Chapter 2 A Liability
SORAYA
Kieron was here.
I pushed myself off the floor just as Bianca cat-walked to the door, beaming, all smiles and poise. Kieron was the one shot I had at being chosen, for the first time in my life.
He was my mate.
Well, theoretically, Given our nearly identical genetic makeup, sharing 98% identical blood and gene composition, he was mated to Bianca also.
I had no interest in polygamy or a harem, especially not with my sister involved. And so, after a meeting with the council elders, Kieron was urged to pick one of us after a week of consideration.
My palms suddenly became clammy as he walked in. I immediately wiped my eyes and put on my brightest smile.
"Hey."
"Hey babes."
My greeting was already overshadowed by hers.
Calling him 'babes' was a far throw off the line. We only had a platonic relationship with him, so that it wouldn't influence his selection.
He stepped through the door and I held my breath.
Short curls and grey eyes, staring back at me.
"Hi...Kieron."
He gave me a light smile, barely even having the time to answer as Bianca whisked him away to the couch. Dropping on his lap.
Neither mom or dad were present, in order not to influence Kieron's decision. Tradition required that there were just three of us present, he'd talk to us both, a drop of his blood on our napes, and when he finally made his choice, he would lean in and clean the drop of blood off the person he would reject.
Kieron settled into the couch and I sat in front of him. Choosing to sit on my knees, a sign of submission.
Hopefully an added bonus.
Kieron’s gaze drifted to me again.
He cleared his throat.
“I appreciate both of you being here. I know this is not an easy process.”
No kidding.
My entire life trajectory was being benchmarked in real time.
Bianca laughed.
“Oh, Kieron, we understand. We totally get it. Take your time.”
She leaned closer, her head dropping onto his shoulder.
Kieron looked between us.
“Before anything else, I want us to start the first step.”
I nodded, shifting towards him.
He grew a nail from his claw and pressed it into his thumb. The scent of his blood filled the air and I tried so hard to suppress a whimper. I was an Alpha wolf. There was a limit to the submissiveness I should show before my mate except we were intimate.
He came to me and pressed his bleeding thumb against my neck. The wet liquid just below my ear, he did the same to Bianca and she grinned.
Kieron sat back, looking at his print on our necks.
"I have one deciding factor."
"What is it?" We asked simultaneously.
“A question. Why should I choose either of you?”
Bianca wanted to say something but I cut her off.
“I believe you should choose me,” I said to Kieron. “Not because I am perfect, but because I try. Because I know what it means to work for something instead of expecting it to fall into my hands. I understand responsibility and I understand sacrifice. I am not asking for you to choose me because fate says so. I am asking because I know what I can build with you, if you give me the chance.”
Kieron’s gaze lingered on me for a second longer than I expected.
Enough to make Bianca shift on his lap.
She smiled and tucked her hair behind her ear before leaning forward.
“Kieron, you should choose me,” she said. “You know my strengths. You know I carry myself well, I present myself well, and I would represent our bond with grace. You will never have to worry about me embarrassing you. I know how to handle myself around the elite, the councils and the courts, of course. And I care about you deeply, I can give you comfort, steadiness, and strength." She ran a nail on his chin. "My beauty, brains, and ferocity would validate you before your foes by mere hear-say."
"Mmn..."
“I would make things easier for you,” she added.
Goddess. Please.
Put this in his heart to choose me.
××××
It was well past an hour with Kieron pacing up and down, my parents peeping in from the slightly open door. The atmosphere was tense, I could practically hear my heart, hammering in my chest. As well as Bianca's heartbeat.
“I have made my choice.”
I closed my eyes, this was the defining moment. A minute passed and my lips curved into a smile. I had heard a whimper from Bianca, he had rejected her.
He approached me and I tilted my neck to the side, I felt his hand on my neck, preparing me for his mark.
Or so I had thought.
Because Kieron leaned forward, and his finger wiped off the blood on my neck. Tears blurred my eyes the second they opened. Bianca was holding her own neck, except.. it had a mark on it.
"No...no..no..."
A small, broken sob that felt like it had lived inside my chest for years and finally clawed its way free.
“No… no… no…”
Bianca’s hand rose to her neck, brushing over the mark with triumph.
I stared at them both. My vision blurred, I felt like..I felt.. ruined.
“Why? Why would you do that? What did I do wrong?”
Kieron inhaled,
“Soraya,” he said quietly, “Bianca is… the wiser choice.”
My knees nearly buckled.
“You would be a liability for me.”
A liability.
Kieron called me...a.. a liability.
“That is not true,” I whispered, shaking my head. “Kieron, you cannot mean that. I—”
Bianca smirked, crossing her arms. “Honestly, Soraya, did you really think he would pick you? You stumble over your own emotions half the time. You are too intense and unsure. Too… you.”
My wolf snarled in my chest.
I stepped toward her, more than furious.
“Shut your mouth.”
“Oh please,” she shot back. “Look at you. Crying already. You would have embarrassed him in front of the entire council.”
I lunged for her stupid face.
My parents burst through the doorway at the same moment. My father grabbed my arms, my mother held my waist, pulling me back as Bianca hissed.
“You little—” she spat, and before anyone could stop her, her claws swiped across my cheek.
I screamed, more from heartbreak than the sting of her claws.
“Stop this!” my mother yelled. “Soraya, calm down.”
“Calm down?” I sobbed, choking on the sound. “He was mine. He was mine! Why was I not enough? Why?”
Kieron’s jaw tightened, but he did not move toward me, he did not reach for me, he did not even look sorry.
The mate I longed for had chosen my sister.
And he did not look back.
