a sort of haze, my eyes catching unfamiliar woods and two blurry figures that slowly became clear.

"Alex!" I shout making his head snap to me as his eyes widen before they settle into a pained scowl that made my heart break.

"Welcome, welcome." I turn my head to see that witch girl, Katerina, smiling widely. "To the seventy sixth annual Hunger Games."

"What the hell is going on? Julian's not answering." Alex says making me try to reach Aiden but there was no response and barely a flicker of his presence.

"Listen up maggots, because I'm only going to say this once." She says like some sort of general making my eyebrows knit together in confusion. "You two have been on the outs, after everything I did to bring this one back, ungrateful. Your fight is making your owners sad, so now you're stuck here with mwa."

"They aren't our owners." I growl angrily but she ignores me as she starts making circles around us.

"Here's how this is going to go. You got one week to make shit right and do some biology project. I've enclosed you in a small area, like the arena, it has the wolf pack you'll be studying, a nearby waterfall and no other forms of life to distract you." She says smiling the entire time like if she were a mad scientist and we were her test subjects. "If you try to leave, the forcefield will shock the shit out of you, literally. If you do not finish the project or make up in the week, you'll be stuck here until you do and there's only one week's worth of food packed so good luck with that."

"But ha-"

"If you do not camp together, there will be a consequence. If you do not work together, consequence." She says coming to a stop. "Easy enough right?"

"Listen here you slithering little piece of shit known as a witch, if you don't le-" Alex's threat is cut short with a scream that bellows out of his mouth, making him fall to his knees while holding the sides of his head. I immediately run to him, holding him in my arms searching for the cause when he stops, leaving him panting heavily in my arms.

"Exhibit A of a consequence." Katerina says making me growl as I go to attack her for hurting my mate, but Alex was holding onto my shirt so tightly I couldn't. "I have to go now but may the odds be ever in your favor." She says before disappearing into thin air without a trace.

"Stupid witches." Alex grumbles as he runs his hand through my hair while resting his head on mine, making my heart stop as it starts soaring with hope and love. That quickly fades when he jumps away from me, as if my skin was fire, I feel my insides twist as I look at his face that told me he didn't mean to do that."Let's just set everything up, it's almost nightfall."

"Alexander." I try going to touch him but he backs away.

"Not now." He says avoiding my eyes as he turns to walk away but I scramble to my feet quickly as I grab his arm, turning him towards me.

"Then when." I say looking into his pained, crystal blue orbs that were like troubled waters.

"I don't know." He says looking down quickly, but I force his chin up so that I could see him. It doesn't last long as he pulls away from my grasp, the distance he was creating was tearing me apart. "I don't know." He repeats before heading towards the bags and equipment laid on the ground.

I stare at my beautiful mate that wouldn't even talk to me until we were forced into a space together, it made every part of me scream in agony that I'd cause us to reach to this place when we were once so happy. I hated myself for hurting him, breaking a promise that I knew was important to him and leaving him when he needed me the most.

I'm a terrible mate.

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"There." Alex says with his hands on his hips as he looked at our little camp sight happily. It was cozy and I was forever grateful that Julian only packed one tent, Alex kept saying he couldn't believe Julian would forget to pack two tents but I knew he'd done this on purpose.

"So this project." I say when we sit down on some logs we'd set up. I knew he didn't want to talk about us so I'd have to approach the subject slowly. "They left all the information but I know what we have to do, we can rest up tonight and head out early tomorrow."

"Sounds good." He says nodding in agreement.

"We should go bathe in the waterfall before we sleep then." I say standing up as I grab some clothes from a bag as well as a towel and soap.

"You can go first, I'll go after you." He says closing up, his tone rigid and once again pained.

"We don't know what's out there, it's better if we stay together." I argue, I really just wanted to be with him, even if he didn't want to be with me.

"Katerina says that there's nothing in the space she put us in."

"Are you really going to believe the words of some witch." I say making his head snap up.

"Okay." He says quietly, grabbing his own things before we start walking together.

We walk in silence, the only sound being the leaves and twigs crushing underneath our boots. I missed hearing his voice and that beautiful laugh that lit up my entire world. He should be telling me some story about him and Julian while laughing too much to tell it properly, not walking in silence with a wall I'd forced him to create, separating us.

We find the waterfall eventually by following the sound of water, it was large and beautiful with almost glowing waters. I place my things on a large rock before stripping and heading towards the water but jumping back when I feel how cold it was. Looking back I see Alex staring at my back in a sort of daze before he looks away with colored cheeks as he strips as well. I look away from his beautiful body, not wanting to get too excited right now. I inch towards the water again, barely getting a foot in before backing away again as Alex walks in carefree, stopping thigh deep to look at me.

