33. The Intense Battle
ALPHA RAIDEN
I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel my jaw shift out of place as Aurelia's unbelievably strong fist connected with it. I could feel the ache but it wasn't something I had never felt before. The pain wasn't new to me.
What was new to me was getting punched in the face by a woman.
And not just any woman. It was Aurelia. The same woman who couldn't look me in the eyes back then just hit me in the face without flinching and she looked like she was ready to do it again. I was too stunned to speak while Aurelia stared at me with nothing but hate and anger in her orbs.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.
If I had been blind, I'd have been able to smell her scorching anger from miles away.
Goddess! How do I go about this?
What words would sound right to her? I knew how I felt and In my mind, I knew the right words but each time I opened my mouth to speak to her, I ended up saying the wrong words. Heck! She unraveled me.
"Don't mess this up, Raiden. Please. I need her back." Lex pleaded with me. Even my wolf could sense that I was losing the intense battle between raving between Aurelia and me.
"How can I make her less angry? I know I've not been saying the right words to her but even If I did, she wouldn't have listened or believed me. You of all people know that I didn't send anyone to kill her." I cried out for Lex's help, my chest rising and falling as I breathed heavily.
"I wish I could help you figure her out, Raiden. I've tried to but something within her keeps blocking me out. It's like there is a protection over her mind and it's not letting me in even though we carry a broken bond." Lex explained to me, confusion etched into each of his words.
Lex was confused. That wasn't a good sign.
Aurelia's glare didn't flatter as we both stood in silence. While I thought about how to break the protection over her mind and how it could have been there in the first place, I could sense the clocks ticking in Aurelia's brain... she didn't want to be here with me.
But she also didn't want to risk walking past me because her skin would most likely brush against my naked upper body. I might not be able to read her well enough but looking into her stormy blue eyes had made me realize that she would rather drown than brush her skin against mine...
"Perhaps her wolf is the one locking me out." Lex chimed, considering the odds.
Still holding Aurelia's gaze, I responded to my wolf, "She never had a wolf, Lex. This has to be Tristan's doing."
"What are the odds that she found a way to trigger her wolf's consciousness to life? Think about it, Raiden. A wolfless warrior wouldn't be as strong as Aurelia has become and don't forget that Tristan doesn't know about her past. I see no reason for him to put a seal on her mind." Lex pointed out, explaining his thoughts.
To be honest, my wolf was making so much sense. However, If Aurelia now has a wolf, shouldn't the mate bond become stronger? As her mate, I should be able to sense her wolf and connect to her on a deeper level-
"How long do you plan to keep me here, Raiden?" My name rolled off her tongue again, hitting my eardrums and creating a sweet harmony I couldn't have ever imagined.
My breath hitched and my eyes widened as it occurred to me that each time she had said my name, my mind made a quick jump back to those steamy moments when she squirmed underneath me, moaning every word but my name.
Gosh! How my name would have sounded melodious in the sex bedroom if it was coming from her.
Now I wanted to hear her moan my name-
"Raiden!" She snapped harshly.
Rather than a melodious moan, that was what I got from Aurelia and I had better get used to it.
"For as long as it takes to convince you that I know better now and that I didn't send anyone to kill you," I muttered, pouring out my emotions as I answered her question.
"Liar!" She lashed out. "You think I'll fall for your lies? I'm not stupid anymore, Raiden."
She said my name again. Sweet goddess. If only she knew what she was doing to me just by saying name. If Only she could feel the
desire she was calling out of net
each time she said my name, maybe she would consider taking me back.
Fuck! I wanted her back so badly.
I love her...
I fucking love her.
Relief flooded my whole body the second I stopped fighting my feelings for the woman I had been privileged to have once but stupidly let go.
I love Aurelia. I have always loved her.
Larisa and her feelings were the last thing on my mind as my gaze flickered from one side of Aurelia's face to another. I couldn't believe it took me this long to fully accept the way I felt about her.
"Believe me or not, Aurelia. I want you back and I'll get you back no matter what I had to go through." found myself confessing without hesitation and for most women, my words would make them speechless and emotional.
But Aurelia broke into a fit of laughter, telling me that she wasn't like others.
"I'm not trying to be funny-" I voiced but she cut me off yet again.
"You forced yourself on me six years ago, dammit!" She yelled in my face, bringing up the past that had haunted me every night for the past years. "You treated me like I was nothing but your sex slave."
"I was a fool-"
"Then remain a fool, Raiden because I would never believe that you changed. I will never forget all you did to me and getting back with you will happen in, let me see." She took a second to decide and voice, "Never."
I let my jealousy get the best of me as I gritted at her. "Never?" I asked, feeling bitter. "Does this have anything to do with Tristan? Don't tell me you're in love with that pretender-"
"What if I'm in love with him? He's a
million times a better man than you'd ever be in a billion years. So accept my rejection and stay with Larisa because I'll be leaving as soon as the games end." She spat and stormed past me.
Aurelia didn't look back even when her arms brushed against my stomach and this time, I didn't go after her because I was short of words. What more could I say to her?
"Tell her you love her. Perhaps that will help." Lex suggested but I knew Aurelia would never believe me if I confessed my love now.
It would sound like another lie and I couldn't blame her.
I was in love with her but she already chose Tristan over me. I've lost her forever. Perhaps.
Lex stirred to disagree even though the truth was glaring at us both but a rustling sound in the bush to my left caught our attention. "Someone is there," Lex announced instead. But then when I went over to check, there was no one there.
Yet, I sighted some shoeprints that confirmed a risky reality-someone overheard the argument between Aurelia and me.
Which left me to wonder who the person was. Larisa? Or someone lurking in the dark to cripple me?