[BL] Alpha, You've Got the Wrong Mate!

Chapter 396: 396 — A Curse or A Blessing? (5)

The secret of Raniel’s cured eyes remained hidden, and years passed by. Neither Ilyan nor Raniel, the person it concerned, told anyone about it, nor did they give the slightest hint that anything had changed. It would have only brought them problems, something neither of them wanted to deal with.

At first, Raniel did suggest revealing the truth to everyone. However, the alpha had forbidden him from doing so, and certainly, the omega wouldn’t disobey him. Not the sole person who actually cared for him. Although he still couldn’t recollect his lost memories, Ilyan didn’t feel like a stranger, nor like someone who could cause him harm.

Everyone continued to believe Raniel was the same obedient, pure, naive man they had raised him to be, completely unaware of just how much he had changed over the years.

At first, they failed to notice the subtle muscles he had built. He had gained some weight as well, but it happened so gradually that no one paid much attention to it.

Then came his speech. His tone had become sharper and more unyielding, nothing like the soft-spoken man they thought they knew. Or rather, they thought they knew him, because no one had bothered to pay attention to the subtle changes until they gradually became impossible to ignore.

The omega had changed.

And the High Priests did not like it.

It did not take long for them to understand the reason behind his transformation: Ilyan.

However, they could not simply harm their most precious Archmage. He was far too valuable to them, and they needed him alive. Nor could they harm their most cherished weapon—their sole hope against Ravhara.

So what could they do?

What could possibly break a bond that had only grown stronger with time?

High Priestess II spent hours thinking about it, searching for something—or someone—capable of tearing apart the relationship between them. Then, suddenly, her eyes lit up.

Something that could destroy even the strongest couple.

A third party... But who?

She pondered the matter for another hour until she suddenly snapped her fingers, a grin spreading across her lips.

Vincent, of course.

For once, she thought of her son.

The little boy she had neglected for his entire life. Perhaps he was the only person who could truly separate Ilyan and Raniel.

Forever, preferably.

However, would he be willing to do it?

She had noticed him beside Ilyan far too often. The way his eyes glimmered whenever he spoke to the alpha had not escaped her attention. They were friends—very close friends, even.

”To betray someone like that for a mother who never even looked his way...” she murmured, her brows drawing together.

Still, after a moment, she rose from her chair with a low thud and headed toward the son whose face she barely remembered.

She had never bothered to look his way. Her gaze had always been fixed elsewhere, and even when he had been nothing more than a child who needed the warmth of his mother, she had never once thought to embrace him.

***

One night, as Ilyan was heading toward Raniel’s quarters, he noticed a silhouette rushing through the tall trees.

Narrowing his gaze, his hand immediately went to the hilt of his sword as he carefully pursued the stranger, keeping his footsteps as quiet as possible.

However, he failed to catch the man. The intruder had disappeared without a trace, and chasing after him would only alert the guards now.

Inhaling sharply, Ilyan quickly turned around and dashed toward Raniel’s bedroom.

What if something had happened to him?

He pushed the window open without bothering to knock, as per his habit that had developed over the years, his eyes immediately searching the dimly lit room.

”Raniel?” he called.

The omega was there. He sat on the floor beside his bed, a book resting open on his lap. His silver hair fell loosely over his shoulders, while his crimson eyes remained lowered toward the pages as though nothing unusual had happened.

Ilyan’s tense shoulders slowly relaxed.

”You scared me,” he muttered as he closed the window behind him. ”I saw someone running through the trees. I thought they might have come here.”

Raniel glanced up at him, one eyebrow raised. ”Why would anyone come here?”

”I don’t know.” The alpha walked closer, his gaze still sweeping across the room, studying the space carefully. ”That’s what worries me.”

Raniel merely shrugged before returning his attention to the book. He was certain no one would come here. Not anymore.

Ilyan frowned.

Something still felt wrong.

He could not explain it, but the room felt different somehow. Nothing appeared to be out of place, and Raniel seemed perfectly fine, yet his instincts refused to settle.

His gaze slowly wandered around the room until it stopped.

The window faced the one he used to come in through.

The curtains were slightly open.

Ilyan was certain Raniel always kept them closed at night.

He stepped toward it, reaching for the curtain. The moment he pulled it aside, he noticed a faint scratch along the wooden frame, fresh enough that a small broken piece of wood still lay on the floor beneath it.

His expression changed instantly.

Someone had been here.

”Ren.”

The omega looked up again.

”Yes?”

”Did you really not hear anything?”

Raniel stared at him for a moment before slowly shaking his head.

”...No.”

Ilyan’s fingers tightened around the curtain.

Then his gaze fell toward the floor.

There, almost hidden beneath the edge of the bed, lay a single black pearl.

After staring for a long moment, he recalled where he had seen it before. His fingers curled into a fist.

And suddenly, the silhouette he had chased through the trees no longer felt like that of a stranger.

”Why was he here?” he mumbled, looking outside through the windowpane.

”Ilyan, come here.” Raniel gently patted the empty spot beside him.

The alpha looked over his shoulder. He lowered himself, picking up the black pearl before forcing a smile onto his face and joining his lover.

”Yes, my love,” he said softly, sitting down. Then, he leaned against Raniel’s shoulder, closing his eyes.

The possibility of Vincent coming here still didn’t make any sense to him. However, what worried Ilyan the most was the fact that Vincent didn’t appear to like Raniel—at all.