[Forrest]Rock was acting strange when Carmen left. Gemma explained how withdrawals from the werewolf pheromone could affect other species. Rock had to be careful. Trolls were more sensitive than most of the other species when it came to things like our diets and emotions. An unfed werewolf was usually angry and could turn violent, according to Gemma, but a hungry troll was a killer. We weren’t as domesticated as them because we weren’t part human. Rock might be half human, but he was still a troll. I didn’t think he would be able to handle it as much as a werewolf. Elbio stayed with us all night. We talked, joked, told stories, ate, and drank. It was harder for me to stay up all night than it was for them, but I managed it. In the morning, I left them together and headed home. Rock was taking another day off of work, but I was still going in. Even though I was technically there to take care of Carmen, I still wanted to protect Gemma in case Rhett decided to try to fuсk with her more.  When I reached the house, I saw a familiar shape on my doorstep. With a heavy sigh, I went to deal with her. It had been a while since the last time I saw Shay, but I knew she was about. “Forrest,” she said, moving toward me. She reached out for me and I backed off with my arms up. Most trolls who had jobs were leaving to go to work and I didn’t want stuff getting back to Pyla that could upset her. She was important to me. “What do you want, Shay?” I asked. Shayle frowned. “It’s true, then? You abandoned me?” “You abandoned me, first, Shay. You left the party with Elbio. You were there with me and you left as if I was nothing. Tell me what you want, and make it fast. I have to get to work.” “I didn’t abandon you. You disappeared with Rock and I didn’t want to wait around. They were all cruel to me at the party and you went along with it. I figured you would come after me, but you didn’t. You didn’t come fight for me, but I heard you fought for her.”“Of course, I fought for her. She’s what I want in a mate. You’re what I thought matched me before, but she matches me better. The more I’m around her, the more I’m sure you’re not my true mate, Shayle,” I told her honestly. It was entirely true. Shay matched me in that she was a mountain troll, her parents held the same rank as mine, and she was as well-known as I was. We were a match on paper, but Pyla was a match in my heart. She was soft and liked other soft people. She accepted Rock and Carmen. Pyla needed me in a way that Shay didn’t. I felt like being with Pyla would give me everything I truly desired. Being with Shay only gave me complacency. I couldn’t be my real self around Shay. I would always have to be the epitome of troll-dom. With Pyla, she could see I was strong without me having to posture all the damned time. She left me alone when I was soft and didn’t prod at me about my softness in front of others. “I love you, Forrest. I’m a better match for you in every way. Don’t forsake me for a piece of lizard ass. When I’m your mate, you’re going to regret treating me like that,” Shay warned. “You don’t seem to be hearing me, Shay. I don’t think you’re my mate. Pyla will be the first person in my room for my coming of age. I don’t love you and I never did,” I replied. Shayle looked shocked. I never professed to love her. Yeah, we banged it out a few times and she was great in bed, but that didn’t make a mate. I wouldn’t tie myself to someone who wasn’t my mate, no matter how good a fuсk they were. She moved quickly and punched me as hard as she could. I’d allow it because I knew I said something hurtful to her, but that was the softest I was going to be with her. I was still older, bigger, and stronger than she was. “You’re always going after the softies, Forrest. She can’t do what I can. She’ll never be good enough to you. Your parents will be ashamed of you and your softie obsession. When she’s not your mate and you’re stuck in that room with me, I’ll punish you for this. If you think I’m going to let this slide, you’re wrong. I’m your mate! NOT HER!” Shay snarled. “We’ll find out in February. I’m willing to admit when I’m wrong, Shay. Are you? What are you going to do when your mate ends up being someone else? Are you going to tell him how you were in love with someone else and confessed it to them? Are you going to tell him how you made a scene in front of the whole neighborhood? Or how you fuсked my friend just to get back at me for not paying you the attention you thought you deserved?” I asked. “You’re my mate, Forrest. I won’t accept anyone else. Ever since we were kids, I’ve known you were my mate. I’ve always given you everything you ever demanded from me, no matter how demeaning. You were always mine until that snake-y bіtch showed up!” “I was never faithful to you and you were never faithful to me. If you thought we were more than we were, that was your fault. And don’t think I didn’t consider picking you before. I thought about monogamy with you, Shay. Then you left me for Elbio and I was left with his date, who turned out to be more than you could ever be in every way. “She likes Rock and Carmen. She’s gentle and sweet. Pyla is everything I ever imagined my mate to be. You would have forced me away from my friends. You never cared for Rock and you hated Carmen as soon as you saw her. That’s not what my mate would do.” “Fuсk you, Forrest. If you think that little lizard is your mate, then I look forward to seeing you disappointed. I