IVORY: The age of Gloarian

Chapter 11

    ‘You’re planning his wedding?’ questioned Syllia, flabbergasted at the sheer stupidity of this pair. The man had reached his limit with unexpected news, and wondered when the two would finally have the courage to grow up and put an end to all this misery. Undoubtedly, this best friend also felt terrible for the proclaimed mate of the Alpha as he heard all that had gone down the previous night. Syllia had a low tolerance for bullshit, and this was most certainly his time to shine and attempt to slide in a tinge of order in a place that had completely lost it. ‘I’m sorry Eli, I love you, I do, but don’t you think this has gone too far? Don’t you think it would be best for you to end this charade now before more people get hurt and terminate this contract?’ he pleaded, looking longingly at the leader of the hybrids. 

    ‘I can’t do that Syllia. Imagine the suspicion it would raise for Eiva. Besides the whole reason I’m doing this is for the poor girl-’

    ‘No you’re not!’ exclaimed Syllia in exhaustion. The leader stared wide eyed at her friend, not uttering a word until he explained his tone. ‘Eliana, when are you going to start being honest with yourself? You aren’t doing this to protect Eiva, you’re doing this to get back at the Alpha, to show him that his rejection didn’t and still isn’t affecting you. The both of you are so invested in this game that none of you is realising the damage this is going to do to Eiva. That girl is more innocent and fragile than a flower, and she is being played by the both of you who keep tossing her around as if she were a ball. If you had the slightest shred of self-respect you would call this thing off and send your mate on his merry way. Even if you don’t call off the deal there is no reason why you have to force their wedding to happen within a day. You know damn well that Razaar doesn’t want to marry Eiva, so imagine how broken the girl will be when she finds out the truth. Please, she’s already lost one mate, don’t make her lose another.’ He finished, successfully flipping Eliana’s perspective. 

    The leader battled with herself as she thought of what to do and sat back down on her chair. She knew that Syllia had been speaking the truth, one that deep down she was already aware of. Now on the surface of things, she was faced with making a tough decision about what to do: cancel the wedding or send off the Alpha altogether? She took a deep breath as her mind recalled the memories of last night and the pride she held at handling the scenario the way she did. It had sparked a joy within her she couldn’t explain, but what that joy signified was still unknown to her, for she remained clueless about the goals of her end result. Was she doing all this to win Razaar back? Or was she genuine about keeping him at bay? The man had barely been with them a few days, but already caused enough trouble to last a year. It was up to the leader of the hybrids, in that moment, to decide her own fate, and stick to it. As Syllia had mentioned, as a leader it was her sole duty to be caring and compassionate, and she had felt a change of attitude since the day the ruthless Alpha had stepped into her land. It was time, however, to go back to being the righteous leader she was, and put her vendetta behind her. 

    ‘You’re right, I have gotten myself very involved with all of this. The thing is, no matter how hard I try, the stupid man keeps interfering in my life regarding the things I do. I just wish there was a way to keep him far away’ she muttered, mostly to herself, although Syllia had certainly caught on to her words. 

    ‘Then send him away if he’s that much of a bother’ he stated, as if the solution were that simple. 

    ‘I can’t. I don’t want Eiva to be suspicious and sending the girl back with him would only put her in danger. I think I’ll go have a chat with her about hosting the wedding here, and just tell her that I’d let Razaar and her organise that with the rest of their pack. In the meantime, can you and Armelia help me organise a small celebration for them tonight? I think they deserve that much’ finished Eliana, her mind slowly but surely returning to the mindset it held before a certain corrupted Alpha had begun turning her for the worst. 

    ‘Of course. I’ll grab Armelia and head towards the celebration grounds to start preparing. You go talk to Eiva and meet us there?’ he asked, picking himself off the chair he sat on with a smile of pride at his best friend. The leader nodded, not quite meeting Syllia’s gaze until he placed a hand on her arm. ‘I’m proud of you Eli, I know that this is hard, but always remember that me and Armelia are there for you’ he finished, taking his leave from her office. 

    Eliana found herself sitting back in her chair for an extra minute, thinking about how to approach the tender woman about something she had been ecstatically looking forward to. She soon realised that there would be no good way to do this, and so gave the thinking a rest, and decided to get into action, making her way towards the newly engaged couples cottage.

    Her hands trembled as she knocked on the door, expecting Razaar to have rushed to open the door for her, but was slightly surprised when it was, in fact, Eiva that came in her line of sight. 

    ‘Eliana, how can I help you?’ she asked, leading the hybrid leader into the living room that Eiva had so effortlessly maintained clean. The bright woman smiled as she seated herself next to Eliana and waited for what was to come. 

    ‘I came to talk to you about the wedding, actually’ she began, keeping away from Eiva’s eyes  to avoid the guilt that might build up within her. ‘I don’t think you should have the wedding here’ she stated blatantly, finally meeting the orbes of the woman who, as expected, had tears welling in her eyes already. ‘Before you assume anything, it’s not because I don’t want to or anything like that. Quite the opposite actually, I would be honored to host the wedding, but I just don’t think it would be right for the great Alpha and Luna to host a wedding without the entire werewolf population. I know it might have been great to escape to just elope, but I also think as leaders you have a duty to your pack. I know what it’s like to be on that receiving end, it may seem disappointing now, but I also think it will be worth it when you see the rows of people gleaming at you with respect and admiration in the end.’ responded Eliana, in a manner that within the instant had completely convinced the great Luna. Gone were her bags of tears and in it’s place was now a wide grin of sincerity that Eiva had commonly held. 