"What's wrong?" He asks frowning slightly at my deposition.

"It's cold." I say making him sigh. "Just need a few minutes." I say slowly inching my way in. He nods before diving in the water, swimming around with ease as I slowly but surely enter the water. When I'm just above my knees I notice the sound of water splashing from Alex had dissipated. I look up immediately searching for any sign of him only to find him floating in the water with his head in the water. Fearing for the worse, I dive in immediately, swimming towards him in a state of panic as I grab his body bringing him up in my arms. I brush the hair out my face listening for breathing when his eyes pop open with a sly smile.

"Took you long enough." He says in a bored tone, hooking his arms around my neck to support himself as I cradle him in my arms.

"What?" I ask in confusion.

"I got you in the water. We would've been here all night if you kept going at that pace." He explains as he tries to part from my arms but I keep a tight grip on him.

"You tricked me." I say seriously making him gulp as he looks at me nervously. "That deserves punishment." I say before tickling him all over knowing he was extremely ticklish. He squirms around in the water as his laughs echoe through the trees. I smile down at him as I watch him with a large grin as he laughs like I hadn't heard in a long time, he looked so happy it mended my soul inch by inch.

"Mercy! Have mercy!" He screams as I continue to attack his weak spots. Once I feel he's had enough, I stop, propping him on my leg as he wraps his legs around my waist and his arms around my neck, panting heavily with a smile still tracing his lips. He opens his eyes laughing slightly as he looks at me with joy and love that made my soul cry out with happiness. 

Without thinking, I kiss him completely overwhelmed by the emotions that ran through me. A wave of completion runs through me at the connection. He doesn't respond as I move my lips against his before he slowly kisses me back making my joy double as I pull him into me, relishing in the feeling of having him in my arms again. I deepen the kiss without hesitation as our tongues dance together while he buries his fingers into my hair, tugging slightly making me groan into his mouth. I part the kiss to press kisses to his jaw making him hiccup slightly as he loosens his grip on me.

"No..." He says in a hazed voice as I lick his ear before he pushes me away. "No!"

"Alex le-"

"Don't. You don't get to do that." He says in a state of shock and clear pain while backing away from me. "I shouldn't have..." He says trailing his lips with his fingers.

"Alex, I'm sorry." I say trying to get closer to him but he's out of the water before I can reach him. He wraps himself in a towel before grabbing his things and taking off into the woods. I watch his disappearing figure before sinking back into the water as I run my hands through my hair in frustration.

How on earth was I going to get him back? I didn't know how to show him that I was truly sorry, that I'd never do anything to hurt him again, that I loved him with everything I had.
He was hurt, angry, confused. I'd gone against my promise and left him. I left him all alone and now he couldn't trust me anymore. Of course he couldn't trust me, he'd loved me unconditionally and I'd betrayed him.

I decide to give him his space and take my time in the water before heading back to the camp. I find him eating some canned foods by a fire that he had made, he barely glances at me before returning his attention to his food. Unable to conjure up an appetite, I lay out my sleeping bag in the tent and snuggle myself in. Not too long after, Alex joins me as he slips himself into his own sleeping bag. I resist the urge to try talking to him again or to pull him into my arms and let myself drift to sleep eventually.

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Alex wakes me up at the break of dawn with heavy eyes that were dragged down by the bags underneath them. He looked like he hadn't slept at all while I was able to snag a couple hours with ease. It made me feel sick, I should've been the one unable to sleep, not him. He didn't deserved to be burdened anymore by what I had done to him.
It wasn't fair.

"I can head out alone today, you should get some rest." I offer as we pack our bags for the short excursion.

"I'm fine." He says with a slight yawn as he rubs his head. "Just had an annoying headache all night." I nod in understanding, maybe I was thinking too highly of myself to believe he didn't get sleep because of me. We head out soon after as we track the wolves carefully, today's objective was simple, get a basic outline of the wolves. The size of the pack, the description of the alpha and others in general and study their morning activities.

"So how do you feel about all this kid talk?" I ask trying to start up some sort of conversation as we walk through the woods, his eyes widen considerably as he stares at me.

"What kid talk?!" He exclaims loudly, I cover his mouth quickly. We were nearing the pack and anything unusual could spook them. I let my hand go when I look around to make sure the coast is clear. "What kid talk?" He whispers harshly.

"As alphas we're supposed to provide. Pack members started asking questions and now Julian and Aiden are talking about it. Where have you been?" I ask confused as to why he hadn't heard of this before.

"I don't pay much attention anymore." He whispers with guilt filling his eyes. "How do you feel about it?"

