Chapter 22
Eden spent the remaining of her morning with Asher in the library. He convinced her she didn't need to go to her afternoon classes since they would only be talking about the syllabus and not any actual materials.
Eden was so lost in her thought, she didn't put up much of a fight. Her mind was too busy thinking about Alec.
Was Jackson right? Was this how Alec was going to behave with her in public? Maybe he was upset with her father for making her move out of the palace, but that didn't give him any right to embarrass her in front of those girls like that.
"Don't think so hard," Asher tugged at one of Eden's blonde strands playfully. "You'll get wrinkles."
Eden rolled her eyes, "Oh no, what a shame that would be."
"Care to share what you were thinking about?"
"Not really," Eden looked down at the grass they sat on. It was a beautiful September day. The last few seconds of summer before fall colored the air.
"You were always so in your head," Asher commented.
"You noticed?" Eden raised a brow.
"Of course I did," Asher said. He looked ahead at the lawn full of students warming up under the sun. Some of the werewolves played football while a group of witches practiced their spells nearby. Under the shade of a large oak tree three vampire students sat with parasols and oversized sunglasses sipping their smoothie in their large mugs. At least Eden hoped it was smoothie.
"You used to always zone out in class," Asher continued. "And in the halls you always ran into people's open locker doors."
"You noticed that?" Eden asked, slightly embarrassed.
Asher nodded chuckling, "I always wondered what you were thinking."
"Honestly," Eden took a deep breath. "About giraffes."
"What?"
"Humans think werewolves, unicorns, fairies, and witches are all fictional.....yet they accept the giraffe as an ordinary part of nature. How...."
"To them seeing is believing I guess," Asher picked up the half eaten apple and twirled it in his hand. "So all that time you were thinking about giraffes?"
"No," Eden laughed. "Not the whole time. I thought about other things too."
"Did you ever think about me?"
"Why do you ask?" Eden turned to him and smiled.
Asher shrugged, "I don't know....I always thought about you in high school. I'm just curious."
"Was this before we dated or after?"
"A little bit of both,"
Eden leaned forward and looked into Asher's eyes, "Are you obsessed with me?"
"You wish," Asher laughed.
"Am I going to walk into your room and find your walls filled with my photos and my missing hairbands?" Eden teased.
"Not my room, but my heart," Asher placed a hand over his heart and gave Eden a wink.
Just then, a shadow fell over the two, blocking out the warm sunlight. Eden squinted as she looked up at the figure.
"You have training with Gemma today, correct?" Alec asked as he looked down at Eden and Asher.
"Yes," Eden nodded.
"I'll drop you off," Alec said.
"That's okay," Eden frowned. "Rose is picking me up."
"Call her and tell her there is no need to make a double trip like that, I'm headed to the palace, I'll take you along."
Eden hesitated as she gazed up at him. She could see the hint of irritation behind his green eyes as he waited for her to answer. His behavior from earlier made her want to throw his offer down the drain, but her heart wouldn't cooperate. It begged to be near him.
"Eden?" Alec called her when she didn't answer.
Eden shook her head as she reached for her bag, "I'll see you tomorrow, Asher."
"Want me to pick you up?" Asher asked as he watched her pack. "I know Jackson leaves pretty early."
"You know what time my dad goes to work?" Eden turned to look at him. "This isn't looking good for you. If I go missing all the evidence will point to you."
"Yes, yes," Asher waved his hand. "I'll kidnap you and keep you locked up in my basement."
"You better have my name tattooed across your chest," Eden laughed. "And then maybe Stockholm syndrome will kick in and I will fall madly in love with my stalker and kidnapper."
"You have it all plans out, don't you?" Asher laughed.
"Pretty much," Eden nodded.
"Any day now, Ms. Heywood," Alec said from where he stood.
Asher and Eden turned to him in unison as Alec frowned. Asher rose to his feet and then pulled Eden up. Alec watched as the boy pulled his mate into his arms.
"I'll pick you up tomorrow," Asher said to Eden.
"Okay," Eden nodded. She flashed him a smile before Alec led him towards his car. She followed silently as he opened the passenger door for her and then went around to the driver side. As Alec pulled out of the parking lot, Eden pulled out her new phone and dialed Rose's number.
After a brief explanation, Eden hung up and pushed the phone back in her bag. She felt Alec glance up at her in the rearview mirror but she didn't look up. Her brown eyes stayed glued on the zipper of her bag as if it was the most fascinating thing ever.
"Eden," Alec said after a while. "We need to talk."
A few seconds passed and Eden showed no sign that she heard what Alec said.
"Did you hear me?" Alec tried to catch her attention again. "Eden?"
