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CHAPTER 29
LILY
It’d been two days since arriving at Hollow Stone and Raiden hadn't left my side for more than an hour at a time, leaving only when I was in the company of others. My parents had been ecstatic when we first arrived, tears streaming nonstop. Even dad had sobbed like a baby. It was a bit strange because I’ve never seen him quite like that before, but I guess I also had no idea what they must’ve endured during those eight long years.
Both of my parents have aged fairly since the last time I saw them. Dad’s dark hair was showing signs of grey along his temple and ears, and the wrinkles between his brows and in the corners of his eyes were more prominent now. Mother’s eyes, the same blue as mine, had gone dull and emotionless. The fire they once held was gone. Whether it was because of age or because of me, I didn’t know. To be honest, I preferred not knowing either.
Every time I saw glimpses of the pain I’d brought my loved ones, the cracks in my heart deepened, tiny splinters breaking off until it was bloody and bare, hurting with every beat in my unworthy chest. Mother looked at me with an expression I didn’t know. I couldn’t tell whether it was guilt, disgust or heartache, but it pained me and I was too much of a coward to ask.
Sitting with my back against the old oak, I stared at the grey, moss-covered statue of a kneeling girl. She had a plaque in her lap with the date of my disappearance on it. Ray sat across from me, solemn and quiet, eyes glazed over as he spoke with someone, having been doing so for almost twenty minutes now. Hollow Stone was close enough to Shadow Creek for him to link with his pack, although I was sure he was in deep conversation with Gunnar. Gunnar. I cringed at the thought of him. Ray had reassured me numerous times that Gunnar was recovering and that he was overjoyed when I turned up alive. It didn’t make me feel any better about what I apparently did to him.
Axel sat beside me against the old oak, his shoulder pressing into mine. I revelled in his warmth, the comfort he brought even without saying a single word. He, perhaps, had suffered most. When I looked at him, I felt his pain, so palpable and raw, it left me breathless. He would never admit it, of course, but Ray had told me that Axel blamed himself for what happened to me. That he’d been through hell and back, fighting off demons that never left him for a single second.
My gaze shifted to him. To the few strands of golden blonde hanging over his forehead, almost touching his brows. When I looked at him, all I saw was a broken heart. He hadn’t deserved it. None of them did. Axel exhaled and turned his face towards me, his pale blue’s burning into my own. Neither of us blinked, nor looked away. In silence, our eyes spoke the words that neither of us could. We’d always understood each other.
I’m so sorry, I wanted to say, to scream until my lungs burned, but nothing came out. My tongue was glued to the top of my mouth, my jaw too heavy to move. The words lodged in my throat, and I couldn’t get them out, even as my eyes began to burn, my vision becoming blurry. Axel, my copy in every way, my twin, laid a warm palm on my knee and inclined his head, giving me the slightest of nods. He knew. A heavy weight lifted off my shoulders and only a single tear managed to escape this time. He turned to face the statue again but kept his hand on my knee. It was all that was needed. To know he forgave me and he still cared. I knew deep down he always would. No matter what I did, or who I turned into, Axel would always be there for me and I for him.
Exhaling slowly and closing my eyes, I placed my hand over his, and could have sworn my heart healed a tiny bit.
CASSIUS
“Please come in. Close the door.”
Raiden stepped into my office, closing the door behind him as I instructed. With a tight smile, I gestured for him to sit, and he took up one of the brown leather chairs in front of my desk.
“Is something wrong?” he asked, shifting in his seat to get comfortable.
It was only the two of us in my office. I wanted to speak to him in private before he departed to his pack with my little sister later that day.
“How has your stay been?” I started off, thinking some light, meaningless small talk would be the best way to go.
Raiden sighed and pulled a hand through his hair. “Come on man, cut the crap. What’s this about? Speak bluntly, Alpha to Alpha.”
Fine. Taking a deep breath, I laced my hands together on my desk and looked at him. I hadn’t come up with any ideas about steering this conversation in the direction I needed it to go. It would be easier as he suggested, Alpha to Alpha.
“Alright then, have you chosen a new Luna for your pack yet?” I asked, keeping my eyes fixed on him, studying his reaction. “And I don’t mean Lily.”
He tensed, his eyes hardening. Not very reassuring. “I have,” he answered, looking me straight in the eyes. Bold.
Leaning back into my chair, I crossed my arms over my chest and eyed him, “and?”
“And,” he said, gripping the armrests a little too tightly, “I’ll deal with it.” There was a hint of annoyance in his tone I didn’t care for. It made my blood heat and troubled my wolf.
“Mated?”
“No.” Such a short word, but laced with toxicity.
“Have you told her yet?” I asked, my voice an octave lower than usual. “Either of them?”
Raiden turned his face away from me, looking out of the window instead as he answered. “No.”
“Why not?”
I waited for him to lash out and tell me that it was none of my damn business, but instead, he exhaled deeply and said, “because she’s still too fragile.”
A muscle feathered in his jaw, but his frustration wasn’t directed at me. I certainly agreed with him on that. Lily was fragile. She’s been a sobbing, crying mess ever since she’d come home. She’d only stopped crying about a day earlier and was supposed to leave again with Raiden this afternoon.
It was tradition, of course. She was to move in with him and be mated as soon as possible. Shadow Creek would be her new home, her new pack, whether he wanted it to be or not. The mating bond couldn’t be ignored, not even if he’s already chosen another Luna.
