Chapter 36 Trust & Honesty
3296 Words
[Stella’s POV]
Then the moment ended, as the door was opened, and both me and Armaros turned to the door to see my dad.
“Armaros, I heard what happened from Cathrine, so I came as soon as I could. How is she?” my dad spoke, but when he saw I was awake he walked up to the bed.
“Thank the Moon Goddess that you’re awake, I’m so sorry, we should never have pushed you to go back to school, honey, I didn’t think this would happen,” He apologized, as Armaros had moved himself from the bed, before my dad had sat down next to me, and took my hands.
“I’m fine, dad, I’m just a little sore, but I’ll be alright,” I replied.
My dad looked at me with a worried expression, before he then looked at Armaros.
“What exactly happened?” He proceeded to ask.
“Damon seems to have found something he can use against Stella, that’s what she was attacked with.. It seems to be some kind of stone, but we don’t really know what kind it is, and it probably won’t be an easy task to find out, when we don’t have something to compare with.” Armaros explained, as my dad knitted his eyebrows.
“A stone?” He repeated, before turning back to me, making me nod.
“It’s true, it was some kind of black stone. I have never seen anything like it before,” I spoke.
“Okay, maybe you will be able to recognize it if we find something similar to it?” My dad added, as he was tapping a finger on his chin, while I responded with a hesitant nod.
“I think so,” I replied.
“Okay, I’ll talk to the others and make some arrangements to see what we can figure out,” He then gave me a hug, before rising from his seat.
[..]
“Did you find anything new about those witches who disappeared?” Armaros then asked Chase, as he shook his head.
“No, we were out there all day and there were no leads at all,” he sighed, while Armaros nodded with a thoughtful look.
“Okay, I do believe these stones are connected to the reason Damon is gathering more witches,” Armaros continued, while Chase listened, but then something suddenly caught Chase’s attention, when his eyes moved to Armaros' hand, which made him frown.
“What happened to your hand?” He asked suspiciously. Stella turned to Armaros as well, as she looked at it, and she saw his knuckles were clearly covered with some small scratches, though they were almost healed.
“It’s nothing, I just had an incident, nothing major.” He dismissed, as he put his hand on his back, only making Chase more suspicious about it.
“It doesn’t seem like nothing to me,” Chase stated, as he crossed his arms.
“I don’t wanna talk about it right now, and I’m sure, Charlie and Landon will have no problem telling you all about it,” Armaros snarled.
“Then maybe I’ll talk to them, if you can’t,” Chase shot back.
“Yeah, I suggest you do that!” Armaros snapped, which only made Stella frustrated about their behavior.
“Will you two stop fighting! Why does it matter that he has some scratches on his hand? Just let it go, dad,” Stella begged, as both of them looked at her.
“Fine, I will let it go for now, but I can’t help you if you won’t talk to me about what’s going on, Armaros.” Chase spoke, as he looked at him, but he didn’t reply.
Then Chase sighed, before he walked out and left Stella and Armaros alone.
Stella was not sure what to say, she clearly knew something was bothering him, and she blamed herself for not noticing the scratches before her dad.
“Do you wanna talk with me about it?” Stella asked calmly, making Armaros look at her, but he just proceeded to shake his head.
“It’s not relevant right now, we should focus on making sure you are okay, not on me and my fights.”
“So you did fight with someone?” Stella asked.
“I did, but like I said, it’s no big deal.”
“You would tell me if it was, right?” Stella added, as he sat back down and kissed her cheek.
“I promise, just forget it, okay.” He spoke as Stella nodded.
“Okay, if you say so,” She spoke. She wasn’t going to nag him about it because he already had a lot on his plate, worrying about her was enough for him, so instead she decided to change the subject.
“May I ask you something else?” Stella asked Armaros, as he nodded.
“Are you angry with Jaze?” She questioned, as he looked at her, a little surprised by the question, but then again his face turned slightly irritated.
“Yes, I am,” he spoke, before looking straightforward.
“Why? I know he didn’t purposely want anything bad to happen,” Stella defended.
“I tried to trust him, and he broke that trust. I warned him about the possible risk of leaving you alone, and he still didn’t even listen to what I had said,” Armaros growled.
“Armaros, people make mistakes and Jaze didn’t mean any harm. I didn’t even think anything of it either, so it’s just as much my fault, as it is his,” she explained.
“I’m sorry Stella, but it’s not that easy for me, as it is for you..” Armaros explained, while he shook his head.
“The only person I fully trust in this world, is you.” He added, before he looked at her.
“I’m trying so hard, but it’s just not working for me,” he added, but then Stella placed her hand on top of his.
“You don’t have to trust him, just trust me, when I tell you that he made a mistake – I made a mistake.” Stella spoke, as she kept eye contact with him.
He didn’t say anything, so she decided to continue.
“I know you worry a lot, I can see it in your eyes and on your face,” Stella stated.