"Uh?" She finally turned her head. "I'm sorry were you talking to me?"
"Who else would I be talking to?"
"I didn't realize it was me," Eden laughed. "You said Eden and not Ms. Heywood."
Alec took a deep breath and released it slowly as he counted to ten in his mind.
"I'm sorry," He said, turning to look at her. "I can explain."
"I'm sure you can."
"Grace knows about us,"
Eden whirled around in her seat as her eyes widened, "You told her?"
"No, I didn't tell her anything," Alec said. "She figured it out."
"She knows I'm your mate?"
"No."
"Then?"
"She thinks you and I are having an affair."
"Oh no," Eden groaned. "I'm bringing dishonor upon my whole family."
"She wants me to stay away from you," Alec said as his eyes jumped between Eden and the road.
"I don't blame her," Eden rolled her eyes. "If I was her and thought my baby daddy was having an affair I would want you to stay away from me too."
Alec rubbed his jaw as he gripped the steering wheel. From the corner of his eyes he saw Eden reach out and place a hand on his leg.
"Tell her the truth," She said quietly.
"I can't," Alec shook his head.
"Why not? She already knows we're involved."
"She went crazy last night," Alec sighed. "She threatened me by saying she would have an abortion if I didn't end things with you."
Eden gasped as she processed the information, "How....what.....that's terrible."
"She doesn't even want to hear your name...... I don't know how she will react when I tell her you are my mate."
Eden felt her insides turn as she sat still in the car seat. She felt the anxiety in her mate mix in with her own. Her heart felt as if it weighed a ton.
"You have to pick the baby," she said slowly.
"What?" Alec turned to look at her. He pulled the car over to the side of the road and killed the engine.
"The baby is innocent," Eden sighed. "It shouldn't have to pay the price for our complicated relationship."
"Eden...." Alec started.
"And beside, it's only for a few months, right?" Eden tried to smile but failed. "This will all be over when the baby is born and is safe."
As Eden spoke, Alec looked away. He stared at the road ahead as he ran his finger along his bottom lip. Like a sinking ship, Eden's stomach dropped to her feet as she stared at his face.
"What?" She asked. "What are you not telling me?"
Alec shook his head as he tried to look away. Eden grabbed his face and turned him to look at her.
"Tell me," she demanded.
"Grace wants to get married before the baby arrives," Alec said slowly.
Eden felt as if the skies above her head came crashing down upon her. Her ears began to ring loudly as she struggled to breath.
"Eden," Alec grew worried as she began to hyperventilate. "Take deep breaths."
"I....I want to go home," Eden managed to say.
"Okay, but breath first, here like this," Alec guided Eden's head in between her knees. "Take a deep breath and let it out slowly."
Eden followed his words through the ringing in her ear. She felt his hand on her back of her neck as tingles started to rise up.
The speakers sent her down a spiral as she began to weep. She pushed Alec's arm away as the interior of the car began to close in around her. Desperately, she flung the car door open and ran out into the empty road.
Alec followed her out of the car. The road was completely empty. The woods on either side were like painted green walls. It was easily to forget others existed when they were alone in the silence.
Alec walked behind Eden as she aimlessly paced around. He didn't know if he should hold her or let her be.
"This isn't fair," Eden said after a while. She turned to look at Alec with tears running down her face. "We are supposed to be together. You're my soulmate.....how many people actually find their soulmate? Why is this happening to us?"
Alec stood defeated as Eden waited for an answer. He wanted to find the moment in his life where everything had started to go wrong and just erase it out of existence.
"I'm sorry," was all Alec could say as Eden covered her face and cried.
"You....you're going to marry her?" Eden asked.
Alec flinched at the way Eden's voice cracked.
"I....I can't be around for that," Eden shook her head. "No way! I won't be able to hold myself back from saying something at church."
"I'm trying to think of another way," Alec said. "I don't want to marry her."
"You did at one point," Eden suddenly felt angry. "You asked her to marry you."
"That was before I knew you were my mate,"
"I don't get it," Eden pulled at her hair. "I don't understand you at all."
"What? What don't you get?" Alec asked.
"I've been racking my brain trying to understand you but I can't," Eden said frustrated. "Why did you ask her to marry you if you were still taking Gemma's potions?"
Alec's shoulders dropped. He knew this question would come up.
"Why even date Grace if you knew there was a possibility Gemma would have broken the spell?" Eden asked.
"Can we talk about this inside?" Alec pointed to the car. "Please?"
Eden didn't want to go back inside. She needed the air to keep her mind running, but the pleading in Alec's eyes pulled her to him. She let Alec open the door for her as she climbed in. He walked around and slammed the door shut behind him as he climbed inside.
