Chapter 6 6
Henry’s POV
‘‘She looked just like Artheia, the ancient protector of the hunt.’’ I thought to myself, the music was too loud so no one could hear me.
I’d been drinking too much red wine than I should have. Immediately Laura left, that was the only way I could curb the unsettling feeling inside of me, by drinking.
But I didn’t help.
Her presence seemed to intoxicate the world and make it go still for a second. Heads turned, and faces beamed with smiles and surprise as she entered with a brave smile plastered on her face. She was unrecognizable but still recognizable.
“She is back!” The crowd awed in amusement, mesmerized.
Who wouldn’t be mesmerized by her?
This new ‘her’ looked breathtaking. Even the chandeliers seemed to shine brighter, their colored lights catching her auburn curls as they sprawled around her shoulders, wild and free, like the fire she was.
Laura Brown.
Maybe my heart could be deceiving me, but my eyes, my vision, wasn’t.
As she spoke I wasn’t focused on her words, my gaze was on her features. She still had that innocent look, her hazel eyes that were once filled with so much compassion now, burned with something different.
Her eyes changed as the light became brighter, her gaze was fiercer, more confident as if another soul had taken over her body.
The fitted back overall suit was glued to her slender frame revealing just how much weight she’d shed these past few years. She looks every bit of a queen, a true Luna, far more than even Lacey, my wife, her twin sister, the one I’d blindly chosen over her.
But how was this possible?
No, it wasn’t.
This was a dream, at least it felt like one.
I sat glued to the wooden armchair indifferently at the center of the naming ceremony. I was quietly digging my nails into my sweaty skin in an attempt to wake up from whatever dream I was in.
Because the woman who just walked in…. was the same girl I’d rejected five years ago.
The same girl I thought had died in a fatal car accident.
My mate.
For years I’ve carried guilt that I killed her, I pushed her to her death, after all if I’d never rejected her that night maybe she would never have felt the need to end her life.
But something strange still stirred in me, even after months of her death, the scent hadn’t still severed yet, I could feel it no matter how faint, and that was what scared me the most because it was supposed to break instantly…. to die with her.
I understand now; she was alive, except now she was Chloe blue blood not Laura brown.
The Alpha king Cain had adopted her, how?
I even had a dream of her once. We were in the kitchen again, arguing like we used to, and she was begging me to choose her. Well, this time I did, maybe out of guilt,
When I woke up that day, I felt the strong pull of her scent drawing closer, so I hid it from Lacey. I didn't want her to worry… besides she was her twin too.
But the scent and dreams kept eating me up. I'd catch the scent again just for a split second like a dust in the wind but I'd convinced myself it was nothing, just guilt eating me alive.
But seeing her in flesh and blood made everything connect. I wasn’t mad after all. The mood goddess never lies. She only works in strange ways that we the wolves can’t comprehend.
The scent of her hit me like a thunderbolt when she was still riding in. My wolf went wild inside of me, I was restless, shocked, and hungry. I wanted to hold her badly.
I should never have turned her down years ago, I should never have chosen Lacey over her, now I wonder if she would ever forgive me.
Maybe Laura would, but not Chloe, not the woman who just walked in, Laura was pure gentle, even when the world shamed her for being kind she never stopped being who she was apologetically, and I threw that innocence away, I convinced myself I was making the right decision by choosing Lacey but that was a lie.
Even though I liked Lacey at the same time, Laura was the right choice, our bond was real.
I gulped down a glass of wolf-brewed beer down my throat, I felt miserable and not even the greetings from the guests who had come all the way from their kingdoms cheered me up.
“Are you good?” Lacey would ask from time to time and I would nod, she was too busy tending to the guests and her newly born child.
I heard the roar of laughter grow louder by the minute and it only angered my spirit. I should be smiling, celebrating but I couldn’t.
Not when I’d just reconnected with my mate.
My wolf stirred inside of me, it was too loud and strong now not even the beer could numb it.
I couldn’t risk anyone suspecting I was slowly losing it.
I turned to Lacey immediately. “Hey, I will be back!”
I didn’t wait for her response. I just ascended the stairs walking into the master's bedroom.
As soon as the door clicked behind me I let out a heavy breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
I stood right in front of the mirror staring at the tired man who looked back at me.
“My Laura…” I muttered, “Chloe.” I corrected myself because the woman I saw wasn’t the Laura I knew, she was a whole new different person.
She was probably back to revenge; to deal with the people who looked down on her, including her best friend and her mate.
I swallowed back the lump in my throat. I was ashamed of myself, I should’ve been there for her but I wasn’t.
“I’m a horrible Alpha!” I yelled, throwing a ceramic cup against the glass as I watched it shatter into tiny pieces.
I had changed her, and I don’t blame her if she hated me. But maybe this was my time to seek forgiveness.
I was pacing now, feeling restless but then the tiny shard of glass pierced my bare foot.
“What have I done?” I asked myself but I didn’t care for the pain I felt, instead, I didn’t like the way my men looked at her.
She should have been mine, if only I hadn’t rejected her.
I wondered if she’d served the bond we shared or maybe she wanted to punish me so much.
I heard the chamber door creak open revealing Lacey’s chubby face and double chin. I nearly rolled my eyes back in displeasure, just when I was finding solace she had to walk in carrying our newborn daughter her amber gown brushing the floor.
“Be careful… I broke something…”
“What’s going on? Why did you leave in the middle of the ceremony? The witch was about to… “Her words faded when she noticed my worried look.
“I’m sorry… I just needed to rest my head.”
She let out a heavy sigh. “I can’t believe she has been alive all this time.” She whispered, her voice trembling.
“I can’t believe it either!”
“So, Laura is the daughter who fought and won so many battles?” Lacey asked rhetorically.
Then she let out a small chuckle, moving forward avoiding the shards pushing a strand of my hair off my face, as she gazed at me deep in the eye, her cheeks flushed.
“But we don’t care…. We have our own family, now, you, and Eloise while she has hers. She is … just in the past .”
I shot her a look of astonishment, I’ve always known Lacey hated her but didn’t expect it to run this deep.
“Your dead twin showed up at your child’s naming ceremony and you want us to move on?” I asked her to remove her hands from my face.
“I’m sorry…”
“It’s fine. I need to be alone and ensure you dismiss the party soon, I need to get some rest, so do you.”
“Henry… don’t tell me your spirit is damped because she is back? You never even loved her from the start…”
“She is still my mate!”
Lacey gasped, speechless. Her face was as white as snow. This was the first time I’d ever been this open with her about Laura.
She swallowed hard, blinding away the tears that threatened to spill. “Oh… I see… this is why you have been distant.”
“Lacey…I’m sorry.”
“No… I understand, but you should understand that this is also hard for me. She is my twin, Henry, we share the same womb!” Her voice faltered and I felt guilty immediately.
“Eloise needs her father, your clan needs their alpha and I need my husband.” With that, she walked away leaving me in silence.
Instantly I called for a guard standing just outside the door.
“Scorpion!” I called and he appeared, the wolf bowed curtly.
“Yes my lord and Alpha?”
“I need you to do me a favor, I need information, everything there is to know about Laura… Chloe's blue blood, and how she is connected to Aloha Cain, track her and ensure she gets home safe.”
“Yes, alpha.” He nodded storming off.
I need to know why she is back.
Is she here for peace or… to get back at me?