Help! Five Beast Alphas Want To Breed Me!!(BL)-Chapter 259: Two Souls

Selthía;

I let out a breath as my fingers brush through Zerana’s hair absent-mindedly.

She has a puzzle box in her hands that she’s been trying so hard to figure out in the past few minutes. I think one of the reasons he hasn’t cracked it is that every once in a while, her attention drifts from the box to me. Stealthily watching me. Waiting... always waiting for whatever thoughts are troubling me to spill out.

She knows something is indeed bothering me. She knows me too well.

I sigh, long and slow, and look down at the woman in my bed with me.

"Zerana," I call, and without looking away from the box in her hands, she hums.

"Yes, my love?"

Her voice pulls a small smile from me, softening some of the tension in my chest and heart.

"There was something I noticed this morning," I say quietly,

"When I was practising my My Mana Flow with Elián," I add, and her fingers stop moving.

She slowly drops the box, places it beside her, and shifts to face me fully.

"I knew it," she whispers with a teasing squint.

"You’ve been too quiet for the past hour. Go on." She adds, and I inhale deeply.

This is hard to explain to anyone... even to Zerana.

"When I was guiding his mana through the movement, when our energies were aligned..." I begin, and I pause. As I remember how it felt.

"I sensed something strange," I speak, and her brow arches with curiosity.

"Strange? From Elian? What strange thing about that muffin is enough to rattle anyone? The boy is... unique." She replies, and I shake my head in negation.

"No, I mean. It was something truly odd." I reply, and her attempts to lighten the situation drop with her smile.

"What... what did you sense?" She questions, and I take a deep breath.

"I felt two mana signatures... In fact, three..." I reply, and Zerana falls silent.

Then her eyes widen when she realises that I’m not joking.

"...Three?" she repeats slowly, as though tasting the impossibility of the word on her tongue.

"Yes," I whisper.

"I know one of them belongs to his baby, and the other to him... but the last? It was... distinct. Soft... but undeniably there. And I can assure you, it wasn’t the signature of a baby in his womb, so put aside the possibility of him being pregnant with twins." I explain, and Zerana sits up completely now, her expression shifting from curiosity to seriousness.

"That’s not possible," she says firmly.

"Every soul has one mana signature. It’s like its identity. A body cannot sustain two signatures unless..."

"Unless it has two souls," I finish weakly, and Zerana freezes.

We stare at each other, with the truth hanging between us like a suspended blade.

Then, she rubs her temple, frowning.

"But that makes no sense. He is not a vessel. He’s not... a creature that was conjured from dark magic, he..." She begins in budding panic, and I cut in.

"I know," I whisper.

"And yet... the feeling was unmistakable. There are two souls ruling that body. I made no mistake. I sensed the other one. A bit weak, but it was there..." I reply, and she stays silent for a while before shifting closer.

She grabs my wrists gently and runs her thumb along the pulse points. An odd thing she does that actually always calms me.

"Describe it," she urges softly.

"Tell me exactly what you felt."

I know she wants to be sure that I indeed made no mistakes, but I have no issue doing that.

I close my eyes and let memory wash over me... the garden, the flowing movements, Elián’s quiet concentration, the way his mana flickered and trembled like a startled bird.

"It was like..." I begin.

"His mana was soft and warm, familiar. But beneath it... I sensed another pulse. Fainter. Powerful. Calmer. It wasn’t competing with him, and it wasn’t foreign or hostile." I add, and Zerana’s expression tightens.

"Almost... as if the second presence was watching. Or sleeping." I conclude, and she exhales, in clear worry.

"That shouldn’t be," she whispers.

"A second soul? Inside him? Even ancient beasts don’t have that. Not even the ancient primordial serpents." She adds, and my chest tightens further.

"Then what could it be?" I ask, my voice barely above a whisper, and Zerana looks toward the balcony, thinking with her brown eyes, narrowing thoughtfully.

"Perhaps a dormant blessing?" she suggests.

"Or leftover mana from something that merged with him? A bloodline anomaly?" She adds, and I kiss the roof of my mouth and roll my eyes.

