Mated to Four Heirs

Chapter seven

CARLA VALE

Sleep refused to come.

I lay on my bed with one arm over my eyes, yet no matter how tightly I shut them, I could still feel her.

Samantha.

She was only a few rooms away, but to my wolf, it felt like she was miles beyond my reach.

‘Go to her,’ my wolf urged for what felt like the hundredth time that night.

"No."

‘She is our mate,’ my wolf insisted, as if that was supposed to make me happy.

"I know."

‘Then why are we hiding?’

Because loving her would kill her.

I turned onto my side and stared at the ceiling. I had spent years preparing myself for a life without love. I had convinced myself that I would never have a mate, never have a family, never know what it felt like to hold someone without fear.

Then the Moon Goddess had placed Samantha before me and expected me to pretend everything would somehow be different.

It wouldn't. It never was.

My eyes drifted toward the old wooden chest beneath my bed. I hadn't opened it in months.

Slowly, I got up and knelt before it. The hinges creaked as I lifted the lid.

Inside lay photographs, faded letters tied together with blue ribbon, dried flowers that had long since lost their color, and a silver bracelet.

I picked up the bracelet with trembling fingers.

"Lillian..."

The name escaped my lips like a prayer.

The memories came rushing back before I could stop them.

I had been seventeen when I met her.

She wasn't afraid of me.

Everyone else kept their distance because of the way I carried myself. They thought I was arrogant.

Lillian never cared. She would sit beside me during training breaks, talking enough for the both of us while I answered with nothing more than short nods.

"You know," she had said one afternoon with a bright smile, "one day I'm going to make you laugh."

I remembered looking at her without expression. "I don't laugh."

"Oh, you will," she smiled.

"You seem very confident."

"Because I am."

She had laughed then, and somehow, against my better judgment, I found myself wanting to hear that laugh again.

Weeks became months. Months became more than a year. Little by little, she broke down every wall I had built around myself.

She was there after every training session. She scolded me whenever I skipped meals. She celebrated every victory as though it belonged to both of us.

Without realizing it, I fell in love.

The night I finally told her how I felt, she cried before throwing her arms around me.

"I thought you'd never say it," she whispered.

For the first time in my life, I believed I deserved happiness.

Months later, we gave ourselves completely to each other. I had never been happier.

The next morning, she smiled at me over breakfast.

"You look different," she teased.

"How?"

"You smiled."

"I did not."

"You did."

She reached across the table and squeezed my hand. "I like this version of you."

Three days later…

She developed a fever.

The healers said it was nothing serious.

Five days later, she could barely stand. Her skin had become pale, and every breath seemed to hurt.

They searched for answers, but none came.

On the seventh day...

She died in my arms.

"I love you" were the last words she ever spoke.

I remembered screaming until my voice gave out. I remembered begging every healer in the room to save her. I remembered the silence after they all stopped trying.

The world buried her.

A part of me was buried with her.

Years passed before I allowed another woman close. I buried myself in training, duties, and in becoming the perfect Alpha.

Everyone assumed I had moved on.

The truth was...

I had simply learned how to hide the pain.

Then Amelia came into my life.

She was stubborn, too stubborn.

"You can't keep living like a ghost," she used to tell me.

"You don't know me."

I sounded really aggressive towards her, but I didn't care

"I know enough."

"I'll only disappoint you," I said flatly.

She smiled every single time.

"I'll decide that for myself."

I warned her again and again. "You should stay away from me."

She refused. "I choose you."

I told her about Lillian. She held my face between her hands.

"That wasn't your fault."

"You don't know that."

"I do."

Against every instinct, I believed her. I let myself hope one last time.

Then history repeated itself.

Three days… a fever.

Five days… weakness.

Seven days… death.

This time, I didn't scream. I simply sat beside her bed after everyone had left. I couldn't even cry. There was nothing left inside me to break.

That was the day I stopped believing love was meant for me.

I spent years searching for answers. I traveled farther than anyone knew. I climbed the Frost Mountains to seek the oldest healers. I crossed the Black Marsh to meet witches who claimed they could remove any curse.

I searched forgotten libraries filled with books older than the Academy itself. I even entered forbidden ruins beneath Shadow Prowl territory looking for ancient magic.

Every answer was the same. Nothing. No spell. No cure. No explanation.

Then I found an old seer living alone beyond the western cliffs. She looked at me for a long time before speaking.

"You are not followed by death."

I leaned forward. "Then what is it?"

She sighed sadly. "Death lives inside the love you receive."

My heart stopped. "I don't understand."

"You will."

She looked away.

"And when you do, you will spend the rest of your life running from happiness."

I left with more questions than answers.

From that day, I made myself a promise.

Never again… never love another woman… never give anyone the chance to die because of me.

The promise had kept people alive.

Until Samantha.

Laughter drifted upstairs from the living room. I knew that laugh already. It was soft, honest and beautiful.

She was laughing with Adrian and Darius because Karl said something that made all three of them laugh even harder.

Without thinking, I smiled. But it disappeared just as quickly.

I turned away from the door. No.

This was exactly how it had started before… a laugh… a conversation… hope… then grief.

I wouldn't let history repeat itself.

The next morning, I slipped into the kitchen before sunrise, hoping to avoid everyone.

I had barely poured myself a cup of coffee when the door opened.

Samantha walked in.

Her hair was tied into a messy ponytail, and she looked like she had only just woken up.

She froze when she saw me.

"Oh..."

She smiled awkwardly. "Good morning."

I nodded once.

She walked toward the cupboard, reaching for a mug that was just beyond her fingertips.

It slipped, but I caught it instinctively before it hit the floor.

For the briefest moment, our fingers almost touched. I pulled my hand away so quickly that she blinked in surprise.

"Thanks," she said softly.

I placed the mug on the counter.

She hesitated before speaking again.

"I've actually been looking for a chance to talk to you."

I remained silent.

"I wanted to thank you."

There was sincerity in her voice.

I looked away. "It was nothing."

"It wasn't nothing."

She took one careful step closer, but I immediately stepped back. The movement made her stop, confusion filling her hazel eyes.

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

"Then... why do you keep avoiding me?"

‘Because I want to hold you. Because my wolf already loves you. Because if I let myself get close, I'll destroy you.’

Instead, I forced ice into my voice.

"Stay away from me."

The words hung between us.

Her smile slowly disappeared. "I was only trying to be friendly."

"I don't need your friendship."

She stared at me, hurt slowly replacing confusion.

"I don't understand."

"You don't have to."

She swallowed hard. "I thought maybe..."

She stopped herself.

"What?"

"I thought maybe you didn't hate me."

I closed my eyes for a heartbeat before answering.

"I don't hate you."

Hope flickered across her face.

Then I crushed it.

"I simply don't want you anywhere near me."

She looked as though I had struck her. After several long seconds, she lowered her head.

"I won't bother you again."

She walked past me without another word. The kitchen suddenly felt unbearably empty.

My wolf howled in agony…

‘Go after her.’

"No."

‘She is crying.’

"She'll be fine."

‘You did this.’

"I know."

I rested both hands on the counter and lowered my head.

"If she learns to hate me," I whispered to the empty room, "then maybe she'll live long enough to love someone else."

It was a lie I wanted to believe.

Because deep inside...

I already knew I would never stop loving Samantha Carter.