Chapter 454: Chapter 454 True Mate?

This was the only way he could show his anger, by standing firm, by refusing to accept Chase’s claim. He wanted to protect Addison’s heart above all else. He couldn’t bear the idea of her being shattered by a false mate bond or controlled like a soulless puppet.

No matter what anyone said, Levi simply couldn’t bring himself to believe Chase’s claim, at least for now, not yet.

Chase didn’t deny Levi’s barbed words. He knew all too well how vile Dark Witches were, and how despicable the people who worked with them could be. He had seen their methods up close and witnessed their cruelty firsthand. In many ways, he understood their depravity far better than Levi ever could.

That was precisely why he despised them so deeply, and why he had spent all this time quietly scheming against them.

“I know you might not believe my claim,” Chase said, his gaze locked on Addison without blinking. “If I were in your position… even I wouldn’t easily believe myself. Or I might get killed without even knowing how I died.”

His jaw twitched as memories of the past flashed before him, fear creeping slowly into his heart. Yet he refused to let go of the mate bond he had just discovered. Right now, he felt like a fish long left to die on dry ground, gasping under the scorching sun, with no hope of returning to the water.

Then Addison came, and it was as if a gentle hand had pushed him back into life, back into the water, offering him hope beyond revenge and bloodshed. She was the light cutting through his dark, bloody path. The darker that path had become, the more he craved the warmth that was slowly blooming in his chest, the love that came with the mate bond, a love he had thought he had lost and would never feel forever.

It was as if he had always known Addison, as if he had been born for her. Every battle he had fought, every hardship he had endured, had led him to this moment, just to meet her. It was as though the Moon Goddess herself had given him life so he could carve a bloody path for her, ensuring she could shine brightly without ever needing to soil her hands.

Although he hated killing and felt himself slowly losing his humanity to the path of revenge and bloodshed, which his enemies had forced upon him, but right now, it felt like something had shifted inside him. If all of this, the pain, the battles, the hatred, had been his fate, then perhaps it had been so he could become stronger, more driven, and ready to protect and love his fated mate.

With Addison, it felt as if his past was merging with his future. His heart, once filled with burning hatred and an unrelenting desire for vengeance, had begun to find a serene calm. He knew the past would not easily fade, but because of her, he no longer had to drown in it. She had become his lifeboat, keeping him afloat in the storm of emotions that churned endlessly within him.

But Chase couldn’t easily wrap his mind around it. Why had he been given another mate? Was Addison truly his second chance mate?

A sudden thought flickered through his mind, two words echoing over and over: “True Mate”. Was Addison really his true mate and not a second-chance mate? If so… why had the Moon Goddess given him a mate before? Was she meant only to die, to become the driving force behind his relentless quest for revenge, so that he could eventually meet this so-called True Mate?

The idea made him uneasy, as if he were nothing more than a pawn being moved across a divine chessboard. He felt a flicker of resentment toward the Moon Goddess for orchestrating such a fate.

But was it truly her doing, or had she merely foreseen his fate? Perhaps, seeing all the hardships he had endured, she had chosen to grant him another fated mate, someone who could give him purpose, show him that his life was not merely a wretched existence, and remind him of the greater mission awaiting him. And that he was destined for greatness.

If he could survive all of this, perhaps something truly meaningful and good was waiting at the end of it all.

Chase didn’t know what to think. His mind spiraled out of control, racing with endless speculation as he stared at Addison’s beautiful face. Yet, no matter how confused or frustrated he felt, he couldn’t bring himself to dislike her. She was innocent; she hadn’t caused any of his pain. Because their enemies were to blame.

Perhaps the Moon Goddess had granted him another fated mate as part of a preordained fate, or perhaps out of pity for the darkness of his past. Chase didn’t want to dwell on it.

Maybe his past had been so shadowed and haunting that he simply wanted to believe in the good, to trust rather than doubt. He refused to think ill of the Moon Goddess. After all, she was the mother of all werewolves. A mother wouldn’t intentionally harm her children. To assume otherwise would be wrong.

This… this was a gift. And gifts existed for a reason.

Lost in all these thoughts, Chase didn’t even notice that the rims of his eyes had reddened as he stared at Addison. A torrent of emotions, thoughts, and speculations had collided in his mind the instant he recognized her as his fated mate.

He couldn’t bring himself to be angry at Levi for suspecting him. In fact, he felt a measure of relief; Levi’s vigilance was proof that he cared for Addison, and that meant she was well protected.

More than that, Addison had two other mates. A part of him wanted to act possessively, to wreak havoc and claim her entirely for himself. But a greater part of him felt relieved. Unlike Zion, Maxwell, and Levi, he had endured hell, witnessing his previous fated mate die before his eyes while he could do nothing. Compared to that, sharing his fated mate with other werewolves seemed far more tolerable.

It also reassured him that there were more people to protect Addison, allowing him to focus on his own path. Her very existence now fueled his drive, not just to live, but to seek justice for his deceased pack, family, and previous fated mate, so he could have a future with his True Mate.

Back then, even with his Alpha blood, he had been powerless when his pack was attacked, watching his family die before his eyes. But now, having met his True Mate, his fears no longer weighed as heavily. He knew Addison would not meet the same fate as his previous fated mate, and that alone brought a measure of calm to his heart.

He took his time studying her, imprinting her image in his mind, knowing he couldn’t always be by her side. Fear gnawed at him, fear that his darkness might sully her, that his bloodied hands might taint her light. The brighter she shone in front of him, the heavier the shadow pressing in on him.

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