Arcane Attraction

C H A P T E R 5 - Aurora.

                “Well, well, well… If this isn’t the surprise of the century. Definitely wasn’t what I was expecting to see when I got out of bed this morning.”

I didn’t need to turn around to know who it was, for during all these years, his attitude hadn’t changed at all. One would have hoped that all of these years would have made him happier, less bitter, that a mate and a handful of babies would have done the trick to cheer him up.

But no.

Alaric had been as unlucky in love as I had been, losing both his mate, as well as his unborn child during the first few hours of labour. It had been a devastating event, one that the entire continent had mourned, for his child would have been the heir to the throne, as I hadn’t had one.

It had been the death of his mate and his child that had brought him back to the palace, made him worm himself back into a life that he had believed that I had stolen from him.

                “Alaric.”

I knew that there would be no need for any further greeting from my side, for we knew where we stood with one another, knew what and where the limits were.

                “It’s not Sunday. Why are you here? And without any of your lapdogs following you?”

I shook my head, still not looking up to see where he was, since I was still able to hear perfectly well where he was. And he wasn’t nearly close enough for me to be worrying about his presence yet. But I would do so when the time called for it.

                “Sundays aren’t the only days that I need to think.”

                “They’re the only days that you’re capable of thinking, so I think that you’re wasting your time.”

                “Alaric. I would appreciate it if you remained silent for now. It’s not everyday that I come to the gardens, whereas you live here. Grant me some peace, thank you.”

I could have sworn that I felt the energy in the air shift when I realised that he had come closer to me, that there wasn’t as much distance between the two of us as I had originally thought that there would be.

                “You call it a garden, as if that somehow makes you forget that it’s a graveyard.”

I clenched my jaw, wondering why I hadn’t predicted that he would say something like this—after all, it was in his nature to taunt me like this, reminding me of everything that I had spent an entire lifetime trying to forget.

                “A few graves doesn’t turn this into a graveyard.”

                “And a few flowers doesn’t turn this into a garden.”

I shook my head, finally allowing myself to look up, to look at the man whom I should have been able to return home to, to see him as my brother, my protector. And instead, I had grown up without knowing of his existence, and then I had grown old without sharing any type of bond with him.

                “Perhaps not. But with or without the graves of our loved ones, this place stays beautiful.”

                “That must be easy for you to say, considering that you had no loved ones.”

I laughed then, taking his comment for what I viewed it as—a joke. And that was all that it should have been. A joke, one that had been made with the intention of hurting me, of making me feel bad, but I refused to raise to the bait.

I had grown accustomed to the ways of Alaric, grown accustomed with how to deal with them—but that didn’t make me any better when I retaliated.

                “Have you gotten used to having so many family members in here, or are you still adjusting?”

My eyes dropped downwards, watching as the bundle of white roses dropped to the ground, the bouquet losing most of its shape once it made contact with the ground. I knew that my comment had had the effect that I was hoping it would have, but oddly enough it didn’t make me feel any better.

Despite being much older than I was, my brother was in a much healthier state that I was—I guess he could thank the active life that he had led after I had taken over as Queen. Sitting on a throne the entire day tended to have negative effects on ones body.

I knew that I would be bound to die ages before he ever starting to feel the effects of his age, but knowing it was much easier than accepting it was.

                “It feels like home.”

I could tell that it pained him greatly to say the words, and therefore I decided not to comment again, not to snap at him. We had both done one another enough damage, and more would just be cutting the slices of the cake finer than it needed to be.

We stood in silence for a few more minutes, neither of us looking at one another, and neither of us making a move to go closer to the headstones, either. It was as if both of us were comfortable with keeping this much distance between them and ourselves—the only sign that we were even here for them, was the discarded bouquet on the floor.

                “Will you be joining me for dinner tonight, or would you prefer to dine alone?”

                “You should know by now that I wouldn’t do such a thing. Have you lost your mind? No, thank you. I’d rather dine alone before I dine with the likes of you.”

                “I thought that perhaps, you would have been willing to make an exception this once, as Marcel has found his mate, and I intend to host her for dinner.”

I knew that if he hadn’t already dropped the flowers, he would have done so now, for the expression on his face told me exactly how shocked he was by the development that I had just informed him of. All of us had started to give up hope on Marcel ever succeeding in finding a mate—some of the other Alpha’s had even gone as far as to speculate that he had already met her and rejected her.

                “You shouldn’t be making some ill-humoured comments, Aurora. You were taught to know better than to do such a thing.”

And there he went again, reminding me of what I did and didn’t do wrong. He always did this, without fail, in a manner that resembled that of Marcels’. It was no wonder that the two of them got along so well—they must have bonded over their mutual dislike of me.

                “I remember, Alaric, but I assure you that that was no joke. I’ve never been more serious in my life. Marcel has officially found his mate. He admitted it to me himself.”

                “But how would that even be possible? When did this happen? Which pack is she from? And how on earth did you manage to convince Marcel to stay for dinner? He’s never accepted any of your offers before.”

I couldn’t do anything other than to shake my head, taking a deep breath in as I wondered how something as simple as finding a mate could get him this excited. I allowed myself to focus on something other than Marcel and Hera, focusing instead on the warmth that was slowly spreading through my body as it soaked up the sunlight. It felt like it had been forever since I had had the pleasure of coming out here, and even longer than that since I’ve been able to enjoy the scenery without an interruption.

                “I believe that it happened earlier today, but I may be wrong. I summoned him in regards to the accusation of treason that he now has against his name.”

                “You know that I don’t care what he was accused of or how you handled it, Aurora. What I’m interested in, is the fact that he’s finally found his mate. Tell me about her. How did he meet her? Did he make a stop at one of the packs that he passed? Explain.”

I could literally feel the excitement radiate off of him, see the way that he was struggling to stand still. It was as obvious as the rising sun, that he was dying to know who this girl was, dying to know whether she was someone whom he already had the honour of meeting. And I knew that he was dying to know how I had come to be in possession of such valuable information before he did. But I knew that I wouldn’t be able to answer any of his questions, and I wasn’t yet sure how I was going to explain myself out of having to do it.

In all honesty, I didn’t even know how I was supposed to tell him that she wasn’t the daughter of a Beta or an Alpha, the way that all of us had been expecting her to be—I didn’t know how I was supposed to tell him that she was a human. And unlike the rest of the world, I couldn’t fool him into seeing her value, because he knew that the only humans who ever agreed to work beneath us, were those who had no other choice but to do so.

Most of them would rather die than see themselves working for a creature from the ‘Westlands’, which was what they referred to our continent as.

                “I haven’t yet had the opportunity to question her so thoroughly regarding any of that, as she’s been resting for most of the day. Upon arriving, she had a collision with the front doors. I had chambers prepared for her so that she could feel at home while she recovers from the shock of it. But you’re welcome to ask her all of these questions yourself, should you choose to come to dinner.”

I found it a lot easier to twist the truth than I had originally thought, for it was nothing compared to having to lie from scratch. And in a situation as fragile as this one, I knew that telling half-truths, would be a lot easier to explain than telling an entire lie.

                “You’ve managed to convince me. Marcel has always been like a son to me, and I look forward to being introduced to the girl. I just know that she’s going to blow us away. The Moon Goddess wouldn’t have paired Marcel with just anyone…”

                “I can already tell that she’s more than just anyone…”