We stared into each other's eyes for about a minute in deafening silence, one waiting for the other to penetrate the layer of awkwardness with a proper move that doesn't include talking about the mate bond.
The rustling from behind me was a sign that somebody had listened to my heart's desire and had interrupted the silence.
"Brother!" the same accent as Alpha King Aramis, the same blood as him but an entirely different person, that's who my mate Tanner was.
He rushed inside the hut and ran into his elder brother's arms.
"Congratulations for being a second runner up," Alpha King Aramis broke the hug to pat his brother's back, who was all patched up and would probably heal in a few hours.
"Thank you," Tanner answered before he turned over to me and shifted beside me, "And I'm guessing you have already met my mate," As Tanner wrapped his arm around my waist, the look on Aramis' face yelled it all.
He felt the mate bond with me!
I didn't want to look like I was lost because I knew I would never want to be with someone like Aramis. He was controlling and batshit crazy, Tanner, on the other hand, was easy going.
I admit to not having strong feelings for Tanner, but he had persuaded me to win my heart one way so I gave it a try.
I just didn't want to focus on the mate and whole mating stuff, my destiny was to become a bigger warrior and then one day free our land's lost souls from the curse of the Wailing brides.
"Oh! She is your mate?" Aramis frowned secretly for obvious reasons, I felt weirded out too but the good thing about growing up in a mansion where you have to mask your emotions and act fine was that I've mastered the expression of ignorance.
"Yes, brother! Remember I told you about a girl I am trying to get to like me?" Tanner laughed innocently as he didn't think too much of it but his brother didn't seem very impressed when he heard how hard his brother had been trying to peruse me, "That's her, Phoenix Hart!" he finished and Aramis only gave him a nod.
“She is lucky it was just a competition,” Aramis’ comment sounded like he was leading to something else, “You should know I would not usually sit around and watch somebody hurt my brother. He is my baby brother, my family, my entirety and if anybody was to ever hurt him, I don’t know what I will do,” instead of reacting to his brother introducing his mate to him like a normal person, he pretty much warned me about never hurting his brother.
I didn’t say anything to him in response because if I had opened my mouth, I would have dragged him to mud for everything wrong he had done to other’s families.
"Princess Phoenix! Your ride has arrived," Thankfully, someone to the rescue. A guard informed me about the car my father has sent for me, which turned out to be the perfect time to shoot away.
"I will leave now," I told Tanner with a mild smile on my lips, "It was nice meeting you," running my eyes to Aramis made me acquainted with his stare on my face.
He didn't respond to me but when I was out of the hut, I heard him make a comment that needed a response from me but I ignored it for now.
"You could do better than this one," Aramis told his brother. I didn't get to hear what Tanner said because I have walked away and ended up taking my stuff and reward to my car. The ride back home was just filled with bittersweet memories of my past.
I was actually trying not to focus on the mate bond I felt with Aramis, it was strange and inappropriate that the Moon Goddess decided to mate me with the two brothers.
My pack and family were gathered outside the mansion, waiting for my arrival. I got out of the car wearing a medal and holding the award in my tight grip.
They all looked so proud of the little girl, who has now achieved a name for herself.
"My pride! I knew you would win," My father spread his arms across to fill me in his embrace, looking a little uncomfortable in a black suit with a coat so tight that he would have ripped it open if he had left his arms spread like an eagle for another minute.
"Thank you, dad!" I smiled and accepted his display of affection with a mutual hug. He had been nothing but very loving towards me in the last few years when he realized his fault for abandoning me after the death of my mother.
"Hey, our little sister grew up and chose violence," Zion joked, standing beside his mate and now legal wife Iris Malarkey; and Omega from the Zelta Dawn Pack.
There was no need for her to say anything to express her unlikeliness to my existence. The eye-roll she gave when Zion took my award to praise it said it all.
"Did you get her a Barbie doll?" Veronica taunted while giving me a side hug. It was truly saddening that my own sister was jealous of my achievements. She would always stand behind her alpha mate, who has lost his pack and was now living in our mansion like a coward; Hassel Baine.
He wasn’t standing in the crowd for now, but I hoped to see him soon.
"Ah! The twins never grew up, it seems," I too fired back with a little smile to annoy Veronica and Markus. The twins did share braincells, Markus didn’t like me joining the Battle Academy. He thought the battleground should be left alone for the male werewolves only, I disagreed.
I entered the mansion with my father’s arm wrapped around my shoulder and holding my award after he snatched it out of Zion’s hands.
The mansion looked the same, the tall white ceilings and spotless huge windows remained the same. The beautiful floating wall split the foyer from the living room. I walked along with my family to the living room and sat down on the curved sofas while I decided to sit on the chesterfield opposite theirs.
