My Exotic Mate

Reunion, interrupted!

Kai

I stayed by Mari’s side for a few days now. I knew that I had duties to fulfill, but she mattered more to me than those duties. Her waking up was my priority and I would give anything to hear her voice again, to hear her smart mouth again. I sat here holding her hand, hoping and praying that her fingers would at least twitch. I watched her chest rise and fall. Three days is a long time to sleep without waking up. I counted every second and it was frustrating. It was like waiting for water to boil. After sitting there for so long, my legs began to feel numb. I stood to give myself a good stretch and turned when someone knocked on the door. Shortly after, Malik and Rafe entered just like they have for the past two days. “How is she?” Rafe asked.

“She’s still the same. All of this doesn’t make sense. She was fine at least I thought. I don’t know what happened. I swear I heard her talking to herself the other morning.”

Malik’s eyebrows knitted together. “What was she saying?”

“I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but when I asked if she’s okay, she lied to me.”

Rafe shrugged, “ do you think it had something to do with the portal?” Honestly, I haven’t even thought about that. I remember one Miren mentioned that it could open up a dark side. What if that’s the reason she passed out?

“It’s possible, but we’ll have to wait until she wakes up.” Hopefully, it’s soon. Changing the subject, I asked Malik about his relationship with Miren.

“Complicated. She’s amazing, caring and passionate. I’ve never had a woman take care of me the way she did.” His eyes lit up when he talked about her.

“I never knew you were capable of catching feelings, Lik,” Rafe teased.

“Shut up,” he groaned.

This was the distraction I needed. My brother’s bickering made me sane. “Well, do you?” I wondered. My curiosity was piqued.

“I do, but it’s not the mate bond. She’s not my fated mate and I don’t want to start something with her just for my mate to come along.” I had my fair share of women before Mari came into the picture. They knew their role and knew not to disobey their Alpha.

“So you’re going to keep friend-zoning her?” Rafe inquired.

“It’s the right thing to do.” Malik doing the right thing for a woman! Yeah, my brother is in love. I was proud of him. Finding your mate is a gamble. You never know who you’re dated to until it happens and that can be a good or bad thing. Granted we can reject a mate, but it’s such a hassle.

“What about you Rafe?”

“What about me? I’m not thinking about a mate.”

“Maybe that’s what you need,” Malik joked. “You always got your panties in a twist. Loosen up, get laid, or something.” Rafe wasn’t that type of person, but Malik made a valid point. He’s too serious, he needs to live a little. For once, I felt relaxed. My brothers always knew how to keep me sane and this was perfect. Out the corner of my eye, I saw movement. My eyes immediately went to Mari.

“Guys?” They paused turning their attention to me.

I pointed at her. “Look!” Her chest jerked and her eyes fluttered before the small slits opened. She was disoriented as she tried to come to terms of where she was. When her landed on me, I smiled.

“Kai?” She squinted.

“Hi, how are you feeling?” I knelt down beside her.

“I’m okay, just a little thirsty.” Her voice was raspy. Rafe offered to get her some water and Malik went to call Miren. It was just us and I had so many questions. Something’s wrong, I feel it. She’s different.

“Are you in pain?”

“No,” she answered as she adjusted herself in a more comfortable position. Rafe came back with the glass of water and handed it to me. She smiled at him, silently thanking him. I raised it up to her lips and watched as the cool liquid disappeared into her mouth. I observed her thoroughly. Her usually reddish-orange hair was a bright red and her eyes were a darker shade of green. I tried to convince myself that it was from being unconscious, but deep down, I knew it wasn’t.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” I asked again. She’s definitely different. Her vibe is off. She swung her leg to the edge of the bed and stood up. “Kai, I’m fine. You don’t have to worry.” Oh but I am. I wanted to probe for more answers, but before I could, Miren burst through the door.

“Mari?”

She ran to hug her sister. “I came as soon as I heard.” I turned back to look at Malik and had to do a double take. An identical figure was standing right next to him. Miren’s identical twin was here.

“Mesai?” Mari frowned. “H-How are you here?” Yeah, I was wondering that too.

“That’s a story for another time. What matters is that you are fine.” Mesai finally turned to me. “Alpha Kai, thank you for looking after them.”

I smiled at her. “Of course. It’s finally nice to meet you in person. Gosh, this is crazy. It’s not that I haven’t saw twins before, but two are so hard to tell apart.”

She laughed. “Yeah, we get that a lot.” Miren came in and hugged Mari and seeing all three sisters together again made me happy. Her initial reason for barging into my club was to find her sister and here they are now, reunited.

We had the pack members prepare a meal for us to celebrate the reunion and Mari’s awakening. I still felt leery about her, but decided to just enjoy the moment. Everything was going good until it wasn’t. There was a loud scream before a few men barged into the pack house with arrows and swords. Everyone paused and protectively, I placed Mari behind me. I began to shift, but didn’t go into full form. Out of the blue, a man appeared. He stood tall and proud and his eyes landed on Mari.

“Apollo?” Miren had a confused expression. Apollo, Mari’s ex-fiancé?

“Ahhh, my sweet love. I finally came for you,” he spoke to her as if I wasn’t standing right there. “Are you ready?”

“She’s not going anywhere with you!” I fully shifted. Apollo just laughed, unfazed.

“You silly dogs think you’re so tough. Such a shame.” He was taunting me and I felt my rage increase. Before, I knew I jumped at him and before I made my attack, I was thrown back to the ground. My body was held by red hair with snake faces on the ends. I was unable to move, no matter how hard I fought. I felt my body shift back to my human form. My eyes followed where the hair led to and my heart dropped. Mari glowing yellow eyes bore into mine.

“Mari, stop!” Mesai yelled. As she tried to pull me away, another snake-like lock gripped her and then Miren.

“Awww sweetie, this reunion was fun, but now the real fun is about to happen.”

“Risa,” Miren spat.

“You got it, sister! Now if you’ll excuse me, my man and I have some catching up to do.” Mari-Risa walked confidently to Apollo’s side and gave him a long searing kiss. Damn it hurts so bad to watch. Even Lennix was howling in pain. I was helpless and I couldn’t put my pack at risk without knowing what’s going on. Risa, who the hell she is, smirked at me. She played me pretending to be Mari and I fell for it, despite knowing something was off. Now I understand it. This wasn’t Mari. This was a darker, more wicked version of her.