~Ariana's POV~
It had been a week since that morning, things had been downright tense in the mansion, kind of like how it was when the pack first moved in, it was obvious they felt that their leaders were no longer on good terms.
Talon had mostly been away overseeing the renovation, only coming in really late at night and leaving early the next morning, I hadn't actually seen him since that day to my relief, he avoided me like the plague and I did same.
Jay was holed up in his office, drowning himself in work, only taking a break when I barged in and stared him down, apart from that, we both didn't communicate much either, I really didn't know why, perhaps it was because to each other, we were both a constant reminder of Talon and his words that morning, and somehow, I felt Jay blamed me for getting him to try with Talon again, when he had previously given up and accepted the fact that they could never be together, he tried to hide it but he probably wasn't consious of the fact that he could no longer look me straight in the eyes, opting to place his gaze anywhere else but on me, I couldn't lie and say his actions didn't hurt me, because it did, deeply, more so the fact that he tried to hide it, in any case, I couldn't be mad at him, because I understood his reasons.
I woke up that morning having a bad feeling, somehow I knew something I probably wouldn't like would happen today.
I quickly went about my morning routine but I still couldn't get over that
nagging feeling, pushing it aside, I got out my room and headed to the elevator, passing by a smirking Claire on the way, I raised a questioning brow when she didn't throw her usual shades, flashing me a wink instead, I paused a bit to which she grinned wildly before I continued on my way with a nonchalant shrug.
Getting to the kitchen, I grabbed an apple from the fridge, noticing unsurprised that none of the guys were present, Mia and Dylan had left for his pack, not permanently since she still had a year of school left but his parents had been really eager to see her, Dan, Jake and Grey tagged along, probably also trying to get away from the atmosphere here. Caine obviously had to stick with Talon, and Luca was dragged along too, Sky although visiting regularly had moved into her apartment for awhile now, Jay had gotten a whole lot more prickly since that event so everyone was being worked harder, due to that Leo and Kay had border patrol.
Although they were all expected back today, I was relieved at their short absence, I've had some days to sort myself out without getting them unnecessarily worried about me.
Sighing at my thoughts, I once again ignored my new car keys, picking up the keys to my other car and left the mansion, I had a few classes today and some other things I was working on needed my attention.
Getting to the parking lot, I had the feeling of being watched and my eyes narrowed, deciding to play ignorant, I got into my car and drove off. Pulling up in front of a cafe, I got out my car, shutting the door and leaning against it with a frown. As expected, a good looking, well built young man approached me, coming to a stop right in front of me.
"Care explaining why you've been following me?" I asked in a dangerously low tone, lifting my eyes to his, a cold look on my face, he stared at me for a while, before grinning widely and although I was a bit weirded out, somehow I knew I could trust this man, I didn't ease up though, I wasn't taking any chances.
"The name's Kyle, and you must be Ariana." he said, stretching his hand to me for a handshake, I ignored his hand, my glare hardening.
"I don't fucking care for your name, how the f**k do you know my name?" I asked dangerously and he laughed.
"Damn, Lon and Jay have their hands full." he said amusedly and I frowned but didn't reply, he sighed at my reaction to him.
"I'm a member of Lon's pack and his best friend, Jay's as well, I'm away most of the time but I usually come back for a visit as much as I can, this is one of such times, I came in last night and met up with Lon at the pack house, Although I've been hearing rumors, I confirmed about the relationship between you three last night and also heard the current situation, admittedly after an argument with an extremely stubborn Talon, I knew Jay if not more stubborn, wouldn't be much better than Lon so I decided to come to you, I was hoping we could talk, I have a confession to make." he informed me and I raised a brow.
"I don't even know you, why would you think I was the right person to listen to this confession?" I asked suspiciously and he sighed.
"Because my confession has as much to do with Lon as it has to do with me, it certainly would not justify his actions but perhaps once you hear what I have to say, you might have a better understanding of his situation." he told me sadly, his eyes pleading, I was quiet for a moment before nodding my head towards the cafe and leading the way.
We were lead to a booth and we both sat on opposite ends, I quietly stared at him as he picked up the menu and glanced through it.
"Coffee?" he asked looking up at me, I didn't respond and he sighed.
"Please? We'll talk after getting something, I assume you haven't had breakfast and neither have I, I noticed you haven't eaten that apple yet." he explained pleadingly and I scoffed in response.
"I'm not hungry." I replied and he sighed again, before signalling the waiter and ordering a cup of coffee for himself, he glanced at me once more and I rolled my eyes.
"Tea, I don't like coffee." I said emotionlessly and he nodded, smiling slightly before nodding at the waiter and he left to get our orders.
The waiter returned with our orders after awhile, placing the steaming mugs on our table.
He stared at me quietly, smiling as I picked up the mug after a while, bringing it up to my nose and nodding in approval at the scent before taking a sip.
"So?" I asked after placing the mug back down and he nodded, copying my actions with his mug as his expression turned serious.
"I've known Talon and Jaylen all my life, we were the inseparable trio, I was as close to them both as they are to each other, well at least if we put aside the huge crush they had on each other." he started chuckling, my features eased up a bit at his words and he grinned.