“How can I not? My question is; how are you able to be so calm about it after everything that has happened?” Armaros replied, as Stella shook her head, and leaned closer to him.
“I’m not, I’m just as scared as you are, but as long as I have you here with me, I feel safe,” Stella spoke, as he put his arm around her.
“I will always be here.” He spoke as he kissed her, sending a warm, tingly feeling through her body.
That made her place herself on his lap. He wasn’t prepared for her sudden act, but he didn’t say anything, while he just observed her every move, as she began to unbuckle his shirt.
For once, she allowed herself to explore the beautiful tattoos, by letting her fingers follow the patterns on his chest.
“What does these symbols mean?” Stella asked, as she tried to translate the foreign language written on his right chest.
“If you obey all the rules, you miss all the fun.” Armaros spoke, as Stella raised an eyebrow, while her lips tilted slightly.
“You can’t be serious?” She asked in disbelief, but he just tilted his head slightly to the side.
“Then what about this?” She asked as she placed her hand to another one close to his ribs.
“Always stay true, even if it hurts.” He spoke once again, without ever taking his eyes off her.
“Do you always live up to these words?” Stella asked, as he looked at her.
“I do. When I decide not to tell you certain things, it is not because I wanna lie to you, Stella, but because I know how much the truth could hurt you.
That’s why I just choose to stay silent, ‘cause I rather not say anything than ever lie to you. But if you ever ask me to, I will always tell you the truth, though I must warn you, the truth won’t be pretty.” He explained, as she found herself staring in to those gloomy red eyes of his holding so much care and warm, but at the same time, a lot of darkness.
Darkness, that she wasn’t even sure that she would be able to handle.
Would it even matter?
“I think.. I let the past be the past for now. I have no desire to know all the details of what you did back then, but I’m grateful you're giving me the opportunity to choose if I should ever wish to.” Stella spoke with a smile, which he returned, while he placed his hand on her cheek, making her gently brush her fingers over the scratches on his knuckles.
“But I am going to ask you about this.” She added, as he chuckled.
“Of course, I didn’t expect anything else.”
[..]
A few days passed, and Stella seemed to be perfectly healthy despite her reaction to the stones.
The effect of the stones didn’t seem to be permanent.
It wasn’t only her health that seemed to be fine, she was still able to shift and use her abilities as she used to, so she was back on her feet again after only a couple of days in bed.
Armaros had enjoyed spending a lot of time with Stella. She had been forced to stay home, until they were sure everything was fine.
But Armaros still had a hard time staying completely calm, he just couldn’t.
Not as long as he still had his father to worry about, and those wolves Nathan was surrounding himself with, made him wonder if they had any connection to Nathan’s father.
Some days, the thoughts got so bad that he almost couldn’t sleep.
“Shít, why does it have to be so hard to care about people?” Armaros hissed to himself, as he sat up in his bed.
He had never once been used to fretting that much about a potential threat before.
Probably because, back then, he didn’t have anything to lose.
“Are you talking to yourself again?” Stella asked, as he realized she was awake.
“Yeah, maybe, it’s just stupid things, you know..” he spoke, as he felt her place her hands around his naked chest, as she put her head on his shoulder, after leaving a small kiss on it.
“Well, I hope it’s about what we are going to tell my parents. I have no idea what to tell them about my reason for not showing up home last night. And I’m pretty sure they already figured out I haven’t been sleeping in my own bed tonight.” Stella teased, as Armaros started to chuckle, as he turned around and pushed her down to the bed.
“You are naked in a bed with your mate. Your dad will have to come to terms with the fact that you aren’t a child anymore, babygirl, so stop feeling like you have to excuse it all the time,” he grinned, as he placed himself on top of her, before he began leaving a trail of kisses down her neck, making her start to giggle. But then the door suddenly opened, and Charlie walked in.
“Armaros, Chase is asking for..”
He spoke, but as he realized what he had walked in to, he turned back around.
“For Moon Goddess' sake!” He blurred out, as a laugh went through the whole house.
“I tried to warn ya!” Dagon yelled out as everyone in the entire house clearly could hear him continuing to laugh.
“The hell you didn’t!” Charlie yelled back, as he was undoubtedly angry with Dagon.
“No, wait, you’re right. I thought about telling you, but then I thought it would be more fun to see the look on your face, and I was right, it’s hilarious!” He continued, as he was having a blast at Charlie’s expense.
“If this is your way of taking revenge for the last time, you’re a prick!” Charlie growled.
While they proceeded with their fight, Stella and Armaros got dressed, before stepping into the living room. Charlie then looked at both of them, and shook his head.
“What, in the Moon Goddess' name, are you doing here, Stella?” He asked, as he had a disappointed look on his face.
“I think you already know..” Armaros replied, with a smirk, making Dagon laugh again, as everyone else tried their hardest to keep the mask.
“That’s not what I meant, I.. You know what, forget it! Chase asked me to say; he wants to talk to you.” Charlie spoke to Armaros, before he headed for the door.
