Chapter 306 Book 2 ~ Chapter 71

Chapter 306 Book 2 ~ Chapter 71
Alaric’s POV

“She has two mates.”

I stare at Bastian. Bastian stares at me. Neither of us say anything. Then I laugh a genuine laugh. Because that’s ridiculous.

“Good one.”

Bastian doesn’t laugh, and my smile slowly fades.

“…you’re serious?”

“Unfortunately.”

“No.”

“Alaric…”

“No,” I point at him. “No. Absolutely not. Try again.”

“She has two mates.”

“The fuck she does.”

Bastian sighs heavily, rubbing a hand over his face. “I watched them.”

“Then you were hallucinating.”

“I wasn’t hallucinating.”

“You’ve been in the sun all day.”

Bastian shakes his head. “Alaric.”

“Maybe you hit your head.”

“Alaric.”

“Maybe Phoenix territory has toxic mushrooms.”

His eye twitches. My brother only gets that look when he’s one step away from murdering someone. Unfortunately for him, that someone is me.

“I saw her.”

The humour drains from me instantly. Because Bastian doesn’t joke about things that matter, and this matters. But how is he so calm?

Our mate. The woman we’ve spent days tracking across the country. The one we’ve crossed pack borders for. The female my wolf has been losing his damn mind over ever since we entered this territory.

“What exactly did you see?” I ask, barely containing the roar that’s building in my chest.

Bastian studies me for a moment. The way he does when he’s deciding whether I’m stable enough to hear the answer. The fact that he’s questioning that should probably concern me. It doesn’t.

“Leo.”

“That idiot again.” I scowl.

“That idiot is one of her mates.”

My stomach drops.

“No.”

“Yes.”

I glare at him, and he glares right back, neither of us blinking. Neither of us backing down. Eventually, I throw my hands up.

“Fine. Let’s say I believe that particular nightmare. Explain the second one.”

“A healer, I think.”

“An omega?”

“An omega,” he nods.

I bark out another laugh. This one sounds slightly unhinged even to my own ears.

“No.”

Bastian remains silent.

“No.”

Silence.

“Bastian.”

Silence.

“You’re telling me our mate collected a giant enforcer and an omega healer?”

“Apparently.”

I pace across the cabin, then back again, the wood creaking beneath my feet with every step. Because none of this makes sense. None of it. Mates don’t work like this. People don’t work like this. My mate certainly doesn’t work like this.

“You’ve known her for five minutes.”

“I know.”

“You could be wrong.”

“I’m not.”

“You’ve been wrong before.”

“I haven’t.”

“That’s arrogant.”

“It’s accurate.”

I hate when he does that. Mostly because he’s usually right. I run both hands through my hair. My wolf is pacing inside my head now, agitated and restless.

Mate.

Mine.

Ours.

His insistence isn’t helping.

“What was she doing?” I ask.

The question slips out before I can stop it. Bastian’s expression softens slightly, which is a dangerous sign. Because Bastian only gets that look when something has genuinely affected him.

“She was happy.”

The answer catches me off guard. I expected him to say that she is trapped or has been manipulated. But happy… Something uncomfortable twists in my chest. Because I wanted to hate them. I wanted an excuse, a reason. Instead, Bastian just handed me the one thing I didn’t want. Proof that she loves them, that she chose this. Damn it.

“Well, that’s inconvenient.”

A snort escapes him. “I should hate them.”

“Yes, you should.”

“I don’t.”

“No?”

I collapse onto the edge of the bed.

Mate.

Happy.

Safe.

My wolf seems oddly pleased by that information. Idiot, but he’s my idiot.

“You know what the worst part is?” I mutter.

“What?”

I point accusingly at him.

“You aren’t even upset.”

“I never said that.”

“You look calm.”

“I’m not calm.”

“Tell that to your face.”

“Years of practice,” he shrugs.

I groan. 

“You know her sister has four…”

“Don’t,” I point at him again.

“You know it makes sense.”

I close my eyes. Because I do. Damn it. The Phoenix Luna and her four mates. The impossible mating bond everyone keeps talking about. She’s Poppy’s sister.

The silence stretches, and I open my eyes. “I hate that you’ve made a valid point.”

“See?” Bastian actually smirks. 

Smirks! I hope he steps on something sharp.

“I don’t like this,” I shake my head. “This is ridiculous.”

I stare at the ceiling. Then at him. Then at the ceiling again. I hate this conversation. I hate this pack. I hate fate. Most of all, I hate the realisation settling heavily in my chest.

I don’t actually care that she has two mates. Not really. What I care about… Is that they claimed her first. Bastian’s eyes narrow. The bastard always knows exactly what I’m thinking. I jump to my feet and Bastian groans.

“Alaric.”

“No. I’m done.”

“Sit down.”

