Hey guys, I'm back! Really sorry for being MIA for such a long time. Anyway, here is Chapter Fifteen. You guys are going to want to kill me for this muahahaha but I just can't help it. So to make it up, I'm posting Chapter Sixteen as well :) Enjoy!
4 years ago
"Hey Belle, can you tell me more about mates?" Lily looked at me with curious eyes as she laid her head onto my belly.
I smiled, stroking her hair. "Of course, what do you want to know about?"
"Everything!" She exclaimed with a soft yawn she tried to cover.
Stifling my laughter, I obliged my little sister. "Alright, let's start from the very beginning. Before we are even born, we are all matched with someone else, and that person will be our mate, our soul mate, our other half. After the male turns 16, his mate will be able to tell that they are mates when they meet. And the female will have to tell the male that they are mates and the male can confirm their bond with a single kiss. Sparks will fly and tingles will erupt and they will know that they have found their other half. They will finally be whole, together. When both of them are ready, they will mark each other... right here."
I paused and used my finger nails to nick a small spot above her left collarbone, causing her to let out a small giggle.
"And then everyone out there will know that they belong to each other." I finished.
She was quiet for a while, I would have thought she was asleep if not for her question. "What will it feel like to find your other half?" She asked, her voice softer than before.
Hey my Bella, where are you? I just finished with Dad. Adri sent me through our mind link.
I'm helping Lily go to sleep. I gave him a quick reply before answering Lily's question.
"Well, according to Luna Rose, it will be amazing and beautiful, to be able to find someone you can trust and depend on wholeheartedly. He or she will be your best friend and confidant, and you will love each other so much you will know that you will do anything just to make the other person happy." I explained, the words tumbling out of my mouth the exact same that came from Rose's when I was the same age as Lily, asking the same question, wide-eyed and curious.
What she told me blew my mind and from then on, I could hardly wait to find my own mate - someone who will love me as much as the love my dad has for my mum and Uncle John has for Rose.
Soft snoring broke my reverie and I smiled, happy to see that Lily had fallen asleep.
Gently, I lifted her head from my belly onto her pillow. She let out a small mew and hugged her boaster called 'pinkie' tighter. Tucking her in her blanket, I gave her a small kiss on her forehead and whispered into her ear.
"Good night Lil, sleep tight and don't let the bed bugs bite."
A small smile found its way onto her face. Satisfied, I tiptoes out of the room.
"Hey Hon, how's our daughter? Asleep?"
I didn't need to turn around to know who it was. Hitting him on his chest playfully, I fake-glared at him, "Who's your 'Hon'? Lily's asleep so keep your voice down."
He only smiled at me with that stupid smirk of his and brought me into his arms. "Awww, someone's jealous that I didn't spend any time with her today."
"Don't be stupid, I'm tired and I'm going to bed."
"Okay, let's go," he smiled, pulling us to the direction of my room.
Stopping him, I crossed my arms and looked at him sternly. "I mean I am, you are going back to yours."
"But I wanna sleep with you tonight," he pouted his lips and gave me that puppy dog eyes of his he knew I could never resist.
Rolling my eyes, I ignored him and walked ahead. Adri being Adri, he was right behind me and didn't hesitate to grab my hand. When I felt his warm hand around mine, the smile I was fighting with emerged triumph. I hate to admit it, but I slept best whenever he kept me warm throughout the night.
I loved feeling his arms enveloping me and being lulled to sleep by the sound of his steady heartbeat when I lay my head on his chest.
//
Present
Adrian's POV
"Love is always patient and kind. It is never jealous. Love is never boastful or conceited. It is never rude or selfish. It does not take offense and is not resentful. Love takes no pleasure in other people's sins, but delights in the truth. It is always ready to excuse, to trust, to hope, and to endure whatever comes." Belle's sweet gentle voice kept replaying in my mind non-stop.
It was driving me crazy.
The knock on the door broke my train of thought. It was Chase.
