'Wait a minute, isn't Kronos the Alpha's and Luna's son? You do realize what that makes me, right, Rain?'

'Obviously a Luna, duh. Regarding that, our uterus is ready. Let's have a sexy time with our mate,' she purred out, rolling around in my head.

'You're horny as hell, listen to me!'

I sighed mentally. Rain wasn't in a state to listen. She was too preoccupied with lusting for Kronos and, more importantly, his wolf.

Kronos, however, hasn't said a word since then. He kept staring at me as if he were admiring me from afar. I must admit that I appreciated how he looked from every angle of his body. Would this count as me pretending to strip him down? I don't think so... Ah, shit. In an actual world situation, that's sexual harassment.

He was wearing a white T-shirt, which can easily make you see his bulging muscles beneath. His hair seemed fluffy brown, making me want to pet him. The moon goddess made my mate the hottest out of every male I've seen.

Maybe I understand what Rain meant about why Coco and Azrael couldn't take their hands off each other. I have a strong urge to squeeze that bicep of his.

Clearing my throat, I snapped our daydreaming back into reality.

"... Hi, my name is Rhea. I'm a pack member, and I went abroad. I just returned today to see if I would find my mate. Little do I know, you're my mate." I chuckled awkwardly, rubbing my neck.

'Real smooth human, real smooth,' she grumbled, rolling her eyes.

'Quiet you! I'm trying!'

Irritated, I cut the link again. I'm curious why Kronos hadn't said anything back. Maybe he was shy? If he were, that would be so cute! Shy men are one of my favorites, especially when they flush crimson. I mean, I don't blame him. Imagine just suddenly appearing out of nowhere and finding your mate. Especially since you've been mateless the last time you met your mates.

I wouldn't have left so soon if I had known he was my mate.

Kronos was giving me a weird look as he stared at me. Was I gawking at him or something?

His stares got me all worked up, and I lost my will to continue being confident in front of him. I laughed weirdly, "Sorry, I'm... um... you're hotter than any other men I met, so I'm kinda flustered. My wolf is all horny and keeps telling me that my uterus is ready for mating..." I said, trailing off.

After a few moments, I realized what I said. Did I yell that out in front of my mate? What the fuck is wrong with me?

My wolf heard this and couldn't help but get secondhand embarrassment for me. Maybe it was for us, but whatever the case was, she was shaking her head in shame. Seriously? You're going to judge me when you're the one shaking your ass in the air?

He raised an eyebrow, amused at my behavior.

Why isn't he still not talking? I want to hear my mate's voice, god dammit!

"Are you shy?" I asked softly.

He shook his head no.

Okay... so if he's not shy, why isn't he talking then? Weird. I started worrying because this was my first time meeting someone who didn't speak immediately. Especially if it's your mate, it was unheard of. I wish I could mind-link him this time, but there are requirements to mind-link someone like your mate. You have to mate and mark them in the mind link. This also includes being in the same pack. This makes the bond more special and apart from mind linking with others. You have to work harder at it.

As far as I know, I haven't mated or marked Kronos, and he hasn't mated or marked me either. We're only in the same pack. How frustrating.

Sighing, I blinked at Kronos. Maybe he's playing a little trick on me? Does he want me to play along with him or something to hear his voice? He finally got the message of how confused I was because he pointed to his neck. Even more confusing, I asked. "What's wrong with your neck?"

He only kept pointing at his neck and making weird movements, such as opening his mouth, shaking his head, and making a quacking motion with his hand.

After a few minutes, I understood what he was implying.

Shock overtook my body, and my once calm features were now taken over by horror.

"Y-You... can't speak? You're mute?"

Kronos nodded his head slowly as if afraid of my reaction. Being mute is rare among werewolves. No one has ever seen or heard about it for a long time. Runts of the pack would sometimes be mute, but this was later solved. No Alpha or Luna has ever been mute, or so I've heard. Meeting Kronos changes things.

"W-What happened to you? Did this happen while I was gone?" I was shocked and not sure how to react. I will love him regardless, but he can't talk. Tears started to develop in the corner of my eye, but I held them back. Why am I crying when he's mute? He's the victim here. Overcome with emotion because of everything, I let one tear roll down my cheek.

This caused Kronos to get flustered as well. He looked around, frowning while waving his hands in worry. He didn't know how to comfort me, but he stared at me with concern. Was he worried that I was disappointed in him being mute? I could see the mixture of sadness and concern he had for me.

I shook my head, "I'm not crying because I'm disappointed you're mute—just with how you became mute. I'm not even sure what happened to you."

He said nothing, smiling at me. Behind that smile, there was great pain. He couldn't say anything because he couldn't.

My mate, who is the alpha, is mute.

I looked up to meet his gaze, his eyes full of sorrow before he motioned me into his office. Telling me with his movements to follow him, so I did.

My mate grabbed a notepad and a pen and scribbled on it. It seems like he was prepared. Right, being mute means you need to have another way to communicate.

Kronos turned the notepad around. It said three words and three words only. Those three words crushed my heart as I once again stared at him in horror.

'Because of her'