Trying her hardest to stay lost in her fantasy world with Ty, Eden ignores as many mind links, calls, texts, and even emails as possible. However with a future husband as dogmatic as Rome it becomes impossible to ignore. Reluctantly after getting showered and dressed, Eden sits glumly on the end of Ty's bed. Trying to will herself out of his house, but she's afraid that if she leaves it will be their final goodbye.
"Edee?" His voice is so soft and soothing as he sits in his bathrobe gazing at her.
Blinking back her tears, she looks up at him.
"Yeah?" Replying about a decibel above a broken whisper, Eden looks up at him.
"Baby, we'll be ok." Giving her a small smile, he nods.
And that smile is all it takes for the tear floodgates to burst. That small little smile is his gentle goodbye. That small smile is his comforting confirmation to her fear of losing him. That small smile is like a wrecking ball to any hope she had built that maybe just maybe there could be a blissful end for her and Ty. As the tears flow like tiny rivers down her cheeks, she's engulfed in his strong arms.
"Ty?"
"I know, baby. I know."
Listening to her soft sobs, Ty has utterly nothing to lose. He has nothing to fear for his fear of their forbidden secret being exposed has in fact come true. So why waste anymore time? Why squander his one chance to really tell her.
"No matter what happens, Eden." Pulling back, he lifts her chin to look him in his eyes. "I love you and have always loved you. I've loved you since the day I laid eyes on you. I don't know why we were brought together again just to be torn apart, but I'll never stop loving you. And that's to my dying breath."
"Ty." Smiling gently through her tears, Eden softly places her palm to his cheek. "I love you too."
Kissing him tenderly, she finally musters up the strength to leave. Standing at his door, she gives him one last smile before kissing him deeply and passionately.
"I'll always love you, honeybuns."
"And I'll always love you, Edee."
As she drives away Eden truly understands what love is. Hearing him profess his love to her makes her realize just how much she has always loved him, always valued him, and she is beyond thankful to the moon goddess for allowing them these times together. But hearing his vow of love let's her realize that theirs is the love of a lifetime that is mis-chronicled.
That she and Ty's love is not for this timeline. And all she can do is take her lessons and learn from them. Learn that she has known a true, pure, kind love. A love to lead her through dark times, but now it's time for her to let that love go so that it can fly to the one who it truly belongs to. And now Eden knows that that truly is not her.
For if it was truly her's it would not be able to be taken from her in order to keep everyone around them safe. Selflessness is a virtue and that is precisely what Eden is demonstrating as she drives away from Ty's house and possibly him forever.
The entire drive back she fights herself to turn around and devise a plan to run away with Ty, but how can she? She has Cairo now. She's no longer the single free 23 year old that could throw caution to the wind and just up and disappear.
No, she has a son who needs his father. She has a child that she vowed to not allow to miss any more time with his father. A father that she promised that she would never keep from him. So again, if it really was her love of a lifetime she would not ever be facing this conundrum.
Pulling into the large circle driveway of the pack house, Eden wants to crumple up and disappear. To have to face Rome in all his wrath over concretely knowing that she was sleeping with Tyson Ball makes Eden sick to her stomach.
"I was in no way in favor of what you and Tyson were doing, but I also do not agree with the way Rome is going to treat you."
"Thank you."
Breathing deeply, Eden attempts to steady her nerves. But before she is successful an absolutely furious, almost maniacal Rome comes charging out of the front door. As her eyes land on him, Eden for the first time in her life actually fears for her life. As her heart rate spikes to that of a long distance track sprinter, Eden's breathing becomes erratic. That is until the oddest thing happens, Rome stops dead in his tracks.
"I know we're beyond pissed, but you are scaring the shit out of her. Look at her, Rome. You have to calm down."
Trying his hardest to flood Rome's raging blood with serotonin to calm him, Legend knows if he allows Rome to interact with Eden with the hateful thoughts running through his mind, he will lose Nile forever. And that is not a gamble Legend is willing to take.
"Legend I am so fuckin angry."
"And you have all right to be, but think before you react."
Watching Rome stand there and pant angrily, Eden is becoming more and more on edge. She doesn't know if she should stay in the car or get out and try to make it into the house, so she just sits and waits. And the wait seems like the wait of her life. Exhaling deeply, Rome walks the rest of the distance to the car and opens the door. Glaring at Eden with an insurmountable amount of disappointment and anger, he steadies his breathing.
"That's what you thought was best, Eden?"
"What?" As her trembling voice leaves her mouth, Eden still cannot read this situation.
"You thought that it was best to go and run to Tyson? You thought it was best to start sleeping with the fuckin guy that caused us to have the fuckin issues we had?"