“I’m finding her.”

He pinches the bridge of his nose.

“We are guests here.”

“I don’t care.”

“They specifically told us not to leave.”

“You didn’t care about that when you went off snooping just a few minutes ago.”

“You’re right, I don’t care, but the Phoenix wolves are already suspicious of us.”

“So what? I’m suspicious of them too.”

“You don’t even know where she is.”

“I’ll figure it out.”

His expression says exactly what he thinks of that plan. Unfortunately for him, I don’t care about that either. My wolf is practically vibrating beneath my skin now, demanding his mate.

“You’re impossible,” Bastian sighs.

I scoff. “Like I’ve not heard that a million times before.”

I reach the door, and Bastian follows. Not because he agrees, but because he knows I’m going regardless.

The first enforcer that spots us tries to stop me before I even reach the edge of the training grounds.

“Where are you going?” he calls, jogging towards us.

“Walking,” I snap.

“No, I’d need to check with…”

“That wasn’t a request,” I cut him off, holding up a hand as I brush past him.

“You don’t have permission,” another enforcer moves to block my path.

I almost scoff a laugh because I already proved they can’t beat me in training this morning when I put five of them on their asses. My wolf doesn’t find it funny though, because what comes out of me is not a laugh; it’s a deep, warning growl.

Theirs answers immediately, and tension snaps through the air as several of the enforcers shift into their wolves. Wonderful. This is exactly what I needed today. 

Bastian appears beside me before things can escalate. “We scent our true mate here.”

Silence falls as everyone within hearing distance freezes. The effect is immediate. Because there are some things wolves don’t interfere with. Alpha succession and fated mates.

I assume they’ve already reported this back to the alphas, which means we need to hurry this up before they try to delay us with diplomacy. The enforcers exchange uneasy glances, but none of them moves or tries to argue, and they don’t try to stop us again. Instead, they fall in behind us as we move freely through pack lands.

We don’t make it far before two familiar scents approach rapidly from the opposite direction. The alpha twins. Great. Ryder and Callen emerge from between the trees, both breathing slightly harder than normal. They’d run. Interesting.

Callen’s gaze immediately flicks between Bastian and me. “Well, this is awkward.”

I narrow my eyes. “What?”

“You’re not going to like what I have to say.”

“Probably not.”

Callen sighs dramatically, and Ryder shoots him a look before focusing on us.

“We’ve been informed you believe your mate is in our territory.”

“Believe?” I repeat.

His expression remains carefully neutral.

“Scented,” he corrects.

“Mate,” my wolf snarls.

Because the scent is stronger now and getting closer. Ryder notices my reaction, and his jaw tightens.

“Then let me save everyone a lot of trouble. If you’ve found your mate here, nobody intends to stand in your way.”

Good answer, but then why is he standing in front of me?

“Move, then.”

Callen raises both hands. “See, that’s the part we’re having trouble with.”

My patience is wearing dangerously thin.

“What part?”

“The charging blindly across pack lands like a rabid lunatic part.”

Bastian makes a suspicious choking noise beside me. Traitor.

“So, let’s all take a breath,” Callen says softly.

“No,” I snap.

“Well, that’s not encouraging.”

“Just let me get to her.”

“See, this is exactly what I’m talking about,” he throws his hands up. “Don’t you want your first meeting to be that memorable moment you’ve dreamed about?”

“Oh, it will be memorable alright,” I snort as I move around the alphas.

The scent grows stronger with every step I take, tangy and electric. My wolf surges forward so violently that I nearly stumble. 

She’s close, very close. I follow the enticing smell through the trees. Every breath feels easier, like I’ve been starving and somebody finally put food in front of me.

Then I see her, and my entire world stops. Red, curly hair, bright green eyes, and a pale, freckled face that reminds me of a porcelain doll, but nowhere near as creepy. She’s beautiful.

She’s walking between Leo and the omega. Laughing at something one of them says. The sound punches straight through my chest.

Her eyes lift and find mine, then everything else disappears. The trees, the wolves, the cabins. All of it. Until it’s just her and me. Recognition flashes across her face, and she grows impossibly paler. Then her eyes widen further, because she knows exactly who we are.

The moment stretches, her eyes flicking between me and Bastian. Then my gaze drops, and I see the marks. Two of them, one on each side of her neck, where mine and my brothers should be.

Claimed… Bonded… Mated.

My wolf almost explodes as a growl rips from my chest. Leo steps in front of her instantly, and Jake moves closer to her other side. Bastian moves in closer to my side.

I hear Ryder saying something, but I am too far gone to catch a word he says, as my pulse pounds in my ears and my eyes stay fixed on the marks. 

My growl deepens. Then, my gaze shifts to the males standing beside her, and finally, back to my mate.

“Who the fuck marked my mate?”