Eliyah
Two weeks. It has been two weeks since Nikolai rejected Avalyn as his mate. And two weeks since Avalyn hasn’t come out of this room.
Every single day, she will wake up crying, cry the whole day and then cry herself to sleep.
I had volunteered to make sure that she eats every day. Because god knows she needs it. She has lost about eight kilos in fourteen days. She looked sick, especially since she was already skinny. And now, she was all skin and bones.
Nat and Dimitri would take over sometimes to give me a break. But I never stayed away for long. I’d come back after I had some sleep and blood.
Max, Nat, Dimitri and Mikhail had thankfully decided to permanently move back to the palace. And Nikolai… let’s just say that people feared him more now than ever.
It was dangerous to leave the two alone.
Max, Nat and Dimitri were the only ones who had had a conversation with him. All he did was train, train the pack, rule, snap at people for the smallest of the mistakes. His punishments had gotten worse. I swear the crime rate in the pack has reduced so much because of this.
But the one thing common between both Avalyn and Nikolai was that they were miserable.
Viktoria and Niklaus had been staying with Max, Nat and Kol. Viktoria would go spend some time with Nikolai every day before he got ‘busy with pack business’ and sent her away.
The truth was that he couldn’t stand to look at his own daughter because she looked like the replica of her mother.
Klaus had completely given up on him. He always referred to his father as ‘Alpha’ or ‘Alpha King’ and Nik had pretty much stopped trying to build any sort of bond with the kid.
There were times when the kids would come to meet Avalyn. She would try hard to smile and look happy for them but that lasted not even for an hour and burst into tears. Because Klaus looked too much like Nikolai and both of them had parts of his personality. She couldn’t stand to look at her kids either.
We had told the kids that their mother was sick. They were worried all the time, they thought that she was dying. Convincing them that she wasn’t was by far the hardest thing I’ve done in my entire life.
Klaus started hating his father more each day-as the condition of his mother worsened. I think, deep down, both of them knew what was happening.
But, like cowards, we pretended that they were normal instead of telling the twins what was really happening. Yes, they were kids, but they were really mature for their age. And they would remember this for the rest of their lives. But it wasn’t our place to decide what and how to tell them.
So again, we pretended everything was okay.
I heard a sob and was brought out of my thoughts. Avalyn was awake.
“You’re awake.” I pointed out the obvious before I pressed the slave bell.
“What are you doing here?” She snapped but her voice was thick and grating, as opposed to the normal feminine voice.
This is getting ridiculous now.
“Making sure you don’t die.” I folded my arms behind my head as I watched her try to sit up and fail.
“I’m sorry.” She whispered. For being a bother. For needing help. For needing to be looked after. I knew her enough to hear her unsaid words.
“Don’t be.” I said, meaning it. “Nikolai rejected you a two weeks ago.”
She flinched, more tears leaking out of her eyes.
“What are you going to do now?” I asked.
Her body shuddered as she suppressed sobs. She covered her face with her hands, shaking her head. And she burst into tears.
“I’m a horrible mate.” She cried, her voice filled with so much pain, so much heartbreak that it hurt me. “To N- Ni- to him.” She heaved a breath, unable to even say Nikolai’s name. “And to Gabriel.” She whispered. “And an awful mother to my kids. And an awful Queen.”
“Shut up. You’re not.” I said softly. “You kick ass Avalyn. Yes, you made your fair share of mistakes with Nikolai and Gabriel. But you’re not horrible. And I’ve never met a mother that’s more loving and dedicated to her kids than you. And you ruled Soare- Luna for seven years all on your own, even though everyone made it hard for you.” I told her, meaning each and every word. “And with what you have told me about your past, achieving the things you have in life, it’s a feat it itself. You are the strongest woman I know.”
“But on my path to become strong, I became cold. So cold. To all of you too.” She cried. “Goddess, I was such a bitch to everybody.”
“No, Avalyn.” I sighed. “You were in pain. There is a difference.”
The room opened and Tessa walked in, rolling the food cart in front of her.
She looked at me with worry. I just shook my head, telling her I’ll handle it. She nodded and handed me a glass of blood. And sat in front of Avalyn, her plate in her lap. The plate held mangoes, bananas and chocolate covered strawberries along with an omelette. Tessa used the fork to feed Avalyn the Nutella strawberry.
But Avalyn didn’t even open her mouth. She looked at the strawberry that was held in front of her mouth and burst into tears again.
I guess she was reminded of Nikolai again. I don’t know how a strawberry could do that. But then, I’ve never been in love. Thank fuck. I have no intentions of meeting my ‘mate’ for a very, very long time.
“I miss him.” Avalyn’s voice shook. “I miss him so much it hurts. Will he ever even come back?”
“Not if you spend the rest of your life in this room, crying. You want to get him back, then go get him back.” Those two belonged together. I have never seen any couple who complimented each other better than them. They are perfect for each other. There is no one better for Avalyn than Nikolai just like there is no one better for Nikolai than Avalyn.
“How will I do that?” She whispered after a while, a spark of hope in her voice.
“First, by taking a bath so you don’t stink.” I scrunched my nose and gagged. “Seriously. It’s like someone died in here.”
Avalyn was about to get up but I caught her hand. “First breakfast.”
She sighed and nodded.
She finally had a at least half of everything on her plate before claiming she was full.
Tessa looked at me in question and I nodded. This much was enough. This was more than what she had in the last entire week. Her appetite had reduced drastically.
Avalyn got up from the bed before I saw her knees buckle. Tessa tried to catch her but she wasn’t strong enough to hold her up. I zipped to her and caught Avalyn in my arms.
Her eyes were squeezed closed before she opened them and clutched her forehead. “I’m sorry I got a little dizzy.” She stood on her feet again and slowly walked into the bathroom.
I followed closely behind her, not wanting her to fall and crack her head open again.
Avalyn took off her top and then sighed when she saw herself in the mirror.
Tessa gasped.
I couldn’t stop staring.