Chapter 3: “She is mine!”

*ASA TRINE*

I had immediately and subconsciously let go of Cain as I turned to look at Clay’s raged form.

The trivial details that once went unnoticed by his sharp eyes now sparked in recognition as his confused gaze fazed the beautiful ocean blue to curb into darkness. His wolf was out as it pushed Clay’s body off the floor and stalked towards us.

The thudding of his steps made me wince and in a matter of few seconds I found myself pushed to a hard chest as Clay gripped me to himself forcefully.

If it had been a few minutes before, that he had kept me in a hold as tight as this I would have been overjoyed but right now it was prickling my body and burning my heart with a rancid disgust to even feel this man’s touch.

How dare he?

I also found that without my now mate’s touch that is Cain’s touch, my body had reverted back to its spent and lethargic state. I found it difficult to stand straight as the exhaustion of the previous trauma hassled through me again.

It was truly a wonder how Clay was able to keep up with his stance while suffering through this pain.

“She is my mate!” Clay’s wolf bitted out through clenched teeth while glaring at his brother who unbeknownst to the situation had momentarily, taken by surprise, stood still as he stared at us with his eyes wide and unfocused.

But as soon as the words registered in his head, his eyes narrowed to a contemptuous glare. If it had been anyone else but his own twin brother they would have submitted at once, baring their neck to spare themselves from the wrath of the Alpha who had been ready for bloodshed.

“She is mine!”

The voice that thundered out of him made Clay’s wolf flinch and Sofia cower in fear. Her cry was muffled by her own hand as she tried to vanish into the background. For some unknown reason listening to her scared voice made me feel relief although for a very petty reason I must admit.

Finally, after I gained enough strength over myself to struggle out of his hold, I pushed my aching muscles to free myself from this hellish cage. I would rather die or feel the previous pain a hundred times over before I arbitrarily let Clay get his way with me.

Sadly, it was futile to even try, because as a future Alpha, Clay held much more power than my weak body genetically could.

Suddenly my hand that had been trying to push out of the hold was yanked by another strong grip and although for a second, I felt like a rag doll being tossed around aimlessly by two infants I was more relived when I felt the tingles bursting through my skin and right to my beating heart to calm it down.

“If you dare touch my mate again then I will kill you. I wouldn’t once care if you are my twin brother,” Cain growled viciously wrapping me warmly in a protective grasp. I had once again found myself in a familiar position than a few seconds ago but unlike the previous one this left butterflies in my stomach.

‘Mate!’ my wolf contentedly sighed, already overcoming her past loss of one mate as she found another, much more loving and accepting. Her feelings of love and affection coursed through my veins and I too felt hope blossom in my heart.

Did he really love and accept us?

Was Cain willing to take us as his mate?

Can I be happy?

My human side denied giving into these new feelings so quickly, having just been deceived by one but my wolf side, Xara, had already fallen hopelessly in love with our protector.

How could we trust so easily when just minutes ago we had faced a betrayal?

I couldn’t ponder over it for long as I heard a painful growl come from Clay and then followed a few more curses.

The darkness in Clay’s eyes slowly diminished and gave way to the bright blue again. His human side was back in power and by the sardonic grin on his face the few seconds of longing that his wolf had felt for us had been suppressed now deep within.

Clay’s wolf might have wanted us but he definitely didn’t.

It hurt knowing the truth because although Clay shouldn’t mean anything to me and his existence was the personification of pain, I couldn’t deny that a part of me had liked the attention and the longing on his face.

“Did you really think that I would have wanted ‘her’ as my mate?” Clay laughed as he stood up straighter and brought his eyes to survey my body. There was laughter in those malevolent blue as his vision ran from the tips of my slipper clad feet to my mousy hair that sat on the top of my head. I hadn’t cared how I looked when I came out this morning too excited to look for my sister.

Really, who would have thought I would have met my mate and second chance mate both on the same day?

I subconsciously took a step back, pressing myself against Cain’s hard muscles as Clay’s words hurt me and affected me more than I realized. It might have been because he was my mate just a few minutes ago but more so because before this Clay had only ever been nice to me. It made me feel like an idiot to think that I had always given him a smile in return of his frugal and baseless compliments as I sang praises of him like the rest of the pack.

