The Alpha Emperor’s Resurrection

43: Talia

Normal had never been a word that had a place in my life with Caius, and in that respect, things had not changed since his return.

There was no normal where we were concerned - but there had been normal for us in the past, and I missed that comfortable, familiar feeling now that he was back.

Caius had insisted that he didn’t love the young White Wolf he had spent so much of his time with, but he admitted he cared for her, and that he wasn’t sure how he felt about me.

I had arrogantly assumed he would love me exactly as he always had, and that nothing would stand between us; I had not counted on the force that brought him back to me laying a challenge in our path.

"You really never found another Mate?" Caius asked cautiously as he closed the door to his room firmly, sealing us in together.

"What man could improve on the life that we built together?"

He raised one of his eyebrows - he didn't believe me.

"Not everything is about power and wealth, Talia. Are you telling me you haven't loved anybody else since I died?"

"There have been others, but I can't compare them to you, and they could never replace you. I don't know what it is about you...I suppose it leaves an impression on a person when their lover murders them and robs them of their humanity."

Caius laughed dryly - I hadn't let that drop, and my initial bitterness and hatred towards him for what he had done had become something of a joke for us over the years.

"If I am resurrected again two thousand years from now, will you have forgiven me for deceiving you?"

Probably not, but now was not the time to bring that up.

"The fact I care about you is exactly why you're here. You infuriate me at times, but I love you."

"You really think that's why I'm back?"

His skepticism hurt more than I expected.

"Why else would you be here?"

"The world was ours, once. I don't think it belongs to us anymore, though."

I laughed coolly.

"I don't think it is too arrogant to assume your return is in some way linked to us."

"You haven't considered the thought that this might have happened for our daughter's benefit and not ours? If I hadn't been brought back where I was at exactly the right time, Saga wouldn't have found me and had her brother go to find Aurelia, and Aurelia wouldn't be pregnant. I think that's a lot more important than anything we might achieve together, don't you?"

"Have you seen yourself lately? You're in your prime, Caius. We can achieve anything we want- you've just been content enough to stay here without any greater purpose."

"What is there for us now?" he asked in the infuriatingly measured way that told me he was confident I didn't have a satisfying answer for him.

We stared at each other in silence for a moment before I glanced around the room he had made his own and looked at the things he had accepted from the modern world; there was no phone, and no computer - but there was a television.

"Has that girl been forcing you to sit through the Kardashians?"

It was supposed to be a joke, but Caius looked at me blankly.

"I don't know what you're trying to imply, but Saga hasn't forced me to do anything, and I find it bizarre that you are so determined to find something unpleasant about her. She was here for me when you were not."

I looked away, my guilt creeping up on me. He was right, and I hated it when he was right.

"It was a joke."

A petty joke, fueled by my irrational jealousy.

"At my expense? Or at hers?"

I sighed, and sat down on the edge of his bed, feeling an uncomfortable mix of pity and embarrassment.

"Hers. I am not going to deride you for your situation, Caius. I have been in your position before, remember."

"How could I forget? You lost your loved ones because of me, you were taken from your homeland because of me, you were forced to adapt to life in a strange city for my benefit-"

"-and I did: I adapted, I learned, I thrived, and I seduced the most powerful man in the world. I was a human then; if I could do those things as a human, you can do them now."

Caius sat down at the small table on the other side of the room, and shook his head slightly, as if I didn't understand exactly what it was like to feel so lost in a strange new place.

"Can I ask you something?"

I shifted uncomfortably.

"Of course."

"Is Tiberius still alive?"

I hadn't heard that name in centuries, and my awkward silence was enough to answer Caius' question.

Tiberius had been the son of the werewolf who transformed me, and he had been the only other wolf from her bloodline when Caius died.

"Aurelia hasn't spoken about him?"

Caius furrowed his brow at my stupid question. If Aurelia had spoken about Tiberius, there would have been no need to ask.

"She has had other things on her mind. I assume from the way you are dancing around the subject-"

"- he's dead. As far as we are aware, anyway. We were living with a pack in the mountains when he disappeared and we haven't heard from him since."

"So it has just been the two of you for hundreds of years, and you still think that I am back for your benefit alone?"

I would have preferred it if Caius had just been angry at me, or called me selfish; instead, I had to deal with feeling like the worst person in the world because I had done what it took to keep myself and Aurelia safe.

"I think it may be better for me to leave," I mumbled.

Caius shrugged.

"Perhaps."

I stood up, and my chest tightened when Caius didn't stop me.

"Aurelia can contact me if she needs anything. I suppose she can contact me if you need anything, too."

I turned towards the door, but I couldn't bring myself to walk through it.

"You don't have to leave, Talia."

Caius sighed, but I felt a rush of relief and I went back to sit on the bed immediately; he grabbed my hand when I passed him, and I was surprised that he pulled me down to sit on his knee the way he had done countless times in the past when we were visiting the Arena to watch the fights.

He was warm, and his scent was exhilarating.

I wrapped my arms around his neck, and he pulled me closer to him like he was afraid I might change my mind and leave after all.

My heart was racing as I looked into his eyes, and I leaned closer to kiss him, melting into his embrace.

"I can't tell you how it feels to have you back," I whispered, my lips brushing lightly against his.

Caius pulled back to look at me, his expression unreadable, and I closed my eyes, not wanting him to see how badly I wanted him.

He kissed me again; his lips were soft and his touch was gentle as he slipped his hands under my shirt to feel my body.

I sighed, savoring the sensation of being wanted, being held. It had been so long since I had felt loved, and I was suddenly overcome by a need to be closer to him.

I was surprised by the lack of urgency in his touch as his mouth explored my neck, and I tilted my head back to let him kiss me slowly, surrendering to the moment completely.

As Caius continued to explore my neck, his hands moved down to the small of my back, pulling me even closer to him. I could feel his heart beating steadily against my chest.

When he finally pulled away from me, I looked at him again; there was longing in his eyes, but at the same time, there was a hint of sadness.

"We should take it slowly," he murmured, stroking my hair lovingly. "We don't have to rush things, do we?"

I nodded, feeling the weight of his words settle over me like a shroud. There was so much that needed to be said, but for now, I was content just to be held by him.

"I'm just relieved you are willing to talk to me. I thought you saw me as a heartless monster."

"I didn't fall in love with your warm heart and gentle spirit."

"What did you fall in love with?" I asked, and immediately wished that I hadn't because Caius swallowed nervously.

"You are fierce; you had a wolf's heart even before you were transformed. You were defiant, spirited, intelligent... everything I had ever wanted in a Mate."

"Fierce, defiant, spirited, intelligent... beauty wasn't something you were looking for, then?"

"I was looking for someone who could see the world as I do, and that someone was you. Did I ever give you the impression I found you anything less than beautiful, in all the years we spent together?"

"No," I said, a soft smile spreading across my lips. "You never did."

He smiled back at me and stroked my back gently.

"Good. Because you were beautiful then, and you are beautiful now."

I kissed him again, with more passion than before, as if that might make up for all the time I had spent without him.

He bit my lip, and I felt a thrill of pleasure run through me before we both pulled away, and he looked deep into my eyes.

"We can take things as slowly as you need," I whispered, as if he was seriously going to consider taking his time. "But I don't want to take things too slowly; I've waited too long for you."