Mafia's Mate

Bastard

>>Clio

Learning about his past, about the hardships he endured as a child, hit me like a ton of bricks. There was this initial disbelief, a sense of shock that someone I cared for so deeply had shouldered such pain silently. It was like discovering a hidden chapter in the book of his life that he hadn't intended to reveal. Yet he opened that page for me.

Only for me,

As the reality settled in, empathy flooded over me. I wanted to understand his experiences, share in his pain, and be a source of support. It was heartbreaking but I don't think I could ever really fully understand his feelings.

No matter how fucked up my life was, I had a very loving family. I had a base, people who wanted to protect me but he didn't.

How cruel the world was to him from the beginning.

"I had passed out the moment I was thrown in the forest, and somehow I still didn't die. I was out for days but maybe because my body was used to being starved, I managed to survive." He paused, "Or maybe it wasn't that, I was out for weeks. It shouldn't have been possible for me to be alive. Being a kid and getting beaten with a silver laced whip is a death sentence."

Tears slipped down my cheeks as I continued to listen to him but I made sure not to make a sound. He was so busy telling his story that he didn't even notice my silent tears, "When I woke up, I was in the hospital of a human city. I don't know how or who brought me there. Or why even." He let out a sigh, his eyes distant, lonely, alone and broken, "I have no clue how I survived-" He finally turned to look at me and paused, "Clio?" He wasn't sure what to do when he saw me. He just stiffened up.

He turned his body towards me and I sniffled, "Nothing's wrong," I shook my hands, "I'm just," I sniffled again and wiped my tears away, "God!" I let out a gasp, "That bitch Ruila,"

His lips curled up into a smirk, "Don't worry, she's dead."

!!!

"Wait, really?!"

His hand reached out for my cheek, "Yes," And he swiped his fingers across, drying my cheek, "She died a pretty brutal death..." His gaze wandered.

"Well," I nodded, "She got her karma!"

He smiled, but didn't reply to that. His reaction was a little off, "Karma..." He whispered the word. It was as if he was thinking that it wasn't karma.

It got me thinking if he had anything to do with it.

"Did you ever go back?" I asked, "To your father or anyone related to his pack?"

He shook his head, "No," He replied, "The need never arrived." He let out a subtle chuckle, "The pack fell."

"It fell?" I was confused, "How?"

"Well, Ruila died, her son was devastated and ran away and my father lost his mind."

"He lost his mind?"

"Losing your mate isn't easy. If a wolf has marked their mate and has spent years with them, they become connected, even more so when they have kids together. Losing a mate then can break the mind of any powerful wolf."

"Oh..." My heart skipped a beat.

I know it's not the time to be thinking about things like these but if I'm his mate and losing a mate can be devastating, he won't ever be ever leaving me, right?

I pursed my lips together

I should be ashamed of myself. I can't believe I'm thinking about that when I haven't even told him I like him.