My Fated Mate Can Have Her-Chapter 130: Kindled Interest

Rowan

Everyone gathered here like this was already turning this beautiful hall into a sour snake pit.

Stone pillars rose to support a vaulted ceiling decorated with intricate carvings depicting wolves in various forms. The crystalline lights embedded in the ceilings and upper walls never failed to mesmerize me despite this being my second time coming here.

Twelve chairs arranged in a perfect circle around an enormous, dark round table, its wood so polished it reflected the lights above like a still lake. The other Supreme Alphas occupied their seats, their respective betas seated to the right of each leader.

I sat in my designated position, trying to maintain the appropriate expression of attentive interest as the preliminary discussions droned on. A lot of those spoken words drifted to me in bits and pieces.

My mind, however, was elsewhere.

It had been elsewhere for days now, ever since that day.

To think I would even find a mate here of all places...

I had tried to find out more information about her. Anything. But her identity was secured for some reason, and I couldn’t find that wolf guarding her. Not like I even had the time.

The memory of that moment in the marketplace played through my mind for what must have been the hundredth time since it had happened.

Our eyes had met.

I had felt the bond flare to life between us, instant and undeniable and overwhelming.

And for her face to just lose its colour like that...

I frowned, recalling how her expression had shifted from shock to horror to something that looked heartbreakingly like despair.

And then she’d run.

I had desperately wanted to chase after her. Even my wolf had screamed at me to follow, to catch her, to understand what was happening. But Ezra had held me back, the scaredy cat hissing warnings about diplomatic incidents and political complications into my ear until I had forced myself to let her go.

’Good thing I didn’t even do that. I would have scared her.’

However, it had been the hardest thing I had ever done.

The mate bond was supposed to be welcomed. Celebrated. Finding one’s mate was considered a blessing, a gift from the moon itself.

And I had found mine.

Only to have her flee from it.

From me.

Why?!

"—which is why I believe it should established before moving to the more contentious topics."

I forced my attention back to the present. One of the other Supreme Alphas, Lydia of the Blue Isles had been speaking. I had completely missed what she said, but from the way her beta shifted uncomfortably, it was clear she had said something significant.

"A sensible approach," Calder of Thornhelm, the oldest Supreme Alpha present responded. "Though it is best that we address the more immediate concerns first."

His sharp eyes drifted to the empty seat at the table.

The Supreme Alpha of Ecli wasn’t here.

The beta seated beside the empty chair immediately spoke up, the discomfort in his words evident despite the calm composure he put on.

"I must apologize again for my Supreme Alpha’s absence," he said. "The transition of power has been... complicated."

"This is his third year ruling," Nal’s Supreme Alpha, Palisa cut in. One could already sense the chiding remark coming from a mile away. "He nearly missed the last convergence too."

"He sends his sincere apologies. There are still matters requiring his immediate attention," the beta added apologetically.

"Excuses," Palisa scoffed.

"It would clearly take some time to bring things fully under order," Calder put in. "Especially for an outsider in his case."

A few of the other Alphas grumbled at this, but most simply nodded understanding. The former Supreme Alpha of Ecli had died under "controversial" circumstances. The foolish idiot had forced a challenge on some lone wolf who had taken the leadership from him.

Still, how amusing it was for him to lose the seat the same way he gained it.

Another Supreme Alpha waved a dismissive hand. "I am sure a lot of us remember what it’s like to inherit a disaster."

Power transitions among Supreme Alphas were smooth at times. From parents to offsprings, but everyone once in a while... things went an even more unpleasant route.

"That is fine," Kael spoke up, his gaze fixed on the beta. "But, his leadership will be questioned should he miss the next one..."

Kael of Fresna.

I had only briefly interacted with him a few times, but he was no fun. Already acting older than his age. Then again, ruling the strongest military might apparently required his cold control that made some of us instinctively wary of him.

Our responsibilities were too overwhelming to be helplessly drowning in them.

However...

I had been aware of her presence since then. But the closer I had gotten to the castle while returning to my quarters, the stronger the feeling had become.

It had been undeniable that my mate was in that building.

And she was close to Kael.

Too close.

Monitored their energy signatures carefully over the past few days and trying to understand their relationship had been torture. And what I discovered only confused me further.

They were often in close proximity. In the same rooms. Sometimes for hours at a time, and close enough that the implications made something uncomfortable twist in my chest.

I did not like it all. Neither did my wolf.

But more than that, I didn’t understand something.

If she was my mate, if she felt this bond as strongly as I did, why was she staying in his quarters and why had she run away from me?

"Before that," Palisa’s voice had taken on an unsettling feel that made the whole table aware she was scheming something. "I believe there is a matter that requires immediate attention."

I turned my head slightly to look at her. She sat with perfect posture, her long pink hair braided elaborately down her back. Her expression was pleasant as usual, but her eyes were sharp. When it came to political cunning, Kael was second only to this crone.

Kael’s eyes narrowed.