PAMPERED

Chapter 148

[Arthur’s POV]

I wasn’t going to deny the fact that Liam already having seen this special birthmark on Ella had utterly pissed me off. But what else was new?

I was no fool. I knew the two of them had been intimate with one another in the past. I tried not to let the idea bother me but as time went on, I found myself becoming more bitter by the fact.

But beneath that bitterness was a fear…A fear that Ella would truly want nothing to do with me even though she knows about

our connection.

After an encounter with work in my favor.

omeone like Cecilia Winslow,

hell could blame her? Just another thing that wasn’t willing to

When I had asked Ella about this supposed birthmark I watched her face become heated. She sheepishly got up and gently lifted the hem of her shirt up. My heart thundered widely in my chest.

I fought back the instinctive urge to reach out and touch her. Ella soon revealed a crescent moon–shaped mark just beneath her ribcage.

Oh, shit.

I could feel myself grow paler.

This can’t be possible…How could Ella be a part of a specific type of lineage that has been long wiped out? Goddamnit, I really should have paid more attention to that section on the Moon Wolves.

For the time being, I did my best to hide my shuddering discomfort at the situation and lowered my eyes to the floor.

“Ella, given the circumstances, I think it may be best for you to stay here for the rest of the weekend,” Liam suggested.

Shockingly enough, I had no problem agreeing with him. Ella nodded her head in agreement and decided she was going to lie down in her room and rest.

Liam and I said our goodbyes to Ella’s mom and left with the intention of heading back to campus. There were numerous thoughts rushing through my head, none of which I knew what to do with or properly handle.

All those hours I’d spent researching the possible reasons why someone who was a natural–born wolf did not have any sort of connection or bond with their own creature. I had come across a few possibilities that seemed a bit far–fetched.

Curses that may have been placed on the bloodline, for example. Other ideas I came across were purely genetic–related.

I knew the risk and difficulties that came when a werewolf would marry a human–mostly likely, they would have a hard time conceiving and there was a high chance of the baby being human.

It was why a majority of the population didn’t bother getting close to humans.

When I came across the Moon Wolf Tribe, I hadn’t really given much attention to it, mainly because I already knew that a majority, if not all, were gone.

And exactly how would I know such a thing?

Just another page out of the dark Winslow Family history book that would forever haunt me and torment my future…. When I was younger, I had overheard stories of the Moon Wolf Tribe and how they were hunted down and wiped from existence because their females possessed a miraculous kind of power that was considered too threatening to other groups. I didn’t necessarily believe in such stories. I considered my relatives to be superstitious worriers who were more concerned over the family’s fortune and power than anything else.

Considering that the leaked conversation was well over a decade ago, my memory was a bit blurry on certain aspects. However, the one solid thing I do recall was that it was Grandfather who had explicitly given the order to exterminate the Moon Wolf Tribe.

178

10:36 AM

I had been so young, I didn’t know any better at the time, nor had the topic ever come up since then. I never thought anything of it, it was so long ago and I still had a hard time believing half of it.

But if those stories turned out to have been true either way…Ella may never give me a chance.

I was suddenly beginning to feel the weight of the entire world pressing onto my shoulders.

With no prior knowledge to believe otherwise, I never gave a thought that Ella would be connected to the group in any way. Between seeing the pendant and the birthmark Ella showed us earlier, I felt like I was going to be sick.

Liam must have sensed something was up with me. Right as we got to his car, he stopped short and turned to look at me with

a raised brow.

“Alright, you gonna tell me what the hell is wrong with you?”

Normally, I would have tried to brush Liam off. But, in reality, things were very different now. Not to mention that Liam knew nothing of what our ancestors did to Ella’s lineage.

“Come on, I need to show you something,” I told him grimly. “Hand me your keys.”

“Why?”

“Because we’re not going back to campus, at least not yet,” I said. “We need to head back to the house.”

Liam had no real reason to trust me. After all, we were literally going at each other’s throats just a couple of hours ago. However, my entire outlook appeared to have shifted in less than half that time.

When we got to the house, I purposely brought us around the back way so that Aaron’s security wouldn’t see us. We made it to the library unseen and quickly shut the doors behind us. Liam took a good, long look around while I went straight for the books I had previously studied.

“You mean to tell me that you’ve been spending hours in here? Why?” Liam asked.

“When I first realized that Ella was my mate, I didn’t believe the idea that the two of you were were just being stupidly possessive over her or simply trying to get back at Noah.”

actually together. I thought you

Liam opened his mouth but swiftly shut it as though he was heavily contemplating his next words.

“When exactly did you find out that you were Ella’s mate?” he questioned instead.

“Do you remember the night I asked you to meet me out near the bridge?”

His eyes widened. “That was fucking months ago, Arthur.”

I merely shrugged. “When Ella had poked at my chest, I instantly felt this staggering spark and my wolf knew she was mine.”

I pulled the book out for both of us to view. “Here. This was the actual information I was after when I began my research.”

Liam narrowed his gaze down at the page and read it out loud.

“Vinculum duplex…The Double Bond?”

I nodded my head.

“According to that book, The Double Bond‘ is the phenomenon of having a double–mating bond with two wolves. It’s rare. But it’s possible.”

I gave Liam a chance to really read through the text while I tried to find a way to break the unsettling news to him, regarding our unfortunate family ties. From what I could only assume, Liam was not pleased with this revelation, nor did I expect him to be.

The mere concept of having a fated mate–that one special person who is uniquely placed above all others–is considered a gift. And to think Liam and I had to essentially share that same gift.

“That’s a lot to take in,” he muttered.

“Yeah, well… You might want to sit down for what I’m about to tell you,” I stated. “You’re not gonna like it.

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