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TIME TO FACE DESTINY
Staring into the mirror before me, I pondered who this woman reflected back at me was.
That was how different I felt as I reviewed my outfit for what felt like the millionth time. Never had I dressed so extravagantly before, especially as my female self.
I wasn’t sure whether it was the material of red silk matched with the floral design that was soaked in red glitter or the pulsating sensation of accomplishment running through me that left me on this high of fulfillment while I admired my appearance yet again.
It was only ten minutes until the show began and everything was set in place. Security was top-notch, Mother having requested an additional hundred guards from Faerie to come and secure the place from any outsiders who wished to cause harm.
In addition, Roberto further offered protection around the exterior of this secret location by hiring secret services to ensure the skies and the ground below were secure with no chance of bombs or any other surprising advances that would ruin this moment.
My mind was swirling, my body tingling with far too much energy that yearned to be free and dance to this internal melody of success that had been thrumming through me since the finalization of my bond with Queen Auraleia.
I was still stunned by the explanation she’d given as to why her existence had literally been marked a secret, but simply thinking about it upset me because of what she’d gone through.
How similar we all were. And now we had another endangered hybrid that was a victim of the Vile Queen—forced upon her own journey to claim her throne within the grand lands of Faerie.
There was a knock on the door, but it seemed to blend into the background as I continued to focus on my thoughts while absentmindedly staring into the mirror.
Arms slipped around my waist as the unexpected warmth of another pulled me out of my daze, and I acknowledged Dimitris as he hugged me gently.
“You’ll completely miss your cue if you zone out like that during the runway,” he commented with a tender voice that simply encouraged me to ease into his hold as I relaxed.
Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to listen to the soothing beat of Dimitris’s heart while we stood there silently in the mini washroom.
He didn’t encourage me to speak, as if he knew I needed his silent company for just a few moments. A glimpse of stability before I finally faced the music.
"I’ll be alert once the show begins,” I finally answered after three minutes of silent standing. “Just thinking.”
"Do you feel overwhelmed?”
I wasn’t surprised by his question, but I also wasn’t really expecting him to ask or make conversation.
I knew as Alpha and Beta of our pack, we had to focus on the task at hand, but here he was, trying to see if I was okay after yet another surprising revelation.
“Very,” I managed to say as I opened my eyes just slightly to peer into his reflection. "I think my emotional capacity burned out because my body doesn’t feel like panicking even with the bombshell that was just revealed to us.”
“Understandable,” he commented as he released me only to turn me around so I now faced him. He lightly pressed me back against the edge of the counter while his hands slowly rested upon my hips.
His eyes were clearly searching mine, as if he were trying to decipher why I was reacting rather oddly in comparison to how I’d taken all the other crazy unexpected news, confrontations, and surprising challenges.
“Talk to me, my Everlasting.”
To hear the hint of pleading in his voice made me wish for a stronger emotional reaction, but all I could do was close my eyes, take a deep breath, and let it out slowly as I leaned in enough to press my forehead against his, which was lowered enough for me to easily reach.
"I honestly don’t have much to say, Alpha,” I confessed as I kept my eyes closed. “What more can anyone throw my way? All my emotional responses have crashed, and I need time to reboot before they can malfunction from yet another surprise. Honestly, I may just hate surprises now after the last 48 hours. They’ve all been either truth or death bombs. I guess there’s no in-between unless you call finding out your best friend who used to be your lover actually has a twin sister and is now royally bonded to you.”
“That was rather unexpected,” he agreed. “Is that why it feels like you’re questioning your entire existence?”
This man could read me so damn well, but that was why he was Alpha. With everything that had gone on, I doubted I’d be able to be a proper Alpha with all these emotional blows and revelations.
"Wouldn’t you do the same?” I decided to ask as I leaned back to stare into his calm eyes. "How did I forget an entire person, Dimitris? An individual who was at every recovery session and forced to infuse her magic into me while I was then tortured in every way to see what my response would be like. Like a true lab rat that deserved to be experimented on.”
I shook my head again as if I didn’t want to picture it because the memories felt so fresh now that I’d recalled the truth.
My screams, the agony, the tremendous pain, and the haunting threats forced me to remain against that metal table. All while the girl who looked no different from my best friend was chained to the wall with various tubes and IVs attached to her flesh—sucking up her magic to use for these ongoing “treatments” for the sake of my survival.
"Whenever I had nightmares, I always remembered that I was threatened by the Vile Queen. That she’d hurt Papa Dearest, Viktor, Onyx, and Aurelia…but what if I’d replaced Aurelia with Aura? What if my friendship and love for Aurelia were supposed to be to Auraleia?”