"Hey, you came at the right time. What have you found out about the Dark Fire Pack?" Shaking my head a little, I quickly went back to work mode. I had to stop thinking of Belle and focusing on the pack business would be the best thing to do.
Chase had a grim look on his face but didn't say a word until he sat down in front of me.
"That's not what I'm here for. But what I've found isn't much. I only know that Daryl, Jeff and Brian got kicked out from their previous pack and they formed the Dark Fire Pack with seven other guys. Rogues, most likely. But I have no information on why they were kicked out from their previous pack. There's nothing we can do about them. They cover their tracks very well. We have no concrete evidence to report them to the council. None at all. There hasn't even been any weird reported cases ever since they arrived. They're keeping things low at the moment." Chase reported.
Cursing under my breath, I tried my best to keep my cool. "Keep looking out for them, we can't afford to drop our guards. They're definitely up to no good."
Nodding, he continued. "Now, that aside. I would like to talk to you not as your Beta but as your best friend and as Belle's best friend."
Heaving a huge sigh, I asked as I put down the file I was holding on to. "What do you want to talk about?"
Standing up from my chair, I walked to the window behind my desk and shoved my hands into my pockets. It was a Saturday morning and the backyard was empty. I could hear the sizzling of the pan and I knew my mum was busy preparing breakfast for all of us.
"Adri, I understand your pain, and I understand that you're hurt. But will you just stand in her position for a moment? She tried, Adri, two years ago on your birthday. She found out she was your mate, she was so conflicted. It wasn't because she didn't love you. She was just caught by surprise. You guys have been best friends for so long, she never expected that you guys would turn out to be mates. You didn't expect that as well. That was why when she tried to tell you that you guys were mates, you lashed out right away. You thought she was lying to you because you thought it was impossible for you to be mates. But the truth was all of us could tell you you guys loved each other from the very start. You weren't just best friends, the love you had for each other developed from purely friendship into something so much more. Both of you just didn't realise that. She was scared, Adri. When you rejected her, she was devastated. Do you even know how it feels like to be rejected? Let me tell you, it feels horrible. The pain is so unbearable you just wish you can just die." He choked.
And that was when everything came through to me. I was a fool.
"She was going to give you some time but what do you do? You plant a bomb in her face by going out with Dar. It was no wonder she ran away. If you were her, how do you think you are going to react? Would you stand there and watch your mate go out with your best friend. Wanting to be happy for them but it would be impossible because you know that the two of you belong to each other. She - "
"Enough!" I cut him off. It was enough. I finally understood. I finally realised how selfish I was to focus everything on myself.
Falling back onto my chair, tears threatened to fall from my eyes. I wasn't usually this weak. I didn't cry easily. But the mere thought of the amount of pain I had brought onto my Bella, my precious and beloved Belle, made me want to kill myself. I wished I could go back in time to change everything.
How could I have been so thoughtless and cruel? It was no wonder Belle ran away from home. I blamed her for it all this time but really it was all my fault. I was the one who drove her away. And when she finally came back and told me the truth, I hurt her again by ignoring her and focusing on my pain. I hated her for not telling me but I was the one who prevented her from doing so. I was scared, I was timid and I wanted to protect myself from getting hurt again so I pushed her away.
The thing about love and hate is that there's only a fine line between them. And that fine line was usually the fear of getting hurt because of caring too much.
But unlike me, Belle forgave me time and again even when I hurt her. She didn't give up on me yet I accused her of not loving me.
I loved her. We loved her.
"Hey Adrian, don't beat yourself up too much. We all make mistakes. Just make everything right now before it's too late. Belle loves you, she's going to forgive you. Don't worry about it. But make sure you don't hurt her again or you're going to have to talk to not just me, but also both yours and her parents. I'm sure you know what I mean." With a smirk, Chase left the room.
Did I even deserve her forgiveness? My heart clenched in pain, but it was probably not as painful as what I've put her through.
