Chapter 40: Rael: I Don’t Like Sharing

Chapter 40: Rael: I Don’t Like Sharing Rael~ "Hey, Marek," I said in a more relaxed tone, hoping to speak to him more like a friend than an Alpha. "Do you think it makes sense ... for a Luna to have two Alphas at once?" Honestly, I didn’t want to overthink it, but the way that bastard said Evelyn was his Luna, he didn’t look like he was joking, and I sure as hell didn’t seem like he was saying it just to mess with me. Yeah, sure, my first thought when I found out my mate was in Valedorn Kingdom, especially that close to the palace, was that he must’ve kidnapped her just to get under my skin. But after seeing how determined he was to get her back, I realized maybe he didn’t do it just to annoy me. Besides, that bastard is the definition of boring. He wouldn’t pull a stunt like that for fun. "It’s rare for a Luna to have more than one Alpha," Marek said. That gave me a bit of relief. But then he added something that made me want to tear up a whole damn forest. "Still," he continued, "the possibility isn’t zero." I clenched my jaw, trying hard not to let the irritation show on my face. "The possibility isn’t zero?" I repeated, glaring at him. "That’s not exactly what I wanted to hear, Marek." He just shrugged, completely unfazed by how pissed I was getting. "Hey, I’m just being honest, Alpha. There’ve been cases, very rare ones, where a Luna was bonded to more than one Alpha. Usually, it’s some weird twist of fate or something tied to ancient bloodlines or Moon Goddess blessings. But again, extremely rare. So maybe don’t stress too much about it." I folded my arms tightly. "And how many of those cases ended with the Alphas tearing each other to pieces?" Marek gave a dry laugh. "Surprisingly, Lunas with more than one Alpha tend to manage their relationships better than Alphas who have more than one Luna." "I heard about a case where the Alphas learned to live together peacefully, made a shared territory, raised pups, took turns—" "I’m not taking turns," I cut in sharply. "I’m not sharing my mate like she’s some kind of toy." Marek raised an eyebrow. "I never said you had to." He paused, then added, "But seriously, why are we even talking about this? Do you actually believe that royal bastard when he says your Luna is his Luna too?" He tilted his head, looking at me a little more casually now. "Didn’t you already check if she carried his scent? You said she didn’t, right?" I let out a quiet hiss, then admitted reluctantly, "That’s actually what’s been bothering me from the beginning ..." I ran a hand through my hair, frustration prickling in my chest. "That bastard’s scent ... it’s almost identical to mine. Sometimes, I can’t even tell them apart." Marek nodded, clearly not surprised. "Yeah, I’ve always thought that was pretty weird too. I mean, I know it’s possible for scents to be similar between close relatives, but I’m sure you two don’t share any blood ties." I scoffed and puffed out my chest. "Of course not. My genes are way superior to his. There’s no way we’re related." Marek waved a hand dismissively. "Don’t overthink it. At least you’ve marked her, so you know she’s yours." I blinked, then I froze. "... What?" I stared at him, completely horrified. "I haven’t marked her." Marek frowned. "Wait, what? Isa told me she saw a mate mark on her neck when she helped her change clothes." "SHE HAS WHAT?!" I shouted, my voice shaking the trees around us. "WHY DIDN’T ISA TELL ME?!" Marek flinched slightly at my sudden outburst. "T-that’s probably because she assumed it was your mark! I mean ... who else could it have been?" A chill ran down my spine. No. No, no, no. That mark wasn’t mine, which meant someone else had marked her. Marek tried to calm me down. "Maybe Isa saw it wrong. Could’ve been a mosquito bite or something. I mean, if you had marked her, you probably wouldn’t have left the room for a full week." I gave him a sharp glare. "That’s the dumbest thing you’ve ever said." I exhaled slowly, trying to rein in the fury building inside me. "Isa’s seen all kinds of mate marks before. There’s no way she’d mistake a real one for a bug bite." Besides, she wasn’t just anyone, she was Dr. Caelis’s assistant. She’d seen more than enough bite marks to know exactly what she