His One and Only Mate

Chapter 6

The party went off without a hitch. Dancing, laughter… making friends. It was a perfect night….

..for Micah.

Me? Not so much. Not only with my conflicting emotions, the only kids worth talking to were too nervous to talk back, and kept using formalities- calling me princess, and even ma’am! It got old pretty fast. And anytime I went up to Acker, Maddie, or heck, even Reggie, they all turned me away and told me to have fun.

But I can’t. Everything in my head feels so scrambled.

For the past two hours, I’ve made three pit stops to the food bar, danced with Micah and Acker, and spent the rest of the time half socializing and half wondering when I’m allowed to go. I’ve noticed several times the group of kids with the alcohol, sneakily passing a flask around as if that made them cool. And, of course, Caden was there too, sharing swigs. I watched him with disappointment as he took his fill, barely engaging with them and staring into nothingness. He hasn’t even tried looking for me to make an apology, and that hurts even worse.

I look over to the guys again, but he isn’t around them this time. Probably went to bed early with how much he was drinking.

“I know you hate parties, but can you just act like you’re having fun...” I turn to Micah whose face is flushed with excitement, until he sees my face. “What’s wrong?”

I don’t want to take his spotlight away with my issues. It would just make me feel worse. “Nothing, I’m just tired.” Behind his shoulder, I see the blonde that makes him blush standing to the side, watching her friends dance with some boys. “Millie looks lonely… why don’t you ask her to dance?” I nod in her direction, and Micah follows my gaze, his ears already turning red.

“I don’t know…” he says quietly, then turns back to me. “You sure you’re okay?”

I put on a small smile. “Yea.. I’m going to step out for some air, and when I come back, I’ll be all smiles. I promise. Go…. Go ask her to dance before that James kid does.” With the brief interaction I had with her earlier, I know she wouldn’t accept, but James has been persistent with most of the girls here.

I watch Micah take steady steps towards Millie, and I smile when I see her happy to accept his dance. I’m really glad he’s having a good time and making new friends.

With the excuse of going to the bathroom, I slip out and head towards the library. With the party going on, it should be completely empty. My love for books probably comes from my witch side, giving me a eidetic memory, so I know I will get some sense of peace there, surrounded by something that gives me joy.

The halls are quiet with soft lighting as I leave the bright, loud party behind me. My small heels click against the flooring and the heaviness of all that’s happened today starts to set in. As soon as I reach the library, the smell of old books greets me like an old friend and takes the edge off my brain, slightly. I close the door behind me and lean back, toeing off my shoes and enjoying this moment of silence.

It’s completely dark, save for the stained-glass windows on the second floor, giving the large room faint lighting from the moonlight. Perfect mood setting for self reflection.

“Shhh….” My head jerks in the direction of the girlish laughter that followed.

There’s people in here? Great. I go to put my shoes on, trying to think of another place to go, but another mumbled voice stops me dead in my tracks.

“-op. wrets go bawk.”

Caden?

I hear a thump and a book falls down to the ground. I swallow and follow the noises. The giggling becomes insistent the closer I get to the tucked in bookshelves in the corner. My heart feels like it’s going a million miles a minute, especially when I see their silhouettes come into view. They’re so close together. “Ca-Caden?” My voice barely goes through.

I use my magic to light the candles in the sconces on the walls. A gasp leaves my mouth as something inside my chest snaps. Caden squints his eyes from the light, but when his drunk face focuses on me, they widen. I can’t even focus on the girl on her knees, hands undoing his belt with his hands on top. Lipstick covers his mouth, neck and face, proving to me the deception he’s caused.

“Alina, wait!” I turn around running, with the tears already pouring down my face. “Get off! Alina! s**t!!”

By the time I burst the doors open, a sob escapes, and I hear glass shatter, followed by screams.

“ALINA!”

I run through the darkened castle as fast as my feet will take me. Windows break in the hall that I’m on, pulling a sob/scream out of me, and I cover up my face for protection. But it doesn’t make me stop. When glass slices through my feet, I don’t even recognize the pain. Nothing hurts as much as my heart and head.

I can’t breathe as the sobs continue uncontrollably. Wind picks up outside and I can already feel the burn of lightning strikes on ground from outside as the thunder echoes in the sky.

“ALINA, PLEASE!!!”

I throw a burst of magic behind me without thinking, and continue running. Why? WHY would he do this?!! I close off my scent, but he knows all my hiding places, and that increases the dread I feel even more. Plus, I’m sure I’m leaving bloody footprints everywhere. I’m borderline hyperventilating.

