Bewere

Chapter 21: Confiding In Me

"Hey," I hear a knock at my door, "how are you feeling?"

"I'm ok," I smile at Brittany, "this baby is just kicking my ass."

"Girl, you making me scared to get pregnant."

I laugh at her, "You'll love it. I love my baby and I haven't even meet them yet."

"Aww, I'm telling Damon we having babies soon."

"You're stupid," I sit up in my bed.

"But for real," she walks over towards me. "How are you? I know Aaron leaving has to hurt you in some way."

"Why would it?" I withhold the truth, "I love Echo, he's my mate."

"But you also love Aaron," Brittany sits beside me.

"No I don't," I deny.

"You may be able to lie to Echo, hell even Aaron," she forces me to look in her eyes, "But you can't lie to me. I know the look of a girl in love with two people."

"I just," I start to let the tears fall. "I don't understand how this could happen. Echo's my mate, shouldn't my heart be too full of him to give it to anyone else?"

"See, that's the thing with love, we can create as much of it as we want."

"But Aaron isn't my mate?"

"True, but you don't have to be mates with someone to love them," she my head on her shoulder, "Echo broke your heat, which allowed for Aaron to come in and claim the spot. You can't help who you love."

"I do love him, but I love Echo more, even if I don't fully trust him."

"I know honey," she rubs my hair, "And trust me, that's not because you're mates. You love Echo more because you remember the good times you two had. And you know that one bad thing he did does not erase all the good that he's done."

"But he broke my heart, literally? Why can't I love Aaron more?"

"Because, Echo saw every piece of you. And I'm not talking about your body. Echo saw your heart, he saw your mind, he saw your pain. And yes he caused you pain, but you caused him pain too, granted he did it first, you still hurt him. You broke his heart in return and you know that."

"But Aaron..."

"Is a great guy and if you didn't fall in love with Echo before rejecting him, maybe you could have loved him more, but you can't change your heart."

"How do you know all of this?" I say as tears continue to flow down my face.

"Because," she rubs my back, "I was in your position once."

"What?" I lift my head up.

"Before Damon and I came of age of knowing we were mates, I had a boyfriend his name was Joe," she looks off into space, as if picturing something, "Damon, Joe, and I were all friends and me and Joe just assumed that we were destined to be mates. But for some reason, the older I got, the more my feelings for Damon began to grow, after all he was my best friend. I told him everything, even things I wouldn't tell Joe."

"What happened?"

"Well, I think Joe began to notice that I had feelings for Damon and he got jealous. He gave me an ultimatum, Damon or him. And as much as I loved Joe, I loved Damon more."

"So, you chose Damon?"

"No," Brittany shakes her head, "I still believed that Joe was my mate so I told Damon that we couldn't be friends any more. I felt so guilty for loving someone else, but I had hoped that the love I had for Damon would dissipate once Joe and I found out we were mates."

"So, you found out you weren't mates?"

"Eventually," Brittany says, "But I never truly ended my friendship with Damon. One night I was hanging out with him and one thing led to another, I cheated on Joe with him."

"But he was destined to be your mate, that's different from Echo," I say.

"No it's not," Brittany smiles at me halfheartedly, "I was committed to a man who loved me and could have been my mate. I broke his heart and trust that day. And I used to ask myself why I couldn't love Joe more, but my heart belonged to Damon. Luckily he became my mate, but there is a small piece of me that Joe will always have, just like Aaron has a piece of you. At least you were woman enough to let him go. The only reason why Joe found out about Damon and I was because he followed me one night."

"What do you think would have happened if you and Joe were actually mates?"

"I would have been devastated. I loved Joe, but I wasn't in love with him. You love Aaron, but you're in love with Echo."

"Do you think you would have ever fell in love with Joe?" I look at her.

"No, the moment I fell for Damon, I was his. No one else. I probably would have rejected Joe. He was never the one, mate or not. So don't think the only reason you love Echo more is because you're mates. You fell in love with Echo for him and the things he has done, not because of some soulmate shit."

I sit there in silence after listening to all that Brittany had to say. The more I reflect on her words, the more I realize that she's right. 

"You're right," I break the silence, "I am in love with Echo, and it has nothing to do with the mate connection. Him being my mate didn't magically make me love him. The way he loved Sophie, the way he treated his pack members, the way he became my human diary, that's what made me fall for him. And even if I did choose Aaron, it wouldn't have worked out, my heart and soul belong to Echo."

"Exactly, you wouldn't be able to reject your mate, or people wouldn't get multiple mates. If that's what made us fall in love and be happy, then every werewolf out there would be content with their lives. Plus when you first realized that Echo was your mate, did you love him at that exact moment?"

"Of course not," I shake my head, "It took time."

"Exactly, my point," she pulls out a packet of makeup wipes.

"You've had that in your pocket the whole time?" I giggle.

"Yes," she begins to wipe my face with one.

"I love you."

"I love you too. Now let's eat ice cream and watch movies all day."

"I think I need something stronger than ice cream," I look at her.

"Ok, I'll go get some Crown Royal," she walks towards the door.

"You can still bring the ice cream too," I call after her.