TESSA’S POV
The rest of the world disappeared.
My heart was pounding so loudly that my eyes could only focus on the two powerful werewolves staring over at me as if I were the most valuable gem they had ever seen tonight.
The future Alpha and Beta, who both called me mate…
“Tessa,” Cohen murmured, and I stared straight into his pair of blue eyes that sparked in an entrancing manner. “You’re my mate.”
I wasn’t able to answer, as before I could collect my thoughts, Atlas had already growled at him. The future Alpha gave him a deadly glare, as if he was telling him to back off and cut the lies he had just said.
“She is mine, Cohen. She’s my mate!” He grunted at him.
Cohen glanced at him in grim. Both of them glared at each other, like they were ready to spar and hurt each other all because of this misunderstanding…
“I… I don’t understand,” I murmured as I stepped back.
How come I had two mates? I examined my emotions and did not feel anything other than confusion and dread. The mate bond pull… Aunt Alice told me that it was supposed to be a magical feeling, yet I did not feel such things… not to any of them!
“You must be mistaken, Atlas. I can feel the mate bond right here inside me,” Cohen said firmly, his jaw clenching. “Tessa is mine-”
“No,” Atlas remarked. “She’s mine. I can feel it. There’s no fucking way she’s your mate too!”
“She is my mate!”
I screamed when Atlas punched Cohen in the face. He growled like a beast, and shifted into his wolf form. My entire body trembled in fear as I looked at Atlas’ wolf. It was massive, with a jet black coat that glowed in the moonlight, a pair of burning gold eyes, and fangs that could rip flesh in an instant. He then howled, like a possessive beast marking his territory.
“P-Please…” I gasped.
It was the first time I ever saw a werewolf who shifted into his wolf form, and I could not describe how I felt. Damn it, I could not even think anymore; the world seemed like a dizzy mess that terrified me to the core!
Cohen growled loudly. One blink of an eye, and he shifted as well. His wolf was dark gray, and a bit small compared to Atlas.
“P-Please stop it!” I yelled, and my tears started to fall. “D-Don’t fight!”
But they didn’t listen to me and had started to brawl despite my pleading for them to control their anger. The next thing I knew was that warrior wolves intervened before they could kill each other. A few minutes later, the Alpha, Luna, and the Highest Priestess came.
“What’s going on here?” Alpha Frank’s voice thundered through the whole mountain, making the rest of the shifters who were mating stop what they were doing.
“The future Alpha and Beta have one mate.” The Highest Priestess pointed her finger at me. “This girl. She’s their mate.”
“How is that even possible?” Luna Serene asked hysterically and looked over at me with such disgust.
The Highest Priestess shook her head. “I wish I could tell you what’s on the Moon Goddess’ mind. This is the first time I encountered two male werewolves having one mate.”
“This must be a mistake!” Luna said. The irritation in her tone was evident. “The girl doesn’t have a wolf!”
“Confess if anyone of you is telling a lie right now,” Alpha Frank commanded the two heirs. “There’s no way that both of you will have one mate.”
At that moment, Atlas shifted back to his human form, and I turned my gaze away as he was fully naked. “Beat me. You can talk to my wolf and you’ll know I’m telling the truth, Alpha,” Atlas remarked in his hoarse voice, and then he stared over at me. “She’s my mate… I’m sure of it.”
“And I’m sure that she’s my mate too,” Cohen uttered in his wolf form.
“No.” Luna shook her head. “I can’t accept that our son is mated to an orphan like her!”
My lips parted when I felt a sting of pain in my chest. I understood that Luna hated me, but did she really have to say it in front of others?
There was a sudden shift in the air. In a flash, I saw my vampire guardians standing behind me. Aunt Alice was quick to engulf me in a hug, and my tears immediately fell when I buried my face on her chest. A breath of relief escaped my throat, still finding myself lucky to have some guardians who were going to protect me from this mess.
“Please, don’t frighten my niece,” she said carefully.
“I swear we can get this fixed,” Uncle Harry added.
“How?” Alpha asked him in frustration.
“Tessa will tell us to whom she feels the mate bond,” Uncle answered, and then I felt him rubbing my back. “Tess, I know this must be hard for you, but you have to tell us what you feel.”
Shit… That’s the problem!
I don’t fucking feel anything… not even the mate bond pull!
All I could feel was fear and disappointment that this night had turned into chaos because of me!
“Make your niece speak, Alice,” Alpha Frank ordered.
Aunt Alice held my shoulders, pulling back so she could look at me in my eyes. My lower lip quivered as I glanced up at her, too afraid that one word of a mistake could lead me into trouble.
“Tess…” she called me in her familiar soothing voice. “You can tell what you feel.”
I shook my head, tears streaming down my cheeks as I struggled to keep them from falling.
“I promise that the adults are going to handle this right.” She caressed my cheek, and offered me a thin smile. “But for us to do that, you have to tell us to whom you feel the mate bond pull.”
Everyone fell silent, and I knew for sure they were all waiting for my answer. I spun around, meeting both Atlas and Cohen’s hopeful gazes…
Those gazes swallowed me up, making my legs wobble so badly.
“I… I don’t feel anything towards any of you,” I answered in defeat. “I don’t feel any mate bond or anything crazy. I just…” I trailed off and looked back at Aunt Alice. “I just feel terrified…”
“Then there’s no other option but to reject her,” Luna suggested. “Atlas, reject her now while she can’t feel the mate bond. You know there’s a throne waiting for you, and having a weak girl as a Luna won’t do you any good.”
“Your mother is right,” Alpha Frank added.
Atlas’s growl silenced all of them. “No, you’re going to have to kill me before I reject the girl.”
“Please, Atlas-”
“Don’t start on me, Cohen!” Atlas grunted.
“Then I guess we have to wait until the girl is ready,” the Highest Priestess suggested. “If none of you reject her, then you will have to wait until her wolf gets ready and, from there, she will choose among you.”
“That’s insane!” Luna shrieked in frustration.
“Do not disrespect the bond, Luna Serene. I am sure that the Moon Goddess has a plan for the three of them, and it will unfold when the right time comes…”