Chapter 11
1036 Words
Orion's POV
I shouldn’t have come out. I knew it the second I saw them. Alpha Erik standing there with Arlenna in the soft glow of moonlight.
I saw the look in his eyes and how he looked at her. I could read what they all meant, every single one of his looks.
My palms were slick with sweat, and my forehead felt hot. I didn’t even notice Nimara when she passed us and walked inside.
All I could see, all I could care about, was Arlenna. She looked too beautiful, too delicate, standing there with someone who wasn’t me.
She just stood there, right in front of me, not saying a word, not moving.
Just... looking at me.
Like I was the last person she wanted to see but couldn’t turn away from.
"You... You shouldn't be here," she finally said.
"Why?" I asked, my voice low but firm.
She blinked at me like I’d lost my mind. "Why? What do you mean why?"
"I mean it," I said, stepping closer. "Why shouldn’t I be here?"
Her eyes sharpened. "Nimara should be in your room. She's waiting for you. And you're here questioning me."
She spat the words like they burned her tongue, and it hit me square in the chest.
"Because I have every right to!" I said, already losing my temper before I could stop it.
"No!" she shot back as her voice cracked.
"You have no right to. Since the very day you stood here and watched Mom threaten to marry me off with our child and you did nothing!"
Her voice rose, almost too loud, and I panicked.
"Bring your voice down, Arlenna! Anyone could hear you!" I snapped.
"Exactly! Exactly, Orion! That’s it!" she yelled back. "Anyone could hear me. We aren’t meant to be seen together like this, so go! Leave me alone! And you have no right to question who comes looking for me."
She turned away from me, with her chest heaving.
"I'm still in the market," she added.
"You're with a baby, you're not!" I snapped.
She looked at me, eyes flashing. "A child you're too ashamed to claim!"
"Because this is a taboo!" I said, too loud, too fast.
"Exactly! Yes! A taboo!" I repeated, stepping closer to her, as if by force I could make her feel everything I was feeling.
"A taboo that cannot be! A taboo that was a mistake! A taboo that makes my heart beat for you every single time you’re in the room! A taboo I cannot control! How do I explain such a taboo?!"
I didn’t mean to shout. But it came out that way. My heart was thudding like a drum in my chest.
My hands trembled, with my fist folded at my sides.
She looked at me. Then quietly, she took two steps back.
"Nimara..." she whispered, her eyes dropping to the floor like they couldn’t bear to look at me anymore.
"Nimara is waiting for you."
I didn’t say a word. I couldn’t. What could I say that hadn’t already been said in that awful silence between us?
So I turned around and walked away.
The passageway was dim and quiet. But not for long.
"My love," Nimara’s voice called out, sweet as syrup. I turned to face her.
"I thought you were downstairs. I’ve been waiting for you in the room. I made some chocolate for us so we’ll stay up all night, talking about our big day and how—"
"Just..." I raised a hand, cutting her off gently. "Just figure it out without me. I need to catch some air."
And I left her standing there.
Outside, the night air didn’t feel like relief. It felt like punishment.
My fingers were already on my phone.
“Meet me at the bar for some drinks. Bills on me.”
I sent it to Jared as I walked, not even sure I wanted the drink. I just couldn’t stay in that house.
I couldn't sleep comfortably under the same roof with Arlenna and Nimara.
Not tonight.
I wanted to drown everything that happened tonight in the bottom of a glass.
But Arlenna’s voice wouldn’t leave my head.
"A child you're too ashamed to claim!"
No matter how fast I walked or how deep I breathed, her words were right there with me.
I loved her. God, I loved her. And that was the most dangerous truth of all.
Over here!" Jared waved at me the moment he spotted me.
He waved, already halfway through his drink like the night had been smooth for him. I walked over, heavy.
"Are you okay?" he asked the moment I sat.
“The beta's only son is getting married. The whole pack had been buzzing since morning.” He said to me happily.
"Except for some of your admirers, and those girls you just…. well, you know, f****d and dumped," Jared said, grinning like it was some kind of joke.
I barely heard half of what he said. Actually, I was the playboy though. I was quite a catch.
"Just give me our regular shots," I told the bartender.
"Don't worry," he replied with a cheerful nod, cleaning a glass. "Bills are on the house for the wedding celebration."
I tried to return the smile. It didn’t make it to my face.
"You okay?" Jared nudged me gently. "You look like you’re somewhere else."
I exhaled, slow and long. "It’s like I’m trapped in a box."
"How? I don’t get it."
He didn’t. And maybe he never would.
"And besides," he added, casual as ever, "how’s that your stepsister?"
I turned sharply. "What about her?"
“I’ve got my eyes on her. For a while now."
"That’s enough!" I cut him off. "Get your eyes off her."
The bartender returned just then and placed the drink in front of me. "Here’s your drink, Orion."
Jared chuckled. "You can’t deny your stepsister’s pretty and—"
He didn’t finish. I didn’t let him. I didn’t even realize when my hand reached for the glass. I didn’t think, I just moved.
I grabbed the glass and smashed it hard on the counter.
"I said keep your eyes off Arlenna!"
- Writer