"Ty is not the reason we had issues, Rome. And if you believe that you are delusional."
"Delusional?! Are you fuckin serious?! We were fine until th-!"
"The night you fucked Blake again! So don't you dare try and pin this on me! You fuckin cheated on me after yo-!"
"After we ran into his ass and he just kept poppin up every-fuckin-where that weekend! How the fuck was I supposed to react, Eden?!"
"Not the way you did, Rome! We had an issue that could have maybe been talked out, but you ruined that the moment you decided fuckin Blake was the answer!"
"For all I knew you had fucked Tyson in the forest and to this day I still don't know!"
"You're a liar! You know I would never do anything like that! I have NEVER done anything foul like that to you! You are the one with jealousy issues! You're the one with fidelity and commitment issues! Not me!"
"No you're the one that never expresses how you feel and makes me feel like you didn't want shit, but sex! So why would I feel like you would care?!"
"That's bullshit and you know it, Rome! If it were true I wouldn't know so much about you versus the amount of shit you know about me! The miniscule amount that you know about me would make a thimble look like a fuckin wine barrel with how empty it would be! You were the one that didn't want shit, but sex! Maybe you were starting to create an obsession with what we were doing, but you had no true emotions behind it! So don't try to flip the script on me!" Feeling those feelings of unreciprocated affection well up, Eden doesn't want to go back down that lonely road. So she attempts to calm down. "I maybe shouldn't have slept with Ty after finding out he was in an ally pack of your's, but I refuse to take the blame for us not working out that last time. You fucked up both times I came back. I gave you a second chance even when I vowed that I wouldn't when I came back after finding out about Brooklyn. I keep giving you chance after chance and you don't deserve it!"
"If that were really true, you wouldn't keep coming back."
"Get over yourself, Rome! I came back this time because I was screwed over again and our son deserved better than being lied to about his father. It had nothing to do with you."
"Oh you mean my son that you hid from me?!"
"God! Move!" Pushing past him, Eden tries to walk inside.
"All I know Eden, is that shit between you and Tyson is finished."
Knowing that she has no intentions of putting Ty or either of their packs in danger, Eden knows she has to leave Ty alone. Eden has already made that definitive decision, but she's not going to allow Rome to feel like it was because of him or his say so.
"If I want to, I will."
"What?!" Grabbing her arm, he pulls her back towards him. "What the fuck did you just say?!"
"I will leave my boyfriend alone if I want to."
"Boyfriend? Boyfriend?! You don't have a fuckin boyfriend! You have a future husband, you don't have a Goddamn boyfriend! You had a whole side muthafucka!"
"No, I'm not with you. What Ty and I have may be open for interpretation, but you?! Hell no. I will not mate with you. I will not allow you to mark me. Absolutely hell no."
"Yeah you wanna keep playing games? We'll see how the council of elders will think about their perfect little Eden fuckin a beta from an ally pack. How they'll feel about you hiding our son. Or how they'll feel when they find out we're still not mated fully. Let's see." Turning to walk away from her, Rome jogs back up the front stairs.
"Shit." Realizing that is not the reaction she expected, Eden goes scurrying behind him. "Don't you dare threaten me like that!"
"It's not a threat."
"Rome?!"
"Nah keep that same energy that you had outside."
As she watches him texting away at his phone, Eden tries to take it from his hand.
"Rome, I swear to God if you do that I will hurt you!"
"Not 'if' I already did. Aren't you the same one that tried to use my daughter's existence as an excuse to get the arrangement nullified? So what's different here? It's either this or I challenge him and you can watch me kill him."
"Why are you doing this?! You don't want the arrangement nullified! I don't even know if you want to still be arranged! Just leave it alone!"
"Can't. Looks like we have a hearing first thing tomorrow afternoon."
"Cancel it, Rome! I'll leave him alone, but don't do this!"
Ignoring her, Rome continues on his way to wherever he was headed and leaves Eden standing there absolutely dumbfounded and her heart in her throat.
"Nile?! What the hell do I do?!"
"God, Eden! I told you to leave Tyson alone! Why would you bait him like that?!"
"I didn't expect that, Nile! I can't do that to Ty! I can't embarrass him like that and he's been nothing, but good to me!"
"I know, Edee. You know I didn't approve of your relationship, but he is a good man and Titan is a good caring wolf."
Sighing in pure frustration and worry, Eden heads to find Cairo. Walking into his nursery she finds him playing on the floor with Rome. Without saying a word, she picks him up.
"What are you doin?! You obviously see me playing with him, Eden!"
"He needs to eat."
"Did you shower?"
"What?!" Whipping around she glares at him.
