5: So Cold
1888 Words
Aurora
Time itself seemed to freeze, as though even it was stunned into stillness, just like me. My body locked in place, my heart racing in uneven, fragile beats, while my mind spiraled with thousands of conflicting thoughts.
The world tilted, spinning faintly beneath my feet as I stared at the man standing just inches away from me.
He was calm. Too calm.
Dressed in a creamy casual shirt and plain dark trousers, he looked effortlessly composed, untouchable. A few buttons of his shirt were left undone, as though on clue, revealing a glimpse of the hard, sculpted muscles beneath.
Everything about him screamed power, control, authority, without a warning.
He didn't say a word, just stared at me. Or rather, glared at me with that unreadable gaze, but beneath that cold and calm exterior, I could feel the way his heart beat, only for a fraction before it settled, like he was still trying to wrap his head around it.
Wasn’t he aware… that I was his mate?
No… no way.
He was aware I was his mate. The way he had looked at me just yesterday when the SUV had parked. The way his gaze had hardened instantly. The irritation. The disappointment. The unmistakable coldness in his eyes.
Those couldn't have been from one who didn't recognize me as his mate. They were too true and realistic.
It was the reaction of someone who knew… and didn’t want it.
He had been unsettled. Displeased. Disappointed.
A shiver ran through me as something warm immediately brushed against my skin, pulling me out of my thoughts.
His breath.
It was warm, steady and distractingly close. It wrapped around me in a way that felt strangely soothing… and of course, dangerously alluring.
My chest tightened, as a strange pull unraveled deep within me, spreading through my veins, just by the awareness that I was still clung onto his chest.
My breath hitched.
Embarrassment flooded through me as I became painfully aware of my position; my face inches away from his broad, bare chest, the tiny frailty of the hairs on his chest, and my arms still resting against him, the only thing that had stopped me from falling when I accidentally collided with him.
Slowly, hesitantly, I pulled my arms away from his chest and took two steps backwards. Heat rushed to my face, burning through my skin as another thought followed closely behind.
That sudden awareness of the rejection that would follow after this moment.
His eyes were still on me the entire time. He didn't say a word, didn't flinch, he just stared at me, dragging his eyes over my features.
It felt like the earth should open and swallow me when his eyes lingered on the curve of my waist.
It hit me instantly, that shift, that pause, and it made something inside me crumble.
That obvious bump that stood rounded, too big, out of ideal shape. It rounded against the fabric of the customized uniform I had worn, that hung a little too tightly, outlining every part of me I suddenly wished I could hide.
I had never ever thought about it nor felt how tightly the fabric had curved onto my frame up until now, and it felt so embarrassing in a way that made my fingers curl slightly at my sides and I swallowed hard, lowering my head in shame.
I wasn't the ideal shape any man would want to cherish and adore and I had never ever felt such heat creeping up my spine, unfamiliar and suffocating.
It felt different. Too different and unbearable.
Then, I saw his lips twitch to the side, like he wanted to spill those words I had dreaded.
Those words that would eventually mark the end of my wolf, because I knew Keira wouldn't survive it this time. She wouldn't live past this rejection, judging her current status.
I was about to speak, to plead, but my words hung low in my throat as I felt his gaze linger only briefly. He swallowed hard, his Adam's apple gulping, before he altered those words and slipped away into the hall.
“You should probably be more careful next time.”
I stood there, stilled, his words echoing loudly in the air moments after he had left. I even forgot I was on an assignment and the occasion had already begun, with a multitude of pack members already assembled, until the loud music buzzed into my ears, bringing me back to reality.
As I stirred and turned, running back into the packhouse, my heart pounded in my chest as a series of questions began to stir, among which was, why Alpha Damian, my second chance mate, had followed through that back entrance instead of the main entrance?
Why did he react in that manner?
Why was he so cold, distant and unrelenting?
Was he only trying to pull through with this ceremony before he could finally reject me?
Keira stirred violently in my head.
*****
Damian
It had been a long afternoon of exhaustion, having to go through the final clearance at the training facilities, clearing off certain details I needed to handle myself, and doing a series of final activities before hopping on the eight-hour journey by flight and then another two hours by land.
By the time I arrived at the packhouse, I was totally drained.
It’s been four… or maybe five years since I left Darkshades. I haven’t fully been in transit, and even though I engaged in any, they were always short trips to handle certain personal details.
