CHAPTER 6

Leila's POV

I woke up with a sharp pain in my head.

I winced softly and sat up on my bed as the pain quickly spread through my body. 

It seemed as if my body had found a way to maximize all the pain I felt from the night before.

“Are you okay?”, Henry asked as he sharply burst into my room.

I gasped in shock as my head immediately snapped up at him.

He blinked at me with a hint of shyness as soon as he realised how scantily clad I was. My night dress was loosely fitted, so it was slipping off my body and my breasts were almost bare.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to barge in like that.”

He fluttered his eyelids and turned his head slightly while I dragged the strap of my dress back up to my shoulder. 

“It's okay”, I announced as soon as I was decent. 

I heard him clear his throat aloud before he turned back to me.

His entire face was red with embarrassment. 

“Are you okay? Do you need something for the pain?”

He walked towards me and gently took his seat at the edge of my bed.

Pain?

How did he know about my pain?

My eyes widened involuntarily as the events of the previous day began rushing back to me all at once.

Henry was my mate!

But so was Liam, and apparently Elijah. 

I realised I was wearing my confusion on my face, so I hurriedly hid it in embarrassment. 

I heard him chuckle lightly before his hand reached out and moved mine away from my face.

“I'm your mate now Leila. You're going to have to stop being so nervous and shy around me”, he beamed.

Just before I could think of a response, he took my hand in his and pressed his lips lightly against it.

I blushed even more and attempted to look away, but his steady gaze held me in place.

A gentle yet firm tap on the door snapped us both out of our fantasies.

I stared blankly at the door, feeling a strong pull to whomever or whatever was behind it.

“You can come in”, I said. My voice was so shrill, I could barely believe that it was mine.

The door cracked open and Elijah walked in confidently. There was a hint of annoyance in his face as he looked between Henry and I, but he swiftly masked it by giving me a sweet smile.

“I came to see how you were doing, and to give you this.”

He untucked his right hand from behind his back to reveal a single crimson rose.

Henry and I only stared at him in astonishment as he took slow, steady steps towards the bed and placed the rose between us.

He turned his gaze to Henry and his frown slowly returned.

“We still have to establish some rules. She is my mate and I don't like how close you are”, he said with jealousy.

I fought to hide the smirk that was already forming on my face.

Elijah had always seemed so uptight and put together. He was like a cold brick wall. Nobody could penetrarte, neither could they see what was going on inside.

I was shamelessly excited that he was demonstrating feelings of jealousy on my behalf.

“She's my mate too, you know. I will not suppress my feelings for her simply because of your insecurities.”

Henry was quite reserved, but unlike Elijah, his reservations were born from timidity.

Yet, twice, he had risked it all and put himself on the line for me.

Even in that moment, he was standing up to the most fearsome of his brothers and it was still for me. 

My inability to hold my smile finally surfaced, causing me to let out a soft snicker.

At once, the two of them turned to me with surprise. 

“I'm sorry, are you finding this funny?”, Henry asked. His voice was heavily laced with hurt.

My face fell as soon as I realised how wrong it was to laugh in that moment.

I sighed apologetically and blinked.

“It's just that I was barely expecting one mate, and now I have three. I don't understand this and I don't know what to do or how to feel.”

Their gazes softened on me. Then, Elijah held Henry's shoulder firmly and they gave each other a long look. It was as if they were communicating just by staring each other in the eyes.

After a few seconds, they both exhaled and turned to me.

It was Henry who spoke first.

“It is a new sensation for us as well, but I guess we are not doing much to make you comfortable with it.”

Elijah nodded and took a step closer to me.

“We will figure it out. We just have to try every way until we find something that works”, he said and touched my chin lightly. 

I smiled as I looked up at both of them.

Elijah took my hand and prompted Henry to take the other one.

I let out a heavy sigh, wondering if having multiple mates was going to be the blessing it seemed, or if there was a catch somewhere.

The handle on my door twisted and caused me to jump a little. My heart skipped a beat when I saw Liam walk in with a frown on his face.

He swung the door behind him shut and glared at me.

“Why the fuck are you such a menace?”, he spat angrily.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. Elijah and Henry turned to him with the same frowns on their faces.

“Can you turn off all your fuzzy feelings? They are ruining my morning routines.”

“I don't know how to do that”, I said shakily.

Henry stepped in front of Liam and looked at him.

“What's wrong with you, Liam? Did you really come in here to yell at her for the mate bond?”

I looked down because Liam's glare only kept getting worse.

“Well, I rejected her ass at the ball, so these bonds should be gone.”

He made air quotes as he said "bonds”.

Elijah and Henry both turned back to me. I could not raise my face to meet their eyes.

Liam smirked and stepped closer to us.

“Except, of course, she hasn't let go on her side”, he said. 

I shot him a hateful glare.

“So, while you two losers are in here thinking about how to share a mate with each other, she's just in here longing for one who doesn't even want her.”

He scoffed.

“That's mean, Liam”, I said through my gritted teeth.

He looked from me to his brothers and shook his head at us.

“Turn this shirt off, or I will get meaner. You're all pathetic.”

Henry and Elijah both let go off my hand. Elijah proceeded to take a step down.

“Look, Leila we're really trying to make this work with all of us, but you have to be honest about your feelings or else all our efforts will be for nothing”, Elijah said.

Henry only nodded in agreement before they both turned around and left me in the room.

As soon as Henry shut the door, a tear strolled gently down my face.

I knew that whatever was happening, it was too good to be true.

I might have multiple chances to love the other two of my mates, but there will always be Liam.

He has always been angry, but now he was always angry at me. I could not understand why the moon goddess had chosen to curse me so.

I could be happily in love with Henry and my mate and he would love me just as much, but instead I got hit with all three brothers.

The two who love me were constantly at each other's throats out of jealousy, and the one who didn't want me made me feel disgusting. 

“Come to think of it, I have never seen a case of a single wolf having multiple mates. Is this nature's way of telling you that you're meant to be a whole?”, Liam scoffed.

Before I had time to react to what he had said, Elijah gave him a hard slap across his face that caused him to stagger backwards.

“How dare you speak to her like that?”, he thundered, staring Liam down.

Liam turned his face back to me, obviously annoyed. 

“This is the last time I ever want to be hurt for your sake. Turn the fucking bond off before I do something to make you hate me enough”, he seethed before storming out.

Elijah immediately followed him, but Henry gave me one long last look before he walked out and shut the door behind him.

Liam was always the one who reminded me that I did not really belong here.

He was the one who hated me the most of the three brothers, yet for some reason, he was the one I had always been in love with.