Alpha lycan mate

CHAPTER 7 - THE TRUTH I CARRY

Amara’s POV

I could not believe my eyes.

Alpha Alaric and Alpha Caspian stood in my room glaring angrily. Neither of them was willing to leave until they saw me. Both of them insisted on it, although neither of them was going to leave before they talked to me.

I lay on the bed, my heartbeat echoing in my ears. The drug my father had given me had already begun to work; my limbs felt tingly and weak, and my vision was hazy. A white satin dress covered my body, and my hair cascaded down my shoulders in soft curls. I looked beautiful, if not a bit pale and anemic.

Caspian growled at me, demanding that I tell him who drugged me. The man had asked the healer to keep me awake, but someone clearly decided that I should not know what happened and clouded my senses.

Oh, how I could feel the pain in his voice, the anguish, but it was not for me. It was for Selene, the woman of his dreams, the one he thought would complete him. Now, he realized that she was the one who got away, and I was the one he had to live with for the rest of his days. I could see the invisible thread connecting us, slowly snapping, one by one, and no one would ever be able to reattach it. Selene, the woman of his dreams, would never be his, and he would forever live with the feeling of emptiness in his chest.

My father waved his hand in annoyance. “Caspian, she needs rest. You should leave her alone for now.”

“I will speak to her,” he said, taking a step closer.

Oh, this was going to be nasty. The air between the two men crackled with tension as each of them prepared to rip the other’s throat out.

Isolde stepped between them and placed a hand on her husband’s chest. “Let’s step outside and leave them be.”

Father growled in annoyance but relented when he saw the determined look on Isolde’s face. “We will talk,” He muttered, casting a withering glare at Caspian. “You and I, alone.”

They left, and their voices floated down the hallway.

“They should not have been there! What were you thinking?!”

“I believe Amara knows. She saw everything. After all, she is hurt and surprised. She will understand everything in due time. She will not spoil everything.”

There was a pause, and I heard my father’s voice, colder than ever. “Make sure she understands. Make sure she knows her place.”

“I know what to say,” replied Isolde.

The two men returned to my room, and I heard the tension in their voices as they argued.

Back in the room, it was only Caspian and me. He pulled up a chair and sat about six inches away from me, hands clasped together, looking annoyed. I longed to reach out and touch him, to reassure him that I was okay, but I could not.

“How are you feeling?” His voice was like ice. So formal and restrained that I hardly recognized it as coming from him.

“Thanks,” I whispered. “But I felt much better without you.”

His eyes narrowed at me. “I did not come here to hear that. We need to talk, but you look pale. If you feel unwell, I will come back later.”

I hated the words coming out of my mouth, but I could not help it. “If you want to talk, then do so. I will not stop you.” I pushed myself up, and the sheet slid down my hips, revealing my collarbones and neck. My long hair framed my face, and I made no effort to smooth it down or put it back in place. My dress was low-cut, showing off my shoulders, but I did nothing to cover myself.

Caspian looked down at my neck and then quickly away, as if ashamed to look at me.

God, my heart was breaking. He knew every curve and every angle of my body. He had seen every hidden part of me and claimed me as his. But he would always choose her over me.

He looked up at my face and said, “Say what you are going to say, and let us be done with it.”

“I saw you,” I said quietly. “In the garden, with Selena. I saw you kiss her.”

He stopped, stunned. It was as if I had punched him in the gut. His mouth opened, perhaps to deny it or explain, but I raised my hand, stopping him. “Don’t. I saw everything, and that is why I rejected you. I lost the child because of you. You know that as well as I do.”

A heavy silence blanketed the room. The air was thick, almost choking, and I felt Caspian’s anguish. Looking into his eyes, I finally understood why he looked so crushed. He was hurting because of me. He could hardly breathe without me.

“Amara…” he breathed my name like a prayer. “You think that is why you lost the baby?”

“I know it is why I lost the baby,” I said quietly. “My father said I was imagining things. That I was in grief and delirious. Then he gave me this drug to make me sleep.”

Caspian stood up so quickly that his chair fell over backwards. “He drugged you? Against your will?”

“To make me sleepy,” I replied.

He turned away from me and stared out the window. “He said you were delirious. That you were imagining things. That you were grieving and saw things that were not there.”

“I am not imagining things!” My voice shook as I said this. “I saw you kiss her, and I lost our child because of it. Then he drugged me so I would stop thinking about it. That is the god’s honest truth.”

Caspian turned around, his expression one of anguish. “I did not know you were there. I never meant for it to happen. Amara, I never meant for any of this to happen to you.”

“You already did,” I replied softly. “The moment you chose her over me.”

He flinched as if I had slapped him across the face.

“I cannot give her up,” he said in a choked voice. “My heart belongs to her. It always has. I cannot tear it out, no matter how much it hurts.”

Oh, my God. He just said it all out loud. He told me the truth right to my face.

“So, we understand each other, then?” I asked, my voice hollow. “You keep her, and I stay here. We put on this farce until I give birth to your child, and then I go.”

“Amara - ”

“That was the deal, wasn’t it?” I said. “Don’t change it now.”

He nodded solemnly. “Very well, but I swear this, I will protect you. I will get you away from him. I will find out what was in the drug and what made you see what you saw.”

He moved to the door and stopped, turning back to look at me. “Lock this room, and do not let anyone in until I get back.”

With that, he was gone, leaving me alone with my thoughts. I lay back on the bed, my heart pounding in my ears. The drug made me sleepy, but the events of the evening kept my mind racing. The men thought they could drug me and make me forget, but I knew the truth. They would hurt me just to keep me here with them.

I traced my fingers over my stomach, imagining the shape of the child that should have been there. Taking a deep breath, I reached up and turned the lock on the door, securing the room for the night.