Smeraldo (Sample) [By: Aysha H. Khan & Zohara H. Khan]

8. Silent Wishes

STEFANOS

"You shouldn't have said that."

"I am aware Wraya. You have made it quite clear in the last forty minutes."

"I can't believe you said that."

"Stop rubbing it in my face."

"You are terrible at socializing."

"Wraya-"

"You could have just stayed quiet if you-"

"Wraya if you don't stop this instant I swear to the Moon Goddess I will send you back to your mother once and for all."

Silence.

"Yes sire."

I sigh in frustration, watching as the huge figure of Wraya retreated with his wings folded behind him. Messing up my hairs and grunting to myself, I looked down at the garden below, the bushes blooming with new flowers that he had planted.

Just why on earth would I say that to her?

To the flower thief.

To Xenia.

"Xenia. My name is Xenia."

Her beautiful and melodious voice echoed in my head as she stared down at her feet with her long luscious eyelashes dusting her tear stained cheeks.

Unlike the first time she spoke to me, her voice was soft and sincere, as if she was grateful to me for what I had done. Her voice had been soft in our first encounter as well, but the suspicion in her voice had given her a haughty vibe as if she was challenging me.

She sounded so sweet and fragile, like she was asking to be protected.

And like the fool I am, I said the cruellest thing in the history of cruelty.

"So?"

Xenia's head shot up as she stared at me with wide confused eyes. "B-beg your pardon?"

"What should I do by knowing your name?" I asked with as careless a tone as I could muster and gave her that look through my mask that could have scared the living hell out of her if she saw my full face.

Xenia blinked rapidly, her mouth opening and closing in an attempt to say something, but no words came. She was as dumbfounded with what I said as I was myself.

Without waiting for her to say anything, I walked away like a real life moron, trying to pretend like I had said the most logical thing in this world when in fact I was cursing myself for being such a...never mind.

Anyways, the point is, I just lost my one chance at confronting my thief.

Great.

I groan again, wondering why it was so hard for me to just say that one single word called 'Okay' at least. I could have just ended it there, but I made a big fool of myself. Wraya is right; I really have no idea how to socialize.

But I converse just fine with the Grocery man, so why is this proving so difficult?

It's because you don't have a mate and neither does the omega, which is bringing out these reactions.

"What is that supposed to mean?" I question my wolf who sounded like a good old grandpa with dementia.

My wolf sighs in exhaustion, making me frown.

You will soon have your rut, and maybe she will have her heat. It's the pull of the attraction for not having a mate already.

"Our mate is dead to us, you know that." I deadpanned, my mood turning sour all of a sudden.