"Jaylen was the oldest having a year on me and Lon, I came next being a few months older than Lon. My Dad was the head warrior of the pack, an excessively strict man who had extremely high expectations of me as his only child, so it wasn't surprising that he wasn't in support of my sexuality, not because he had anything against gays but because this would mean I wouldn't be able to carry on our blood line. I understood his fears however he went about it the wrong way, refusing to accept that his son would eventually find his mate who would undoubtedly be a male, he resolved to have me meet and mate a girl of his choice before I became of age to meet my mate, there was however a problem, the problem of what would happen in future when I found my mate, he probably knew me enough to know I'd abandon everything to be with him, so he found a way, a way that would let me mate a female and build a life with her, without having to worry about the future, because his way ensured that, should I ever meet my mate, we wouldn't be able to recognize each other, ever." he paused briefly, lost in thought, a sad look on his face, at this point all my reservations had worn out and I was actively interested in his story, I didn't push though, instead waiting patiently for him to collect himself.
"I was 16 then, Jay was 17 that was the first time I ever heard of the lien incassable, the unbreakable bond, my father had been so desperate to ensure the continuation of his bloodline that he went all out, after a rigorous search, he found an ancient text, that spoke of a method used in the past, although frowned upon it wasn't outlawed to fall in love with someone who wasn't your mate, in this case the unbreakable bond was the only option that could counter the mate bond, once an unbreakable bond is formed, the cords of fate tying you to your true mate would be broken and the wolf in question as well as his mate would loose the ability to recognize each other, as such they would never meet and could go on with their lives normally, the unlucky mate who unknown to him, has his bond broken by his mate before they even met, would either get a second chance mate in the best cases and in worse cases end up mateless." he took a deep breath before continuing.
"The unbreakable bond however could also be used between true mates, strengthening their bond beyond the boundaries of the mate bond to a bond beyond even the comprehension of we supernaturals, mates didn't usually try it though, because the mate bond was already enough for them and no one could really tell with certainty what happens when an unbreakable bond was formed between actual mates, with so much left unknown, it just wasn't worth the risk."
"A few months after my father discovered the unbreakable bond, while he was preoccupied with getting ready the necessary materials to go through with the ritual, I had turned 17 and I was desperate, if only I could get him to hold out for a year, I could meet my mate and leave with him, Jay had disappeared a few days before his 18th birthday and Lon and I didn't know where he was or how long he'd be gone, Lon was being prepared to take over as Alpha and I didn't want to add my problems to his already filled plate, so I tried dealing with it all myself, but I was still a young 17 year old boy and I felt so lost and alone, in the midst of all this struggles I was going through, I met a boy, he was older than me by just a month, he offered a listening ear when I desperately needed it and somehow we fell in love, or at least what I believed to be love, he was a witch but I really didn't care about his specie, he was everything I wanted in a guy and so much more, we eventually started dating and after a few months of a blissful relationship, I was convinced he was my mate, being with him felt so right and my wolf also loved him, I remember feeling so certain he was mine, at that point it was a few days to his 18th birthday, and a month to mine. I had told Lon about my suspicions and he expressed his reservations however I was so blinded by love, I was beyond listening, my father had already acquired everything and was constantly pressuring me for the ritual to be carried out. So when James turned 18 and told me we were mates, I lost it, insisting on going through with the mating process immediately, Lon tried to stop me, telling me to at least wait till my 18th birthday but I was adamant on going through with it, I informed James about my father pressuring for the ritual and how even Lon was against us mating, he told me we had to do something that would make the whole world unable to come between us and I knew just the thing, being young and hot headed and wanting to prove a point to my father that he couldn't control me, I went through with the ritual, but not with the girl as my dad wanted, I went through the ritual with James." he told me, looking up at me, I gasped and he smiled sadly at me.
"He wasn't your mate was he?" I asked already knowing the answer and he sighed nodding sadly.
"Damn!" I exclaimed, unable to imagine how he felt coming to that realization, that he had tied himself to the wrong person for life.
Before I could say anything else a voice interrupted me.
"I believe I told you you weren't allowed to approach her or Jay." Talon said angrily, coming to a stop at our table and I frowned at his sudden appearance.
"Since when do you get a say in who I meet or don't meet?" I asked, standing up, a deadly glare on my face.
He glanced at me for a second before turning back to Kyle.
"Return to the pack house, you're lucky I got here before you said anything you shouldn't say, notwithstanding, disobeying my orders and coming here, it seems because I don't use my Alpha command on you my words no longer mean much, perhaps because you have been away too long, I think it's about time I remind you who the fuck your Alpha is Kyle." he commanded him in a cold, emotionless tone, Kyle tried resisting but an Alpha command wasn't so easily pushed off, giving up, he bowed his head, standing up and throwing me one last glance before walking away. Lon turned to me.
"I find it disconcerting how you can just have a nice talk over coffee with a guy I'm sure you have never met before." he said and I scoffed.
"Yeah, true, I haven't met him before, and yet somehow, I was comfortable in his presence till you showed up and ruined things, like how you ruin everything, but then again who am I to question the Alpha?" I asked coldly, he growled lowly but I ignored him, grabbing my purse and heading to the counter to take care of the bill, returning to where he stood, I continued.
"I will do us both a favor and excuse myself from your almighty presence, do have a good day Alpha." I concluded, tilting my head down slightly, in a mocking bow, I could practically feel his anger and hurt as I walked away from him but I refused to care, reminding myself that he wasn't worth it.