Chapter 242: 242-Hard To Pick One
Clementine:
"We don’t have to climb up in one car, guys. I hope you know that," Haiden complained.
As we sat together, I guessed the problem was that I was in the backseat with Yorick. Troy and Haiden kept turning their heads around to look at us.
"Well, then you should have sat in the other car," Yorick commented, smirking because he knew what they were upset about.
"Well, you should have sat in the other car. You were the one who joined late," Troy complained, turning around to face us.
"Well, you can cry all you want. It’s not like I’m gonna listen to you, so stop it," Yorick hissed, giving them a shut-up call.
When I was getting in the car, Yorick rushed before me because his bags were with Haiden and Troy.
For a brief moment, they threatened him that they would leave his bags behind, but then the lurker grabbed the bags and put them in the car.
I guessed that upset Troy and Haiden because their plan backfired due to the lurker’s intervention.
Now we were headed to Ian’s place. I was going through all sorts of emotions. At the same time, I noticed that my mates were kind of anxious about something.
"Clementine, we really want to talk about that stuff we spoke about earlier," Troy stated, not using clear words to hide it from the driver and the lurker in the front seats.
I nodded my head and then leaned back, staring outside the window.
"So, what are you gonna tell them?" Mint asked me. I’d been waiting to have a conversation with her because I knew they weren’t wrong.
I did feel for them. But there was another part of me that was stopping me from moving on or picking any one of them.
"Listen, is it because you don’t like any one of us?" Even when they said they were giving me time, Troy couldn’t hold back.
He was always the anxious type, along with Haiden. They both turned back again, facing me.
Yorick steadily shifted in his seat, fixing his posture as he also turned around, staring at me, waiting for my reaction.
"It’s not just that," I uttered.
"Then, do you at least like us?" Haiden asked.
I watched their faces and then finally nodded my head.
"I like the three of you very much, okay? I do feel things for you three, but I don’t know which one I like more," I mumbled, feeling so guilty.
Up until now, I used to think alphas were lucky to have so many mates. And not because I thought that having many mates was a good thing, but because I thought they were privileged.
But now that the burden had come on me, I realized it wasn’t a privilege. It was such a hard decision to make. And unlike the other alphas, I couldn’t accept one, kick out the others, or accept all of them but then treat the rest like shit.
Alphas couldn’t do equality. They would love one mate, the newest one, so much, while punishing the others just for existing and to please the new one.
It was all a messed-up system, and now I was part of it, sadly against my will.
"Oh," Troy stated, smiling just a little.
"What are you smiling at? I’m pretty sure she’s just saying your name because she feels bad for you," Haiden said to Troy, teasing and mocking him.
"Don’t say that. I– I was going through a lot. And I apologize, Clementine. I’m really sorry for never giving you a chance to talk to me again. I’m sorry. Please don’t hold that over my head. I’m a much more mature guy now."
The way he spoke so softly and complained, I honestly felt bad for him.
"Don’t listen to them, especially Haiden. He’s just trying to mess with your head," I told Troy, and when I did, he started to smile at the comfort I gave him.
It was just a small thing, but it meant a lot to him.
"So then, how will you ever pick one of us if you don’t know which one you like the most?" Yorick asked, cracking his knuckles.
I guessed he was trying his best to sound reasonable, but the anxiety was clear from the way he kept cracking his knuckles.
"I don’t know. I guess I will never know, because I’m not gonna pick one of you and upset the others. You are all my mates, and it will hurt me," I mumbled, turning away.
Then silence struck us again. I mean, it was true, I would feel bad for them, but there was one big part that I was silently hiding from everyone.
"And that is Ian, isn’t it?" Mint spoke up, and I closed my eyes.
He wasn’t as persistent as them, but there was something about him, and I agreed with my wolf that it was because of him.
Although Ian didn’t chase me around like he said he wouldn’t, my heart still beat faster when he was near.
Maybe because we didn’t have a long history of bullying or betrayal. Just a bit of it, and it ended quickly.
But then he had discarded the pictures of my family. Even when the others had participated as well, they were things I could have gotten back.
But Ian ruined that chance when he flushed them out. Those images were the only things I had left.
They took away my phone, discarded it when sending me to the academy with my lonely bag.
My father had completely wiped all the pictures of my mother. So yeah, there was a part of me that wanted Ian, but another part reminded me that he took someone very beloved from me.
Still, I wanted to have a word with him, because I went through hell whenever he was around me.
And now, with the others too, it wasn’t like I liked them any less. Having too many mates wasn’t a privilege. It felt like a curse.
Finally, we arrived, and we weren’t even allowed to go past the main gate of the hotel.
"Sorry, but you can’t go inside."
The minute we all stepped out of the car, a warrior approached us, letting us know they weren’t going to let us in.