Absolute Obedience

Chapter Forty-Three

Yanking my head out of his hand, I turned my back to him to hide both my embarrassment and desire. A small chuckle escaped him before a heavy weight rested on top of my head. "Toby, no matter what you were told you did or what you may think you did, I cannot believe you would have done anything on purpose." Hands tentatively stroked the length of my arms. "You were branded by an immature Alpha who couldn't control his emotions. I know Kain personally, and I know how he is. I also have heard the rumors about his mate." This time he didn't stop, and as he continued to talk, I tried to steel myself.

I clenched my eyes at her memory. At the blame, Kain threw at me, and my internal struggle of knowing it was ultimately my fault.

"His mate wouldn't have blamed you either; she wouldn't have supported what Kain had done. She was a strong she-wolf with a love for Omegas. She would have protected you until her last breath, and I feel like that's what she did. She died with honor." Tears started to fall.

The eyes that stared back at me, the howl that cried out goodbyes and hopes; she had been beautiful, and she died because of me. "She only died because it was her fate."

I shook my head at him.

Whispers of hate and anger filled words reached out from the depths of my mind. They tried to tear apart Aegis's claims.

Your fault.

You could have saved her.

If you had behaved, she wouldn't have died.

If you had listened, nothing terrible would have happened.

The voices whispered mantras of my wrongs, tried to scream their judgment, but Aegis' voice overpowered it all.

"Toby, you can't change fate if fate has already written her book." Slowly his hands stopped their ministrations. "You can only accept what's been written, you can decide to mourn and learn from fates story, but you cannot sit on the book." Strong arms encased my body, shrouding me in protective warmth. "Every living thing has a story," Those arms squeezed me as I slowly went slack against him. "and we are given multiple paths with multiple fates, but it's in only our choices that will decide which path we take and what fate we will be blessed with." His baritone voice vibrated with each word he spoke. "We have the power to choose our paths that will evidently decide our fates, and sometimes our choices will cause a ripple." Lips connected with my temple, and the weight slowly started to lift. "Fate isn't always kind, but that's ok. We wouldn't grow or learn if Fate empathized with us." I let out a small chuckle.

Fate wasn't kind, but for me, it was because the Moon Goddess already chose my destiny, and I was being punished for rebelling against her.

"Toby, you have a path to choose, and that path will lead you to your fate; whether it's good or bad is not for me to determine," my eyes slowly opened, and I looked to the ground before pulling away from Aegis. "But before you pick, you need to realize that you are innocent to the blame you have been dealt with." His voice grew hard.

Turning my head to him, I felt myself believing his words.

I felt myself falling for them.

Felt myself hanging onto everything he said.

Yet, I still couldn't fully allow the weight to leave my shoulders. I wanted to believe in what Aegis said about paths and fates, but the part that was trained to always be at fault was suffocating: loud. The voices were all too real, and at night her eyes would always find me and speak all the truths.

Grasping the sides of my face gently, he leaned in to kiss my forehead. His lips were like silk on my skin. I wanted those lips all over me, wanted them to continue to speak so that my demons hid, and my hopes became a reality. I put my hand overtop his and leaned into those lips, but before I could become too comfortable, his lips left my skin, and he dropped those large hands. It felt cold where he had touched.