"I'm not the biggest fan of kids truly and I never liked the idea of having them as werewolves." I say making him frown deepen .

"How come?" He asks almost defensively.

"It's confusing for them. They basically have to grow up with four parents, it must be a shitshow trying to figure out who's your real parents or whatever." I say letting out a breath of exhaustion just thinking about it. "Plus it'll be hell for us. They're our kid too and we'd only get to see them sometimes, interact with them when we can and spend the rest of the time watching from the sidelines. I wouldn't like that."

"I never thought about it like that." He whispers to himself as I offer him a weak smile. We continue to walk in silence as we catch our first glimpse of the wolf pack. Dropping the conversation we get straight to work, I wasn't eager to piss off Aiden by not doing the project for one of the only subjects he managed to pass. We finish in the blink of an eye, by lunch we're making our way back to our camp sight when Alex suddenly jumps and grabs both my shoulders to stop me from walking.

"But their wolf would be our kid!"

"What?"

"The kid's wolf will be like our own." He says with joyful eyes that I missed so much. "Think about it this way. You love Julian as your own, but you love me just a little more right? So we'll love the kid, but the wolf would be our own little kid." He says with an excitement that was undoubtedly contagious.

"But they won't get their wolf until their ten, if we're lucky eight maybe. But that's eight years without them." I say arguing against his point.

"Who cares. That kid will be ours too. We'll love them and treasure them, the wolf will come when it comes and when that happens, we'll love them too." He says running his hands to my neck as he cups it gently with a wide smile.

"I take it you really like kids?" I ask making the glee in his eyes double.

"Like? I love them! They're so happy without a care in the world. I'm so jealous of them. Pooping whenever they feel like it knowing they'd don't have to worry about it and throwing a tantrum when they don't get their way. It's the exact reasons why Julian hates them, but I just adore them." He coos as he drifts off into his own world. "We're going to be the best parents ever!"

"Do you still want to do that with me?" I ask as the joy slowly fades along with his smile. "Have kids? We're talking about raising children when you can barely look at me." I say making him flinch a little at the realness of my words. As much as I was enjoying the happiness that was previously running through his veins, I couldn't allow myself to be truly happy knowing how he felt towards me.

"I-I.." He stutters over his words as I sigh and remove his hands from my neck.

"It's fine." I say, my tone betraying my words. I was trying to be on my best behavior for him but I couldn't help but be slightly irritated that he showed no signs of ever forgiving me or moving on. I try to turn away but he grabs my hand to stop me as he twists me back toward him.

"I do!" He says grabbing my face between his hands. My eyes grow wide as I stare at his desperate eyes that were looking at me and only me. "I want to have children and grow old with you. I want to do those things!" He says rubbing my cheek soothingly as his eyes become filled with unshed tears. "And I want to do them with you......I j-just..."

"Does that mean you forgive me?" I ask making him tense at my words, I feel the broken pieces of my heart shatter into smaller pieces as I feel my hope slip more. ".......will you ever forgive me?" I say, my voice a hushed whisper as I ask the one question I feared the answer to more than anything in the world. He opens and closes his mouth several times before it settles into a flat line. His eyes meet mine once again as he takes a deep breath.

"Yes." He says as a weak smile. "I know that I will and I want to, I just don't know how."

"We can get there together." I say desperately, placing my hands onto his own as I draw myself closer to him. "Let me fix us."

"It's not that simple." He says trying to back away but I keep a firm grip on him, I wouldn't allow him to leave, not now.

"It is." I say pressing my forehead to his, closing my eyes as he takes in a deep breath at the connection that sent my skin aflame. "Let me fix us. Baby, just give me a chance this week, I'll show you how much I truly love you." I say pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Treasure you." I say before kissing his cheek making him suck in a quick breath. "Need you." I say allowing my lips to trace his collarbone before brushing his lips lightly. "Sweetheart, I love you and I'm sorry. Give me a chance." I say as his crystal, blue orbs swim with various emotions while searching my own for some sort of truth in my words.

"Okay." He says making my heart beat faster as my soul is revitalized. "This week, we can try."

"That's all I need." I say as I pull him into my arms, hugging him for dear life. I squeeze him tightly while inhaling him deeply before I lift him off the ground, spinning us around as he giggles in my hold.
I look up at his laugh face with a goal to keep it this way for the rest of my life and I'd show him this week that I could.

I'll show him that he can trust me.

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That was sweet.
Hope it stays that way 😅

Thoughts??????

Updates may get choppy, I'm having an internal battle with my uterus and I'm losing.

^ I want this in a shirt.

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Until next time,
Byeeeeeee humanssssss