Mind over matter [Bonus chapter]

"Congratulations! You are the chosen one." Conrado remarked.

Deimos was still confused. "Is this thing worthy of a celebration?" He asked in a low voice.

"Fate is a mysterious phenomenon. It doesn't care for everyone and for the ones it does, they are the blessed and chosen ones. This is not something you can control. It is controlled by the almighty. You are at liberty to deny this and pick someone else as your mate but I would not suggest you intervening with the plans of destiny." He suggested.

Deimos was in deep thought. He could now make a sense of things and his condition but it still bothered him somehow.

To lighten the vibe, Conrado then asked, "So who is this she wolf, who seems to have beguiled you nephew?"

His heart trembled and struggled to find words.

"She was not a werewolf Conrado." He paused, waiting for his reply.

"Oh!" Deimos's words seemed to have put him into shock, so he inquired again. "Are you certain?"

"If she was one, I would have noticed that. But she had the heartbeat of a normal human. And this is not the only thing Conrado. She belonged to the Kingdom of Bellicus, one of our sworn enemies." He expressed his turmoil.

And then he delineated the whole story to him, detail by detail. Conrado did commiserate with him. Discovering one's mate is a blessing but its rare and he couldn't accept that his nephew had to find out his mate that way. Someone he needs but can never have.

"Destiny works in unexplainable ways Deimos. Maybe it has different plans for you." He reasoned looking blankly at the lake.

There was a long pause before Deimos could come up with an answer. He contemplated for a while separating his priorities and his kismet and realizing which one was more important.

"All that I could see right now, is the fact that I should not be befuddled. Our one and only priority should be the war that is coming." He looked straight in his eyes.

Conrado admired how Deimos was so dedicated to his goals and Ardolf. He agreed and then they stood by the lake for a while enjoying the picturesque view, promising each other never to bring up the topic of mates and fate ever again.

********

With a final strike, Selene defeated Tethys for a final time. His sword landing several feet away from him and his eyes were still in disbelief. He couldn't believe he lost after beating her to it so many times before. It was as if Selene was just saving up her energy and efforts just for this final match.

Disgruntled he raised his head to face her and said, "You definitely got lucky this time sister!"

"I would say otherwise Tethys." Selene mocked and then turned around to get validation from her other brothers, Callisto and Oberon.

They were now standing laughing, at Tethys. Selene hopped to stand beside them while Tethys went to collect his defeated sword.

"Brother you can be good at archery, but sword fighting is Selene's thing." Oberon stated enveloping an arm around Selene shoulder proudly.

Tethys tsked. "Oh come on brother, I just had an unfortunate timing."

Callisto laughed at this as he replied, "I beg to differ brother. I guess we all do."

Tethys scoffed and kicked the ground. "This is not over!" He pointed his sword at Selene, who gave him a condescending smile.

"What is this trivial fuss all about?" The voice drew attention of all the royal kids.

It was Jonathan Windsor, the royal advisor of Bellicus. He was the King's right hand, giving him the political and social advice on the grave and dire matters. He was also put in charge of ensuring that all the royal kids were endowed with proper knowledge of hunting and strength training.

"You are here at the right timing Jonathan. We were just arguing over who has the best sword skills. Tethys or Selene?" Callisto detailed it to him.

"I am certain that can be put on hold. Right now, your father is looking for you and Oberon. I suggest you two get going. . .now." Jonathan informed and both of them were already on their feet.

The day was coming to an end now and so was the period of their training. Jonathan escorted Selene and Tethys to a carriage and informed that the King and their brothers would be coming shortly after the meeting.

As the carriage began to move, Selene's thoughts spiralled and centred at the topic of war. Since her childhood she had heard people of Bellicus talk about the great hunter werewolf war that took place around a decade ago and changed the fate of their kingdoms.

And now when another war was near, she couldn't help but develop a keen interest on the subject. Back at the palace, Artemis would often restrain Themisto from mentioning about matters relating to the war or anything circling around the werewolves. In fact, everything she knew about the great war was either from the maids or from the soldiers on the training grounds. No body in the family ever mentioned a word regarding that war. Even Callisto and Oberon would often dodge the topic or would cease the conversation by concluding, it was to save the people from the werewolves.

Although she didn't expect Tethys would know a word or two about the current situation, she still decided to give it a chance and asked, "What do you think that meeting is about?"

"Oh you don't know?" He was more in shock than her.

She just nodded in a no.

"We are at a war with those wolves across the borders." He said nothing Selene already wasn't aware of. But as a matter of fact she had to act surprised.

"Oh!" She threw a pretence.

"What are you a daft dimbo. You must be aware of such news considering you belong to the royal family of hunters." Tethys condemned.

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