The Alpha Heirs’ Prize

CHAPTER 2

Daniel stood in front of us now, his gaze still trained on me as he spoke to his brother.

“Why have you decided to wait here for me? What if I had decided to come back after two days instead?”

Nathan seemed oblivious to what was happening between me and his brother, or he chose to ignore it. He shrugged as he replied: “Well, we would have left if didn’t see you.”

I was the first to break eye contact as I turned to look at Nathan to grab his attention and tell him that things were not going the way we had planned. How would Daniel react when he found out that his mate was his brother’s lover?

Nathan, too engrossed in what we were there to do, took my hand in his with a proud smile.

“This is Nailea,” he said. “We are not bound by a mate bond from the Moon Goddess, but I love her, and she loves me. We were wondering if you could help us to convince father about making us have a private mating ceremony. If we’re not bound by a mate bond, we can at least be bound by blood, right? Please tell me you’re going to do it. She doesn’t have the best relationship with her parents, and I’m trying to get her out as well.”

Even when I looked down at the floor, I could see Daniel looking from me to his brother.

“You’re telling me that I should approve this…union between you and my mate because you’re in love with her?” Daniel said, making sure to emphasize that I was his mate.

Nathan tensed up, looking at me and expecting something from me – perhaps he wanted me to say that it was a lie, that I didn’t feel a mate bond with his brother, but that would be the only lie here.

“I don’t think I understand what you mean. What do you mean by the union between me and your mate?” Nathan questioned his brother, pulling me close to him in a possessive manner as if Daniel was just two seconds away from grabbing me out of his hands.

“You heard me, Nathan. You can ask her if you don’t believe me. Nailea.” I gasped at the strange sensation I got in response to him calling out my name. “Tell him the truth.”

I looked at Nathan with apologetic eyes. “I’m sorry. This isn’t going the way we wanted.”

Nathan shook his head in denial as he looked at his brother. Then, he went ahead to tell his brother words that brought a sudden chill to my bones.

“Reject her.”

I turned towards Nathan, but he wasn’t looking at me. He was waiting for his brother to say something in response or follow his command without question.

“Nathan…” I said, but that was just about the only thing I could say. What was there to say? I was in love with Nathan, and there was nothing that could change that, but how could I bear the thought of my mate rejecting me just minutes after I saw him?

I had always been eager for a mate, but that was when I thought Nathan would be my mate. It didn’t help that his brother, the next Alpha, was my mate. It felt like a stab to Nathan in the back.

I hated everything and how we were handling it so suddenly.

“We need to talk about this,” I suggested in a low voice, doubting that they even heard me.

“What do we need to talk about, Nailea? You said you loved me. You assured me just today that we would do it. You agreed that what you and I have is stronger than a mate bond.”

At Nathan’s words, I looked at Daniel, who was simply watching the scene play out with his eyebrows raised. My shame knew no bounds now as the thought of what he probably thought of me started to toil around in my head.

Did he think I was naïve enough to believe so much in my love for his brother that I was quick to deny a mate bond?

I shook those thoughts off my head just as Daniel cleared his throat.

“I just got back from a long journey, and I’m too exhausted for this,” he sighed. “Do you two want me to reject her or not? The decision lies with you two, honestly, because I have no intention of having anything to do with my brother’s lover as my mate. To me, my family is more important to me than all of this. The last thing I will do is sacrifice what makes my brother happy for my own pleasure. You two need to make up your mind here and now so that I can sort this out and go home to take a rest.”

Nathan and I looked at each other, and his mind was completely set on what he wanted – he wanted to be my mate, and he wanted his brother to reject me for that to happen.

Nathan nodded at me, taking my hand. He seemed to be of the opinion that I was supportive of what his idea was.

I was conflicted.

I wanted to be with Nathan, but I didn’t want to experience the feeling of being rejected. Not by his brother, not by anything.

“I have heard that the Moon Goddess gives some people a second chance,” Nathan spoke. “Maybe if you reject each other, another mate bond can bloom between us this time. We just have to find out. I stand by my choice of wanting you to reject her.”

They both turned to me, waiting for me to speak on my decision out loud.

I was quiet, and I was staring at the ground the whole time.

I couldn’t eat my cake and have it, it wasn’t fair on either of them.

Besides, Daniel had already expressed that he didn’t want anything to do with me. Family came first, which meant that with enough convincing, he would most definitely let me and Nathan get mated.

I took a deep breath and braced myself for whatever impact getting rejected was going to have on me.

“I’m ready. Reject me.”

I felt Nathan squeeze my hand reassuringly as Daniel nodded in acknowledgement of our wishes.

“I, Daniel of Moonflower Pack, reject you; Nailea; as my mate. Do you accept this decision?”

The bond tightened, waiting for me to accept the rejection before it would shatter to pieces.

“I accept your rejection.”

My heart stopped for a minute as I felt the mate bond come loose and undone. Daniel walked away without care, heading home as I held Nathan’s shoulders to keep myself from falling down.

“This doesn’t feel good, Nathan,” I groaned as my heart pricked me like a thousand needles.

“Just take deep breaths,” he instructed, rubbing my back. “You’re almost there.”

“I can’t believe this. I can’t. This hurts more than I thought it would. Oh, goddess.” I heaved, placing my head against Nathan’s chest and tightening my grip on the hem his shirt, sobbing as the pain reached a new peak.

“I have to go home,” I informed, turning around and rushing back home.

“Nailea, wait—”

“I’ll meet you at our spot tomorrow,” I said, running towards my house and taking deep breaths to quell the pain.

I sat under a tree when I got exhausted. The pain started to subside, and I didn’t know how long I stayed under the tree until the pain finally stopped and I made my way back home.

Thankfully, my parents were not awake to question me. I collapsed on the bed and getting knocked out, only waking up when I heard a loud noise coming from outside the house. I opened my eyes, trying to figure out what the person was yelling until I started to grasp it when I got full consciousness.

“THE ALPHA IS DEAD! THE ALPHA HAS BEEN MURDERED! THERE IS A MURDERER IN MOONFLOWER PACK!”