Mated to A Rival Alpha-Chapter 99: Her Defenseless Pains

*My house caught fire last night lol, feels like I’m in a nightmare sigh, anyway, enjoy!

[RANIA]

"Will you be okay, Dalrae?" Rania asked when they were looking for food. Dalrae was mad at her for so many reasons, and she knew her best friend was right. But that didn’t mean she would pretend like Dalrae wasn’t going through all the stages of grief.

Dalrae was in denial and Rania knew it too. The only thing Rani could do now was to hope that Dalrae would be okay.

Granted, Rania had long prepared Dalrae to take over the alpha position for when she wasn’t there, but Rania had never told Dalrae that she would have to step up, at a time when the whole kingdom wanted a taste of Rani’s blood. It was sad on so many levels.

"What do you think, Rani? Up until now, you refuse to tell me why you gave yourself up, you refuse to tell me what was so important and what you needed to protect so much, that you had to hide it from me.

"All this time, I have been the most useless best friend to you. You do everything to protect me and yet at the same time, you don’t want me to fight for you.

"You say you want to fight your demons alone, but why do you keep forgetting that no matter what happens, I will always have your back?" Dalrae asked as she stopped in her tracks. She was sick of pretending to fight through the unknown.

She knew Rania and she knew the woman wasn’t the kind to sacrifice herself for just anyone. It was a stupid idea and definitely one that Rania would have frowned upon herself. Dalrae wasn’t buying the whole peace agenda that Rania was forcing down her throat, and she had every reason to.

"Is it because of Jihoon and the rejections? Because even I am smart enough that you wouldn’t sacrifice so much for your parents. Those people have never been involved in your life and they are not going to start today.

’This also means that there’s no way you’d give up everything, just like that. How long do i have to wait, Rani. How long before you can fully trust me? How long before you look at me the way you used to?

"You used to trust me, and confide in me, but everything changed since you went on that mission. But now that I think of it, everything changed the day you got your first rejection. Why, Rani?

"At least tell me why you can’t trust me, if you can’t tell me what is really happening with you," Dalrae pleaded softly, and Rania felt like the worst person ever.

She felt like she was blocking away the only person who cared for her, But then again, Rani knew that this was inevitable. There would come a day when she would be truthful with Dalrae but not today. Or maybe she owed the girl at least one string of truth, right?

"I’m sorry—"

"Of course you are. That is all you’ve ever been for the lost years. It’s always you being sorry, apologizing for anything and everything. I suppose you will also apologize for the stupid Odelia troll looking at us in the distance, no?

"Y’know what, you can just stay silent and wait for me to get us food. I don’t have the strength to deal with your apologies right now," Dalrae snapped finally. She had been walking on eggshells around her best friend, but even she had her own limits.

There was just no way she would always be the one begging, pleading with Rania to let her in. Everyone sounds the war of the idea that the two never hide anything from each other, and yet Rani took every chance she got, to play the hero.

Thing is, Dalrae never needed a hero, and yet that was all she got. A hero so broken by everyone around her to the point that the hero needed saving. But the hero wouldn’t want help, and it was hard on Dalrae too.

"I’m sorry sister," Rania said and before Dalrae could interrupt them, Rania continued.

"I found out that someone went to a witch because of me, Dalrae. Someone tampered with my mate’s bond. The first mate to reject me, was never my real mate. Of course, my first instinct was to think that it was Jihoon who went to the witch, but Dalrae, he didn’t.

"All those rejections, and the way they came, one after the other. They all came in travels of three months. The rejections that broke me. They came because of Yanna.

"She had a witch to manipulate my mate bond, because she didn’t want me to get my true mate, even though he was always so close, always around me, and I didn’t even know until Paloma slapped me with the truth.

"That was why I banished Paloma. Because if Yanna Knew that Paloma knew who my mate was, or that the rejections were triggered by her, she would have killed Paloma.

"And I couldn’t tell you, because you would have wanted to kill Yanna yourself and bore the burden of a lifetime, Dalrae. That is what I didn’t want to tell you. I couldn’t tell you, sister, because I couldn’t put you in harm’s way," Rania said as she looked helplessly at her sister.

To say Dalrae was in shock was an understatement.

The woman was still processing the fact that the Odelia troll was casually walking away from them like they didn’t mean shit to him. This troll that she was sure had been a myth, but turned out not to be a myth.

The troll that was scared shitless of Kim Rania. Dalrae had a lot to process right now, and as she looked at her sister, Dalrae couldn’t help but pull a hurt Rani into a hug. It was the only way that she could stay standing.

"Are you okay?" Rania asked Dalrae who just stayed silent and held onto Rania.

Rania was still wounded and had refused to heal, but the bond that Rania’s wolf had with Dalrae was strong. Too strong that the moment Dalrae slumped on Rania for the supposed hug, Rania’s wolf instantly exhaled the woman’s wounds, forcing Rania to be stable and hold onto her dear friend and sister.

It was sort of a reverse psychology thing, but it worked. Because one thing was certain. Rania would never let Dalrae stumble and fall. She just wouldn’t. She loved the woman a little too much. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

"So that’s why you killed Yanna? You had every reason to. No wonder that stupid mate of yours rejected you on the first day. Goodness, I should have bashed his face on even more.

"It was a good thing we went for a run, otherwise, you would have had me in the Incayon dungeons Rani, I swear it," Dalrae said but then she didn’t need to swear anything, because Rani knew just how protective her best friend was.

This woman could fight anyone who tried to harm Rania. Hell, she had punched the royal prince in front of the king, his queen, and the damn royal council, not to mention the other alphas. Dalrae was fierce when it came to Rania, but were they always taking that towards each other’s safety?

"Who is your true mate, Rani?" Dalrae asked after a long silence.