“Really? Why does it have to be this early in the morning?” Armaros asked, as Charlie paused by the door.
“I’m not the right to ask, so you have to go talk to Chase, and I suggest you go home Stella, ‘cause I’m pretty sure your parents haven’t been informed about your little sleepover.” He replied before walking out.
“Wow, someone is quite judgy today.” Shax stated, as everyone agreed.
“Come on guys, he is my uncle. What did you expect? You weren’t completely fair to him, Dagon, so please tell me why you would let him walk in on me and Armaros like that?” She asked, but he just shrugged.
“What can I say? He acts so self-righteous all the time, he needed a wake-up call sooner or later - I went for sooner, of course.” He replied, as he just leaned back in his seat.
“Does this have anything to do with what happened in that fight of yours?” Stella asked as she looked at Armaros.
“Maybe, but I can’t say what Dagon is thinking, but I’ll talk to you about it later, okay?” Armaros spoke, as he gave her a quick kiss and headed out of the door.
[Stella’s POV]
When Armaros had left me to go meet with my dad, I couldn’t help but wonder what exactly had happened between him and whoever he had been fighting with.
And if this meeting between him and my dad was in any way related to that fight as well.
But despite my curiosity, I wasn’t planning to ask Baal or Shax about it.
Armaros had promised to tell me, and I trusted he wouldn’t keep me in the dark anymore. I started to feel like our relationship had grown noticeably since the day we got to talk out, he was being a lot more open about how he was feeling, and not just hiding it away.
Being close to him really helped with my anxiety too. I knew he believed I wasn’t worrying, but the truth was I was only able to keep it up, when I was with him, and the reason I ended up staying that night, wasn’t because I planned to.
I was just too exhausted and ended up drifting off to sleep. I hadn’t been able to sleep for days, so for the first time in 5 days, I slept through a whole night without any nightmares, which basically haunted me on a daily basis.
“Well, I’ll head back home now. I’ll see you guys later!” I spoke before I headed to the door too.
“Hey Stella, wait!” Baal called out as both he and Shax walked up to me.
“Do you need someone to take you home?” He asked, as Shax nodded.
“We just think that you seem a little.. On edge.” Shax added.
“Thank you for the offer, but I’m sure I’ll be fine,” I replied. When I left, I could still see them standing by the door, which they continued to, until I was out of sight.
[..]
Armaros didn’t really wanna go, but he wasn’t given much of a choice, when Chase had asked him to come by immediately.
Though, he actually was a bit curious about what he wanted to talk to him about. They hadn’t really been speaking much, so he had no idea what it was about.
Maybe he is mad about Stella staying at our place? He thought to himself.
If that was the case, he believed that Chase might want to put things straight, so if he could beat him to it, he might not have to hear another one of Chase’s lecturing speeches.
“Please sit down.” Chase spoke, as Armaros did what he was asked, before he decided to speak up.
“Listen, if this is about Stella staying at my place last night,” Armaros began, but when Chase frowned, he paused.
“What are you talking about?” Chase asked.
“Apparently not the same as you.” Armaros spoke, while leaning back in his seat, as Chase narrowed his eyes a bit.
“Did you.. No, I really don’t wanna know, right now. That’s not the reason I called for you,” Chase sighed.
“What I wanted to say is, that I took your words into consideration last time, and I have decided to change the rules a bit..” Chase spoke, making Armaros wonder what he was talking about.
“By the next full Moon, we will have our first run and moon-race.” he explained, as Armaros started to understand what he was referring to.
“So you have finally decided to punish Carl and Hunter.”
“Well, in some way, yes, but it’s not going to be a complete slaughterhouse. To make it fair, I have decided that only werewolves can participate in this, so it shouldn’t come as a surprise that you need to stay out of it,” he clarified.
“Fine!” Armaros stated, a little too fast for Chase's liking.
“I’m serious Armaros, I will not have you or your friends interfering with this, do you understand?” He warned him, as he had a very serious attitude.
“I heard you; I can’t participate, and I can’t interfere. While the game is on, I got it,” Armaros stated, before he walked towards the door.
“One more thing..” Chase called out, as Armaros turned his head to him.
“I would prefer you didn’t tell Stella about this,” Chase added, making Armaros knit his eyebrows.
“So, you’re asking me to lie to her?” He asked in disbelief.
“Knowing this won’t do her any good, Armaros, it’s what’s best for her,” Chase replied.
“When is lying ever the best solution?” he argued.
“Can you just do as I ask!” Chase snapped, as Armaros rolled his eyes before he walked out.
Even though it sounded like Armaros agreed not to interfere, something about the way Armaros said it, made Chase unsure what to think.
Was he just going to accept he couldn’t take part in the Moon-race, like that?
Chase decided he wouldn’t dwell on it any longer.
Hopefully, Armaros had learned from his earlier mistakes, and wouldn’t do anything stupid.
- Writer
