The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

37: Talia

Aurelia made a decision that I knew she would regret, and her inability to acknowledge how ridiculous she was being made it impossible for me to engage with her.

There was no point trying to reason with her, and Caius thought I was the unreasonable one because he was surrounded by people who considered me a heartless b***h.

My only chance to explain things without people interfering and twisting my words was taking advantage of the fact he had finally been left on his own, and I wasn’t entirely sure he would even speak to me.

“Are you willing to talk to me?” I asked when Caius finally opened the door to me.

He shrugged, but stepped aside so I could join him.

“Why wouldn’t I be willing to talk to my own Mate?” he asked calmly - it was a frustratingly loaded question, and it was clear he wanted me to be more apologetic than I was going to be.

“Is that what I am?”

“Is that why you are back? To lay claim to me? Or to let me go?”

Caius eyed me skeptically, waiting for my answer.

“I’m back because I care about you and I want us to work out our differences,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. “Whatever has happened since you got back can be forgiven; you were confused when she found you and you didn’t expect to see me again. I don’t blame you.”

“Avoiding the subject has never been your style, Talia.”

I sighed; he was as blunt as ever and there was no point trying to make the topic less awkward.

“For the sake of our relationship, I will overlook the fact you have been sleeping with another woman. She’s clearly a manipulative brat, and I don’t understand how you seem to have developed feelings for somebody so vacuous, but I have harbored my love for you for two thousand years and it’s hardly the first time another woman has tempted you.”

“It’s the first time you have been so jealous of it. We were never monogamous, and you would have been happy to keep her around when we were younger; you can rest assured the path she likes to tread is not one you would want me to go down with you.”

I crossed my arms and stared at him, unimpressed by his ridiculous euphemism.

“I think it’s time for us to move past your infidelity, whichever path she led you down.”

There was the faintest trace of a smile on his lips before he turned away, and I followed him through to the kitchen.

“Aurelia will find it difficult to forgive you; you do know that, don’t you?”

“She knows that she is taking a risk; I was trying to protect her, and I failed to account for her emotions.”

This was the last thing I wanted to talk about before things were less turbulent between us, but Caius had made up his mind; he needed to voice his opinion to move on.

“We took the same risk, and I don’t recall a single moment of doubt whether it was the sensible thing to do; she was a blessing we were honored to receive, and it felt like a miracle after ten years. Making her feel like she had no say in her own decision was wrong, and I don’t think I will blame her if she finds it impossible to forgive you.”

“You don’t think she could have made a better choice than the boy she is now stuck with?”

Caius had always hoped Aurelia would find someone with their own pack and I doubted that had changed, but he shook his head.

“He loves her, and they are happy. Do you think a life of misery with a partner who doesn’t make her happy would be better?”

“He doesn’t deserve Aurelia.”

“She deserves a chance at happiness. Whether we approve of him or not is irrelevant.”

Happiness did not seem like a likely outcome, but I held my tongue.

“Perhaps this time would be better spent focusing on our own miraculous chance at happiness?” I approached Caius cautiously as he leaned on one of the counters and reached out to stroke his cheek.

“You’re the reason I’m back, aren’t you? I don’t know what you did, but I owe my life to you.”

“Your return was as surprising to me as it was to you. It was orchestrated by a power I can’t comprehend. She probably didn’t count on that she-wolf finding you first, but deities do seem to enjoy working in frustrating ways. Perhaps she was a challenge for us to overcome.”

“I don’t want to talk about Saga. You don’t want me to either.”

His curt response was a warning, but it piqued my interest - something had happened and he was probably not in any danger of taking her doubtlessly well travelled path again.

He smiled wryly and raised one of his eyebrows.

“She’s not a w***e, and you have more decorum than this. Judging women for the things they enjoy makes you sound insanely jealous. You didn’t seem interested in picking things up, and Saga makes me feel normal. I didn’t pursue her to hurt you.”

“Are you in love with her?”

Caius groaned in frustration, but his expression softened when he looked into my eyes and saw that my question was sincere. He kissed me softly.

“No, I’m not in love with her,” he said before pulling away. “But I do care about her.”

“Are you still in love with me?”

The awkward silence before he answered was painful.

“I love the person I spent my life with. Parts of that woman are the same, but I don’t know you the way I used to, and it is going to take time to work on this.”