14. A Better Man
ALPHA RAIDEN
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"Pack Games?" I asked nonchalantly.
Andrew, who has been walking back to my home with me, scoffed. I could see him rolling his eyes despite the darkness surrounding us. "Yes, Alpha. The same one that comes up every five years. Please don't act like you haven't seen the publications-" Of course he was about to start scolding me.
"I have seen them and I chose to ignore them, Drew. So can we stop talking about it now?" I cut him off before he could even begin.
But still, Andrew retorted, "We can't drop it because you have to be there."
"I don't have to. You'll travel down to Black Fur pack with anyone that wants to participate in the games and also represent me. I have got better things to do with my time." I voiced out the plans I had made in my head.
Andrew didn't seem surprised but he was able to surprise me when he countered me, stopping dead in his tracks, "I won't be representing you, Alpha Raiden."
He has got to be kidding me? Representing me was his duty as my Beta.
I looked back at him as I gritted out of disbelief, "Are you defying a direct order from your Alpha?"
Andrew dropped his gaze to the floor but still responded boldly, "Yes."
"Andrew!" I snapped, barely keeping my anger in check.
If he was anyone else in the pack, he would be dead by now but this was Andrew, my Beta and my friend. He wouldn't act irrationally. Ever.
"Thank goddess you know that. Perhaps you'll listen to him for once." My wolf, Lex, chided into my mind. The hostility in his voice resonated, bouncing off the walls of my mind.
Before I could respond to Lex, Andrew voiced, explaining his utter disrespect, "For the past five years, you have avoided all gatherings of Alphas. People are beginning to talk. You have to show them that regardless of what happened five years ago, you're still the most powerful. You can't continue like this-"
"Almost six years." I corrected Andrew even though that wasn't the point he was trying to make.
"What?" Andrew queried, his brows furrowed as we both continued walking towards my home.
"It's been almost six years since she rejected me and made a fool out of me." My fists balled tightly as I snarled.
Even though Aurelia should be dead to me, I still couldn't get her out of my head. Memories of her were fresh in my mind and as annoying as that was, I couldn't let go of those memories. I just couldn't.
"She is dead, Raiden and you have Larisa just like you have always wanted. I honestly don't understand why you haven't officially crowned her Luna and mate with her. It's been almost six years just like you said, man." Andrew uttered, convinced that Aurelia was really dead.Content is © by NôvelDrama.Org.
But I'd be a fool to believe that she was dead.
I could still feel a part of her blooming through the broken bond I still carried around with me.
She rejected me but I didn't accept her rejection.
"She is alive, Drew and I'll find her. I don't care about how long it would take." I muttered just as we arrived on my front porch.
"Alpha Raiden-" Andrew called out of concern.
He probably thinks I'm crazy.
"Goodnight, Andrew-"
The front door swung open to reveal Larisa, her smile bright as always. Her hair was in a bun and she was wearing an apron over her blue dress. "Welcome home, Raid. Dinner is ready. I made your favorite." Larisa announced, wrapping her arms around me as she pressed herself into me.
My heart sank at the mention of dinner because unlike Aurelia, Larisa was a novice in the kitchen. The only thing Larisa could cook perfectly has to be disaster and trouble... not dinner.
"Will you be having dinner with us, Andrew?" Larisa asked, her eyes glinting with excitement.
Andrew coughed softly, shaking his head without thinking twice, "No, Larisa. I won't want to intrude and I have to-"
Clearly, my Beta was trying to escape the torture Larisa had called dinner. Andrew and I knew better than to eat Larisa's meal after the long day we both had.
Quickly, I chimed, "Andrew and I have to go back to the office, Isa. I came home to see your face but I have to go back now. Isn't that right, Drew?"
I looked at Andrew, expecting him to save me as well but the second our eyes met, I saw mischief in his orbs. Andrew folded his arms around his chest, opening a mental link between our minds. "Say yes to going to Black Fur Pack for the first round of the Pack Games and I'll gladly save you from dinner, Alpha Raiden." Sarcasm dripped in his words as they filled my mind.
Larisa's gaze shifted between Andrew and I repeatedly, disappointment clouding her features. "Are you sure you can't eat dinner with me before leaving?" She asked, pouting. "What will it be, Alpha Raiden?" Andrew pushed through the mind link.
I scowled at him, responding without masking my emotions yet giving in, "Fine. I'll attend the first round at Black Fur."
Andrew grinned like the idiot he was but he answered Larisa, saying, "We can't. We have to return now, Larisa."
Larisa's shoulders dropped as I kissed her cheek softly."I'll see you in the morning and please, don't make breakfast, Isa. Just rest."
"I just want to do something nice for you." Larisa frowned, causing my heart to ache for her.
I haven't been treating her right if I was to be honest but how do I show her the love and affection in my heart when darkness has consumed my heart for almost six years.
My heart ached for the woman I spent my teenage years loving...
"You don't love her anymore." Lex stated rather than ask and I failed to respond. For someone who has been hostile towards me for the past six years, my wolf definitely had a lot to say tonight.
Andrew cleared his throat in an attempt to save me from what could have been an emotional moment for Larisa and I. "We should go, Alpha."
I nodded at my Beta and said to Larisa, "I'll make it up to you. I promise."
Larisa didn't seem convinced but she let me go and Andrew and I went to join the warriors for dinner. While eating, I concluded that the trip to Black fur pack would help me clear my head and by the time I return, I would be a better man for Larisa. Oh, little did I know.