    ‘You’re right. I think I just got too excited to have forgotten that I am the great Luna of all Gloarian, and I most certainly have a duty to uphold. I’m so glad you’ve helped me regain my senses Eliana, I honestly don’t know what I would do without you here. It’s been such a fantastic month, I never thought I could ever learn as much as I have with you here’ the polite woman spoke, causing guilt to penetrate through Eliana’s mind. The leader had only wished that Eiva could have been a stereotypical nuisance of a woman that she could easily despise, for her sweet nature had made it unacceptable for anybody to be rude to such a gentle woman. As much as the leader craved she could deliver the honest truth to a woman who certainly deserved it, Eliana kept her mouth shut, not uttering a single word back, for she hoped in no way to harm the feelings of the lovely Eiva. 

   ‘You are too kind Eiva. I do apologise once again for the inconvenience, but nevertheless, I am looking forward to seeing you and Razaar today at the small celebration we would love to throw for you. It won’t be a tonne of people, just a few friends and your parents.’ Clarified Eliana, dropping a few details before she exited the cottage, leaving a squealing excited Eiva behind. 

    The leader barely took three steps before she heard footsteps approach her that caused her to turn around, only to be faced with the vile Alpha himself. 

    ‘What happened, Eliana? Can’t stand the thought of me getting married?’ he mocked, knowing full well that she had absolutely no pint of jealousy within her. Eliana sighed, recalling her best friends words to avoid her anger getting the best of her. 

    ‘I’m done interacting with you Razaar. Frankly, I don’t have the energy to do this anymore. You and I may have our problems and differences, but I’m not going to put Eiva in the middle of our issues. The girl never did anything to deserve this. Her mate died, and the last thing either of us should be doing is giving her another reason to be upset in life. So I recommend that just for the remainder of your trip, you keep your dissimilarities with me aside, and focus on giving that poor girl a good night before you storm into battle with Balthazar. As for me, stay out of my way and I will stay out of yours’ she completed, not even waiting for her mate’s response as she walked right out of his sight. 

    It surprised her that he didn’t make an effort to follow or halt her, but she was grateful that he hadn't decided to cause another scene that would perhaps end up looping them back into their cycle of hatred for each other. The Alpha, however, had heard his mate, and for the first time, decided to respect her wishes to stay away. It wasn’t that he wanted to, but the mere reminder that his best friend would end up paying the consequences was enough to put the Alpha in his place, and bring back the shed of humanity that he had left within him. The mental flashback of his proclaimed mate balling her eyes out at the loss of her mate had manage to insert into him a wave of generosity, as he founds himself trotting back to his cottage where he immediately embraced the girl into his arms. 

    ‘You deserve better’ he muttered to himself, but loud enough for Eiva to have heard. 

    ‘What do you mean? If it wasn’t for you making sacrifices in your life, I would be mateless and as you quite rightly put it, would be in some dark room in the corner crying my eyeballs out. You deserve better Razaar, but I’m glad that you chose to stick with me’ she finished, hugging the man tightly as she thought of just how much he had sacrificed for her. Little did the woman know that despite his kindness the truth had yet to be revealed to her. It was a truth that would change her entire perception of everything that had been going on around her. Had she known that Razaar and Eliana were mates, and that for just a moment, the two were playing her, she would most certainly not have been emitting the words she had. 

    Razaar remained silent, as he continued embracing the tiny woman, guilt finally consuming him at the shame he began feeling at his behaviour. Not only was he about to hurt a woman he had too much love and respect for, but he had initiated an unnecessary unfair fight with a woman that had been destined for him, that he had turned down and already caused too much damage to. It dawned upon him in that moment that he was a heartless man, causing trouble for every woman that walked in his life, and for a brief moment wondered what his poor mother would have thought of him had she been alive to see all that had unfolded. 

    For the rest of the night, the trio pushed their emotions behind, putting on bright faces as they all dressed up and came together to celebrate something that had begun as a facade for the great Alpha, but was now something he would have to go through to save his humanity along with the woman he couldn’t bring himself to hurt. He pondered to himself what Eliana’s real thoughts had been on his marriage, but ignored them as it was too late to have those opinions supersede the events of reality. 

    Eliana had decided that despite their efforts to move on from past incidents, she would still bring Leron along with her for insurance, without fully giving him a title publicly, but definitely as a symbol of what she wanted the rest to see: that she was content, independent and secure. The man had tentatively agreed as he found himself stuck in a scenario he had no way out of. He would have either had to deceive his leader or face the great Alpha of Gloarian with all the might in his fists, and as it happened, he chose the latter, not wanting to disappoint the leader that had practically raised this community for a number of years. They both walked into the party together, staying close yet keeping a distance to avoid any further dramas. It was an act that most certainly caught the eye of those already present at the party, but lucky for Eliana, her thick headed mate had yet to arrive. In the meantime the two enjoyed the extra minutes of freedom they gained, engaging in small conversation with Syllia, Armelia and Eiva’s parents, who had been absolutely thrilled by Razaar’s proposal. 