"But it didn’t feel like leftover mana," I insist, sitting up.

"It felt whole. Real. Awake. Another entire soul. I’m telling you." I add, and Zerana turns back to me.

Her face softens instantly when she sees the worry etched into my features.

"Selthía," she whispers, touching my cheek,

"You’re worried." She sates.

I open my mouth to deny it... But stop.

Because she is right.

Light, she is right!

"I..." I begin, but my voice breaks.

"I’m worried about him," I confess, and Zerana’s lips twitch into a slow, knowing smile.

"Already?" she teases softly.

"You’re already attached to the boy." She adds, and heat rushes to my face.

"I am not," I protest, sitting straighter, and crossing my arms, and she snorts.

"Oh, yes, you are. My mighty queen, already fretting like a mother hen." She taunts, and I turn to glare at her.

"I am not fretting like a hen!" I hiss.

"You are," she says.

"I am not!" I snap back, and Zerana laughs...quietly, warmly... and then, she leans over to kiss the corner of my lips.

"You care. And it shows." She says, and I glare at her halfheartedly.

"I only care because he is carrying a child," I insist.

"Being pregnant... is no easy thing," I add... remembering my sister, and Zerana leans closer to me.

"Ohhh," she says with exaggerated nodding,

"So it’s all about the baby."

"Yes," I answer too quickly, and Zerana gives me a mock-solemn nod.

"Of course. Entirely about the baby. Not the boy who thawed your mood this morning. Not the boy who made you smile like a goof during the Flow." She replies, and my jaw drops. She saw us?!

"I did not smile like a goof..."

"You absolutely did."

I throw a pillow at her, and she catches it effortlessly and throws it back, harder. The impact causes me to fall back, and she laughs.

We both laugh... a rare, genuine sound I haven’t made in days.

But the laughter fades as the worry creeps back into my heart.

"Zerana..." I whisper softly,

"If Elián truly has two souls... what does that mean for him? Which one is... Elián? And... should we be afraid of the other?" I question, and Zerana’s expression changes. Softening from playful to serious.

Then she cups my face with both hands.

"Love," she whispers softly,

"Listen to me." She speaks as she caresses my cheek.

"The world is old. And strange. And full of things no one fully understands. There are mysteries that existed before magic itself learned its own name." She says with a gentle smile as her scent floods my lungs.

"Maybe Elián does have two souls. Maybe he has something sleeping inside him. Maybe he’s been touched by something ancient. It, however, doesn’t change what we know." She continues, and I swallow.

"And what do we know?"

"That he is good," she says without hesitation.

"That he is kind. Loving. Gentle. And terrified. That he is trying his best to survive. And that he is already loved by people who would do anything to protect him. A loving Queen who will not admit that she’s taken a liking to him, and her two love-struck nephews." She replies, and I stare at her in silence.

She smiles softly.

"We both know you care about the boy."

"I said I do not..."

"You do," She cuts me off by whispering against my lips.

"But don’t worry. I won’t tell him." She adds, and I swat her shoulder weakly.

"You’re infuriating." I snark, and she giggles.

"And you are worried," she replies,

"Which is adorable." She adds, and I groan.

She gently pushes me down to the bed, gets on top of me, and pulls the blanket up. She drapes it over both of us and wraps her arms around me.

"But if you want the truth," she adds, voice warm against my ear,

"Even if Elián has two souls... he is still Elián. The boy who smiles shyly. The boy who worries too much. The boy who made even you, the cold serpent queen, soften in one encounter." She says, and I smack her bottom, but she only laughs.

She kisses my lips lightly this time, and I feel flutters in my chest.

"Sleep, my love. Whatever this is, we’ll figure it out together." She says as she lies on top of me.

I exhale slowly, my body relaxing into hers. The worry is still there, but no longer suffocating.

"Together," I echo quietly.

I snap my fingers, and the crystals dim as we settle under the blanket, warmth pooling between us, and her hand finds mine under the sheets.

Whatever Elián is...

Whatever sleeps inside him...

We will face it. As one.

I will protect him. Even if it’s from something within him.