"Look! I heard it was your mate in the final battle with you," Hassel joining the living room got me into stretching my neck secretly, absorbing the anger and hatred from the past and channeling it with a smile for now.
"That makes sense," Veronica slid to the side to give him a place to sit with her.
"He didn't hold back. We have promised we will never let each other win," I didn’t plan to jump on Hassel and strangle him right then and there. If anything I have learned during my time in the battle academy, it is to always wait for the right time.
"Yeah! yeah! Right! That's what he tells me whenever I pretend to fight him. How do you I win? You got lucky having the last round with Tanner," my sister playfully elbowed Hassel, who was waiting for an eye contact from me.
I gave him a rough eye contact and tapped my foot anxiously on the floor, it was unintentional.
"Speaking of which, you are still going out with that one? I mean, I understand you want to be under the eye of the crowd but his brother! His brother is not a very nice example," Zion being the eldest has always composed his posture, but he failed to put a leash to his mate, who was waiting to remind me how it feels like marrying the one upper class in the hierarchy.
“Not to mention, he is a beta. The ones more powerful than you are always going to look down on you,” being an Omega didn’t change anything for her in our mansion, but she never quit complaining about getting mistreated even when she was the one pulling strings of my brother.
“Alpha King Aramis is crazy about his brother. Imagine him always interrupting in your relationship to make sure you are just nonstop pleasing his brother,” Zion added after he felt guilty for upsetting Iris for being the next Alpha in line.
Ridiculous!
“Tanner is not a child,” I have only spoken up when my father felt that the siblings were ganging up on me to ruin my day.
"Will you guys let her enjoy her victory meal?" My father scoffed while shaking his head at them in disbelief. They all awkwardly looked down and sighed, they were indeed just trying to get under my nerves.
"It's fine dad. Some taunts and a little mockery is unable to hurt your Warrior daughter now," As I commented, I passed a deep glare to Hassel, whose smile faded away.
"I'll freshen up and then come back to join you all," I excused to get up and shower. I was still in my warrior fit and the sweat had dried up on my skin now.
I climbed the stairs confidently, walking in the hallway and past all the bedrooms that I once used to bang upon for help.
My bedroom was kept the same and by kept same I mean they didn’t renew anything. My father would usually let the matters into my sister’s hands and she would give zero fu*ks about my bedroom or stuff.
Taking a warm shower in my beautiful white bathroom and tub helped me calm down. Slipping into a red boat neck top and black jacket with black pants, I walked out of the bathroom to a surprise waiting for me in my room.
“What the heck are you doing in my bedroom?” my eyes glowed purple at the sight of the man, who had terrified the life out of me many times when I was helpless.
“Come on! you cannot run away from me,” Hassel’s threatening tone was how it always started.
And now he was in my bedroom again with the same look of lust in his eyes as before.
“Say it one more time,” I clenched my jaw, preparing my fist as I progressed in his direction to attack him.“Whoa! I was just joking how I used to, remember?” the subtle way of confusing me with him being playful didn’t work this time. I refused to believe all that time when he harassed me, he was only joking.“I mean; it is not like you will not face any difficulty anymore. You are stuck for life after you accepted that Alpha King’s brother. No matter how wrong he does you, you can never leave him, or else the Alpha King will --,” he chuckled as he left the rest for my imagination.Now that he made me aware he didn’t enter my room to proceed to harass me, I stopped in my tracks and slid my hands into my pants’ pockets. I was able to see how disgusting he looked even with his gifted handsomeness.He had these brown upturned eyes with high cheekbones, a strong jawline, and long brown hair that could easily make him stand out in a crowd but it didn’t, because his personality sucked.“Y
Alpha King Aramis' POV:It was weird how I felt a mate bond with someone who is my brother's mate as well."Phoenix Hart!" I grunted while reaching the foyer after I have dressed up for the big lunch with my brother."Good Afternoon Alpha King!" Aunt Jocelina greeted me after she too had worn her iconic black dress to accompany me and my brother.She had been my nanny for as long as I can remember. After my parents were no longer alive to take care of us, she stepped in and embraced us."You look impeccable," she was 50, well-dressed and trendy. I never treated her like a nanny after my parent’s demise, she was more like a family and had been given all the luxuries a royal member of the family deserves, “Why don’t you find yourself a mate?” as usual, she brought up the topic of the mate. Every time she would watch me wear a suit, her compliment will follow the same topic repeatedly.“Those things are evil,” I stated without a shadow of doubt, “It is Moon Goddess’ way of trapping the i
