Evelyn~
Rael didn’t even blink after asking that question. His sharp gaze locked onto mine, filled with what looked like barely restrained fury. But strangely enough, I could tell that anger wasn’t aid at .
So then, what was I supposed to say?
Should I lie and say it was a mosquito bite?
"No, that’s a terrible idea," my wolf said flatly. "Forget it. His wolf probably already knows you have more than one fated mate. That’s probably why he asked. Honestly? Maybe it’s better if you just tell him the truth."
I let out a soft hiss of frustration. For once, she wasn’t being all that helpful. But then again, what could she really do? She was just living rent-free in my head.
Still ... she had a point. As much as I hated to admit it, she wasn’t wrong. The thing was, I didn’t know how Rael would react if I told him that Theron had already marked .
Sure, I figured most of his anger would be aid at Theron. But a small part of worried, what if he ended up being disappointed and mad at too?
Let’s be real. Alphas have always wanted mates who were untouched. They liked the idea of purity, a she-wolf who had never been with anyone else.
anwhile, I had lost that so-called "purity" a long ti ago, even before I ever t Theron.
There were words for won like . Too many, honestly and none were kind. Things like "public dump," or "cursed woman." There were worse ones too, but I don’t even have the heart to say them out loud.
The point is, I was worried that Rael would look at with disgust, throw out of his ho or worse, burn at the stake. Alright, the throw away part sounded better than being burned.
So instead of answering his question, I asked one of my own. "Before I answer you," I said quietly, "there’s sothing I want to know. What kind of punishnt do you give to an impure woman?"
Rael’s lips parted, as if he were about to say sothing. But then he paused and closed his mouth again. The fire in his eyes faded, replaced by sothing else, confusion, maybe?
Why did he look confused?
It was a simple question. Almost everywhere I’d been, there was so kind of punishnt for won who’d had sex before marriage.
So were stoned in the streets—yes, literally—just for sleeping with soone before marriage, even when it was usually the n who forced themselves on the won.
Other places were more humiliating. They’d strip the woman in public, throw rotten fruit at her, call her nas, make a spectacle of her pain like it was so kind of show.
None of it was justice.
It was just an excuse for cruel n to stare, to laugh, to sha won for sothing they were never blad for equally.
Why was it always the won?
What about the n?
They were part of it, too. But no one threw rocks at them or made them strip in the streets.
The more barbaric the region, the more cruel the punishnt.
The Nocthra Pack seed more like a big, chaotic family than a strict or lawless place. I thought maybe their punishnts weren’t that extre. However, I was still a stranger here, and punishnts for outsiders were usually worse.
"We only punish three cris here," Rael finally said.
He held up three fingers and looked dead in the eyes.
"One: betraying your pack."
"Two: abusing your own family."
"And three: killing soone without reason."
That was it? Just those three.
There was nothing about virginity. There was nothing about how many n a woman had slept with, and not a word about purity.
I just stared at him, completely speechless.
"Don’t you have any written rules or sothing?" I finally asked. "Most packs have their own laws, right?"
Rael chuckled softly, like I’d just said sothing ridiculous. "Oh, my love," he said with a teasing smile, "this isn’t so fancy kingdom. Why would I waste ti writing a bunch of complicated rules?"
He leaned slightly closer, voice dropping into sothing softer, more personal. "I’m afraid if I start doing that, I’ll turn into a boring man with a boring life, just like that Alpha King you know so well."
I blinked again. Did he just casually roast Theron?
Rael tilted his head slightly, that smug little smirk tugging at his lips like he was proud of it.
"No offense," he added, though the glint in his eyes said otherwise. "But I like chaos a little too much to rule with a stack of papers and laws. My pack doesn’t need to beco so uptight Alpha who tells them what to wear, who to love, and when to eat. We’re not sheep."
"So yeah," Rael continued, "to answer your question—no, we don’t have punishnts for ’impure won.’ Because honestly, what’s the point of that? It sounds ridiculous."
He shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I’m not even innocent myself. I’ve done things, many terrible things. So why would I ever expect to be mated with soone pure? That’s not love. That’s just hypocrisy wrapped in pretty words."
The playful smirk slowly faded from Rael’s face. Now, he looked at with a calm seriousness, like he needed to truly understand what he was about to say.
"I will never punish you just because you’ve been with soone before," he said firmly. "Your past doesn’t scare . It doesn’t make you any less worthy, and it sure as hell doesn’t change how I see you."
He paused for a second, then added, "You’re mine, Evelyn. Not because you’re untouched, or perfect, or any of those things people like to throw around. You’re mine because fate said so, and because I want you just the way you are."
I stared at him, unsure of what to say. My throat tightened, and my chest felt warm and heavy at the sa ti, like sothing inside had been holding its breath for far too long, and was finally allowed to exhale.
"I ..." I tried to speak, but the words caught in my throat.
Rael didn’t rush . He didn’t push for answers or explanations. He just stood there, quietly watching with those unwavering erald eyes.
After a long mont, I finally managed to say, "I have more than one mate ... and Theron marked first."
The mont those words slipped out, I saw sothing in his eyes. It was like a light that had been glowing suddenly faded.
He didn’t say anything right away. He just ... kept smiling. But this ti, it didn’t quite reach his eyes.
Maybe he truly didn’t care if I’d been having sex with other n in the past, but knowing that another man had marked as his mate ... that was different.
That, I feared, might be a real problem.
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