Dimitri
“Avalyn,” my feet automatically brought me in front of her.
She looked almost as bad as she did when Nikolai had bought her. She was wearing a long light blue dress but it was easy to make out that she had lost an unhealthy amount of weight. Her usual supple cheeks were sunken in, her eyes had lost their twinkle and her silver hair it’s lustre.
I hugged her and realised that her stomach was already more than twice the size it was when I last saw her.
And my wolf could feel her dying. Her children were consuming her, killing her inside out.
I had cussed Nikolai out for acting like a dumbass when he told me everything. But seeing Avalyn like this, I didn’t think I’d behave any differently if it were Althea in her place.
“She left,” Avalyn spoke, looking towards Althea who disappeared inside the elevator.
“She’ll come around,” I said. In the two weeks we had spent alone, I realised that she was jealous of Avalyn and my relationship with her, despite me explaining it to her over and over. I was done proving myself to her and I was done distancing myself from my family for her. My behaviour had hurt them all, I knew that even when they never said a word. Althea was the most important person in the world for me but I needed to create a healthy balance between my family and her.
And I knew that underneath all that jealousy, she loved me. And she’d understand once I talked to her. I knew she would. But right now, I needed to talk to Avalyn.
“Let’s sit, there is a lot to talk about,” I led her towards the couch. Her movements were slow, like even walking felt like a tiring task.
She left out a soft, relieved sigh when she sat down. I looked at Eliyah who was looking at her in worry. Now I knew what he wanted to talk about. Nikolai did not know the entirety of her condition. And he wanted to tell me about it before I saw her, so that I wasn’t shocked when I saw her. But I was. I was deeply shook by her condition.
First my parents. Then Viktoria. Javier. Sofiya. Valeralyn. Vladimir. And now, Avalyn. I wasn’t sure how much more I would be able to take.
She looked up at me and her eyes teared up, seeing right through me. She grabbed my hand and placed it over her belly. It was soft yet hard. And the two steady heart beats were stronger than ever. I felt a kick straight in my palm. Avalyn winced before smiling at that. “They’re saying hi to uncle Dimitri.”
My chest felt tight at her heart-breaking enthusiasm, “hi.”
“Promise me you’ll be there for them. Always.” She whispered.
“Promise.” My voice felt thick.
“If Nikolai doesn’t co-” she bit down her lip and looked up to reign in her tears. She swallowed hard. “You’ll protect them and love them like your own. Without any grudges.”
I felt like the biggest asshole in the whole world. She needed me and I wasn’t here. I had no idea she was in so much pain. She was holding it all in for her babies and all our sake. I could feel only a fraction of it. But it was enough to give me a glimpse inside her heart.
Oh Goddess. “I promise.” I swallowed the lump in my throat. “Niko-”
“Don’t.” She shook her head.
“He’s jus-”
“He’s not here. That’s all that matters.” She looked away, releasing my hand from her grasp.
“He’s hunting Adrik. For you. And your kids,” I said, hoping that she already knew about it.
“He’s letting his hatred for his father overpower his love for me. He should’ve been here. He’s using his hatred for Adrik to distract himself from taking his responsibility of being a father.” Her voice was hallow when she said that.
And I had no excuses for my brother. She was right. He should be here. He has the rest of his life to catch Adrik. Avalyn wasn’t… she didn’t-my eyes squeezed shut at the thought.
“He loves you. More than anything in the world.”
“I know.” Her voice turned soft. “But what good is that love? He isn’t here when I need him the most.”
Every one of us had told Nikolai to get his head out of his ass and come back, to beg Avalyn to forgive him, to be there for his mate and his children.
He told us that he was doing just that before cutting us off.
Mikhail and Andrei were scared for him. They said he was miserable without Avalyn and missed her a lot. But he looked like he was a man on a mission. They said he barely ate or slept. He was hellbent on hunting down Adrik and catching him. Killing his father was the only thing on his mind. So much so that they said it was consuming him. They had never seen him act that way.
We couldn’t talk much, Nikolai had caught them not doing work and yelled their heads off. He didn’t let anyone rest or even take a breath. He drove everyone to work day and night, blood and sweat till they found Adrik.
And that was the last time we talked.
“I think he’s up to something.” He has to be. I know my brother. I know he is a better man that that.
“Someday, Dimitri, you have to stop making excuses for the ones you love and take their actions at face value. Bending over backwards in hopes to see the good in everyone and everything will only break your back,” said the woman who always saw the good in everyone and everything.
And then she got up, “I’m tired, I’m going to rest for a bit. See you later.”
“Did you have breakfast?” I stood up too.
“I’ll have it in my bedroom.” She said without turning around.
Eliyah gave me an apologetic look before he caught up with her and they got on the elevator.
Rubbing my face in frustration, I went to my bedroom. Nothing in my life was going good. My family was in pieces. I was in pieces.
Althea was crying when I entered the bedroom.
Guilt hit me hard. Sometimes, I thought that the Moon Goddess made a mistake by pairing us. We’re mates supposed to understand each other in a deeper level? Forget deeper level, we didn’t understand each other on any level. No matter how much I talked to her, explained her, she didn’t understand me. And I was sure that she felt the same way.
It had been almost two months since we met and we hadn’t had one conversation that didn’t end up in a misunderstanding or a fight. No matter what I tried, she took it in the wrong way or turned it around on me. No trick in any book worked on her. None of my charms worked, nor did sweet words or my actions.
But going to Volk had been good for us. She made friends there and got along well with them too. It have me hope that someday, we could be friends too. It would at least be a start.
But today wasn’t that day. Today, I was tired. I was drained. The most important woman in my life sort of hated my guts. And the second most important woman in my life was dying in front of my eyes. And nothing I could do was helping either of them. Never have I felt so… helpless before.
“Althea,” I called, deciding to give it a try.
She simply sobbed louder.
“She needed me… she needs her family right now.” She knows everything. I shouldn’t have to explain it to her.
“Then go to her!” She screamed in the pillow. “They’re stealing you from me! You don’t even see it! You don’t even care! You keep taking their side over mine!”
No. I didn’t have it in me to deal with this right now.
I left the bedroom and went towards the offices. Might as well tell Max and Natalia that I’m home.
Natalia’s office was empty which meant that they were in Max’s office.
I opened the door without knocking, knowing it would piss them off. Annoying someone sounded like a good distraction. Max was sitting in his chair behind his desk, reading a file and Natalia was searching through what looked like a hurricane of papers. They were the unfortunate people who had to take over Nikolai and Avalyn’s responsibility. And from the little contact we had had over the last couple of weeks, they weren’t handling it very well. In Max’s words, ‘that fucking workaholic Kol with a stick up his ass 24/7 has turned me into a workaholic with a stick up my ass’.
“Hunnies, I’m home!” I sang in an annoying voice.
“Not now,” Max said without looking away from his file.
“The bun’s looking real good, Nat. Lemme tap that.” I joked. Her belly looked bigger than the last time I had seen it but nowhere near as big as Avalyn’s.
Natalia didn’t even bat an eye at my crass jokes, nor did she cuss me out or promise bodily harm like she usually did. “Not now, Dimitri,” she said instead, too busy in her work.
The smile that I had plastered on my face fell as I walked out, closing the door behind me.
The worst part about always being there for others is that they rarely think that you need someone to be there for you too.