was looking at. There was no way she got it wrong. Marek fell silent for a second, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. I didn’t blame him. I wasn’t even mad at him right now. "Where exactly did Isa say she saw the mark?" I asked, voice low and tight. "She said it was on her neck," Marek answered. "Not the back, but on the side." Why didn’t I notice it? My wolf scoffed in my head. "Because you were too damn happy to find your mate. You were too busy staring at her face like a lovesick pup to notice anything else." More than anything, I didn’t get the chance to really look at her once we arrived at the base because she ran off, and when I found her again, she was already drenched in blood. So yeah, it wasn’t exactly surprising that I hadn’t noticed the mark. Marek spoke once more, "So, do you think it was—" I raised my hand to cut Marek off before he could finish that awful thought. "Don’t say it," I snapped, my voice low and threatening. "Don’t even think about it." Because if he dared to suggest that man had marked her—if he even hinted that my Luna might belong to someone else before me—I might actually lose it. "But I think it’s the truth," my wolf said calmly in my head. "No wonder her scent felt a little ... off." I turned my back on Marek, facing away so I could talk to my wolf in peace. "Why are you so calm about this?" I growled through clenched teeth. "Hmm ... how do I explain it?" he replied. "The first time I saw Evelyn, I could feel it. She’s not bound to just one mate." I froze on the spot. "... What do you mean?" I asked slowly, doing everything I could to keep myself from panicking. "Are you saying she’s fated to more than one Alpha?" "Yes," he said without hesitation. "I sensed it the moment we met her." For a second, I didn’t know what to do. My fists clenched at my sides, and the only thing I could think about was burning every tree in this forest, and dragging Theron into the fire for daring to be one of her mates. "It’s not like they chose this," my wolf added. "It’s the Moon Goddess who decides who your fated mates are." I took a step further from Marek and narrowed my eyes. "Did you just say ... them?" My wolf fell silent for a moment. Then, with a deep sigh, he finally answered, "Yes. Them. I don’t think it’s just you and the King." I gritted my teeth so hard my jaw started to ache. "What the hell are you telling me?" I hissed. "Are you saying my mate is tied to multiple Alphas? That there are more out there?" "I don’t know for sure, Rael," he said carefully. "But I can feel it. There are others ... besides you and Theron. That’s why I believe she’s not just your mate, she belongs to more than one." I stood there, stunned. The silence in my head was loud, even louder than any storm I’d ever faced. My breath came out ragged, my chest rising and falling like I’d just run for miles. I didn’t want to believe it. I didn’t want this to be true. "No," I whispered. "That can’t be right. She’s mine." "She is yours," my wolf replied gently. "But she may also belong to others." I clenched my fists so hard my knuckles turned white. "This isn’t fair," I muttered. "The Moon Goddess never gave me a sign. I spent years thinking I’d die alone with no mate or bond. Then she shows up, and now I have to share her with some bastards?" "She’s not a thing to be shared, Rael," my wolf reminded me. "It’s not like the Moon Goddess wants to share her with more than one Alpha, but she’s such a rare soul, the kind of soul that draws more than one fated bond." I dropped down onto a nearby rock, burying my face in my hands. This was too much. I’d waited so long for her. I’d dreamed of the moment I’d finally found my fated mate, and now that she was here, I had to accept that I might not be the only one destined to love her? Oh, ridiculous. But more than that, why was my wolf able to accept this news so calmly? "Oh, Rael, I’m angry too," he said. His voice still sounded friendly, but judging from his tone, he was clearly trying hard to hold back his rage. "If we could just kill her other mates, I would’ve done it already." "Too bad, I don’t think that’s possible," he added. "Since all of you are tied together in one bond, if you end up killing each other, there’s a chance all of you might die."