Contract Marriage With Alpha Snow - Chapter 368

Chapter 368: Trouble in Mate-dise
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CHAPTER 368

~Ella’s POV~

The world around me felt weightless, my body floating in a sea of warmth and unfamiliar comfort. My mind was foggy, struggling to grasp onto reality, but voices—deep, heated voices—pierced through the haze.

I winced at the headache thanks to their rumbling voices.

“She’s my mate,” a rough, commanding voice growled. “You have no right to be near her.” That was Ric…

“Oh, fuck off, Richard,” Ares snapped with a tone just as sharp. “She was with me before your Lycan ass decided to sniff around.”

A low, menacing growl vibrated through the air, sending shivers down my spine. “You touched my mate,” Richard snarled. “If you weren’t Kaid’s—”

“Enough,” Kaid’s voice pierced the tension with a sharp edge, causing the room to fall silent.

I slowly started to regain control of my senses, my eyelids fluttering, the weight of exhaustion still pressing against me. My head pounded like I had been thrown into an actual Astra projection, only that it felt too real.

“Both of you,” Kaid continued firmly. “Shut up. You sound like children fighting over a damn toy.”

“She’s not a toy,” Richard muttered darkly.

“Then stop acting like she is,” Kaid shot back, holding a deep growl. “She’s unconscious, and instead of focusing on her, you’re both waving your dicks around trying to claim her like she’s property. Now sit the fuck down and shut up before I make you.”

A heavy silence followed, but I could feel the tension crackling in the air even before I sat down.

Just then, Kaid pulled out his phone. I heard the distinct sound of him dialing before he spoke, “Zara. Ella fainted.”

My breath hitched at the mention of my best friend. I wondered where I was but Kaid continued.

“She’s fine,” Kaid reassured her. “She’s here at the hotel you last saw me at. You might want to come get her before her boyfriend and my Beta kill each other.”

There was a pause, and then Kaid sighed. “See you soon, Zara. When you get here, you’d understand.”

The moment he ended the call, another wave of silence swept through the room.

And then, just as I was fully coming back to reality, I felt it.

A presence—two of them, hovering over me, radiating heat, tension, and something that sent my heartbeat into chaos.

My eyes flickered open, adjusting to the dim lighting of what looked like an expensive hotel suite.

And the second I moved, both Richard and Ares lunged forward at the same time.

“Ella,” Richard’s deep voice was the first to reach me, filled with possessiveness and something dangerously close to worry.

“Shit, you scared me, princess,” Ares muttered, his tone softer than before.

I blinked, my mind racing to process what was happening. I was lying on a massive bed, and the two most infuriating men I had ever met were standing way too close, their eyes locked onto me like I was some fragile porcelain doll.

My throat was dry, and my body felt strangely warm, almost as if I was still wrapped in that overwhelming scent—Richard’s scent.

“Where…” I tried to speak but my voice was hoarse.

Richard immediately grabbed a glass of water from the nightstand and pressed it to my lips. “Drink.”

I hesitated of course. He may be my mate but even I have some sense of reasoning.

Ares scoffed, crossing his arms. “Oh, for fuck’s sake, Ella, he’s not poisoning you.”

And what about making me sleepy while he kidnapped me?

Hearing my voice in my head I mentally facepalmed. I sounded ridiculous.

If he really wanted to do so, he would have done it since.

And the fact that Ares is still here is proof that Richard never had such intentions.

I shot Area a glare nonetheless but took the drink anyway, my lips brushing against the cool rim of the glass. The moment the liquid soothed my throat, I let out a sigh.

“Better?” Richard asked, his eyes searching mine.

I nodded. “Yeah.”

Ares let out a dramatic breath and leaned against the wall. “Good. Because I was about to throw you over my shoulder and drag you back to Snow’s mansion if you didn’t wake up soon.”

I rolled my eyes. “Charming.”

Richard, however, wasn’t amused. His entire body remained rigid, his focus still entirely on me. I could feel the mate bond working through him, through us, connecting us in a way that terrified and thrilled me at the same time.

I needed to get out of here.

I needed to think.

Because this? This was too much.

Just then, Richard reached for my wrist, his fingers warm and firm as he held me gently.

“You felt it,” he murmured but his voice was certain.

I swallowed as my pulse raced at his touch. “Felt what?”

His eyes darkened. “Me, us.”

Ares groaned loudly. “Oh, for fuck’s sake. Not this mate bond shit again.”

Richard’s glare snapped to him, his grip on my wrist tightening just slightly. “Watch your mouth, Ares.”

“Oh, bite me, Richie.”

I closed my eyes for a brief second, exhaling sharply. “Enough. Both of you.”

They both fell silent, but the tension didn’t ease.

I looked back at Richard. “I don’t know what I felt, okay? This is a lot to process.”

His gaze softened, just slightly. “I know,” he admitted. “But you can’t ignore it, Ella. This—”we”—is real. We are mates, love.”

“Love?” Ares questioned instantly but I didn’t say anything.

This was the mate bond, the very one all werewolves looked forward to. I couldn’t blame Richard for nay of his actions.

Before now, before Kent and Ares, I would have jumped at the thought but now, after being lied to and all…

Not so sure anymore.

I opened my mouth to argue, to tell Richard that my life had been complicated enough before throwing a damn Lycan mate into the mix. But before I could say anything, the hotel room door suddenly opened.

Zara walked in, her expression shifting from relief to deadly as she took in the scene in front of her.

Her gaze flickered between me, Richard, and Ares befo

re she sighed heavily. “What the hell did I just walk into?”