A few hours earlier…
When Zephyr summoned the warlock God and stated his request, he asked for an irreversible curse.
“I want to cast a curse on my stepbrother, Alpha King Alexander, so that he could never find his mate, nor could his mate sense a bond with him. This curse must persist through all his future lives,” Zephyr described with determination.
“Are you absolutely certain? Once granted, this wish cannot be undone,” cautioned the Warlock God, Zythorath.
“I never want it reversed,” Zephyr gritted his teeth, consumed by hatred.
“Very well, I shall grant your wish and cast a curse upon Alexander’s mate bond. Your stepbrother, Alpha Alexander, will never sense a mate, and his mate will be unable to sense him. This curse shall endure across his lifetimes,” declared the Warlock God, Zythorath.
Suddenly, the weather changed; thunder roared and lightning crackled across the sky above them. A bolt of lightning struck the secret chamber where they were conversing. Everything in the room began shaking and falling to the ground, but Zephyr managed to escape the lightning strike that burned everything around him.
“What just happened?” Zephyr murmured in disbelief, his frantic eyes surveying the devastation unfolding around them.
“You fool!” the warlock God, Zythorath, growled, his eyes burning red with fury. “Why didn’t you tell me that they were true mates?”
“Does it matter?” Zephyr asked in confusion.
He had always known that Arabella was Alexander’s true mate, and he had planned to marry her before Alexander found her, driven by jealousy toward his stepbrother. That was why he intentionally schemed to prevent Alexander from attending the mating ball. However, he never anticipated genuinely falling in love with Arabella, and now, he couldn’t bring himself to leave her. He wanted to spend his whole life with her and wanted her in every life, not for revenge but for his love this time.”
“You idiot, Warlock King!” The God roared. “A true Mate bond is the most powerful thing in the whole universe, and putting a curse on Alexander’s mate bond, separating him from his destined mate, made me lose my power, and you have lost your immortality,” he revealed.
“What do you mean?” Zephyr gasped in horror.
“You heard me,” the God Zythorath affirmed. “You are now an ordinary man and have lost your magical powers.”
“No, that can’t be true,” Zephyr screamed.
“It has happened, and now I have to regain my power and atone for my sins,” the God Zythorath informed before disappearing.
“No matter that I don’t have powers, I will find you in every life, Arabella, and now you are mine in every life. The curse has severed your ties with Alexander, so now you are mine forever,” he mumbled to himself before breaking into maniacal laughter.
Suddenly, he felt the searing pain of betrayal in his heart. He didn’t need to ponder why it was happening; it meant only one thing: Alexander had mated with Arabella.
“You son of a bitch!” Zephyr cursed, his hand clutching his chest in agony. “You will die by my hand today,” Zephyr groaned as he hurried to find his horse and set off to locate his beloved wife and stepbrother.
When he finally found them, the sight before him caused a torrent of anguish. Alexander had already marked Arabella, and she, in turn, had marked Alexander.
“How could you do this to me, Arabella?” Zephyr shouted with rage as he rushed toward them, but Alexander stood between Arabella and Zephyr, stopping him from reaching her.
“Stay away from my mate,” Alexander growled.
“She is my mate,” Zephyr yelled.
“She bonded with me, and now she is mine,” Alexander affirmed smugly.
“You bastard! How dare you violate my mate and try to snatch her from me,” Zephyr bellowed.
“Arabella, come to me. I will forgive you because it’s not your fault. This motherfucker has brainwashed you and put a spell on you,” Zephyr tried to manipulate her again, but Arabella was now standing beside Alexander and understood everything he was feeling at that moment through their mate bond.
“That’s not true, Zephyr,” Arabella said. “Alexander loves me, and I love him,” she confessed. Alexander took her in his arms, wrapping a hand around her waist as both looked into each other’s eyes with so much love.
“Arabella, how could you say it?” he asked in disbelief. “You are my mate, my queen. How can you leave me?” he said as his heart burned with jealousy and vengeance. His plan went in vain as Alexander found his mate and now their bond was completed. Zephyr couldn’t let it happen. He couldn’t bear to see his stepbrother happy while he would be left in sorrow, having lost his powers, his immortality, and his mate.
“Please, Zephyr, let me go. I am destined to be Alexander’s mate,” Arabella pleaded. “I can feel this mate bond, and I fear I will perish without him,” she begged once more. “Please, let me go.”
“No!” Zephyr roared with rage. “You are mine, Arabella, and you will always be mine. No one can take you away from me.”
Suddenly he retrieved a hidden silver dagger from his clothes and struck at Alexander. However, Arabella swiftly slid between them, and the dagger pierced her chest.
“Arabella!”
“Arabella! No!”
Both men shouted as her lifeless body fell to the ground.