Contract Marriage With Alpha Snow novel Chapter 123

Chapter 123: Not Again

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Chapter 123

~Aira’s POV~

The moment his eyes locked onto mine, I felt it again—that invisible tether pulling me toward him in a strong and unrelenting manner. The mate bond surged within me, undeniable and absolute.

Mate.

The word thundered in my mind, drowning out everything else. I could barely hear Tempest’s horrified gasp beside me, but her words pierced through the haze.

"Not again," she said, her voice trembling.

My gaze snapped to her just as her eyes filled with tears, one slipping free to trail down her cheek. My heart shattered as I realized she had put it together too.

"Tempest..." I started, my voice breaking.

Her expression was a mirror of my own—shock, pain, disbelief. She managed a shaky laugh, though it was laced with bitterness. "You’ve got to be kidding me," she said, wiping at her cheek. "The Moon Goddess really has it out for me, doesn’t she?"

I couldn’t respond. My heart was too heavy, and my wolf, Autumn, was howling in both triumph and anguish.

Just then, a sound rumbled through my mind, shattering what little composure I had left.

"Fuck."

Snow’s voice pierced through my thoughts, his frustration detectable even from across the room.

Zade seemed to sense the tension between us because he stepped forward, his gaze flicking between me and Tempest.

And just like that, the world narrowed to the three of us, the weight of the mate bond pulling at me as the tangled mess of emotions settled like a storm around us.

"No. Just no," Tempest burst out and within seconds she dashed through the crowd, escaping before the inevitable happened.

I stood frozen, watching Tempest’s retreating form as she disappeared into the crowd, her figure swallowed by the swirling mass of guests. The crack in her voice, and the anguish in her eyes, replayed in my mind.

"Tempest!" I called after her, but my voice barely carried over the chatter and laughter filling the room. Autumn whimpered in distress, urging me to follow, but my feet wouldn’t move.

Because Zade was still there, his steady gaze was fixed on me.

By this time, everyone else surrounding him seemed to have noticed something was off as they all stared in my direction. That was when he did it.

He moved swiftly, passing through the throng of people to get to my side.

"Y-you, you’re my mate," he said those words, still confused by the possibility. He was well in my thirties and looked like one who did not believe he’d ever find his mate but here and now, he found me.

"I... Perhaps we are mistaken."

He reached for her hand. "There’s no way it is a fluke. I knew what I sensed and you are..."

"I’m not anything," I said flatly as I yanked her hand away. Her eyes followed the trail where Tempest had gone off to.

"Yes, you are."

"I’m not. And I doubt if Tempest would not feel devastated." My voice had ended up coming off so low at the end.

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~Zade’s POV~