But this… this was different. This was a return. To the same pack I had walked away from. To the same place that still echoed with everything that happened four years ago.
And I hated it.
But I had to return since it was already time to take my duties. Duty called, destiny called, pulling in my restraint, and I wouldn't have said no.
But what snapped at me, so unexpected, unsettling, or whatever best described this feeling, was meeting her. Or say, my second…chance mate.
Like how?
How was that even possible?
How can I have a second chance mate? After everything that had happened?
After the series of betrayals, and then my strong resolve?
That was certainly the cruellest joke of the century, and the moon goddess could have been a comedian to think I was even distracted one bit in whatever bets or games she was trying to play.
And yet…
The moment I caught the scent, everything shifted. It wrapped around me subtly at first, then settled, sharp, unmistakable.
My eyes dropped on her.
Something inside me stilled.
That part of me felt cold, displeased, unsettled.
No.
It can't be. I can't have a second chance mate and it turned out to be none other but this chubby, fragile-looking omega. One that appeared too fragile and tender, one that would shatter under the slightest pressure or heat. Too soft, too… breakable
My jaw tightened.
I schooled myself to focus on the welcome event. But constantly my eyes would drift towards her, and I noticed the timidity, the nervousness, and then the sacredness in her attitude the entire event. She was even visibly trembling and didn't even try to hide it.
Every time our eyes met, she flinched.
And somehow it pissed me off in a certain kind of way. It got under my skin.
The moon was surely at it again. And this time I was going to decide how this played out. I was going to carve it the way that best suited me.
My instincts sharpened, and I tore my gaze away, forcing myself to focus.
I didn't return to get distracted. The last thing I needed now was something to make me feel vulnerable, weak, or anything of that kind.
That was when Dad announced the main ceremony to be today. And I was amazed at his arrangement. He mentioned something about waiting for me to return to announce it. I already knew what he wanted to announce, but then, my mind drifted to this plus sized omega, and somehow I just didn't know that pull that fueled my actions.
Maybe it was that bond or whatever.
Aaron went quiet after announcing and sensing our mate. And that was usual. I know this reminded him of the torrent of pain he had to pull through the previous time, but yet he wasn't a wolf to be quiet.
I didn't dwell on that line of thought because sincerely it didn't matter, at least that was what I told myself, until I had left my room this morning, only to be hit by her scent again.
Spiced nutmeg… laced with honey.
It felt soft, warm and dangerous, wrapping around me like a veil and pulling me in before I could stop it.
Aaron instinctively stirred in my head as he howled that word that seemed to unsettle me each time.
“Mate.”
Without another thought, I followed after her scent until I came toward the back entrance. I saw her turning away from the door hurriedly but was too fast or absent-minded to look at where she was going until she bumped into me, her arms resting on my chest.
I felt the heat curling up in her face, the jolt, the nervousness, the panic, and worst, the fear that was written all over her as her eyelids fluttered uncontrollably, while still pressing her arms over my chest.
I felt the slight jolt of electricity just by that contact, but…
I didn't react, I didn't move, I just watched her, trailing my eyes down her soft features and then back into her eyes. My mouth parted to spill those words that I had concluded upon.
Those words that lined the wall of my lips already when Aaron had announced her presence earlier.
But as I opened my mouth to speak, something else snapped at me, and it caused my brows to furrow. I looked away only for a fraction before turning back to her.
I saw the way her heart rose and fell erratically, and somehow I wanted to set her free. I wanted to speak, but the words suddenly felt too heavy on my lips… or say my sudden realization struck heavier than my intent and instinct.
I wasn't one known for talks, not to mention long talks. I liked hitting the nail directly on the head, but this…
“You should be more careful next time,” I said instead.
I found myself moving into the hall and leaving her behind. Something inside me pulled—cold, insistent, urging me to turn back. To end it. To face it.
But still, I continued into the hall. Just as I stepped inside, the interior space sparkled in a blend of blue and red, one of my color blends.
They shimmered across the vast hall, reflected through towering chandeliers that cast golden light across every surface. The decorations glowed, the atmosphere alive with movement and voices, everything blending into a spectacle that should have grounded me.
At least… not until I felt it.
His stare on me, somewhere around the hall. Liam.
My jaw tightened instantly, and my breath hitched. And just like that, that familiar feeling all slammed into me.
- Writer
