𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧𝐬

Chapter 18

"What? What the fuck do you mean?"

My heart was racing as fast as light and I tried to calm myself down by taking deep breaths but nothing worked. We knew what Mallory meant, of course we knew, it didn't take a genius to understand.. but we just couldn't believe it.

We've not had each other for very long and yet.. problems never seemed to cease between us. I felt as if the world was screaming at us, throwing reason after reason of why three beings in a relationship wouldn't work.. it was an endless pile of why we shouldn't be together but even so, none of us ever went through with rejection. Perhaps the moon goddess saw us as a trial.. that if the three of us actually managed to pull this through.. to actually learn to love each other equally, then maybe she'd create more polyamorous mates.

However, with all of these problems she kept throwing at us, how did she expect us to make it work? How did she expect me to make it work? I'm only a princess.. I was trained to look after the kingdom, to lead alongside the queen, to bring about a new generation of magic users, and to serve my people, I was never trained for something like this.

Clearly, Gaia was not prepared for this either. I assume she's excellent at her duties but in regards to her mates, she leaves much to be desired. Meanwhile, there's Mallory, who I honestly feel I don't quite know yet. But it's clear as day that those two weren't as prepared for this as I was, especially with the other one who was unable to feel the true pull of the mate bond. Perhaps if there weren't so much obstacles, perhaps we'd make it work.. but at this point, doubts are slowly being sealed into my brain. With so much problems and so little cooperation between us, I fear we'll never make this work.

"Why?"

Mallory raised a brow, "Why what?"

"Why are you going to die? That guy you're searching for, is he going to kill you?"

"You're taking this a lot better than I initially expected.. perhaps you really have stopped caring?" Mallory asked, her brows now furrowed and her eyes, although subtle, carried a hint of concern.

I sighed and shrugged, "If I stopped caring, I wouldn't have asked."

Mallory slowly nodded, "That's.. true.." Her voice trailed off and I thought I saw a sense of relief forming on her face.

"It's.. because you're a hybrid, isn't it?" Gaia stated, her silver eyes shone as they roamed over Mallory's body.

Mallory hummed, confirming Gaia's words, "Hybrids.. are very fragile and most of us do not survive childbirth, thus you can say I'm one of the few cases. And although hybrids are typically uncommon, a hybrid between a demon and a human is the rarest among every combination. Therefore.. I can say I'm the only hybrid of an incubus and a human alive."

"However, it is not something to be proud of, or to boast about, it is the opposite. The bloods within me, a demon's and a human's, it is impossible for them to mix, thus my body is unstable and will become incredibly weak until I, inevitably, cease to exist. I predict I only have a few years left before I'm laid to rest, six feet under."

I already understood everything Mallory said, and yet it was hard for me to accept it. In the history of the mate bonds, there's only one pain that was more painful than that of rejection and of infidelity, and that was the pain of demise. If a mate dies, it's speculated that the other half will soon follow, either by natural causes, or like Mother, by suicide.

But why was I calm? Why was I not panicking as much as I thought I would? Or as much as Gaia, who was even more panicked than before as she kept asking Mallory for solutions? Why? I did find the news to be sorrowful and it was still hard for me to accept it, but why were there no tears streaming down my cheeks? Have I finally had enough? Did they actually manage to break me? Or did my tears run out when I cried on the floor? I didn't know anymore. I should just focus on the matter at hand, I can always breakdown later. I felt that this was becoming a habit of mine but it was better than crying in front of these two.