“Alina?!” This time, I look ahead of me, seeing Tink with a small light in her hands. “Ohmy goddess, Alina, are you okay?!”

I run into her full force, embracing her with a hug as sobs run out of me. “TAKE ME TO YOUR HOUSE TINK! PLEASE! I CA- I CAN’T TAKE IT!” Immediately she sifts us to her bungalow on our property. She rushes me to her bed as I concave on myself, feeling the magic pulsing through my body like it did when I was younger. It hurts! It hurts all over! My brain, my heart, my skin. “I CAN’T!” I sob out. I cry into the blanket, feeling so overwhelmed as that image plays over and over in my head. I can’t breathe as I feel the strain in my head. My eyes burn looking at the room through blurry tears, and I convulse as another wave of magic releases, making Tink’s house groan from the pressure.

“Shh, shh, shhh… I got you baby.” I cry even harder as mom’s arms surround me from behind, molding my body with hers. “Close your eyes. Go inside your mind,” she softly commands. As I shake my head because I just can’t think anymore, I feel the warmth of her glow. “Come on, baby. You can do it.” I can hear the wobble in her voice, but she’s strong… unlike me. It feels like it takes forever between the silent screams and sobs coming out of me, but I finally manage to close my eyes. “That’s a good girl. Now build your space. Don’t focus on the pain. Just your room...”

I’m standing on a cold concrete floor with a spotlight over my head. Images rush past me… too fast to keep up and I get dizzy alone trying to decipher them. I hear strangled crying, but….. that’s just me. I realize I’m in my mind, a place I haven’t had to go to since I went to Queen Margery’s when my magic was out of control. The images stop buzzing around me and start to stack up around me, building higher and higher, forcing me to stare at everything wrong in my life.

“You are in control, Alina.” My mother’s voice sounds so far away. “Whatever you want to channel away, put it away. You will always have the key. I can feel your hurt, honey. Lock it up for now until you’re ready to face it.”

Another sob escapes from my physical form as I build a room around me in my mind. I step out, and turn around seeing a large ornate wooden door, and looking down into my hand is an old skeleton key. Immediately, the images rush into the room, zipping past me fast enough to create a draft.

“That’s it, baby. Take a breath.”

“It’s hard,” I cry softly, seeing another image that reminds me of why I’m in pain. I feel mom’s hand slide into mine. Not only is she transferring some power to me, but she is also sharing my memories to ease the burden.

“Oh, Alina….” I faintly hear her say. Her presence in my mind strengthens me, and I continue to lock everything away.

I feel my body calm down, and the exhaustion pain settles in. My face hurts and feels swollen, and I know my voice is hoarse. I’m still torn up, but it’s more manageable now. I step up to the door and turn the key to lock it up, and everything disappears.

Mom smooths down my hair and I sink into the pillow, wishing the tears would stop leaking out. “Tell me a story, momma…” I can hear the crackling in the fireplace across the room. Tink must’ve started it after she got my mom in here.

Just as I open my mouth to ask her again, because I really need a distraction, I hear her exhale. “Your dad was so headstrong about your first word being ‘Da-da’, that he would repeat it 100x a day, just to make sure that he was your number one man.” I laugh even as more tears leak out of my eyes, because I know this story already, and where it’s headed. “Reggie was so sick of him, that every time he said ‘da-da’, he would purposely respond back with ‘Reg’ or ‘momma’. They even got into a fist fight over it one day. I don’t think I’ve seen you laugh so hard with the two grown men tumbling around….” Mom then transfers that memory into my head, and I let out a small laugh. “Then, one day, out of the blue, you were in your daddy’s arms when the boys burst into the nursery. You shocked everyone when you said-“

“Caden,” I whisper out, closing my eyes and feeling the sadness wash over me.

“Yes. I think you almost made your dad cry.” When I give no response, she loosens her hold on me, gets out of the bed, and rounds it to squat down so that we were almost eye level. Motherly concern is written on her face when I open my eyes as she cups my cheek. “Get some rest, Alina. Tomorrow is a new day and we can talk then, okay?”

My eyes close back on their own, feeling so exhausted… but I don’t want to talk about it tomorrow. I don’t want to talk about it at all. Mom may have been strong enough to deal with dad’s hurtful behaviors years ago, but I’m not built that way. The pain is too much and I don’t want to relive that pain ever again.

Mom and Tink tend to me for the rest of the night, silently talking among themselves while I rest. I don’t want tomorrow to come, because when it does, I just might have to face the reality of not being wanted by my mate… and I just… can’t.