Naomi ran with her hand covering her mouth and tears blurring her vision. She had no idea where she was running to but one thing was for certain, she wanted to get away as fast as possible. Asher had chosen two other women over her on the very day he was supposed to be marking her as his mate. She knew it, she knew that it was too good to be true. How could a fine specimen of a man like Asher actually be interested in a plain jane like her? She found herself blaming his family, all of them that made her think that it was actually possible for her to catch his attention.

She can’t believe that Justin was right, she really was not worthy to be in Asher’s eyes. He forgot all about her the moment two beautiful women showed up in front of him. She kept running, her eyes so blurred that even though the moon had appeared to be white again, she couldn’t make out where she was going until she bumped into a sturdy wall. The wall was cold and it seemed to have a pair of hands that grabbed her to steady her. It was then a scent like that of plant or woods drifted into her nostrils. She sniffled and wiped her tears, looking up to apologize because it was obvious that it was someone that she bumped into but her words caught in her throat when she saw who. “Y-y-your highness,” she hastily bowed, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t see you there.” No matter what, she was still scared shitless by Edward’s presence alone.

Edward glanced at the crying girl and then at the direction she was coming from and judging from how messy she looked, he could already guess what had happen. “Alright, I think it’s time we call everyone inside, don’t you think?” Aliyah’s voice came from behind him before she stepped out and was shocked to see Naomi. “Naomi, what are you doing here, why are you not with Asher?” she asked, reaching out to take the girl’s hands in hers.

“She is not his mate,” Edward announced, shocking both women. He glanced at Naomi’s shocked gaze with a raised eyebrow, “don’t you already know? Isn’t that why you were crying and running away?”

Naomi looked from him to the surprised Aliyah and didn’t really know what to say. Her hand reached to touch the mating mark on her neck, “but, you all said I am his mate,” she said unsurely.

“The blood moon just passed, if you are not with him, it means you are not his mate. And if you were his mate, there is no way he would not have smelled you under the blood moon,” Edward explained.

Aliyah finally understood what was happening and then asked with a sigh, “did you see him go over to another girl or one approached him?”

“Actually, two girls approached him and he hugged them,” Naomi answered.

“Two!” Aliyah was shocked. There has never been a history of two mates and if Asher hugged them, it means he acknowledged both as his mate. She glanced at Edward, not really knowing how to handle the recent information.

“Yes,” Naomi nodded staring at the couple and it was then what Edward said flashed in her mind and she froze. “D-does it mean, th-they are his mates?”

Aliyah glanced at her, not really knowing how to explain this. She forced a smile and took her hands again, “come with me dear, you need to sit down.”

“Wait, what is going on?”

“I will explain inside,” she smiled and led her away while glancing at Edward.

Edward didn’t follow them, instead, he continued on the part Naomi came and while getting to the garden, two girls: One a nightwalker and the other a night howler, greeted him as they passed. He soon found Asher and walked up to him. “Tell me, are you lucky or cursed?”

Hearing his father’s voice, Asher heaved a sigh and turned to him. He could smell Naomi from him and knew he must have come in contact with her. “Is she okay?”

“She is currently with your mother,” Edward answered. “Two mates, never heard of it.”

“I thought she was the one. I believed it. When I picked up the scents, I thought it was her. I just…” he sighed and closed his eyes, “how could it be this way? I have already accepted her in mind and now this?”

“Well, it would be easy to let her go and you can heal even fast. You just have to mark your mates, snap the bonds in place and it would be like you never loved any other.”

“I don’t know if I love her dad. I mean, our togetherness was supposed to be a moment of passion and then the whole mark thing started and everyone started saying she was my mate. These past eight days, I really invested myself in her, I really accepted her and now I am to find that it was all for nothing?”

“Like I said, mark your mates and whatever you feel for her would be gone. We would take her back home and that will be that.”

“That’s the thing dad, I-I don’t want to let her go,” he closed his eyes and when he opened them, he saw the shock in his father’s eyes and he could only look down.

“Okay then,” Edward nodded, “there is a way around it, reject your mates and you get to keep her.”

“I…don’t want to reject them either.”

“You want…all three of them?” Edward was indeed shocked to hear that. “Here I was wondering how you are going to handle two and you want three?”

Asher ran his fingers through his hair and stared up at the clear, bright, white moon. He wanted to curse but he didn’t really know what to curse for. He was silent, not really understanding himself and it was at that moment that Anita’s reddish-brown wolf ran out of the wood. Seeing her, Asher temporarily forgot about his own problem and mind linked her. ‘Well, did you find him?’

Anita didn’t reply to him and just ran past them. Asher frowned, following her with his gaze and not really understanding her. If he remembers correctly, she had picked up a scent right after he did and had gone to search for where it was coming from, why was she acting like that then?

Edward didn’t seem that bothered about Anita, he figured it was women problem and so said to Asher, “you need to figure out what you want son. Mates can be possessive and I don’t think your mates would be comfortable with you hanging around a human girl all the time. Its either you reject them for her or you let her go for them. You have to choose son.” Patting his back, he didn’t bother walking back the way he came and just teleported out of there.

Asher knew his father was right but at the moment, he didn’t know which to let go. He knew he can’t handle two mates but he also doesn’t want to reject any of them and then there is Naomi who is not even his fated mates but bears his mark and seemed to be connected to him in a way that he just can’t explain. He groaned and glanced up at the moon once more, “why me?” he whispered softly. He thought of how hurt Naomi looked while running away and he wanted nothing more than to go to her but he also had to remember that he has mates now, and not one but two of them. How could he handle this situation?

A part of him knows that letting Naomi go was the most sensible thing to do but another part of him rejects the idea strongly. It was almost like he was in a battle within himself and he doesn’t even know which part would emerge victorious.

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