I didn't even dare to ask for her forgiveness as I thought back on how rude I had been to her these few weeks, not to mention how I used her that day in school. I was disgusted with myself.
I was such a jerk. I was an asshole. I was... I was...
Without even noticing it, I had hit my desk so hard that it broke into half. Damn it.
Stop moping around and go apologise. Blaming yourself won't make anything better. If you want to make it up to her, the first thing to do is to get her back. Then spend the rest of your life making it up to her. My wolf scolded me.
He was right. I had to make things right between us. I would go to hell and back to earn her forgiveness. I would do anything.
Anything. Just to see her happy.
Belle's POV
I was exhausted.
This whole fiasco had lasted way too long. It was way overdue. I could feel myself feeling weaker and weaker by the moment as my wolf and I sunk into the realisation that this should finally come to an end.
We weren't strong enough for anymore rejection. If we had to live without him, so be it. It might kill us, yes, but at least we would stop having our hopes up and then feel them crashing down onto the earth. It hurt way too much.
That was it. I was done.
"We give up," I told no one in particular as I sat propped up on my bed, staring into space.
I didn't want to move, I couldn't. I was too tired to.
Not even the aroma of Rose's breakfast made me feel better. So as I sat there hearing the thunderous steps down the stairs, I continued to stare into space.
I felt lifeless, empty, and crushed. The world ceased to matter to me. All I wanted to do was cry. But I didn't even have to energy to do it.
The image of Adrian flashed in my mind. Closing my eyes, I allowed myself to look at him one last time. To indulge myself in him one last time.
And then I had to forget him. Because he didn't belong to me.
I could feel a single drop of tear as it rolled down from my eye. I wanted to laugh, I wanted to break down, but all I could managed was a slight smile.
Because when I thought about it, this was pretty stupid. Dramatic even, might make a good movie someday. The girl wants the boy but the boy rejects her. Yet she never gave up and kept wishing for the day when the boy will finally realise how much he loved her. Except this wasn't a story with a happy ever after. Bet no one would even watch it, I thought.
A knock on the door broke my thoughts. It was him. How ironic for the past few weeks I would give anything to see him, but now all I wanted was to be left alone.
Not even having the energy to tell go away, I settled with faking asleep. Hopefully he would leave me alone then. I have had enough of him. One moment he was hugging me and kissing me, the other he doesn't even acknowledge my existence. I got that he was confused, but so was I. Yet I didn't go around using people.
I had enough.
"Belle?" He called out, that stupid voice of his never failed to send a shiver down my spine.
Get a grip of yourself! I told myself.
5 seconds later with no audible answers, Adri tried to door knob only to find it locked. But he wasn't one to wait. Who knew what he wanted this time? To officially reject me?
Well, guess what? This time I would be ready. I wouldn't cry. Instead, I would smile and wish him all the best... oh who was I kidding?
I would breakdown like a child.
In one swift motion, he broke the lock and opened the door. Remind me what the purpose of a lock was for? Wasn't it privacy?
He was quiet for a moment before I heard him moving towards me.
"Hey Belle, it's time to wake up! Or you'll miss breakfast!" His gentle voice was right next to my ear as he shook me by my shoulder.
I really wasn't in the mood to talk to him so I ignored him.
"Belle, I know you're not asleep." He turned my face towards him gently.
Still giving him a cold shoulder, I waited in anticipation for what I knew was going to come. Be strong Belle, you can take it, you're a big girl.
"Belle," he sighed. I felt his head fall onto my shoulder before he said, "I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry."
Did I hear that correctly?
And then I felt it, warm moisture seeping through my shirt.
Sniffing, he continued. "I was an idiot and I know that now."
If he had said those words to me yesterday, I would have jumped into his arms that very instance but today, my heart didn't move one bit, it couldn't. Not after everything it had gone through.
"I know I have no right to ask for your for-" He continued.
"You're right," the words came out of my mouth in a whisper. I had no energy left, or so I thought.
