For the Bleeding Hearts

15.) MAKO

The first thing I noticed about her was her beauty. The very foundations of world world had been ripped up from underneath me when I saw her. She seemed a delicate small thing, with angelic-like features. While most of her features other than her petite frame and milky white complexion, were normal, she seemed to almost have an ethereal glow about her.

The second thing I noticed was that she was that she fit that missing girl's description to a T. Snow white long hair. Tiny. And prey.

She was most definitely prey, because just a moment after I connected the dots of her being the runaway girl from the palace, her scent punched me in the face. That gorgeous exquisite scent. Berries. Sugar. Caramel. Syrup. The pleasant sweetness of her burned me. It set my lungs on fire.

Her scent hung so strongly in the air that I swore I tasted sugary syrup on my tongue. The depth and warmth made my mouth water. All I wanted to do was hold her against my body and inhale.

From her scent alone I wanted to know everything about her. What was her name? I imagined it to be sweet, fitting to her looks. Her likes. Her dislikes. Did she like my scent? Why the hell was she clinging to Aron? Where did she come from?

One moment, and I was already gone for this girl. And if I wasn't mistaken, Aron had just barged in claiming my girl as his.

When I'd encountered people with scent matches, for their fated mate, I didn't quite understand it. Hell, my parents were fated mates and so were my grandparents. My family claimed that it ran through our blood. Even, though my family was a line of fated mates, I had convinced myself that it wasn't a big deal if I didn't find it. But Gods, if this wasn't a big deal.

Right before me, was this gorgeous, delicate woman. And there was no mistaking that she was my mate by her scent or my predatory instincts screaming at me to go closer to her.

Without thinking I took steps closer to her and reached for her. She scrunches back into Aron, fear prominent in her features. My face scrunched in confusion. I felt an ache in my chest at her rejection. Didn't she feel the mate bond too?

Aron exploded on me. "What the hell man! Didn't I just tell you that she was my fucking mate?! Why are you trying to grab her, can't you tell that she's scared? You made my mate scared, you idiot." He pushed me back. I glanced at my newfound mate to see her shift uncomfortably behind Aron.

I back up and get a hold of my emotions. I stared into her wide eyes and unsure gaze. I began to apologize to reassure her, I meant no harm. "I'm sorry, I—" Wait. Aron kept saying this girl was his mate.  What the hell? She was most definitely my mate. Was he lying to her to get her to come with him so he could send her back to the filthy rich place filled with those pompous royals and make a pretty penny? I think the fuck not.

There was no doubt that Aron was aware that this girl was missing from the palace. The sneaky man, of feline descent, was one of the first to find out about things, especially in the jungle. More than information, he was better at finding someone more than anyone else I knew.

I suddenly grabbed my friend's arm and started to pull him into another room. "We need to talk," I growled. I softened my voice and directed towards the girl, "Wait here. We will be back in a second."

I guided Aron to the bedroom next door. The room was illuminated from the sunlight shining through the curtains. Some plants decorated the room along with a bookcase and multiple stacks of books. I shut the door, as he broke out of my grip.

"What the actual fuck, Mako. I came here for you to meet my mate. And you think it would be a good idea to just grab her! My fucking mate. Can you even believe it, I have a mate."

I scoffed, "You can drop the act, bro." I crossed my arms against my chest. "I know what you're doing, and I won't allow it. Because that is my mate out there. My mate," I huffed out in anger.

Aron looked at me in frustration and exasperation," Your mate! Are you insane?!  Anna is my mate. I saw her first, and I am sure that she is my mate." Anna. What a beautiful name, fit for a beautiful woman.

"So— you're telling me that you're not lying to Anna to get her close enough to bring her back to the palace in exchange for money." I rolled my eyes at him because Aron was not the kindest of heart. Aron struggled through life and did what he had to do.

"FUCK NO!" His eyes flashed and glanced towards the door. He lowered his voice, "On our way over here I saw all those guards. We had to take the long route. When Anna noticed them she was trembling like a Gods damned leaf."

Huh. Aron actually seemed serious about her. Growing up Aron wasn't known to lie to those he loved. He loved many few, but for those he did, he valued honesty and loyalty towards them. Sure, he would lie to get himself out of a shit situation, but that didn't exactly count.

But that still didn't explain this mate confusion.

"Alright, well, she is definitely my mate?" I shrugged and watched as his anger rose and bubbled over.

"Like hell she is! I finally got one good thing in my life. Look at her! She fucking precious. And she fucking mine. Not yours, not anyone else's. Mine." I collected my own anger from his statement and tried to look at this logically.

I hmmed and pondered possible explanations for what was going on. I didn't doubt that this "Anna" was my mate, but I also didn't want to keep pushing Aron until he restored to getting physical. Even her had his limits with me.

He stood there his posture mimicking my own. Arms crossed, wide intimidating stance, and bright green eyes narrowed in frustration.

"Do you think that she could possibly be both our mates?" I questioned out loud.

Aron snapped back, "I don't know, I'm not exactly a fated mates expert. I mean if anyone were to know, it would be you. So why don't you tell me."

I rolled my eyes at his defensive attitude. Always fussy when angered in situations with direct danger. He was definitely not as in tune with his emotions as the rest of the world. It didn't make me want to be his friend any less, but gods it was annoying sometimes. I pushed past him and searched through the piles of books I had lying around.

At the bottom of one of the stacks, I spotted The History of Fated Mates. Since my family was so proud of their long lineage of successful fated mates, they also insisted on studying its history. If there was any information about what was going on, it was probably best to start looking through the files and documents.

Grabbing the heavy book, I plopped it on the bed. Aron hovered over my shoulder as I flipped through the pages. I scanned for keywords about Double mating. Multiple fated mates. I landed on a page about documented pairs of mates.

Although it is rare, there have been two cases of being matched with multiple mates. One case includes a male mate with two female mates. The other instance happened later on with one female mate and two male mates; however, the male mates only matched with the female mate, not one another as well.

I pointed to the line and Aron edged closer to read. "That pretty much sums up our circumstance."

He sighed and rubbed the back of his neck, "I guess so. Good thing that I can already tolerate you and it isn't some random guy."

I laughed. "Come on. Hopefully, she didn't run off."

"Mako."

"Yeah?" I turned to face him before opening the door.

"I know you're probably happy to have a mate and all, gods so was I. But, I think we need to take this slow. At least for her. She didn't even know what fated mates were and now she has two. And she's still a bit tense around me." He explained, "Oh, and, we like need to leave the city by tonight." He pushed past me and opened the door walking out to wear we left our mate, leaving me to digest his statement.

I suppose we would have to leave. We would probably be found and I wouldn't know what to do if my mate was ripped away from me. Gods, I haven't even spoken to her yet and my world already revolves around our mate.

Our mate.

It was an odd concept. But for some reason, it felt... right.

Shutting the door behind me, I joined the light chatter in the small living space.