know you’re my mate and I refuse to give up. That bіtch better prepare for war, because I’m not backing down,” Shayle told me in a dark tone. “If you hurt Pyla, I will come after you, Shayle. I’ll tear through all of your friends, your family, and whatever idiоts you get to protect you. I’ll be ruthless and I won’t give up until I’ve punished you for harming her,” I growled. Shayle didn’t respond, she just turned and left my yard. When I got into the house, I called on my other friends and acquaintances. They would be watching over Pyla while I was away at work. I changed into some fresh clothes and put on my glamour before leaving the house. I didn’t like making the commute in my natural skin. It was dangerous and putting on my glamour before leaving ensured that I didn’t forget to put it on later. When I arrived at work, Gemma was there. She looked nervous until she saw me. Her looks were growing on me and I wasn’t as disgusted by her as I normally was. The way she and Carmen treated Pyla made me happy. She hadn’t had many friends in the lizard village and making friends with trolls could be hard. I was especially concerned about Shay’s friends worming their way into Pyla’s life and trying to hurt her. “How was Rock? Did you get him to eat?” Gemma asked. “Yeah. He’s gonna be fine. When’s Carmen coming back?” “Saturday morning should be when she can come home. Tuesday through Thursday she would have been struggling with it the most. Today, she is dealing with the bleeding and cramps from not getting pregnant. It’s super intense, so she’s suffering a bit. Tomorrow, she should be back to normal,” she explained. I nodded and took my place in the office. I didn’t know how heats worked, we had something like it when we first came of age and every year after if we didn’t find our mates. After that, though, females could get pregnant at any time. I was grateful our women didn’t have to go through that. We got to work. I saw the men come in, gather their things, and leave. Viola came in, got her coffee, and got to work. She drew the attention of the other dark elves as she crossed the room. Her larger nose paired with her sharp cheekbones gave character to her face. It made her dance that line between attractive to dark elves and attractive to trolls. She started making her human glamour look more similar to her real face and figure. The morning was quiet and I learned that a typical day was like this more often than not. The women worked while I watched over the lobby. They answered calls and set appointments. It was almost calming to have so much consistency in my life.At lunchtime, Gemma went to go get the chickens. Some people would be bored by having the same meal over and over, but eating was never boring to a troll. As long as there was meat, I was happy as a clam, plus, I got all the carcasses, and the bones were my favorite part. We settle in and started eating once the doors were locked and the shades drawn. Gemma suggested that we have lunch in our natural forms more often. It wasn’t as if we couldn’t keep our glamour going nonstop now, but it was nice to relax the magic. It was like another muscle, one we didn’t use as often because of the curse before.“Shayle showed up at my house this morning,” I told Gemma and Viola. “What did she want?” Gemma asked. “To tell me she loved me and she was sure she was my mate. To tell me to give up Pyla…. To stake her claim on me, I guess….” I shrugged. “That bіtch. She can’t tell you how to live your life.” “Are you really sure that Pyla is your mate and you’re not burning bridges with someone who could be your mate?” Viola asked. I sighed. “Shayle looks great on paper. She has enough in common with me that it really seems like she should be my mate, but the connection I feel with Pyla is more powerful than that.” “And it’s not just that Pyla needs you and Shayle is able to be fully independent of you because she was raised as a troll? Some males think the neediness of a female, and their desire to care for her, is the bond. It can be tricky. I don’t think Pyla is scheming, or anything, I just think you’re seeing a needy little troll who happens to be beautiful and single and your heart is making connections that may not be echoed by your soul,” she said. She had a point. I tried to imagine what Pyla would be like once she was comfortable with trolls, and I couldn’t. No part of me could ever imagine her not needing me there to shield her and comfort her. “I see your point, Viola, but I think Forrest is really feeling the connection to Pyla and not some manufactured emotion. He took her on a picnic where she didn’t need him to protect her from other trolls or act as any sort of social buffer and they didn’t have an awkward moment between them,” Gemma replied. Gemma was right. The one date we had with each other and even the walk the day afterward wasn’t that awkward. There was that situation where I insulted Carmen, but after that was resolved, we went back to how we were before. By fighting for Pyla, by accepting Elbio’s challenge, I was telling all the other trolls that I considered her mine. I still didn’t know why he did that. He had one date with her and it flopped. He couldn’t have really thought that she was his mate. Sometimes, I didn’t understand what was going on in his head. Last night, we were focused on Rock, but he didn’t seem to hold any animosity over the fight and the outcome. I just had to chalk it up to Elbio being weird.