Asher
I clenched my fists and forced my eyes onto the road as her question tore through me like a knife hacking at my veins, puncturing every blood vessel. The ache was so unbearable and returned with such ferocious intensity that I had to clench my fists tightly.
I have never talked about anything concerning Emily since her demise, the pain of losing her was still fresh and deeply engraved in my heart.
She was a part of my life that I didn’t know how to let go of. There are so many mysteries surrounding her death and until I solve them only then would I feel at peace.
I took a few breaths and turned my eyes back to the girl who had walked into my life and somehow became the center of my universe but there was something in her eyes that tore at my heart. And, in some corner of my heart, I desperately wanted to tell her the whole truth and share every detail of the incident. I wanted to tell her how much it hurts all these years without a mate. I wanted to tell her how lonesome and lost I felt. I wanted to tell her how losing Emily turned me into this ruthless, and cruel monster.
But most of all, I wanted to tell Kayla that she had invoked a different kind of feeling and desire within me, it felt special and it was different from what I felt for Emily.
While I might be ready to open up a little about my past, I wasn’t ready to confess my feelings for her. It was still too early for that and I was not yet mentally or emotionally ready for it.
Kayla’s eyes were filled with sadness and it had my mouth talking before I knew it. “I met Emily and her aunt hiding in the woods close to my territory. Immediately I saw her and our eyes connected, it was love at first sight. I felt the mate pull and I knew immediately that she was my mate.” I stopped when I noticed the unshed tears that pooled at her ocean-blue orbs. I didn’t know how to continue with her staring at me like that.
Could it be that she was hurting at the mention of Emily? I didn’t want to do anything to hurt.
Kayla pulled her gaze away from me and I held her hands, gently squeezing them.
“You don’t have to hear this if you are not prepared for it” I tried speaking to her though my nerves were all over the place.
My focus, my emotions, just everything was tied to this little feisty kitten who had walked into my life and broken the steel around my heart. What even made her so special? I wondered as I looked at her face, committing every detail to memory.
My mind couldn’t help but come up with the chances of options. What if I was ever given the option to choose whether I would want a chance to have Emily back into my life and in turn lose Kayla or keep Kayla and forget all about Emily?
Which of the options would I choose?
“I want to hear the rest of the story,” she said suddenly, her voice soft but confident.
I glanced at her again but she wasn’t looking at me. Maybe it was for the best, I didn’t think I would be able to continue while gazing at her.
“She said the Alpha of her pack murdered her family and tried to have her and her aunt murdered but they escaped. And after hearing it all, I decided to get married to her after a few days since she was my mate.
Emily and I were happy, we did almost everything together and she agreed to anything I said except for one thing.”
I paused, remembering something that had always bothered my relationship with her.
“Except what?” Kayla asked, reminding me that she was waiting for me to continue.
“Except marking her…”
Kayla finally glanced at me. “Why would she not want to complete the mating ritual?”
I understood the shock in her voice, I also felt the same way the day Emily told me that she didn’t want me to mark her. The marking ritual between mates was something that almost every werewolf looked forward to in order to seal their bond.
“Why would she not want to bear your mark in her body?” Kayla asked after I remained quiet.
I shrugged my shoulders. “She told me she wasn’t ready for it yet even though I didn’t like the idea, but I thought that since she was already married to me then there wasn’t any need to rush things.”
A reminder of my mistake came gnawing at my heart, just maybe if I had listened to my instincts and marked her, she would have still been alive today but it would also mean that I wouldn’t have met Kayla.
My mind went back to the day that I lost her, a day that turned into my worst nightmare. I didn’t know if I was doing the right thing by opening the entrance of my broken pieces to Kayla.
“On that unfaithful day, I had gone out of the castle with my sister, Robin, and some of my warriors for a council meeting. I was mind-linked that there was an attack on the castle and Emily was abducted. We left and started searching for her but when we found she was surrounded by rogues and a witch, I tried to save her but it all happened so fast and I-”
I couldn’t continue, the images of Emily motionless on the ground with her blood smeared all over my body were too much for me. I held tightly to the carriage window panel, unable to control myself anymore. I gripped my head, in an attempt to get the images out of my head. I couldn’t take it. It was so painful, I didn’t want to remember, and all I wanted at the moment was for the pain to go away.
My body stiffened when I felt Kayla climb onto my lap, I stayed unnaturally quiet as her soft hands wove through my head and cradled my head between her breasts. I closed my eyes and inhaled her sweet scent.
“You don’t need to say anymore. Let’s not talk about it again,” she whispered, gently pulled my head forward, and dropped a kiss on my forehead as she continued to run her hands through my hair.
Slowly, my heartbeat which had been roaring moments ago seemed to lower its pace a bit. I had no idea how she was able to calm my soul but all I knew was that she was the antidote to my broken heart.
I slowly lifted my head and leaned my face closer to her ear, letting my warm breath touch her skin. “Thank you,” I whispered.
I felt raw desire take over my body the moment I felt her shiver in my arms. Her scent was beginning to affect me again and just like always my body was responding to her alluring body. I knew if I didn’t move away from her immediately then I wouldn’t be able to stop myself from claiming her, right in the carriage in the middle of nowhere.
I gently pulled away and guided her back to her seat. “We should focus on getting home safely,” I mumbled.