Alpha King Aramis’ POV: Tanner dropped the letter and retreated back until his back hit the wall. I galloped, grabbing the letter from the floor, and read it out loud without any delay. “Dear Alpha King Aramis,” it was too hard to focus on the letter when my baby brother was sobbing crazily in front of me, “I am writing this letter on behalf of my pack and demanding justice. Your brother has committed a serious crime against the mate of the Royal Beta of our pack; Markus Hart. Tanner was witnessed assaulting and murdering his mate Savia Perk today. The incident is horrifying for our pack and is a terrible act committed by the Alpha King’s brother. You have always promised justice and stayed true to your words. Me and my pack request you to do the same towards your brother. We want him presented in the werewolf court and punished in the presence of the higher-ups of every pack. I also want to inform you of my personal decision of rejecting Tanner in this sealed letter. I will do the v
Phoenix Hart’s POV:My pack was going crazy about this whole situation. Savia’s body was left at the Wailing River for the Wailing Brides to collect. The issue left was regarding Tanner and me.“You should have been the first to call for his jail time,” Iris had finally found a proper time to make me look bad in front of my family. We all have gathered around in the living room to discuss this matter and try resolving it without anyone breaking any rules.“Markus is not looking good, he just wants to spill blood,” Zion came out of Markus’ room and sat down with Iris, who had already started spreading venom.“It is an unfortunate event. Who would have thought my daughter’s arrival back in the pack would get scarred like this!” father let out a sigh as he passed me a weak smile. I know it shouldn’t have been about me and rather about Savia, but as a father, he had seen me sit silently in the corner my entire life. He was upset that the only time I got my moment to shine, it was replaced
Zion had taken me back to my room while the Alpha King was yelling and shouting at my father. This had turned into a whole mess.“I am fine now,” I held my brother’s hand, preventing him from pulling a blanket over me. I didn’t feel like lying down in the bed, I needed to be outside and hear what was going on.The mate bond broke after the death of Tanner yet I didn’t feel the pain of it, why?I know I have never loved Tanner and he knew that too, but I had accepted him as my mate then why didn’t I get aware of his demise?“You should stay here, he is very angry right now,” Veronica and Iris walked into the room after us as well.“Is nobody with dad outside?” I asked out of curiosity, if we were all here, who was with father?His guards wouldn’t be able to help him make decisions, why were we hiding and my dad was facing all the wrath?“I am going outside,” I jumped out of the bed while ignoring the eye roll from Iris and exited the room to meet my father in the foyer. Zion had rushed
I had my eyes on my father, waiting for him to make a decision. As for me, I wasn't ready to sacrifice myself because they have made a mistake so I shouldn’t be the one to pay the price.I understand that my pack was in danger but giving up myself wasn't the right thing to do either.However, my siblings felt otherwise and it hurt me the most."I'm ashamed of you all!" my father finally stated loudly enough for them to know he wasn't pleased with them, "It's a shame that you are suggesting we send our virgin daughter, sister, the daughter of the pack to this man's mansion, who will be preparing the worst tortures for my daughter once he gets his hands on her. So, my decision is that we fight for the safety of our daughters," My father announced determinedly but he didn't receive the cheer he was probably expecting."Everybody prepare for the worst, then," Zion announced with a lack of energy, hands tied behind his back, and followed his mate to the room. After the living room was lef
I have watched my father’s dead body being taken away by the wailing brides. Many pack members mourned that day, but it was marked as the darkest day for me.The only one who had always defended me and shielded me from greedy eyes was now gone. I was left in the hands of these brutal people, who hadn’t stopped accusing me of my father’s death this whole time. I didn’t get any consolation from anyone, they all avoided me like I was a disease.I have returned to the pack house mansion just a minute ago when I heard someone calling for me.“What happened today was terrible,” Zion was standing in the middle of his people and in front of the empty chair that belonged to my father once.The big tears in my eyes wet my eyelashes, I blinked them away and refused to sit down.“My father was a great warrior; he was a great Alpha of the pack. He had maintained alliances with the other packs and always kept us safe but his one mistake cost him his life.” As he finished, everybody turned their hea
My heart seemed to have jumped out of my throat when my eyes spotted the present standing before my door. It wasn’t Zion anymore, he couldn’t be.He had tears in his eyes so it has to be someone else. My siblings were standing behind him with a sad glister glooming in their eyes.“We never thought we have weakened you so much.” Veronica filled her face in her hands and sobbed whilst Hassel turned his face to the other side.“I shouldn’t have blamed you for all that,” Markus stepped ahead and filled me in his arms. I broke down instantly as I recalled my father.He would have been so happy to see us all together. I felt Zion and Veronica wrapping us in a group hug too. Even though Iris and Hassel were not happy, it didn’t matter anymore. My siblings have realized their mistakes and that’s all that mattered to me.“Now! Let’s stand together like a wall and see who can steal our sister from us,” Zion broke the hug and announced as he secretly wiped the tears clean and acted tough.“I lov