Chapter 47
Owen stood his ground and watched the tears roll down Mavi's face. Her shoulders shook as she sobbed helplessly in front of him.
The pressure in Owen's head slowly reached a boiling point as he watched Mavi. Every breath he took reminded him of his helplessness.
He wasn't there......he wasn't there for her.
A deafening ringing in Owen's ears was the only thing he could hear. Like a stretched rubber band, he felt something snap in his mind.....and then he was off. He knew exactly where he had to go.
Mavi struggled to breath through her tears as she watched Owen storm out of the room. Gemma reached out to stop her from following after him, but Mavi wouldn't listen.
"Owen!" Mavi called out to him as she followed him down the palace halls.
Alec ran after Mavi and his brother, feeling like the world's biggest idiot.
"Owen, stop!" Mavi pleaded as Owen quickened his pace and stormed down the stairs.
Mardick stepped out of his office as the three rushed past. He looked at Mavi with worry and wondered what was the matter. He had never seen her so panicked.
"Owen!" Alec tried. "Where are you going?"
Without answering, Owen rounded the corner and went down the corridor that led to the dungeon.
Mavi broke out into a run after her mate and grabbed his arm, "Owen! Stop!"
When Owen pulled his arm away and continued on his path, Mavi felt as if she might break all over again. With Alec on her heels, they followed Owen down to the dungeon.
"What are you doing?" Mavi asked breathlessly as she watched him open Arion's cell.
The next several seconds were absolute chaos. Mavi screamed as Owen grabbed Arion and threw him against the wall. The old man in a ten year old's body looked up at Owen with a mocking smile.
"I wanted her dead.....but it seems I managed to kill someone else instead," Arion laughed.
Owen grabbed him again and pulled his arm back to deliver a punch to the prick's face.
"Alec, stop him!" Mavi yelled for help.
Alec rushed forward and caught Owen's punch. He pushed his brother away from Arion and stood in between them.
"Get out of my way," Owen growled.
"Owen, calm down," Alec said, holding up his hand as if he was talking to a wild animal.
"Move, Alec!" Owen shouted.
"No," Mavi shouted back. "Owen stop, please!"
Arion laughed in the background, making the situation worse.
"I'm going to kill him," Owen lunged forward over Alec.
Mavi screamed again, "Owen!"
"Stop this!" Alec said, struggling to hold Owen back away from Arion. "Look at Mavi. Look at her."
Alec tried his best to divert his brother's attention to the girl hysterically crying behind them.
"You want to waste your time with this fucker right now, or you want to go hold her?" Alec asked. "She needs you more right now."
As Mavi listened to Alec's words she found herself walking backwards until her back hit the walls behind her. Her legs wobbled as she began to sink to the ground. Her arms wrapped around her midsection as she tried to hold herself together.
After a few more seconds of struggling, Owen finally turned his head towards Mavi sitting on the floor. He couldn't think straight. The anger, the frustration, the pain.....it was all too much to bare all at once. But as he looked at Mavi crying with her face in her hands, he felt himself spiral down another rabbit hole.
"Get her out of here," Alec said. "His words have already caused her enough pain."
Owen turned back to look at Arion once more. When he growled, Arion smirked.
"How much do you think they pay for two dead dragons?"
As soon as the words left Arion's mouth, Alec's fist flew through the air. He clocked the kid in the jaw and threw him against the wall.
Owen saw red in his vision. He could tear the boy apart limb by limb. But he had a bigger challenge to deal with.
"Go," Alec said when Owen looked at him.
With a death glare at Arion, Owen turned and walked over to Mavi. Without a word he picked her up in his arms and carried her out of the dungeon. Mavi threw her arms around his neck and hid her face in his shoulder as he moved through the halls.
Owen felt her tear soaked cheeks against his skin, making his wolf claw at his insides. When he walked into their room, he took Mavi straight over to the bed and sat her down.
She kept her eyes on the floor as she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle her sobs. Owen kneeled in front of her and placed his hands on either side of her on the bed. He stared at her face, opening and closing his mouth, nothing knowing what to say.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He finally asked after an eternity.
The question made Mavi sob harder. When she tried to cover her face, Owen stopped her and held her hands down on her lap under his.
"Tell me," he begged. "All this time......all this time you've been carrying around this weight on your own......why, Mavi?"
"I....." Mavi started but stopped. She hated herself for not being able to get the words out.
"I'm so sorry, love," Owen choked up. Mavi's eyes snapped up and found tears in his eyes. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there......I should have been there."
Mavi shook her head as she saw the tears fall down Owen's face. She began to sob harder as he placed his head on her lap and cried.
"I was scared," Mavi finally managed to say.
Owen picked up his head at once and searched Mavi's eyes.
"I was so scared that you were going to be mad at me," Mavi confessed. "I....I didn't know about.....I didn't know, Owen. I would have never gone that night if I knew. I'm so sorry, this is all my fault."
"No," Owen shook his head. "Stop, please. This is not your fault."
Mavi dropped her gaze and covered her mouth.
"I could never be mad at you, princess," Owen said. He cupped her face and forced her to look at him. "This is no one's fault. It happened to both of us."
His words made all the unspoken words in Mavi rise to the surface. In his arms she felt as if she was safe and could finally let out her anger and fear.
"We lost our baby," Mavi let the words out. She had been holding them back for so long, too scared to even admit it to herself.
As she cried, Owen laid her back on the bed and laid down next to her. He pulled her into his arms and buried his face in the crook of her neck. He cried silently as Mavi broke into loud sobs.
"I didn't even know," Mavi cried, turning her head. Owen lowered his lips to her forehead. "How did I not know?"
"It's not your fault," Owen said again.
Mavi turned in his arms and pulled him closer. She looped her arms around his neck and moved closer. She needed him to feel grounded and whole.
"Tell me how to make this better," Owen said. "Please, how do I make this better. It's killing me."
Mavi didn't have an answer for him. She stayed still in his arms and cried. Owen did the same.
They didn't have any words between them to make each other feel better. There was nothing to be said. All they could do was hold each other and remind each other how much they loved one another.
Mavi cried and cried for her baby as Owen held her against his aching heart. She knew he was hurting just as bad. She prayed they both made it out alive through the dark storm over them.
This chapter was hard to write :/ I kept it short intentionally b/c I didn't want to overcrowd their difficult moment :(
Hope you like it <3