Ruthless Alpha, and his Curvy Saint-Chapter 52

Lord Merrick’s POV

I finally managed to extricate myself from Lyra after what felt like seventeen years of her enthusiastic commentary about weapons, architecture, and her apparently endless list of accomplishments.

The girl was relentless.

And clearly desperate in a way that made me uncomfortable.

So I’d made some excuse about urgent business requiring my attention and practically fled to find Sheena.

The High Priestess was easy to locate - she had a presence that made tracking her down simple, like following a thread of power through the castle’s corridors.

I found her in one of the main hallways, examining a tapestry with intense focus.

"Sheena," I called out.

She turned, and her face lit up with a smile.

"Lord Merrick," she greeted warmly. "I have to say, I keep getting confused between you and your brother. The resemblance is truly uncanny."

"We get that a lot," I agreed, moving closer. "Listen, do you have a moment? I’d like to speak with you about something important."

Her expression shifted, becoming more serious. "Of course. Let’s go somewhere private."

She led me through corridors I’d walked a thousand times, up a flight of stairs, to the guest wing where she’d been housed.

Her room was exactly what I’d expect from a High Priestess - various herbs and ritual implements arranged on a side table. The scent of burning sage lingered in the air.

"What’s on your mind?" Sheena asked, settling into a chair and gesturing for me to take the one opposite.

I didn’t sit. Too restless. Too confused by everything swirling in my head.

"I want to talk about the mate bond," I said directly. "Between my brother and Angel."

Sheena’s expression became completely neutral. "What about it?"

"What exactly did the Moon Goddess say?" I pressed. "About their pairing? The specific words, the message you received - I want to know everything."

Sheena was quiet for a long moment, studying me with those unsettling eyes.

"Why?" she asked finally.

"Because something doesn’t feel right," I admitted. "They don’t match. Not in temperament, not in values, not even in physical preferences. And I need to understand why the Moon Goddess would pair two people who are so fundamentally incompatible."

Sheena stood, moving to the window where rain still fell in sheets.

"The Moon Goddess speaks in visions," she said slowly. "Not in clear words like you or I might use, but in images, feelings, impressions. It’s the priestess’s job to interpret those visions and translate them into something understandable for mortals."

"So it’s open to interpretation?"

"All divine communication is, to some degree." She turned to look at me. "But that doesn’t make it any less true."

"Tell me what you saw," I said. "Exactly what you saw."

Sheena sighed, returning to her chair. "Very well. 2 weeks ago, I received a vision. It was... fragmented. Unusual, even for a mate bond revelation."

"Fragmented how?"

"The Moon Goddess showed me an Alpha." She closed her eyes, clearly trying to recall the details. "Powerful. Ancient. Someone who’d waited centuries for his match. She showed me his face - your face, and your brother’s face, since you’re identical. And she showed me the word ’Terrell.’"

My pulse quickened. "What else?"

"She showed me a girl. Human. Pure-hearted despite great suffering. Someone who would bring light to darkness, who would challenge and change the Alpha she was bound to." Sheena opened her eyes. "She showed me black long hair, blue eyes, generous curves. A girl who’d lost everything but maintained her capacity for grace."

"That’s Angel," I said.

"Yes."

"But?" 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

Sheena hesitated, and that hesitation was everything.

"But what?" I pressed. "What aren’t you saying?"

"The vision was unclear in one crucial way," she admitted finally. "The Moon Goddess showed me the face - your face - but the name ’Terrell’ came separately. As a word, not connected directly to the image. And in my experience, when visions are this fragmented..."

"They’re open to misinterpretation," I finished.

"Possibly." She held up a hand before I could speak. "But I interpreted it the most logical way. The face of an Alpha who looks like you and your brother, combined with the name Terrell, obviously meant Alpha Terrell. Your brother. The Black Wolf Alpha who rules that territory and bears that name."

"What if you interpreted it wrong?" The words burst out. "What if the Moon Goddess was trying to tell you that Angel’s mate is someone with that face - my face - but not necessarily my brother?"

"You mean you."

"Why not?" I stood, pacing. "Think about it. Everything you just described - the pure heart, the generous curves, the capacity for grace - Angel embodies all of that. And she matches my preferences perfectly. Not Terrell’s. He’s spent centuries bedding slim warriors. I’m the one who’s always preferred softer women."

"Physical preference isn’t the foundation of mate bonds," Sheena said gently.

"But it’s a factor, isn’t it? The Moon Goddess pairs people who complement each other, who balance each other. And Angel balances me, not my brother."

Sheena was quiet, considering.

"There’s more," I continued, sensing an opening. "You said the vision showed an Alpha who’d waited centuries. My brother has waited a thousand years - that’s true. But I’ve waited just as long. We’re the same age, Sheena. We’ve both been without mates for the same amount of time."

"That’s true," she admitted.

"And the name Terrell - that’s my brother’s commonly used name, yes. But technically..." I paused a second. "Technically, we both bear the name. Our full names are Terrell Merrick Black and Merrick Terrell Black. Twin names for twin brothers, a family tradition. He goes by his first name, I go by my middle, but we both carry both names."

Sheena’s eyes widened slightly. "I didn’t know that."

"Most people don’t. We’ve used our separate names for so long that everyone forgets we share them." I leaned forward. "So when the Moon Goddess showed you that face and said ’Terrell,’ she could have meant either of us."

"This is..." Sheena pressed her fingers to her temples. "This is highly unusual."

"But possible?"

"Possible," she admitted reluctantly. "Though I’ve never encountered a situation quite like this. The Moon Goddess is usually much clearer in her communications."

"Unless she wanted to leave room for choice," I suggested. "Unless she knew that Angel would need to choose for herself rather than having fate dictate everything."