Had he always been lying to me when he said that he had been happy to see me or that I had looked pretty that certain day? I had never once taken those comments seriously but I wouldn’t deny when I say that I had considered him a kind person and even a friend of sorts because of them.

Had he been lying to everyone else when he went about giving out these pleasantries?

Because I swear no one would believe me if I told them about this side of their beloved Clay Arius.

“She doesn’t have one appealing quality to her and neither does she look pretty. I had always thought that how could two sisters be so far apart in their charm? While your sister, Leia, is strong and powerful you on the other hand is weak, plain and useless. You don’t hold a candle to her,” he sighed as if feeling sympathetic to the ill fate that had inhabited me.

I loved my elder sister more than anything in this world. She had been such a role model and achiever that I often found myself feeling proud of her. She left such a mark in every task that she overtook or field that she stepped in that it was difficult not loving and admiring her. That being said as she had been the best, I was automatically in comparison far behind her.

I had been hidden in her brilliance and besides a few people almost everyone had shrouded me in her shadow hoping for me to someday be able to follow my sisters shining path of success.

It therefore hurt when Clay successfully wretched out my insecurities and played with it in a malicious gait.

“You fucking asshole!” Cain suddenly roared as he lunged at his brother lifting him by the collar of his shirt. Clay thrashed in his hold taken by surprise as he glared down at his brother but Cain didn’t give him a second to react as he threw him to the wall adjacent to the door.

“Did you really think I was going to stay quiet while I listened to you talk shit about my mate? I don’t care about what you think because it’s clear that you have a poor judgement to have left a person as beautiful as her,” Cain harshly shouted at the sprawled body of his brother that was slowly picking itself back up in a sitting position. My body felt weak as it left the protective bubble that Cain's touch had provided me but propping myself up with the help of the desk near me, I gazed at my mate.

I was happy to listen to him defend me but it came more as a shock to listen to Cain say these words. He had usually been silent and unresponsive to people in general. He had been known more for his deadly actions than his words.

So, while Clay was the sweetheart good boy of the pack Cain was the mysterious brooding quiet guy that people silently admired from afar.

I had hardly ever had direct talks with him but listening to him it made me wonder if he had actually noticed me before?

The thought warmed my heart but before I could revel in my happy feelings another loud crash resounded the room and I realized that Clay had lunged at Cain while throwing him down on the other wooden table making splinters fly across the room.

It scratched my arms and hissing I looked at the few cuts I had received. Blood peeked out from the scratch as it lined my pale skin. It was only now I realized that my body must have been at a far worse state than I reckoned for it to be looking this ghastly.

Sucking in a deep breath I leaned more into the table behind me as I realized that the longer Cain stayed away from me the more my body and soul suffered. It had still been recovering from the breaking of the bond earlier and if not for his touch and presence that I had received of my second chance mate I would have probably passed out by now.

 Ignoring my state though I looked back at the two brothers to find them at each other’s throat fighting to silence the other as they both hurled strings of curses ceremoniously.

The scene in front of me was a viciousness full of blood and anger and I felt guilty and helpless to see the twins fighting because of me.

“Stop,” I slowly huffed out, my throat tightening as I felt my normal breathing becoming restricted but of course they didn’t hear me. They had been too engrossed at ripping each other’s head out to realize the deteriorating state I was in. Sofia afraid of the brawling men came to my side at once as she muttered words for Clay’s safety mindless of my presence. It pissed me off to see her beside me but she wasn’t the top of my concerns right now.

“Please, stop!” I shouted as best as I could but they weren’t listening. Didn’t he realize the loud heaving sounds that my chest made or couldn’t he hear my enraged beating of the heart?

“Cain…” I finally called out one last time as I felt my eyes roll in the back of my head. My legs that had till far given me enough support to stay standing knocked out from beneath me and I came tumbling down at once.

There was a ringing in my ears but giving into the pain that shot in my head I fell unconscious in a pair of hands that sent tingles all through my body.