Leon’s eyes widen slightly, shock crossing his usually stoic features. “What are you saying?”
“You heard me.” I lift the bottle to my lips again.
“That’s not—” He stops, shaking his head like he’s trying to clear it. “That’s not possible.”
“After she rescued Zane from the forest, I noticed something was off about her behavior.” The words are spilling out now that I’ve started. “She stopped having any reaction to me. Nothing. No pull. No recognition. It’s as if the bond simply vanished on her end.”
“And Zane?” Leon’s voice is careful now, like he’s trying to figure out a riddle.
“Claims he feels the mate bond toward her.” My grip tightens on the bottle once more. “And Selene says she feels it toward him now. Not me.”
Leon stares at me, his lips pursed as he struggles to find words. Finally: “So, you don’t feel the bond toward her, either?”
I scoff, sounding pained as I press my fist against my chest where it burns like a brand. “No. I still feel it.”
Leon doesn’t respond immediately, just sitting there and thinking. Eventually, he murmurs, “That’s not possible, Seth. Mate bonds don’t work like that. Nobody gets two fated mates. And the bond can’t just…transfer like this.”
“Well, it happened,” I bite out, leaning forward and resting my elbows on my knees.
Leon smacks the back of my head—not as hardas Marina, but sharp enough to get my attention. “Get it together, you idiot.” He takes a long drink from his bottle, then fixes me with a hard stare. “As an outsider, I can see there’s something weird about this whole situation. I’m telling you, nobody gets two fated mates.”
I want to argue, to tell him he’s wrong, that he doesn’t understand. But the certainty in his voice makes me pause.
“Think about it,” Leon continues, sounding more sober now even though we both keep drinking. “If it were possible, we would know about it. It would have been mentioned at some point. These connections simply don’t work like that. Selene and Zane are both wrong. Whatever they’re feeling, it’s not the fated mate bond.”
When he lays it out like that, it does sound suspicious. But…
“What reason would they have to lie?” I ask, looking back toward where she stood just moments ago. “If Zane wants her, he could simply pursue her, and Selene”—I hesitate for a moment—“Selene and I have nothing between us aside from the bond that she knows I don’t want.”
“There may be another reason. Selene stands to gain nothing from associating with Zane, unless she likes power—and if she wanted power, she would have accepted the titles and lands that Lucian offered both her and Daciana.” Leon’s voice is hard now. “So, it has to be Zane. He wants something from her.”
My wolf paces restlessly, worried now. “What could he want from her? She’s a healer, and not a very powerful one at that. She’s got nothing to offer.”
Leon watches me incredulously. “Is that what you think of your fated mate, Seth? Is that why you don’t want her? Because you think she has nothing valuable to offer?”
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.
He continues, his voice turning harsh. “By that reasoning, Lucian never should have mated Astra.”
I cringe. “It’s not like that. The women in my family are strong, independent—”
“Because they had backing of their families. Because they grew upwith privilege. What is it you want from a mate, Seth? You want her to be powerful? Wealthy? What?”
I shake my head slowly, sighing. “I don’t know.”
My friend looks at me in disgust. “Then maybe you should figure it out. But I will tell you one thing. Selene is brave, and she’s kind. She works more than the other healers. She volunteers her services in parts of the capital that other royal healers refuse to set foot in. She’s got a gentle spirit, and she’s humble. Anyone would be attracted to all of that. She’ll be the kind of mate who will fill a man’s home with warmth and love. Maybe that’s what Zane sees in her. I would gladly take a mate like her. But you…You’re just ungrateful.”
I flinch at his words. I’ve tried my best to stay away from Selene, so I didn’t know any of this about her.
I stare at the empty path where she disappeared, my mind churning. What else don’t I know? All these months, I’ve been so focused on keeping my distance, on convincing myself she wasn’t worthy, that I never bothered to actually see her.
I shake my head sharply, banishing the thought. “Even if Zane noticed all that, even if he did want her—he could have just approached her normally. Courted her. Why this elaborate lie about a fated mate bond?”
Leon’s expression darkens. “That’s what worries me.” He sets his bottle down with a decisive thunk. “Something about this whole situation stinks. I think we need to look into it properly.”
“Look into what, exactly?” My wolf paces anxiously, torn between territorial rage and genuine concern.
“Everything. The attack on Zane in the forest. The timing of when Selene lost her bond to you. How convenient it is that the man she rescued happens to be her new fated mate.” Leon’s tactical mind is working now; I can see it in his eyes. “And you already know what bothers me most about him—he has never shown his hand with the Council. That kind of calculation? It’s not just caution. It’s strategy.”
