Crave (BWWM)

7. Only with a Beginning can there be an End

Third Person's POV

Gaia grabbed Avalon's bicep and teleported to her office back at her castle. As soon as they got there, Avalon bent over gagging as he tried not to throw up at Gaia's impromptu movement, it left him bent over for a few more minutes. After drawing in a few shaky breaths, he stood up and looked at a Gaia in annoyance, "Can you please warn me before you do that?"

Gaia looked at him with indifference as she took off her jacket and answered emotionlessly, This is the Valkyrion castle where my coven currently resides."

Avalon furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, "What?"

Gaia rolled her eyes, " The Valkyrion Castle", she voiced out slowly as if she were speaking to a child, " It belongs to my family and it was the only place I trust you enough to bring you."

Avalon was hurt by what she said but quickly covered it up. Gaia snapped her fingers as two chairs and a table moved in their direction from a corner of the office. On the table were 2 bottles of water and a cup of warm honey tea. She sat on the chair in front of the tea and gestured for him to sit in the other chair. When he sat, she spoke, " You wanted to talk so let's talk." Avalon did not like the indifference she spoke to him with as if their mate bond meant nothing to her.

"I'll put it as simple as I can; I don't want a mate. I don't need a mate. You're better off mating with someone else because I refuse to.", she said while looking directly at him.

Each sentence felt like a stab to the heart Avalon. As someone who was thought since childhood to cherish a destined mate, it felt as if everything his parents taught him was just another fairy-tale. 'When she sees you, she'll accept you without a second thought.' was what his mother always told him and his brother. Thinking of his brother whose mate already accepted him added to the pain of Gaia's words selfish decision. Gaia read his emotions like an open book, but she refused to change her mind. He was better off with someone who didn't have all this baggage.

"Why?", was all Avalon could have asked. He didn't want to sound so hurt but it was hard to hide in a situation like this. Avalon felt his temper explode and rose out of his chair with such force that it threw the chair backward. Gaia raised her head in surprise. Avalon could not understand why she was so surprised.

"What's that look for? Were you expecting me to just willingly accept this selfish one-sided decision?", Avalon spoke looking directly into her eyes. "Because I am sure as fuck do not. You cannot just decide you do not want this bond and think I'll go along with it. That is not how this works."

Gaia didn't appreciate the tone Avalon was using with her, "I'm bloody doing this for you Drew." She did not want to reject the bond either, but she was doing this for him. She could manage the pain of rejection. It was an agreement the moon goddess made with the other gods to mix the species of mateship. In a mate bond like hers and Avalons, she would take the brunt of the pain because the goddess would never punish her kin who was being dealt a bad hand in the rejection. She would be merciful and grant them a second chance mate. Gaia had spent centuries with pain far worse, but she could not drag him and his pack into her fight with William.

"By what?! Rejecting me? You won't even tell me what your reason is.", he shouted.

"You'll find another.", Gaia responded.

He shook his head in denial. He couldn't believe how easy she was willing to throw something so sacred without even trying, " I DON'T WANT ANOTHER"

"YOU DON'T HAVE A BLOODY CHOICE, YOU HAVE TO!!", she screamed back slamming her hand down on the table as she stood up.

"WHY??!!", his voice cracked. "Why?"

Avalon's eyes were glowing gold, telltale signs his wolf was surfacing from his loss of control of his emotions. They both took a deep breath and calmed down. Drew closed his eyes and reopened them when his wolf was under control. " If we were to try this-", Gaia stopped, she thought it was ridiculous the effect he had on her. A little slip of emotion from his side and she was willing to reconsider her decision-just like that. Looking into Avalon's ocean blue eyes, she saw fierce determination and a fire burning deep inside his eyes. She knew he wouldn't give in. She sighed out in defeat.

" If we were to go through with accepting this bond it's going to be difficult. It is going to be hard for me to open up to you and trust you. There are things that I won't be ready to talk about anytime soon and there is going to be a lot of baggage. You might be making the biggest mistake of your life by doing this, aren't you afraid?", her eyes dimmed at the thought of what happened in the past repeating itself. She swore on her life if she could, she would make sure it never happened again.

Avalon reached down and grabbed her small hands in his large ones, lead her to the chair where he sat, and placed her in the one next to him so that they were facing each other. He grabbed her face between his two hands and made her look him directly in the eyes when he spoke, " There is nothing in this world that would make me give you up. The fates gave us this bond for a reason and there is nothing that will keep me from making sure it wasn't a mistake."

She looked away finally revealing what she felt, Fear.

"I don't know what made you this afraid and I can't ask you to trust me. I'll wait, I won't force you to tell me either."

"Even with these?", she got up and took off her shirt showing him the numerous inked markings on her body.

Avalon's eyes traced the intricate markings covering her dark skin. They covered her entire back and ran along her arms and legs. He now realized he never noticed them despite him how many times he has seen her. They slightly blended in with her smooth skin. Running his hands down her arms, he realized they weren't tattoos. The unique swirl of the ink was spelling out some sort of ancient language.

Runes, he realized.

"It is an enchantment to change the appearance of my body. Nothing too serious, but necessary.", Gaia sighed and put her shirt back on. "I need you to think this through Alpha Carter. My people live hidden away from others, in fear of someone extremely dangerous. This could put your pack in danger, your family, and your friends. People could die. You and your people are better off away from us. Besides, this union would never work. Our kind hate each other despite what the treaty says. We can never be like normal mate bonds. I have my kingdom to rule, and you have your pack to run. None of us could give the either up."

Avalon stood up from the chair, "And I'm not asking you to. All I'm asking is that you give us a chance. My pack is one of the strongest packs in around. Whoever you are running from, well figure it out along the way, and well be careful. If we cannot, then we would have given our bond a chance."

"Let me be very clear Alpha, I will not fall in love with you until my people and I are threat free. What you are agreeing to right now, all consequences 100% fall on you. I will not trade my people's lives for yours. The minute you become a problem I will cut you off like dead weight.", Gaia had to let him know she had no time for a normal mate bond, no time to fall in love, and no time for slip-ups.