Fated To The Alpha
Chapter 222

"You will have to ask Kyan, I can't answer some things, not because I don't want to, but now you see, now you see he does not hate you, Mara. He loves you, he always has, just like I do," Jonah says softly.

My brain seems to sputter at his words; I must have heard that wrong or understood it wrong. I blink, staring dumbfounded at his words. What do I say to that when I have a mate, Jonah has a mate, and as much as I wanted his words to be true, I knew once he found his mate, I would be tossed aside. Like I always am. The unseen.

Suddenly the thought of being invisible to Jonah made my chest squeeze uncomfortably. Why couldn't I have one thing go right? Yet what we want and get are two different things. Jonah wasn't mine, no matter how much I wished he was, how much I prayed he was, and it didn't change the fact he didn't belong to me.

Being with Jonah would be easy, natural, but it still screamed the same thing in my head, he isn't mine, and I couldn't take someone else's mate, could I?

"Mara?' Jonah asks, reaching for me, and I can see his uncertainty. Was that because of me? Was he suddenly regretting his words, realizing he shouldn't have said them because he can't possibly have meant them?

"I should go," I whisper, and he reaches for me again, but I climb off the bed.

"Mara, you can't leave, wait," I rush out of his room and head for the spare room; spotting my phone on the kitchen counter on my way past, I snatch it off the bench before locking myself in the room.

It would never work; I had a mate, and Jonah was yet to replace his mate, but he would, and where would that leave me, with an angry Kyan, well more irate because he already hated me and I didn't need to give him more reason to by betraying him for his best friend. "Mara, open the door,"

"Just leave me alone Jonah, why did you have to ruin it,"

"Ruin what?" he asks, twisting the door handle before banging on the door.

"This, why would you ruin it? You were the only person I didn't have to pretend in front of, and you ruined it, you shouldn't have said it, I have a mate, you have a mate and we, " I don't finish the sentence. I couldn't; it hurt too much.

I wanted, the gods know how much I wanted it to be Jonah, but I was not going to ruin and destroy his chance at true happiness because I wasn't his mate, and she was out there somewhere.

She deserves him more than me, which is why she is fated to him and not me. When I was destined to someone who didn't want me, a punishment for being what I am, for being an abomination, darkness doesn't deserve light.

It only deserves darkness and the solitude of being lonely. That is my punishment for hurting people, for being the monster I am, the bad omen.

"Mara, you are speaking nonsense; open the damn door, "

"Just go away, please, Jonah, just leave me be, "I tell him. Tired of this life, this never-ending battle. Kora was also saddened by Jonah's words, whimpering in my head; she wanted Jonah just as much, yet she also longed for her mate and for Kyan to accept us. She was torn but knew we would only be ruining Jonah in the long run, depriving him of replaceing the one he belongs to.

"Mara?" Jonah asks, but I say nothing waiting for him to leave. I sent a message to my father, asking him to pick me up. However, knowing he probably wouldn't answer until in the morning, so I was shocked when my phone started vibrating in my hand as a reply came in.

Dad: I can come to get you now. Where are you?

Me: At Jonah's in the City, it is too late now, come tomorrow.

He doesn't text back straight away, and I assume he has fallen back asleep when my phone vibrates in my hand.

Dad: Get some sleep. I will ring you when I am close. See you in a few hours. I'm already on my way.

I sigh. My father was a man of few words, while my other dad was bubbly and always talkative, my father was his complete opposite, he was more stern, more protective, and no one went up against the Alpha King unless you were mum.

She had him under her thumb, and dad did too, but he preferred my father deal with the political stuff while he focused more on raising us. He was fun and happy to get his hands

dirty, while my father was all suits and business, and politics and dealing with pack issues.

I must have fallen asleep at some point because my neck was cramped when I woke, and I was sitting beside the bed still. I glance down at my phone to see my father's face pop on the screen. The photo was taken on my sixteenth birthday. Dad managed to get home in time for it.

He usually did on special occasions, but he was also busy like mum. Dad always traveled, but no matter how far he went that day, he always returned home by dinner, even if he was falling asleep at the dinner table.

Mum is always busy traveling between this realm and the Moon Goddess one, sometimes we would be eating dinner, and suddenly she vanishes when she is sucked into the other realm to deal with Moon Goddess issues. Sometimes she takes one of my dad's. They to were able to travel between being her mates, which I know gave mum comfort. She said it could be lonely up there.

After the first few times up there, she noticed it became easier for them when suddenly my father was looking for her one day, and he traveled between realms himself. Mum seems to think the door was suddenly left open to him because she brought him there a few times.

That was also when she realized both my fathers suddenly stopped aging like her. My mother was forever stuck at the age of nineteen when she became the Moon Goddess, my fathers in their early thirties by the time they stopped aging. All of them were frozen in time. Getting up, I quickly answer it before whispering into the phone. "Hey, dad"

"Hey sweetie, I'm downstairs waiting for you," he says before yawning, and I suddenly feel terrible that he drove through the night to come to get me.

"I'm on my way down now," I tell him before hanging up. I scoop up my handbag and chuck my phone in it before reaching for the door. Only when I swing it open Jonah is lying in the hall. He jerks awake and blinks up at me when I try to step over him. "Mara," Jonah sighs before noticing my bag and phone clutched in my hands.

"Where are you going? You can't leave it is?" He glances toward the living room, and the sun isn't even up yet, he gets to his feet, and I step away from him.

"My father is downstairs; I am going home, Jonah,"

"What? No, stay here, please," I shake my head, and Jonah sighs, rubbing a hand down his face.

"I will take you down then, " he says, walking off toward his room. I walk to the door, and Jonah catches up to me only now he has a shirt on with his flannelette pajama pants.

