Back at the main coven house, later that evening...

"Marithe?"

Said Omega's eyes opened slowly to find both Thierry and Lyle (in matching white jeans and white T-shirts) standing at the end of the bed with hesitant smiles on their faces. Stifling a yawn, Marithe sat up on the bed and stretched his arms and uper back. "Hey," he said, sleep lacing his voice. "What are you two doing here?"

"Came to check in on you," Lyle replied. "And you look and feel more comfortable, given the circumstances."

"I feel it," Marithe couldn't help but remark. He motioned for his ex-mate and his second-chance mate to sit on the edge of the bed on either side, Thierry taking the left while Lyle taking the right. "And for what it's worth, this was the kind of wake-up call that I needed after all the grief that I suffered from for the last five years."

"How's that?" Thierry asked.

Marithe turned to face the legendary moon wolf, the one person whom he originally shared a bond with alongside Lachlan when the former Alphas met him back at Sammons Falls Academy. "For one thing, I was such an asshole back when I was formally introduced to everyone at the town hall meeting," he began. "I had a pent-up hatred towards you and believed that you were the root of my problems. I blamed you, Thierry Lemieux, because I thought that you brought trouble and had me put away after Lachlan and I betrayed you in the worst way yet when we were in danger of losing everything. Back then, I thought that rejecting you would be the endgame of all my problems because I wanted to protect Sammons Falls from your late sisters and cousin's control. But when I did reject you before Lachlan regretfully doing the same, my pride became my downfall and the supernatural community turned on me. After all that and spending years in a figurative hell with the Gruesome Threesome controlling our moves before being arrested for the girls' deaths, that's when the blame game continued.

"I started hating you because I didn't see how everything was affecting you even the loss of the pups that you carried in your womb. I believed that you were nothing more than a power-hungry wannabe who only craved power. Even after I was soon turned into a gay merman, I still hated you and wanted to reclaim my old life back by any means necessary. I even aligned with someone whom the twins hated the most, foolishly believing that Mendez could claim the twins while I went back to what I knew." Marithe continued. "Now, I can only say that I'm the one to blame for my own actions. It was all on me because I was just afraid of what might be if I let myself submit to Chance and Chace while losing what little of my Alpha aura that I had left. But if I did go through with the original plan without you or the others interfering, I knew that rebuilding my Alpha life would only bring misery and loneliness. I'm an Omega merman bonded to another Omega and two Alpha mermen who want me to let go and learn to embrace my new life."

Thierry and Lyle nodded, eyes full of understanding and intrigue as Taranna and Arianna quietly stood in the doorway. "So what are you going to do now?" Thierry asked.

Marithe sighed, letting a tear fall from his face as he stared at his ex-soulmate. "First off, I wanna say that I really am sorry that I was an asshole to you and everyone else," he replied. "I was such a total brat to you and everyone else who wanted me to let go of my past and embrace the future. Believe me, if I knew then what I know now things might've been a lot easier and...well, I wouldn't be where I am. Secondly, I do wish nothing but the best for you, Thierry. We had our fun back in the past, but you have Thierry as I have Lachlan and the twins. I'm only sorry that I was too rash in making the decision that led us to this moment. Still, I believed that there's a time and place for everything. Can you and Lyle ever forgive me?"

Thierry nodded, pulling his ex-mate in for a hug with Lyle joining in. "We already have," he replied. "All we ask is for you to let yourself move forward and enjoy life."

"I will," Marithe promised, as he finally allowed himself to cry. And from there, gentle reader, is when the path to true healing would begin.

*************

Meanwhile...

"I'm not liking this," Ceceillia grumbled to herself as she paced around in the living room of her new home. "Something should've happened around this time. Marithe should be back to his Alpha persona as Matt Rosseaux-Yanez and-"

Just then, her cellphone rang with her father's phone number flashing on the screen. "I'm not in the mood," was all she said as she pressed the REJECT button before collecting her purse and heading out the door. "I gotta see for myself for what's going on."

She sailed out the door, locking it behind her before making her way towards the slightly-quiet streets of downtown Covington Springs with a mission on her mind and determination lit in her eyes. Little did she know, however, was that she was in for a reality check.

And that's the truth, y'all! Coming up, it's confrontations, a wickedly-brutal roast from Arianna, and a fuming Ceceillia Mendez setting up her plans for retribution! Don't go anywhere!

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