"What?" His body tensed.
"I said, you're right. You have no right to ask for my forgiveness." I said, louder this time, but tears which I thought were finished swelled up in my eyes once again.
"And I won't forgive you even if you asked." Tears streamed down my face uncontrollably and I chocked.
"I won't, I won't, I won't..." I started screaming, "I'm not going to let you hurt me again!"
Adrian tried to calm me down by hugging me but that only made it worse. I didn't know what I was doing anymore, my wolf had taken over.
"I'm sick, and I'm tired of what you've done to me. I've had enough." I continued, my arms trashing around, trying to escape from his grip.
"Belle! My Bella, listen to me," he tried to comfort me by whispering into my ear but to no avail. "I'm sorry, pleas, just listen to me."
"NO, I don't want to listen, get out!" I pushed against him with all my might.
"GET OUT!" I shrieked as tears continued to flood and my body continued to trash about. It had to be a fit.
Nothing he did could calm me down, even when he was my mate. I was vaguely aware of Chase dragging him away from me but it was all a haze. I had no control of whatever that happened and only when I calmed down did I realise what I did.
I laid on my bed, exhausted and worn out. For the first time in my life, I wished I was dead. The pain, the anxiety, the jealously, the sadness - all those i could take. But this - this emptiness that I felt - was unbearable. I felt lifeless, all sapped out of energy. I couldn't even move. What was I going to do?
There was a knock on the door and I could tell it was my mum. But I couldn't even speak, not even the two words 'come in'.
She came in anyway and she sat beside me for a very very long time. I did not know how much time had passed but I knew that her presence was very comforting. My frantic heart was finally able to calm down.
It probably took hours, but she was patient.
"You feeling better honey? Think you can move?" She asked gently.
I tested my limbs slowly and gently. It was like the Transformation all over again. My body was sore and aching all over, but it wasn't the good kind of ache.
"Here, let me help you." My mum offered, gently bringing me to sit up and lean against the headboard.
She looked into my eyes and gave me a reassuring smile but I could see the sadness through her facade.
"Everything's going to be fine, baby. Trust me. It will be okay." She choked.
Using a wet towel, she started to clean my face. The water was warm and soothing.
"I'm so sorry," she started.
I wanted to shake my head and say that she had nothing to be sorry for but I was still immobile.
"I had no idea such a thing was happening," tears gave way.
"If only I knew... my brave, brave daughter. I'm so proud of you." she leaned forward to kiss me on my forehead.
"You are so strong, so so brave." She smiled at me while wiping away her tears at the same time.
I could only look at her, my facial features hard and not moving.
"Adrian," she started again. "Adrian told us everything."
"I cannot even fathom the amount of pain you have gone through. I really want to break down with you right now, I can't imagine how you managed this past two years."
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes again and my heart broke. I hated to see my mum so devastated.
"Don't... cry..." I managed out.
"You're right, I'm not crying, I'm won't." She smiled at me, wiping her tears away.
"The good news is, all those pain, everything. It's over now. It's all over. You have emerged victorious." She said.
"Adrian loves you. You may not believe it now. But we all know. We can all see it. He was scared, just like you were." She gone on to explain. "Love is a very scary thing, it can cause so much pain to a person, but it can also cause so much happiness. And sometimes we really can't control it. We just have to give in to fate."
"But don't fear, my little princess. You've done so well for so long, you can go through with it. I know you can. We all do." She laughed. "Your dad is waiting outside to see you. I know he's only going to scare you so I made him wait outside."
I cracked a smile. "I want...see him."
My mum didn't even need to say anything before my dad barged in. "I'm here, sweetheart. I'm here."
He engulfed my mother and I in one of his infamous big bear hugs. It never failed to make me feel safe and secure, like there was nothing in the world that could ever destroy us. My dad was a warrior, he would protect both of us from everything.
"I love you," I told them honestly. "So much."
"We love you too," and my mum broke down.