CHAPTER 208: JEALOUSY

"Are you going to keep staring at me?" Kael asked, raising a brow as Zen shot him yet another death glare. Well—more like he was glaring at Kael’s waist while hurriedly pulling on his own clothes.

Lance glanced at Zen and couldn’t help snorting. "He’s just jealous. Ignore him."

He stepped closer and reached for Kael’s waist, only to have his hand smacked away. "And what are you trying to do now?"

"I want to feel what our mate’s mark looks like," Lance said with a shrug, like it was the most reasonable thing in the world to touch his twin brother’s waist.

Kael almost lost his patience at the both of them, but his mood stayed too good to actually argue. He had been the first to be marked by their mate, after all-how could he not enjoy every second of it? Ha!

He. The one they always teased about not getting their mate to talk to him. Now Lance could not gloat about his supreme alpha-ness and Zen could keep his charm for all he cared.

Zen finally finished buttoning his shirt and stepped closer, still eyeing Kael’s waist which was now covered. "You’ve always been annoying Kael but now you are almost unbearable. One mark and suddenly you think you’ve won in life."

Kael scoffed. "You two are just bitter."

"Maybe," Lance said, shrugging again. "But watching you strut around like you won the universe is still annoying."

Zen nodded. "Very annoying. And you’ve even become chatty! What happened to speaking on our heads? You suddenly like the sound of your voice?"

Kael rolled his eyes, but the grin stayed on his face. Nothing they said could pull him down right now.

After a moment, Zen let out a quiet breath. The teasing faded from his face, replaced by something more serious. "Jokes aside... what do we do next?"

All three brothers turned their heads to look at their mate, who was now sleeping, exhausted. Not even a night had passed and they already had to return to the reality, leaving behind these few stolen hours. They could not spend the entire heat with her...

"Zen, you have to go back..." Lance started, only for Zen to interrupt," I am not going to Ramona’s house today."

"Just go back home. Take a shower, wash off the scent and let someone know that you’ve been busy with whatever work I have given you. Don’t go to her." Zen glared at Lance for a moment before nodding. IT was torturous enough for his brother to leave his mate, who was in heat. He would naturally not send him to another woman just to keep their plan.

Zen walked to Emira and leaned down to kiss her forehead," Do you think we’ve succeeded in changing the future? Will she accept us?"

Kael and Lance both exchanged a look and shrugged. Honestly, they had no idea.

It was why they had done everything so carefully. Each of them thought back to the final vision that they had seen in the Zen’s vision...

In the vision:

It was the night of the Golden Moon, and from where they stood, they could already see their pack and the other Alphas gathered, waiting for the ceremony to begin.

The torches burned bright, and then Ramona started walking towards them with a calm smile on her face, as if everything was already settled. But before anything could take place, a thick, dark fog rolled across the entire place, swallowing the ground and the sky in seconds. Gasps spread through the crowd. They stiffened as they heard the Grand Witch shouted," Your Highnesses! Complete the ritual quickly. Just give her the mating mark!"

But before they could move, they saw Emira stepping into the large opening towards them. All three of them stood frozen staring at her. She was dressed in the same robe as Ramona’s.

She walked straight through the fog as if it had parted for her alone. But what shocked them was that the moment they saw her, the mating bond pulled at them sharply and undeniable. They sensed her as their mate. All three froze, unable to stop the instinctive pull, even when confusion and anger twisted inside them. How was that possible? Ramona was their mate. They’d always sensed it! But with Emira, it was much more stronger...

They turned to the Grand Witch immediately, wanting answers as Zen asked, "You were sure Ramona is our mate and that Emira, a dark witch, is the one who interfered with the bond using dark magic..."

Emira scoffed at their words before the Grand Witch could even open her mouth. "Why look at the Grand Witch," she said coldly "when you are the ones who were blind? Just like you always have been... in every lifetime."

Her eyes did not move away from them as she stared at them with hatred. "But this time, I will not take it. I, Emira, reject the Alphas Lance, Kael, and Zen as my mate. I break the bond forever. Never to form again in this life or the next..."

The ground itself seemed to react.A tearing pain ripped through all three of them... They’d lived that pain in the vision. They fell to their knees, hands braced on the earth, breath crushed out of them. The bond burned, snapped, and recoiled. It felt like claws ripping through their chests.

Emira watched them, her expression filled with hurt and hatred. She did not move, not even when Kael reached for her through the bond that was slipping away.

Zen lifted his head, "Emira... it is all my fault. Don’t punish all of us. Please." He tried to breathe through the tearing sensation, his hand shaking. "We will always be connected with the slave bond..."

She laughed. There was no warmth in it. "What slave bond?"

She shifted her collar aside, showing them the unmarked skin where their claw marks had been. The marks were gone, erased completely.

"It has already been broken," she said. "I, Emira, will never have any bond with you again."

Their hearts pounded. Lance whispered her name, but nothing reached her.

Emira turned away from them and faced the darkness forming behind the fog. A tall shadow rose there, and as they watched, she bowed her head slightly.

"Master," she said, her voice softer but unwavering, "I am willing to be your bride... to bring you back to this world and stand by your side as you reclaim your power."

The fog thickened. And they could only watch, helpless, as Emira walked toward the shadow instead of them.