A week passed by and Dante still refused to speak directly to me. We were keeping up the perfect image of the mated Alpha pair in front of our pack members. We didn't want to alarm anyone that there was a ripple between us. The only one who knew what was going on was Teague.
Two days after the fight, Christian's pack doctors deemed the injured wolves fit to move. We were finally able to return to our territory. The Alphas and their mates were safely returned to their territories as well. A pack meeting was called for all the pack affairs to be settled. Now that Tristan had passed away the Hollows no longer had an Alpha to lead them.
I took it upon myself to plan his funeral for tonight. He would be buried in the Alpha mausoleum next to his parents where he belonged. The Alphas were skeptical about allowing this because of his involvement with the hunters. I pled his case. In the end he was on our side.
At night I slept in my own room rather than in the Alpha bedroom. I gave Dante his space. It seemed like he didn't want to share his bed with me. I kept all my belongings and clothes in my room.
I stood in front of the mirror in my room. I just stared at my reflection. I almost didn't recognize myself. My face looked haunted. It was like I lost the will to live. In a way, I guess I had. I was about to bury one mate tonight and the other wouldn't even glance my way unless we were in public.
He hadn't kissed me since the day Tristan died. Some days it felt like he would never kiss me again. My body yearned for his touch. Whenever we were around each other I caught myself leaning into him just to be close to him. But when he realized what I was doing he would walk off in a huff.
I hadn't shifted since that day either. No matter how many times I tried, my wolf refused to come out. It felt like my soul was too badly broken. Only Dante was the one who could put it back together.
I sighed after I slipped the black dress over my feet and up my body. My hands reached behind my back for the zipper but it was just out of my reach.
"Here."
A warm hand steadied my shoulder. Another grasped the zipper at my back. Silence stifled the room while the zipper slowly reached the top of my dress.
"Thanks, Teague."
"How are you holding up?"
"As well as any female whose mate is treating her like crap while she has to bury her other one I suppose," I lashed out harshly.
He set his other hand on the opposite shoulder and pulled me back into his chest. It wasn't the chest I wanted to be embraced in but his hug had the desired effect. My breathing calmed down. I turned around in his arms.
"I am sorry. I didn't mean to be so cruel."
"It is okay, Ari. There is no need to apologize. It has already been forgotten," he soothed as he pressed a small kiss on my forehead.
Someone cleared their throat. I immediately jumped out of Teague's arms to see Dante standing in the doorway. His face was an array of emotions. Jealousy and anger were pushing through him but before I could really tell his face was back to his usual mask void of any emotion.
"Is there something I should know about?" his voice was laced in bitterness.
"Oh for the love of god," I mumbled under my breath before addressing him, "He was just giving me a hug, something you can't even seem to give me lately."
"You want a hug? I will give you a hug," he growled in anger.
I didn't like the tone of his voice or the way his eyes blazed in rage at me. He quickly stormed across the room at us. Teague placed an arm in front of me when he noticed the anger radiating from Dante's body.
"Back off from my mate," he spat out at Teague.
Teague bowed his head in respect, "Alpha, I mean no disrespect but perhaps you should take a moment to calm down before you do something you will regret."
"I won't ask you again to back off from her," he gritted through his teeth.
"It's okay, Teague," I reassured him by placing my arm on his.
He reluctantly dropped his arm and stepped away from me.
"Leave us," Dante ordered.
Teague had no choice but to leave the room. He gave me one last look before closing the door behind him.
"Why do you have to be so mean? He was just trying to help me" I scolded him.
"You call that helping? I saw him kiss you on the forehead, Arianna!"
I rolled my eyes at him, "Seriously, Dante? Since when were you so insecure and didn't trust me?"
"Since I saw you making out with my brother," he sneered.
"This again?"
"Is it so wrong that I wanted you all to myself, Arianna? For once my mate was the one thing I had all to myself. You were mine. You didn't want him. You loved me and only me."
"I still do, Dante," I whispered and reached out to touch his face.
He swatted my hand away. His hands darted out and grabbed my wrists. I gasped when he roughly slammed me up against the wall.
