"Do you live in the villa?" His words resonated in her ears.
"Well yes" she replied.
"I have a relationship with the Alpha" she continued.
"And what sort of relationship would that be?" He asked.
'I am his ... wife' she answered within herself, her eyes boring into the ground as a silent drop of tears escaped her eyes.
"Ahh..!" She exclaimed.
"What happened?" He asked.
"My eyes, something got into them" she lied in order to hide her tears, she used her hands to wipe her eyes.
"Let me help" he said pulling her hand away from her face replacing them with his while he looked into her eyes.
Ian had been told that Ares was waiting for him in the garden for the treaty signing and had just gotten there to meet the scene between Diane and Ares. He felt a spur of anger surging within him and he folded his palm into a clenched fist as he watched from a distance.
"I'm fine now" she smiled at Ares who was hesitant to withdraw his hand from her face.
"And about my relationship with the Alpha, it is something unspoken of and unheard of" she smiled.
"I will not force you to say it because I believe one day you will willingly tell me everything about you" he whispered to her, just then the sky changed its bearing and grew dark, Diane felt herself grow scared as she watched the rain start to drop, she began hyperventilating slowly while Ares couldn't notice. Ian had noticed something wrong with Diane but was unwilling to step in yet after all if what he thought was the reason for her fear, then he was the cause and the one who she least needed.
"It's about to rain" Ares smiled before turning to Diane, her face has lost its colours and her skin has become extraordinarily pale.
"What's wrong?" Ares asked but all she did was shake her head.
"Let's.. go back" she scrambled to say but Ares was too slow to catch on.
"They say the rain sets the mood between lovers" he smiled in a bid to persuade her to stay a bit more.
"Look around, everywhere looks beautiful" he smiled.
"Please" she breathed out, her mind had been clouded with the thoughts of that rainy night and she did not want to relieve it.
She turned away weakly to go back into the villa when a pair of hands grabbed and hers soon enough a lip was tightly latched on hers.
Ian had grown even angrier at Ares gesture and was about to act on his anger when Ares released a non struggling Diane from his kiss.
He felt that she was cool with it because she had not struggled and was about to kiss her once again when she pulled back in shock, he looked at her lifeless face that was still in shock.
"I'm sorry Diane" he apologized.
"It's.." She collapsed and Ian rushed to her while Ares was still lost to shock.
Ian pulled her up carrying her princess style to her room while Ares trailed behind them still confused.
'What the hell had just happened?' He wondered, Ian laid Diane on the bed once they got to the room then he increased the warmth of the room.
Ares looked around the almost empty room which only had a bed in the center and closets with clothes, no other furnitures.
"What is this?" He asked looking around.
"A better version of a prison?" He asked and Ian was vexed but he hid it in.
"What happened?" He asked as if he was unaware of what had conspired between between them.
"We were having a conversation and the rain started, I wanted to steal the moment to court my woman so I kissed her and soon enough she passed out" Ares explained truthfully but Ian had stopped listening from where he called her 'his woman'. He felt angry at that line, even angrier than he had felt when Ares had kissed Diane, how dare the alpha of the Nightingale pack address his wife as 'his woman'? He was about to act on his anger when Diane let out a soft cough staring directly into Ian's eyes.
"Alpha Ares?" She called out before turning to face him.
"I appreciate your gestures towards me" she smiled at him before returning her to stare at Ian. She drew a breath in and finally out.
"I am grateful to you for being attracted to me, right now when I desperately need the attention, however, I am very sorry to have to let you down like this" she breathed out and Ian felt satisfied, like his anger has been instantly quenched.
"Did I go too fast?" Alpha Ares asked and she nodded 'no'.
"No my lord, the pace was perfect but I am the one who asked shown by the world is undeserving of you Alpha" she responded.
"I do not care about what the world thinks" he said.
"That is very quick a decision to make my lord, you have known me only for two days" she said.
"And two days feels like a lifetime when you are with the perfect person" he said.
"Unfortunately I am not the one for you, I wondered why the Moon Goddess did not mate me with this wonderful man only to find out that her choices are hers alone and she makes no mistake, you are not mine to take" she said.
"All this are not reasons to me Diane, and I will not leave this pack let alone sign a treaty until you give me one" he said ever so firm on his decision.
"Do you swear that?" Diane asked.
"Yes" he replied.
"And if I can give you one?" She asked.
"Then I will sign the treaty and leave this pack like I have never met the woman I fell for here" he said.
"Do you promise?" She asked and he nodded.
"What if I say I am not in love with you?" She asked and he shoved the reason away.
"Not good enough" he said.
"You can always fall for me" he continued.
She turned to face Ian hurt when she said.
"My mate did not reject me and I am still hopelessly and helplessly bonded to him".