253- Where the Wolf Waits
POV Elowen Grimwald:
“Sorry to disturb you, girls. Lunara, Edric is in the living room waiting for you.”
“Oh, no…” I clung to my little round-bellied sister.
“Let’s not abuse their goodwill. That way I can always come back.”
“That’s true.” I got up from the bed, dragging myself to the edge. “We’re coming, Nerin, thank you,” I said to her. She smiled in response and closed the door.
“Do you get along well?” Lunara asked me.
“Yes, I like her very much. Did you know each other?” She shook her head, standing up with me. “She seems to know everything about Aldren, just like your partner.”
“I see it’s not common for people here to have many friends, but when there’s a bond, it’s almost unbreakable.”
My sister’s comment reminded me of something.
“Did Edric tell you about any trauma of Aldren’s…?” I whispered, setting the tone of the conversation, afraid someone might appear and overhear us as we approached the door.
“What kind of trauma?” she whispered back.
“Once, Nerin told me, ‘Aldren is not someone who can be healed,’ and he has difficulty opening up. I imagine something serious must have happened.”
“I don’t know anything about that, but… I can find out.” She winked, raising my expectations.
“I would kiss your feet, little sister. If I know what torments him, I’ll be able to help him.”
Sava touched my face in a tender gesture.
“I admire that you want to help him, Elowen, but I’ve learned that we can’t be a rehabilitation center for any of these alphas. They are who they are, and they only change when they want to. And maybe Aldren will never change, and it will be your decision whether to accept him as he is or not.”
“I like who he is now, but I know I can support him.”
“If Aldren Valmorin is your destiny, things will fall into place.”
“That’s true.” I opened the door and held one of Lunara’s hands. “Come on, it’s my turn to meet my brother-in-law.”
During the short walk, anxiety grew in my stomach. I didn’t know whether Aldren would be there with his friend, or how he and my sister would interact.
Entering the living room, I spotted an alpha as tall as Aldren, with longer curly hair and curious grayish eyes.
He stood beside the sofa, one hand in his pocket and the other arm open toward Lunara, while Aldren sipped what smelled to me like tea, staring at me over the rim of his cup from two meters away.
My sister slipped away from me to kiss her partner, then turned back.
“Elowen, this is Edric.” She nudged me from behind so I would greet him.
A little tense, I extended my hand, but was pulled into a tight hug.
“It’s a great pleasure to finally meet you, Elowen,” he said before releasing me.
Aldren didn’t take his eyes off me, but his expression was like a labyrinth with no exit. He and Lunara exchanged a quick greeting from a distance.
“I say the same, Edric. I’m happy that… my sister is in good hands.”
“And you, Elowen? Are you in good hands?” Lunara asked me.
It sounded like a tease, even though she was smiling.
I exchanged glances with Aldren, and he remained expressionless.
“Well, I think I am.” The alpha’s silence was killing me, so I turned to him. “I found out that my birthday is in a few days.”
“Cool.” He gave a cold response. Was he really just going to say that?
“And do you know what I want as a gift? For you to find out the sex of my sister’s pup,” I blurted out.
I was anxious and wanted to know as soon as possible. He and Edric exchanged looks.
“If it’s the couple’s wish, I can do that,” he agreed, still cold.
Even in the face of his coldness, I hugged my sister, celebrating that we would soon know the baby’s sex.
“For me, that’s fine. And you, Lunara?” Edric addressed her, calling her by the same nickname I did.
“It will be wonderful to find out.”
“Then it’s settled.” Edric sealed the deal.
They needed to leave, and my heart tightened in my chest knowing I would be far from her again. It was necessary to understand that my sister had a life, and married, carrying a pup, her priority could no longer be me.
We were together again, but things were not the same. And thank goodness they weren’t, because I could see how happy and fulfilled she was with her new family.
I hugged her tightly, breathing in her scent deeply.
I rose onto my tiptoes to kiss her forehead, and she did the same.
“I’ll be back.”
“I know you will.”
My feelings became a complete mess.
Happiness struck me, seeing her so beautiful, pregnant, protected, but a tightness in my chest also reached me, along with the urge to cry as I watched her walk out the door, turning to give me one last goodbye.
No one told me that goodbyes could hurt so much, even the happy ones.
To intensify my emotional abyss, what remained in that living room was a strange atmosphere between me and Aldren.
Him leaving without saying another word. Him walking away.
Too late, Aldren. You can’t do this now, not after giving me a glimpse of what it would be like to have you at your best.
With the sight of his back, I ran and grabbed him by the arm, preventing him from leaving. He turned, and our eyes met. In his green lake of indifference, a handful of conflict bathed.
“Can I help you?”
“Don’t talk to me like that.”
“And how should I speak?” He pulled his arm free, resting his hand in his jeans pocket.
“Aldren… you know.”
His Adam’s apple slid down his throat, and my stomach went cold with apprehension.
“How was it with your sister?” He seemed to be forcing himself to interact with me.
“It was wonderful. Why are you treating me like this?”
“So you remember who I am and what I did to you,” he stated, with a coldness that could petrify my body.
“I don’t want to remember.” I was honest.
“You should.”
“No! I don’t want to! What matters to me is now. Our now.”
“I’m not the prince of your story. I’m the villain.”
“And who said I’m looking for a prince? I’m perfectly satisfied staying with the big bad wolf.”
Clinging to the hope that he would let the wall fall, I stepped closer and placed both hands on his chest, feeling his heart pounding intensely.
“Now that you know about your sister, you might prefer to stay with her.”
“Sava has her family now, and I don’t want to stay away from you.”
“You don’t want to stay away from me?” he asked in a challenging tone.
“No. I know you wouldn’t stop me from seeing my sister. You don’t only have a bad side, Aldren. You’re just too wounded to believe you can be happy.”
I let my lips part when he pulled me against his body and leaned down, brushing his beard along the side of my face, inhaling my scent.
I slid my hands over his broad back and hugged him tightly. The warmth of his body was a natural sedative to me.
“I have something to do now.” He traced a path of kisses from my chin to my ear. I was ready to argue, to keep him from leaving. “Be even more beautiful and fragrant than you already are for me. Today I have a place to show you.”
His tone promised intense adventures.
I tilted my head back to look at him and held his face.
“Like a date?” I asked, completely thrilled.
“If you want to call it that.” He smiled with the corner of his lips.
“I’ve never been on a date! Not ever! I love wearing heels, can I?”
He laughed, letting his eyes shine with a kind of admiration.
“Wear whatever you want. I can carry you the whole way.”