Chapter 17: Reminisces
Aira’s POV
His smile was warmer than the morning sun’s gaze. It filled me with so much comfort and tranquility. I felt my heart swell with so much love as I stared down at my mate.
Jace is on one knee with a bouquet of roses and a box of chocolate in his hands.
My hand shields my agape mouth as tears sting my eyes. “Oh my God, Jace…”
His smile only makes him look even more devilishly handsome. “Will you be my girlfriend, Aira?”
I laugh a bit as tears slide down my cheeks. There is a tornado of emotions erupting within me. I am filled with so much joy and happiness that I feel as though I might burst any moment from now on.
I just got back home from the grocery store, and I was confused when Jace told me that we had run out of milk. I was certain that we still had some left.
But now that I walk into this living room covered in rose petals and red balloons, I think I know exactly what happened to the gallon of milk.
“I am already your mate; you didn’t have to do any of this, Jace,” I say in between tears and chuckles.
His dimples pop out, and his eyes shimmer in a way that makes me fall for him even more. “Just because you’re my mate doesn’t mean I should not do things properly. You are a great woman, and you deserve to be asked out like a queen. So, I will ask again. Will you be my girlfriend, Aira?”
The smile that stretches my lips has to be the widest. “Yes! Yes, I will be your girlfriend!”
Excitement and joy fill his gorgeous eyes, and he rises to his feet to engulf me in a bone-crushing hug. He lifts me off my feet and spins me around in the air, and I burst out laughing.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you,” he repeats as he licks my face with kisses. “I love you so much.”
He sets me down on the ground, and I take his face in my hands. I look up at him with so much love and admiration that I cannot believe how lucky I am to have a mate like him. I know nothing can ever ruin this moment. In fact, I sincerely believe that this is the beginning of something beautiful.
I do not know what I did to be blessed with such an amazing mate, but I sure am grateful. I sniffle a bit as my vision blurs with tears.
“I love you too, Jace. More than you will ever know.”
He seals my lips with his, and I sink into him. Our kiss is soothing; it is calm but soothing nonetheless.
When our lips parted, he pressed his forehead against mine and whispered, “I am going to dedicate the remainder of my life to making you happy. We will love and grow together, always and forever.”
“Always and forever.”
He lied.
He lied to me.
A sob and scream erupt from my throat as my knees make contact with the floor. Tears stream down my cheeks faster than ever before as I struggle for breath. This pain-it’s maddening; it’s killing.
I cannot believe he is doing this. He is actually marking Ana, my own sister!
My wolf howls in pain; I can feel her writhing and clawing at her own skin. The pain is like a consuming fire, killing us and burning us with a speed that we cannot fathom.
I can see them. I can feel them.
They are touching each other so passionately that his wolf is merging with hers. They are whispering sweet nothings to each other, making promises that were never meant to be. Those words he is uttering to her, those promises, and those confessions-they were all meant for me! Not her.
I just don’t understand why he would do this.
Another scream leaves my lips as a sudden burst of pain shoots through my entire body. My chest tightens as my body trembles. I need to get rid of this pain fast!
I can feel the eyes of the other maids on me as I struggle to get back on my feet. I do not pay much attention to them anyway; I know for a fact that none of them would help me. rather, they will just stand there and watch. They will have the time of their lives watching me suffer.
But I will be damned if I go down without a fight.
With trembling legs and an aching body, I drag myself up to Alexander’s office. I do not bother to knock before turning the door knob and throwing myself inside.
“What the fuck?” I hear Alexander say this as soon as I step in. My legs give in, and I get back on my knees. Beads of sweat trickle down my head as I continue to struggle for breath.
“Mark me,” I manage to let out.
He looks at me like I have gone mad. Maybe I have lost my mind with all this pain, but what else can I do? The only way to get this pain to seize is if I am marked by another. And Alexander is my only option.
“No,” he says blatantly, and more tears spill out of my eyes.
“Please, I beg of you. This pain… it- it-”
Alexander shoots to his feet, his eyes displaying nothing but disgust as he stares down at me.Content from NôvelDr(a)ma.Org.
“Whatever is wrong with you, take it to the pack doctor. But one thing is for sure: I am not marking you.”
And with that said, he walks out.
At this point, I am uncertain of what hurts most. The pain Jace is currently inflicting on me with my sister or the pain from Alexander’s words.
A sob leaves me, and I watch my tears drip to the floor.
I give up.
My body collapses on the cold marble floor, and I feel it shutting down as black dots taint my vision. I feel something screaming in me to get up and fight. To do something.
But I am just so tired.
I am tired of constantly getting treated so harshly; I did not do anything to deserve this. I can’t fight. I am sorry.
I feel a tear trickle down my face before I am completely engulfed by darkness. At least finally, I will be granted some form of peace. Slowly, my eyelids part, and I am greeted by an ache all over my body. My vision is a bit blurry, but I am able to make out the object before me as a chandelier. Where am I? And why is this bed so hard?
I try to move a bit, but that is when I realize I am not on a bed but on the floor. The memories of what happened come flooding back in.
Jace marking Ana.
The pain.
Alexander refusing to mark me.
Passing out.
It all comes flooding back in, and I feel that all-too-familiar sting in my eyes returning. I let myself cry because that was all I could do. But something feels rather off… Why do I have this heavy sense of hollowness?
A gasp fills my ears, and my attention is shifted to Carla, standing by the door. Her eyes are as wide as saucers and filled with so much horror. I hate to admit it, but Carla can be a bit overdramatic.
I mean, it should be a normal thing for her to find me lying on the floor and flushed with despair. But as I look at her, I notice that she isn’t looking at me directly but at my thighs. What?
She rushes to my side, and I am surprised at how much strength she uses to pull me up.
“We need to get you to the pack doctor immediately,” she says with urgency in her tone.
She helps me out of the alpha’s office and down the hall. “It’s okay, Carla; I feel a lot better now, honestly.”
She glances at me, but only for a second before saying, “I don’t think you are, Aira.”
I am about to object to your words, but I don’t when I feel something sliding down my thighs. Confusion overtakes me as I shift my gaze downward.
No.
It can’t be.
“No, no, no. Please no!” I scream as I stare at my bloodstained dress.
My baby.
“Just calm down, Aira. Everything is going to be fine,” Carla chants to me as she takes me down to the infirmary. I always passed by it whenever I was on my way to the stables, but I have never actually been inside it.
Until now.
It looks like a mini-hospital.
There are two stretchers and a bed. A drawer filled with all forms of medicine and a table full of equipment needed for surgery. There are other machines too, but I do not focus much on them as Carla lays me down on one of the stretchers.
Slowly, I start to zone out of reality. I see Carla speak to the pack doctor, but their conversation is unknown to me. The only thing I know is that I have my hands wrapped around my belly as I chant three words.
“Please be okay.”
The pack doctor starts to analyze me. Even though I am being injected with God knows what and have a bit of blood drawn out of me, it all did not matter to me; none of it was being registered in my head. I just laid there with tears streaming down my eyes and praying for my child’s safety.
But it seems my prayers are never answered.
“I am so sorry, Aira. But you have lost your child.”