"You loved him too. You weren't just mine, you were his too."
"He is dead, Dante. You have me all to yourself now. What more do you want?" I cried out as tears began to stream down my face.
"I want the memory of my mate making out with my brother out of my mind. Even in his death he has you crying over him. Tell me, Arianna, do you wish it was me lying in that casket instead of him?"
My mouth opened and closed. I was speechless. How could he even say such a thing? Of course I didn't wish that. Dante had every part of me, heart and soul. That was something Tristan could barely even begin to reach when it came to me.
"That is what I thought. I will leave you alone after tonight."
He released my hands and turned around. He opened the door and walked out of the room. He had misunderstood my silence for compliance to his question.
I slid down the wall as I tried to grasp the gravity of the situation.
"Arianna, sweetheart?"
I looked up to see my mother standing at my doorway. A concerned look crossed her face. It had been so hard this week to keep everything from her but she wasn't stupid. She knew something was going on between Dante and me.
"Yeah mom?"
"Are you ready to go?"
I nodded my head and allowed her to help me to my feet. I slipped my black heels onto my feet and took one last look in the mirror. My hands swiped under my eyes at the few lines of mascara that had run down my face. We walked out of the pack house together.
The car ride down into the village was spent in silence. Cooper drove us in the big black Alpha sedan. Dante and I sat on opposite sides of the vehicle as far from each other as possible. His jaw was clenched in anger and his fist was tightening around his knee.
There was so much anger radiating off of him that I was whimpering under the tension. His hand twitched a few times as he tried to control himself from reaching out to hold mine.
"We are here," Cooper announced when the he stopped the car at the cemetery.
Dante instantly opened his car door and stepped out to stop himself from involuntarily touching me. He straightened out before walking around the car to open my door. We were in public now so he had an act to put up.
Tingles shot up my arm while he held my hand as we walked to the Alpha mausoleum. The other Alphas were giving us some time alone with Tristan before they would arrive. Tomorrow was the Hollows pack funeral where everyone would be able to pay their respects for him.
Cooper waited patiently by the other car Teague drove with my mother, Uncle Bruce, and Aunt Fiona. Out of respect they would give us a few moments alone until the other arrived.
Dante pulled us into the large marble building. It took everything inside me not to fall apart the moment I spotted the casket in the middle of the Hollows' hallway. A sob escaped my lips at the sight. Dante stiffened beside me.
"I will give you a moment alone," he muttered under his breath and left to go walk down another hallway.
I turned to protest but he was already gone. My heels clacked against the stone floor as I slowly walked towards my dead mate. With every step it felt like a heavy weight pressed down on my heart.
My knees buckled when I reached him and saw his face. It was like staring at an exact replica of Dante and I couldn't bear it. I knew I should have been mourning Tristan but the thoughts wouldn't leave me alone.
If I hadn't known better it looked like Dante was lying in the casket. My hands shook when I reached out to trace the scar I put on his left eye. The same scar my precious Dante was forced to display all because he tried to help out my father; the man he loved as if he were his own father.
Father.
Once the word entered my mind I couldn't stop the memory. The blood poured out on his office floor in front of my very eyes. If only I had been strong enough to save him.
Ha. It was laughable. I couldn't save my father and I couldn't save Tristan. What if I lost Dante? I loved him with every part of my soul. There was a possibility that I would lose him at any moment.
The moment I thought it I instantly regretted it.
I couldn't breathe. Air escaped my lungs and refused to enter again. I clawed at my throat and gasped for just one breath but I was suffocating. It was like the wind was knocked out of me except I wasn't recovering from it.
I screamed out in a panic. I didn't know if I should call out to Dante. Would he even come for me now?
My body writhed on the ground while I wheezed and tried to force the air into my lungs. But it just wouldn't inhale anything. My heart was in too much of a panic over losing both my mates. One dead, the other wanted nothing to do with me. Our talk just an hour ago hadn't helped at all.
"Breathe, Ari, damn it!"
His warm arms enveloped my body tightly, pulling me hard into his chest. He whispered softly in my ear while trying to encourage my lungs to take in the air I needed.
