Daughter of oblivion: Claimed by four alpha(s)

Chapter 223 - 221: RHYDRIC’S CORE: What a fucking joke.

Azrael turned his face away, jaw tight, breath uneven as he hugged his fingers into the mattress to hide his claws.

For a moment, the room was heavy with silence.

Then Rhydric spoke again, already irritated. "You’re not sleeping. You’re hiding."

Azrael laughed under his breath, bitterly. "Congratulations. You cracked the mystery."

Rhydric dragged a chair closer and sat, elbows on his knees. "You want to tell me what happened, or do I guess?"

Azrael’s claws clenched into the sheets. "There’s nothing to tell."

"Funny," Rhydric said dryly. "Because you look like someone ripped your spine out and left you breathing."

That earned a sharp glare. "Drop it."

"No."

Azrael pushed himself up, sitting now, his hair wild with burning eyes. "Why do you even care?"

Rhydric met his gaze without blinking. "Because you don’t fall apart like this. And when you do, it means something got too close."

Azrael swallowed hard.

"She chose someone else," he muttered.

Rhydric’s brow lifted slightly, a flicker of disbelief crossing his otherwise cold expression.

"...Did she?"

"Yes, she said she loves Eryx, Theo and you too. You fucker." He snapped with a shaking voice.

Azrael’s hands clenched into fists. "I should hate you too. Because she admitted she likes you. And don’t act innocent, I know you like her."

Rhydric went still. For a second, he didn’t speak. Then he looked away, jaw tightening.

"Azrael," he said slowly, "she’s your mate. My feelings or anyone else’s, don’t matter."

Azrael let out a bitter laugh, hollow and sharp.

"Don’t matter?" He scoffed. "Are you kidding me? It matters when the woman you’re bonded to tells you she can’t be happy with only you."

Rhydric’s shoulders tensed, but he stayed silent.

Azrael’s voice dropped then, stripped bare.

"I don’t want to lose Athena." He swallowed hard. "I sound pathetic, I know. I should be angry. I should be furious. But I’m not." His eyes burned. "I’m just... hurt. Because I’m not enough for her."

Rhydric tilted his head slightly, thinking.

"Is it even possible," he asked, "for someone with a mate to like someone else? Mates are supposed to be everything. Right?" His gaze sharpened. "So why is she different?"

Azrael rubbed his face roughly. "It happened to Eryx," he muttered. "So maybe it can happen to me too."

Rhydric shook his head immediately.

"No. That was different. She had two mates and rejected Eryx."

Azrael groaned and collapsed back onto the bed, burying his face in the duvet.

"Why the fuck is the Moon Goddess playing games with us?"

Rhydric sighed. "I honestly don’t know."

Azrael suddenly sat up, eyes wide.

"Are you saying Athena might have more than one mate too? Like Clara?"

Rhydric shook his head slowly. "I’m not assuming anything. I’m saying it’s... possible."

Azrael’s throat bobbed. "How possible?"

Rhydric hesitated, then met his gaze.

"Maybe ninety percent."

Azrael cursed violently. "Fuck."

Rhydric immediately raised a hand. "Wait. Relax." His voice turned firm. "She only felt a mate bond with you. That part matters."

Azrael laughed weakly. "Then why does it feel like I’m losing her anyway?"

"Because feelings don’t follow rules," Rhydric said. "And that’s the cruel part."

Azrael dragged a hand down his face, exhaustion written into every line. "I don’t know what to do anymore. I love her so much it’s killing me. If sharing her is the only way not to lose her then—"

"No." Rhydric snapped the word so hard it cut through the room.

He straightened fully now, all traces of calm gone. "Stop right there."

Azrael looked up at him, startled.

"That," Rhydric continued, eyes blazing, "is the stupidest thing you’ve said today. And you’ve said a lot."

Azrael’s jaw tightened. "You don’t get it—"

"I get it perfectly," Rhydric shot back. "You’re drowning. You’re desperate. And you’re about to make a decision that will destroy you, her, and everyone involved."

He took a step closer, voice low and dangerous.

"You don’t share someone you love because you’re afraid. You don’t turn a bond into a negotiation."

Azrael’s voice cracked. "So what am I supposed to do? Just let her walk away?"

Rhydric exhaled sharply, anger laced with something almost like pain. "I don’t know. But I know this, don’t drag me into this mess."

Azrael stiffened. "Rhydric—"

"No," Rhydric cut in, final. "I won’t be part of this rubbish. Not your guilt, not your fear, not some twisted arrangement born out of heartbreak."

He looked away briefly, then back, eyes cold but honest. "I care about her. A lot. And that’s exactly why I won’t touch this."

Rhydric ran his hand through his hair and turned toward the door. "Sort it out with her. Fight for her if you must. Or let her go if it comes to that."

He paused, hand on the handle.

"But don’t ever ask me to share a woman I respect or to help you destroy yourself."

Then he shut the door behind him.

Azrael was left alone, drowning in his sorrow.

Rhydric walked into his room and shut the door behind him with a soft click. He stood there for a second longer than necessary, staring at nothing with jaw tight.

Then he crossed the room, went straight to the shelf, and pulled out a cigar like it was muscle memory. He rolled it between his fingers, slid it between his lips, and lit it with a snake like dagger.

He inhaled deeply, then exhaled through his nose. "Sharing her," he muttered under his breath, disbelief laced with anger. "What a fucking joke."

He sat on the bed trying to keep a straight face but his grip on the lighter was so tight that the cigar was crying silently for help.

"This is exactly why I stay out of feelings," he said quietly to the empty room. "They rot everything they touch."

He took another drag, longer this time, smoke burning his lungs just enough to keep him sane.

"If she’s meant to be torn apart by bonds," he said coldly, "then the Moon Goddess can clean up her own mess."

Whatever storm was coming, he wasn’t letting it touch him. Yes, he loved Athena. But he wasn’t going to be part of this madness.