We step into the elevator, and I press the button feeling awkward. I knew things wouldn't be the same now; it couldn't be. I never should have come here it was a mistake because now I have lost my only friend.

"Geez, Mara, can you say something instead of just standing there? If you don't feel the same, that is fine, but I wasn't going to pretend anymore that I don't love you, and I was sick of waiting for you to realize I do, and now you are running from me," Jonah says folding his arms across his chest and leaning against the elevator wall.

"I'm not running, we aren't mates, Jonah, you have a mate out there, I have a mate, so we can't be together,"

"Says who?"

"Says fate," I tell him.

"F*ck fate, I don't care about fate, I care about you, I want you isn't that enough?"

"And what about Kyan? I am not coming between you and Kyan and your weird bond. Just because he doesn't want me doesn't mean he will let you have me," I tell him.

"I can handle Kyan and Kaif; we can. He will get used to the idea, he will learn to share,"

"Share?" I shake my head.

"I had no intentions of keeping you to myself Mara, I know Kyan is your mate, he loves you, and I know you want your mate, but I also know you want me too."

"I am not some toy. You can't just share me,"

"Why not? Your mother has two mates, so do your fathers."

"Exactly, Jonah, they are all mates, or do you love Kyan too?"

"Yes, like a brother, not lover, but we can work it out, "I shake my head. He makes no sense. My parents work because they are all mates, you can't just choose whoever you want on a whim. "You have a mate out there," I tell him.

"And you already found yours, so tell me, Mara? Tell me you don't feel the same way, and I will walk away, and you can be with Kyan " my eyes burn, and my throat restricts.

"He will kill Jonah; Kyan would kill him to hurt us," Kora tells me sadly before whimpering.

"We don't know that," I tell her, though I had a feeling she was right. Kyan would just hurt us by hurting him if we ever admitted or tried to be with Jonah.

"We do, he said we belong to him, that he chooses what we are to him. It isn't safe," Kora whimpers.

"Mara," Jonah whispers softly, and I look at him to replace him right next to me and that he had stepped closer while I was debating with Kora; his hands run up my waist before he steps closer again, and I am forced to look up at him. "Jonah, let go. We can't," I tell him.

"Can't what, Mara? Be together?" I nod, quickly looking away, his scent overwhelming me.

"Because you don't want to be, or because you are scared of what Kyan will do?" I look back up at him.

"Tell me you don't want to be with me, Mara, and I will back off, is that what you want? Do you want me to back off?"

"Jonah, "My voice was more of a squeak, and my heart fluttered spastically like it was about to bounce out of my chest, and his lips tug up, and I suddenly forget how to breathe when his hand grips the back of my neck, and the other hand moves to my hip pulling me flush against him.

His lips move against mine as he speaks, so warm and tempting, so right but wrong "Tell me you don't want me as much as I want you, " Yet my brain was still trying to process what the heck was going on, but one thought remained clear, and that consequences petrified me.

"Kyan would feel it, " I whisper, trying to pull away, whereas Jonah refuses to move and just pushes me against the elevator wall, effectively trapping me with his body.

"And that's the only reason, so you do want to be with me?" Jonah asks, and I swallow before answering, needing him to stop and let me go before Kyan hunts us both down and kills us. Well, me because he can't kill Jonah since they have their weird blood bond, but he could still kill me.

"Yes, okay, Jonah, but Kyan, " My words are suddenly cut off when his lips collide with mine, swallowing my protests. His lips mold around mine before I feel his tongue swipes across my bottom lip, and I shiver. My head was screaming that I was betraying Kyan, yet Jonah was right. I wanted this, wanted him despite not being supposed to want anyone other than my mate.

Jonah's fingers wrap and tangle in my hair, and my lips part before his tongue delves between them, his tongue brushing against mine gently. Heat pools in my stomach, and I give in, kissing him back just as hungrily.

Jonah groans, his tongue playing with mine, and he presses himself against me, the warmth of his body seeping into me and my hands tugging him closer when someone clears their throat, making us spring apart. Neither of us realized the elevator had stopped, and the doors had opened. My father was standing there. My face heats, and I press my lips together, looking at Jonah, who scratches the back of his neck nervously, glancing between us.

"Ezra," Jonah nods to him, and my eyes dart to my father, who raises an eyebrow at him before he points to himself. "Wait, oh, that's me, right. I see, I see.

Uncle suddenly dropped off my title since you had your tongue down my daughter's throat," my father says, and my face heats even more. Oh my gosh, this is embarrassing.

"Well, I know you aren't expecting me to call you King, now that Uncle seems a tad inappropriate somehow, not that I think you aren't family, but technically, " Jonah shrugs.

"Good thing I'm not, technically," my father gives air quotes with his fingers, and I wanted the ground to swallow me. "because this, " My father says, pointing between us. "Would definitely be inappropriate, but next time be more careful of your surroundings because next time, it might not be me but her mate," my father says, giving us both a look.

"You know he will have something to say about this, right, Marabella?" my father says, and I look at my

shoes, suddenly feeling guilty. "Mum told you?"

"Of course she did, now come on, and you," My father says, pointing at Jonah.

"This comes back on my daughter, you have me to deal with, you know better, Jonah,"

"It won't; I will deal with Kyan,"

"Be sure you do," My father nods before motioning for me to step out of the elevator.

"This does not happen again, not until everyone is on board, and that means Kyan, or not at all," my father tells us both, and Jonah nods before looking at me, and I chew my lip.

The elevator doors close, and I look up at my father. "You're not mad?"

"At you? Never, now come on, you can explain in the car."