One of his hands lightly caressed down my hair as he cradled me and rocked us forwards and backwards like I was a baby. The other hand traced circles around the small of my back to reassure me he was still here with me.
After a few minutes of this, the air finally returned to my lungs. My whole body was shaking from crying and the force of pushing air into me. Dante clutched me in a protective hold and I could feel the possessive growl fighting its way up his throat.
He nuzzled his face into the crook of my neck and inhaled my scent to reassure himself that I really was okay. He pulled back and looked into my eyes. I gasped when I saw his eyes were almost pitch black. His wolf was fighting for control over him.
"Don't you ever do that again! You hear me? What the hell were you thinking, Ari?" he growled.
"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to I just- It's all been too much for me. The fight with you just tipped me over the edge. When I saw Tristan lying in the casket there-"
He growled possessively and hugged me tighter to his chest.
"Calm down, Dante. Just hear me out here. When I saw him lying there I couldn't help but think about my father and the night he died. Then my last thought was about you and how close I am to losing you. I can't ever lose you, Dante."
His face softened and his usual warm, blue eyes stared back at me once again. He reached his hand out and cupped my face. I pressed my head into him at the sudden contact. This was the moment I had been waiting for all week.
"I am sorry, Ari," he murmured softly into my ear before planting a small kiss on the side of my neck just below my earlobe.
"What was that? I don't think I heard you," I teased.
He playfully growled and squeezed me tighter into his arms.
"Don't push it, Ari."
My lips twitched at the ends into a small smile.
"In that case, I guess I accept your apology."
"I love you."
"I love you too."
"Is everything okay?"
We looked up to see Teague, Cooper, and my family all watching us from the outside hallway. Dante growled a little. He was still in his possessive mode.
"Yes, everything is fine," I responded before pushing myself off the floor.
Dante reluctantly let me go but the moment he stood up I was back in his arms. I knew we were there for Tristan's funeral and I was supposed to be sad but the fact that Dante was finally focused on me again had my heart soaring.
Teague eyed us warily. He was wondering what was going on but I shook my head to let him know everything really was okay. He nodded his head in understanding.
"We are going to take a walk," Dante announced unexpectedly.
No one protested as he led me out the door. I wasn't going to protest either. I had already said my farewell to Tristan. We would see him again tomorrow for the Hollows' pack funeral as well.
"This hasn't exactly been the way I wanted to spend our first week as the official Alpha couple of our pack, Ari," he spoke out.
He held my hand firmly in his while we walked through the village. Some of our pack members bowed their heads in respect when they passed us in the streets. Others from different packs waved hello in greeting.
"I know, Dante."
"I should have been more understanding to your feelings but I was just so angry at him and myself that I couldn't see straight."
"You mean you weren't mad at me?"
"I could never be mad at you, Ari. I mistakenly took out my anger on you but I was never angry with you."
I blew out a sigh of relief. He released my hand and placed his arm around my shoulders. He pressed me firmly against his side. He quickly stopped us to give me a swift kiss on my lips before allowing us to start walking again.
"I want you fully moved into the Alpha bedroom by tomorrow morning."
A big smile shone through my face. This was exactly what having a mate was supposed to be like.
"The Alpha meeting is in two days," I reminded him.
"I know. I am going to be properly introduced as our pack Alpha."
"What do you think will happen with the Hollows?" I asked in genuine curiosity.
"I am going to offer them a place in our pack. After all, it is technically my right to be their Alpha."
"Do you think the other Alphas will go for it?"
"We will see. Don't worry about it right now. All I want you to worry about tonight is getting you home and into my bed," he growled in his deep, sexy voice before he nipped at my neck.
I glanced over at the forest clearing that was at the edge of the village. I made sure he followed where I was looking. He grinned when he caught on.
"I will race you home."
My hand lightly trailed up his chest. He shuddered under my touch. I rubbed my whole entire body on him as I leaned forward. My lips brushed against his earlobe and I nibbled on it a little.
"I will meet you in our bed."
He stiffened under my hold when I rubbed my body back down and leaned away from him. I bit my bottom lip back to stifle my laughter at his reaction. I turned around and ran into the forest.