"... My mate"
Aria took several steps back with a hand covering her open mouth to conceal the sound of absolutely surprised that threatened to escape her lips.
"You're lying,Lina. It can't..." She shook her head in denial. Hoping it would somehow make Lina say something else. Truly, anything was better at this point than what she'd just confessed. Maybe she wanted to toy with her emotions a little. Or even make her realize Doukai wasn't worth her time after all. It wasn't really true. It couldn't be. He didn't have a mate.
"I'm sorry," Lina apologized, falling to her knees as she sobbed uncontrollably.
"No, no, no."
"I tried to keep it from you. I never meant for any of this to happen"
"Tell me it's a joke, it's a lie. Please" Aria said barely above a whisper.
It had to be a lie because this truth was far worse than the war that caused the separation. Witches and vampires getting fed up of the wolves arrogant behavior and obsession with becoming the Queendom' s most powerful and revered had nothing on Lina's confession. At least that's how it felt to her.
She was clinging to hope for it to be a lie yet the look in her sister's eyes proved there were no lies in those two words.
'Good goddess'
'What have I done?'
"No it can't be..."
"I tried to ignore it. I did"
The corners of her eyes turned misty and her eyes turned glossy when she looked her sister in the eye once more before turning away from guilt.
"No, Aria. Don't do this" Lina pleaded crawling on her knees and stopping right before her sister.
"What did I do?" Aria whispered mostly to herself, blinking the salty drops away but failing.
"Look at me, please"
"How could?..."
"No it's not your fault, I promise. Just please look at me" Lina pleaded, cupping Aria's face and forcing their gazes to meet yet she shut her eyes almost as fast as lightning. She felt more horrible than even before. Here, her sister though she had been wronged,was willing to comfort her.
"He was meant to..." sobs broke through her before she could finish her statement.
"I know. I know. Even I don't understand"
"I'm so sorry, Lina. Goddess. I'm so sorry" Aria forced through sobs.
"No you did nothing wrong" Lina argued
"You're wrong, I did everything wrong. Everything wrong and I'm so so sorry"
"Look at me, please. I beg you."
"I can't" Aria shook her head vigorously.
Despite her sister's pleas to at least look at her.
Quickly getting to her feet, she rushed past her teary sister who was begging her to stay, holding her feet in an attempt to prevent her from leaving but to no avail.
She could've used her supernatural speed to get there but she decided a barefooted run was befitting for a terrible person like herself. She felt totally undeserving of her abilities,of her position,of her identity, and most of all, her sister whom she had wronged greatly.
With no idea or any sense of direction, she let her heart take control of her feet since her mind was too hazy to come up with a comprehensible thought or processing anything and her feet led her where her heart supposed she needed to be because if her mind wasn't hazy it'd be the last place in the Queendom she'd be.
Unfortunately for her whatever comfort she sought to find wasn't there so she turned back only to find Lina at her heels.
"Aria, let's talk"
Lina's plea fell on deaf ears as her sister ran past her turning towards the exit of the castle, beyond the castle and even beyond the border. It was not much of a barrier any longer considering how the truth about the pairing had spread.
"Let me in!" She screamed when she got to the pack borders and the guards prevented her from going inside. They were strong but definitely no match for a fiery half breed in need of her mate.
"We're sorry Alfa, we tried to stop her" Some of the guards who saw her barge in reported to Demitri when she barged into his office, interrupting a meeting.
"You may leave". Demitri ordered calmly moving towards Aria.
"All of you" He went ahead to say to the others in the meeting who were still seated and though they made it known how unhappy they were,they left.
"Moro(baby)". Demitri said pulling her into a hug after taking in her full state.
Aria held onto him for dear life.
Noticing the frantic and disoriented state she was in, he held back from asking any questions.
"Let's go somewhere else" Demitri said carrying her in his arms to his room where they'd both be more comfortable.
Upon entering,he moved to lay her on the bed and she let him but as he moved away from her,she caught his hand, stopping him so he turned to her.
"I wasn't leaving". He assured before she let go.
He returned shirtless, sporting a fine ripped torso that she couldn't stop to admire despite noticing because she felt too miserable to do anything except cry.
Gathering her into his arms,she rested her head on his broad chest as he played with her hair whispering comforting words to her, without asking any questions concerning the state she'd come to him in. All he knew was she needed him and he had to be there for her. He wanted to be there for her.
Being a leader came with its perks; the respect,the power and strength but so did it have downsides; the pure loneliness being at the top of a hierarchy comes with, the fear of never being as great and responsible as you ought to be and the weight of whatever crown gives you that leadership. At times the weight of that crown is more than the bearer can carry. Demitri knew that well and that's how he could relate to her state. She might regret it later however at that time, she was allowed to break down and feel all helpless and tired of whatever weighed her down to the point where she ran to him. For comfort.
