Chapter 205: Clash Between Alnilam and Rigel

(Amaia)

His words seem to have reached inside my chest and wrenched my fragile heart out. So, is he going to ignore that his wolf almost marked me, and he had to shift to stop him? His wolf recognises me as his mate, he does too, so why is he acting like this?

"Were you born a jerk or just grew up to become one?" I ask in frustration, unable to hold back my anger.

My body is burning, his words fuel its rage. Frustrated at his lack of concern for me, for the mate bond that we have been blessed with.

Creases on his forehead deepen. "Both, better to stay away."

"So you are going to ignore that your wolf was about to mark me. At least your wolf has more sense than you do." I point out and he bristles. His hair moves wildly behind him, as a storm brews within them, but they don’t approach me today.

I don’t understand why. They never listen to him, and today, when he finally recognises me as his mate, they won’t touch me.

"He doesn’t understand anything. He is just a wild animal. You are mated to my brothers so let’s not forget that."

The pain in my heart becomes unbearable, it extends to my belly. Alnilam is the one who has intentionally and unintentionally brought me the most pain and he continues to do so.

Sometimes I want to hate him and yet I can’t. Why is he so afraid of the mate bond?

He knows, he fucking knows I am his mate and yet he won’t say it. Making this damn curse not break and lift. Just because he is stubborn. Just because he doesn’t want to hurt the feelings of his brothers and Jamina.

"You are a fucking coward, Alnilam. You know and yet you are pretending. You care, I know you do but won’t admit."

My anger mingles with resentment; he burns me like no other, and yet he won’t accept me.

Why wouldn’t his magic come for me?

I need it, desperately. Yet his hair lifelessly drops on his shoulders. The bond blasts with our unfiltered emotions. A hint of guilt flashes on his face but that veil of indifference he has perfected falls rapidly.

The tears burning the back of my eyes finally fall and he grimaces seeing them.

"It’s Sir Alnilam for you," he says in a controlled voice and I want to hurl something towards him in the rage that makes my hand curl up.

"Fuck you and your Sir." I have never lost my composure like that but this man breaks every single restraint I hold.

A presence I feel beside me as if someone has just landed there. His cold hands come around my waist, pulling me into his rigid body.

"Amaia!" Rigel’s voice has me turning towards him. Confusion has etched onto his handsome face that quickly merges into anger.

Using his fingertips, he wipes the leaking tears from my eyes.

"Why are you crying? Did he do something?" The accusation in his voice is so clear. His gaze dips towards my neck where a scratch has been left by Alnilam’s wolf.

I lean into Rigel, burying my face into his chest while shaking my head. The emotions clog my throat.

How should I tell him that all Alnilam does is emotional damage?

Rigel blazes at Alnilam. "What did you do to her?"

"Nothing, she came to me while I was in my wolf form. I had to transform back. She interrupted my running session."

A sob leaves me, and that breaks something inside my dark-haired mate.

Rigel’s shadows lift off his body in a blinding fury, and they attack Alnilam, forming pointed ends.

Alnilam’s light shield shoots out, countering his darkness. They are like two sides of the moon, the light and the dark.

"Nooo, stop fighting," I yell, but Rigel’s rage is beyond imagination. His eyes are glowing like embers. His slick shadows relentlessly attack Alnilam from all directions.

"You made her cry, when you were supposed to protect her," Rigel accuses. His body tenses in my arms.

Alnilam doesn’t even fight back hearing what Rigel has said. These words seem to snap something in him and his shield disappears. A black snake forms from the extension of Rigel’s darkness. It wraps itself around Alnilam’s throat, choking him.

We are connected, emotionally. I feel like the snake is around my neck and I can’t breathe. Alnilam slowly drops to his knees, his eyes bulging out, as he tries to pry away the snake from his neck. His magic does nothing to help him.

"Please! Stop!" I yell, banging my fists on Rigel’s chest but he is lost in his own darkness. He can kill Alnilam like this.

Leaving him, I try to madly rush towards Alnilam but he senses my intention. His shield erects between him and me, creating a barrier.

My fists bang against his shield, trying to get to him. The bond painfully squirms in my chest. Tears desperately drop from my eyes.

I am seconds away from removing my necklace and blasting both of them with my powers when I hear footsteps.

It’s my other mates. Horror-struck, they scramble towards us. Saiph’s scythe cleanly moves to cut away Rigel’s shadows which are suffocating Alnilam.

While Mintaka and Saiph help Alnilam, who is rapidly coughing now, his hands are on the ground. Alnitak barrels towards me, capturing me in his arms. His face dipped in worry.

"What’s going on? Are you alright?" He holds me to himself while his accusatory eyes travel to Rigel.

"Your righteous brother hurt her. I found her injured, crying. And right now, I want to end his pathetic life for making her shed tears."

Rigel reveals without regret. There is so much hatred and unfiltered rage in his voice. How casually he speaks about death and killing others, especially when it comes to me.

"No one is killing anyone. We are adults, we should solve these issues like adults by conversing not fighting," I emphasise again, my eyes wavering at each one of them.

They all hold different emotions. The twins are confused, Saiph is stiff, Rigel is fuming while Alnilam is guilty.

His shield has disappeared from around me.

"What happened?" Mintaka questions his elder brother.

"Nothing. Amaia came here while I had wolfed out and Snow got excited seeing her because of the Blood Oath and the way she saved our lives. I had to transform, hence my nakedness," Alnilam tries to explain, still not telling them that we are mates.