Invisible Mate ( Mate Series Book 1)

" Whatever I said earlier was true,” Chris said to Adele.

" What are you talking about?”

" About loving you.”

Adele blushed at that. ” W-We can discuss that l-later.”

" No, we can’t,” Chris said desperately.

" Why?”

“I-It’s just that we have waited for a long time, and I have to tell you this.” Chris suddenly held Adele’s hands and looked into her eyes. ” I am genuinely sorry for all my mistakes. If I could turn back time, I wish I could undo all those horrible things I did to you.”

" Chris, I understand. You don’t have to...”

" No, Adele. Please hear me out,” Chris interrupted. ” I have to say this not only to you but also to Alexa. She almost lost her life because of me. No day went by after that when I didn’t regret not trusting you.”

" The past events of my life muddled my thoughts. I am not trying to justify myself here, but I just want you to know everything that led to the wrong judgments. My Mom’s love for her family was not enough to fight over Samara’s manipulations. Finally, she got herself killed and destroyed everything. Dad had a hard time accepting the fact that the mate he loved so much had betrayed his trust. He had lost the will to live and merely existed to take revenge on Samara. He hated my Mom for what she did to our family and always feared Samara would be using my mate against me. He instilled the hatred for mates in my mind, and I had closed my heart to everyone except Liam.”

Chris thought of the times when his Dad punished and forced him to harden his heart. “It’s ironic,” Chris gave a dry laugh. ” Dad must be turning in his grave at the turn of events. For years he trained me not to fall for Samara’s tricks, and I went on to do just that. I failed my Dad, and I failed you, Adele.”

" I have already forgiven you, Chris, but Alexa is the one who was most affected by your actions. I can’t speak for her,” Adele said.

" Let me talk to her, ” Conan said to Chris and took control. " Alexa, I have let you down as your mate. Being the wolf, I should have known the value of mate bond. Instead of making my human understand the importance of mates, I was busy trying to find excuses to hate you. The Moon Goddess would be so disappointed in me. You have always supported me, even though I never deserved it, and still, I am selfish. Can you please forgive me for what I have done?”

" This is not the right time. We are surrounded by enemies now,” Alexa asked.

" Nobody knows what the future holds. If I get your forgiveness, I won’t regret it even if I die right now.”

" Why are you speaking about death?” Alexa said, annoyed.

Conan was about to respond when he was interrupted by Liam. ” Why did you start without me?”

Liam had somehow managed to get hold of cooked meat from the tribal village without getting noticed. He placed the food in front of Adele and Chris and said, ” I have checked it. The food has not been tampered with.”

Adele was glad to have cooked meat after so many days. ” Thank you so much,” she said to Liam.

" You don’t have to thank me. I would do anything for you because I love you.”

Adele suddenly stopped eating and stared at Liam in shock.

" Don’t look at me like that, Adele. You are too smart not to know our feelings towards you. The only surprising thing is me being so vocal about it,” Liam said, winking at Adele. ” I’ve always been hesitant to talk about my feelings and avoided situations like that, but now I feel suffocated thinking you’d never know what I really feel for you. For years, I had no one but Chris, and I thought he was all I needed.”

“After I met you for the first time in my life, I felt I needed more. I blamed it on the mate bond and believed I would not have been attracted to you if it were not for the mate bond, but I was wrong. When I lost you, I realized how much you mean to me, to us.”

Alexa was overwhelmed by the flow of emotions. She was flustered hearing both her mates confessing their love so openly. This was what she always wished to hear, and now when she actually heard it, she didn’t know how to react. In her heart, she had already forgiven her mates, but her mind still didn’t want to forget the things they had done.

" What are you scared of? Do you not trust them yet?” Adele asked Alexa.

" I do trust them... completely,” Alexa replied.

" Then?”

" I feel uneasy, Ad. The witch, the dreams, and the problems we are facing... I don’t want to build my hopes beforehand and jinx everything. I just want to get done with Samara and start anew with my mates and pups.” Alexa then looked at Chris and Liam and said, " Let’s talk about it calmly once we get rid of Samara.”

" I want to clear it now, ” Chris said in frustration.

" Why are you getting so worked up, Chris? We have waited for so long; what difference does it make if we wait for some more time?” Liam asked.

“I-I...” Chris was about to speak when he started coughing badly.

Adele and Liam approached him, looking worried. ” Are you alright, Chris? ” Adele asked in concern.

" Y-Yes, I am fine. I choked on my food,” Chris said, secretly wiping off the blood from his mouth.

They then heard a few voices and were instantly alert.

" Why does this Queen not give up?” Liam said in frustration. ” Can’t they give us a break?”

" It’s Samara,” Adele said. ” I think she’s controlling them.”

" How can you be so sure?” Liam asked, shocked.

" The Queen knew about the potions and hid them. She also learned about Chris’s fear of snakes. How else would she have known if not for Samara? As we are getting near to the holy river, Samara is trying every trick to stop us. Even now, she only must have disclosed our location to them,” Adele remarked.

" Let’s move away from here,” Chris said.

" Why not fight them?” Liam suggested.

" We don’t know who and what will attack us again. Instead of waiting for them here, we will face them when we have to.” Chris wanted to avoid fighting because he felt weak and wanted Adele and Liam to stay out of trouble.

They shifted into their wolf forms and ran into the dark forest.

" Damn, these bastards don’t even let us talk peacefully,” Chris said to his wolf Conan.

" If we die today...” Conan almost choked up. " The only regret I would have is not getting my mate’s forgiveness.”

" Let’s hope for a miracle,” Chris said sadly.

They increased their speed when they heard the tribal men following them closely.

" I think we made a mistake leaving these men alive, ” Conan said bitterly.

" We are not killers,” Alexa said. " I am glad you didn’t kill them.”

Conan swelled up at the praise he got from his mate. They sprinted between the trees, avoiding the spears and knives being thrown at them from behind. Finally, they had reached a clearing that ended on a cliff.

" It’s a dead-end,” Alexa said, looking around for an escape. " What do we do now?”

" Shift,” Chris said. ” We have no other choice but to fight them now. You guys stay back; I will take care of them.”

" We are in this together, so we fight together,” Adele said and kicked the guy nearest to her.

The tribal men were already injured, so it was not difficult for the three to fight them. This time, they decided to render them unconscious so that they do not get up and attack them again.

While fighting the men, Adele, Chris and Liam had almost reached the corner of the cliff. The tribal Queen was hiding behind the tree staring at Adele with hatred. Her men were falling one after another, and the main reason for that was that she-wolf. If only she could get rid of her, all her problems would be solved. She held a spear in her hand, waiting for the right opportunity to attack.

After hitting the last person on his head, Adele slipped and was about to fall, but Liam caught her at the right time. The Queen took the chance, aimed her spear at Adele’s back, and shot it.

Everything happened within seconds. Chris noticed the spear when it was almost near Adele, so he had no choice but to push her away. Adele fell on top of Liam and the spear pierced Chris in his heart.

Adele cried out in pain as she felt a piercing ache in her heart, and Liam watched in horror while Chris fell off the cliff.