Morgan I let Skylar's findings sink in, and I think I finally figured out why neither one of us is feeling the Mate-bond, even though Jaylen is unable to feel it for a totally different reason than I am unable to feel it. I think Jaylen and I need to discuss this in private. I doubt this is something we need to discuss in front of everyone. My unit seems to understand that Jaylen and I need some privacy. It is his unit that seems to be a little more reluctant to give us some time and privacy. Jaylen actually has to tell his unit to leave us alone, and once they have all left the room, he lifts me up bridal style. He walks over to an armchair in the far corner of our living room to sit down. "Do you think it is possible what Skylar told us? That you never found out we were Mates because we never spent a Full Moon together at the Academy? We both know why I have not been able to feel that you are my Mate," Jaylen asks me, and I have to tell him that Skylar is probably right. If the both of us were never at the Academy during a Full Moon, I would never be able to feel the Mate-bond with Jaylen. I wonder if Jaylen will ever be able to let go of his past, and with that, I don't mean letting go of his Pups. I mean letting go of what Lynah did to him. "Jaylen, I'm going to ask you a question, and I want you to think real carefully about it before you answer me. If you could go back in time and stop Lynah from doing what she did, would you?" I ask Jaylen. Jaylen seems to think about it real hard, and I know it is a question that will be difficult to answer. It takes him a while before he can finally look at me again. "A part of me wishes that I could go back in time and stop Lynah from what she did. It means I will have all my firsts with my fated Mate. I know I will have a lot of firsts with my fated Mate, but that first pregnancy and my first Pup is something I will never have with my fated Mate. Lynah took that away from me, and it is something that will always haunt me. But another part of me doesn't want to go back in time. I love Dalton and Thora, and I wouldn't trade them for anything in the world. They are my Pups, no matter how they got into this world," Jaylen answers me, and I know that he is right. I doubt anyone would want to go back in time to change the past and to miss out on their Pups. Even if it meant a less painful past to think about, even if it meant preventing heartbreak, I understand Jaylen's answer. If he knows that he wouldn't want to change the past because of his Pups, does that mean he realizes that whoever the Goddess pairs him with, she will not make him choose between her and his Pups? Maybe if I were to spend time with Jaylen and his Pups, it will show him that he has nothing to fear about. I know Dalton and Thora are not mine, but it doesn't mean I will make him choose. I think about the fact that my Mate has a Son that is only three years younger than I am and that both his Pups are still teens, just like me. "What are you smiling about, Princess?" Jaylen asks me, and when I tell him what I was thinking about, his jaw drops. Apparently, I was the only one that was thinking that far ahead. "Do you think Dalton and Thora will have a problem with me as your fated Mate?" I ask Jaylen, and with a huge smile on his face, he shakes his head. "I actually believe that my Pups will welcome you with open arms. Flora told them what you said when you entered the meeting room that first meeting, and I know that the first chance Dalton gets, he will ask Damon and Casimir about it. He knows that Damon hates people that act differently in front of him, and Damon has always warned Dalton to be aware of those kinds of people. Dalton is close to the King and to the Crown Prince, and to some, that is a very appealing thing. But Dalton and Thora know that not everyone is interested in them because of that, and those are the people that they will trust. I think to Dalton and Thora, you are someone that's interested in them and not the fact that they are friendly with the King," Jaylen answers me. Jaylen and I stay seated in the armchair for a very long time, just enjoying the silence and each other. Faith walks into the room to tell us that dinner is ready, and I can tell that Jaylen is reluctant to let me go. But when Faith tells him that he is invited for dinner as well, he starts smiling. We are barely halfway up the first stairs in my wing of the building when I can hear a lot of chatter coming from our private living room upstairs, and I smile when I realize that both units will be having dinner together. "Your unit is up there as well. Looks like we will all have dinner together," I tell Jaylen through the mind-link, and I feel him relax beside me. The moment Jaylen and I enter the living room, Tristan steps closer to me, and I wonder why he did that. But then I remember something Dad told me as a little girl. The King has four Deltas with a reason: two Deltas that do the work Deltas in a Pack do as well, and that is to provide protection for the Queen. His other two Deltas provide protection for the Beta female and the Gamma female, and I guess Tristan understands a little bit more than the others. "Looks like I have an extra shadow," I say teasingly to Jaylen, and he smiles when he looks over his shoulder to see Tristan right behind me. Suddenly, the door to my wing bursts open, and I can sense six Wolves coming up the stairs. "Six Wolves," I say out loud, and Tristan pulls me behind him as Jaylen steps next to Tristan.