(Amaia)

Aziel and my friends are having a conversation when I sense something wrong with Rigel. The unfiltered rage that fills the bond leaves my heart restlessly pounding.

"I need to get to Rigel," I hastily say. "Stay here."

Jumping to my feet, I start running in the direction of where I can feel him.

His mother’s room...

His harrowing cries reach me before I can even see him. Pushing the door open, I enter the horror scene in front.

His shadows have left him and gathered around his mother as if trying to protect her and keep her away from him.

Rigel is kneeling on the floor, holding his head, doused in a visible darkness. His eyes have blown wide while he screams—unable to escape whatever nightmare he is trapped in. The anguish I witness on his face breaks me yet again.

"Rigel!" His mom is trying to get to him but failing miserably. His own shadows are holding her back.

"Stay back," I quietly warn her, rushing towards my mate.

My arms go around his cold and shaking body. He is so unstable, if I don’t hold him he will explode just like I do. "I am here."

My shield flows out, surrounding him, holding his explosive powers in.

"What’s going on?" Saiph’s startled voice reaches me through the mindlink.

"It’s Rigel, I need you guys. Hurry back."

"We are coming," Alnilam assures me.

Rigel recognises me. His bloodshot eyes snap open and they find me. He tries to speak but I can see him struggling. The demons that cling to him stare back at me.

I grab his face. "You can fight this, Rigel. I know you are stronger than any of us."

I can see he is stuck in the past, most probably in some horrible memory.

His screams slowly die down but his arms remain tight around my body. Lowering himself, he buried his face in my lap.

The ache in my heart makes it difficult for me to breathe. My fingers comb through his hair, calm slow strokes as I try to bring him out of this horrendous nightmare.

I lift my gaze to observe his mother who is watching us with widened eyes filled with tears.

"I am sorry," she mimes at me but I shake my head.

None of this is her fault. I don’t wish to ask her in front of Rigel because it might trigger him again. But I can guess what happened. She seems to have told him the truth about his father.

Rigel’s shadows remain around her, showing how deeply he cares about his mother but at the same time, he can’t control his emotions. He hasn’t felt safe in such a long time and he is sensitive.

Saiph had a similar life but he was trained to conceal his emotions, Rigel wasn’t.

The door yanks open and my mates burst in, one after the other. Worries clouded their faces.

Their eyes dart from me to Rigel to Queen Adrnia.

"What happened?" Alnitak asks, alarmed, hurrying towards me.

I bunch my lips and shake my head.

"It’s my fault," Queen Adrnia guiltily says. "I should have waited knowing his situation."

Mintaka moves closer to Queen Adrnia and holds her shoulders in assurance. There is a deep respect between the two. Rigel’s shadows finally lift off her body and return to him.

"He knows," Saiph quietly asks and she gives her son a nod. He comes to kneel beside us, and so does Alnilam. 𝘧𝓇ℯ𝑒𝓌𝑒𝑏𝓃𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭.𝒸ℴ𝓂

Alnilam, Mintaka and Alnitak appear confused.

Rigel finally lifts his head from my lap and sits, facing his brothers. A desolation seems to have engulfed him. At least he is not stuck in the past.

"Rigel!" Saiph holds his twin’s drooping shoulders.

His anguished eyes waver to his mother.

"She took everything from me. Even my father and brothers." The pain in his voice makes my heart clench.

"No one is taking you away from us. We are right here," Alnilam determinedly says.

"But she did...she already did..." he insists with the stubbornness of a child.

"Rigel is Hathial’s biological son. Similar to how Alnilam and B-Twins were conceived. Queen Adrnia informed him. That’s why he is in shock," I tell the others through the mindlink, keeping it close with Rigel.

"What? How?" Alnitak asks in a baffled tone.

I give them a brief detail so they can understand what Rigel is going through.

Alnilam stays quiet all through this. His face stern and contorted as if he were in deep thought.

He gestures to Saiph to let him kneel in front of his brother. Saiph stands up, letting Alnilam take his place.

He places his hands on Rigel’s upper arms.

"Rigel, we might not be blood related but that can’t break the bond we share. We are brothers, always will be." Alnitak and Mintaka join him from both sides.

"No one can take you away from us now. We are bound for life." Mintaka holds his lower arm.

"You will always be our elder brother," Alnitak insists, touching his knee.

"And we will always be together. Brothers for life." I let Mintaka hold him, vacating the space where I was sitting.

Standing up, Saiph takes me in his arms so we can observe this heart-warming scene.

"You guys mean it?" Rigel questions in a quivering voice, tears brimming in his grieved eyes.

"Yes, we don’t care about any of it. The five of us are brothers, end of story," Alnilam warmly says, making Queen Adrnia sniffle once again.

"Look at what that woman did. She gave birth to us and yet here we are. I have come to learn that blood doesn’t define relationships, bonds do," Mintaka wisely says, holding onto Rigel.

My red-eyed mate slowly nods, his gaze finding me.

Tears make the back of my eyes burn. Saiph tightly holds me but I can sense the heightened emotions, the collective vulnerability. The sting of the bond we share.

Queen Adrnia steps forward. My mates make space for her but remain beside their brother. She lowers herself in front of her son and holds his face. "Rigel. I would never ask you to make a choice that will hurt you. But I wanted you to know the truth so you could get to know your biological father as well." She lifts her hands and places them on Alnilam and Alnitak’s shoulders.

"And they are your brothers, always will be. Not only that, they are my sons too."

A wave of joy passes through my mates. That glumness that had descended suddenly evaporates with her words. Their arms go around Queen Adrnia in a group hug.

Alnitak breaks down crying. I know how he misses his mother. It has been so difficult for him. But this is a blissful moment.

"Thank you! We appreciate that."

We have become a family. We complete each other. We share our pain and our laughter.

"Amaia!" Rigel calls me forward and I join them. Others stand up, leaving Rigel and Queen Adrnia, holding onto each other.

"I don’t wish to leave her. She is my mate," he tells his mother with a sniffle.

"We will never ask that of you, my Moonling. For now, let’s win this war. There is plenty of time for everything else." Her assuring words delve deep into our hearts and I am glad that there are no secrets between us now.

"Soon, I wish to go and speak to your father. I don’t know if I can call him my father anymore," Rigel stiffly says to others.

"You will be surprised. He has a big heart." His mother smiles at me and I hope for a fruitful reunion between the two.