Chapter 10: RBB CH. 10 - MIXED SIGNALS
-RAINA’S POV-
Ultimately, Valen sighed in surrender and acquiesced with a go-ahead expression. My wolf yipped and warmth curled inside my gut. I wanted to kiss him right then. Too bad every part of me ached, preventing that reality. Additionally, the agonizing sensation from the physical contact would turn that first kiss into nothing more than a horrible memory.
Doing the honors, I announced, since he wouldn't clear the air. "Valen's my mate. That’s why he wants to stay by my side."
A sheen of happiness coated me. My eyes brimmed with tears of mirth and the smile tugging my lips broke into a pleased grin. A spark flared in his emerald orbs as they penetrated mine with a look that gave me a pleasant chill. Despite my ailment, excitement filled me. Can I jump on him now? Instantly, I wanted everybody to clear the room.
"Oh, goddess!" Venus shrieked gleefully, then abruptly dulled in facade. "Oh." She realized what that meant for Vaheed and Valen, and quaked, "Oh no."
In retaliation, Vaheed turned his back to slam a hard fist into the wall beside the dark-toned peninsula desk. His body shook as he tried hard to handle the fact.
An atypical tongue-tied silence unsheathed.
Mom and Dad gasped in shock, both staring at Valen, unmoving and unblinking. For them, this was astounding because ninety-nine point nine percent of the pack believed that he had not yet found his future queen, and was waiting to find her before assuming full authority of the werewolf realm. They must think the same as I did, that he was not desirous of me to keep this vital information a secret. Packs were most joyous when their leaders found their mates because the union signified stability and strength.
Luna Sianna and Alpha Vance paid more attention to Vaheed’s indignant behavior. She went over to him and placed a gentle hand on his back. He bore a forlorn expression. Standing on either side of Vaheed, they kept him from lashing out.
Inscrutable, Valen maintained his composure as cool as a perfectly chilled lemonade and found amusement in the wanton gaze he fastened on me. My toes tingled.
"Well, this is interesting," Venus broke the silence, studying me. She had questions and so would my parents after the shock subsided.
Ticked off by his sister, Valen growled, clenching his fist. "This is the last time I'm going to ask everyone to get the fuck out!"
"Um……I……," Mom was fumbling for words. Dad blinked a few times before he closed his mouth. Everyone knew Vaheed was not my mate. Valen was the last person they expected me to be mated with. I was sure elation would overwhelm them after the awe ebbed.
"Raj, Hailey, please come with me." Luna Sianna held Vaheed’s arm and walked towards the door. After opening it, she ushered everyone outside with her hand.
On the way out, Mom faltered in her steps, still dazed by the news. Dad scratched his head dealing with it. I was his only little girl. Finding my mate was expected, but not this soon.
After they all vacated the room, Alpha Vance stood in the same spot with hands in his faded denim jeans pockets.
"I'll explain the situation to them." His face relaxed with a resigned sigh and he advised, "Take some time to talk."
We both nodded and he walked out, leaving us in an awkward stillness. This was the first time we had been alone while fully aware of our mate bond. The absence of any distractions allowed for a deliberate focus on one another. I was nervous as hell.
I swallowed.
"Valen?" My emotions were never a force to hold me down. The raw and tremendous sexiness that emanated out of him made my heart skip like a kangaroo. My breathing grew denser.
"Hmm."
"Why didn't you tell me that I was your mate?"
"I thought it would be unfair to not let you enjoy your teenage years," he confessed. "Being Luna is a lot of responsibility and I didn't want you to feel burdened by the title, especially when you could not feel the mate bond."
"Okay," I whispered, keeping the dissatisfaction unveiled.
He sauntered across to the table at the long rectangular glass window and pulled the almond cream occasional chair to settle at my bedside. Goosebumps broke out as his lust-filled gaze traced every inch of my body, seemingly examining the contours of my flesh. The heat from his body combined with his scent scrambled my mind.
I shut my eyes to block him out for three seconds just to gather my thoughts before asking him about us.
"You're supposed to be crowned the Alpha King next year on your twenty-first birthday. What will you do if we can't solve this problem? We will not be able to complete the mating process and you'll need a Luna." I put my heart on the line. Will he kill it with a hurtful answer?
