Chapter 16: Fated To Two Mates
Rosalie:
Mate.
The word echoed through my entire being like a shockwave. Every nerve inside my body lit up violently as I stared into those deep gray eyes, unable to breathe, unable to think, unable to understand what was happening.
Mate.
This breathtaking stranger standing in front of me... was my mate.
How was that even possible?
After everything with Alastor, Darien, and Kaiser... after spending years loving them... after believing the Moon Goddess had completely abandoned me - How could I suddenly have a mate now?
And not just any mate.
The bond slammed into me with terrifying intensity. It felt ancient, powerful, and real. More real than anything I had ever experienced before. But the strangest part was... right now, none of that seemed to matter. Because all my burning body could focus on was the fact that he was cold. Wonderfully cold.
The coolness radiating from him felt addictive against my overheated skin, and instinctively, I found myself leaning toward him again, desperate for more of that relief.
But before I could fully move, another pair of hands settled firmly against me from behind.
I gasped softly.
The touch wasn’t rough, not even remotely. But it was strong enough to completely pull my attention away from the gray-eyed stranger. And the moment that cold touch met my burning skin, another wave of relief crashed through me.
My eyes widened slightly.
Cold. He felt cold too. Exactly the same. Exactly what my body seemed to crave desperately right now.
The realization hit slowly at first. Then all at once. My breath caught violently as my mind screamed... no.
No way!
My pulse thundered wildly as I became suddenly aware of the body standing behind me, close enough that I could feel solid warmth and strength surrounding me from the back while the gray-eyed stranger remained directly in front of me.
Both of them affected me the same way. Both of them made the strange unbearable heat inside me react violently. Both of them...
My breath shook as the realization hit me hard - the man behind me was my mate too. A stunned part of my brain tried desperately to process that impossible realization.
Two mates?
But the thought barely survived for more than a second before another burning wave rolled through my body so intensely it nearly made my knees give out completely.
My mind felt foggy and heavy. The heat was swallowing everything - logic, questions, sanity... all of it. Somewhere through the haze, I heard the gray-eyed man speak. His voice was deep and smooth, carrying an effortless calmness that somehow made the burning inside me worsen.
"She’s in heat."
Heat? The word barely registered. My brain felt too muddled to fully process it.
The gray-eyed stranger continued speaking, this time to the man behind me. "You should take care of her."
There was something unreadable in his expression as he looked at me again. There wasn’t coldness or cruelty, but something guarded and controlled.
"I’ll wait downstairs."
Then, he moved. He stepped past me toward the hallway, and suddenly panic surged violently through me.
No. He was leaving.
Instinct took over instantly and I reached toward him without thinking. But before I could grab him, the man behind me tightened his hold gently around my waist, stopping me effortlessly.
The movement pressed my back fully against his chest, and a shaky breath escaped me immediately.
Stars... that felt good. Too good. The coolness from his body spread through me deliciously while his scent wrapped around me completely now, a very familiar scent.
My overheated brain struggled desperately through the haze until finally recognition hit. Then the man spoke softly behind me.
"Rosalie."
My entire body froze as I recognized that familiar voice. My eyes widened as I turned my head upward slightly, and stared directly into deep blue eyes.
Eiden.
Shock flickered through me. That was why the scent felt so familiar. Eiden was my mate too. My heart slammed violently against my ribs.
None of this made sense. None of it. But the moment I fully looked at him, another wave of heat rolled through my body so intensely that my thoughts scattered all over again.
The coolness of his skin, his scent, his closeness... everything about him felt overwhelmingly right. A distant rational part of me knew I should step away, that I should ask questions and demand explanations. Figure out why the Moon Goddess had suddenly decided to bind me to not one but two men after everything that happened.
But my body refused to cooperate.
Instead of moving away, I moved closer. Slowly and instinctively, until my face buried itself against the side of Eiden’s throat. And the moment my skin touched his, a soft sound almost escaped my lips from relief alone.
Cool. He felt so cool.
My lips brushed unconsciously against the soft skin of his neck while my hands gripped weakly against the front of his shirt. And above me, I heard him inhale sharply. The sound instantly sent another strange pulse through my body.
His arms tightened slightly around my waist, not possessively but carefully. As though he was trying very hard to control himself.
"Rosalie," he said quietly. His voice sounded rougher now.
But I barely heard him. All I could focus on was the unbearable burning inside me and the relief his body provided against it.
I wanted more.
The realization startled me faintly. But not enough to stop me. My fingers curled harder into his shirt while I pressed closer unconsciously, breathing in his scent deeply. Something needy and restless clawed wildly beneath my skin, making it impossible to think clearly.
"Please..." I whispered without even understanding what I was asking for.
Eiden went completely still behind me. Then slowly, carefully, he turned us around and guided me back inside his bedroom.
My legs barely cooperated the entire way as the heat kept worsening with every second. Everything felt too sensitive. The brush of fabric against my skin, the warmth of his breath near me, the feeling of his hands steadying my waist.
By the time we reached the bed, I was trembling badly.
Eiden tried easing me down gently onto the mattress, but the moment he started pulling away, panic surged through me again.
"No."
The word escaped instantly. My fingers latched desperately onto his shirt.
"Don’t go."
The vulnerable desperation in my own voice embarrassed me faintly somewhere beneath the haze, but the heat consuming me was stronger than shame.
Eiden’s expression shifted slightly as he looked down at me. Something dark flickered briefly in his blue eyes before disappearing again beneath control.
"I’m not leaving." His voice remained calm and gentle, far gentler than the frantic state I was currently in deserved.
But the reassurance still soothed something inside me, though barely. Because the heat kept building.
I wanted his hands on me. Wanted the coldness of his body closer. Wanted... the realization made my breathing hitch.
Stars! I was really in heat.
The thought should have horrified me. Instead, it only made the burning worse.
Eiden carefully freed one hand from my grip before reaching toward the bedside drawer. I barely noticed what he was grabbing because the moment he moved slightly away, I instinctively followed again, practically trying to climb back into his space.
"Rosalie," he murmured softly. His hand gently cupped the side of my face for a brief second, and the coolness instantly made me melt toward him. "It’ll pass soon."
Then I felt something sharp press lightly against my arm. An injection.
I barely reacted. My eyes remained fixed entirely on him while he slowly injected the medicine into my bloodstream.
The effect started almost immediately. Not fully, but enough. The burning slowly dulled from unbearable agony into something softer and more distant. My body relaxed heavily against the mattress while exhaustion suddenly crashed into me all at once.
Eiden adjusted the blanket over me carefully afterward.
My eyelids already felt impossibly heavy. Still, even through the fading haze, I found myself reaching weakly toward him one last time. His hand immediately caught mine gently. And somehow, that alone calmed me enough to finally let sleep drag me under.
