~Alaya
My emotions are all over the place, as I follow Sinful down the hallway.
What if I don’t really want to get my memories back like this? What if Shanae said something to me that will completely change my life, or that is a complete lie? All these questions right to find place in my mind. No, I need to find out what happened that night, that was so important for her to take my memories away with that stupid drink.
Sinful doesn’t give any information away, as he motions for me to sit down. We are in his quarters again, safely away from a brooding Asher, who is doing who knows what right now.
“Are you sure you want this memory back?” He asks, misty grey eyes slightly wary.
I nod despite myself. “Yes, otherwise it’s going to irritate me.”
He chuckles, in a “I know” kind of manner, while he sits down on his chaise lounge. I take a seat next to him, curious to see if this will be anything like what Asher did to me. Not quite, it seems, as he grabs my hand, looking at a spot on the ground in concentration. I watch curiously, until a blinding light fills my eyes.
The only thing I can see in my vision is the azure blue eyes of Shanae. I can hear her voice in my ears, like an annoying ringing sound I can’t escape from. All her words from that night are coming back to me.
“Don’t you want to know why he’s so distant from you, so cold? Because I’ve known him for awhile, and he’s charming and warm with others… but not you.”
“You brat, I try be kind to you, and you treat me like this?”
“Good luck waking up tomorrow and forgetting the fact that Asher is your mate.”
I feel myself grab onto someone as a wave of nausea flows over me. Sinful. He’s holding my arms, while I sway, shaking myself out of the vision that stains my vision. Sinful looks concerned, although I can tell he knows exactly what I saw. He knew it. He had to.
Stumbling to my feet, Shanae’s words ringing in my head. Asher is your mate.
As
“You knew,” I seethe, not even having to ask him. He slept with me, then decided he wanted to give me my memories back. Right now, I’ve never wanted to kill someone so bad.
Sinful remains seated, watching me under his fringe of dark hair. Now the sympathy has vanished, as he realises I’m not at all wasting my time with dwelling on the thought of Asher being my mate. That idea is still yet to hit me full force, and when it does, I’ll deal with it.
Right now, I need to deal with Sinful.
“It’s not like that,” he says carefully, although I hear the uneasiness in his voice. “It’s hard to explain.”
I’m seeing red, that must be it. Sinful just sits there, so calm and indifferent about this situation. It’s beyond frustrating. Maybe it’s the blush that has consumed my entire body, as I remember what we did last night, when he knew the entire time my mate was in the building.
Sinful finally stands, reaching out to me, but I stepped back.
“There’s no excuse,” I snap, feel my voice begin to waver at the edges. I should have listened to Asher… my mate. He knew Sinful would manipulate me, and I fell for it, again. If I wasn’t so angry at him, I would be cursing myself right now for being so foolish with him.
“Like I said, it’s hard to explain,” he says, his tone still smooth and calm. I don’t know how to react. Before I know it, I’m reaching out to slap him, although, I hardly makes a difference to his demeanour.
I can’t believe him right now. Without wanting to hear another word out of him, I run straight out of his quarters without waiting to look back.
The moment I make it back to my room, I close the door and fall face first into my bed. My mind is spinning, confusion showing in the vivid colours that dance behind my closed lids. Asher is my mate? The idea of it tried to slot itself into my mind.
I have to consider everything. She could have been lying, but why would she need to when she was taking my memories. Clearly she has powers, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she did know. Does he know too? So far, he hasn’t shown me that he has realised the bond, or even thought about me on anyway other than a distraction for his little plan.
Rolling over, I dig my hands into my hair. This is Fate and Destiny’s doing, pairing us together like this. I can’t even begin to imagine Asher as an affectionate mate. Does that even exist under his skin, because if so…
Of course it doesn’t. Am I crying? I don’t even know where this is coming from.
I don’t even bother to wipe the tears away, as they keep coming, all the emotion coming back to me. And to think, these immortal lands are still dulling some of my most intense emotions.
Sitting up, I attempt to calm my breathing down. I’m over reacting. Now that I know, I’m going to start noticing it now, while Asher will have no idea. Do I just tell him or-
A knock on my bedroom door makes me jump.
“Come in,” I say, after taking a few moments to wipe my face and gather myself. I assume it’s Sinful coming to make some kind of excuse for last night. That I needed it. That the fact that Asher is my mate doesn’t matter.
The door opens, and instead, Asher stands there.
“Alaya, I’ve just come to warn you about something that’s going on tonight,” Asher says, stepping in to close the door after him. He pauses, when he glances up, noticing my expression, and the tears I’m trying to conceal.
If there was ever any doubting the bond, it’s suddenly completely void of all meaning. In this moment, I can see it there, as if someone has finally pulled a wall of ignorance away from my eyes.
He doesn’t seem to notice it at all, but it is as if there’s a glimmering spark between us, without having to touch. It glows dully, although there’s no doubting it exists. I just want to reach out and touch it, but refrain.
I have to decide whether I want to tell him or not.
“Are you crying?” He asks gently, a frown creases between his brows. I’ve never cried in front of him before, and seeing the way he is currently reacting to this is surprising, as he asked his way to the edge of my bed, where I sit, knees up against my chest.
His golden eyes search my face for an answer to my tears, yet finds nothing. I won’t tell him. Not yet anyway. Not until I figure out how I’m going to deal with this.
“It’s stupid,” I mutter, brushing away another stray tear that had escaped. “You don’t have to worry about it.”
Still looking concerned, Asher sits on the edge of the bed. It still gives us enough space to not get distracted. He won’t get distracted, I’m sure of it, but with the new found bond between us, there’s no doubting the connection between us. Why did I never notice this before?
All the while, Asher suddenly looks a lot more attractive. It’s the blind love mate thing I never believed in until now. At least something makes sense.
“Did Sinful do something to you?” He asks tentatively. I’m used to the angry Asher when moments like this are brought up. Seeing a softer, more gentle approach is surprising.
Are tears his weak spot? Odd.
“It’s fine Asher,” I say sternly. I don’t want him any closer. I don’t know how I would react to that.
He doesn’t look convinced which is why he continues to sit there, looking at me with unwavering attention. The mood in the room is heavy, as we both wait for each other to say something, to explain our real motive. I try find a way to bring up what he originally came into the room to tell me, but I can’t get the words out of my mouth.
“Seriously,” he says sternly, “if Sinful did anything to hurt you, you need to tell me, because I can take you away from this right now.”
My eyes widen without my permission. There is no trace of amusement on his face, yet I can hardly believe that his intention lie there. Would he really take me away from this entire plan now, when everything is starting to come together? Once he finds out that Sinful supposedly is dealing with Shanae, then everything will be over, right? At least that was my thoughts before I found out Asher is my mate.
Now I don’t know what’s going to happen.
“You were right about him,” is all I say.
It seems to be enough, as Asher swiftly stands, a mask of rage falling atop the expression of concern.
The moment he leaves, fear absolutely consumes me. Is Asher seriously going to try something with him, because him and I both know that’s not going to end well. Knowing I have no other choice but to witness this, and maybe put an end to it, I follow after him.
I can barely keep myself up with Asher strides, and every word I throw at him only bounces off. Unfortunately, Sinful is standing in the main foyer, and beside him, is Aspen. I could throw up at the sight of it. The innocent green eyed brother stands there, looking coy as ever, as if he hasn’t just walked straight into a lion’s den.
“Alaya,” Sinful says smoothly. “We found the man who left you at the alter.”