    Armelia and Syllia had been proud of their best friend for coming a long way from her initial cruelty, and in spite of their desire to see Eliana happy with her mate, knew that woman had a bright future ahead of her regardless of who she ended up with. They had known Eliana as the brave woman who got thrown into a world of leadership at an early age after having to deal with her rejection and the demise of her parents, and from that moment onwards, she built herself to be one hell of a woman. Her snake and wolf form had been trained to its full potential and had there been any dangers in the past few years they knew that she would be brave enough to tackle it all on her own and still be victorious. That was the woman that at that moment stood in front of them, tough, maverick, and a firm leader to the hybrids. 

    Soon enough, the future bride and groom made their entrance, looking as stunning as ever side by side. It was the first time Eliana had laidz eyes on her mate in such formal attire, and notwithstanding liking the view, had kept those thoughts to herself as she greeted the couple. She had noticed that in the time her own mind had changed towards their situation and taken a more humane turn, it wasn’t just her that had decided to follow that path. Razaar had a film hand placed on Eiva’s small back, and was following her around with a look she had never quite seen before. The indication that their charade had ended was evident through his expression, and despite being a relief, the thought had perhaps had a minor effect of unease upon Eliana, as she realised that it would be the end of hope and love for the brave leader. 

    Putting on a smile, she greeted the couple before they all sat down to indulge in their meals. Razaar’s eyes had instantly fallen on the figure that shadowed his mate, the same figure he had seen her talking to at the New Year’’s celebration, but for the safety of his proclaimed mate chose to ignore it and push his feelings behind, and focus on the one woman this night had been prepared for. Eliana had been grateful for his lack of attention for she wished nothing more than to be free of the burden that housing Eiva and Razaar had been, and wanted badly to return to her old life. As her thoughts crossed the issue, she reminded herself of the mere day that was left before her mate would take his leave and how relieved she would be then. Just one more day that she had to deal with the entirety of faking politeness and pushing aside her true feelings before the flame would hopefully set her free. She wondered what life would be like when Razaar would step out of her life for the second time in his life. She contemplated the idea of going back to normality and considered if she would be capable of putting the incident behind her. Especially having spent more time around her mate this time. 

    She was pulled out of her thoughts when the frail Eiva had raised her glass and stood up from her seat to deliver a speech to the audience. 

    ‘I just want to say, thank you all for being here, and thank you Eliana for organising such a wonderful gathering to celebrate our engagement.’ She then faced Razaar as she began speaking ‘Razaar, to you I just want to say, you are the only person that has ever kept me sane, has protected me from harm, has loved me, accepted me, and truly have made me one of the happiest women on Zaleon. For someone who has suffered the loss of her mate, I sure as hell got lucky. I know it’s selfish of me to keep you to myself knowing you probably have a mate out there, but I feel addicted to you, and I’m not sure I’m ready to give you up yet. I just know that whoever your mate is, she is a very lucky girl, but her lack of appearance in your life has made me the luckiest girl on Gloarian. For that, I don't even know where to begin thanking you. All I can say is, I love you, and I hope to make you as happy as you have made me’ she completed, tears streaming down her face by the end of her lines. It was a speech that to Eiva’s parents had been emotional to the core, as it should have been, the only difference was the heavy irony that hung in the air as a clear mock as the innocent woman uttered her words. There was a contest of looks that had suddenly initiated at her speech that began with Razaar embracing his proclaimed mate, his eyes on Eliana the whole time. He had been stuck in this situation so often that by now he wasn’t sure there was any guilt left that could consume him. Nevertheless, he looked wearily at the hybrid leader before her eyes disconnected from his in pure discomfort. The gazes of Syllia and Armelia were the next to fall upon their best friend’s, though they were  purely intended to make sure she had been ok post speech delivery. Throwing them a sympathetic smile, her head turned to face Leron, who simply watched his leader in pity, not knowing the right thing to do or say. Eventually the misconduct of not doing anything caught up to him as he placed his hand on Eliana’s under the table for comfort. It was a gesture that the leader had much appreciated as she smiled at him and placed her other hand over his to return the favour. 

    Wordlessly, the lot began eating, small conversation taking place on occasion to kill the silence. For the rest of the night, however, Eliana thought it best to keep her mouth shut, and so did Razaar, as they observed the rest carry on in comfort. 

    For the pairing of the two mate’s the night brought questions and realisations that neither had prior thought of, and both retreated into mental cave’s that would perhaps change the course of their future. The future, however, was in the hands of the flame, and the flame had a plan for the two that neither was anticipating. For the last night, Razaar and Eliana enjoyed the freedom of their individuality before the plans of the flame would be put into action to begin the biggest life lesson and most exciting turn of events to take place in all of Gloarian. 

    Theirs, was most certainly going to be an interesting journey.