Chapter 153 The Book
Calhoun's POV
"Have you ever thought about having a second mate, while Kristen is still in the picture," Bruce barges into my study without even having the decency to knock.
"Where the hell did that thought come from?" My face is quick to contort in anger because the question is just ridiculous.
"This," Bruce holds up a big, old book, "I happened to find it in a box when the first packhouse renovation was ongoing, it was buried underground." He adds.
My gaze narrows at the book which seems like an ancient book.
Bruce brings it closer to my face for me to get a proper look. And I don't fail to notice that there is no title written on it, so I'm starting to think he's trying to prank me or something.
"I'm not joking, Calhoun," Bruce breathes out, as if reading my thoughts, "Every word written in this book is true, people do have two mates at times and they're torn in between choosing one. Most times, your first mate isn't good enough for you anymore and so the moon goddess brings the second, to create a better future for you," Bruce finally puts the book on the table and starts flipping through it.
"It's not real, Bruce. Some psycho probably wrote it to mess up with
people's minds," I try to wave this off,
clearly uninterested.
"One second!" Bruce holds up a finger to silence me.
And I can't help but give out an eye roll at his level of seriousness.
"Found it!" He smacks his hands
together with relief evident on his
face, then he points at a paragraph, " Come take a look at this, Calhoun."
"I'm not interested," my voice is low and stern.
"Just listen to me," Bruce's eyes have this yearning and desperation in them.
"No," I glare at him.
"Fine, I'll read it to you," He's not
even willing to give up at this point.
"Like I care." I turn to the window, upon hearing the distant cries of an infant.
"Our moon goddess can be tricky, she
sends a second mate when we're with our first, just to test our loyalty to our
first. To see if we truly love them enough to stick with them through
disastrous and earth-shattering
circumstances.."
"You've never had a mate before, how
can you be interested in this," I cut Bruce off with this.
"-and," Bruce continues, ignoring me as he keeps tracing his fingers through each line as he reads aloud, "to find if we'll get smitten by our second mate and ditch the first."
There's a short pause as my beta and I exchange an awkward stare.
"Whoever wrote this book was high on heavy narcotics," I snort.
"No. The book has no author name,
but I think he or she had two mates. Or they were a straight descendant from the moon goddess." And he's looking at me with that stupid serious gaze
once more.
A lot of times, he's goofy except when
there's war and we're to fight. Still, I haven't seen him so earnest about
something.
Trying to give him a little benefit of doubt, I put my hand on my chin.
"Yes?" Bruce pulls his hand out, "you
have that look on your face when you want to ask a question. Go ahead," he urges me.
"So, if this two-mates thing is true, what happens when you leave the first for the second?" I can feel the corners of my lips twisting in amusement. "Nothing, Alpha Calhoun. Such is life.
The elders are probably aware of this but they kept it a secret away from us all to stop confusion." Bru
says as if
he was present when the insane person wrote the crazy book.
"How long have you been reading that? You seem to be living in some
sort of delusion. Or do you have a wolf fever? When was the last time you visited the pack hospital for a check-
up?" I ask him, meaning every word. But Bruce just pulls his attention away from the book, thins his lips, and shakes his head at me in disappointment.
"The book is unending, I'm not even
halfway through with it, and it's been seven days. And no, I am not ill." His
voice seems to be louder this time, hinting to me how upset he is. Chuckling, I put my balled-up fingers
on my table
"Do away with it, Bruce. I've had enough of you this evening."
But Bruce doesn't seem like dropping this conversation. In fact, he's aiming for an argument.
"It's as good as real, Calhoun. We need
to go to the library to do some research. "He points out.
And there's another short pause as we stare at each other.
"Did you just say we?" I can feel my eyes narrowing in their sockets.
"Who knows if the moon goddess might bring you a second mate, and it'll threaten your mate's bond and marriage with Kristen?" Bruce waves his hand away for emphasis. "That's never happening, okay?
Kristen and I have been through so
much, nothing or no one can come between us," I growl, getting upset at the mere thought of his silly question.
And Bruce with his lips sealed. "Good, now get that out of your head," I say.
"Yes, sir," Bruce gives me another curt
nod.
The loud cries of my son divert my attention from my beta to the door.
Quickly, I jump to my feet and reach for the doorknob.
Outside, I can see a helpless-looking
Cynthia pacing about, and she's carrying a naked Aiden who seems to
be crying and at the same time pulling her hair.
"What's going on?" My voice startles the young maid. But thankfully, she's holding my son protectively.
"Alpha Calhoun," relief is clear on her face upon realizing it's me.
"He kept wailing and calling and calling out to his mother," Cynthia is already heading in my direction, with
her hand protecting the back of Aiden's head.
"Where's his mother?" I am puzzled
because I don't seem to find Kristen anywhere close by.
"Out," Cynthia blurts as she carefully puts him in my hands. Aiden's wails stop me from questioning her further. His face is
completely red and he's crying
uncontrollably, in dire need of Kristen's attention.
I rock him back and forth until his
cries reduce to low, hiccuping sobs, as
he wraps his chubby arms around
neck.
"Out where?" My hand is already
stroking his bare back when I ask Cynthia this question.
my
"Aiden ran out of diapers, so she went to get him some," Cynthia explains. Which explains why Aiden is naked.
"How long has she been out?" I question the girl further.
"Over an hour," She responds and hurries to avoid my gaze. "What?" I can feel my eyes growing huge in my sockets. Kristen has been out for an hour? When the drive to the nearest mall is just fifteen minutes.