"There are issues in the glovebox on your side," he told her.
"Thanks," Eden sniffled.
The car was quiet as Eden reached inside and pulled out some tissues. Alec waited until her tears were wiped to start.
"I wasn't dating anyone when we first started the potions," he said slowly. "I was very excited in the beginning. I saw Owen with Mavi and for the first time in a while, I thought about having a family too. But of course the potions didn't work. Year after year it was a failure."
"Why did you keep trying?" Eden asked. "Why not let another guard take over?"
"The potions weren't always pleasant," Alec said. "There were times I needed to get my stomach pumped or I would have died."
Eden's eyes widened as she gasped.
"I'm the head queen's guard. It is my job to protect by division," Alec said. "I wasn't going to let one of them suffer when I could bare the pain."
"When did..." Eden swallowed the lump in her throat. "When did you and Grace...."
"We met a year ago," Alec sighed. "She had recently graduated from Queen's guard training and came to work at the palace. I knew she was interested in me, but I never liked getting involved with people I worked with."
"What happened?"
"A few weeks after Grace came to work for me, I was in New York," Alec's head hung as he recalled. "I ran into my ex, Avni."
"She was the one...." Eden connected the dots.
"Yeah," Alec nodded. "She was the mother of my first child."
"What happened?"
"I saw her at an event. She came up to say hi and I saw that....she was....she....."
Alec struggled to finish.
Eden reached out and took his hand into her hand. Alec felt his body release a fraction of the tension running through his system.
"Avni was pregnant," Alec finished. "She got married last year and was expecting a baby with her mate."
Eden frowned. She knew how much Alec wanted a child. Seeing his ex must not have been so easy. She pulled his hand closer and placed a kiss upon his knuckles.
"I saw her and I started to feel as if....." Alec shook his head. "As if I was living in the past. I was going nowhere. I wanted a family and kids, but I was just sitting around on Gemma's stool waiting for her to fix me a cure. I thought I should be doing something."
Eden's heart broke from his words. She placed another kiss upon his hand as he continued.
"When I came back, I decided to accept Grace's invite to dinner. I didn't know what I was expecting. I think I was just looking to make a connection. I was desperate to make myself happy."
Alec turned to look at Eden, "I thought I would be happy by filling the empty spaces in my heart with just anyone."
Eden felt her eyes water, "Why did you continue with the potion?"
Alec sighed, "Grace didn't want me to stop."
"What?" Eden asked, surprised.
"She's very conscious about her image," Alec said. "She didn't want Gemma to think I quit because of her....so she urged me to continue."
"Even though she knew there was a chance the potion might work and you might find me?"
"Yeah...." Alec said. "There wasn't a big chance. We had been trying for over three years."
"And yet, here I am," Eden whispered.
The corner of Alec's lips turned up into a half smile, "Yet, here you are."
The inside of the car grew silent as the two lovers sat back and listened to the wind outside. Their broken hearts rattled in their bodies like shattered glass. For a while, no one spoke. A few cars drove past them as the afternoon sun moved across the sky.
"So what now?" Eden asked. "What do we do?"
"I wish I had an answer," Alec sighed.
"Why does it feel like we're breaking up?"
"Is a break up supposed to hurt this much?"
"I don't think I can do this," Eden shook her head.
"We have to try," Alec squeezed Eden's hand.
"Why does it have to be like this? We were meant to be with each other, should it be easy?"
"Sometimes we find the right people, at the wrong times," Alec looked away.
"Why?" Eden asked in frustration.
Alec turned to her with his sad eyes. Without thinking, Eden climbed over the seat and into his lap. Alec wrapped his arms around her without hesitation and pulled her closer.
"I can't stay away from you," Eden whispered.
"Eden -"
"No," Eden shook her head. "I don't care how it has to be. Even if I have to be the other woman."
"No," Alec said sternly. "That's not going to happen."
"Then are you breaking up with me?"
Alec took a deep breath, "Your father is right. You deserve to be loved in the light of day. I can not give you that."
"You think you can stay away from me?" Eden pulled back.
"Eden, don't be silly right now."
"No, you are being silly," Eden moved back to her seat. "What are you proposing? That we break up and you marry Grace and start a family with her and act like you are not meant to be with me?"
Alec said quiet as he rested one hand over the steering wheel. His silence spoke a million words as Eden watched him.
"Take me home," Eden said after a long pause.
They drove to Eden's new home in silence. In the passenger seat, Eden's frustration, fear and heartbreak morphed into anger.
When the car came to a stop outside the gates of the house, Eden turned to look at Alec.
"You're funny if you think I will let you break my heart that easily."
What would you do if you were Eden?