He was very well aware he had to be the last person on her mind knowing how rough things were between them.
Few minutes after she had calmed down,no longer sobbing uncontrollably, just when he thought he could ask her what made her so inconsolably sad, Vier, his beta(vita) mind linked him.
'Alfa, there's a witch at the packs's borders seeking entrance '
' A random witch?'
Demitri asked knowing his beta was hiding something.
'The bossy sister '
'Lina'
'Should we let her in?'
Demitri looked at the state his mate was in and decided she was in no position physically or mentally to see anyone from Oura Fengari considering it was where she'd ran to him from for comfort.
'No'
'She can be very stubborn '
' So can you be. Make sure she doesn't cross the borders until I give a command stating otherwise '
'If she puts up a fight?'
'Vier, by all means with the exception of death, make sure Lina Ariti doesn't cross the border '
'Yes Alfa'
Demitri closed the mind link after giving that order.
He knew nothing of why Aria had come to him looking like she did but he was certain she didn't want to see anyone at that moment. Well except him, apparently.
If only his wolf had awoken from the deep slumber she sent him into. He refused to dwell on it. Even if the pairing broke like she wanted,he would have to devise means for her to wake Adonis up since she alone had the power to do that.
"Demitri" Aria called looking up at him, caressing his face as she did so.
"Ismena" He replied, leaning into her touch, kissing her palm.
"I'm a horrible person" She confessed, her glossy eyes staring right back at his curious ones. His arms were looped around her middle so he tightened his hold on her.
Whatever had her saying that, had to be something extremely serious. Gone was the confident, powerful, domineering queen of Oura Fengari and in her place was a broken, downhearted woman who could no longer conceal her misery.
"You're not" He argued
"You don't even know what I've done. You'd not be saying that if you knew"
"Feeling horrible about whatever you did no matter what it is proves you're not horrible."
"But I am. I really am " She mumbled, blinking away tears.
"You seem to have a conscience. Horrible people don't "
"You don't know what I've done. I'm sure you'd hate me more than you already do if you knew "
"I don't hate you, i psychí mou (my soul). Not anymore "
"I guess the pull does wonders"
Demitri wanted to argue that it wasn't just the pull but he liked how they currently were. Saying anything with giving it much thought could turn things sour; something he wasn't ready for. He'd let her think the pull did all that. Dragging her to him. He even allowed himself to think it could be as a result of the pull alone that things were as they were between them now.
"I'm sorry "
"For what?" Semi asked wondering why she suddenly said that.
"Interrupting your meeting " She paused. "...and many other things " She finished.
Demitri tipped up her chin and dropped a kiss on her nose making her smile. She liked when he called her that but she wasn't going to admit it verbally.
"Moró, you're more important to me now "
Giving up resisting and denial the bond felt easier and more freeing for Demitri. He wasn't sure whatever it was the guilty of marking her without any sort of warning or losing his wolf but between that time during his stay in Oura Fengari, he realized even if they found a way out, it would leave big scars for them both or do worse to them. He was certain she still had rejection and breaking the pairing in mind. He only hoped he'd be able to convince her to take another path when she finally suggested it.
"I shouldn't be. Not to you, not to anybody"
She said through tears forcing him to sit up properly, bringing her with him as he did.
"Ismena, whatever you did can't be that bad. It won't make me hate you."
'I doubt anything could at this point ' He thought to himself.
"No, Demitri it's really that bad, I denied my sister her mate for years. What could be more horrible than that"
'Explains why she was at the border demanding to be let in'
Demitri couldn't find words for the bomb she'd just dropped. Not that he thought it made her truly horrible but he was confused. Lina hadn't found her mate as far as he knew and the keeper who was her chosen mate...
"Was her mate a prisoner? That couldn't have entirely been your fault" He reasoned but she moved his arms away, putting some distance between them. She looked everywhere but at him,then she told him.
"He wasn't. He was a keeper. The keeper I chose to be with"
The next few minutes were spent in pin drop silence after she said that.
"The knowledge I have of your Queendom says keepers of the gate have no mates"
"I know but my sister doesn't lie. At least not to me. I'm a horrible, horrible person". She broke into gut wrenching sobs again.
Demitri closed the distance she put between them and pulled her back to him, letting her use his shoulder as he patted her back, letting her know it was okay and that she could let it all out.
"You're not a horrible person,Aria." He assured her.
He'd heard and seen of horrible people. Experienced how vile a soul had to be to be called horrible and he knew his mate didn't fit the description of any of those people.
No words were exchanged between them till she grew tired and summoned sleep because she grew too tired to cry. All that while, he watched her, comforted her and held her.
Before she slept, she hoped after opening her eyes, the events of the day would have been erased by Thea Seleni so she wouldn't have to feel horrible again.