"Did you shower after having another man touching all over your body? Don't nurse my son without having show-."
"Shut up, Rome! I would never do anything like that!"
"Weeelll, we can't go around saying what you wouldn't do anymore, now can we?"
Feeling the tears welling in her eyes, Eden closes her eyes and shakes her head as she walks away from him. Staying holed up in her room the rest of the night, Eden is dreading tomorrow afternoon. Watching the sun come up since she couldn't sleep, Eden is fully dressed and ready to just get this over with.
Taking a seperate car from Rome, they arrive minutes apart. Seeing Ty walk into the council room with Cassius, Eden truly hates herself for trying to play Rome's trump card yesterday. But seeing her father file in literally makes her sick to her stomach.
"Nile, I hate him."
"Wow, your father?! That's low. Even for Rome."
Taking their seats in front of the elders, Eden keeps peeking at Ty to see if he's alright.
"Good afternoon everyone. Late yesterday afternoon, some most disturbing news was brought to the council of wolf elders' attention. We have been here before for this union and arrangement between Alpha-Luna Eden and Alpha Rome, so to keep it short and sweet lets get down to business. It was brought to our attention that Eden and Rome are not in fact fully mated and marked, as stated from our hearing over a year ago on April 16th. Is that true?"
"Yes." They state simultaneously.
"Well that is most disappointing, as it was a union promised to the moon goddess. However that is not the only matter at hand. It has been brought to our attention that Alpha-Luna Eden has been engaging in an extracurricular relationship with, the beta of BlackWolf Canyon, Tyson Ball in the most secular manner."
As Eden's head hangs in shame, a tear rolls down the bridge of her nose and onto the table in front of her. Brushing the following tears away, she doesn't even try to hide the fact that she's crying.
"Edee?" Whispering to her, Ty calls to her.
Looking up at him, she mouths just how sorry she is to him. Continuing to weep silently, Eden wants to just truly disappear into pure nothingness. She has never been so embarrassed in her life. And to have her father glaring holes into her, makes it even worse.
"Are the accusations true, Alpha-Luna Eden?"
"It's not an extracurricular relationship because Rome and I are not together." Sniffling, she wipes away her continuing tears.
"What?! You two are arranged. You went back of your own free will. By all intents and purposes you two are a coup-."
"No we are not. A little under a year ago, he slept with his daughter's human mother, while we were actually together. So I left for ten months. I only came back because he and I have a nine month old pup together."
"WHAT?!" The entire board explodes, including Cassius.
"We were completely unaware of all of this! Why was this pertinent information left out, Alpha Rome?!"
Swallowing thickly, Rome glares at Eden. And the shit eating, quick smirk she gives him screams a silent checkmate.
"I didn't think you needed to know about it since she had come back to uphold the arrangement."
"I never came back to be mated to you this time and you know that. I came back to allow you to raise Cairo with me. That and only that is why I came back and we both know that. My father and mother know that as well. Rome's parents even know that too. There was never a discussion of us being back together. This whole call to council was to embarrass me and humiliate me more than what he already has done to me. So I refuse to sit here like a harlot on trial. Tyson and I were together, yes, but only because I am single and Rome has no claim to me. This was not some mistress scandalous affair happening. Rome and I are simply co-parenting." Using the back of her hand, she swipes away more tears of frustration and hurt.
"This is most disturbing. Due to the fact that nothing was nullified, you both are in default of the original and renewed arrangement. So heaven have mercy on you both for not upholding an agreement to the moon goddess. And due to the nature of beta Tyson Ball knowing that he should not have engaged in a romantic relationship with the promised luna of an allied alpha it is within our power as the council of wolf elders to relocate him to be the beta of another pack, overseas."
"WHAT?!" Eden screeches.
"It's ok, Edee." He smiles reassuringly at her.
"Don't talk to her!" Rome snaps.
"Elder Crow, please! Relocate me! Don't do that to Ty!"
"I can't even if I wanted to, Luna. Bylaws state that the Alpha-Luna is to remain in the allied packs that she is born to or arranged to. Being that there have only ever been three of you in the history of wolves, we can't risk that. Plus with you having a child with Alpha Rome, I can not in good faith relocate you and his son away from him. This is the best, safest, most peaceful option. I truly am sorry, Alpha-Luna Eden. Beta Ball you will be relocated in four full moon's time. Just enough time to get your affairs in order and learn about your new pack before arriving. However, if the board finds that you and Alpha-Luna Lightfoot have had any contact of any sort, you will be subject to a verdict by battle against Alpha Haven, to the death. With this decision, the council is adjourned. Go in good faith and moonlight."
______________
Checkmate!🐺
Thoughts?
💗A.J