"We've touched in the past and we were okay." He bent over, locking both hands between his legs. "It's a matter of what's wrong. I don't think that the issue lies with you or me. It might be the mate bond."
Inches away from me, his nose flared, sniffing my scent as though he wanted to swallow me whole. He’s never looked at me like this before. I cannot recall one time in the past when he appreciably seemed to be mesmerized by me.
"Are you thinking that we weren't meant to be?" I laid on my side to face him.
"To be honest, I don't know what to think." He became uptight and shifted uncomfortably in the chair.
What kind of an answer was that? I wish that he would talk to me. I felt like a cop fishing for answers from an arrested suspect. Though people can be mates, the pull of the bond is strongest between our inner wolves. Sometimes, our human hearts could be in love with another or not want to be with the moon-blessed soulmate that the goddess has provided. Only the receptive ones allow the mate bond to fuse. And that is why I thought Valen and I might be encountering this obstacle. I believe that in his heart, he did not want me.
He is the most powerful werewolf alive. My power comes only after I am able to shift into my wolf. Some werewolves have special abilities, while others might be ordinary. All ordinary wolves have the expected super strength, hearing, healing, and speed. Therefore, a wolfless person who is born from werewolf parents is considered a human, and life for them is very different. Because they are lower than omegas, which is a human.
The insecurity with that was Alphas typically got mated to females of the same rank in the alpha lineage. I was four levels below Valen, so that wasn't me. Rarely does an alpha settle for less, since they strive to maintain their powerful bloodline with a strong she-wolf. For that cause, a rejection was possible where the alpha would sever the mate bond and choose a she-wolf of his own volition. In my opinion, that was disrespectful to the moon goddess, but Alphas disagreed.
"I believe in us." I declared my stance, wanting to be with him more than anything else in the world.
"I want to have that belief but this doesn't make sense," he spoke bluntly. His dark voice sent a shudder down my body, making my toes curl.
"We are mates. Isn’t that all we need to know?” Based on the direction of this conversation, it seemed that he had reservations. It was inconceivable to find any reason why he'd not want me. “Or did you plan to reject me? Is that why you never told anyone about me being your mate?"
He didn't respond right away. “I already answered that.”
“No. You didn’t.” Rejection can only be done on or after the eighteenth birthday of both mates. “Please, I need to know if you had originally intended to reject me after my birthday.”
Even though I asked, I was confident that his parents would ensure that we stayed together. I, also, had no intention of walking away from him. Using the mate bond as a key tool, I was trying to unbolt the locked parts of his mind to uncover his initial objectives. The insight would enable me to comprehend his actual feelings. In spite of that, I simply needed to hear that he had always desired me.
“Are you asking me that because you want to be with Vaheed?” Avoiding the question, a tinge of anger and something else flashed in his eyes. “You are always so concerned about him.”
“Your brother is my best friend. And so is your sister. We’ve been playmates from the day we could crawl on our hands and feet.” He knew this. I glowered, thinking that he deliberately avoided answering me. I bit back a sigh.
I waited for him to say something additional but he just stared at me in silence, piercing into the depths of my soul and pulling me into his.
“I’m sorry, Raina.” His apology surprised me. “I have a lot on my mind. My wolf is having a hard time with this.”
Of course, I accepted his apology and nodded. Both our wolves were misery from the impotence to touch. “Valen, the sacred stone will fix us, right?”
His darkened eyes and the way he repeatedly licked his lips told me he was hungry for a taste of me. Was he paying attention? Did he hear me? My wandering gaze fell on his wet, pink-filled lips. Hypnotized by the swipe of his tongue doing its job in a sensual motion, issuing the invitation to wrap my arms around his neck and plunging my lips into them.
"Tease him a little," my daredevil wolf encouraged. I struggled to halt the dirty thoughts.
Sloping the heart-to-heart downhill, he crushed the erotic mood when he dryly stated, "The moon goddess will intervene in our favor if we are fated."
"If?" The operative word was a representation of doubt. It made me sad to think that he did not have faith in us.
My heart plummeted. Instead of reassurance, he gave me torturous doubts. A new headache formed. The further we talked, the more certain I became that our future was not positive. He didn't want me, yet his wolf did. These mixed signals were making me dizzy.
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