Chapter 62: 62. The Life of a Fated Mate (Julie)
At the time, with five kids, and four being girls, Julie made all her past decisions based on what was going to be best for her children. Her oldest was very inquisitive and was starting to understand that the only time he saw his father, good things never followed. With such a bright boy, she managed to enroll him in school earlier than normal by fibbing about his age. She did the same when it came time to enroll Nikki in school too. Her children were bright and sometimes she wondered how she got to be so lucky. But then her cursed fate would catch up to her again and the vicious cycle repeated itself. She would be forced against her will and end up with another baby, she would move, rinse, and repeat.
At present, she has a total of six girls, and two boys, making eight children in total. Tyler was her only other son and the current baby of their large family. Her body nearly lost him halfway through her pregnancy with him. Each birth became more and more difficult with more complications and then the hospital bills would skyrocket. She would leave them unpaid, because she couldn't even afford the interest on any of them, let alone a single payment. With no money to spare, even with her two oldest children finally able to help financially by working, she did her best to support them all. She never asked her children to give her their hard-earned money. In fact, they both had volunteered, giving it over to the family funds pool of cash that she used to pay for everything from their school supplies to their groceries.
Now her oldest baby had found his fated mate and she could only worry about him. She was concerned that he was fated to a rich girl and that young lady was used to such an extravagant lifestyle that she would only be unhappy mated to her son. He, nor could she, afford to give her that lifestyle she was used to and then she would be miserable in such poor living conditions. Goddess forbid the young woman get pregnant, that would really do them in.
If that were to happen, then that girl's family would make her son take responsibility for their daughter and the baby. Erik was so close to graduating, if only his school records would catch up with him. He hadn't bothered to apply to any colleges since they never lived in any one place long enough to consider it. She knew that he could earn a scholarship at least in part with his grades and intelligence if only they didn't have to move so much to avoid his father for a few years at a time. If she had to move them again, her son would be unwilling to move with her and his siblings. He was nearly an adult and was already capable of supporting himself, but instead he chose to help support them all, rather than keeping that money for himself.
She had done her best to ingrain in her children that they needed to be careful when they found their fated mates. Not all fated mates were fantasies come true. They could easily be just as abusive as a non-fated mate and the government propaganda of old, to boost falling birthrates was all a bunch of hooey. Although that didn't stop her from wishing for the best for her children, and especially her son, she couldn't help but worry for them. She never wanted them to experience that disappointment and disillusionment that she had, if she could help it.
"Mom! I swear that's the furthest from my mind at the moment. We only kissed, it's not like we're going to be jumping into bed together the second we meet up again! Seriously, I'm not planning on becoming a teen parent statistic of old! She's smart too, and I'm pretty sure she doesn't want to be a parent in her teens either, even if she is a few months older than I!" Her son said this so passionately.
She would like to trust and believe him, but she knew that the fated bond between alphas and omegas made that rational and sound mind disappear in favor of the rampaging mating instinct. After all she had been victim to it all too often as soon as her mate forced her into heat by flooding her senses with his pheromones, regardless of if she was due to go into heat or not, any time soon. This was a little understood effect that fated mates could have on the other. It was one she had studied to try and find a way to prevent herself from being forced against her will into heat just to be her husband's plaything before he gallivanted off wherever he went when he wasn't actively seeking them out when their bond became too painful when they were apart.
That was another thing about fated mates that the government never touted. Fated mates were literally tied together through their bond. Being apart from your mate for too long became literally painful and could drive you crazy with desire to be near them again. The further you got from your mate, the more it hurt and the harder it was to stay sane with that overwhelming need for them. It was just like an addiction. In fact, it was. It triggered the same receptors in the brain as when you went through withdrawals. Your fated mate's pheromones became an addictive substance that your brain tricks you into believing that you need to survive.
Part of the reason that she was found time and time again, despite her desperate attempts to get away from her mate, was that the mate bond allowed you to find your mate by tuning into your inner self and following your instincts. Even after all her study, she had yet to figure out how this really worked. She wasn't an expert at all and only knew what information she could find publicly available. She wished that she could put this knowledge to good use, but it was too expensive to afford to do anything with it.
"Mom, I promise to be careful, but if this is what a rut is like, I don't like it. It's uncomfortable. What can I do about it? Are suppressants expensive? Will my paychecks cover them? Will they even help cover the cost?"
This brought Julie back to the present. She felt bad for her son whose presentation and rut coincided thanks to being triggered by his mate, but it was better that he was here instead of with that girl. If that girl's parents had any sense, they would keep their daughter away from Erik at least until she was no longer in heat. She would do the same for Erik. After all, her number one goal right now was to protect her son from having the same fate as her and becoming a father too soon to be really responsible for another couple of lives.
"Suppressants are expensive, but not overly so. I can get you enough for now, but in the future, you are going to need to learn which types help the most. That will affect the cost. There are some samples I can get from my workplace, so if you wait here, I will head back into town and ask my workplace for a sample pack. It should be enough to last you a few days if you find ones that work." Julie explained as she grabbed her purse. "If you feel up to it, can you finish dinner for me? If not, I'll have to finish it when I get back…"
"Why can't I come with you? Wouldn't that be faster than you leaving for town and then driving all the way back with the suppressants? I want relief, not to wait!"
"Erik, trust me. You're going to want to wait here. You may only be experiencing minor urges now, but those could be worse, later. It's better if you can be alone to take care of those urges…" Julie really felt bad for her son, but she really couldn't help him other than give him this advice until she could get him suppressants. "I'll be back as soon as I can. In the meantime, I'll let Nikki know that I had to go back into town and ask her to look after your sisters a little longer at the park. Thankfully there's still a little more daylight left in the day…"
Erik didn't argue as she left. For that she was thankful for. It would be even more embarrassing for him if she had taken him with her and he sported another of his raging hormones that were affecting him right now. She was making him stay home for his comfort really.
As she drove into town, she headed for her workplace and hoped that her boss was still there. She was the one that had let her know about the sample packs of suppressants that were given to them since they were affiliated with the big hospital in this city. These were technically for employees, but Julie already had a good supply of suppressants since she only needed hers to suppress her heats. They would still be useful for Erik so he could find the right type that worked the best for him.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone