Two Mates, One Love

It was 3:17 a. m. again. My mate bond bracelet suddenly let out a piercing alarm, red light flashing, emergency warningsevere imbalance detected in the threeway mate bond. I hadn't slept for days before I could even catch my breath. The Bureau. called Mrs. Dell; your mate bond index is dropping too fast. Has either of your mates been rejecting your bonding attempts? For the past year, I have given them the same meals, the same care, the same patience. Riss was the older brother; he always accepted whatever I gave him in silence. Thank you, Dell. Rex was the younger one; he always shoved me away, shouting that a tiny human like. me stay away from me, you little human. The Bureau caseworker went quiet for a moment. When she spoke again, her voice had turned carefulA threeway. mate bond cannot survive on duty alone. It needs a response if this imbalance continues, someone is going to break first. For an entire year, I thought that as long as I loved them equally, they would eventually love me back. But equal love given into unequal hands only drains a person little by little. So that night, I stopped trying to balance what had already broken. I poured one cup of milk back into the pot, then carried the other one to Riss. Riss noticed first; he didn't say anything. He took the cup and thanked me like always. Rex was on the couch playing his game. I said goodnight and headed to my room. That is when he looked up. His voice was flat. We had a milk, or you two broke for two cups. Rex was nothing like his brother. Riz was quiet, distant. Rex was all sharp edges, loud, arrogant, mean. He put down the controller. His eyes weren't friendly. What, you blind? I'm sitting right here. He never talked to me like I was a person. The urge to explain myself died fast. My smile dropped. No more. No more. He leaned forward. Then what's this? You trying to mess with me? I thought about a few nights before Rex got called out for an emergency. They didn't come back until almost one in the morning. I waited, fell asleep on the couch without meaning to. The door woke me. I got up, heated their food, brought it out. Two cups of milk like always. Rex looked exhausted. I saw the wound on his shoulder and stepped forward. He shoved me before I got a word out. I hit the floor hard. The cup shattered with me. Rex blinked, just once. Then the impatience came back. "Damn, are you blind? Can't you see I'm texting? Stop throwing yourself at me. You deserve it. " His voice was low and cutting. "You used to cling and play dumb before, but I'm worn out today. I come home dead tired, and you're still here pestering me like a lapdog. " I was stung by the disgust in. I didn't look up. I rushed back to my room with my face burning. A thud from the living room. Riss had punched Rex. A few minutes later, Riss came in with the first aid kit. He knelt in front of me. That is when I saw it. The broken cup had caught my calf. Blood had run all the way to my ankle.

The hotel room smelled like recycled air and cheap soap. I didn't go home that night. Day after day, same room. I'd found it by accident. A document left open on the shared desktop. A formal appeal. Both signatures. Filed within weeks of our match. Request to dissolve pairing. GroundsIncompatibility. They'd tried to get rid of me before we'd even started, I sat on the edge of the bed and stared at the carpet. Is there something wrong with me? Why does no one ever want me? I'd asked myself that before. In foster care, when families came and chose everyone else in school eating alone for a semester and pretending I didn't mind. I thought I was done asking, I wasn't, I cried dramatically.

Deep down, I knew it was nothing but a deal. Still, I couldn't sleep properly for days. Shame and embarrassment washed over me. My best friend flew into a rage when she found out. I stared down at my sleeves, twisting them gently and said softly. "It's all in the past. I've made up my mind. I'll keep my distance from now on. Just stay away. That's all. " The worst case was nothing more than being polite strangers. The bureau had made it clear with a match percern their standing in military this high only I could stabilize them through their fairable life. It was nothing more than a transaction. Are you still going to give them milk every night? I thought about it, probably. Surface level peace matters for me as much as them, but don't you think treating them exactly the same is not fair to the one who's actually been good to you? Fair. The Bureau caseworker had drilled it into me before we moved. inmultimate households are rare, but they exist. Balance is everything; you are the glue. Your every move affects both of them. Do not play favorites. Do not tip the scale. I took it seriouslytwo cups of milk, two sets of gifts. When I brought lunch to the force, I even counted the shrimp in each container one by one. I'd gone that far, and it still wasn't fair. It was only Rex who lashed out at you that night. My best friend saw my confusion. I nodded. I looked down at the wound on my calf. Reese hadn't just stayed quiet; he'd knelt on the floor in front of me, cleaned the wound like it was the only thing that mattered. Before he left, he pressed a piece of chocolate into my hand, wiped my tears, and talked me down until I could sleep. Think about it, same treatment, same gifts, but one of them has actually been showing up for you. Doesn't that feel off? I opened my mouth, nothing came out. I couldn't sleep that night. I kept thinking about something from foster care. A volunteer came to spend the day with us. I helped her the whole afternoon, hands red by the end of it. Everyone else played, did nothing. We all got the same backpack when she left, same color, same size. Before she walked out, she pulled me aside, pressed two small hair clips into my palm. she said the backpack is for everyone. But these are just for you. the volunteer's voice fighting in my head all night. Good kids deserve a little extra, that's what fair actually means by morning the volunteer had won, the one who shows up deserves more, that is the real fairness.

I always knew the brothers had every reason to resent me. Annyeon could see it; I was the one who'd married up. They were top of their class at the academy, strong, sharp, wanted by everyone. I was ordinary, if not for the high match percentage. The Bureau's system wouldn't flag us immediately. We never would have crossed paths. At first, I was happy. I grew up in foster care; all I ever wanted was a home. I told myself Ris and Rex were that. My home, my family. So no matter how cruel they were, no matter how little they thought of me, I smiled and showed up anyway. Every time they finished the food I made, something in me settled. I was needed here. That was enough. The first six months were brutal. They hated the match. Rivals who'd lost to them before finally had something to laugh about. The two golden boys of the force paired with a nobody. It humiliated them. So they took it out on me. Riss went cold, looked through me like I was furniture. Rex went loud, picked apart everythingmy face, my job, my right to exist in his version of me. I had nothing, was nothing. Then something shifted. I don't know exactly when. Riss stopped looking through me. He started taking the milk, started saying thank you. At times he'd look at me, then suddenly ruffle my hair. It felt just as intimate as any other beastman with their mate. I'd never been treated like this before. I was utterly flustered and overwhelmed, and Rex stopped picking fights every day. Sometimes he'd pull me onto the couch to play with him, curse me for losing, then take out everyone who came near my character. I thought I'd finally won them over. I was almost at the end of my hard days. Sticking it out really did help when I tried so hard to please them; they were slowly trying to accept me too until that glass of milk got shattered. All my years of effort, devotion, and clingy affection ultimately boiled down to just two words"Lapdog. " Yeah, a dog with no selfrespect at all.